New name, New QB: Washington battles though 2021
Taylor Heinicke celebrates after a four game win streak. Photo credit by WFT Twitter.
“The Washington Football team” doesn’t really roll off the tongue, and the owners and fans agree. Coming up on February 2, the Washington Football team is finally getting a new name and mascot after temporarily adopting its current name from the controversial Redskins mascot.
The Washington Football team has had a shaky season, finishing 7-10 and missing the playoffs in the weakest division in the NFL. The road was very bumpy this season. In the first game, starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was injured, while last year’s playoff sensation Taylor Henicke took the helm as the starter for the remainder of the season.
Henicke’s first full year in the league with a lack of experience had his hardships in throwing touchdowns. He came tied 17th for QB TD’s and 19th in passing yards. The high note of his game was his decision making and overall offense IQ with a tied 3rd in interception, a strong suit of his game. He finished the season with a QB rating of 59.4 and ranked 21st out of 32 QB’s in the league.
Although the stats would not suggest this, Henicke performed a little better than expected. Henicke had strong moments this season, most notable the four game win streak in the later half of the season as they tried to clinch the NFC East.
Henicke had multiple three TD games and had to battle COVID and inquiries that affected the whole team.
His best game this season was against the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers which he faced against last year in the wild card game where he exceeded all expectations as a “no name” pickup.
Against the Bucs this season, he threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns and a rushing TD, a flashback to his diving pylon TD last year.
Henicke’s future as a starting QB is unknown, the offseason will tell and it’s up to the coaching staff what direction they will move for the position of Washington’s quarterback.
Defensive problems for Washington continued after numerous players tested positive for COVID during the season. Star defensive end contributor Chase Young tore his ACL in the big win against the Bucs; many of the Washington’s secondary had a host of players on the COVID/IR list as well.
But, there is hope for fans after this lackluster season. The former Redskins have been nameless and mascot-less for the last two years. Washington made this decision as a result of decades of backlash due to the racial insensitivity of the “Redskins.” The WFT is about to finally have a name! Washington released the possible names, Commanders, Redhogs, Defenders, Armada, and Admirals.
The Admirals is the favorite according to the sportline sportsbook (gambing parlor). Although there have been descriptions and a leaked photo of the Commanders logo on a sheet of paper. Whether this is a sleight of hand by Washington to throw off their fans, or it’s a blunder by Washington, is unclear. Washington fans are eagerly waiting for February 2 to find out what logo is going to be on their team’s jersey in the 2022-2023 season.
