By: Trevor Stores

The Washington Football Team is already projected to win the NFC East Division in 2021. If they aren’t picked to win, they are no less than the second team favored to claim the division. It’s hard to believe that around this same time in the off-season last year, The Football Team was slated to finish dead last in the NFC East. They silenced all naysayers and captured the division title, and did it with a sub .500 record of 7-9. 

Stronger Than Yesterday

This defense is the real deal, and they haven’t even reached their potential yet. Adding college standouts DE Chase Young and DE Montez Sweat in last year’s draft, did nothing but help solidify that front seven. According to lineups.com Washington had the fourth-best defense in the entire NFL last season. 

The fearsome defensive line was already stout with players like Jonathan Allen, DaRon Payne, Matt Ioannidis, and you can even throw Tim Settle in that mix. During the 2019 season, these four were already starting to make names for themselves, playing in a 3-4 defensive scheme. 2020 comes along with new defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, and he decided to switch things up. He brings success with running a 4-3 scheme, which is a system that is all about getting downhill and getting after the quarterback. 

Washington chose to bring in cornerbacks William Jackson III and Daryl Roberts during free agency to help lock down the secondary, and then shored up holes in key spots. Rookie Jamin Davis presumes to be the answer at the voided linebacker spot, and fellow rookie Benjamin St-Juste will provide major cornerback depth. 

For The Culture

The Washington Football Team made a postseason appearance in Rivera and Del Rio’s first season with the club. Ron Rivera accepted the head coaching position for The Football Team simply wanting to change the culture. The task itself wasn’t easy, but his disciplinary military background sure did help. 

Before last year’s division title, Washington hadn’t come close to thinking about playoff scenarios since their last NFC East championship in 2015. Losing records with losing mentalities, a few selfish egos, and a destructive work environment was contributing factors to the team’s downfall between 2015 and 2020. 

In an interview with NFL Network Alum Albert Breer, Head Coach Ron Rivera gave a prime example of his team’s change in mentality. “Really, the biggest thing we tried to do was get past the ”˜Oh, here we go again moments,” he said. “The score is 24-14 and you’re sitting there thinking about hanging on and not losing, instead of going out and kicking their ass.” Coach Rivera states he noticed the ”˜light come on for his squad as they finished the second half of the season 5-2 (started 2-7), with a four-game win streak included coming against the Bengals, Cowboys, 49ers, and the Steelers. “Guys, let’s not waste what we created last year, lets not waste that momentum putting ourselves in position.”

Oh Oh Fitzmagic, You Know

Never believe it’s not so.  Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has found a new home in the Nation’s Capital. Washington signed the former 7^th round pick this off-season, after spending his last two years in Miami. This will be Fitzpatrick’s 16^th year in the NFL, playing for his 9^th team. I know that alone doesn’t sound appealing, but don’t jump ship just yet. Hear me out. 

This man is a gunslinger. Washington struggled last season with getting the ball downfield, stretching out the defense. Fitzpatrick loves throwing the deep ball and taking chances. Sometimes those chances end up being interceptions, but at least he’ll be giving his wideouts more opportunities to make a play. A good example comes from last season. Fitzpatrick was literally having his head ripped off via a face mask, and he hangs in there launching and completing a 40-yard bomb. It was insane!

The Football Team took note of this and went out and got Fitzpatrick more weapons to tag along with WR Terry McLaurin and RB Antonio Gibson, adding WRs Curtis Samuel and Adam Humphries via free agency. Dyami Brown is a rookie receiver Washington drafted this year, bringing more speed and deep threat capabilities. 

Quick stat here to help sell you on the veteran quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick’s last 16 games he started, which i believe came in the two years combined in Miami, he completed 65% of his passes and tossed nearly 30 TDs. Washington played FOUR different QBs last year, COMBINING to complete 64.7% of their passes, and throwing only 16 touchdowns. It’s time to believe in magic.

Repeat Champs

With the defense having continuity and adding more playmakers than FIT; everybody remains all in on the newly established culture, and then having a fearless game-managing quarterback with SOLID weapons to rely on, The Washington Football Team will be back-to-back NFC East Division champions.

The post Why The Washington Football Team will be NFC East champions again appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Washington Football Team showed lots of potential last year as they snuck into the playoffs. WFT had an early postseason exit against the Buccaneers, but they gave the defending Super Bowl champions an intense fight in the 23-31 loss. Ron Rivera’s squad entered the offseason with a very talented defense, an elite wide receiver (Terry McLaurin), but a huge question mark at the quarterback position. 

It would seem likely that the WFT would add a talented player at the most vital position (QB) amid a team that’s well built around the weak QB spot. Yet, the WFT opted not to trade for a QB or draft one early on. Since the 2020 NFC East champions didn’t draft a QB, they’re left with Ryan Fitzpatrick competing against Taylor Heinicke for the starting gig. Fitzmagic may be serviceable, but the WFT has a unique opportunity to still obtain a very talented QB on a team that’s ready to compete “in the playoffs”. 

The quarterback that Washington should target: Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers is a world class athlete who seems firm about leaving Green Bay. I don’t believe Rodgers will cave in to this situation, nor will the Pack hold Rodgers hostage after drafting a QB in the first round last season. I believe a situation like this will take lots of time given the magnitude of the player and the returning compensation on the table, but eventually it will take place. And I believe the WFT would be a good landing spot. To be fair, I don’t believe it’s the most logical landing spot – but it would be the most exciting from my perspective. 

Reason number one: Rodgers would get to play in the NFC East

Aaron Rodgers has owned the NFC North for quite some time, but he could hold a bigger throne in the NFC – which is the NFC East. The NFC East was historically bad in 2020. If he moved to the nation’s capital, he would be on the defending NFC East squad looking down (7-9 in 2020). The division improved as expected, but the Cowboys and Eagles secondary is still weak, or less experienced heading into 2021. Outside of porous secondaries in the NFC East, the Eagles and Giants are slowly rebuilding as a whole.

If Rodgers was traded to the Raiders or Broncos in the AFC West, he would play in a much more competitive division, to say the least. If Rodgers heads to the NFC East, the reigning MVP would get a much softer schedule than one in the AFC West or even NFC North. 

Rodgers would also get to play the Packers this upcoming season, as Washington faces Green Bay.

Reason number two: Rodgers gets to play with Curtis Samuel and Terry McLaurin

The most thrilling part of seeing Rodgers in a Washington uniform lies with the weapons offered. Rodgers would get to have Percey Harvin 2.0 in WR/RB Curtis Samuel. If Rodgers had an ultimate slot WR that could make plays in open space, we would really witness Rodgers’s passer rating skyrocket. Yes, Curtis Samuel is the jack of all trades and he can stretch the field with Aaron, but WFT also holds an elite number WR1 in Terry McLaurin. McLaurin would truly give Davante Adams a run for his money in elite showcases if he was gifted a QB like Rodgers.

McLaurin with Rodgers is far more fascinating than Jerry Jeudy/Courtland Sutton with Rodgers, or Henry Ruggs with Rodgers. All in all, Rodgers would get another elite WR1, along with a talented WR2 that he’s been long craving for.

Reason number three: WFT has an elite pass rush

If Rodgers goes to Washington, they will be an instant playoff team, undoubtedly. Yet, Rodgers is solely focused day in and day out on the ultimate prize: winning a Lombardi trophy. In order to win the Super Bowl, they will likely have to play the Buccaneers or Saints in the NFC/then most likely the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. 

In order to beat the Chiefs or the Bucs/Saints, WFT will have to do what only has ever worked: get to the QB without blitzing. The WFT can get to the likes of Pat Mahomes with their front seven and make the QB’s life miserable. Chase Young and Montez Sweat are arguably the top edge rushing combination in the NFL. They both run 40 times like RBs but also carry 6’6 260 frames. To sum it up, WFT holds a scary pass-rushing unit that fuels their defense, and in this day in age, we all know all too well that defense wins championships.

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By: Adam Hulse (Twitter: @AdamHulseSports)

After two successful years with the Miami Dolphins, the man they call Fitzmagic hit the free agent market once again. He received interest from several different teams, but the 38 year old quarterback out of Harvard decided to sign a one year contract with the Washington Football Team. He did not join his now ninth different NFL team to just be a back up, but instead he has every intention of winning the job and being the starter for week one of the upcoming season. Here are three reasons why that is exactly what will happen.

Playing Better Than Ever

His game has showed no signs of declining in recent years. In fact, it could be argued that he is even better now than he ever was. The “prime” of his career and also where he spent the longest stretch of his career was with the Buffalo Bills. He started 53 total games for the Bills over 4 seasons between 2009 and 2012 where he accumulated over 11000 passing yards and threw 80 touchdowns. Over these last two years in Miami, he started 20 total games and threw for over 5500 yards and 33 touchdowns. Though a smaller sample size of course, his per game averages break down to being more productive as a Dolphin.

The one major negative to his gun slinger style of play is that he does throw a good amount of interceptions. In his defense, his interception rate has improved over time and, most importantly, it did not stop him from winning games in Miami last season. He was one of the main reasons why the Dolphins were so competitive last year and almost even made the playoffs. In addition to just the statistics, he is an excellent leader and a very well respected veteran in the locker room, as demonstrated by his efforts to lift a young and rebuilding team to far exceed their expectations last season.

Ready to Win Now

After an encouraging 2020 campaign where they won the NFC East division and made the playoffs, head coach Ron Rivera and the rest of the Washington organization believe this team is built to be a true contender this year. Their defense is already one of the best in the league, fueled by a dominant front seven and a fierce pass rush lead by Chase Young and Montez Sweat. It is a defense that is more than capable of keeping Washington in every game, and a shot to win whenever the offense performs along with them.

The offense has a very young and solid core, lead by a promising running back in Antonio Gibson, a rising star wide receiver in Terry McClaurin, a reliable tight end in Logan Thomas, and a newly acquired weapon in Curtis Samuel. The only thing missing here to complete the team, and it’s a very big missing thing, is the answer at quarterback. This is where Fitzmagic comes in. He was able to perform, and win, with less weapons on offense last year in Miami, so logic would say he should be even better in Washington this year, if he can win the starting job.

QB Competition

The quarterback position was basically a disaster for Washington last season. Alex Smith and Dwayne Haskins got the majority of playing time, but neither of them were particularly good and both threw more interceptions than they did touchdowns. The unimpressive performances resulted in both of them being released, leaving Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke as the other two remaining quarterbacks on the roster. Allen appears to be nothing more than a backup, while Heinicke is the big unknown in this equation. He has very little experience in his NFL career but he did start a playoff game last year where his dual threat talent was on display against a very tough Tampa Bay Bucs defense.

Heinicke and Fitzpatrick will both be fighting for the starting quarterback job this offseason. Though Heinicke is younger and more athletic, he does not have anything that compares to the proven leadership and ability to win that Fitzpatrick has. With Washington being a team that is looking to get back to the playoffs this year, and hopes of advancing even further than they did last year, Fitzpatrick has a clear edge to beat out Heinicke for the job as long he looks himself in camp, because they have a much better idea of what they are getting with the veteran.

It appears to be his job to lose, and Heinicke would have to do something really special in camp to take it from him. While that is still a possibility, it’s unlikely that Washington would have signed Fitzpatrick in the first place if they didn’t believe he would come in and win the job. He has said he wants to be on a team where he can be the starter, and it looks like he may have found that in Washington.

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