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Ron Rivera says that he hasn’t given up on Dwayne Haskins Jr. despite demoting him to 3rd string QB this week. In today’s practice “he was back there behind the quarterback, watching the reps, looking downfield and just being involved and staying connected, which is important.” Everyone on the team is being evaluated, starting with new starting QB Kyle Allen. He will step into the same situation that Haskins had, and will need to work with what he has.
Washington will be missing another wide receiver with Steven Sims Jr. going to IR today. Isaiah Wright was an undrafted free agent and has outperformed most people’s expectations since signing with the team. Antonio Gandy-Golden is a rookie who would have benefited from OTAs and preseason. He is becoming more confident in what the offense is doing as the season goes on.
Injury Update:
Rivera says Baugh had a death in the family, which is why he'll miss Sunday's game. https://t.co/H0PRi3q0hW
— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) October 9, 2020
Dwayne Haskins Jr.:
Ron Rivera on Dwayne Haskins: "By no means have I given up on him. I'm doing what I did because of circumstances that we're in."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) October 9, 2020
“Well, I think a big part of it is just watching and studying. Like today—unfortunately you guys didn’t get to see it—but, he was back there behind the quarterback, watching the reps, looking downfield and just being involved and staying connected, which is important. Again, by no means have I given up on him. I just told you guys, the only reason I’m doing what I’m doing is because of the situations and circumstances we’re in right now.”
Sean McVay:
Rivera admires Sean McVay's creativity. He's grown up in the game and he has a creative side that helps the offense. He gets it, Rivera said.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) October 9, 2020
NFC East:
Rivera threw out a quote: If you want to win the division, you have to win in the division.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) October 9, 2020
Washington is 1-0 in the NFC East and will play three-straight division games after hosting the Rams.
Isaiah Wright:
Rivera said that typically, reasonable expectations for undrafted rookies are "to make the practice squad and hang on."
— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) October 9, 2020
But Isaiah Wright is not a typical undrafted rookie. "To catch people's eye, that's pretty impressive," said Rivera, especially during a season like this.
Antonio Gandy-Golden:
Antonio Gandy-Golden is a player who would have benefited from OTAs and more time in training camp, but Rivera said he has seen progress form the former Liberty WR and expects he will continue to grow this season.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) October 9, 2020
Rivera on AGG: Seeing him become more confident in practice and in what they're doing....
— John Keim (@john_keim) October 9, 2020
He really needed a preseason (and the injury set his learning back too)
Building trust:
Rivera said the team wants to develop the relationship between players and the coaching staff. He wants to develop trust and have a dialogue between the coaches and players.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) October 9, 2020
Offensive line:
Rivera said the O-Line have responded well to the QB change. There are some things that Allen has experience in when it comes to communicating with the offensive line and hopefully that will come through on Sunday.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) October 9, 2020
Kyle Allen:
Ron Rivera said in terms of evaluating Kyle Allen when the team’s top receivers are banged up, Wes Schweitzer has missed practice time and the weather is slated to be bad, those are the breaks essentially. Those are the set of circumstances he has to work through this Sunday.
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) October 9, 2020
Player evaluations:
Rivera also said that there are other positions being evaluated for weather other players could step in and possibly do a better job. Don’t think QB is the only spot the staff is looking at in that regard
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) October 9, 2020
Hostler worked with Alex Smith when he was in San Francisco. There are some differences between Norv Turner's system and what Washington is running this year, but the foundation of the offense is the same.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) October 9, 2020