No room for sentiment - looking ahead to Year 2

Why not us?

The tagline for the match-up on Saturday emphasised the underdog mentality that the Washington Football Team was bringing to the post-season.

Ultimately, the wily and experienced Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by arguably the greatest QB of all-time Tom Brady, had that little bit extra that the team in D.C do not yet possess.

It made for a fantastic spectacle, with the “off the streets” but Scott Turner system savvy QB Taylor Heinicke lighting up the FedEx in the narrow 31-23 loss. In a season of iconic moments, add Heinicke and his pylon launch to the list of memorable nights for the burgundy & gold.

Taylor was electric, extending plays and showing surprising arm strength for a guy who can’t be more than 6ft. Might Washington have stumbled upon a starting QB for 2021?

I would be cautionary on the basis of just 5/6 quarters of QB play for Washington but would fully endorse Taylor competing for the role next season. To the eye, he has legitimate accuracy and an ability to escape from the pocket and extend plays. System knowledge will also not hurt the chances of Taylor in camp, but I would have some concerns over durability: courage is important in the NFL, but also fearlessness leads to injury.

Reports from Sunday indicated that Head Coach Ron Rivera would lay out his QB plans to the WFT owner Dan Snyder and I would expect Heinicke and Kyle Allen to be in serious competition with a day two draft pick (third round would not be a surprise) or a cap friendly veteran.

The heroism of Alex Smith and his incredible record for WFT will never be taken for granted and always appreciated. The NFL is a business, however, and the opportunity to shake off a past regime heavy cap contract for $10m dead cap will not be missed.

Despite this Washington team falling short vs the Buccaneers, I am certain underneath the face mask there was a wry smile from Rivera, even as the lights went out for this season.

In a year of great personal sacrifice, Rivera has rarely seen his team quit and can be rightly proud effort-wise of a roster that blended youth (Chase Young, the WRs and Safeties), talented cast offs (Ronald Darby) and some solid guys who had kicked around the league a while (Cornelius Lucas and Jon Bostic).

I do not believe, however, that Ron will be a man of sentiment when it comes to building a roster that can elevate from competitive to serious contenders. In previous seasons there was the tendency to keep guys around a little longer than required or keep faith with those who were either often injured or had reached their ceiling.

Character will always be welcome, but Rivera and his staff will also be aware that Washington need some talent that is significantly greater than some of the guys currently in DC.

I would expect ILB, WR and the left side of the OL to be strongly considered as areas for upgrades.