Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner told the press Thursday, he likes how quarterback Taylor Heinicke can bounce back after a bad play or bad series.
“I think he just has a short memory. I mean, he’s a confident guy. He understands like a lot of good players that, you make a mistake, you move on, don’t let it affect you. And he does the same when he has a big play positively. You move on to the next play. You never get too high, never get too low.”
Turner even alluded to Heinicke’s key interception when Washington led the Vikings in the fourth quarter before losing 20-17.
“Like I’ve said about him after the Vikings game when obviously it was negative or anything that happens, he’s gonna walk that line, and I don’t want him to lose his stinger, and you want him to be aggressive, and that’s why everyone loves him. We coach around the other stuff and you want him to be a good decision-maker, but I want him to play confident and loose, and that’s what you’re gonna get from him sometimes.”
Turner was asked regarding Heinicke being given advice concerning the starter at times being undecided.
“I don’t worry about that. I mean, Taylor’s been through a lot in his career, so he doesn’t really take much for granted. He’s an ultimate team player, so he’s ready to go whatever his role is. Obviously, he’s a competitor, and he wants to play. He’s gonna be starting this week and coach will obviously make those decisions as we go down the road. I don’t worry about him with that stuff. He’s good to go.”
Turner likes that not only is wide receiver Terry McLaurin fast and athletic but also a physical player.
“He might get hit as soon as the ball gets on him. But, there’s a high level of confidence that I have that he’s going to end up with the ball at the end of it. That’s a physical route where guys, a lot of times they try to sit inside or they play it, and with his speed, toughness, and competitiveness, he finds a way.”
“Obviously Terry does a nice job on it (slant), but you want to mix up stuff with the route tree. Obviously, the slant we ran, the go routes complement those. If you’re going to just sit inside, you’re going to get run by, you know what I mean? So, Terry’s obviously done a nice job with those over the course of the year. He had caught a great one in the third quarter of this past game. So, Terry can do it all.”
The depth at wide receiver is something on which Turner feels he can rely.
“I think you feel good that everyone can make plays and we designed stuff for certain guys, but if it gets a second and third read, you still feel good that the play’s going to be made. [WR] Dyami [Brown] had that unbelievable catch that set up [K] Joey [Slye]’s career-long kick before the half. [WR] Jahan [Dotson] had the big catch that got us down inside the five and I think that was their only catches of the game. And you know, you like to get those guys the ball more. ”
