Wednesday, I found myself hoping a DC radio host was going to be dead wrong.
“The Sports Junkies” of 106.7 The Fan were disagreeing (rather strongly) regarding Washington Commanders starting quarterback Sam Howell. They couldn’t agree on how well or how badly Howell played in the Week 1 opener against the Cardinals.
Buy Commanders TicketsThen John-Paul Flaim launched his bold declaration, “I am not changing my opinion at all. He will not be the starting quarterback next year.”
Eric Bickel strongly disagreed, supporting Howell. While “Cakes” simply declared that it is much too early to make such a declaration either way. Jason Bishop felt both positions by Flaim and Bickel were in error and time to play out.
Some of the criticism of Howell from Flaim was that Howell took too many sacks and seemed flat-footed in the pocket. He suggested some sacks were about Howell not pulling the trigger and that his sack rate was high at North Carolina.
Flaim compared Howell to Rex Grossman., expressing that Grossman was a mediocre quarterback who, at times, could make some really nice throws but other times, had acute ups and downs.
Sam Howell with great pocket presence and a STRIKE to Cole Turner! pic.twitter.com/LTjD9ACNSN
— Mark Tyler(Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) September 10, 2023
Those criticizing Howell similarly point to the context of that first game was against a team like the Cardinals, who are pretty much near or at the bottom of most current NFL power rankings.
It seems Howell showed promise during preseason games that are much slower and less intense. Thus, many were left disappointed in Howell’s Week 1 performance.
But in Week 1 in the NFL, if you had a good week, your fan base most often will exaggerate your accomplishments. If you did not have a good week, your fan base most often will bury you, making you to be much worse than you actually are.
Whatever, the declaration, “Sam Howell will not be the starter next year” is clearly premature. Howell has plenty of time to prove his unbelievers wrong. This Sunday in Denver would be a good time to start.
