Washington Football Team: Time for Landon Collins to be benched

Why won’t the Washington Football Team change things with Landon Collins?

The Washington Football Team fell to 2-3 on the season after their Week 5 loss to the New Orleans Saints. That loss saw them struggle in multiple different ways. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke did not have his best game, and injuries were cropping up in a few different spots. However, it was the defense that once again took the front seat in the “things going bad” category. And Landon Collins was driving the bus.

Look, I’m very positive. Always have been. And in the past, I have defended Collins plenty and suggested giving him a chance this year. He could move around on the defense, and with it set to be so dominant, there was a chance he could play an amazing role.

Five weeks in, and that simply isn’t the case. Washington’s defense has been bad, and Collins has been downright terrible. Every time you see busted coverage or a receiver burning past the defense for a long touchdown, why does it always seem like Collins is the one you see trailing behind chasing them? It’s almost as if he’s the one constantly getting burnt or confused. Missing tackles or getting juked. Rough.

So the question is this — why is Collins constantly out there? Washington can’t seem to figure it out on defense. The safety has had more negatives than positives this year – by a lot. So what is this chokehold that he seems to have?

It’s not like the Washington Football Team doesn’t have other options. Kamren Curl was one of the best rookies in all of football last year. A breakout star at safety. Yet he’s not seeing as much time this season. Neither is Deshazor Everett. At this point, wouldn’t you even want to see Troy Apke get some snaps and see if he can inject some life into the defense?

Instead, we’re seeing Landon Collins move all over the field. He’s taking snaps away from Curl and everyone else at safety. And even when Curl is in, Collins gets moved to linebacker.

I understand that Collins is high-paid — very high-paid. And he was once an All-Pro talent. He still flashes it now. Shouldn’t you get playing time based on your performance and not past accolades and pay grade? If the Washington Football Team wants to improve their defense and turn things around, shouldn’t it start by playing the best players?

And if that’s the case, you can’t seriously look anyone in the eyes and tell them that Collins is one of their best players. Who knows, maybe in a few weeks things will change. Let’s say Washington starts cutting back his playing time and he’s outperforming those that were given his snaps. Cool, then make the switch back. But right now, it’s hard to justify Collins getting 100% of the defensive snaps in each of the last two games (seriously, go look it up, he played in 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in Weeks 4 and 5).

Now, this isn’t to say this is all Collins’ fault. The defense overall has been bad. Jack Del Rio has been constantly getting out-coached. The defensive line hasn’t been as dominant as expected (although they are playing better than many might think). And it’s not just Collins in coverage either, as a lot of the secondary has struggled. But you can’t pretend that Collins hasn’t been a major issue.

Ron Rivera has preached culture change since he’s arrived in Washington. And it’s hard to deny that he hasn’t made a lot of great moves and helped the team cultivate a winning attitude. Part of that should be rewarding those that play well and finding others to fill in for those playing bad. Collins getting 100% of the defensive snaps makes zero sense.

Is it simply because he’s so highly paid? Do they feel like they have no other options? Are they waiting for him to flip the switch again? Whatever it is, Landon Collins is hurting the Washington Football Team in 2021. And if they don’t make a move soon and release themselves from this chokehold, he might dig them in a hole too deep to climb out of.