If Washington Redskins starting right tackle Morgan Moses had his way with fans of the franchise after the first-ever start for quarterback Dwayne Haskins, it would be to stay patient with the first-round draft pick.
Just a few days before Haskins started against the Buffalo Bills in a 24-9 loss, Moses was co-hosting the ‘After Practice with Lake Lewis’ podcast from Sport Nation at the Dulles Town Center and explained that Haskins is learning and getting better but things take time in a complicated offense.
“Obviously, going into to it I know [first start] the kid has taken a lot of heat over the last couple of weeks but people don’t really realize when you’re getting ready to prepare for a game throughout the week of practice you have one quarterback that gets ready and that’s it,” Moses said. “So when Case [Keenum] is the starter he gets all the team reps in practice so when Dwyane comes in as a backup as he did in Minnesota, everything he’s seen in practice throughout the week has either been on the sidelines or on film. As a young QB, what is the worst thing that you can do? Not have practice reps.
“I’m in year six and if I have an injury and can’t practice I can already tell you going out there that my play is going to be different,” the right tackle said. “I would have to play conservative because I haven’t gotten those looks and that’s me in year six. When you don’t get those practice reps it’s hard to go out there against a top-five defense and just say ‘hey let me go sling it around’ especially when they [defenses] have every type of defensive structure in their playbook. I think him finally getting a week’s worth of work with the ones and actually seeing these things helped him out a lot.”
Moses told the fans in attendance a story about how he was in Haskins shoes as a rookie at one point and wondered if he would even be on the Redskins roster when the team selected now Pro Bowl right guard Brandon Scherff after his rookie campaign. The irony was the Redskins drafted Scherff with their 2015 first-round pick to play right tackle which Moses plays.
The seven-year veteran mentioned that he felt like that was a sign that he would be on the move but decided to dedicate himself to getting in better shape and learning the playbook. He called the whole situation a process of learning that in the NFL everyone is talented and things take time for young players to learn the day-to-day nuances.
Moses was impressed with the work that Haskins put in getting prepared for the Bills and is excited about the young QB’s future.
The former University of Virginia standout also mentioned his appreciation for Redskins fans staying loyal despite the negativity that has engulfed the team over the past several seasons while other DC area teams have been winning championships.
“It does hurt,” Moses said about seeing the other area teams winning championships. “But I’m going to be real. It’s a difference because and I understand we haven’t been the most winning team since I have been here. I have made the playoffs one time in six years. I understand that. You guys are stressed out and I’m stressed out. I put in a lot of effort staying up to 11 o’clock studying the playbook and these players I have to go up against. But being real, when you go to a Nats game it’s full of fans when you to a Wizards game not so. when you go to a Redskins game not so. I’m excited more about playing away games.”
Moses understands why home games have shifted to fans of the opposing teams taking over FedExField. He even mentioned that he understands the frustrations of the fans with the overall gameday experience and wanting a new stadium.
“Coming from a player’s standpoint we do appreciate every fan coming out to the game,” Moses said. “It is hard and I understand you as fans frustration. We have to do a better job of winning games to get you to come out. It is hard though to come out of the tunnel and the away team looks like they have a home game.”
Moses went on to talk about the Redskins locker room is one of the best ones he’s been a part of this year despite the losses. He mentioned that there are no issues with egos and players not working hard.
“We are truly working and there is no such thing as tanking to get the No. 1 pick,” Moses said. “There is no such thing as that. We work our tails off, and so Wednesday’s we go in shells and Thursday’s we go in full pads at practice.”
Moses and Lewis who is a team beat reporter and DC media personality will be filming the podcast again on November 15th and every two weeks afterward. The podcast discusses all things ranging from Redskins news to life in general.