Scott Turner took questions from the local media Monday after the win against Dallas

Washington Football Team’s offensive coordinator Scott Turner addressed the media Monday morning. Here are my takeaways from that press conference:

The Offense is Getting There

There is no question that the offense has seen more downs then up this year. But, Sunday’s game against Dallas was their best all around performance.

You saw Turner’s play calling have a better mixture to it with run and play action followed by motion with short throws. It allowed for things to be more freed up and flow evenly. A lot of that has to do with how successful the run game was.

Turner had this as part of a response today, “What was seen in the first half is what they were looking for. The second half they moved the ball well too, especially on the drive with the missed FG.”

Scott also stated that he believes that, “the elevator is moving up,” when asked if the offense is still on the first floor or heading closer to the penthouse.

I would expect an even bigger comfort level from everyone coming out of the bye week and into a revenge game against the New York Giants.

Terry McLaurin is the Leader of the Offense

Yesterday’s postgame video of wide receiver Terry McLaurin giving a speech to his team has made its circles around Washington Football fan circles and the national media. It is clear that Terry is one of the leaders of this team–even without a captain’s patch on his jersey.

Turner knew a little bit about McLaurin coming out of college because they scouted him while they were with the Carolina Panthers.

He is someone that the young guys can lean on while getting better and someone that the team listens to when he speaks, because he rarely does that.

It is clear that Terry is someone Turner and the coaching staff trust and can lean on when necessary on and off the field.

Cam Sims could continue to see high snap share

One of the concerns with Cam Sims making the team out of camp was his hands. He had put on good performances during training camp and practices, but it never translated to live game action. He played himself out of a roster spot last year because of multiple drops in the final preseason game.

Many of the same concerns persisted. But, Sims was given the opportunity to keep working at his craft. Cam started the season on the practice squad–but due to injuries–has found himself quickly working his way up the snap count chart.

Sims logged his highest snap count total of the year, surpassing McLaurin.

Turner has noticed the hard work that Sims has put in and intends to keep finding ways to use him as long as the hard work continues.

Sims could be a nice piece to have down the stretch should injuries continue to plague the receiving group.

Running backs will be a focal part of offense moving forward

There was no doubt that the running backs needed to find a way to get going on the ground. Washington had struggled to get over 100 yard/game this year and the DVOA running blocking for Washington has been one of the worst in the NFL.

Turner said he dropped a hint last week during his press conference that they were going to find ways to put their best 11 players on the field as much as possible. They certainly did what they could to make sure Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic were in two back sets while motioning receivers around for confusion.

Scott said that he plans to keep trying to get the running backs involved. And with injuries likely to still hamper the wide receivers after the bye week, we could continue to see 2 to 3 running backs on the field at the same time.