Kyle Allen to Start, But He's Not The Answer

Kyle Allen will be under center for the Washington Football Team this Sunday against old/young friend Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams at FedExField.

Dwayne Haskins isn't expected to be in uniform as he's reportedly set to be the No. 3 quarterback and Alex Smith will be one snap away from entering his first NFL game in nearly 23 months.

Another typical Sunday at the concrete jungle, better known as the Washington Football Team's home stadium.

Allen started almost the entire season in Charlotte last year for Ron Rivera, Scott Turner and the Carolina Panthers.

They know what he does well. They know what he does poorly. He had almost 500 attempts (489).

They almost surely know that he's nothing more than a fringe starter and good backup. If you injected them with truth serum, they'd probably tell you that this is a desperate attempt to win the NFC East and that they are willing to take their lumps with the devil they know rather than someone they didn't like when they arrived.

Allen is NOT the answer long-term. The question is this: Is he the answer short-term?

Last year, he was for Carolina. After replacing Cam Newton, Allen had seven touchdowns and no picks for Rivera in his first four games and a (4-0) record.

Then the bad news started. Seven losses in a row and eight losses in their final nine, which included a bad home loss to a bad team in burgundy and gold.

After that initial spurt, it was ten touchdown passes and 16 interceptions.

Allen is a young player and could get better but it's not likely that he's ever going to be anything more than a journeyman and fringe starter.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. That's how the NFL views him.

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He was not good at all in training camp. Constantly inaccurate and high. He has very good mobility which is important because the Washington Football Team has a very suspect offensive line.

This is a desperate attempt to insert some life into the offense and organization.

This is also holding Dwayne Haskins accountable for turnovers in Cleveland but more importantly bad decisions.

The rest of the media is focusing on the fourth-down failed test on Sunday. I strongly believe the first down minus 18-yard loss in the red zone was a bigger indictment on Haskins.

Rivera has shown that he is not afraid to make difficult decisions and to do it quickly.

He whacked Derrius Guice in a snap of a finger. He let go of Adrian Peterson before the season even started and now he's benched Haskins.

Allen might not be the answer and he isn't (in just about everyone's opinion) but Rivera knew one thing quickly: Haskins wasn't the answer either so he'd rather roll the dice with someone he knew.

Hopefully he's right.

Chris Russell is the Publisher of this site, a part of SI.com. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Washington Football Team" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621