Long before the preseason began, Joe Whitt Jr. told the fan base and media that the Commanders’ defense would not consist of merely 11 starters.
As early as June, Whitt was getting after it and did not want to talk starters on defense.
“We don’t have 11 starters; we have 17-18 guys,” he said. “We are going to go out there; we are gonna roll a deep crew and go out there and whoop people,” Whitt said. “We don’t have 11 guys; we have many personnel groups and now can they own those positions when we put them out there. When that comes, don’t ask me about who’s starting, please.”
Thursday, Whitt reminded those listening he had said this would be the case. “Well, day one, remember we talked about rolling with a deep crew and we want to be fresh in the fourth quarter. And the only way that you’re going to be fresh in the fourth quarter is if you play people and give people a break so they can go.”
Whitt explained Thursday that this applies up front and in the secondary as well. He wants his defense fresh in the final quarter of tough, hard-fought games and more depth for later in the season.
“It’s a long season; we want to roll with a deep crew. We want to make sure that we’re fresh not only in the fourth quarter but towards the end of the season when everything matters. That we still have a fresh football team that can run and hit to the way that we want to run and hit to.”
Whitt was clear, this is for his secondary as well.
“Yeah, we were mixing guys in the backfield, and that’s a little bit different because I want to see people in different spaces.”
He likes the effort he has seen from secondary starters and also added that he wants to see more of Emmanuel Forbes, Michael Davis, and Percy Butler (whom he clarified has been playing well and that Whitt sees Butler as a starter).
GM Adam Peters brought in over 30 new faces to this Commanders’ roster. Joe Whitt knows it is a lot better than it was. So now, he wants to get more of his guys game reps and develop them more now so they can be a building block for later in the season.