Category: Coaching Hires

Commanders’ QB Marcus Mariota in a good place these days

Marcus Mariota will be ready for this opportunity if called upon.

Marcus Mariota has walked in Jayden Daniels’ shoes.

Mariota was brought to Washington because, as a veteran, he has a lot of experience to offer to Daniels.

The former Oregon Duck was drafted second overall in the 2015 NFL draft, just as Jayden Daniels was drafted second overall in this last 2024 draft.

Next week, Mariota will turn 31 (October 30), so he has been around the block a few times in the NFL. Having Mariota in Daniels’ ear each day of practice was a valuable opportunity for Daniels to learn all he could.

Mariota went to a Tennessee Titans team and started 12 games in his rookie season. However, the Titans only went 3-9 in those 12 games. On the other hand, Daniels is the beneficiary of a GM like Adam Peters, who knew how to overhaul a roster with 30+ new men on the team in one season. So Washington is 5-2 going into Sunday’s game against the Bears.

Mariota finished below .500 in his five years with the Titans (29-32). He then endured two tough years with the Raiders, during which time he never made a start.

In 2022, the Falcons were 5-8 in his 13 starts; something really blew up there, and Mariota was gone, not even finishing the season. It did not look good at all for Mariota going forward.

However, his season with the Eagles (2023) apparently went well in the locker room, and former Eagles coaches Brian Johnson and Mariota both came to Washington this offseason.

Kliff Kingsbury (Commanders OC) said this week he “saw his preparation, I saw how he operated in the spring…I think he embraced the moment. He’s only 30 and is still a tremendous talent.”

Then came last Sunday. Jayden unexpectedly was out with a rib injury, and Mariota was thrown into the fire. Who could have seen Mariota completing 18 of 23 for 205 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a very impressive 8.9 yards per passing attempt.

This week, Kingsbury remained upbeat. “I think his best football is still ahead of him, and I’ve told him.”

Daniels says Mariota has been very positive for him. In addition, we see Mariota being encouraged and perhaps living out that encouragement he has received from Kingsbury.

Perhaps the Commanders will be the better place for Mariota.

 

Quinn names Commanders’ Week 8 game captains

Dan Quinn with the ultimate praise for Jeremy Reaves.

Washington head coach Dan Quinn actually had some news Friday, other than Jayden Daniels.

As usual, on Friday, Quinn announced the captains for the upcoming weekend’s game. Friday, with the press, Quinn announced his captains for Sunday’s home 4:25 kickoff against the Bears would be G Nick Allegretti, S Jeremy Chinn, and S Jeremy Reaves.

Quinn then elaborated on what each of this week’s captains have done for this team in 2024.

“So much of Nick’s leadership shows up with the offensive line, the toughness, the line of scrimmage, and he is an absolute warrior.” Allegretti came to Washington this offseason, following his first five seasons in Kansas City.

“Defensively, it’d be [S] Jeremy Chinn. And I just see this growing taking place with Jeremy. He’s selfless, confident, and communicates well on the sideline. Chinn, still only 26, was selected No. 64 by the Panthers in the 2020 NFL draft. After his four seasons with the Panthers, he signed with Washington as a free agent last March.

Regarding a fan favorite in Jeremy Reaves, “This dude is revered here, both on the grass and off and on it. He’s an absolute slayer, so we love the energy that he brings and all this stuff. So, that is good.” Reaves is in his seventh NFL season, all with Washington. He was voted to the Pro Bowl as the Special Teams player for his play during the 2022 season.

Prior to the start of the regular season, Quinn announced he would not have team captains for the season. Instead, he would name captains on a week-to-week basis. He feels this can be an ongoing motivation throughout the season.

 

Commanders’ Dan Quinn praises Jamin Davis

Dan Quinn has nothing but good things to say about Jamin Davis.

Think back to when a Washington coach was fed up with a player and finally cut him.

It’s happened more than a few times, and for good reason. Of course, these circumstances do not occur exclusively with Washington. Players sometimes have attitudes, don’t receive coaching well, or don’t accept their role well, and it can lead to trouble.

But not so with Jamin Davis, according to Dan Quinn during his Wednesday press conference. Davis was released Tuesday, and Quinn was asked about it Wednesday.

“We activated Jordan Magee,” Quinn said. “So, just from a roster spot and, man, what a good teammate, Jamin. So, like yesterday, getting a chance to visit with him definitely left a strong impression. And sometimes there’s good that comes after the hard stuff, and he’s somebody that we’ll definitely be watching and pulling for. He really worked hard during his time here.”

It should not be overlooked that Davis went along with the coaches, attempting to learn a new position (DE) in training camp and the preseason. It is not easy to make a transition like that when your college and NFL years have been spent at another position (LB).

Quinn went out of his way to convey that attitude was not the issue with Jamin Davis. Quinn continued that it actually was not an easy decision to release Davis midseason. However, rookie LB Magee has been on IR since getting injured against the Jets in the first weekend of the preseason. So, Quinn is ready to get Magee some game reps and see what he can add to this roster the second half of the season.

“So, at the end, just, it’s always this puzzle you’re trying to put together. And there’s always hard decisions and those are ones that come up. But they’re really hard and this one was hard.”

Will Adam Peters and Quinn bring Davis back to the practice squad, where he can work on developing the skills needed to play defensive end? His final comment concerning Davis did not lead one to that conclusion.

“So, when guys move on from here, I’m hopeful wherever they go, they find the right combination, the right things to allow them to do their thing. So that’s my hope for anybody that goes on from here.”

A stark contrast between the Commanders and Panthers

The Commanders and Panthers are in totally different places — a good thing for Washington.

The Panthers organization is in bad shape.

Not only are the Panthers 1-5, but they also have the NFL’s worst point differential this season. And it is not even close. How bad is it? Well, after only six games, the Panthers have already been outscored by 100 points, and the closest to them (Jaguars) are a -65.

Therefore, in only six games, the Panthers are averaging not only being the worst team but the worst team by a touchdown more than anyone else.

Their new head coach, Dave Canales, is in his first season as an NFL head coach. Is it perhaps more telling that Canales got the job after only one season as an NFL coordinator?

Which brings us to majority owner David Tepper. Tepper took over the Panthers in 2019, fired Ron Rivera midseason, and has since kept the revolving door busy.

Tepper fired Rivera and appointed Perry Fewell to finish out 2019. Tepper then hired Matt Rhule in 2020, but during the 2022 season, Rhule was given the pink slip, and Steve Wilks was tabbed as interim head coach to conclude 2022.

Frank Reich was Tepper’s next choice as head coach in 2023. However, after only 11 games, Reich was fired, leaving Chris Tabor to finish the season.

Canales accepted the offer, resulting in Tepper being his boss while Canales took on his first NFL head coaching position. By the way, Washington had not yet hired Dan Quinn.

Tepper wanted QB Bryce Young (Alabama) and traded entirely too much, moving from the No. 9 position in the 2023 draft to the top position. C.J. Stroud (Ohio State) was certainly available, but Tepper got his choice.

The Texans rebounded to a winning season in 2023, while the Panthers finished an NFL-worst 2-15. They are still without the top pick in the 2024 draft because Tepper gave it up to get Young in 2023.

How might Panthers fans feel Sunday when watching the Panthers face Jayden Daniels, who could have been their choice this year if Tepper had not traded up for Young?

All week, the Commanders have heard from the DMV fan base, NFL media, and local media that Washington is now the favorite to win the NFC East.

But that is not solely because Washington is invincible. No, the Commanders have several roster needs that will be addressed next offseason.

Yet, for now, Commanders fans can be very thankful that their owner is Josh Harris, not David Tepper, their GM is Adam Peters, their head coach is Dan Quinn, and their quarterback is Jayden Daniels.

 

Commanders DC: 4 plays cost them the game vs. Ravens

Joe Whitt says four plays cost the Commanders the win.

Did you realize four plays cost the Commanders last Sunday’s game?

On Thursday, Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said that in his opinion, four plays cost the Commanders a win against the Ravens last week.

“I hate to keep coming up here and talking about communication because we’ve been good the last couple weeks, but four plays cost us the game,” Whitt said.

Some penalties on the defense seemed to kill the Commanders’ hopes, but no, Whitt did not see those as the issue.

“I’m not even worried about the third-down penalties that extended drives. They didn’t need any help, but that’s football, okay? Sometimes you’re going to get football plays, and you’re going to get a penalty here and there.”

Whitt then turned the responsibility on himself.

“If we don’t give up those four individual plays, we win that game. And I’ll take responsibility for that because they shouldn’t make those mistakes. Defenses that we know and we didn’t get it executed. So, like I said, we’re working to make sure we minimize those mistakes moving forward, but we can’t keep coming up here. I can’t keep coming up here saying the same thing. Gotta get it corrected.”

Why were there communication breakdowns? Whitt expressed two times the communication sent was correct and one other time it was wrong. All three times it cost the defense.

“So, either case, I gotta do a better job of making sure that it’s sent properly, it’s received, and it’s acknowledged, and we play it the right way. It’s unacceptable.”

The Commanders will be without DT Jonathan Allen and DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste on Sunday. Both were placed on the injured reserve list. In response, the Commanders have already added DTs Sheldon Day and Jalyn Holmes to the 53-man roster.

Panthers game will reveal much about 2024 Commanders

We will learn a lot about the Commanders this week.

The Panthers game is a big game this Sunday.

No, I’m not kidding. Honestly, it is a bigger game than many may realize.

Oh, how quickly we forget.

That’s right. In one short calendar year, the Commanders revealed to all of their fan base and the NFL world that they were never going to have a winning team under Ron Rivera.

Rewind to October 1, 2023. The Commanders (2-1) went up to Philadelphia to play the Eagles and lost a tough, contested game 34-31 in overtime.

What happened next was an eye-opener. The Commanders were announced as a 6.0-point favorite to defeat the winless and hapless 0-4 Chicago Bears at FedEx Field.

Players were heard in postgame interviews talking about how the loss in Philadelphia had been a good loss. Ron Rivera continued to talk about how the culture was good and how he believed in his team and, in particular, Sam Howell at quarterback.

Reading Twitter and listening to DC sports radio the next three days, the overwhelming consensus was the Commanders were so much better than the Bears and would win handily in the Thursday Night Football game.

Watching the game was so enlightening. From the outset, it was irrefutable that Ron Rivera did not have his team ready to compete. The Commanders were a step slow, they were not intense. The fact is Ron Rivera’s team was not energetic, and they were not competing as the Bears were.

The Bears thoroughly embarrassed Rivera’s team on national television. The team that seemingly was two games better, playing at home and on a very short week, found itself down 17-0 and then 27-3 at the half. The final score was 40-20. It was the definitive moment; we all knew the Ron Rivera era was finished. He was never going to have a winning team in Washington.

Fast-forward to 2024. Ron Rivera is gone, and Dan Quinn coaches here now. His team went to Baltimore last Sunday and won respect from the Washington fan base and NFL world, competing well, though losing to the Ravens 30-23.

Similarly to the 2023 game, the Commanders are 4-2, and the Panthers are only 1-5. Again, the game is going to be a Washington home game. The Commanders are a 7.5-point favorite.

Frankly, the Commanders need to be focused and intense in preparation, ready to show they are not resting on a moral victory like the 2023 team did.

This is an opportunity for Dan Quinn and his staff to show how much better they are than the Ron Rivera staff. Have this year’s Commanders team focused to truly compete each and every week.

On more than a couple of occasions, the Ron Rivera teams (2020-23) raised expectations and hopes of the fan base, only to then lay an egg in games where they were expected to or had a chance to win.

The good teams focus on process. On Sunday, we learn how focused and mature Dan Quinn’s Commanders really are.

Robert Griffin declares Jayden Daniels’ Commanders will finish what he started

Robert Griffin says Jayden Daniels will finish what “we” started.

Just when you thought Robert Griffin was turning the corner…

Griffin, who over the years has perpetuated the narrative that he was somehow a victim in Washington and repeatedly inserted himself into the Commanders’ circumstances, might have reached a new low on Thursday.

Griffin tweeted Thursday that rookie quarterback “Jayden Daniels will finish what we started and be the franchise quarterback the city deserves.”

How arrogant and self-absorbed must one be to suggest what this 2024 team accomplishes is somehow finishing what he began?

Griffin recently has been very positive, praising the Commanders. He tweeted that he thought the Commanders were the third-best team in the NFL. Following the Commanders’ victory over the Browns, Griffin tweeted that Washington was the best team in the NFC East and that they were dangerous.

Yet, somehow, he began to think that he must convince the NFL world that this is somehow about Robert Griffin.

Thursday, Griffin was back to what – unfortunately – history reveals he does most often: promote himself. Jayden Daniels is having a fantastic rookie season; the team has already matched the 2023 win total (4). So why is Griffin insisting he be considered part of this team’s narrative?

Think for just a second, Robert. How many players on the 2012 team are still with the Commanders today? That would be zero. When was the last season you had any success, not merely with Washington, but with any other NFL team? That was actually in 2012.

Further, “…will finish what we started?” Robert, what happened after the playoff loss at the end of 2012? Yes, you were injured, and we hated to see that for you. Yet, wasn’t it you, Robert, who told the Shanahans you were no longer playing the offense they had designed for you? Didn’t you then struggle mightily in 2013 and 2014, playing from the pocket?

Didn’t we all learn from that experience that it was the Shanahans’ willingness to think way outside the NFL box that brought you your only success in the NFL?

Therefore, wasn’t it you, Robert, who actually finished what the Shanahans designed for your success in 2012? Wasn’t it you, your poor quarterback play, and then-owner Daniel Snyder who resulted in the firing of the great coaching staff Mike Shanahan had assembled?

The ownership, front office staff, coaches and players are accomplishing in 2024 a cosmic shift for this franchise.

But here you are again, Robert, attempting to con people into thinking this is somehow about finishing what “you” started.

Why do you continue to repeatedly seek admiration and validation for what you “think” you accomplished? Is it any wonder that years ago, someone out there coined for you the nickname “RGME?”

What does Commanders’ Whitt think of the team’s cornerback play?

Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. reveals his thoughts on the team’s cornerback play.

The Commanders were ahead 34-6 early in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns and began substituting several players.

Several on both the offense and the defense were given some opportunities, which, of course, provided rest for those usually starting. But did you notice the corners? These guys continued to play with very little substitution for them.

Even though it was a blowout (final 34-13), starting corners Benjamin St-Juste, Mike Sainristil, and Noah Igbinoghene played 94%, 90%, and 87%, respectively.

During his press conference, defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr was asked about the corners Thursday.

Regarding Sainristil:

“Mikey, we’ve moved him inside and out,” Whitt said. “The last two games, he’s played outside, and we put him to the field the last two games, and he’s getting more comfortable there. He can play with vision; he played a lot more physical. He’s covering well. So, right now, that’s where we need him to be. So, he’s going to find a home back inside at some point. But from where the defense is right now, we need him to the field.”

Whitt expressed how Igbinoghene has grown from last season in Dallas”

“We got him late last year when we were in Dallas and with the trade when we traded [Kansas City Chiefs CB Kelvin Joseph] for him, and we had a number of guys that were just ahead of him. And with him coming in there late, he came in here at the same time with everybody else and he was able to put his performance out there. And he’s earned the right to go out there and get the reps in the starting position that he’s getting.”

When asked about 2023 first-round choice, Emmanuel Forbes. Whitt was succinct and direct:

“That’s the same as the Mikey question. Playing to the field. Each week, we’re going to play the guys in a position that we feel best, that gives us a chance to win that particular game.”

For interested readers regarding the cornerbacks, Forbes and Michael Davis each received four defensive snaps. Kevon Seymour was active for his first game this season. He didn’t play any defensive snaps, but he did play seven special teams snaps.

A significant reason the Commanders are an NFL surprise

This group is dramatically improved from last season.

Why are the Commanders such a surprising team in four games?

The knee-jerk response is rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Of course, that is probably the most significant difference compared to last year’s team. As much as we love Daniels, we know it’s not that simple; it never is.

The Commanders’ offensive line is better than last year—no, make that so much better.

Friday, speaking with the media, head coach Dan Quinn praised offensive line coach Bobby Johnson.

“Yeah, I think coming into it [we] wanted one, somebody that was an excellent teacher, and I think at that position, that’s where a lot of development takes place. You’re coaching a lot of guys and the development of that position, it’s not like just add water and play.”

Even more interesting was that one of Quinn’s friends in NFL coaching circles Brian Daboll (NYG HC) had previously spoken very highly of Johnson.

“I’ve known Brian for a long time, and like any job you’re looking for, you want to ask as many people as you can. And what really came through for me strong was the teaching, that part of things. And that was really important to me. And so I’ve really been impressed by the work that he has done so far.”

It would be simplistic to say that Daniels is the sole reason the Commanders are better, but it would be to say that Johnson is the sole reason the offensive line is better.

Consider the stark contrasts between last year’s offensive coordinator’s press conferences and this year’s. The two men are so different in approach on and off the field. The Commanders are running the ball well enough and often enough that Daniels is not being asked to carry too much of the load.

Lastly, just months ago, most of us complained about Adam Peters when he waited until the third round to draft an offensive lineman, and even more when that was his only draft choice used on the offensive line.

Peters knew what he was doing, fully aware he had already released Nick Gates and Charles Leno. Next, he had signed free agents Nick Allegretti and Tyler Biadasz. Lastly, he drafted Brandon Coleman 67th overall.

In summary, this offensive line is not last year’s, their coach is not the same, and neither is their offensive coordinator.

Yes, the offensive line has been a major contributor to Jayden Daniels making headlines for the last two weeks.

More importantly, the Washington Commanders have been making headlines the last two weeks.

Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. is still not satisfied with his defense

Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. wants more from his defense.

Commnaders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. liked the progress he saw Sunday in the 42-14 win over the Cardinals. But he is certainly not happy with his defense thus far.

Whitt didn’t praise his guys for long, choosing to criticize them as well.

“I thought Benjamin St-Juste did a good job of covering even when we were in some of our man looks and spinning out the cover two…So, they were stickier. And we just have to continue that. Our completion percentage against us is higher than I’m used to, so we have to get that down.”

Asked specifically about CB Emmanuel Forbes’ performance against the Cardinals, Whitt didn’t criticize Forbes. But he didn’t exactly praise him either.

“I thought he was in that same group with Mike and Noah. And like I said, Forbes, they all played about the same. They had about the same number of snaps or he might have had more, I don’t know, I think he had 33 snaps in the game.”

At this moment, Whitt suddenly began to defend his decisions regarding playing time, though he was not challenged. “So each week, we’re gonna put the guys out there that give us the best chance. So, we’re looking at that, working through that right now, and then on Sunday, we’ll deploy the men that gives us the best chance to win.”

Last week, after the win over the Bengals, Whitt volunteered that he was waiting for a couple of corners to step up and be the guy that players and coaches could depend upon weekly.

Thursday, Whitt was asked if this week a corner had stepped up to be that guy. “No, not yet,” replied Whitt.

“I think we’ve played solid at points. I need a consistent flow throughout the game. Get up there and challenge and send the ball where we wanna send it consistently. We’ve had opportunities at some interceptions that where we just knocked it down and we didn’t go aggressively to go get it. So they’re a group of talented young men at the corner position, okay, but talent doesn’t mean that we’re playing at the level that we want to play at.”

“So when we do, I’ll tell you, but we’re not right now. And it’s not because of a lack of ability or anything like that. They have the ability. I just have to do a better job of getting them to do it, and we will.”