Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy knows his players need to improve, but he was also honest enough to admit he does as well.
He pointed out to the media Thursday he liked what the offensive line did last week.
“I thought those guys did a heck of a job. They stepped up. They played hard. The communication was great, but like I said, we played good enough just to entertain folks. We didn’t win. So, did they play well? Yes. Did we do enough to win? Absolutely not.”
When asked about being a former running back and running backs coach, yet passing more than running he jokingly blamed Andy Reid, then turned serious.
“Okay. We’ll continue working the ball and running it. I thought last week the guys did a heck of a job. I still got to become a better playcaller and give those guys more opportunities to run. There’s a lot of things that I need to continue to work on, just like the players. So, as we continue growing together at this stage in the season, we will improve. And I’ll say this, that I promise you.”
Like head coach Ron Rivera, Bieniemy was praising quarterback Sam Howell.
“I thought he did a heck of a job of just processing the information…I thought Sam just had great rhythm and when you have that rhythm, there isn’t any disruptions. You get an opportunity to just take a snap, go through your progression, let the ball loose.”
Bieniemy stressed having patience with his young quarterback, who has still only started nine NFL games.
“I’ll keep saying this as long as we are here, all right, every day is a new day. Every day, I’m still learning who Sam is. Now, the thing that I know of him is that he’s a competitor. He hates being wrong. He auto-corrects…”
“I want to see him and the guys develop that chemistry, whereas we’re not adding all the input it’s coming from within. When you have it coming from within, that’s when you know those guys are in the right place. So, I just want to continue to see him grow as a leader.”
A few other players were singled out by Bieniemy for their performance against the Eagles, such as Jamison Crowder and Jahan Dotson.
“He’s (Crowder) the ultimate professional. He doesn’t take anything for granted. I love the energy and the excitement that he brings to the table..”
When you play in this league long enough, you’re going to have some drops throughout the course of the season. This week, he (Dotson) did a great job making some catches, made some big-time plays. I thought he played fast and explosive.”