Tag: 2023 Commanders

Commanders at Jets could be ugly this Sunday

One of the ugliest NFL games from the past 30 years occurred between the Jets and Washington. Could this weekend be as ugly as that 1993 game that ended 3-0?

Sunday, the 4-10 Commanders visit the 5-9 Jets.

The Jets defense has been one of the top defenses all season, while their offense has frankly stunk.

But the Jets must be thinking, with the Commanders defense being so pitiful this season, perhaps their offense can come up with enough explosive plays this week to pull out a win. I mean, the Commanders have been giving up explosive plays to everyone else, so the Jets are thinking, “Now, it’s our turn.”

Meanwhile, the Commanders offense, which until its last four games was moving the ball well, has slid backward sharply in their last four losses.

Jets’ QB Trevor Siemian will start Sunday vs. the Commanders. There is no sugar-coating his performance. Perhaps the one defense that can make him look better is the Commanders. They don’t rush the passer well, and to make up for it, they don’t cover the deep ball well either.

Yes, that was an attempt at humor.

The Commanders are again going to be without Brian Robinson Jr. Robinson has not only been Washington’s best runner, but its most effective receiver out of the backfield as well.

The Jets defense against the run has been stifling, and the cornerbacks are long and make it difficult for opposing receivers to get a release off of the line of scrimmage. Sam Howell, thus, may not have the quick reads open this week that he has often experienced.

It could be a low-scoring game, and it may come down to a kick.

Wonder how the new Washington long-snapper will execute under pressure?

 

Don’t tell Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy these last five games are not important

Don’t tell Eric Bieniemy that Washington’s five remaining games are not important.

Don’t even attempt to convey to Eric Bieniemy that the Commanders’ last five games of this 2023 season are not important.

Bieniemy played running back in the NFL for nine seasons (1991-99). He knows how important it is to finish strong, to be playing for next season, etc.

Next, the former NFL running back coached running backs for the Vikings for five seasons (2006-10) and then the Chiefs for five seasons (2013-17), before becoming their offensive coordinator for five seasons (2018-22).

It is very much a reality that there are NFL coaches right now who are not satisfied with their offensive coordinators and will be looking to see if they can obtain one who would be an improvement for their offense next season.

Being a competitor, there is 100 percent absolute certainty, Bieniemy knows he is coaching for a good job next season.

Consequently, if you think for one second that Eric Bieniemy is lying down at night wondering who Washington could get with a top-5 draft choice next season, you are very naive.

Bieniemy is studying daily, planning hard, teaching hard, coaching hard. He wants the Commanders offense to be effective, protecting Sam Howell, moving the ball, and yes, even running effectively when he feels they need to do so to slow down the opposing pass rush and get those tough yards.

So, look for Bieniemy to have Sam Howell getting the ball out early and, yes, often. Look for Sam Howell to be distributing the ball very generously to various receivers, attempting to keep all of those in coverage honest as well.

He is no doubt working to put Sam Howell in the best possible positions for success in each of these last five games. He is not going to put his arm around offensive players and whisper, “Take it easy, guys.” NEVER.

Don’t you think Bieniemy knows that if the defense had shown up in at least two more games, this team could easily be 6-6 and not 4-8? You bet he does.

Eric Bieniemy knows if Josh Harris hires a new head coach, the head coach will be the one determining who the Commanders offensive coordinator will be in 2024.

Consequently, these last five games are resume material for Eric Bieniemy, and he is going to be working hard with his offensive unit.

 

2023 NFC playoff picture after Week 11

A look at the NFC playoff picture after the Week 11 edition of Monday Night Football.

Losing to the Giants 31-19, the Commanders have now fallen to 4-7. Though not officially eliminated from the NFC playoffs, the odds of the Commanders qualifying have certainly taken major hits, as Washington has now lost four of their last five games.

NFC PLAYOFF STANDINGS

These are the four division leaders through ten weeks.

1. Philadelphia Eagles 9-1

2. Detroit Lions 8-2

3. San Francisco 49ers 7-3

4. New Orleans Saints 5-5

If the season concluded today, these would be the NFC’s three wildcard teams.

5. Dallas Cowboys 7-3

6. Seattle Seahawks 6-4

7. Minnesota Vikings 6-5

Those on the outside trying to get in:

8. Green Bay Packers 4-6

9. Los Angeles Rams  4-6

10. Atlanta Falcons 4-6

11. Tampa Bay Bucs 4-6

12. Washington Commanders 4-7

13. New York Giants 3-8

14. Chicago Bears 3-8

15. Arizona Cardinals 2-9

16. Carolina Panthers 1-9

2023 NFC playoff picture after Week 9

Believe it or not, the Commanders are in a good position.

Nine weeks are in the books, and the Commanders after nine games, are in ninth place in the race for the 2023 NFL playoffs.

The Commanders are sitting at 4-5, and what is so frustrating is how the team showed up entirely not ready to compete in a home Thursday Night game against the Bears at FedEx and how dismal their performance was against the anemic New York Giants.

Honestly, how is this team not 6-3, and how did they lose both of those games?

Meanwhile, the Commanders, with five losses, still must face the 49ers, Dolphins and play the Cowboys twice. In addition, there are road games against the Seahawks and the Jets, as well as a home game against a Giants team they face twice each season but have not defeated since the 2021 season finale.

NFC PLAYOFF STANDINGS

These are the four division leaders after nine weeks.

1. Philadelphia Eagles 8-1

2. Detroit Lions 6-2

3. San Francisco 49ers 5-3

4. New Orleans Saints 5-4

If the season concluded today, these would be the NFC’s three wildcard teams.

5. Seattle Seahawks 5-3

6. Dallas Cowboys 5-3

7. Minnesota Vikings 5-4

Those on the outside trying to get in:

8. Washington Commanders 4-5

9. Atlanta Falcons 4-5

10. Tampa Bay Bucs 3-5

11. Green Bay Packers 3-5

12. Los Angeles Rams 3-6

13. New York Giants 2-7

14. Chicago Bears 2-7

15. Carolina Panthers 1-7

16. Arizona Cardinals 1-8

Jonathan Allen glad Commanders got the win

Allen is not surprised by Casey Toohill’s success.

Jonathan Allen wanted to make a big play and got his wish.

“I was glad I was able to be a part of that play and help my team come home with the win yesterday.”

A part of the play? Did you notice what Allen had to do to make the play?

Atlanta had just scored to draw within 24-16 early in the final quarter against the Commanders Sunday in Atlanta. A pass interference call against Benjamin St-Juste put the ball at the one-yard line for a closer two-point attempt.

This time, Allen dug in head up over left guard Matthew Bergeron. At the snap, both fired off into one another, but Allen knocked Bergeron to the inside. Allen now had 240-pound fullback Keith Smith charging forward at him. Allen pushed off Smith to the outside and instantly met running back Tyler Allgeier in the hole; Khaleke Hudson then showed up to help out, ensuring Allgeier was stopped short of the goal line.

Allen was making his weekly appearance Monday with the “Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan.

“We forced turnovers when they got down inside the red zone. I think it was a good (defensive) performance, I won’t say great when you give up 400 yards. But overall, we did what we had to do to get the win.”

“When I first came out of college, I still had the Alabama mindset. Early in my NFL career, even if we won, I wouldn’t be happy unless we dominated. But the NFL is not like college. I’ve learned to really appreciate every win in the NFL because it’s tough.”

Atlanta drove 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown in their opening possession. Allen expressed, “The most dangerous part for a defense in the NFL is the first 15 they script. They have a game plan, an idea of how we are going to line up in certain situations. Then they have a precise plan of how to attack us…as a defense, we have to be better in the first 15.”

When asked about Emmanuel Forbes being benched, Allen said he and Kendall Fuller both told Forbes to stay focused and he will be ok. Both talked of how they failed at times early in their career and learned from it.

Allen also expressed he believes in Casey Toohill and was not surprised by the plays Toohill made when getting snaps at defensive end Sunday.

Allen said he told his defensive teammates Sunday to go out there and have fun, to play fast and for your teammates. He clarified by saying, yes, there are several things to still clean up, but he is glad they got the win.

Jay Gruden: Changes will come for Commanders after loss to Bears

Gruden provides some excellent analysis into what the Bears were thinking last week.

“The Bears are grown men who were getting destroyed in the media,” began Jay Gruden in his interpretation of what transpired Thursday at FedEx Field.

Gruden appeared on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast Friday to discuss his observations of the Commanders’ miserable 40-20 loss to the Bears Thursday.

Here are a few select quotes from Gruden’s appearance.

“Nobody gave these guys [the Bears] a chance, including me.”

“They came out and threw haymakers early, and Washington never responded. When it was too late in the third quarter, Washington tried to throw a couple of body blows, but Washington was already knocked out.”

“I don’t know what is wrong with Washington’s defense, but they have to figure something out, especially in the secondary and at linebacker.”

“It was an impressive performance by Chicago, and you have to look at Washington and figure out what happened. They could never get anything going, got ambushed early, and could never recover.”

“They were battered and bruised up and had to fly to Denver and play Sunday. Then fly back to Chicago, and then to Washington (on a short week). Sometimes, when people are calling you names and your back is against the wall, grown men will fight back, and that is what Chicago did.”

“To allow DJ Moore to get 200+ yards (230) and three touchdowns is a little on the coaching and the technique of the players, but that can’t happen. But to have Moore hit you for 230, that is hard to fathom.”

“I was disappointed in the push and the pressure. I think Herbert had way too many runs between the tackles for gashes (10-76). That can’t happen with that front.”

“I felt the heat after every game (loss); that’s the way it is around here. You feel the heat when you lose. This is a very proud franchise with fans that feel very deeply about their football team and haven’t won since the run Joe Gibbs had (1981-92).”

“They are dying for success, and when they don’t get it, they want change. And that is what is going to happen.”

“You have to try to ignore the noise, focus on your job and make sure the players focus on their job, quit looking at Twitter and Instagram, whatever the heck they are looking at, and just focus on the next opponent and go from there.”

Why was Commanders loss to Bears so disheartening for fan base?

Is the honeymoon already over? Fans were let down once again.

Thursday’s 40-20 loss to the Bears was one of the more disappointing losses in recent Washington football history.

Why is this the case? Most likely it is because our hopes had been raised by multiple factors. What are those factors?

Sam Howell played well enough in his only 2022 game that we foresaw development this season and improvement at the quarterback position.

Ron Rivera, in the offseason, repeatedly told of how Emmanuel Forbes and Quan Martin were going to be helping this year’s team create turnovers, which was lacking on the 2022 defensive unit.

Eric Bieniemy was brought in to replace Scott Turner as offensive coordinator. Bieniemy was being presented as an instant, huge improvement over Turner, who could also help in the development of Howell.

Jahan Dotson flashed some really great pass-catching and route-running skills in his rookie season. Dotson would only improve in his second season, causing the offense to have a dynamic duo of wideouts in Dotson and Terry McLaurin.

2022 guards Trai Turner and Andrew Norwell very much underachieved in 2022. So much so that neither was invited back for this season. Sam Cosmi and Saahdiq Charles were said to be very much more athletic, mobile and would bring improvement to the interior of the offensive line as well as mobility in the screen game that terribly struggled in 2022.

Cole Holcomb departed via free agency, but oh, how the Commanders’ brass was happy with the signing of Cody Barton to start for Holcomb at linebacker.

Former owner Daniel Snyder sold the team officially in July. In addition, the new ownership group could not have launched their endeavor any better than they did that first weekend. Josh Harris, Mitch Rales and Mark Ein are local. They spoke of loving the Redskins. They proclaimed with energy they wanted to regain the glory days of the Redskins being one of the most successful franchises during the George Allen (1971-77) and Joe Gibbs (1981-92) seasons. And Earvin “Magic” Johnson would also help, having been such a competitor and team player himself in the NBA. 

Instantly, attendance at training camp soared. Excitement at the home preseason games was swelling. The team began the season with two opening wins. The home schedule saw three sellouts; fans were returning, spending their money because our hopes were rising.

We understood losing to Buffalo and Philadelphia; after all, both of those teams are Super Bowl contenders. So, much of the talk Monday through Wednesday was about how the Commanders were going to win this “must-win” over the Bears. There was even much talk of “by how much” would the Commanders need to win to satisfy the fan base.

Suddenly, the Commanders trailed 17-0. Disappointment became confusion, which led to consternation, anxiety and dread. Then it was 27-3 at the half, and most of us were frustrated, angry, infuriated.

Our hopes had been raised so much, only for the team to again completely dash them. Our emotional balloons had been burst.

Adversity has set in; the honeymoon period is coming to a close. We again hope, hope for a recovery to respectability.

 

Commanders Jonathan Allen: ‘the defense has to play better’

Allen promises the defense will be better.

One defensive starter feels the Commanders let the Eagles off of the hook, Sunday before falling 34-31 in overtime.

Jonathan Allen, said, “…the defense has to play better.”

The Commanders defensive tackle was making his weekly appearance on the “Sports Junkies” 106.7 The Fan Monday-Friday 6-10 am.

Allen expressed frustration and feels the good thing is this week, they are scheduled to play the Bears on Thursday night. Thus, Allen feels the short week forces the players to forget Sunday’s loss quicker and move on to the next challenge.

Losing such a close, hard-fought NFL game can be tough on a player’s sleep. Allen expressed that Sunday’s loss definitely kept him awake at times in the night. But he then added that he has learned that “in the NFL, you don’t want to permit one game to become two games and then three games.”

“We’re definitely frustrated we let that (game) go, but you got to take what you can from it and move on to the next game,” explained Allen.

Allen praised the Eagles offensive line, saying they are all five very good starters, and perhaps they may even have two Hall of Famers, and they play together so well.

“I feel like we played good in stretches, but this is the NFL, and you have to play good for all four quarters,” exclaimed Allen. “They made the plays when they needed to; hats off to them.”

“One thing I am going to say, though, is this is the NFL. We have a bunch of guys who are going to work our butts off to get this right, and we are going to get it right.”

Allen then pointed to the defense in particular, in how they have allowed too many points against Denver, Buffalo and Philadelphia.

“We are going to get this fixed, and we are working our you know what off every day to get back to what we know is good defense.”

“We HAVE to win this. This is a MUST-win game.”

Eagles ahead of the NFC East in Week 3

Not a good week for the NFC East overall as three of the four teams lost by double digits.

The Eagles were the only NFC East team to look good in Week 3.

The Commanders were drilled at home by the Bills 37-3. While the Cowboys and Giants both lost on the road. The Cowboys defense was run over literally by the Cardinals 28-16, while the Giants couldn’t keep up with the 49ers 30-12. The Eagles went on the road and exhibited they were clearly the better team than the 2-0 Bucs, winning 25-11

  •  Eagles 3-0
  • Cowboys 2-1
  • Commanders 2-1
  • Giants 1-2

Eagles: Quarterback Jalen Hurts made NFL history when he recorded his 29th rushing touchdown in only his 48th game. Even more noticeable is the fact that Hurts was a backup for the first 12 games of his career. Hurts and Cam Newton are the only NFL quarterbacks to rush for 10 or more touchdowns in multiple seasons. Hurts is the only one to do so in consecutive seasons. Hurts also connected with AJ Brown on nine receptions for 131 yards. D’Andre Swift accumulated 130 yards on his 16 rushing attempts.

Defensively, the Eagles limited the Buccaneers to only 174 total yards. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield was held to only 146 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.

Cowboys: It was a rough week for the Cowboys. They spent the early part of the week talking about how they should be respected more as a dominant team. Then, they lost cornerback Trevon Diggs to a season-ending knee injury during practice.

Running back Tony Pollard gained 122 yards on 23 carries. However, the defense permitted Joshua Dobbs (hardly a proven NFL QB) to complete 80 percent of his passes. While the rushing defense allowed RB James Conner  98 yards on only 14 carries, including a touchdown. Dobbs added a 44-yard run, and the Cardinals embarrassed the Cowboys with 222 rushing yards.

Commanders: It was ugly. One of the worst games in the Super Bowl era for the franchise. The Commanders were sacked nine times, had five turnovers, including four Sam Howell interceptions and the defense did not sack Bills quarterback Josh Allen one time in 32 dropbacks. The Bills registered 15 quarterback hits. How long does Sam Howell survive at this rate? Washington only registered one quarterback hit.

There was plenty of blame to go around, both offensively and defensively. In particular, perhaps the game was a wake-up call for Eric Bieniemy as he further realized Howell is the first starting quarterback Bieniemy has had as an OC not named Mahomes. He knows he will need to make more adjustments immediately.

Giants: The Giants miss their stud athlete/running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants again went without a 100-yard rusher for the 13th consecutive game. Barkley went over 100 rushing yards in four games last season, all wins for the Giants. His open-field ability is elite and greatly helps Daniel Jones in the passing game.

Linebacker Micah McFadden led the team with 10 tackles and four tackles for a loss against the 49ers. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams had a good game with six tackles, two QB hits, and a half-quarterback sack to his credit.

 

4 reasons the Commanders should be concerned about the Bills

Which four things should concern the Commanders most about the Bills?

The Bills offense averages 5.4 yards per play

The 5.4 yards per offensive play is 8th best in the NFL after two weeks. Running back James Cook (Dalvin’s younger brother) is having huge success in the first two weeks, averaging 5.8 yards on his 29 rushing attempts, totaling 169 yards.

The combination of James Cook moving the chains and opening up the possibility of the play-action passing game should greatly concern the Commanders defensive personnel.

Josh Allen has the physical ability to win any week

After Josh Allen threw three interceptions in the Bills opener against the Jets, all Allen did last week was the exact opposite. He passed for four touchdowns, had no interceptions, for 274 yards and a passer rating of 124.5. The Commanders’ pass-rushing personnel must maintain lane integrity. It does more harm than good to simply rush wide, leaving gaping holes for Allen. He is explosive and can easily exploit a team whose pass-rushing is undisciplined. Allen can then extend plays by either finding a receiver downfield or utilizing his open-field running ability.

The Washington pass defense gave up huge completions last week

Last week against Denver, the Commanders defense surrendered on the first three Broncos possessions, drives of 61, 75 and 90 yards. In addition, each culminated in a Broncos touchdown. After the Commanders defense had seemed to take control of the game, they again succumbed, yielding 61 and 87 yards on the Broncos’ last two possessions. Against Denver, the Commanders allowed three passes each gaining at least  50+ yards.

The Bills pass defense is overlooked

Sam Howell being sacked ten times in two games ties for third worst in the NFL with Chicago’s Justin Fields. Only Houston’s C.J. Stroud (11) and the NYG Daniel Jones (12) have been sacked more often. In addition, Howell endured 8 quarterback hits last week against Denver.

The Bills’ defense has yielded only 26 first downs, which ties for second-best in the NFL. Their pass defense has also only surrendered 30 completions, which is third-best in the league. They are getting off of the field, having only allowed 17 passing first downs and five rushing first downs, which is tied for 5th best. Also, the Bills have permitted only a 73.2 passer rating thus far, which is 5th best.