Tag: CB Marshon Lattimore

What did Commanders DC Joe Whitt think of last week’s performance?

Which defensive players stood out last week, according to Joe Whitt?

On Thursday, Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. came ready to talk to the press.

Whitt sat down for his weekly Thursday appearance and began giving a few introductory comments as usual. He then added a few comments, a few more and kept going, 652 words in all, before he even took his first question.

Even Craig Hoffman (The Team 980) informed his listeners Thursday afternoon that Whitt was very long with his introductory comments, almost three minutes worth, conveyed Hoffman.

Understandably, Whitt began saying, “You never apologize for a win. It wasn’t the way that we wanted it to be, but like DQ (Dan Quinn) talked about, you need to be put in some hard moments. The last play was a good play, a good winning play.”

Of course, Whitt was referring to the Saints game that the Commanders led 17-0 in the third quarter when suddenly the defense couldn’t get off of the field, permitting the Saints four consecutive scoring drives in their four final offensive possessions.

Whitt then understandably voiced some of his frustration with how his defense performed in the second half.

“We had some opportunities within the game,” he said. “I think we dropped two interceptions. We had a couple penalties that kept the drives going and points were at a premium in that situation. But it was learning moments. It’s easier to come off of a victory and be more demanding after you get a victory.”

Whitt, of course, is correct; there are teachable moments during a season, and Sunday’s narrow, final-play escape should have been a wake-up call for the players. But Whitt then turned positive, seeing the big picture of the season.

“We’re 9-5, that’s a good place for us to be, and we’re trending in the right direction.”

Whitt enjoyed talking about what CB Marshon Lattimore could mean for the defense. Whitt was certain CB Mike Sainristil would get a lot more attention from opposing quarterbacks.

“But a product of having him on one side, that means Mikey on the other side [is] going to get a lot more throws at him,” Whitt said. “And he had an interception, he had an opportunity at another interception. He’s a ball guy. So, he should relish that opportunity from that standpoint.”

Choosing to name those he thought played well, Sunday, Whitt referenced DE Dorance Armstrong, S Jeremy Chinn, DT Johnny Newton and CB Noah Igbinoghene.

Seeming encouraged about Jonathan Allen’s soon return, Whitt offered, “He’s moving and looking really well, man. I’ve been pleased with what he did yesterday and he’s worked really hard to get back to where he is. And so, hopefully, the training staff will get him where he can help us in the near future.”

Adding two players the caliber of Lattimore and a healthy Jonathan Allen is good reason to encourage Whitt that some real improvement could be coming for the defense.

What did Commanders’ DC think of Marshon Lattimore’s debut?

Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. weighs in on Marshon Lattimore’s debut.

Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt noticed some things he really liked in Marshon Lattimore’s debut last Sunday.

The Commanders traded for Lattimore a month ago, but his injured hamstring kept him from playing against Dallas and Tennessee before the bye week. So he debuted last week in New Orleans against his old team, the Saints.

“There was a couple things,” Whitt said. “He played with a lot of confidence. He communicated well. There was two reductions where he was the one, and he wasn’t supposed to be the one that led the communication on those reductions, but he did. And that was really positive to see.”

One reason GM Adam Peters went after Lattimore was his experience. The former Ohio State Buckeye had seen action in 97 NFL games prior to last week.

Another reason is Lattimore’s ball skills, he employs, playing defense. He sees the ball well, and he catches the ball well, intercepting 15 passes thus far, including two he has returned for touchdowns.

Whitt liked how Lattimore was also prepped well and ready, referring to “just the command that he had of the defense. And like I said, I give a lot of that credit to [Assistant Defensive Back Coach] William Gay because he was with him from day one, teaching him and being that mentor that we asked William to do with a lot of these guys. So, but I was just really pleased with the command that the young man had of his game.”

Of course, everyone on the defense, including the coaches, is well aware that this Sunday will be a greater test for Lattimore. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is completing 69 percent of his passes this season.

Hurts’ top two receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, both have 56 receptions this season, and both have missed three games. Tight end Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley have also contributed 38 and 31 receptions, respectively.

Therefore, Whitt knows he will need a good game from Lattimore this Sunday.

Saquon Barkley, Eagles a huge challenge for Commanders

Saquon Barkley ran wild on the Commanders a few weeks ago.

Dan Quinn knows the Commanders’ defense has a huge challenge ahead this Sunday, facing Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.

In the first contest between the Commanders and Eagles (Nov 14), the Washington defense kept the Eagles out of the end zone in the first half. However, in the second half, the Commanders surrendered four consecutive Eagles’ scoring drives of 74, 76, 74, and 46 yards, resulting in 23 second-half Eagles’ points.

Barkley ran wild in the second half, finishing with 146 yards on 26 carries, two receptions for 52 yards, and two touchdowns.

“Like a lot of great players, he is at his best and has proven to be in the end of games. And so, we have to make sure the fit and the tackling on the fifth run is the same on the 25th run. And you have to be able to just continue to do right longer than them. And they’ve proven this year that they’re exceptional at staying at it, staying at it. And that takes a lot of discipline.”

Quinn was asked if he would rely on the veterans on his defense to stop the Eagles’ offense in the second contest.

“Yep. You go back and watch it for sure, you have to. And you want to point out the things that you liked. And then when you think about a game like this, when you’re in any division game, what do you need to stop doing? What do you need to start doing? And what do you want to do the same?”

The Commanders will have the addition of CB Marcus Lattimore, whom they did not have in the first game in Philadelphia. He should help in the pass defense this game.

The Eagles have won ten consecutive games and have a real shot at earning the top playoff seed, giving them a first-round bye.

But Quinn knows the Eagles are not overlooking the Commanders. He also realizes the Eagles’ offense will include a few new looks.

“Each division game, both sides, there’s some new things that neither team has shown. So, that will happen. It’s not like a rinse and repeat, here’s the game plan. You dust it off and put it up in front of everyone. All teams are changing, and things are different and matchups are there. That’s what’s kind of part of the fun of playing the second time.’

Commanders expecting two injured players to return vs. Saints

The bye week was good for some injured Commanders.

The Commanders are expecting starting right tackle Andrew Wylie to be ready for Sunday’s game in New Orleans against the Saints.

Wylie suffered a concussion against the Cowboys, sat out the game against the Titans, and appears to have benefited from the extra rest during the bye week.

Cornelius Lucas filled in quite well for Wylie in the Titans game, helping the Commanders rush for 267 yards on 45 rushes, averaging 5.93 yards per attempt.

Some have suggested that Lucas’ play against the Titans was so good that Wylie’s job could possibly be up for grabs. But Wylie is valuable in the screen game and gets down the field well into the second level of the defense. Look for Wylie to remain the starter, allowing the Commanders to use Lucas as a swing tackle.

The other player who missed the Titans game due to a concussion was RB Austin Ekeler. Ekeler will definitely not be back for the Saints game because the Commanders placed Ekeler on the injured reserve list, meaning he will miss four games minimum. The earliest Ekeler could return thus is the season finale in Dallas. However, if Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez continue to play well, don’t expect Ekeler back to face the Cowboys.

Defensive end Clelin Ferrell has battled an injured knee for most of the season. He picked up a sack in both of the first two games but has been slowed by the knee, but he continues to push through, playing ten games this season.

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore appears ready to make his Commanders’ debut against the Saints.

Dan Quinn told the press on Monday that Lattimore was running harder during the bye week, hitting all the markers and doing the required work. Quinn also mentioned that Lattimore has done the strength work and passed their tests thus far.

NFL analyst says Commanders should bench Benjamin St-Juste

NFL analyst weighs in on Washington’s cornerbacks once Marshon Lattimore is healthy.

What changes will the Commanders make in the lineup when Marshon Lattimore begins to play again?

Lattimore is currently recovering from an injured hamstring. He has returned to individual sideline work but has yet to be full-speed with the team in practice.

The Commanders began this 2024 season with Benjamin St-Juste and Emmanuel Forbes as the outside corners, and rookie Mike Sainristil held down the slot corner role.

Sainristil has been forced outside due to Forbes’ lack of development. The rookie from Michigan has continued to make progress playing outside. There is enough progress in the mind of one NFL analyst, who expressed his opinion Wednesday.

Mark Bullock, an NFL analyst who once wrote for the Washington Post, was a guest on the “Al Galdi Podcast” on Wednesday. At one point, Bullock strongly suggested what the Commanders should do when Lattimore enters the Washington starting lineup.

“I think I would leave him (Sainristil) outside right now. Because you see the improvement, and in the Eagles game, he was very good. I don’t think long term I would leave him outside. I would leave him out there to continue improving.”

Bullock pointed out that Lattimore would be the top team’s outside corner and would leave Sainristil on the outside and play Noah Igbinoghene inside in the slot.

“He (Igbinoghene) is holding up well enough in coverage, I would leave him there and put St-Juste to the bench.”

Igbinoghene has started seven games this season and played last season under Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt in Dallas.

St-Juste was drafted in the third round by Washington in the 2021 draft. He has 48 career games at corner and has started all 11 games this season at outside corner for the Commanders.

Meanwhile, Forbes continues to disappoint the staff, is not getting playing time, and may end up being another round-one bust pick by former head coach and general manager Ron Rivera. Michael Davis appears to have passed Forbes on the depth chart, getting defensive snaps against the Eagles.

Rivera missed on Chase Young (2020), Jamin Davis (2021), Jahan Dotson (2022) and now possibly on Forbes (2023) as well.

Adam Peters continues strengthening Commanders

Adam Peters continues to make all the right moves.

On Wednesday, in his press conference, Commanders’ general manager Adam Peters said, on more than one occasion, that he wanted to do what was good for the team.

Who could dare argue that Peters has done a fantastic job of repeatedly addressing the roster and seeing what changes he can make that are good for the team?

When hired, David Aldridge of The Athletic asked Peters what he thought of the roster. Peters didn’t reply immediately. He paused, took a breath, and replied that there were a few cornerstone pieces to the roster, and he had a lot of work to do.

And work is what Peters has done. He did not tweak Ron Rivera’s roster. Peters overhauled Rivera’s roster. After training camp, when the roster was reduced to 53, 30 were those brought in by Peters since taking the job.


Rather than being satisfied with his efforts,  Peters immediately returned to the driver’s seat and made quite a few decisions in the next week. He signed receiver Noah Brown (cut by the Texans), traded defensive tackle John Ridgeway to the Saints, signed linebacker Nick Bellore (released by the Seahawks), re-signed tackle Sam Cosmi to a four-year contract, and released receiver Byron Pringle; these all before the opener.

Once the season began, Peters released kicker Cade York, but the Jets released kicker Austin Seibert, so Peters quickly grabbed Seibert.

A few weeks later, veteran DT Jonathan Allen was lost for the season, and DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste was placed on injured reserve for at least four weeks. Well, the Jets had just released DE Jalyn Holmes. Instead of promoting a DE from the practice squad, Peters felt that the best thing for the team was to sign Holmes to the active roster. Holmes played only 11 defensive snaps against the Bears, but one of those, he had a quarterback sack.

Two weeks ago, Peters released Jamin Davis, a first-round draft choice by Rivera in 2021. This week, he traded for veteran Saints corner Marshon Lattimore and released DE Efe Obada, making room for Lattimore.

On Wednesday, Peters released WR Mike Strachan. Why? With DE Clelin Ferrell’s knee still not 100%, Peters brought back Obada to the practice squad, doing what he thinks strengthens the Commanders.

What do the Commanders know about Marshon Lattimore’s injury?

What is Marshon Lattimore’s current status?

Marshon Lattimore did not practice again on Thursday.

We know some said Lattimore was coming to a good team and would find his hamstring wasn’t really injured after all. Well, seeing the opponent is the 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, and Lattimore has not practiced Wednesday or Thursday, we should safely conclude that, yes, Lattimore does have a hamstring injury, and it has been confirmed by the trainers and medical personnel.


GM Adam Peters, head coach Dan Quinn, and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt have all publicly stated since the trade that they love Lattimore’s competitive fire and intensity.

The Steelers coming off a bye week, are rested, and they have also picked up former Redskins and Packers pass rusher Preston Smith and receiver Mike Williams. In addition, the Commanders are apparently going to be without Lattimore, and the Steelers do like for Russell Wilson to go deep occasionally.

Whitt, in his introductory remarks launching his press conference, expressed,

“I didn’t know if I was going to see some guys with their heads down because you bring in a talent like this, some other guys might say, ‘Well, I’m going to lose opportunity.’ And they might be saying that I don’t know, alright. But that’s the business, but nobody’s acting that way.”

Whitt likes the winner’s attitude he sees in the current defensive backs, who are glad to be bringing in Lattimore. Whitt added, “That’s a credit to DQ (Quinn) and AP (Peters) and the brotherhood and the culture that’s being set here. That everybody is bringing them in, helping him, teaching him, talking to him.”

However, Whitt made it clear from the start that he was willing to talk about his defense but not about Lattimore’s health and when he would actually begin playing for the Commanders.

“As soon as we can get him out there, we will. When that will be, I don’t know. Okay. So, please don’t ask me because I don’t know when that will be, but as soon as we can, we will.”

Would the Commanders keep Lattimore from running until warmups for Sunday’s contest? We can only hope. But for now, they might be targeting Lattimore for Thursday at the Eagles.

What does Dan Quinn communicate and enforce to new Commanders?

Dan Quinn is mindful of disrupting the team’s chemistry, but his rules are the same for all players.

Dan Quinn knows having the right people in the mix is paramount.

The Commanders are 7-2. They display wonderful chemistry, buy in, and are often heard referring to “the brotherhood.”

However, a decision was made Tuesday to bring in a new player—not just any player. This is not simply a new guy going onto the practice squad. No, Marshon Lattimore will be a starter, and he is accustomed to being a big fish in a small pond.

Quinn was asked how bringing a player like Lattimore might affect this team’s good chemistry.

“Yeah, (GM) Adam (Peters) is very mindful of that, and he knows the importance of that with the team and he knows I share that opinion with him, asserted Quinn. “Having the right people is the first thing, if that’s the first thing to get right. And so that’s where, if that part’s not right, then that’s the end of the line.”

Quinn went a bit further, revealing that it is important to set healthy boundaries and expectations for both new players and all remaining players.

“That goes for everybody that we bring in here, and we want to make sure coming here is unique and a really cool experience. And I told him today in front of the team, I said, ‘You can ask anybody here, man, we’re all here to help and support you and onboard you fast.'”

It was also important for Lattimore to learn that he is expected to treat everyone on Quinn’s team with respect, whether they are rookies, hall of famers, or practice squad players.

“We’re all on the same page here, so it doesn’t have to be, ‘I’m not going to talk to him as rookie.’ That’s no, no, no, that ain’t how we roll, man. Everybody on this team, we’re here to help support anybody that comes in and the message will be the same from all the guys.”

Dan Quinn understands that being an effective leader means conveying responsibilities, expectations, and cultural norms to your teammates in the organization.

 

Dan Quinn says Commanders elevated themselves

Washington’s defense got much better on Tuesday.

Dan Quinn will most likely fall asleep tonight, smiling.

Tuesday, the Commanders obtained Saints’ cornerback Marshon Lattimore and a fifth-round draft choice. The Commanders dealt a third, fourth, and sixth-round choice to the Saints in return for the four-time Pro Bowler.

Quinn was understandably upbeat when talking as a Sirius XM NFL Radio guest.

“We’re going to keep competing in every way that we can,” expressed Quinn. “This was another example of how to do that.”

In expressing why they were interested in making this trade, Quinn stressed, “We love his toughness, his ability to play man-to-man, to guard people.”

When Quinn was the head coach with the Falcons, he recalled Lattimore facing the top receivers in that division twice each season. Quinn said that was “a big deal.”

Quinn likes that Lattimore was Terry McLaurin’s and Noah Brown’s college teammate at Ohio State. He believes this move really gives the Commanders an opportunity to elevate themselves.

“We’re really pumped to add him to the crew,” Quinn said excitedly.

One reason might be that this addition could improve the Commanders in three positions. Lattimore becomes the top corner, Benjamin St-Juste becomes a stronger No. 2 corner, and Mike Sainristil now moves to the slot where he is most effective.

Quinn might also be glad to have Lattimore because Quinn believes in, wants, and demands competitiveness. Remember the great physical battles between Lattimore and Tampa’s Mike Evans?

Quinn might be pumped, but shouldn’t Lattimore be pumped as well? The Saints are 2-7 and just lost to the Panthers. The Commanders lost on opening day at Tampa Bay and have won 7 of 8 games since then. He was playing for a team that had only scored 207 points in nine games. Now, he partners with a team that has the fourth-highest point differential in the NFL. How much better is the quarterback room in Washington than in New Orleans?

So, sum it up like this. How many years has it been since a Washington Redskins / Commanders fan was heard saying, “This year, we are going for it.”