Tag: Commanders DC Jack Del Rio

Commanders Del Rio knows his unit can reduce the big plays

Jack Del Rio talks the importance of eliminating the big plays.

Jack Del Rio saw a good effort against the Patriots Sunday; then suddenly, the Commanders gave up two big plays.

“I thought we did a good job defensively last week. We had two plays that got away from us. One in the pass, one in the run. And other than that, we played real, real well.”

Indeed, the Commanders defense limited the Patriots on the way to a 20-17 victory. The two big plays?

Washington led 10-7, and the Patriots, from their own 16, had a 1st & 10. Lining up three eligible receivers tightly on the right side, Mac Jones faked a handoff and then found JuJu Smith-Schuster running across the field from tight right to the left side wide open. Smith-Schuster made the catch at the 23 and was pushed out of bounds on the 36, a 20-yard gain.

On the very next play, Washington ran a stunt, and linebacker Jamin Davis did not plug the closest gap to the right of tackle Daron Payne. New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson exploded through the hole into the secondary. He was met by safety Percy Butler, but he missed the tackle on Stevenson, who then raced 64 yards for a go-ahead Pats touchdown.

In two plays, the Commanders defense had surrendered 84 yards and a touchdown.

So, when defensive coordinator Del Rio was asked Thursday what is keeping this unit from rating as highly as the defensive unit last season in 2022.

“Yeah, explosive plays allowed. That’s been the big problem. We’re playing solid in a lot of areas, but the explosive plays allowed. Many of them kind of gift-type situations are the ones that keep us from ranking well and being able to beat our chest and say, look at our rank right here, which doesn’t mean a whole lot. I think what really means the most is give your football team a chance to win, play complementary football, and make sure we’re getting the ball back for our offense as often as possible.”

One player who was giving up some explosive plays prior to last week was rookie corner Emmanuel Forbes, Jr.  However, last week, Forbes played well enough that PFF graded Forbes as the highest Commanders defensive player last week. The performance pleased Del Rio.

“I think he’s just working at it. You know, he’s a good young player. We believe in him. He’s just gotta grind and work. That’s what he has done, and that allowed him to get himself back in the game, and then he played well.”

 

Has the NFL passed by Commanders DC Jack Del Rio?

How much blame should go on Del Rio? How much on the players? Regardless, they all need to be better.

I’m sure you’ve noticed many on Twitter and D.C. radio shows this week wanting Jack Del Rio fired.

In the Commanders’ last game, the Bears (0-4) put up 40 points on the Commanders.

The Commanders allowed five passing plays of 20 or more yards. On the game’s first offensive possession, Justin Fields found D.J. Moore for 58 yards.

Commanders’ corner Benjamin St-Juste confessed, “I’m [mad] about that. That’s on me. … Should’ve just did my job instead of looking for a play when it wasn’t there.”

Fans and even some radio hosts in unison claim the game has passed by Del Rio. It’s as if he only understands the defenses of his playing days (1985-95). Do they know he’s been coaching in the NFL since 1997?

Many portray Del Rio as a blockhead, numbskull, and imbecile.

How quickly critics forget that just last season (2022) the Commanders defense played the key down in the NFL not only quite well, but actually the very best, getting off of the field on third down.

Following Thursday’s game, one Bears player actually called out the Commanders defensive backfield, saying, “They either weren’t aware or they were just being lazy about making the shift, and that led to some really open plays for us.”

Commanders rookie corner Emmanuel Forbes jumped two routes, and whiffed on the tackles, giving the Bears big plays. Forbes thinks he is going to simply make big interceptions. He must show more respect for those who have earned their dues in this league.

This week, the cries have been abundant, “Fire, Jack Del Rio.”  Why do fans do this? You’re not going to like the answer, but the truth is, it is simpler. Fans love the players, so the simplistic, knee-jerk response is to fire the defensive coordinator.

Chase Young, on the Bears game, volunteered, “It’s nothing on Del Rio. He made good calls today. It’s on us as players. [We’ve] just got to start faster and hold each other accountable.”

Yet the fans get on Twitter and radio talk shows expressing that JDR doesn’t blitz enough, doesn’t know defense, and doesn’t know how to put the players in the best position to win.

Oh, stop! We all love the team. But to suggest publicly you know more than Jack Del Rio is actually embarrassing for you, revealing just how arrogant, misguided, and full of yourselves you are.

Not one single time do you have to make a decision about these defensive players where you will have to give an account. Not one time. Yet, every single defensive play call by Del Rio is dependent on his players executing it. Every single one.

Sure, the coaching staff might be fired at the conclusion of the season. But Jim Mora was also absolutely correct, we don’t know, and we never will.

Commanders stink it up vs Bears, lose 40-20

Lots of ugly truths here.

The Washington Commanders are the dumpster fire, not the Bears.

Al Michaels mentioned during the 4th quarter of the television broadcast that the 0-4 Bears had been called a dumpster fire.

But the Bears set the tone in EVERY phase early and defeated the Commanders 40-20, Thursday night at FedEx Field.

They tackled better, blocked better, ran the ball down the Commanders’ throats, and had receivers so open that Washington’s pass defense had frankly never looked worse.

It was frustrating, then infuriating.

In the first quarter, the Bears totaled 199 yards, while the Commanders generated only 12 yards.

If that is not bad enough, the Bears were putting the whooping on the Commanders defense to the tune of 10.0 yards per play!

The Commanders defense did nothing to get off of the field, so the Bears enjoyed 10:21 time of possession in the quarter while the Commanders only kept the ball for 4:39.

The Bears earned 58 rushing yards in their seven carries, while the Commanders mustered a mere 8 yards on 4 carries.

The second quarter, in some ways, was even worse. The Bears ended the half with a 27-3 lead, 14 to 5 first downs, 307 yards to 84, 122  rushing yards to 13, and they averaged 6.8 yards each rushing attempt to 1.9 by the Commanders.

Unlike the first half, Commanders decided to compete in the second half. They took the second-half kickoff 75 yards in five plays. Then drove 70 yards for a field goal, and suddenly, the Bears lead was 27-14.

Following a Bears field goal, the Commanders again traveled 75 yards to narrow the deficit to 30-20. But that was as close as they would come.

The winless Bears had accumulated only two sacks, but tonight, they managed five. Sam Howell has now been sacked 29 times in five games.

Thursday night was embarrassing for the players and for the coaches. The team was not ready to compete at the beginning of the game.

Did they provide any evidence they are any better than any other Ron Rivera team here in the previous three seasons?

No, they did not.

What Chris Cooley sees watching Chase Young on defense

Simply put, the defensive line as a whole needs to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

“They are not playing great gap-sound defense,” started Chris Cooley.

This was in response to Kevin Sheehan asking Cooley what he has observed regarding why the Commanders might have been giving up so many yards and points to the Eagles offense. Cooley was a guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast on Monday.

Then Cooley became very direct and simply said, “Chase Young is not playing very well. Chase Young is somewhat of a problem on that side with Jonathan Allen. He seems like he is doing his own thing. To me, that is somewhat of an issue.”

Against the Broncos in Week 2, Young collected 1.5 sacks, and then he also had a sack against the Eagles last week.

In response, Sheehan added, “Yes, at times, he appears to not be doing what they want him to be doing.”

Cooley continued, “It’s really like he’s aloof to what they are doing on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not like he is not a good player. He’s a freak athletically, but he is still not the guy I saw two years ago before the knee surgery.”

Cooley briefly then discussed problems with the linebackers and secondary and voiced that teams will now be targeting Emmanuel Forbes before he circled back to what he feels is the core issue defensively.

“But it also goes hand-in-hand with the fact you are not getting dynamic pressure week in and week out in situations where you should be winning consistently up front.”

“When I mean ‘winning’, I mean kicking the s— out of the offensive line because you’re so good. You’ve paid (Daron) Payne, and you’ve paid (Jonathan) Allen. You’ve drafted first-round picks in (Montez) Sweat and Chase Young. You’ve got so much invested in those four dudes on the defense. You have to dynamically better.”

 

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.”

Commanders postgame quotes after Week 1 20-16 win

Some postgame quotes from former players and coaches after Washington’s win.

The Commanders came from behind down six points in the second half, to win their Week 1 season opener 20-16 over the Arizona Cardinals at FedEx Field.

Here are some of the post game quotes:

“Let’s do something one day when we are not so d— stressed. I was absolutely stressed today, but you know what?  They came out with the victory, and made the plays when they needed to. You can’t be anything but happy. Santa (Moss) ended the pregame show saying he just wanted to get the win. We got that.” — Brian Mitchell

“Preseason is a little faster than training camp. Week 1 is definitely faster than preseason. You could see some guys, and I’m especially going to say, Sam Howell; you could see some things were happening so quickly.” — Logan Paulsen

“We’re a family, that’s one. It’s one for the city; it’s all you, thank you.” — Owner Josh Harris in the locker room to the team

“It takes a whole team, it really does. We made a lot of mistakes, we didn’t play our best football today. But they played their asses off as a unit. They played their asses off as a group. So, I want to recognize Jack Del Rio for that.” — Ron Rivera in the locker room about the defense

“We’re just getting started, guys. We’re just getting started. We’ve got the makings of a team that can do whatever it decides it wants to. I love the way we are working. Just keep working. We got each other’s back, whatever we need to do. O (offense) D (defense) special teams. All three phases, whatever we need to do. I appreciate you all.” — defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio

“The defense was outstanding…so they’re going to have to carry us a little bit, and they know that.” — Ron Rivera postgame

“I really do appreciate the fans coming out. We have got to be a better football team for them, though. We had some opportunities where we didn’t take care of the ball the way we should have. But we will be better. I really do appreciate the fans coming out, I really do. I also want to acknowledge it was great to see John Riggins in the stands. That was a really cool moment. I really appreciate him being there.” — Ron Rivera postgame

“Believe me, I am happy as hell we won, I really am. But we have to play better, we really do.” — Ron Rivera

“He had his moments. We’re gonna watch the rest of the tape. We are going to take a look at some things. We’ll get a chance to evaluate it off of the tape. And we will get a chance to walk with him.” — Ron Rivera, when asked about the play of QB Sam Howell

 

 

Commanders DC Jack Del Rio gave a surprising answer to one question

Del Rio is all about wanting the best players on the field, not necessarily the best stories.

A reporter asked a leading question to Jack Del Rio, Thursday.

He set up his question, making reference to some late-round picks have made it in Washington and then he mentioned by name safety Kam Curl and edge rusher Andre Jones Jr., both of whom are last-round selections. He then asked the leading question to Del Rio, “Do you ever find yourself kind of rooting for those guys in their rookie season, when they are coming out of the seventh round?”

These questions are asked more frequently than most might realize. They really are. They set a tone, and so often as I listen, I hear coaches and or players fall right in line and respond with the answer the question suggests.

But this question was asked to Jack Del Rio. Del Rio is the one man I have noticed that does not so easily fall for the leading questions. He really doesn’t. The media and fans sometimes misinterpret Del Rio as a result. He is not necessarily being mean-spirited to the media. But let’s just say Jack is “actually one of the sharper knives in the drawer.”

Being more perceptive than many, Del Rio picks up on the leading questions, and chooses to simply answer as he would have anyway and thus the questioner is sometimes surprised.

So, back to the question to Del Rio. Certainly most listeners present were expecting a knee-jerk response such as, “Oh yes, you can’t help but root for those guys who were drafted in the last round. My heart really goes out to those guys.”

How did Del Rio respond? “Not really.”

He paused briefly then continued. “Historically I’ve been pretty fair about letting guys compete and earn their spot. I go all the way back to Jacksonville. We had the ninth running back in, named Montel Owens. He had no spot, no chance.”

“Then he was just so good on special teams that we found a place for him on the football team. Guys come out of nowhere all the time.”

“If you’re open-minded, let guys compete, let them work, let them show you who they are, how you get selected or where you get selected doesn’t really matter. When you get here it’s what you do with the opportunity once you are here.”

“Andre’s done a nice job competing. He’s grown. He still has a long way to go. But I’m encouraged by the way he’s come into camp and been very workman like.”

“We like to have a culture here where you get what you earn, and we’re going to reward those that do the things we are looking for.”

And there you have it. Do you realize how much went into that answer? That reply was for the players, it was for the media, it was for the fans.

Del Rio wanted listeners to understand he is not about cheering for certain players because they were drafted low or undrafted entirely. He is not worried about cheering under his breadth for an underdog.

He has a job to do, and he recognizes objectivity will go much further in his business. He is paid to educate, evaluate and coach players. After all, what kind of culture would he create if he were to root for and cheer for certain players over others?

 

Might Commanders coach desire to reunite with Derek Carr?

Derek Carr has one significant tie to a member of Washington’s coaching staff.

Sometimes it’s who you know.

Coaches hire coaches with whom they’ve worked previously. Coaches often seek out a player who previously played for them.

With that in mind, despite the fact that Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was adamant the Commanders would not be in the quarterback market this year shopping for a high-priced quarterback, might one of his coaching staff like to have Derek Carr?

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was the Oakland Raiders head coach for three seasons (2015-17). Released by the Raiders Tuesday,  Carr, a nine-year NFL veteran, started for Del Rio and the Raiders during those same three seasons.

In each of those three seasons coached by Del Rio, Carr earned a Pro Bowl spot. In 2015, Carr passed for 32 touchdowns with 13 interceptions as the Raiders finished the season at 7-9. The following season, the Raiders were 12-4 (12-3 in the 15 games Carr played) as Carr passed for 28 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. Slipping back to 6-10 in 2017, Carr passed for 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Del Rio was fired following the 2017 season, took off the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and was hired by Rivera to be Washington’s defensive coordinator in 2020.

Del Rio might like to be reunited with Carr as he would certainly bring nine years of NFL starting quarterback experience to the Commanders offense, which struggled mightily at the position in many games this past season.

However, Dan Snyder is attempting to sell the Commanders. Why would he be interested in paying out a large sum of money to sign and pay Carr upfront and then have no opportunity to reap the benefits himself?

Rivera has already made himself clear the Commanders are not going to be shopping, and Carr, being a free agent, is going to have a few teams who will aggressively pursue the former Raiders quarterback because Carr would be an upgrade in their quarterback room.

Who might have the money and might be interested and also in need of a quarterback? Well, the Jets and Bucs immediately come to mind. If Geno Smith signs elsewhere, Seattle might be a good fit for Carr. The Colts need a quarterback, but they might be content to draft one in the first round.

Del Rio and Carr might like to reunite, but this year doesn’t appear to be good timing for the Commanders. Look for Carr to sign elsewhere where he can make much more money.

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Commanders defense dominated Cowboys

The defense was phenomenal Sunday, with several key starters out.

Any day Washington beats Dallas is a good day for me.

Sunday, in the 2022 season finale, the Washington defense simply smothered the Cowboys offense, frankly making Dak Prescott look horrible on their way to an easy 26-6 victory at FedEx Field.

The Commanders defense from the very first series took absolute control of this game. Before you reply, “Well, Dallas wasn’t playing some people.” I’ll remind you the Commanders defense was without their best lineman Jonathan Allen, their best safety Kam Curl, and their best cover corner Benjamin St-Juste.

Jack Del Rio’s unit held the Cowboys to 4-18 on third downs (22.2 percent). For almost the entire game, the pass rush, as designed, kept Prescott in the pocket, not permitting him to extend plays laterally or run for first downs. Prescott finished a surprisingly poor 14-37 for 128 yards.

Up 13-0 late in the first half, Del Rio feared they could possibly give up a big play. So he had his back seven drop back perhaps a couple of yards too many, permitting Prescott to complete seven short passes on a 14-play 77-yard touchdown drive, narrowing the Commanders’ lead to 13-6.

Other than that, the Commanders defense was the story of the day. The Commanders defense had absolutely no problem getting off of the field Sunday, forcing Dallas into ten, yes, ten possessions where they ran only three plays and punted.

The Commanders defense also produced a touchdown when in the second quarter, leading Dallas 7-0, cornerback Kendall Fuller picked off an anemic Prescott pass attempt and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown, extending the Washington lead to 13-0. It was also Fuller’s second interception return of the season. The first being at the Houston Texans in the first quarter.

In both games this season, the Commanders defense completely shut down the Cowboys rushing attack. Sunday, Ezekiel Elliot amassed a mere ten yards in eight carries. Tony Pollard and Malik Davis both gained only 19 yards apiece on seven and five carries, respectively. In the early-season contest in Dallas on Oct. 2, the Commanders run defense impressively held the Cowboys to only 62 rushing yards in 29 carries.

Say what you want about the Cowboys not needing the game. Jack Del Rio had his defense ready. They were more physical up front, and they contained Prescott, forcing him into many third and long obvious passing downs. It was an impressive conclusion to the 2022 season for Del Rio’s defense.

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Jack Del Rio on Kamren Curl: ‘We missed him’

Jack Del Rio explains how much the Commanders missed Kam Curl in Week 16.

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was not shy Thursday to laud the abilities of safety Kam Curl, who missed Saturday’s 37-20 loss to the 49ers.

“Covering the tight end. Kittle ran free last week, couple times, like to see Kam on that matchup. He’s a guy that can do multiple things. We missed him, and we’re just getting ready to go for the next opportunity. Hopefully, we get him back soon. Until he does, we’ll next man up and keep rolling.”

Del Rio readily admitted the defense yielding some explosive plays really hurt the Commanders.
“We had opportunities to be much better on each of the explosive plays. It’s been corrected. It’s been addressed. We all understand it, and we’ll look to be better. We can’t have those kinds of explosives.”

What is it like preparing for games without Curl?
“Yeah, we work through it during the week. You’ve got the hopeful and then it’s not going that way and then it’s adjust and do the best you can. So that’s what we’ll do again this week. Look, be hopeful through the week and then see how we end the week and adjust as we need to. We’re trying to make that as smooth as possible.”

Del Rio was also quick to say he saw some real positives from his Commanders defense last week.

“We did some really good things in the game. We ended up being four out of five getting stops in the red zone, and the fifth one they got it on fourth down. So, to that point, they had three field goals and a turnover on downs. So, that gave us a chance to hang around and give us a glimmer of hope. So, without those stops, it would’ve turned into a situation where there’s no chance. So yeah, proud of that.”

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