Tag: Commanders loss to Detroit in Week 2

Commanders’ captain Jonathan Allen: ‘We got to be better’

Jonathan Allen said he and his teammates are “on to Philadelphia” in preparation for Week 3.

“We’ve got to be better and we will be better.”

That’s how Washington defensive tackle and captain Jonathan Allen ended his conversation with the media Monday, as he was rising to depart.

Q. “How did you feel like the defensive line played?”

JA: “Payne had a really great game. You always feel like you want to do more. So, I gotta watch the film before I can really answer that question.”

Q. “Have you seen any common themes in the struggles against opposing teams runs games in the first two games?”

JA: “Every team’s different and until I watch the film I can’t really say. Obviously we want to play better and we are going to be better. We are on to Philadelphia.”

Q. “Do you feel like the continuity (roster) has really kicked in or what do you think it will take for that to really happen?”

JA: “Continuity is good and all, but at the end we got to execute, and we didn’t execute like we were supposed to. So, gotta watch the film and we’ll see. We’ll get better.”

Q. “One player said the Lions knew exactly what you guys (defense) were going to do. Do you feel there needs to be any adjustments? Do you agree with that comment?”

JA: “Not really, at the end of the day we gotta execute. I’m not a fan of putting a lot of things on the coach. Sure, if you want to go that route I guess you can say that, but to me, that’s not something I am really thinking about.”

Q. “Ron said you played a little more than expected because of those injuries. How did you feel out there yesterday? And how are you feeling today?”

JA: “I feel ok. Obviously, I wasn’t full go. I was a little limited but I was able to go out there and fight with my team, which is what I wanted to do. A little sore today, but I’ll be good to go.”

Q. “When you are a little banged up right now so early in the season. How do you plan on managing that, when you still have 15 more outings to go?”

JA: “Just got to suck it up. Everybody’s beat up so that’s not really an excuse. You just got to keep pushing and keep fighting, take it week by week. It is what it is.”

Q. “When the offense doesn’t get first downs the first five possessions or so, how challenging is that for you guys on defense? Because you guys held up the first couple of drives and then things started to devolve from there.”

JA: “At the end of the day, no matter what the offense does, the defense has to go out there and stop them regardless of where the opposing offense gets the ball. We started off pretty good on third down. Just gave up too many explosives in the game.”

Q. “Is there any frustration from you, having a good game in week one and then coming out and not doing as well as you had hoped in week two?”

JA: “It is always frustrating when you lose. It’s the NFL; they get paid too. We’re on to Philadelphia. We’re gonna look at the film today (Monday) and see what we could do better and get ready for Philadelphia.”

Q, “You mentioned the explosive plays. Is there something fundamentally that’s key to stopping those kinds of explosive plays?”

JA: “Effort. I’m not saying we gave bad effort, but fits weren’t right. You got to give the Lions credit. They made great plays. But besides that, we got to be better, and we’ll be better,” Allen said as he rose to depart the room.

Rick ‘Doc’ Walker: ‘Detroit was tougher’ than Commanders

Doc Walker had plenty to say about the Commanders and the coaching staff Monday. He’s not wrong.

Former Washington tight end Rick “Doc” Walker still loves Washington NFL football.

Walker still wants to win as well. There are times like Monday when Walker is a good listen. While a guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast, Walker had some compelling/provocative things to say about the Commanders’ 36-27 loss to the Lions in Week 2. Here are a few excerpts.

“They don’t seem to be clear about what it is they are trying to accomplish.  It’s like I don’t know who is really in charge. I have no idea. From a conceptual standpoint, we keep leaning on our defensive line, and that is good. But we have seen other people destroy us, disrupt us and we don’t seem to have that level of disruption.”

“It would seem we have to create more immediate presence through blitzing or play more man coverage than zone, to where we dictate the outcome. We seem to be a punching bag. I, for the life of me, don’t understand why we don’t contest our opponents’ passes.”

“Our opponents are catching balls uncontested. We are giving them too many junk plays, and that is confusion, disorganization, or incompetence.”

“If Jackson (William) is so good at what he does (man coverage) let him do what he does well. Same thing with 52 (Jamin Davis). ‘Well, he’s really athletic and fast.’ Well then, when in doubt, why don’t you have him rush the passer?”

“I’m telling you, it’s their job (coaches). They selected him (first round) and then said, ‘Oops, we want him to do something different. Oops, we are changing that.’ Come on, man. It’s a classic clown show act! You figure it out, and then we will follow you. The kid seems to be confused. It appears to be a mixed message on the defensive side of the room.”

They (Detroit) were tougher. They were more aggressive. That’s how they train. They were exactly what we thought they would be. I thought we had more talent, but we couldn’t get it cranked up. When we did, it wasn’t enough. And then we became analytics and all that other crap that goes into it. At that point, you can stick a fork in yourself.”

“It’s the new way out. It’s the new thing, the new jive. You can just say, ‘It’s the Analytics.’ Oh, ok, He (Ron Rivera) is really lucky that there are a lot of people who are not in that press crew.”

“We had Carter (DeAndre) last year, and he was a threat. But that was not a high enough priority for us. We figured it out. Maybe the Analytics didn’t allow us to think he had a value.”

“What matters is are we going to have people that can come up and fundamentally tackle people? This is the worst (pause), I don’t even want to call them linebackers. I don’t know what you call them, But I do know this, the guy that they don’t want to sign (Landon Collins) tackles better than anybody on their defense right now except 22 (Darrick Forrest). The best they have been is when he was at his best. They need an offensive lineman and a guy who tackles, and they are playing badass.”

Regarding the Commanders not bringing in more defensive help, “Yea, the Analytics said they didn’t need anybody.”

“Forget the publicity, forget where they went to college and all that crap. Just look at how they (Detroit) performed. People are different than we are. We get close, but we don’t get the prize. Our guy 90 (Montez Sweat) who I consider a freakish guy, is really good but he doesn’t finish. He doesn’t get the desired results. He’s close; our guys are close.”

“Payne (Daron) is playing like he just got out of lockdown. You see that difference? That is the difference that you either have to be coached into that, punked into that, or forced into that. We don’t have THAT. ”

“We have good guys, they are doing a good job, but there is not canine in them that comes out. You don’t get gashed like that. It just doesn’t happen. There is a disconnection, a communication void that is going on. It’s as clear as day to me because I’ve been on winners.”

“Right now if this was a soap box this would be a best-seller; it would be a No.1 rated sitcom because that’s what it is, a sitcom. You think I’m laughin’; I’m not laughin’. It’s pitiful.”

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