Tag: Commanders OC Scott Turner

Where does Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy rank in NFL?

There are some interesting names on this list.

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Pro Football Focus, in the last several days, ranked the top ten offensive coordinators in the NFL.

Did Commanders new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy make the list?

Washington head coach Ron Rivera dismissed former offensive coordinator Scott Turner shortly following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season. Washington had finished 8-8-1, and the offense struggled, finishing 24th in the NFL, averaging 18.9 points per game.

The Commanders consequently went looking for a new offensive coordinator, and Kansas City Chief head coach Andy Reid actively campaigned for Bieniemy to be hired elsewhere. Commanders Wire was on top of that development,  early in the process asking if Andy Reid was nudging Bieniemy out of Kansas City to replace him with Matt Nagy.

PFF, in ranking the top ten offensive coordinators in the NFL, has Bieniemy at No. 6.

Consistently overlooked, Eric Bienemy takes over Washington’s offense: Bienemy has been passed over for head coaching opportunities but now gets a chance to prove his value with the Commanders.

Frankly, isn’t it virtually impossible to rank these coordinators? Take Bieniemy, for example. Bieniemy may be the very best coordinator in the game today. But who knows? After all, he became the Chiefs offensive coordinator the very season Patrick Mahomes became the starter.

PFF echoes this very honest dilemma:

One of the most difficult evaluations out there, Eric Bienemy, has become an annual discussion point as he gets consistently overlooked in head coaching searches. We know Andy Reid is an incredible offensive mind in Kansas City, and we know Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game. So how good Bienemy is within his role as coordinator is an open question, so much so that he felt he needed to prove he can thrive outside of their influence in Washington. Unfair as it may be, this season could be one that makes or breaks Bienemy’s reputation as a coordinator.

If you don’t want to read the entire PFF story we’ve linked for you above, here is the top-ten ranking by PFF:

  1. Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions
  2. Kellen Moore, Los Angeles Chargers
  3. Bill O’Brien, New England Patriots
  4. Shane Waldron, Seattle Seahawks
  5. Ken Dorsey, Buffalo Bills
  6. Eric Bieniemy, Washington Commanders
  7. Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens
  8. Matt Nagy, Kansas City Chiefs
  9. Jim Bob Cooter, Indianapolis Colts
  10. Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys

Commanders’ Antonio Gibson: ‘I’m excited, but not just for me’

Don’t overlook Antonio Gibson in Washington’s offense in 2023.

Antonio Gibson rushed for over 1,000 yards in the 2021 season.

Last season he had to give way to rookie Brian Robinson Jr., who became the leading ball carrier. Gibson’s carries were reduced to 149, while Robinson ran 205 times. Consequently, Robinson gained 797 yards and Gibson 546.

What may be missed by many Commanders fans is Gibson was the third leading receiver on the team last season, behind only Terry McLaurin (77) and Curtis Samuel (64), bringing in 46 receptions in 2022.

106.7 The Fan reporter JP Finlay spoke briefly with Gibson Thursday. Here is the link for the segment.

How does Gibson feel about the new offense he was learning in voluntary workouts this past week? “I’m excited, but not just for me. I’m seeing a lot of things for a lot of guys that should open up. He moves us around; we have a lot of things going. ”

Gibson also likes what he saw out of Sam Howell, ” He looks nice. He looks really good. He looks confident, comfortable. He just has to keep competing.”

Following next week’s mandatory workouts, Gibson plans on taking his wife and three children to Hawaii for a little vacation before he has to buckle down for training camp.

In Kansas City last season, Bieniemy got the ball to running back Jerick McKinnon as he was targeted 71 times on passing plays for 56 receptions for 512 yards (9.1 yards per reception) and 9 receiving touchdowns.

Gibson, under the Scott Turner offense, quarterbacked by Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke last season, averaged 7.7 yards on his 46 receptions.

Already Gibson is optimistic because of what he has learned thus far in the Bieniemy offense. Might Gibson be getting the ball in space more often in 2023?

If so, no wonder Gibson is already excited.

Will Scott Turner and Taylor Heinicke reunite again?

Could Taylor Heinicke follow Scott Turner to Las Vegas?

The Raiders hired Scott Turner as a passing game coordinator on Friday.

Wouldn’t you know it, Taylor Heinicke is now a free agent. You see, the two have worked together now three previous times.

Heinicke was getting no interest and was going to be undrafted in 2015.

Heinicke would have one NFL coach come to see him on his scheduled Old Dominion University pro day, and that lone coach was Turner.

Turner, the son of former Redskins head coach Norv Turner was coaching quarterbacks for the Minnesota Vikings. He had heard about this kid from tiny Old Dominion and his college career. Heinicke had passed for 14,959 yards, 132 touchdowns, 1,338 completions, on a sizzling 73.1 completion percentage, and 7 touchdown passes in a single game.

Heinicke indeed went undrafted but signed with the Vikings in 2015 and played some in the preseason, but was not on the active regular-season roster.

The former ODU Monarch was briefly with the Texans in 2017, appearing in one game, completing one pass for ten yards. Next, he again joined up with Turner, this time in Carolina in 2018, making one start and completing 35 of 57 passes for 320 yards.

Late in the 2020 season, when Denver lost three quarterbacks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Turner (with Washington) connected again with  Heinicke and found him taking classes, staying on his sister’s couch.

Now three seasons later, Heinicke with Washington started 24 games for a record of 12-11-1. He passed for 5,415 yards on a 64.0 completion percentage. His touchdown/interception ratio has been 33:21.

Heinicke’s value might have gone up considerably, seeing Washington was 5-3-1 in games he started. Then again, he really struggled at times, and the Commanders seemed to win sometimes despite his inconsistent play.

The Raiders and Derek Carr seemed to be in a spat and are separated, looking to divorce. Will Turner’s influence and Heinicke’s availability result in the two reuniting a fourth time in the NFL?

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Commanders, Rivera, new offensive coordinator NEED to win next year

Ron Rivera needs to hire the offensive coordinator who can help him win — not necessarily who he is most comfortable with.

Ron Rivera and the Commanders are searching for their next offensive coordinator, and one name has yet to generate much discussion.

The reason might be play-calling experience. Or it might be something as simple as why would an offensive coordinator leave Patrick Mahomes for another OC job.

Calling the plays in the NFL? Don’t all offensive coordinators do this today? Not if the head coach wants to be calling the plays. Eric Bienemy has been in Kansas City now for ten years. For the first five, he coached running backs, and for the last five, he has been the offensive coordinator, but it remains Reid who calls the plays.

Apparently, the play calling of OC Scott Turner was upsetting enough to Coach Ron that Turner was sent packing after his three years under Rivera.

Play-calling is the most criticized aspect of NFL coaching.
Every fan knows the coordinator should not have called that play that didn’t work well. Actually, what most of us confuse is play-calling with execution.

The Commanders run it up the middle on 4th & 1, “Everyone knew they were going to run it up the middle! They should have out-smarted the defense and pitched it wide!”

Yet, when Washington pitched wide on a 4th & 1 early against Cleveland, “What are you doing, pitching wide when you need only one yard!? You should have sent Brian Robinson up the middle to pick up the one yard!”

Of course, those fans were completely forgetting that the interior line had trouble getting a surge in the previous game in San Francisco, missing on three plays needing a single yard.

Pat Shurmur?
Ken Zampese?
Charles London?
Eric Studesville?
Thomas Brown?
Greg Roman?

Who knows?

I certainly don’t.

One thing we do know. Coach Ron has won 7, 7 and 8 games in his three seasons in Washington. He is well aware he NEEDS to win next year.

Consequently, won’t Rivera thus hire whom he feels will best help him get over the hump and into the playoffs in 2023?

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Which Washington offensive coordinators do you recall?

Looking back at some of Washington’s previous offensive coordinators. It’s a pretty good list.

As a little kid following the team as closely as I could, I recall hearing for the first time of an offensive coordinator. George Allen was a defensive-minded head coach for Washington, but I was learning they had this coach in charge of the offense (to some degree), and he was Ted Marchibroda (1971-74).

I learned in just a few years that Marchibroda really knew offense when as head coach of the Colts, his teams were exciting on offense, winning the AFC East. I began hearing how Allen had actually been too conservative, handcuffing Marchibroda.

Charlie Waller (1975-77) was the next Washington offensive coordinator. I naturally thought he must be great. Until a couple of years later and I heard Joe Theismann praising then-offensive coordinator Joe Walton (1978-80) for being his most organized ever, coordinating the quarterback pass drops with the timing of the offense.

I was a teenager (didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did) but have always remembered this Theismann comment because it struck me, causing me to wonder what Waller had been doing with the offense the previous seasons.

When Joe Gibbs was the head coach, Joe Bugel (1981-89) was listed as the offensive coordinator, but it was Coach Joe always calling the plays. Steve Spurrier didn’t have an OC, either. That time it didn’t work out so well.

When Coach Joe came out of retirement, he determined he needed not one but both Al Saunders (2006-07) and Don Breaux (2004-07) as his offensive coordinators.

Sherman Smith (2008-09), Kyle Shanahan (2010-13), Sean McVay (2014-16), Matt Cavanaugh (2017-18), and Kevin O’Connell (2019) all brought their own backgrounds and philosophies to the role.

Frankly, I don’t know what type of OC Scott Turner (2020-22) was. I heard all of the complaining about the play-calling this season. But I do know this. When I watched the All-22 viewpoint, I often saw guys schemed open and Washington quarterbacks not getting the ball to them.

Yes, it is important whom they hire, but in 2023 they are going to NEED better offensive line play and better quarterback play.

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What do the 2022 Commanders’ team offensive stats tell us?

A change was needed.

Why has the Washington Commanders’ brass interviewed Pat Shurmur, Ken Zampese, Charles London, Eric Studesville, and Thomas Brown for their offensive coordinator position on the coaching staff?

The simple answer we may be tempted to offer is that Scott Turner was fired. But why was Scott Turner fired?

There are always going to be relational elements that go on behind closed doors, down on team sidelines, that the public is not made aware of until later.

We know there were some philosophical differences between Ron Rivera and Turner. But hey, they are two knowledgeable football coaches, and differences of opinion are to be expected.

It’s been reported that Turner was not altogether pleased with the trade for Carson Wentz last offseason. Was Turner upset about Wentz himself? Was Turner upset concerning the compensation the Commanders returned to the Colts?

However, what we can look at are some numbers. What were the numbers for the Washington Commanders offense this season? What will the numbers tell us? The numbers show the offense, whether one coach wanted to run more and one wanted to pass more, was not outstanding passing or running.

There were effective games passing (Jaguars, Titans) and running (Cowboys, Packers, Eagles, Falcons), but when looking at the season-long results, what do we learn?

*Team Rankings based on scale of 1st is the best and 32nd the worst

Washington Commanders 2022 Offensive Team Statistics

Points scored by offense 321 (24th)

Yards gained from scrimmage 5,615 (20th)

Offensive plays 1,140 (4th)

Yards per offensive play 4.9 (27th)

Turnovers lost 23 (18th)

First Downs  339 (18th)

Passing Yards 3,472 (21st)

Passing Touchdowns 24  (17th)

Interceptions Thrown 16 (27th)

Net Yards gained per passing attempt 5.8 (23rd)

Passing First Downs 184  (20th)

Rushing Yards 2,143  (12th)

Rushing Touchdowns 9  (29th)

Rushing Yards per attempt 4.0  (28th)

Rushing First Downs  124  (11th)

Percentage of drives ending in offensive score 29.4%  (28th)

Percentage of drives ending in offensive turnover 11.7 % (18th)

Expected points contributed by the offense  -24.27  (24th)

Conclusion:

a. Commanders quarterbacks were not very good this season, and the Commanders offensive line did not perform as well in run or pass blocking as they did in 2021.

b. Changes are needed on the offense in coaching and personnel.

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How did Commanders quarterbacks rank in the 2022 NFL season?

Assessing all the key stats from Washington’s quarterbacks in 2022.

Who should be the starting Commanders quarterback in 2023?

That question is asked because the quarterback play for Washington during the 2022 season left much to be desired. As a result, Carson Wentz will certainly be released soon, Taylor Heinicke may or may not be re-signed and Sam Howell could be the only one of the three to remain with Washington for 2023.

Keep in mind Sam Howell only took actual snaps in the season finale against Dallas. While it is true Washington scored 26 points that day, Howell only attempted 19 passes, completed only 57.9 percent of his attempts, graded out at 83.0 passer rating and a 46.5 QBR. So, nothing stellar, but it is such a small sample size, not too much either way should be made of the performance. However, it could be accurately said that Howell displayed more ability on his feet than Wentz and Heinicke.

Heinicke started nine games, and Wentz the other seven. Between the two of them, they both had good moments but also struggled more than a few times.

Here are a few numbers exhibiting that the passing offense, regardless if Wentz or Heinicke were in the lineup, struggled in contrast with most of the rest of the league.

Completion percentage: 23rd (62.1)

Passing Yards: 21st (3,472)

Passing Touchdowns: 17th (24)

Passing Touchdown percentage: 15th (4.3)

Interceptions Thrown: 27th (16)

Interceptions percentage: 28th (2.9)

Yards gained per passing attempt: 22nd (6.8)

Adjusted yards gained per passing attempt: 23rd (6.4)

Yards per passing completion: 17th (11.0)

Passing Yards gained per game: 21st (204.2)

Passer Rating: 22nd (84.7)

Expected Points contributed by passing 23rd (0.93)

Times sacked: 26th (48).

Game Winning Drives: 14th (3)

4Q Comebacks: 8th (4)

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What might new offensive coordinator mean for Sam Howell?

Washington’s next offensive coordinator is a critical hire with Sam Howell in mind.

Sam Howell looked across the line, and seeing the silver and blue Dallas Cowboys, he received the snap of the ball, dropping back on his first NFL passing attempt.

The line of scrimmage being the Dallas 16, Howell looked to his left, and there was Terry McLaurin completing a stutter move in a shallow crossing route moving from left to right beneath much of the Dallas secondary.

Howell planted his right foot to throw, tapped the ball with his left hand, and then looking in the middle of the field, passed toward McLaurin, leading him further to the right.

McLaurin made the catch around the ten-yard line, squared up his shoulders, and headed up the field into the end zone untouched. Sam Howell had attempted and completed his first NFL pass for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.

Washington defeated Dallas 26-6 as Howell enjoyed the thrill of passing for and running for his first NFL touchdowns, both in his initial NFL game.

The former North Carolina Tar Heel had not been drafted until the fifth round by Washington. Understandably, Howell was the No. 3 quarterback behind Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke. Only after the team was officially eliminated from the playoffs was Howell given the last game.

Two days later, Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner was fired. Rivera had thought so much of Turner that following the 2021 season; Turner was given a contract extension. But now he was being fired by Rivera, though Turner had worked with eight quarterbacks in these three seasons as offensive coordinator.

So, the search for a new offensive coordinator has begun. With Rivera’s win totals in his three seasons being 7,7 and 8, next year is most likely the last for Rivera unless Washington is in the playoffs.

So what offensive coordinator wants to come to Washington, where there have not been winning seasons since 2015-16? What offensive coordinator wants to come to work for a head coach who may be in his last year?

In addition, if 2023 with the new offensive coordinator does not result in Washington being in the playoffs and the new owner cleans house, what will that mean for Sam Howell in 2024?

It will mean three offensive coordinators in three NFL seasons for a third-year quarterback drafted in the fifth round. Commanders fans and certainly Sam Howell himself are hoping for a much smoother transition.

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What did game film of Sam Howell reveal to Logan Paulsen?

How did Logan Paulsen view Sam Howell’s first NFL start?

Logan Paulsen told last week of how he had been led to believe that the Commanders staff did not think Sam Howell was ready for a regular season NFL game.

Paulsen then asked listeners last week not to expect too much of Howell, as in kindness and thoughtfulness, he was attempting to protect Howell in case he would play poorly Sunday.

However, Howell played fairly well. There was a very bad interception and a couple of passes Howell missed. However, he ran well and made enough good decisions and good passes that he had to have pleased Commanders coaches and teammates.

Paulsen has now reviewed the game tape and offered his assessment to Craig Hoffman Wednesday on the “Take Command” podcast.

“There were some things physically that were just awesome: quick release, decisive throw, strong arm…his ability to run at this level. When you have a quarterback who can run, it’s a tremendous value added to the offense.”

That is a significant check in the box going forward for him next year (making plays off schedule). All of that was very positive and gets me excited about him moving forward.”

“I will say Scott (Turner) did a good job, to his credit, of basically designing very simple stuff for Howell to do. There was nothing overly complex.”

“There was a slant to Jahan that was a dragging concept; it is a day-one install, a very simple read.”

Paulsen expressed how there were some completions that were one-read throws. You look there, see if it is doable and let ‘er fly. Paulsen noticed that there were plays where Howell’s eyes were fixated on the receiver to whom he passed the ball.

“You love that he was finding throwing windows, his quick release, he was leading the receivers, his ball placement. All of that stuff was excellent. But some of the concerns that I had were about his ability to process an NFL offense. I’m not sure those questions were answered. But he did show you enough of his physical stuff to see why some talked of him being the best in college football in 2021.”

 

Chris Cooley on Commanders offense: ‘It’s becoming an anemic offense’

Last week was a tough game for the Washington offense, and the 49ers have the NFL’s best defense.

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As usual, former Washington tight end Chris Cooley provided good insight into the Commanders’ loss to the Giants in Week 15 in his appearance on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast Friday.

Here are some quotes from Cooley:

“The Heinicke fumble and Thibodeaux return from the 2-yard line is an unbelievable dagger to them. It is an offense that can’t score enough points, that can’t afford to give the defense points.”

“The Terry McLaurin penalty is so egregious it is unbelievable. He (the official) should be fined; he should be suspended. That can’t happen…That is b___ s ___.”

“A critical situation at the very end of the game, and you are going to flag that (McLaurin)? Then you are not going to turn around and flag a piggyback ride for pass interference?”

“Between two games, a tie and a loss, you could take eight plays and truly change it. The better team, Washington, should have won both of those ball games.”

“I think when you tie and lose (those games) I think New York is either coached better, executing better, so New York is a better team. I was wrong. Their quarterback is better.”

“What were you trying to get to in this game? They didn’t set up anything. That’s what I would continue to ask Washington, ‘What are you getting to?’ ”

“They are right now one of the worst teams in the league in creating big plays. They don’t get them.”

“There was no complement to the pass game to what was a pretty good run game in the first half with a loaded box…Robinson is getting better in part because he is getting healthier. He is quicker than he was six weeks ago. There is more of a burst. He is running with power. He looks great. He should’ve had [more] touches in that game.”

“Throughout the game, I didn’t like a lot of Heinicke… I think his grade is a D+ and Scott Turner a D.”

“San Francisco pressures ten times more than the Giants. This is a four-turnover game (vs 49ers) the way he played vs the Giants.”

There is much, much more…