Tag: DT Jonathan Allen

Commanders’ DT Allen: ‘Growing up here, it is more personal’

Allen defends Del Rio, while acknowledging football is a production-based business.

How does Jonathan Allen feel about this being another losing season for the Washington Commanders?

The Commanders defensive tackle made it clear to the “Sports Junkies” at 106.7 the Fan, Monday, “Growing up here and being a fan of the team, long before I played here, it’s even more personal.”

Allen continued, stating that most players get drafted and want that team to do well, but “growing up in this area, going to the training camps, following them, supporting them, rooting for them for five to ten years before I even came on this team, it sucks, because I want to win.”

“But even more importantly, I want to win here. If winning was all, I wouldn’t have signed a contract for here. I would have gone free agency and gone to the best team. Winning somewhere else wouldn’t feel the same for me.”

“The idea of winning here is something I am going to achieve before I exit this league, God willing. It is tough, but it gives me the resolve to come back year and year with even more optimism. Because I truly believe we found our quarterback…”

The “Sports Junkies” cast then asked about defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio being fired, and Allen offered some heartfelt thoughts.

“We live and play in a production-based world and a production-based league, and when the defense has played like we have played, heads are going to roll. That’s only natural,” said Allen.

“I do not think Coach Del Rio was the entirety or sole reason why we are where we are. But as the leader and the guy who leads the group, you are always going to get the blame. Like when the offense doesn’t play well, the quarterback gets the blame.”

“It’s part of the blame. It sucks. But at the end of the day, we get paid to perform. Changes are going to be made.”

“There’s nothing he did that I largely disagree with…As players, I think we could have performed better.”

“I’ve never seen a pencil win a game. It’s a coach’s job to try to put you in the best position to make plays. At the end of the day, the coach is not the one out there telling you play the double team or to catch the interception, or react fast and hustle to the ball.”

“It’s not Del Rio’s fault a guy doesn’t win his pass rush rep, or a guy loses his one-on-one man-to-man rep. I’m always going to lean more to the players could have done a better job.”

“I can point out a lot of things as to why we are not playing well. It’s a year-to-year league even when you have the same personnel.”

“I reached out to him and told him I appreciate him for everything he’s done, and I wish him and his family nothing but the best. He sent a nice message back, telling me to continue to lead and be true to who I am. We had a good relationship.”

There is more. Here is the video link to the entire conversation with Jonathan Allen.

Postgame quotes following Commanders’ inexcusable loss to Giants

Brian Mitchell preaches for everyone to have patience with Sam Howell. BMitch believes Howell has what it takes to be a franchise QB.

Another ugly, embarrassing, inexcusable loss to the Giants, so what were some saying during the postgame interviews and postgame show?

“Sam Howell has the potential to be a d— good quarterback in this league. He can be a franchise quarterback. But everybody out there, pump your d— breaks and allow him to get to that point. We can’t look at only one game and already put him up there. Let the man grow. He is a young guy who has to learn. Peyton Manning had games like this early on.” Brian Mitchell

“Any offensive coach, any offensive player will tell you, you can not turn the football over that many times and reasonably expect to win a football game.” Logan Paulsen

“He’s (Sam Howell) learning, he’s growing. He made some mistakes, but he hung in there, he fought and gave us a chance to win the football game.”  Ron Rivera

“When you turn the ball over that many times, you are not going to win games. It starts with me. I have to do a better job of taking care of the football. I didn’t give my team a chance to win today.” Sam Howell

“It is a low point, that’s for sure,” Rivera said. “Any time you’ve got an opportunity to win a football game and you put the numbers up that you did, you got to come through.”     Ron Rivera

“No matter what my answer is, it’s going to come out and people are going to say it’s an excuse. So we’re just going to take the responsibility. We’re going to show up tomorrow, we’re going to get prepared, and we’re going to get ready to play Dallas, because we got a very short week.”  Ron Rivera

“I think the most frustrating part is that I think we have a really good football team. We have so much potential in that locker room. That’s the disappointing thing, is that we’re not we’re not getting the results that we feel like we were definitely capable of.” Sam Howell

“I am not the type to point the fingers, but at the same time, each guy has to figure out how he can affect this team in a positive way to help us win. If you are not, then this is probably not the place for you. At the same time, I am going to continue to work and be ready for my opportunity. I just try to stay ready and be positive, and try to be part of the solution.”  Terry McLaurin

“It’s kind of been the theme of the season — we’ll play really good, and then we’ll have four- or five-minute lapses in a game that allow for big plays in the game. Until we clean that up, we’ll never be the defense that we can be.” Jonathan Allen

“I would say learning how to win; when you look at teams around the league who are consistently successful, they know how to win different types of games. In order to win ugly, in order to win offensive and defensive games, special teams. And so for us, we just have to learn how to win in different ways.” Jonathan Allen

Del Rio defends Commanders tackles Allen and Payne

Del Rio makes it clear: Allen and Payne are playing well.

Jack Del Rio took exception Thursday to two of his players being called out publicly this week.

ESPN’s Seth Walder this week had tweeted, stating that Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are producing less pass rush in 2023 than in 2022.

Walder revealed some numbers to back his claim. Allen had ranked 9th and Payne 12th in 2022 in “pass rush win rate.”

He then conveyed that through ten games this season, Allen is now 26th and Payne 42nd out of 52 qualifying defensive tackles.

Consequently, when Del Rio was asked about this by the Washington media Thursday, he responded, “I don’t like to sit up here and grade for you guys. They’re two really good players, and they’re playing well.”

Then Del Rio was challenged when one asked where Allen and Payne were making their impact, despite their pass rush win rate” being down from last season.

Del Rio threw out his own challenge, “I’ll watch tape with you if you’d like. They’re pretty good players, and they’re having a good strong year for us.”

Later, Del Rio was asked about how defensive tackle John Ridgeway has played. “Ridge? I think Ridge has played very well the last few weeks in particular.”

Then came a question regarding rookie defensive end Andre Jones Jr. and his pass rush.

“He’s been very aware and has done a nice job with it. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play, and (DE) KJ (Henry) was so close to getting his first sack two weeks ago. As they get opportunities to play, they’re going to make plays, and it’s not all going to be good. But we ask them to go out and apply their technique, play hard, compete their butts off, and help us get the ball back for the offense.”

Back to Andre Jones, “I just think he’s worked hard all year. That’s the one thing I would say about him. He’s been very consistent in how he’s approached things. His role had become primarily a lot on special teams and a little on D, and that equation’s going to change a little bit. He is going to get a little more on D and probably a little less on special teams, but I like the way he’s working at it. He’s done a good job being conscientious, coming in and putting in the work every day.”

Commanders postgame quotes after close win over Patriots

Players, coaches and analysts speak after the Commanders’ win over the Patriots.

Here are some of the postgame quotes after the Washington Commanders defeated the New England Patriots 20-17 on Sunday.

“Coming up here and playing with that kind of tenacity, intensity, having that fight we saw, a lot of that was displayed today. I would like to see Mac Jones on the ground a little more…that one roughing the passer was the only sack we would’ve had, but for the most part, the team played well.”  Santana Moss

“I think Sam (Howell) and Eric (Bieniemy) outwitted Bill Belichick today. We ran the ball effectively and stuck to it.” Brian Mitchell

“I did not know we had to play the referees again, with the dumbest call in the history of football…this whole game, as good as it was played, the ups and downs, that play right there makes me look and say, ‘Everybody on that referee crew (you cannot fine me), you should not be calling the game because that call was the dumbest call I have ever seen in my life.” Brian Mitchell on the roughing the passer penalty

“Sam Howell is our future. He’s our quarterback. I feel like we found our quarterback for the next 5-10 years, and I truly believe that. When I look at the plays he makes on the field, and not only does he make great plays on the field, but his demeanor after bad plays and not playing well. He is always able to bounce back.” Jonathan Allen on Sam Howell

“I’ve seen a lot of great quarterbacks in my time, played against a lot of them and feel he has the potential to be one of them. I can truly say this team is behind Sam Howell one hundred percent.”  Jonathan Allen on Sam Howell

“Coach Rivera had the team ready to play, and Coach Eric Bieniemy called an excellent game! He was creative on offense and switched between runs and passes.”  Earvin “Magic” Johnson

“Well, with the exception of the interception he had in the first half, I believe he played the type of game we believe he is capable of. He made really good decisions and did some smart things. But there are some things he is going to want to have back once he has a chance to look at the tape and evaluate it.” Ron Rivera on Sam Howell

“We need to put those guys in position to have the success we can have. We are still growing and developing with the guy and he did a great job and led us to the victory.” Ron Rivera on young players and Sam Howell in particular

“It feels good to win, especially after we have lost some tough ones the last few weeks. I think the defense stepped up a lot, stopping their offense, giving us a short field. Tress (Way) did a good job pinning them down there. I feel like every time we looked down there, they were inside their 15, which is great for field position. It seems small, but it really makes a difference.” Terry McLaurin

When we get into the red zone, we have to score touchdowns. So as we progress, we have to continue to build on what we did well, but also figure out how we can be better in those critical areas.” Terry McLaurin

“I want to be the quarterback here for a really long time…How I’m going to get to that point is taking it one day at a time and doing everything that I can on a day-to-day basis. And that’s kinda the way I look at it.” Sam Howell on the talk if he is or isn’t the long-term answer at quarterback

“I never worry about the future. I take it one day at a time, and I try to give every day, every single thing I got. I give my teammates, I give the organization every single thing that I have every single day. That’s what I do and I’ll continue to try to do.”  Sam Howell

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.

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.”

Jonathan Allen on Commanders loss to Bills: ‘I put it on the D-Line’

Allen keeping it real as always.

Who gets the most blame for the Commanders embarrassing 37-3 home loss to the Bills?

Jonathan Allen without hesitation responded, “I put it on the D-Line.”

Allen was making his weekly appearance this 2023 season on the “Sports Junkies” Monday mornings on 106.7 the Fan.

Allen told of arriving home Sunday evening around 6 p.m. ET, finding the Cowboys were losing to the Cardinals. Allen then watched the rest of that game and said he went to bed early to get some rest, as he had already turned his attention to Week 4.

Monday is no time for sulking over a tough loss for the former 17th overall pick of the Redskins in the 2017 draft. He has a routine, and he was getting right back to it following his interview Monday morning with the “Sports Junkies.”

Monday afternoon for the defensive tackle was scheduled to include some heavy squatting, a massage, and also a session in the Hyperbaric chamber. This is a room where the air pressure inside is raised to a level that is higher than normal air pressure. The increased air pressure in the chamber helps the lungs collect more oxygen.

The idea behind the chamber is an athlete the size of Allen (over 300 pounds), who has exerted himself so heavily in an NFL game, will recover quicker as increased oxygen reaches the body’s tissues.

Allen blamed the defensive line, expressing they allowed Bills quarterback Josh Allen too much time to get out of the pocket, making it harder on his teammates in pass coverage.

“As a defensive lineman, we have to be better, and I have to be better myself,” emphasized the always-responsible Allen. “I have to make sure I am doing what I need to do in staying in my rush lane, making sure he doesn’t have a place to run.”

“I feel like when you have four first-round picks on the defensive line, we are expected to make some of those plays. Again, we have four first-round picks, so we need to get the job done. The D-Line has to play better, and we are going to play better.”

“I mean, we lost 37-3. I think you can safely say everybody on the team failed.”

Jonathan Allen: ‘It’s definitely a new era’

Jonathan Allen calls this “by far” the most complete team he’s been on in seven NFL seasons.

Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was himself, taking responsibility for the slow start Sunday.

Allen was making his weekly appearance this 2023 season on the “Sports Junkies” Monday mornings on 106.7 The Fan.

Rather than talk of how the offense had only scored 3 points, Allen told of how the defense made things hard for the team, getting off to a slow start and giving up touchdowns on Denver’s first three possessions.

He said he enjoyed “being able to come back after playing so poorly defensively in the first quarter and tighten things up and give our team a chance to win.”

Then Allen quickly praised the offense, “Hats off to our offense; they played a great game. Guys made plays when they needed to, and it was great to get the victory.” He feels “it’s definitely a new era.”

Allen credited the Broncos offense for making plays and also added the Commanders defense contributed by having some communication errors, and they were “not gap sound” at times.

Down 21-3, Allen declared, “On the sidelines nobody was screaming at each other; nobody was defeated. Let’s just calm down, slow down; it’s an 18-point game, there’s lots of game left. Let’s do it one play at a time.”

When the offense suddenly scored on their last two possession of the first half, Allen said he saw the score had become 21-14, and he thought, “We’re good.”

Having Chase Young back in the lineup was an encouragement. Allen said, “It felt great! I’m looking forward to having a fun season with him.”

“This is by far the most complete team I have had (in the NFL),” Allen expressed. “It’s going to be a fun season.”

Regarding linebacker Jamin Davis’ improved play, Allen pointed to the fact that Davis actually only started one year in college, and the transition to the NFL can be very difficult. But he sees Davis playing faster and sees a good year for Davis.

He also pointed out Daron Payne is really living up to his performance of last season, and this is why the team signed Payne to his new lucrative contract.

Emmanuel Forbes is a rookie Allen really likes thus far. “You would think he has been in the league five or six years. He is level-headed, calm, just a ball player. I love it.”

When Denver scored on the Hail Mary attempt as time expired, Allen said, “I was so tired I didn’t even know what to think at that point. The way the ball bounced, I guess they got lucky. I really don’t know what to say about that.”

Allen is excited about new Commanders quarterback Sam Howell. He said he was impressed with Howell’s preparation this last week and that the team is believing in Howell’s ability and leadership.

The rest of the team can learn by listening more to Jonathan Allen; that much is altogether certain.

Jonathan Allen wanted to win for the Commanders fans

Jonathan Allen always tells it like it is. And he was happy to give Washington fans a home win.

Jonathan Allen was himself Monday, feeling secure enough to not give the expected answers, but tell it like it is.

Allen was making his weekly appearance this 2023 season on the “Sports Junkies” Monday mornings on 106.7 The Fan.

Jason Bishop began stating the Cardinals were basically starting a third-string quarterback and that he knew Allen would not publicly admit it had been a must-win game. Allen, without hesitation, responded, “No, we definitely felt that. This was definitely a must-win.”

Allen said he reminded some teammates that when Washington played the undefeated Steelers in 2020, “I’m pretty sure they weren’t looking at us as a serious threat when they were 11-0. And we won.”

“Cakes,” asked Allen about the home crowd Sunday, being such a predominantly Commanders home crowd, unlike recent seasons as fan support had dwindled. “That was the best crowd support at FedEx I’ve seen in my career. When the fans come out and support like that, I want to win for them. I want to play harder for them.”

“We are happy to give them (Commanders fans) the win, to give them something to take home for the rest of this week until next week. It was a really fun game for us.”

Asked by Eric Bickel how the defense was so dominant for most of the second half, Allen expressed, “The DBs were locked in, the linebackers were locked in, and the defensive line. We were all locked into our job. Coach Del Rio puts his trust in us. We’ve invested a lot of (draft) picks to the line. So it is on us to put pressure on the quarterback and make everyone else’s job easier. We want that challenge, that opportunity.”

Allen and his wife traveled around the world last offseason and he told of how they hiked in tremendous heat and at high elevations at times as well. JP asked regarding the Commanders having to play in “the Mile High City” against the Broncos in Week 2.

“We are in the NFL. We get paid millions of dollars. It’s our job to be ready to play in the altitude. At the end of the day, I get paid to do a job. I’m not going to let altitude stop me from doing that job.”

Don’t you just love Jonathan Allen? Don’t you just love his manly attitude about work?

I wonder what a Commanders roster of 53 players with the attitude of Jonathan Allen could accomplish in the NFL?

Questions increasing regarding Commanders defensive line

Injuries piling up along the defensive line.

Suddenly the strong is much weaker.

The strongest unit of the Washington Commanders team has no doubt been the defensive line. Media and fans wondered Tuesday why the front office determined to keep 11 defensive linemen on the 53-man roster.

There is now no question why. Thursday, the Commanders announced Efe Obada is joining Phidarian Mathis on the injured reserve List. This means both Mathis (calf) and Obada (knee) will miss at least the first four games of the 2023 season.

Oh, there’s more. The most consistent and productive member of the defensive front four, Jonathan Allen, is battling Plantar Fasciitis.

Consequently, Abdullah Anderson was re-signed to the active roster.

At the roster announcement press conference Tuesday, Ben Standig asked Coach Rivera regarding injuries and Chase Young. Coach Ron replied,

“We’re not gonna talk about that. We’re gonna talk about where we are right now. We’re going forward with this right now; this was a good day.”

Suddenly, Chase Young being a contributor is again a question. After being the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, the Commanders have gotten almost nothing from Young.  In 2021, there were issues with Young in the offseason, and he produced nothing more than frustration for the coaches in 2021. Then, came his bad injury, ending his season.

This spring, many fans insisted Rivera was so out of line to not provide Young the fifth-year option. Are you folks still going to maintain the same position?

Obada and Mathis are definitely gone for at least four games. Might Young miss the opener? Will Allen fully recover or be limited during the season? How much will Young produce this season?

Is it any wonder Rivera is already concerned?