Tag: Jack Del Rio

Commanders coach Ron Rivera misses practice Wednesday due to a family matter

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio steps in for Rivera on Wednesday.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera missed practice Wednesday to attend to a family matter in California involving his mother, a team spokesperson told Sam Fortier of The Washington Post.

Rivera is expected to return to Virginia Wednesday night and be at practice on Thursday.

In his place, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio led practice Wednesday and met with the media.

Among the topics that Del Rio discussed was the status of defensive end Chase Young. Young, who is recovering from a knee injury suffered last November, is close to a return. However, Del Rio said Washington remains cautious about Young’s return.

Once Young is cleared, the Commanders can begin his 21-day clock, giving them three weeks to activate him or he will miss the season. Young could be cleared by the end of the week or next week.

Commanders DC Jack Del Rio, ‘Rodgers one of the all-time greats’

Del Rio praised several of his defenders but understands the challenge of facing Aaron Rodgers.

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio met with the press Thursday. Without using many words, Del Rio at times does drop clues. Here are some excerpts.

When Del Rio was asked about three specific cornerbacks Benjamin St-Juste, Rachad Wildgoose and William Jackson III, it was classic Del Rio.
“I think Benjamin’s done a great job for us; pleased with him. Wildgoose is taking advantage of his opportunity to play, doing a good job for us. I’ll let Coach handle the William discussion. I’ll let him handle that.”

Facing Aaron Rodgers Sunday, Del Rio knows he is “one of the all-time greats at the position. He’s extremely accurate, good decision maker. He can throw the ball from a lot of different slots, a lot of different angles, gets it out, makes decisions, and gets it out really, really quick. He is one of the elite players at the quarterback position, has been for a long time doing it. So a lot of respect for him and we’re geared up, ready to go.”

When asked how Jamin Davis has helped the defense improve, Del Rio probably raised some eyebrows.

“I think as a group we’re, figuring things out a little bit. Still a lot of work to do. I think we’re making strides and we’re just gonna keep pushing. I think Jamin is included in that. I think our group has come out, has continued to grind and work. That’s what we need to do in order to improve.”

Del Rio clarified sure, you need sacks, but QB hits are awfully important as well.“Sure. Yeah. I mean the idea is we want to hit and affect the quarterback as much as we can. Clearly closing the deal with the sack is the ultimate, well, sack/fumble is the ultimate, but you gotta be able to pressure the quarterback in this league, and that’ll be a test this week.”

He is not an individualist, nor is Jack Del Rio simplistic. “There’s nothing so simple about it. I mean, it’s work. It’s an understanding. It’s getting a group of men to work as a team, together. It’s not about an individual in order to rush a quarterback; it’s gotta be coordinated, and it’s gotta be understood. You’ve gotta play off each other and communicate with each other and execute together.”

Del Rio wasn’t shy about praising defensive ends James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill and Efe Obada.

“They’re trying to take advantage of their opportunities as Chase [Young] heals. We know we’ll get him back, but until we get him back, those guys are getting probably more opportunities than they’ll get when he is back. And I think they’re doing everything they can to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Does Del Rio need to update his scouting report on Aaron Rodgers?

“It’s not so much what I know, what I have in my mind. It’s more, what can we convey to our guys? What can they learn? How well can we understand together what he’s about and what they’re about?”

Instead of dwelling on how the defense has gelled, Del Rio looked forward.

“Just working at it, just trying to get a little bit better. I think we’re continuing to grind it. I believe in this group of men and we’re working hard together. I think good things will happen for us. Got a lot of work to do, lot of work in front of us. Huge challenge this week.”

With all the recent complaining about officiating becoming too skewed towards protecting quarterbacks, Del Rio responded quite positively.

“I understand it. The league wants offense; there are certain things that are obvious, but don’t fight it. Understand it, teach it and let’s go. So it’s not about things being popular or do I like it. No, but I have a clear understanding of what the rules are, and we’re going to make sure we do what we can to teach our guys, help them understand it. Control the things you can control.”

On if he worries about some of his guys being susceptible to a similar call:

“I’m not a big worrier. Just teach and go, man, teach and go.”

Jack Del Rio understands the challenge of facing Derrick Henry

Del Rio calls Henry “an amazing running back, an amazing talent.”

There is no one quite like Derrick Henry in the NFL. Now in his seventh NFL season, the Tennessee Titans star running back has rushed for over 7,000 yards and scored 68 rushing touchdowns.

Henry is one of a handful of backs in league history to run for over 2,000 yards and is a former NFL offensive player of the year. Henry is also tied with Tony Dorsett for the longest touchdown run in NFL history at 99 yards.

The Washington Commanders face the Titans Sunday and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio understands what his group is up against in Henry.

“Yeah, he is just so big and strong,” Del Rio said. “He is just an amazing running back, amazing talent. That is just one part of what we have to do. It starts there.”

Henry is a unique challenge because even though you know he is getting the football, good luck trying to tackle the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Henry. Seeing Henry on the schedule is a nightmare for any defense, particularly one with tackling issues.

Del Rio knows preparing for Henry is different than facing a pass-first team.

“Well, I mean, you still look over there,” Del Rio said. “The guy is really big, really fast and talented, understands how to run, how to set up blocks. Don’t wanna make it out to be more than it is. There are a lot of talented running backs in the league, but he’s certainly right up there with the best in our game. It’s gonna be a big challenge.” 

Del Rio is correct. Henry isn’t just all size and speed. He has elite vision and patience, making him the NFL’s top running back when healthy.

The Commanders have their work cut out for them Sunday.

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Jack Del Rio impressed with some of Washington’s young defenders

Jack Del Rio discussed Jamin Davis, Benjamin St-Juste and others this week.

The Washington Commanders were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles 24-8 in Week 3. However, you can’t necessarily blame Washington’s defense. Yes, the Commanders allowed 24 points, which all occurred in the second quarter.

One area that has plagued Washington is the explosive plays. The Commanders allowed explosive plays last week in the loss to the Eagles, but it wasn’t because they were out of position. That’s an improvement. Cornerback Kendall Fuller was on the wrong end of multiple explosive plays last week. The good thing was Fuller had solid coverage each time but failed to make a play on the ball.

Washington defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio met with the media this week and was asked what he liked about last week.

“I liked the first, third and fourth quarters,” Del Rio answered. “I thought we played some good football in spurts. We’re looking to have more consistency in what we’re doing, but there were some real bright spots in the game. A couple of things we like to do better, but the effort has been really strong, and I feel like we’re improving.”

Del Rio is right. There were some bright spots. One of those bright spots was second-year cornerback Benjamin St-Juste.

“Yeah, he stood up,” Del Rio said. “Benjamin did a good job late in the week. Will [Jackson] had some issues and wasn’t able to go, and Benjamin stepped up and did a nice job for us. So, yeah, we’re looking to play good football, you know, whatever we can do.”

It sounds like St-Juste will be back in the slot this week. That’s a shame as it’s clear he belongs on the outside and has a chance to be a really good NFL cornerback.

Another young player who is playing better of late is linebacker Jamin Davis. Head coach Ron Rivera has praised Davis. Del Rio called Davis out after the Week 1 win over Jacksonville, saying Davis had a “so-so” performance.

Del Rio was more complimentary of Davis this time around.

“Well, he’s got a lot of speed, you know, so if you have a guy that can run, he can certainly track him and get him down,” Del Rio said of Davis. “There were a couple of examples of him doing just that in the game. So, want him to continue to grow and work hard and develop the way he is and, you know, make the plays when he has an opportunity.”

Del Rio wasn’t over the top in his praise of Davis, so you wonder if this remains Del Rio’s version of “tough love.” Anyhow, Davis is improving each week and that’s a good sign for the future.

Rivera sees improvement from linebacker Jamin Davis

Rivera has been encouraged by Jamin Davis’ improvement early in the season.

As Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera looks for answers from his defense, he’s seen improvements from some over the first three games of the season.

Second-year linebacker Jamin Davis struggled as a rookie in 2021. The first-round pick was expected to be Washington’s middle linebacker, but coaches quickly realized Davis was better on the outside. So instead of spending resources on upgrading at linebacker in the offseason, Washington was counting on improvements from Davis.

After the Week 1 win over Jacksonville, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio criticized Davis, saying he had a “so-so” performance in the victory.

“Jamin was just okay in the game,” Del Rio said at the time. “I think he practiced better throughout the offseason. It was just a so-so performance. I think he’ll do better as the year goes on.”

Rivera was asked about Del Rio’s comments and seemingly agreed.

Were the coaches putting Davis on notice, or was this a way of continuing to push the young linebacker to reach his potential?

Either way, it seems to have worked, as Davis has been better in Washington’s last two games.

Rivera specifically mentioned Davis on Wednesday.

A guy that’s kind of like we say, just kind of soaking up the gravy has been Jamin [Davis] in terms of the add-ons,” Rivera said. “You know, he’s seeing opportunities to go in and make a play, and he’s stepped up. That’s been a big deal for us, but we gotta have more of it. We just gotta continue to work at it.”

This isn’t a case of Rivera attempting to motivate Davis by praising him. The tape doesn’t lie. Davis is improving each week, and that’s good for the long-term prospects of Washington’s defense.

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4 matchups to watch for Commanders vs. Eagles

Here are four matchups to watch in Sunday’s game between the Commanders vs. Eagles.

Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts are the most-talked about players in Week 3’s matchup between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles. However, there are plenty of intriguing players on both sides of the ball for each team.

Outside of the quarterbacks, there are several high-profile matchups to watch. Each team features an outstanding defensive line and wide receivers.

Specific matchups will likely determine the outcome of this game. Which matchups favor the Eagles? How about the Commanders?

We’ve identified four matchups to watch in Sunday’s Week 3 battle.

 

Can the Washington Commanders fix their godawful defense?

The Washington Commanders’ defense has been a disaster in 2021 and 2022. Is there any way to fix it in-season?

In the 2022 season, the Washington Commanders have faced two teams in the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions whose offenses are very much under construction. In those two games, Jack Del Rio’s defense has been its opponents’ most willing contractors. In Week 1, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence completed 24 of 42 passes for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and the Commanders won, 28-22. My sense was, had the Commanders faced Lawrence about a month down the road in Doug Pederson’s offense, it would be a different story.

Last Sunday, the Commanders got it handed to them by the Detroit Lions — Del Rio’s defense allowed Jared Goff (of all people) to complete 20 of 34 passes for 256 yards… and four touchdowns. Goff did not have a great game — there were times when he just couldn’t hit what he needed to in the red zone — but he was given all kinds of help by Washington’s coverage busts. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a career game with nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, adding 68 rushing yards on two carries.

And that’s what we really need to talk about when we talk about the Commanders’ defense. Coverage busts, over and over. We saw them last season, when Washington allowed the NFL’s most passing touchdowns — 34, to just 11 interceptions. That defense also allowed 400 catches on 597 attempts for 4,542 yards, a completion rate of 67.0%, a yards per attempt allowed of 7.6, an opponent passer rating of 100.9, and an opponent EPA of 67.90.

Things were no better in the preseason, when Washington’s defense allowed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to rip it apart with even more busted looks. You do not want to give Patrick Mahomes any help.

Patrick Mahomes vs. Washington’s defense was the mismatch you’d expect

“Well, we hope to be better, right,” Del Rio said in June of his 2022 defense. “It’s clearly, it starts with a commitment to being here and working and being able to get on the same page, make sure the communication is good. I think that kind of gives you a great start, a great foundation. So right now we’re getting a lot of great work in. There are guys that are developing,

“This time of year, you can develop and gain a great understanding of how we all fit together and defensively, that’s what it’s all about. Kind of knowing where you need to go and everybody being accountable and getting there, playing with some attitude.”

So far, the Commanders’ attitude on defense has been, “Hey, we’re going to let your passing game throw a party at our expense.” As it was in the preseason. As it was in 2021 on Del Rio’s watch.

Before we get into how to fix all this, let’s review how the Lions game went, and where the issues lie.

Was Jamin Davis sending a message with now-deleted social media post?

Jamin Davis posted a curious message on Instagram Monday. It is now deleted. The timing was interesting.

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s weekly press conference last week was highlighted by his surprising criticism of second-year linebacker Jamin Davis.

“Jamin was just okay in the game,” Del Rio said. “I think he practiced better throughout the offseason. It was just a so-so performance. I think he’ll do better as the year goes on.”

It’s not often that coaches outwardly criticize a specific player. Head coach Ron Rivera has critiqued players needing to be more assignment-sound, but that’s normal. Del Rio appeared to be making a point with his public critique of Davis.

Del Rio really isn’t in a position to criticize anyone publicly. Has he watched his defense since the beginning of the 2021 season? Has he seen the embarrassing amount of missed assignments and busted coverages? There are far more issues than the young linebacker.

On Monday, Davis took to Instagram to post a curious message that one Twitter user captured.

The post is now deleted. While I will not get into the content of the message, it certainly seemed curious, considering the timing. Davis has since deleted the post. The post was also liked by safety Bobby McCain.

This is not a good look. I tend to side with Davis in this situation, but you don’t use social media to take passive-aggressive shots at your coach. Address him directly or to the head coach. And veteran players certainly shouldn’t be “liking” said post.

If Davis was using his social media platform to take a shot at Del Rio and the coaching staff, what does it say about the team’s culture? All fans hear about is how the culture has completely changed.

Now you know why defensive tackle — and team captain — Jonathan Allen says he hates social media. He understands the toxic nature of it and how it can seep into the locker room. Allen has also stated he doesn’t like to blame coaches because players need to take care of their business on the field.

Davis is understandably frustrated here. I sympathize with him. The coaches have mishandled his development. You drafted him to do one thing and realized he was better somewhere else. Now, two games into a new season, you’re already throwing the towel in on the young linebacker? Here’s an idea, find the things he does best and use him there. He looked pretty good on that blitz Sunday.

As far as the coaches, maybe they feel like they’ve done all they can with Davis and he isn’t progressing. That’s also possible. But keep it in-house. Do you think Joe Gibbs would have thrown one of his players under the bus?

At this point, everything is speculation. But if Davis truly had a problem with the public criticism, he should’ve spoken with Rivera. As for McCain liking the post, it’s a bad look. Pull the young player aside and talk to him. Don’t encourage it.

There’s plenty of blame to go around on Washington’s defense and the frustration is mounting. It’s not going to get any easier in Week 3 with the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles coming to FedEx Field.

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Commanders’ defense has more issues than Jamin Davis

Jamin Davis isn’t Washington’s only defensive issue. There are others.

After the Washington Commanders lost to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, head coach Ron Rivera met with the media as he does after every game. Rivera discussed the game, taking the blame for a poor start by saying it was a total team effort from him on down.

Midway through Rivera’s media session, he was asked about second-year linebacker Jamin Davis, and he said the following:

“Well, he was a little inconsistent,” Rivera said. “And, again, as a young guy, he’s going to learn and grow, but we’re running out of time as far as that’s concerned. We gotta go out and be consistent. That’s a big part of it; he’s got to continue to work it and get better at it; he had some good things, did some good things in the run, then some things he was inconsistent in.”

What’s the one thing that stood out here?

Rivera indicated the team was running out of time for Davis. What I believe Rivera meant was the young player excuse needs to go. It’s time to perform like a first-round pick.

He’s right. This wouldn’t receive any attention if not for defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s comments about Davis last week and then Rivera essentially agreeing with them the day after.

Again, they aren’t wrong. Davis must be better. He did some good things Sunday, but he also struggled.

On the first series of the game, Del Rio sent pressure on third down, leading to Davis bringing down Detroit quarterback Jared Goff to force a punt. That was encouraging.

However, while Davis did have his share of struggles, so did Cole Holcomb, Kendall Fuller, William Jackson III and others. Were they publicly called out? It isn’t Davis’ fault the team reached for him in the first round last spring. After all, you’d think a team with a head coach and a defensive coordinator who played linebacker in the NFL can find out how to best employ Davis.

Rivera mentioned at some point in his presser, that the coaches need to put the players in the best position to succeed and the players must also do their part. Again, he’s right.

But this staff picked Davis. If he has issues in coverage, even with his athleticism, get him out of coverage. What if Davis is best used as a pass rusher? Then Del Rio must find ways to put Davis in the position to change the quarterback. You don’t give up on a player this quickly; you find out what he does best and focus on that strength.

As for the public critiques of Davis, maybe the coaching staff should start calling out others by name. It’s not just Davis. Is he perhaps struggling more than some? Sure, but he’s not alone.

The trajectory of this defense is not good. Chase Young will help, but he can’t solve the issues at linebacker and cornerback.

It’s past time for Del Rio to begin figuring things out.

 

Believe it or not, the Washington Commanders are blowing coverages again

The Washington Commanders under Jack Del Rio are forever blowing coverages, and it’s happening again against the Detroit Lions.

If there’s one thing we’ve become used to with the Washington Commanders under defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, it’s coverage concepts that just don’t work. Mostly because of miscommunication in the secondary. It’s not that the Commanders don’t have talent in that secondary — there’s more than enough there, starting with cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and William Jackson III. The problem has generally been that Del Rio and his staff seem to be unable to put those defensive backs in ideal positions on a no-matter-what basis.

In 2020, when Del Rio became the defensive coordinator, Washington finished third in Defensive DVOA. In 2021, that fell to 27th (28th against the pass), and busted coverages were a common problem, despite a lot of talent in the secondary.

Last season, no defense allowed more passing touchdowns than Washington’s 34, to just 11 interceptions. That defense also allowed 400 catches on 597 attempts for 4,542 yards, a completion rate of 67.0%, a yards per attempt allowed of 7.6, an opponent passer rating of 100.9, and an opponent EPA of 67.90.

The preseason was no better — Patrick Mahomes absolutely ripped Washington’s bad coverages to bits, and we knew that we were in for another season of this.

In Week 1 against the Jaguars, Del Rio’s defense made Trevor Lawrence pretty comfortable, allowing 24 completions on 42 attempts for 275 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That was against a second-year quarterback in his first game with a new coaching staff, working his way out of one of the most disastrous rookie seasons and coaching situations in recent memory.

Against Jared Goff and the Lions on Sunday, it didn’t take long for those coverage mistakes to rear up again. Goff’s 13-yard touchdown pass to underrated receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown with 1:45 left in the first quarter? Well, we’re not exactly sure what the coverage was supposed to be there.

It would be equally tough to figure out was what it was supposed to be on this big play from Goff to St. Brown. Either way, woof.

Detroit’s second drive (the one before the St. Brown touchdown) was negatively affected by two red zone incompletions by Goff, but those throws to St. Brown and DJ Chark were more on Goff than anything Washington did.

And on this 23-yard pass from Goff to Josh Reynolds as the first quarter came to a close, Washington was running what looked like shallow 2-Man coverage, and there were open guys all over the place at the intermediate level.

And here’s that aforementioned touchdown, where the Commanders just decided to let Reynolds run right through the end zone.

The extent to which teams can test the Commanders’ coverages in situations like this has to be truly distressing to head coach Ron Rivera, a defensive player and coach himself.

Whether Rivera will do something about it at some point remains to be seen.