Tag: Jack Del Rio

Jack Del Rio has no doubts he’ll be Washington’s defensive coordinator in 2022

Jack Del Rio has no doubts he’ll be Washington’s defensive coordinator in 2022.

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When Ron Rivera hired Jack Del Rio as his defensive coordinator for the Washington Football Team, it was viewed as a home-run hire in NFL circles. Del Rio’s first season in charge of Washington’s defense in 2020 left no doubts about his ability to run an NFL defense.

After last season, Washington made some moves to improve its defense, signing cornerback William Jackson III to replace Ronald Darby and spending a first-round pick on athletic linebacker Jamin Davis. Washington also brought in veteran defensive back Bobby McCain to play free safety.

Yet, through the first six weeks of the 2021 season, Washington’s defense was one of the worst in the league. Teams were converting well over 60% of its third downs against Washington, the pass rush — outside of defensive tackle Jonathan Allen — struggled and the secondary had all kinds of issues.

Fans were frustrated with so many resources devoted to that side of the ball, yet it struggled so badly.

It led to questions about Del Rio’s job security, which Rivera did not appreciate.

Del Rio did his weekly chat with the media Thursday and was asked if he was “hopeful” to return as Washington’s defensive coordinator in 2022.

Del Rio did not hesitate.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Del Rio said. “I mean, I’m not hopeful, I will be. Yeah.”

Del Rio probably should feel confident. After that disastrous start, Washington’s defense improved. One big move that paid dividends was moving safety Landon Collins down to more of a linebacker role, with McCain and Kam Curl playing safety.

Washington’s defense began to play better at Green Bay in Week 17. There were two ugly losses recently, but they had more to do with injuries and multiple players missing due to COVID-19 protocols.

Del Rio should come back in 2021. He should also be held accountable for his defense performed in the first six weeks. Del Rio should also be held responsible for Davis’ development. The rookie has struggled to find a consistent role.

Washington will be on the hunt for an athletic mike linebacker in the offseason. Sadly, Washington thought it had that guy in Davis, but it appears his future is on the outside.

If Washington’s defense underachieves next season, Rivera will face some difficult decisions regarding his defensive staff.

 

Ron Rivera discusses playing David Mayo more than Jamin Davis

Jamin Davis played 13 snaps Sunday. That’s not good. Ron Rivera explained his decision to play David Mayo more than Davis in Week 17.

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Remember the grand predictions of the offseason when the so-called experts were saying Washington rookie linebacker Jamin Davis would win the NFL defensive rookie of the year award playing behind the WFT’s outstanding defensive line?

Well, in Week 17 of the regular season, a healthy Davis was only on the field for 13 snaps in a meaningless loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

How did we arrive at this point?

Well, first, we will skip the part about Washington’s outstanding defensive line. Outside of Jonathan Allen, who on Washington’s offensive line has been outstanding in 2021?

Back to Davis. The rookie had played in every game until he missed the Week 16 blowout at Dallas due to experiencing COVID-like symptoms before the game. During his time on the field, Davis has amassed 68 total tackles, including one sack, which he picked up in the Week 17 loss to the Eagles. He was merely in the right place at the right time.

Throughout the season, Washington’s coaching staff has kept Davis on a snap count. In the first four weeks, Washington inexplicably played veteran Jon Bostic ahead of Davis. Yes, Bostic is a smart and reliable veteran, but a massive liability in coverage. After all, didn’t Washington’s coaches tout Davis’ ability in coverage?

In Sunday’s game against the Eagles, veteran David Mayo was the primary linebacker on the field with stalwart Cole Holcomb. It left many fans wondering why a healthy Davis wasn’t beside of Holcomb.

After Sunday’s game, Rivera answered why Mayo was on the field more.

“Well, I thought some of the things that David did last week just kind of showed what he’s capable of and what it also did was it took a little bit of pressure off of Cole,” Rivera said. “David’s a pure mike, so we put David in that role and we were able to use Cole in more of a what we call a dime position – the weak side inside linebacker of a nickel package. Thought that that combination looked pretty good, pretty stout.”

I get it. That makes sense. Holcomb is better playing on the weak side, where can run and chase more, his strength. However, the bigger issue is why couldn’t the team see what Davis could do as the mike linebacker?

Remember, we were told the coaches wanted to play Davis at mike, where he could prove to be a difference-maker for Washington’s defense.

Rivera discussed Davis after he answered the question on Mayo.

Not necessarily. Again, he’s a rookie. I know he is the first-round pick, but he is still a rookie no matter how you look at it. These young guys, they show you what they can do and they’re going to make mistakes, but there’s growth and that’s the most important thing. It’s like [WR] Dyami [Brown]. Probably since Dyami started playing special teams, he’s turned it into a little more confident player. He made a big tackle on the kickoff for us in coverage, he made a big catch. He shows you what he is capable of doing. As these young guys get more and more opportunities, they show you what they can do. There’s promise and that’s the biggest thing for us.

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Shouldn’t Davis be playing to earn that confidence? Shouldn’t Davis make his mistakes on the field, so he can learn from them?

Washington was 6-9 before Week 17. Now is the time to see what your young players bring to the table before the offseason. Washington is finding out what it has in John Bates and Jaret Patterson. Brown has made positive strides in the last two weeks.

But the first-round pick can only play 13 plays for a 6-9 team? A beat-up 6-9 team.

Do the coaches believe they’ve made a mistake with Davis? Certainly, you can understand the apprehension of Washington who’ve been down this road far too many times. The No. 19 overall pick is struggling to see the field for a bad team. That’s not a good sign. Washington fans should be concerned.

What’s even more concerning is Rivera is a former standout NFL linebacker. So, too, is defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. If they can’t find ways to utilize Davis’s speed and athleticism, that’s a problem.

It’s way too soon to call Davis a bust. At times this season, he’s shown flashes that get you excited in his potential. Those flashes should earn him more time on the field. Yet, here we are heading into the final game and he’s playing around 20% of the defensive snaps.

No matter how you look at that, it’s a problem. And, if it’s not Davis, then Rivera needs to closely examine his defensive coaching staff.

 

 

Washington places Landon Collins on injured reserve

Landon Collins was placed on injured reserve. This is disappointing news for Collins and Washington. He was a difference-maker throughout the second half of this season.

More bad news hit the Washington Football Team Friday when Landon Collins was placed on injured reserve. With three games remaining in the regular season, that means Collins is done for the season.

If Washington can somehow find a way to make the playoffs, Collins would be eligible to return if he’s healthy enough. Collins injured his foot in the Week 15 loss to Philadelphia.

This is disappointing for Washington and Collins. Back in the summer, there was a lot of hype surrounding Collins and his return. After the first several games, that hype seemed misplaced as Collins repeatedly struggled in coverage, often allowing big plays.

However, once defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio adjusted Collins’ role — with Collins’ blessing (just don’t call him a linebacker) — he looked like a different player.

It’s no coincidence Washington’s defense turned things around with Collins playing closer to the line of scrimmage. He impacted the run game, going from sideline to sideline, and was solid in coverage when he wasn’t expected to be a deep safety.

Collins went from a certain cut in the offseason to an integral part of Washington’s plans moving forward. Sure, Washington still may release Collins, but it makes no sense. The WFT has plenty of cap room and can absorb Collins’ cap number. In his current role, Collins is a difference-maker.

Collins has been outstanding from the Week 7 game vs. Green Bay to now. In his last two games before the injury, Collins had two sacks and two interceptions.

 

Washington defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio hopes Montez Sweat will be available Sunday

Montez Sweat is eligible to come off the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. Jack Del Rio knows it would be a boost for him to return Sunday vs. Eagles.

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It’s been a rough week for the Washington Football Team. With 21 plays on the reserve/COVID-19 list and a host of others injured, just having enough players to practice this week has been a challenge for Washington.

The most hard-hit position on Washington’s roster has been the defensive line. Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, Montez Sweat, Tim Settle, Casey Toohill, James Smith-Williams and William Bradley-King are all on the COVID list.

The NFL relaxed some of the rules for vaccinated players who are asymptomatic Thursday, but it’s unclear how it will impact Washington Sunday vs. Philadelphia.

One player on the current COVID list who could return on Sunday is Sweat. His 10-day quarantine ends on Saturday. Before Washington placed Sweat on the COVID list last week, he had spent a month on injured reserve with a fractured jaw.

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio spoke to the media Thursday and was asked about Sweat potentially playing Sunday.

“It would obviously be a boost to get a guy like Montez back,” Del Rio said. “I know he’s working out; I’ve seen him via Zoom. I know he’s hopeful that that will occur, and we would love to see it. How many plays will he end up playing if he gets cleared and can play, I’m not sure. But yeah, I mean it would be a lift to get one of your better players back for sure.”

Del Rio was then asked if, from a conditioning standpoint, would Sweat be ready to play.

“Yes,” Del Rio responded.

Getting Sweat back would be a huge lift for Washington. But even though Del Rio said conditioning wouldn’t be an issue, you’d figure Sweat would be on a snap count. He hasn’t played since Week 8.

Next, Washington hopes for good news on Allen and some of the others.

Washington DC Jack Del Rio gets better of Raiders and his former QB Derek Carr

Washington DC Jack Del Rio gets better of Raiders and his former QB Derek Carr

All week the Raiders were trying to downplay Derek Carr facing his former head coach Jack Del Rio who is now the defensive coordinator in Washington. In the end, there was a lot to that storyline. And Del Rio dominated it.

The Raiders didn’t score until the final seconds of the first half and scored just three points in the first three quarters. They ended up losing 17-15 to the Washington Football team.

“I thought early [Derek Carr] was under duress trying to get the ball down the field,” said interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. “I thought that we had one that we missed early in the game on a route for us when we had DeSean [Jackson] down there. Looks like we just missed it, we ended up checking the ball down. Certainly is a problem in the first half, we couldn’t really get ourselves in a rhythm. Didn’t really have enough drives to do anything with the ball. When we did get it, we ended up in three-and-out situations. It wasn’t a very good first half for us. We ended up doing a good job at the end coming out with some points to end the half. Certainly wasn’t what we expected going in.”

Losing a defensive battle is exactly how Del Rio hoped this one would go. But with the Raiders having ten days to prepare and with Del Rio missing his best edge rusher Chase Young, the Raiders would seem to have the advantage. You’d have thought.

The loss drops the Raiders to 6-6 on the season. So, it’s somewhat appropriate that the loss came against the man who was their head coach for their one winning season in the past 19 years. That was 2016. The Raiders would go 6-10 the following year and Del Rio would be fired after the final game of the season because Jon Gruden convinced Mark Davis he was the answer to their issues on offense.

Four years in, it’s pretty obvious the issues went well beyond coaching and the Raiders have not reached the same success in the post Del Rio era. As this stat speaks to.

That’s not to say Del Rio was the answer or that keeping him as head coach would have drastically changed their fate the past few years. 

In 2020 Del Rio resurfaced to take the DC job in DC. Where he no doubt circled the reunion with DC (Derek Carr) and the Raiders. And that reunion just went better than he could’ve imagined.

Washington defense frustrated Russell Wilson

Washington’s defense played well in the Monday night win over the Seahawks.

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The Washington Football Team defense was mostly good Monday against Seattle with only a few hiccups.

Washington limited the Seattle offense to 10 total first downs, only one rushing first down and 34 total rushing yards. Alex Collins was held to 14 yards on seven carries, and Russell Wilson had two carries for 16 yards.

For 58 minutes, Russell Wilson was repeatedly hounded by the Washington pass rush, hurrying throws to avoid sacks and QB hits.

Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio for the most part chose to rush only four after Wilson, choosing to drop seven into coverage.

Matt Ioannidis, Daron Payne and Casey Toohill all recorded two QB hits on Wilson, while Jonathan Allen, Shaka Toney, Kamren Curl and Daniel Wise each added one QB hit as well.

On five consecutive Seattle offensive possessions, the Washington defense forced Seattle into three plays and a punt. For the game, Seattle only earned ten first downs and was only 4 of 12 on third downs.

The Seahawks only ran 45 total plays (while Washington had 79 offensive snaps).

Even with Wilson’s final 96-yard drive Seattle only had the ball 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill repeatedly remained disciplined setting the edge on run plays, while in their pass rush, they remained on the outside shoulder of Wilson not permitting him to roll outside of them for big runs.

However, there was a blown coverage in the first quarter when Wilson found Tyler Lockett for 55 yards, leading to a Seattle touchdown.

The final two-minute drive of 96 yards, including the inexplicable wide-open Freddie Swain’s 32-yard touchdown catch from Wilson in the final 20 seconds was disappointing.

The defense had yielded 31.0 points average in the first six games to just 20.3 in the next three games.

Tonight, they only surrendered 15 points.

When they had given up the final touchdown drive, Kendall Fuller read the eyes of Wilson, left his receiver to intercept the two-point attempt that would have tied the game with 15 seconds remaining.

It was a 17-15 win, an ugly win, but the defense, for the most part, played quite well.

With Montez Sweat and Chase Young injured, what now?

Casey Toohill, Shaka Toney and Bunmi Rotimi have a major opportunity with the loss of Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

The WFT defensive line has lost both Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

Sweat, a first-round draft choice out of Mississippi State in 2019, suffered a broken jaw against the Broncos in Week 8.

Young, the second overall selection in the 2020 NFL draft, suffered a torn ACL in Week 10 against the Buccaneers.

 

What now?

Ron Rivera, Jack Del Rio and defensive line coach Sam Mills III are forced to think, “What is best for the team, and how does the defense march forward?” It seems uncaring, but they must accept a “So what? Now what?” mindset and prepare this team. It’s their job.

Who will have to step up at defensive end?

Casey Toohill, a seventh-round draft choice by the Eagles in 2020, was signed by Washington last season and appeared in eight games. The 25-year-old defensive end played 29 defensive snaps last week against Tampa Bay, collecting one solo tackle while assisting on three others.

Shaka Toney was selected by the WFT out of Penn State in the seventh round (No. 246 overall) in 2021. At 6-2 and 238 pounds, perhaps his size will limit his snaps, and coaches may attempt to use him exclusively in pass-rushing situations. Toney was called upon for nine defensive snaps against Tampa in Week 10.

Bunmi Rotimi played at Old Dominion, went undrafted and was signed by the WFT last offseason. At 6-3 and 273 pounds, the 26-year-old lineman may be pressed into a role where he will be needed to also help against the run. He has appeared in recent games against the Packers (six snaps) and the Buccaneers (eight snaps).

Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden often said, “Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

Toohill, Toney and Rotimi are going to be thrown into the proverbial fire.  Many WFT fans will wish them good luck.

Wooden also often said, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

Washington 3rd-down defense improving

Washington’s defense still has a ways to go, but the third-down defense is improving.

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Washington entered its contest Sunday, against Tampa Bay ranked last in the NFL in third-down defensive conversion rate.

One night later the WFT is still dead-last in the NFL in third-down Defensive conversion percentage.

Yes, the WFT defense has struggled terribly to get off the field, failing to stop opponents on third down at alarming rates.

They are ranked 32nd through nine games, permitting their first nine opponents to pick up first downs on third-down plays an alarming 55.20% this season.

You may recall in Week 1, the Chargers embarrassed the WFT defense, converting 14 of 18 third downs before taking a knee on their last third down, finishing 14-19.

Other teams have embarrassed Washington on third downs as well:

The Bills were 9-15, the Falcons 10-16, the Chiefs 11-17, the Packers 6-12 and even the Broncos were converted third downs over 50 percent of the time (7-13).

In total, the defense at Fed Ex home games has permitted third-down conversions 53.62% of the time while permitting conversions 57.14% on their road games.

What’s the good news?

Despite not having Montez Sweat and losing Chase Young in the first half; facing Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, the WFT defense held the Bucs to only 4-10 third-down conversions (40 percent).

On the game’s first third down, Jonathan Allen set an intense tone for the WFT, recording a QB hit on Brady.

Additional good news is in their last three games Jack Del Rio’s defense has recorded an improved third-down conversion rate of 48.7%.

Even more, the WFT offense converted 11 of 19 third downs Sunday, resulting in Washington having 71 offensive plays to only 47 for Tampa Bay. Consequently, Washington had possession of the ball for 39:08 and Tampa Bay only 20:52.

Ron Rivera impressed with rookie linebacker Jamin Davis

Jamin Davis led Washington with 11 tackles on Sunday.

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As Washington’s defense struggled through the first quarter of the 2021 NFL season, rookie linebacker Jamin Davis played sparingly. Washington, which rarely has three linebackers on the field at once, used Cole Holcomb and Jon Bostic over Davis for the majority of the time.

When Bostic went down with a season-ending injury in Week 4, that meant the door was open for Davis to see the field — whether the coaches were ready for Davis to play a more prominent role or not.

Naturally, fans were pessimistic that perhaps Washington reached on Davis with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Relax.

In Washington’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Davis played 46 snaps, which accounted for 56% of Washington’s 82 defensive snaps. Davis also recorded a career-high 11 tackles, which led the team. Davis was much more active during his time on the field Sunday, and while he wasn’t perfect, Davis is coming along well, according to head coach Ron Rivera.

“I think he is showing signs of what we believe he can be,” Rivera said Monday, per Zach Selby of washingtonfootball.com. “And that’s a downhill guy that could run.”

Last week, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said he wanted Davis to “let it rip” when he’s on the field.

The key for Davis is to react instead of overthinking while he’s on the field. Being on the field consistently will only help Davis adjust to the NFL game faster and become an integral part of Washington’s defense.

Sunday showed signs of progress, and that’s good news for a defense that needs plenty of good news.

Ron Rivera adamant that there will be no defensive changes

Ron Rivera was adamant on Monday that there would be no significant defensive changes.

Ron Rivera met with the media on Monday, one day after another embarrassing Washington loss. As expected, one of the hot topics facing Rivera was the performance of Washington’s defense.

Rivera was questioned early in his presser about any potential changes, such as staff changes, personnel, or him taking a more active role in the defense. Rivera shot down any notion of change.

“That’s stuff that makes no sense to me right now because if you really go back and look at it, this was a matter of four or five plays on both sides of the ball,” Rivera said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Reporters pressed Rivera, who appeared to become a bit agitated at the repeated questions regarding changes.

Rivera said he thought the defense was much better against the Saints, citing examples of different plays. On New Orleans’ first score, Jameis Winston’s 72-yard touchdown pass to Deonte Harris in which it appeared safety Landon Collins blew the coverage,  Rivera described that play Sunday.

“We let a guy get behind us,” Rivera said postgame. “Can’t do that.”

Rivera was as animated as we’ve seen him since being named head coach in 2020. Last season, there were no expectations. Now, everyone expects this team to be better — including Rivera himself — but the defense is instead one of the worst in the NFL.

As for taking a more hands-on approach with the defensive play-calling, that’s not happening either.

“I’m not going that way. Just understand that,” Rivera said. “I like what we did. I thought what we did last week gave us an opportunity.”

Secondly, fans are tired of the excuses. It’s now or never for Washington’s defense and that is a scary proposition with Kansas City coming to town on Sunday.