Tag: Jack Del Rio

Commanders fire defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio

The Washington Commanders fired a pair of their defensive coaches

After an ugly Thanksgiving, it was a Black Friday for defensive coaches on the Washington Commanders staff.

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were fired a day after the team lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 45-10.

The Commanders are 4-8 and have lost three games in a row. In 12 games, they have allowed 350 points, by far the worst in the NFL.

5 takeaways from the Commanders’ loss to the Cowboys

Five thoughts and observations after Commanders’ blowout loss to Cowboys.

Things continue to spiral out of control for the Washington Commanders and head coach Ron Rivera. On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys spanked the Commanders 45-10, pushing Washington to 4-8 this season and 0-5 in the NFC East.

This was a close game at the beginning of the third quarter, with Dallas holding a 20-10 lead. However, Washington’s failures on offense led to easy opportunities for the Cowboys offense. Of course, Washington’s defense made it far too easy for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott with wide-open receivers running free in the secondary.

On those six second-half possessions, Washington punted once, turned the ball over on downs three times, had an interception returned for a touchdown and its final possessions ended when time expired.

That’s ugly.

Speaking of ugly, here are five takeaways from the Commanders’ loss to the Cowboys.

Ron Rivera not worried about his job

Rivera not concerned with his job and not willing to discuss staff changes.

Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera looks tired and defeated. After Thursday’s 45-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Washington fell to 4-8 on the season. Remember, the Commanders began the season 2-0.

That’s so long ago now that it feels like it happened in another year.

After the game, Rivera met with the media and faced some tough questions. One of those questions was about his job security.

“No, I’ve told you before I’m not worried about anything,” he said when asked if he was concerned about his job. “All I’m going to do is do my job and see how things go. That’s the only thing I can do.”

Another thing Rivera shut down was staff changes.

“I’m not going to get into any of that stuff,” Rivera said.

Maybe Rivera genuinely isn’t concerned about his job. He knows the writing is on the wall, so why worry about it? The truth is, the moment Josh Harris bought the Commanders in July, a change was always inevitable. Rivera understands, and when he knows he’s likely to lose his job at the end of the season, why fire any of his staff members in the meantime?

As for staff changes, what good would firing defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio do ahead of Week 13 in an already lost season?

The NFL’s Worst of the Week: Bad officiating, Steelers’ offense, Dion Dawkins’ flop, Quentin Johnston’s drop

More bad officiating! The Steelers’ broken offense! Dion Dawkins’ flop! Quentin Johnston’s drop! It’s time for the NFL’s Worst of the Week!

Football is a wonderful, thrilling, inspiring game that can lift us to new heights in our lives.

But football is also a weird, inexplicable, at times downright stupid game that may force you to perform Keith Moon-level furniture destruction in your own living room.

So, as much as we at Touchdown Wire endeavor to write about what makes the game great, there are also times when it’s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, it’s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season.

NFL fines Emmanuel Forbes for hit that resulted in his disqualification in Week 10

As if the bogus ejection wasn’t enough.

It’s that time of the week. You know, the time when NFL players learn of the fines they’ve received from the week before. Sometimes, players are surprisingly fined for something that didn’t even draw a penalty flag in the previous game.

In last week’s last-second loss to the Seattle Seahawks, rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes drew a flag for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett. The flag was legitimate, but what happened afterward was not.

Officials convened after the flag and kicked Forbes out of the game. It’s rare a player is removed from the game for a helmet-to-helmet hit unless he is a repeat offender. It was Forbes’ first such penalty.

On Saturday, per John Keim of ESPN, we learned that Forbes was indeed penalized for $15,563.

That’s not a surprise. Players are fined each week for similar penalties from the week before.

What made matters worse was Forbes was removed from the game by officials at the league office in New York – not by game officials. It’s something that upset Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

“The penalty I understood,” Del Rio said. It was deserving of a penalty. But the ejection, for a first-time offense, on play six or whatever it was of the game, that was shocking.”

The ejection drew criticism from all around the NFL.

More from Del Rio.

“The fact that he wasn’t ejected by the officials on the field, he was ejected by somebody sitting in an air-conditioned room in New York, that’s troubling,” Del Rio said. “I think that’s troubling for the league.”

He’s right. Those in the NFL offices have the benefit of slow motion, multiple replays and different views on every play. It shouldn’t have taken long for anyone to realize that Forbes’ hit wasn’t egregious.

Jack Del Rio calls Emmanuel Forbes’ ejection ‘troubling’

Del Rio didn’t like that Forbes was kicked out of the game by “somebody sitting in an air-conditioned room in New York.” He called it troubling. He’s right.

The Washington Commanders have been on the wrong end of an officiating blunder in each of the last two weeks. While neither call lost Washington a game, they were so egregious that the former head of NFL officiating, now a FOX Sports rules analyst, said the league got it wrong on both penalties.

First, officials called rookie defensive end K.J. Henry for roughing the passer in the Week 9 win over the Patriots. Not only was it a terrible call, but it also put the struggling Patriots in field-goal position, giving them a free three points. Henry had sacked New England QB Mac Jones on the play and forced a turnover.

Last week, in the first quarter against the Seahawks, officials flagged rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes for unnecessary roughness. It was the correct call, but what happened afterward was a travesty of justice. After huddling, officials tossed Forbes out of the game.

Everyone agreed: the officials got it wrong. Forbes himself didn’t understand why he was kicked out of the game.

Head coach Ron Rivera was upset over the decision to remove Forbes. On Thursday, Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio weighed in, and he looked at it from another perspective.

“The penalty I understood,” Del Rio said. It was deserving of a penalty. But the ejection, for a first-time offense, on play six or whatever it was of the game, that was shocking.”

By the rulebook, the officials got it right, flagging Forbes for the 15-yard penalty. Del Rio, like everyone else, took issue with his removal from the game, especially considering it didn’t come from the game officials.

“The fact that he wasn’t ejected by the officials on the field, he was ejected by somebody sitting in an air-conditioned room in New York, that’s troubling,” Del Rio said. “I think that’s troubling for the league, but they’re going to have to work that out. But that’s not a good look. I don’t think that’s healthy for the league to have those types of things happen. Emmanuel — young player, good player; he’s not a guy that’s like notoriously known for like headhunting people or stuff like that. I did not think it was warranted; wasn’t my call, obviously.”

Del Rio is correct on all fronts. The mere fact that league officials in New York, who are sitting in front of multiple monitors with the best views and the benefit of slow motion, chose to kick Forbes out of the game.

That is a problem.

Del Rio said he’d never seen or heard of the league offices kicking a player out during a game.

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.”

5 takeaways from Commanders’ loss to Seahawks

Some final thoughts from the Commanders’ loss to the Seahawks.

The Washington Commanders fell to 4-6 after Sunday’s 29-26 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. With the loss — and Minnesota’s win, the Commanders fell two games behind the Vikings for the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC.

Let’s be clear: the 2023 Washington Commanders aren’t a playoff team. You can win a game here or there and compete with the best teams, but this team doesn’t have what it takes defensively to battle for a playoff spot.

Sunday’s loss was another disappointing one for the fans. Quarterback Sam Howell passed for over 300 yards again, three touchdowns and had some late-game heroics. It wasn’t enough as Washington’s defense failed — again.

Are there any bright spots from another loss?

We searched high and low, and, yes, there are bright spots — or a bright spot.

Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

Studs and duds from Commanders’ 29-26 loss to Seahawks

Studs and duds for the Commanders from Week 10: We know Sam Howell shined. Who else starred? And who struggled?

The Washington Commanders continue to find disappointing and heartbreaking ways to lose. On Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks topped the Commanders, 29-26, when kicker Jason Myers nailed a 43-yard field goal as time expired to send Washington to its sixth loss of the season.

The Commanders led throughout the first half of Sunday’s game but went into halftime tied at 9-9. Both teams’ offenses seemingly woke up in the second half, as Washington scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns on a pair of Sam Howell TD passes.

But Howell left too much time for Seattle’s offense. Geno Smith had 53 seconds, two timeouts and only needed a field goal. A pair of passes totaling 44 yards to DK Metcalf put the Seahawks in positions for Myers’ game-winner.

Who stood out for Washington in Sunday’s loss? And who deserves blame?

Studs and duds from Week 10.

Commanders DC Jack Del Rio confident in Emmanuel Forbes going into Week 10

Emmanuel Forbes was excellent last week. This week, things are much tougher against the Seahawks’ trio of wide receivers.

Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes had himself an excellent bounce-back performance against the New England Patriots in Week 9. Not only was Forbes Pro Football Focus’ top-graded rookie defender last week, he was one of the highest-graded defensive players in the entire NFL.

To keep things in perspective, that was against a Patriots’ team devoid of elite talent at wide receiver. That’s not to dismiss Forbes’ performance; he was excellent and did exactly what you wanted in the win.

Forbes’ teammates and coaches praised him after last week’s game. That praise continued this week from defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

“I think he’s just working at it,” Del Rio said of Forbes. “You know, he’s a good young player. We believe in him. He’s just gotta grind and work. That’s what he has done, and that allowed him to get himself back in the game, and then he played well.”

This week, things will be much tougher for Washington’s defense, specifically the cornerbacks. The Seahawks have one of the NFL’s best trios at wide receiver: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Metcalf, at 6-foot-4, 236 pounds, is one of the more imposing wideouts in the league. He’s also a former teammate of Eagles WR A.J. Brown from their time together at Ole Miss. It was Forbes’ struggles against Brown that led to his benching.

Del Rio was asked about the physical comparisons between Metcalf and Brown.

“Big, strong guys,” Del Rio said in response. “Yeah, I mean, certainly you could take that.”

So, of course, the next question was naturally if the slight Forbes would be matched up with Metcalf.

Del Rio wasn’t biting.

“Anyone want to answer him on any kind of scheme questions?,” Del Rio said. “No, every week, we put together a plan, go out, and hope to execute the best we can. Obviously, he’s part of it, part of the plan.”

Matchups can lead corners to move around the defense, but I wouldn’t expect the Commanders to have Forbes lined up opposite Metcalf on Sunday.