Tag: Kliff Kingsbury

What does Cardinals QB Kyler Murray think of facing former coach Kliff Kingsbury?

Kyler Murray doesn’t say much about Kliff Kingsbury ahead of Week 4.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding the Arizona Cardinals in 2019. Arizona had just hired former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury, one of college football’s most innovative offensive minds. And the Cardinals held the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, which they’d use on Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray.

Kingsbury and Murray looked like a perfect pairing. Kingsbury seemed like the perfect coach to take advantage of Murray’s dynamic dual-threat abilities. After a strong start, things appeared to sour between player and coach before Kingsbury was dismissed after the 2022 season.

Now, for the first time since Kingsbury’s firing, the pair will face one another as Kingsbury, the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders, comes to Glendale on Sunday to battle Murray and the Cardinals.

Murray met with the media this week and was asked if he could provide the defense any tips on Kingsbury’s defense, to which he replied, “No.”

Murray didn’t seem to want to talk too much about Kingsbury, but he did indicate that he has seen him since his firing.

“I’ve seen him since, just out and about,” Murray said.

Then, he was asked about facing him as a competitor for the first time.

“To be honest, I’ve done it before,” Murray said. “I’ve competed against him before and many other coaches that I’ve been coached by. It doesn’t really affect me. My goal is to go out and win the game.”

While Murray was professional and didn’t take any shots at Kingsbury, he didn’t praise him either.

As for Kingsbury, he also kept it professional.

“The one major thing I try to do is make sure this was Year One of the Commanders’ offense, not Year Five of the Arizona Cardinals,” Kingsbury said on Thursday via Darren Urban of azcardinals.com. “We did things (in Arizona) that we felt (Murray) could be really successful at and then tried to build and let (Murray) grow and us grow together. We wanted to make sure I didn’t start at some point that would overwhelm anybody.”

Murray and Kingsbury will likely shake hands before or after Sunday’s game, but you can bet both badly want this one. Last week, Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt took shots at Kingsbury’s offense, calling it a “nice college offense,” Kingsbury and the Commanders proceeded to score 38 points and defeat Cincinnati on Monday Night Football.

Will Kingsbury have a similar chip on his shoulder on Sunday?

Jayden Daniels’ touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin was the most improbable of 2024 season

Next Gen Stats weighs in with how impressive this connection was.

For the first two weeks, Washington fans wondered when rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and star wide receiver Terry McLaurin would get on the same page.

In Washington’s season-opening loss to Tampa Bay, McLaurin broke open deep on a couple of occasions, and either Daniels missed him or didn’t throw it.

McLaurin, as always, remained patient. Daniels missed McLaurin deep again in the first half of Monday night’s 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. However, that disappointment was short-lived as the rookie passer finally connected deep with McLaurin for a 55-yard completion to set up first-and-goal and the Commanders’ second touchdown.

The duo wasn’t finished, though. In the fourth quarter, up 31-26 with over two minutes remaining, the Commanders faced a third-and-7. Would offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury play it safe and go for the field goal?

Of course, he wouldn’t. Instead, Kingsbury showed complete faith in his rookie quarterback, who delivered a strike to McLaurin in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown. It was a picture-perfect throw and catch.

Here’s the play:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1838409377935691793

Next Gen Stats tracked the throw and catch, calling it the most improbable touchdown reception at 10.3% of the 2024 season thus far. And, more incredibly, the most improbable Commanders’ completion in the Next Gen Stats (2016 to now).

https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1838411501516063050

It was a breakout night for the Daniels/McLaurin connection as Washington’s passing game continues to evolve.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor not pleased with Cam Taylor-Britt’s comments about Commanders

The picture says it all.

Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt likes to talk. Ahead of Cincinnati’s Week 2 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the cornerback seemed to downplay rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy.

While the Chiefs did win the game, Taylor-Britt got the best of Worthy on that day.

So, last week, Taylor-Britt decided to talk about the Bengals’ next opponent: The Washington Commanders.

Here’s what Taylor-Britt said about the Commanders, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Jayden Daniels.

“They don’t make him do a lot,” Taylor-Britt said Thursday. “They keep it really simple for him. Nice college offense, (Kliff) Kingsbury, the OC, so they love to move guys around here and there, but just keep it real simple for him. I heard his pass percentage is very high, but he’s only throwing short routes, some intermediate stuff, and quick throws.”

On Monday night, the Commanders defeated the Bengals 38-33 in Cincinnati. Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin burned Taylor-Britt, while Daniels played a flawless game, completing 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.

After the game, McLaurin downplayed Taylor-Britt’s comments, but Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor was not pleased, instead praising Washington.

“We don’t need to take shots like that,” Taylor said. “That team hasn’t punted in two weeks.”

https://twitter.com/aroundthejungle/status/1838422038207160791

It sounds like Taylor would prefer his cornerback stop talking and instead focus on how to help the Bengals pick up their first win.

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury responds to Bengals CB

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t really care what Bengals cornerback thinks.

Washington Commanders offensive Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t really care what Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt thinks of his offense.

Taylor-Britt made headlines this week when he called Washington’s offense a “nice college offense,” and said the Commanders didn’t ask rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to do too much.

“They don’t make him do a lot,” Taylor-Britt said Thursday. “They keep it really simple for him. Nice college offense, (Kliff) Kingsbury, the OC, so they love to move guys around here and there, but just keep it real simple for him. I heard his pass percentage is very high, but he’s only throwing short routes, some intermediate stuff, and quick throws.”

On Friday, Kingsbury met with the media and he was quickly asked if he’d heard the Cincinnati cornerback’s comments.

“I did not, but yeah, I mean he’s entitled his opinion,” Kingsbury said.

You can bet Kingsbury quickly knew of the comments. Head coach Dan Quinn probably told his entire team about Taylor-Britt’s comments. NFL teams are always looking for an edge, a little extra motivation and Taylor-Britt provided some with his comments.

The Bengals and Commanders play on this week’s edition of Monday Night Football in Cincinnati.

A troubling stat from the Commanders offense through 2 weeks

A startling offensive statistic compared to the rest of the NFL.

Far too often, fans and media watch Washington Commanders’ games and wonder why the team doesn’t do a better job of getting wide receiver Terry McLaurin the football.

McLaurin has four consecutive years of 1,000 yards receiving or more, but Washington’s issue at offensive coordinator and quarterback have prevented McLaurin from posting elite numbers.

In the Commanders’ Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels overthrew McLaurin on what would’ve been a long touchdown. McLaurin got behind the defense on another play, and Daniels didn’t throw it.

In Week 2, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury wanted to get McLaurin involved early. The results were mixed. McLaurin did receive eight targets in Washington’s 21-18 win over the Giants but finished with six receptions for just 22 yards.

That was less than four yards per reception for McLaurin. Why the low number?

Through two weeks, Kingsbury has focused on Daniels getting rid of the ball quickly, which means a lot of wide receiver screens instead of downfield throws.

The sheer percentage of those throws behind the line of scrimmage is troubling.

That’s a huge disparity compared to the rest of the NFL. Is this a function of the Kingsbury offense or more of a way to protect Daniels? For now, we’ll say it’s a combination of both. In the second half of Washington’s win on Sunday, Daniels let the ball rip more, including this 34-yard completion to wide receiver Noah Brown on the game-winning drive.

That high percentage of throws to wide receivers behind the line of scrimmage has nothing to do with Daniels. He’s not throwing to WRs behind the LOS because he’s afraid to throw downfield. Fans hope that Washington’s offense from the second half of Week 2 is more of what they see moving forward.

That number should come down in the coming weeks; if not, that’s a concern.

Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr: ‘It’s been a while since I’ve had 17 carries’

So when was the last time Robinson had 17 carries or more?

Under former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the 2023 Washington Commanders led the NFL in passing attempts but finished dead last in rushing attempts. It was no surprise that Washington’s offense was among the worst in the NFL last season.

After last season, several Commanders’ offensive players let it be known they weren’t happy with Bieniemy or his play-calling.

In February, new head coach Dan Quinn hired former Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury as his new offensive coordinator. In addition to Kingsbury, the Commanders hired former Chargers head coach and NFL running back Anthony Lynn as the running backs coach/run game coordinator to improve Washington’s running game behind a rookie quarterback.

On Sunday, the Commanders picked up their first win of the 2024 season, defeating the Giants 21-18 without scoring an offensive touchdown. Penalties were a major issue for Washington, as the Commanders committed five penalties inside the red zone.

While quarterback Jayden Daniels performed efficiently on Sunday, third-year running back Brian Robinson Jr. was Washington’s offensive MVP. Robinson carried the football 17 times for a career-high 133 yards, averaging almost eight yards per attempt. It was a dominant performance by Robinson, who displayed speed, power, and vision in each of his runs.

After the game, Robinson appeared happy with his increased work and expressed gratitude for the opportunities.

“It’s been a while since I got 17 (carries) in one game, too, so I appreciate all that love from my coaches, and I expect to keep building off of that,” Robinson said after the game.

How good was Robinson? Check out his numbers AFTER contact:

What a performance from Robinson.

So, when was the last time he had at least 17 carries? It was Week 11 last season, coincidentally enough, against the Giants.

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury did Jayden Daniels no favors in Week 1

It wasn’t a great debut for Washington’s coaches in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs.

There were some concerns when the Washington Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury as the team’s offensive coordinator in February. But, instead of being a head coach, Kingsbury would only coach the quarterbacks, design the offense and call plays. Those were considered his specialties.

Some didn’t believe Kingsbury was the right coach for a rookie quarterback because of concerns regarding his offensive scheme, particularly pass protection. There were also questions on whether Kingsbury would move Terry McLaurin around the line of scrimmage pre-snap, including motioning him, to put him in the best position to make plays.

The Commanders kicked off the 2024 season on Sunday, falling 37-20 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards. Daniels also carried the ball 16 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

All things considered, it wasn’t a bad debut for Daniels, especially when you compare him to the other rookie starting quarterbacks from Week 1.

Kingsbury’s game plan for Daniels was simple. He would focus on Daniels getting rid of the ball quickly to avoid taking big hits and allow Washington’s skill players to make plays after the catch.

Here’s the problem: Daniels ran the ball 16 times. Yes, Daniels is a dynamic quarterback, but he should never carry the ball 16 times. Sure, several of those carries were scrambles from Daniels when receivers weren’t open down the field. Yet, late in the game, with Washington down 37-14 with 1:38 to go, Kingsbury calls for Daniels, who isn’t built like Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen, to carry the ball into the end zone.

He did, but his helmet popped off in the meantime, and officials ruled that he hadn’t broken the plane of the goal line. On the next play, Kingsbury calls for running back Brian Robinson Jr. to carry the ball, which he does for no gain. On third-and-goal, Kingsbury again has Daniels sneak the ball into the end zone. He scored. Suddenly, it’s 37-20—and the game is still over.

Why is Kingsbury running Daniels late when the outcome has already been decided? It’s a questionable decision, especially when two plays earlier, Daniels’ helmet popped off for the second time in the game.

What this looked like was a frustrated offensive coordinator. Nothing was going right for him in his first game with a new team, and he was desperate to score, so he called his dynamic quarterback’s number to get a meaningless score late in the game.

While there’s nothing wrong with that, he must be aware of protecting Daniels. It’s contradictory when you call quick passes to keep Daniels from holding the ball too long to avoid hits but then call so many running plays for him, including those late when the game is all but over.

Kingsbury must find ways to get the ball in the hands of McLaurin, Austin Ekeler, Zach Ertz and others. He can’t allow himself to overuse Daniels as a runner when things aren’t going right elsewhere.

Almost nothing went right for the Commanders in Week 1. They’ll have a chance to get on track against the New York Giants in Week 2, but it won’t be easy. The Giants swept the Commanders last season.

Were the Commanders holding back Luke McCaffrey this summer?

Luke McCaffrey is listed as one of Washington’s starting wide receivers in an updated depth chart.

On Tuesday, the Washington Commanders released their depth chart ahead of Week 1, and four rookies were in the starting lineup.

Wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, left tackle Brandon Coleman, quarterback Jayden Daniels and cornerback Mike Sainristil were all listed as starters. Daniels and Sainristil were not a surprise; neither was Coleman. However, Coleman missed all of the preseason after an excellent start in training camp.

Is Coleman atop the depth chart because he’s healthy and the team is confident in him, or is it due to Washington’s lack of depth at the position?

Next is McCaffrey. When the Commanders traded former first-round pick Jahan Dotson, almost everyone believed that would mean more work for the third-round pick and younger brother of Christian McCaffrey.

Throughout training camp, McCaffrey was quiet. Brycen Tremayne and Mitchell Tinsley were the young wideouts everyone heard about. It wasn’t that McCaffrey was bad; he wasn’t. He just wasn’t on the daily highlight reels.

Perhaps that was by design.

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has some advantages heading into Week 1. He has a new offense, a rookie quarterback, and some overall mystery surrounding what type of offense we will see. Maybe the Commanders knew in the spring that McCaffrey was special and had always planned a significant role for him as a rookie.

In 2019, former head coach Jay Gruden limited Terry McLaurin in the preseason. Gruden said he knew from the moment he first saw McLaurin that he was special and would immediately be the team’s top receiver. Gruden was right and McLaurin had a huge game in his debut.

Could McCaffrey be on a trajectory similar to McLaurin’s in his rookie season?

While outsiders express concern about Washington’s receivers, general manager Adam Peters, head coach Dan Quinn and Kingsbury have expressed confidence in the current group. Maybe that’s because they know what they have.

Fantasy football expert Matthew Berry recently predicted big things for McCaffrey.

https://twitter.com/LeBatardShow/status/1828793765202710678

It sounds like you should start buying stock in McCaffrey if you’re into fantasy football. It’s important to note that while McCaffrey is atop the depth chart, Dyami Brown should also see plenty of time.

Some good news and bad news for Commanders in 2024 projections

Some good news and not-so-good news regarding Washington’s 2024 projections.

The Washington Commanders were arguably the NFL’s worst team in 2024. The Commanders lost their final eight games, and if the season had been a week or two longer, they could have surpassed the Carolina Panthers and secured the No. 1 overall pick.

In addition to new ownership, Washington’s struggles led to an offseason full of change for the Commanders. After firing Ron Rivera as head coach, the Commanders hired Adam Peters as general manager and Dan Quinn as head coach.

Peters went to work on Washington’s roster, overhauling more than 50% of the 90-man offseason roster. The Commanders had 30 newcomers on their initial 53-man roster.

Washington’s more significant changes to the roster included a brand-new quarterback room led by No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels. Defensively, the Commanders upgraded the entire linebacking corps, led by Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu.

With those changes, there’s no way that the Commanders rank dead last defensively in most statistical categories, right?

ESPN’s Mike Clay released his latest projections for the 2024 NFL season, and they contained some good news and some not-so-good news for the Commanders.

Let’s start with the good news:

Clay projected the three teams to allow the most points in 2024, and Washington was not in the top three. The Commanders were the runaway leader last season. That’s the Dan Quinn effect.

For the not-so-good news:

Clay projects that Washington will be the third-lowest scoring team in 2024, with only the Giants and Patriots scoring fewer points.

That would be surprising under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Daniels. The Commanders believe Daniels’s addition significantly upgrades the offense, but how significant remains to be seen. There are still offensive line questions and which receiver will step up opposite Terry McLaurin.

As for his power rankings, Clay has Washington at No. 30.

The Commanders open the 2024 season on the road next week against the Buccaneers.

Where are the Commanders coaching staff ranked among the rest of the NFL?

ESPN shows no respect to Dan Quinn in these rankings.

Washington fans had their hopes set on Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as the Commanders’ next head coach last season. However, the Commanders and Johnson were never close on a deal, and Washington hired former Falcons head coach and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as the head coach.

While some initially expressed disappointment with the Quinn hiring, that quickly disappeared when the well-respected Quinn hired an all-star staff.

The concern with Quinn was due to him being a defensive-minded head coach. That mattered to some because Washington was picking a young quarterback in the draft. How would he answer those concerns? Quinn landed former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as his offensive coordinator. Additionally, the Commanders hired three other former quarterbacks on the offensive coaching staff, including former Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.

Now that the NFL season is close, what do others think of Washington’s coaching staff? ESPN’s Ben Solak recently ranked every NFL staff from 1-32. Solak has the Commanders’ staff ranked No. 31.

Listen. This is not good.

Quinn is a players’ coach, and he has a system he has run into the ground — he knows the ins and the outs of it, and he can get it on the field quickly and cleanly. The problem is every good offensive coordinator in the league knows how this defense works — four down, zone coverages, certain checks against certain formations — and can find success accordingly. Quinn’s “line up and play fast” approach can work with a souped-up roster like the one enjoyed in Dallas, where stars such as Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland could line up and beat the guy across from them. In Washington, where the defensive roster is really thin? The Quinn shtick won’t work as easily.

Now, Kingsbury is a players’ coach, and he has a system he’s run into the ground — he knows the ins and the outs of it, and he can get it on the field quickly and cleanly. Are you seeing the issue here? Kingsbury’s Air Raid approach far too often leaves his quarterback checking into screens, running pre-snap RPOs, or praying a wide receiver wins a one-on-one deep down the field. This offense floundered in Arizona because there wasn’t enough multiplicity or deception, much as Quinn’s defenses struggled for their simplicity.

I love the vibes in the room — Quinn, Kliff and Whitt all get along well with the fellas. But schematically, this is as stale of a room as I can remember. Here’s hoping they prove me wrong.

Ouch. These are some harsh criticisms, but certainly not unfair. One aspect Solak didn’t mention was Washington’s staff is full of teachers. That’s a huge change from the previous staff. The Commanders believe some of their younger players will benefit from better coaching.

The 2024 season could be difficult for Washington due to its lack of talent across the roster—not because of a bad coaching staff.