Tag: OC Eric Bieniemy

Bieniemy didn’t help the Commanders vs. the 49ers

The Commanders ran the ball just 14 times and Brian Robinson Jr. was excellent when he had opportunities.

It wasn’t as close as the final score for the Commanders on Sunday.

The scoreboard read 27-10, and those watching at a surface level will take some comfort, but other numbers were much more indicative.

The Commanders only registered 12 first downs, while the 49ers accumulated more than double that with 28.

The 49ers ran 25 more offensive plays than the Commanders, as Washington could only manage 43 to San Francisco’s 68.

The 49ers accumulated 408 yards of offense on Sunday. Meanwhile, Washington could only generate 225 yards.

The 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan understands how a running game helps his quarterback, Brock Prudy. San Francisco ran the ball down the Commanders’ throats 39 times, gaining 184 rushing yards, averaging 4.7 a carry.

Meanwhile, Washington’s offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, continued to stubbornly show everyone he was in charge. Sunday, Bieniemy only had the Commanders run the ball 14 times. 14 rushing attempts? And this guy wants a head-coaching job in the NFL?

Washington was averaging 4.4 yards a carry, and its quarterback Sam Howell had struggled terribly the last month, so the offensive coordinator’s strategy was only to run the ball 14 times!

Sunday’s loss was Washington’s 12th in their last 14 games. This season can’t end soon enough.

 

Rams lose intensity, hold on to defeat Commanders 28-20

The Commanders lost by eight points, but the game wasn’t as close as the final score.

The visiting Commanders couldn’t generate much offense themselves and lost to the Rams Sunday 28-20.

Meanwhile, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 258 yards, including two touchdowns, as the Rams were leading 20-0 early in the third quarter.

Some will point to the Commanders’ (4-10) two touchdowns with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. Go ahead, but the Rams led 20-0, and as soon as Washington scored to narrow the deficit to 20-7, the Rams scored again to extend their lead to a comfortable 28-7.

Yes, it’s clear the Commanders (not the “Commodores” as was announced by color analyst James Lofton) did score twice following Ron Rivera pulling starter Sam Howell in the fourth quarter to go with the backup Brissett.

Yet, the question must be asked, had the Rams lost much of their intensity when they scored to go up by 21 points at 28-7? In addition, they had substituted All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald out of the game at this point.

Following the Commander’s five-play 67-yard drive to score, reducing the Washington deficit to 28-14, Donald was reinserted back into the game. Brissett connected with Terry McLaurin for 16 yards and then 48 yards to the Rams 1.

Then Eric Bieniemy, for some baffling reason, called on the Commanders to run the ball twice consecutively up the middle at Donald. Both times they were unsuccessful for no gains. On third down, Logan Thomas clearly pushed off, allowing him to catch a touchdown pass that was rightly penalized.

After a pass interference penalty gifted the Commanders four more downs at the one, Bieniemy again called for a Chris Rodriguez run up the middle, and again it was stuffed. Two incomplete Brissett passes followed before Brissett found Curtis Samuel for a 3-yard touchdown.

Wouldn’t you know it, Camaron Cheeseman had another bad snap that Tress Way managed to get down, but it was blocked, leaving the final score at 28-20. As Washington’s onside attempt failed and though everyone in the stadium knew the Rams were going to run the ball, the Commanders defense could not prevent a Rams first down, permitting them to run out the clock.

 

Commanders drama grows concerning Eric Bieniemy

Has Eric Bieniemy pushed too hard? Opinions will be mixed.

The Commanders’ drama continues into this week’s bye week.

From the outset, it should be stated explicitly if the Commanders were 7-6 instead of 4-9, there would be much less drama right now.

Just last week, Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan reported that he was being told that there are Commanders players not endorsing Eric Bieniemy in his coaching style.

Now, John Keim and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN have combined to write a story that unfolds how this season, which began with such high hopes, is now crumbling in its last month.

Apparently some players were not going to make their treatments because Bieniemy was running over the usually understood time for offensive personnel meetings. One player communicated that Bieniemy had suggested they could use a foam roller during the meeting.

Another player said it was getting better, “He’s gotten better at respecting our time.”

There was the preseason incident when receiver Terry McLaurin felt a cheap shot was delivered to one of his offensive teammates. “Bieniemy fired an expletive warning for him to return to the huddle. McLaurin wouldn’t back down, vowing to defend his teammate” (Keim report).

Ron Rivera raised eyebrows in training camp, conveying some players had come to him about Bieniemy. Some might say Rivera, in sharing this with the media, undermined/undercut Bieniemy. That is understandable.

Media personalities and fans talked of how insignificant players, unproductive players were simply whining.

But if that were the case, why would Rivera have even batted an eye? Isn’t it more reasonable to see that it actually was respected players who came to Rivera? Because Rivera respected them, might it have even alarmed Rivera that there was already unnecessary friction in the camp?

There is no doubt Andy Reid wanted Bieniemy to land another job last offseason. Reid was openly campaigning for someone to please take him, enabling Reid the opportunity to rehire Matt Nagy as his offensive coordinator.

Bieniemy should be credited for doing a nice job with Sam Howell. He appears to have significantly helped Howell’s “growth and development.”

Just last week, Bieniemy said, “I’m never going to change who I am, “I’ve always been like this…”

Some media personalities have responded that Bieniemy is the one man with Super Bowl wins in the organization, while the rest are part of a last-place organization. So, who cares what they think?

But for Bieniemy to insist he is “never going to change?”

Isn’t it convenient to think you don’t need to change in some areas? Aren’t each of us flawed? Don’t we all have limitations, biases, and, yes, blind spots?

This season was a big opportunity for Bieniemy.

Might he have pressed too hard?

Don’t tell Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy these last five games are not important

Don’t tell Eric Bieniemy that Washington’s five remaining games are not important.

Don’t even attempt to convey to Eric Bieniemy that the Commanders’ last five games of this 2023 season are not important.

Bieniemy played running back in the NFL for nine seasons (1991-99). He knows how important it is to finish strong, to be playing for next season, etc.

Next, the former NFL running back coached running backs for the Vikings for five seasons (2006-10) and then the Chiefs for five seasons (2013-17), before becoming their offensive coordinator for five seasons (2018-22).

It is very much a reality that there are NFL coaches right now who are not satisfied with their offensive coordinators and will be looking to see if they can obtain one who would be an improvement for their offense next season.

Being a competitor, there is 100 percent absolute certainty, Bieniemy knows he is coaching for a good job next season.

Consequently, if you think for one second that Eric Bieniemy is lying down at night wondering who Washington could get with a top-5 draft choice next season, you are very naive.

Bieniemy is studying daily, planning hard, teaching hard, coaching hard. He wants the Commanders offense to be effective, protecting Sam Howell, moving the ball, and yes, even running effectively when he feels they need to do so to slow down the opposing pass rush and get those tough yards.

So, look for Bieniemy to have Sam Howell getting the ball out early and, yes, often. Look for Sam Howell to be distributing the ball very generously to various receivers, attempting to keep all of those in coverage honest as well.

He is no doubt working to put Sam Howell in the best possible positions for success in each of these last five games. He is not going to put his arm around offensive players and whisper, “Take it easy, guys.” NEVER.

Don’t you think Bieniemy knows that if the defense had shown up in at least two more games, this team could easily be 6-6 and not 4-8? You bet he does.

Eric Bieniemy knows if Josh Harris hires a new head coach, the head coach will be the one determining who the Commanders offensive coordinator will be in 2024.

Consequently, these last five games are resume material for Eric Bieniemy, and he is going to be working hard with his offensive unit.

 

Can Commanders & Sam Howell put together consecutive good games?

Is this the week the Commanders show some consistency on offense?

The Commanders have lost five of their last six games.

Sam Howell and the offense have had good games at Denver and at Philadelphia. Last week they had a good game at FedEx Field against the Eagles. They also had a good first half at Atlanta and then fell off a cliff in the second half.

They have had below average outing at FedEx in the season opener against the Cardinals. The offense was beyond question poor at home against the Bills, in the first half at home against the Bears and then at the Giants.

This offense has been so up and down this season. A very sincere question becomes, “Can this be the week Washington puts together consecutive weeks of good offensive production?”

Last week, quarterback Sam Howell passed for 397 yards, including four touchdown passes. There was a costly interception in the final quarter. Yet overall, Howell’s passer rating was 114.0.

Howell’s sack totals were depressing for Commanders fans and eye-raising for NFL historians. In his first seven games, he was sacked 6, 4, 9, 5, 5, 5 and 6 times. But against the Eagles last week, Howell was only sacked once, and that was in the final minute when the Commanders were down 38-31, and the Eagles knew they were going to pass.

The former North Carolina Tarheel did take six QB hits last week, and with his sack total already at 41 through eight games, one has to begin to wonder how many times Howell can be hit like this and still be healthy enough to play out the second half of the season.

The Eagles blitzed Sam Howell 14 times last week, and Howell was able to calmly complete 12 passes, including a TD pass, and generate a passer rating of 132.4.

Sam Howell needs a second consecutive good passing game.

He’s not the only one. Eric Bieniemy and Ron Rivera both need a good passing game from Howell as well.

Bieniemy, Commanders offense needs to do much better

It’s easy to blame Sam Howell or the offensive line. But Eric Bieniemy needs to be better, too.

The Commanders need to protect Sam Howell better.

The Bears and then the Falcons both far surpassed what they had done in any game this season going up against the Commanders offensive line.

Even more, the Giants had only generated five quarterback sacks in the first six games! But against Washington? The Giants sacked Howell five times in the first half!

We have heard ad nauseam how the problem was not the line but Sam Howell holding the ball too long.

Against the Giants, it was so bad there were passing plays when Howell looked to not even be able to conclude his drop without being pressured by someone in a navy jersey.

You can’t just blame Howell for Sunday. The offensive line was repeatedly beaten; what’s more, new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy continued to have Howell simply drop back.

Where were the screens to running backs? The wide receiver screens forcing the Giants’ front seven to chase plays down from side to side? Why was Howell simply dropping back and not being provided a moving pocket by Bieniemy?

Bieniemy was brought here and praised nationally as an offensive mastermind, a man who has been cheated out of not yet being named an NFL head coach. Sadly, on Sunday, Bieniemy did nothing to help his resume.

For 12 Commanders possessions, the offense did virtually nothing. They couldn’t run the ball between the tackles or wide. The same could be said of the passing game. Sam Howell looked helpless out there!

  • 3 plays 3 yards
  • 3 plays 4 yards
  • 4 plays 15 yards
  • 3 plays -5 yards
  • 4 plays 20 yards, interception
  • 3 plays 0 yards
  • 3 plays -10 yards
  • 3 plays, -1 yard

No wonder Ron Rivera wanted off the field at halftime.

The third quarter began, but again, it was only 3 plays, this time for 6 yards.

What do you know, the Giants muffed a punt, the Commanders got the ball at the 21-yard line and scored on a Brian Robinson run.

But then it continued again. 5 plays for 21 yards and 3 plays for 8 yards.

Twelve possessions and the Eric Bieniemy-designed offense had generated only a mere five first downs and 107 yards on 43 plays, for 2.7 yards per play.

Washington did manage to drive the ball on their last two possessions, 81 and 85 yards. We praise the offensive unit for gaining 166 yards on their final two possessions.

Yet, they came away with no points on either possession.

Sunday, the Giants defense looked to be much superior to Washington’s offense. The offense didn’t look prepared, nor did they make the necessary adjustments.

Commanders Wire is pulling for Eric Bieniemy, but are we to ignore how badly out-coached the Washington offense was Sunday? Hasn’t Bieniemy’s honeymoon period come to a close? Shouldn’t he be held accountable as well?

 

Jay Gruden on Commanders: ‘It was hard to watch’

Some good perspective from a former quarterback and head coach.

The Commanders took major steps backward in Sunday’s Week 3, 37-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills, according to Jay Gruden.

Gruden was appearing for his weekly appearance on “The Chris Russell Show” on The Team 980 weekdays from 1-4 p.m ET.

“I really didn’t see a lot of separation by the receivers; Buffalo did a great job of matching the routes, playing tight coverage,” added Gruden.

Gruden expressed that for a young quarterback who is getting his first starts in his career, it is difficult for them not to get stuck on a receiver. Thus, when the coverage was as good as was the Bills, Sunday, Sam Howell was then holding the ball, resulting in more sacks and quarterback hits.

For the record, the Bills sacked Howell nine times. When they didn’t sack Howell, they recorded an additional 15 quarterback hits and also intercepted him four times.

The former University of Louisville quarterback stated that during the game, when the coaches are talking to Howell through the helmet technology, they should be reminding him often to “check down.”

Gruden clarified, saying you might not need to do this with an experienced veteran, but you really should be proactive in your communication with an inexperienced guy like Howell.

The former Redskins head coach (2014-19) pointed out there are different ways to help protect your quarterback, saying, “You keep a couple of extra guys in to protect, which means you will only have a two and three-man route. You can also come up with three-level throws. You can double-team a defensive end from time to time to give your outside lineman some relief from time to time.”

The former Bengals and Jaguars offensive coordinator admitted, “It is a head-scratcher because it is not like Robinson (Brian) was getting stuffed each time he ran the ball. He was getting four and five yards.”

“When you have a young quarterback, you have to take some pressure off of him, throwing a screen pass, throwing a bubble screen, getting back to some of those RPOs they had some success with in the third quarter.”

“Really, the biggest problem I had was when it was 30-0, and they kept him in and kept getting him killed. It’s not the best way to build a young quarterback’s confidence… it was hard to watch.”

Commanders get embarrassed by the Bills 37-3

There were no positives for the Commanders.

The Cardinals stink.

The Broncos stink.

I mean, the Dolphins were up 70-20, and there were still seven minutes remaining in that game. Miami eventually won, 70-20.

The Commanders … oh well, you get the idea.

The Commanders were 2-0, having defeated the Cardinals and then the Broncos. Today at home on FedEx Field, the Commanders were embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills 37-3.

It was so bad that I don’t know where to start.

The Commanders were only 1 of 9 on third downs today. Why was that? Starting with interceptions, there were four of those by Sam Howell; one was even returned for a Bills touchdown.

Oh, did I mention there were nine, yes, nine times Washington quarterback Sam Howell was sacked?

When the Commanders managed to get into the red zone twice, they came away with no points each time.

It was so bad that Commanders head coach Ron Rivera sent out kicker Joey Slye with seconds remaining to attempt a 51-yard field goal, hoping (and probably praying) to avoid a 37-point shutout.

Antonio Gibson fumbled again today, and the Bills recovered it. Wonder if offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will come down on Gibson, benching him?

Speaking of Bieniemy, after wins over the Cardinals and Broncos, NFL analysts were referencing Bieniemy like he was Bill Walsh or Joe Gibbs creating an offensive attack.

During the Bills’ onslaught against the Washington offense,  I wondered how strongly Bieniemy lobbied to get right tackle and former Kansas City Chiefs Andrew Wylie signed during the free agent signing period back in March.

Plain and simple, the players and coaches alike today were humiliated and shown to be humans and very beatable.

Dust yourself off, men. The sun will rise tomorrow, and you can get back to work toward putting on a better showing next week.

Doc Walker: Some Commanders are ‘whiners, sissies’

Doc Walker pulls no punches, gives some outstanding analysis on what he’s seen this summer.

Rick “Doc” Walker was doing what he does so well Monday.

A guest on “The Al Galdi Podcast,” Walker, a former Redskins tight end (1980-85), was entertaining, daring and humorous. In other words, it was Doc Walker, as I’ve known him for 40 years.

Walker, as usual, did not hold back sharing his opinion of what he has observed thus far in the 2023 Commanders preseason. “Everyone could see Wylie (Andrew) was struggling at right tackle.”

Walker liked something he saw in returner Kazmeir Allen, “I saw potential promise in our return game if that young man will listen to Brian Mitchell…All that wide running ain’t gonna work in the NFL. But, if you got the guts to jam that thing up the pipe, you coming out of their brother. Because this dude can fly.”

“Doc” voiced his concern over the slow Washington starts during the Ron Rivera three seasons (2020-22). “This (preseason) is like a training session. I got to get you through this, to get you ready for Arizona. Because my target is Arizona in the regular season. Because we have been awful in September.”

Walker then naturally transitioned into Washington’s new offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy. “But now we have a new attitude, though some seem to have gotten their feathers ruffled over Bieniemy. I just hope he keeps doing what he is doing.”

Walker continued, “Anybody that has ever gone from bad teams to good teams understands why bad teams are stuck on stupid. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’re going to keep getting the same results.”

The former tight end really appreciates the route running of receiver Jahan Dotson. “If they had a pay-per-view package just for me to watch/stay on him, I’d buy the package just to watch him. He is a superior route runner. I am telling you it is an art.”

How does Doc feel about the offensive line? “Here’s my deal, if you can’t run block or pass block, why are you on the team? Because you played for the head coach? We saw that crap last year with the two guards that were shot (Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner). So, it depends. Do you guys want to win, or are running a boy’s club or a professional football team?”

Walker again turned to Wylie in particular, “I expect him to play better next week because it is the test of a lifetime because he has the Ravens all week. So, if he has any fight in him, any dog in him, it better come out this week.”

“Doc” loves Sam Cosmi being moved from tackle to guard and looks forward to what he thinks Cosmi can accomplish inside.

Then “Doc” again turned his focus to the regular season.

“All I care about is if we are better in September than we have been since Ron Rivera has run the team. We have got to be better in September. In order to do that, it gets ugly in the process. It’s not going to be perfect. You have to go through some tough times.”

“I just want all the whiners that think EB’s practice…………EB is training you to be a champion. I know it is foreign to a lot of these sissies, but the bottom line is that was pathetic what went down.”

“It altered my demeanor all week. I could not believe it. I was shocked by that. But, you gotta move on.”

Was Friday the worst for the Commanders offense?

Local radio host evaluates what he saw from Washington’s offense.

“OMG, this offense is going to rank 44th in a league of 32 teams.”

That’s how The Team 980 host Chris Russell saw the Friday morning practice. Russell said in his first hour Friday (1-4 pm) that anyone going to that practice may have left practice with that thought in mind.

How bad was the Commanders offense Friday? Here are some select quotes from Russell’s opening monologue of that first hour of his program.

“There is nothing to hide here. Maybe it is because of a really good defense, or maybe because it is a really bad offense that is still learning what the hell they are trying to do. The offense is light years behind.”

“Listen, it is practice. They are going against a good defense. They are learning a new system. I am sure they are tired. I got it. Be better, do better. It was wretched.”

“In every way, shape, or form. The quarterbacks all stunk. The receivers stunk. Too many dropped passes, too many non-catches, too many falling downs, too many balls not fought for correctly, too many balls not held on to.”

The bottom line is the parts I saw (2+ hours) were horrific. A lot of it was of the unforced error variety. I wish I could just attribute it to, ‘Man, the defense was cooking today’. But that wasn’t the case.”

“It is still a work in progress. But we can all be responsible, grown adults and say, ‘They (offense) sucked today.’ And it has been a week since I thought the Commanders offense looked anything close to ‘above average/good.'”

“Since last Friday when Jake Fromm clearly outplayed Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett, and the offense was sloppy in general (paused) and last Saturday in front of 10,000 fans and all three quarterbacks sucked, and the offense sucked as a whole, but it somehow didn’t stink as bad as it did today.”

“Today just made you want to barf.”

There was more, but we only have so much space…

Here is the audio link if you wish to listen to Russell express his frustration with the Commanders offense.