Tag: OC Kliff Kingsbury

Much has changed for the Commanders over the past week

Much has changed for the Commanders over the past week.

Losers of three consecutive games, the Commanders one week ago, looked to be perfect candidates for another upset loss.

Having suffered a disappointing loss to the Cowboys (34-26) in a home Week 12 contest, the Commanders not only lost, they looked a step slow and the inferior team.

More than a few sports show hosts voiced that the Commanders were prime candidates for another loss, and one reason was the Titans’ defense. Entering the Week 13 game, the Titans defense was first in passing yards allowed  (169.6), second in total yards allowed (276.4), second in defensive third down percentage (31.6), and third in yards allowed per play (4.8).

Even in its own town, Washington’s The Team 980 host Lynell Willingham proclaimed the Commanders would fall to the Titans.

Not to kick Willingham when he is down; don’t we all make predictions that don’t come true? Don’t we all get it wrong more times than we would like to admit?

That was all great to build up the game; however, what actually transpired in the game?

  • The Commanders possessed the ball 40:13, more than double that of the Titans, who had it only 19:47.
  • Washington ran the ball 45 times, while the Titans ran it 11 times. The Commanders outrushed the Titans 267-35.
  • Against the vaunted Titans defense, Brian Robinson finished with 103 yards on 16 carries. In addition, Chris Rodriguez ran 13 times for 94 yards.
  • The Commanders accumulated 29 first downs, holding the Titans to a mere 12, had the advantage in total plays 77-50, and out-gained the Titans 463-245.

Had Jayden Daniels hit the rookie wall?

On Sunday, against the Titans, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury coached Daniels to get the ball out of his hands, move the chains, and avoid being hit while passing. Consequently, Daniels completed 25 of 30 passing attempts (83 percent) for 206 yards (6.9 yards per attempt).

Daniels was the most significant player in turning around the Commanders from a dreadful 4-13 team in 2023. He’s not the only significant personnel change but the most significant change.

The offensive line is vastly improved, and yes, coaching matters, as evidenced by Kingsbury’s adjustments in how he has prepared Daniels throughout the season.

Finally, it really is a week-to-week league. Therefore, the Commanders should have been resting during this bye week and will need to be ready to return next week to work for the season’s last four games.

Commanders’ QB Marcus Mariota in a good place these days

Marcus Mariota will be ready for this opportunity if called upon.

Marcus Mariota has walked in Jayden Daniels’ shoes.

Mariota was brought to Washington because, as a veteran, he has a lot of experience to offer to Daniels.

The former Oregon Duck was drafted second overall in the 2015 NFL draft, just as Jayden Daniels was drafted second overall in this last 2024 draft.

Next week, Mariota will turn 31 (October 30), so he has been around the block a few times in the NFL. Having Mariota in Daniels’ ear each day of practice was a valuable opportunity for Daniels to learn all he could.

Mariota went to a Tennessee Titans team and started 12 games in his rookie season. However, the Titans only went 3-9 in those 12 games. On the other hand, Daniels is the beneficiary of a GM like Adam Peters, who knew how to overhaul a roster with 30+ new men on the team in one season. So Washington is 5-2 going into Sunday’s game against the Bears.

Mariota finished below .500 in his five years with the Titans (29-32). He then endured two tough years with the Raiders, during which time he never made a start.

In 2022, the Falcons were 5-8 in his 13 starts; something really blew up there, and Mariota was gone, not even finishing the season. It did not look good at all for Mariota going forward.

However, his season with the Eagles (2023) apparently went well in the locker room, and former Eagles coaches Brian Johnson and Mariota both came to Washington this offseason.

Kliff Kingsbury (Commanders OC) said this week he “saw his preparation, I saw how he operated in the spring…I think he embraced the moment. He’s only 30 and is still a tremendous talent.”

Then came last Sunday. Jayden unexpectedly was out with a rib injury, and Mariota was thrown into the fire. Who could have seen Mariota completing 18 of 23 for 205 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a very impressive 8.9 yards per passing attempt.

This week, Kingsbury remained upbeat. “I think his best football is still ahead of him, and I’ve told him.”

Daniels says Mariota has been very positive for him. In addition, we see Mariota being encouraged and perhaps living out that encouragement he has received from Kingsbury.

Perhaps the Commanders will be the better place for Mariota.

 

A significant reason the Commanders are an NFL surprise

This group is dramatically improved from last season.

Why are the Commanders such a surprising team in four games?

The knee-jerk response is rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Of course, that is probably the most significant difference compared to last year’s team. As much as we love Daniels, we know it’s not that simple; it never is.

The Commanders’ offensive line is better than last year—no, make that so much better.

Friday, speaking with the media, head coach Dan Quinn praised offensive line coach Bobby Johnson.

“Yeah, I think coming into it [we] wanted one, somebody that was an excellent teacher, and I think at that position, that’s where a lot of development takes place. You’re coaching a lot of guys and the development of that position, it’s not like just add water and play.”

Even more interesting was that one of Quinn’s friends in NFL coaching circles Brian Daboll (NYG HC) had previously spoken very highly of Johnson.

“I’ve known Brian for a long time, and like any job you’re looking for, you want to ask as many people as you can. And what really came through for me strong was the teaching, that part of things. And that was really important to me. And so I’ve really been impressed by the work that he has done so far.”

It would be simplistic to say that Daniels is the sole reason the Commanders are better, but it would be to say that Johnson is the sole reason the offensive line is better.

Consider the stark contrasts between last year’s offensive coordinator’s press conferences and this year’s. The two men are so different in approach on and off the field. The Commanders are running the ball well enough and often enough that Daniels is not being asked to carry too much of the load.

Lastly, just months ago, most of us complained about Adam Peters when he waited until the third round to draft an offensive lineman, and even more when that was his only draft choice used on the offensive line.

Peters knew what he was doing, fully aware he had already released Nick Gates and Charles Leno. Next, he had signed free agents Nick Allegretti and Tyler Biadasz. Lastly, he drafted Brandon Coleman 67th overall.

In summary, this offensive line is not last year’s, their coach is not the same, and neither is their offensive coordinator.

Yes, the offensive line has been a major contributor to Jayden Daniels making headlines for the last two weeks.

More importantly, the Washington Commanders have been making headlines the last two weeks.

Terry McLaurin is back as Commanders beat Bengals

Breaking down Terry McLaurin’s phenomenal night.

Terry McLaurin was in the Commanders’ news all week.

He was in the news not for what he had done this season but for what he had not done. Through two games, McLaurin had 8 receptions for only 39 yards and no touchdowns.

But in this Week 3 contest in Cincinnati against the Bengals, McLaurin not only led the Commanders in receiving yards but also reached the 100 yard mark and scored the clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter. On his night, he was targeted six times and came away with four receptions for an even 100 yards.

Leading 31-26 in the fourth quarter, the Commanders faced a 3rd & 2 at the Bengals 49. Daniels rolled right and found McLaurin crossing from the left side for four yards and first down.

When the Commanders ran on both first and second down late, they appeared to be setting up a field goal attempt. However, on 3rd & 7 from the Bengals 27, Daniels lofted a pass high up the right sideline, which found McLaurin in the end zone for a 38-26 Washington lead with 2:10 remaining.

Early in the game, it appeared the woes for McLaurin were going to continue when he and Daniels failed to connect on a 1st & 10 at the Bengals’ 35 with the score tied 7-7. McLaurin broke wide open deep, and Daniels missed him badly — very badly. Badly enough, I wondered if there was a miscommunication in what route McLaurin was supposed to run.

Leading 14-10, the Commanders were at their own 41, facing a 2nd & 5. There was no miscommunication on this play, as Daniels found McLaurin deep for 55 yards to the Bengals 4.

When the Bengals had closed to 28-20, the Commanders were starting at their own 30 when Daniels found McLaurin for 14 yards and a first down to the 44.

It’s good to see McLaurin making a significant contribution again in the passing game. Dan Quinn thought so, too, as cameras caught Quinn picking McLaurin up off the ground on Monday in celebration of his big plays.

Jayden Daniels spectacular in Commanders’ win vs. Bengals

What a night for Jayden Daniels.

Jayden Daniels was spectacular Monday night!

Daniels completed 21 of his 23 passing attempts for 254 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also collected 39 rushing yards on 12 carries and one rushing touchdown.

In completing 91 percent of his passing attempts, Daniels did something no other rookie quarterback had accomplished in NFL history (with a minimum of 20 attempts).

Dan Quinn was excited and happy in the postgame press conference. He praised Daniels, of course, calling him “a really cool customer.” He talked of how his ability to use his legs and keep his poise led to his strong performance. Quinn even slipped in that Daniels slid once after converting a key first down.

https://twitter.com/Tiller56/status/1838410277265584193

Praising Kliff Kingsbury, saying all week Kingsbury prepared the offense with what they would have to do in critical moments. Quinn said Kingsbury called a great game.

Daniels threw his first NFL touchdown pass on Monday. Surprisingly, it was a tackle-eligible pass to Trent Scott from one yard out. Scott was ecstatic and exuberant in the end zone when he knew he had scored.

When the Bengals had closed to 31-26, Daniels, with the crowd noise growing against him, converted a 3rd & 2 with a 4-yard pass to Terry McLaurin.

Then on a 4th & 4 Daniels found Zach Ertz for 9 yards to the Bengals 30.

Not finished, he converted the 3rd & 7 from the 27, not with another first down, but with a 27-yard touchdown to McLaurin to put the Commanders up two scores at 38-26 with 2:10 remaining.

Daniels is still a rookie, there will be times he misses open receivers, but tonight, he got his first road NFL win, and also his first MNF win.

Hey, the Commanders are 2-1, tied with the Eagles in first place!

Kingsbury discusses Terry McLaurin, Commanders’ passing game

The offensive coordinator understands the passing game must improve and it starts with him.

“Defensive coordinators are smart; they’re going to try to take him away, there’s no doubt.”

That was how Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury responded during his press conference when asked about Terry McLaurin’s lack of production thus far in 2024.

Thirty-nine receiving yards in two games for McLaurin is tough to imagine, even more to swallow. It has come on eight receptions, which means McLaurin is averaging a paltry 4.9 yards a reception. Re-read that: 4.9 yards is not a carry but a reception.

Kingsbury responded, “That’s my job to find ways to answer that. So far, I haven’t done a great job of it. For me and the staff we have to be better moving forward.”

That was Kingsbury in public, taking the blame on himself. In private, you know he has shown Daniels how he has missed McLaurin being open for some big plays as these two shown here.

Who would have thought that through the first two games, and McLaurin has played the majority of the games, his longest reception would be for only 12 yards?

Since coming to Washington in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, McLaurin has not only led Washington in receiving but has also gained 1,000 receiving yards in each of his last four NFL seasons (2020-23).

Thirty-nine receiving yards for Terry McLaurin? It’s not like the quarterback is injured and unable to throw. Jayden Daniels has completed 40 passes for 410 yards, which averages 20 completions for 205 passing yards a game.

McLaurin really showed himself to be a team leader in his days with the Commanders. But even more, he has arrived on stage at some of the big Washington games and had productive performances.

Interestingly enough, when rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels met with the press on Thursday, Daniels acknowledged McLaurin has been a team leader and that this team needs to get him the ball more often. Yet he surprisingly added the comment that if they didn’t, “we are going to keep playing our game, keep moving forward, and just go from there.”

 

Kingsbury made good calls on final drive, leading to Commanders win over Giants

A great final drive from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Last week, Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said he made one of the worst play calls in his career. Today, he made three good ones on the final possession, leading to a 21-18 Commanders win.

The Commanders were extremely fortunate to even have the opportunity for Kingsbury to make the much better play calls.

You see, the Giants had the ball 4th & 4 at the Commanders 22-yard line, with the game tied 18-18. However, their kicker Graham Gano had injured a hamstring and was unable to come out and kick what for him would be an almost automatic 39-yard field goal.

So, the Giants were forced to go for the first down. Daniel Jones rolled right and found Malik Nabers along the sideline. Perhaps Nabors was worried about getting his feet down because he dropped what would have been a first down. The Giants were now unable to run down the clock. The Commanders would have an opportunity to score themselves.

First, Kingsbury had Noah Brown in the game. Brown has more experience than several Commanders receivers not named Terry McLaurin. Brown ran a great route, was wide open, and Jayden Daniels found him for a huge 34-yard gain to the Giants’ 43.

https://Twitter.com/Tiller56/status/1835408952085082341

Kingsbury called Brian Robinson’s number on 2nd & 2 at the Giants’ 35, resulting in an 11-yard gain and a first down at the Giants’ 24, forcing the Giants to call timeout with 57 seconds remaining.

https://Twitter.com/Tiller56/status/1835409551186968839

Surely, the call would be for another Robinson run. New York Giant defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux certainly thought so. As Daniels put the ball in Robinson’s belly, Thibodeaux came crashing down from his left defensive end position to hit Robinson for a tackle for a loss.

However, the call was for a zone-read option, and Daniels kept the ball and scooted outside through the area vacated by Thibodeaux, picked up a block from tight end Zach Ertz, gaining 14 yards to the Giants’ 10.

https://Twitter.com/Tiller56/status/1835409858180403295

The zone-read call enabled Austin Seibert to kick a 30-yard game-winner rather than attempt a more difficult kick over 40 yards. Seibert made the kick, Kingsbury made three good calls on the final possession, and the Commanders and Dan Quinn had their first win of 2024.

It was also the first time the Commanders had beaten the Giants in Landover since Kirk Cousins was the quarterback in 2017.

What did Kliff Kingsbury think of the Commanders offensive line in Week 1?

What does the OC think about Washington’s left tackles?

Several times in the opener, Jayden Daniels had to exit reading his progressions to taking off and running to avoid a sack.

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was asked to comment on Daniels having to take off running several plays.

“It’s a really good front and like I said earlier, a few of those were first read and get out,” answered Kingsbury. As your first game as a rookie, he knows he has a lot of faith in his legs. I would, too, if I could run like that. He made some plays early and got out of there.”

Kingsbury said Jayden didn’t actually have to take off each of those times he did take off running. He explained that it was the rookie’s first NFL game, and he got a little anxious a few times and took off early instead of reading to his second or third progression and attempting to pass the ball down field.

Back to his offensive line:

“I thought they battled against a really good front,” Kingsbury said. “No pre-snap penalties, I don’t know how many holds, I don’t think many. I thought from an execution standpoint (they) played a clean game. Sure, we can all do better, but I thought as a group they played an efficient game.”

As for Brandon Coleman and Cornelius Lucas rotating again at left tackle this week? Kingsbury declared both had earned a right to play in the opener. Yet, eventually, he would like to see what sort of unity could be developed among his top five linemen.

Commanders’ Kliff Kingsbury: ‘I called one of my worst plays ever’

Kingsbury took responsibility for one play call he would love to have back.

Not only did the Commanders lose their 2024 opener in Tampa, 37-20, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury declared Thursday he had one of the worst play calls of his career.

Kingsbury, meeting with the local press, voluntarily offered, “I called one of the worst plays I’ve ever called in my entire career. He (Jayden Daniels) just took the ball and ran into the end zone. It was like he was not going to be denied there on the goal line. It showed a lot about him in that situation.”

To which play was Kingsbury referring? Washington trailed Tampa Bay 37-14. Daniels had just completed a ten-yard pass over the middle to Luke McCaffrey, taking the ball to the one-yard line. After two unsuccessful attempts, the Commanders faced a 3rd  & goal from the one with 1:16 remaining.

“I called basically a speed option with no check, and they (Bucs) overplayed it to one side. So he (Daniels) just stuck his foot in the ground and got in the end zone.”

Indeed, the replay shows that it was to be an option, right, with Daniels keeping off-tackling to the right or pitching wide right to Brian Robinson. However, the Bucs defense played the pitch perfectly, and Robinson would have been hit for a loss had Daniels pitched it. Compounding matters was that Daniels was not able to even approach going off tackle, as that was clogged up by the Bucs as well.

Therefore, he stopped instantly, planting and attempting to cut back over the right guard. Two Buccaneer defenders met Daniels, who turned his back, was hit, got away, and backpedaled into the end zone for the final touchdown.

“He just found a way in. So it says a lot about what we knew. He likes to compete, and it definitely showed on Sunday. I didn’t give him a check to get out of it (the play). They had about three guys outside on the option. So, he saw that and ran it anyway, cut back, ran a couple of guys over, and got in the end zone.”

Kingsbury, thinking long term, closed by saying, “If I had that one back, I would rather him not get hit like that.

He is right, of course. Why subject your thin rookie quarterback to unnecessary hits in a game you’ve already lost when there are 16 more games to play?

Related article:

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

 

Former Washington coach Jay Gruden rooting for the Commanders

The former coach has fond words for Dan Quinn, his former players and will be rooting for Washington now that a certain person is gone.

Former Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden says now that Dan Snyder is gone, he hopes the best for the Washington Commanders.

Gruden was a guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast Friday. Regarding the Commanders, Gruden was his typical self. Here are a few select quotes from Gruden.

https://twitter.com/Coach_JayGruden/status/1806390779134595335

“How does Jayden handle the pressure, and the things he has to do at quarterback to be successful? Obviously, he has the talent. We haven’t seen him going against a team’s No. 1 defense in the NFL. He is going to play against a Tampa Bay defense this week that will not hold anything back. They are going to get after his ass.”

“Can Bobby Wagner hold up at linebacker? He is getting a little older. Can the corners hold up? Is Forbes starting this year? Is he going to play better?”

“They (Commanders) have a lot of talent, a lot of young players playing critical positions. So we will see. I just think it is going to be a struggle this year for them. They will get better and better. Dan Quinn will get these guys going.”

“His (Kliff Kingsbury) biggest issue is protecting the quarterback with the protection scheme he has. He can get guys open down the field, but can he protect Jayden Daniels? We don’t want to see him passing all the time against Tampa Bay, or it will be a blood bath. Tampa Bay will blitz the hell out of him.”

“I think the ability of them to use Jayden with his legs, with zone reads and play action, getting him outside the pocket will be critical early on to get him  outside to see some throws and then use his legs on the perimeter.”

“If they have to bring safeties down into the box creating seven-man fronts, eight-man fronts, that puts a lot of pressure on your corners. If he is going to protect his corners, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne and Clelin Ferrell have to do a good job in light boxes stopping the run. I think they can. Bobby Wagner is good against the run, so is Frankie Luvu.”

“I am rooting for Washington, man. I am off the root against the Dan Snyder bandwagon. I am rooting for Washington to do well. I am rooting for Terry McLaurin, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne. I still have feelings for these guys and the fans. They were good to me for the most part. I am rooting for Washington to have a good year. I like Dan Quinn; he is a good guy…”

There is more; here is the link to all the audio of the discussion.