Tag: RB Brian Robinson

What everyone said after the Commanders’ Week 3 win vs. Bengals

What everyone was saying after the Commanders’ win over the Bengals.

Monday, the Washington Commanders defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 38-33 in Cincinnati, as Jayden Daniels completed 91% of his passes.

Here are some selected postgame quotes regarding the Commanders’ exciting win.

“A lot of guys say things in the NFL. I don’t think we took it personal in the sense that we gotta go prove these guys wrong. You know, probably Kliff felt some type of way. I know DQ might have mentioned it a little bit. You want to have your coaches’ back. You want to have your teammates’ back.” Terry McLaurin on Cam Taylor-Britt’s “a nice college offense” comment last week.

“I don’t regret it,” Taylor-Britt said. “I didn’t mean anything malicious out of the comment. It was made bigger than it was. Yes, I can eat my words, most definitely. We did take an L today.”  Cam Taylor-Britt last said.

“For us to come out here and win a game that probably a lot of people didn’t have us winning, that says a lot about our resiliency and what we are building here.”  Terry McLaurin

“I advocated for the Chicago Bears to hire BOTH Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury this past offseason. That’s what I’m pissed about.” Ryan Woodall, writer Bears Nation Chicago

“Listen to me. We have a quarterback. That young man can play, and we have a kicker too.” Brian Mitchell

“The guys came out here and fought hard. Monday Night Football, prime time, prime time players. Honestly, I’m ecstatic about the vibe, the feeling of seeing these guys come out here, I heard so many people doubting them. They got the W.”  Santana Moss

“He’s a really cool customer. There’s a real poise about him…His ability when to, when not to use his legs. We’ve seen a lot of this in practice. Now it’s carrying over into the games.”  Dan Quinn on Jayden Daniels

“I thought Kliff (Kingsbury) called a great game. All week, all the different looks we would have to go through, especially as we got down into the red zone. We knew the third down and red zone would be a really big part of this. He and the staff had a real clear understanding of what we would have to do.” Dan Quinn

“I think I probably got more sleep today than I have the last couple of months. I was feeling excited, locked and loaded.” Luke McCaffrey

“It’s awesome to see the maturity, the poise he has in the huddle, in the moment, in every single opportunity. He is just calm, ready, prepared. It is just awesome.” Luke McCaffrey on Jayden Daniels

“It was time for him (Terry McLaurin) to make those plays. It wasn’t happening for me, so you know 17 was going to step up and make a play. I am happy to see him get involved. Like I said, for me it was a ground and pound night. I am just happy to get the win.” Brian Robinson Jr.

“I went up during the timeout and to Kliff and said, ‘Give me a go route to the boundary for the game. I went up to Kliff and Jayden and said throw me this ball for the game. For them to have that kind of trust in me, I think that’s maybe one of the first times in my career, the game is on the line, I got to call the play and we executed it at a very high level.”  Terry McLaurin

“Terry said, trust me, and, that’s what we did, I trusted him.” Jayden Daniels

“We are going to face some adversity. It is not going to be smooth sailing from the jump. There are going to be ups and downs. But, stay even keel, keep working, keep improving.”  Jayden Daniels

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.

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

 

2024 NFL preview: How ready are the Commanders at running back?

We preview Washington’s running backs ahead of the 2024 season.

So, how well will the Commanders run the ball in 2024?

Running the ball was not something the Commanders did much in 2023. Then offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was determined to show everyone his passing offense that the Commanders were No. 1 in dropbacks with 736. To make things worse, Bieniemy used the lowest play-action rate in the NFL (32nd).

New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is often associated with the Air Raid offense. But history has shown Kingsbury more balanced, forcing the defense to play both run and pass.

Consequently, the Commanders’ running game is much more prominent in the plans for 2024. Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler, and Jeremy McNichols can plan on carrying the ball.

Perhaps the most interesting player to be carrying the ball often in 2024 might be quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels is very swift on his feet, so look for Kingsbury to have the Commanders run some zone-read options in the opener in Tampa.

Robinson will be the starter, and if he remains healthy, expect him to get over 200 carries. The former Alabama back has shown himself to be durable, physical and dependable.

Ekeler will spell Robinson at times and primarily be a third-down back. He is effective catching the ball out of the backfield and has enjoyed two huge seasons. In 2019, he caught 92 passes, and in 2022, he collected 107.

Ekeler was injured last season, which contributed to his lower numbers. His critics also say he lost a step, which contributed to his decline in production. The Commanders hope his decline was due to his ankle injury in 2023.

McNichols (age 28) came to Washington from San Francisco last season, where Adam Peters was the assistant general manager. In the preseason, McNichols displayed his ability to produce as both a runner and receiver.

Michael Wiley, Chris Rodriguez, and Kazmeir Allen are on the Practice Squad and ready for action should injuries hurt the Commanders’ running backs this season. Wiley and Rodriguez can both be physical runners, while Allen is quick and best in the open field.

After Jahan Dotson trade, Kliff Kingsbury talks about what Commanders want from WRs

Kingsbury’s answers on what Washington seeks at receiver were telling.

Someone had to speak with the press on Thursday.

Given that there would be questions about the trade of wide receiver Jahan Dotson a day earlier, perhaps Adam Peters or Dan Quinn would have been an obvious choice.

So, there was Kliff Kingsbury.

The offensive coordinator, as expected, quickly punted, saying he would defer to Peters and Dan Quinn regarding the trade. Of course he did. That’s not to criticize Kingsbury in any way. He doesn’t make trades, so why should he have to answer questions about them?

He was then asked in a roundabout way about what the coaches are looking for from the wide receivers.

“DQ’s [Quinn’s] style of play. Be physical and play hard without the ball,” Kingsbury said. “I think that’s what we preach is like everybody’s gonna run routes and make catches at this level, but how do you play without the ball?”

After all we have heard over the last week regarding Dotson, that response from Kingsbury lets you know. The coaches just didn’t see Dotson as being physical enough to run his routes or block.

The team could be thin at receiver this season, as only Terry McLaurin has produced significantly. However, Kingsbury knows there are other people to whom quarterback Jayden Daniels can get the ball.

“Austin Ekeler has been fantastic. I think there’s a narrative out there that maybe he lost a step, or something was off, and that couldn’t be further from the truth from what I’ve seen. … Brian Robinson, he’s a No. 1 back in this league, there’s no doubt.”

So, Kingsbury likes his top two backs and is counting on getting both of them the ball often. He also knows that developing a running game will decrease the pressure on Daniels to beat the defense through passing.

Perhaps one of the more interesting things Kingsbury said was about WR Kazmeir Allen.

“So he’s a guy that we could see similar —I’m not comparing — but he has a Deebo-type role to move him around and do different things,” Kingsbury said. “He has that type of explosiveness and ability to play in the slot, or you can hand it to him.”

Compared to Allen, Samuel is much larger and stronger. He is a beast at his position. But the first two preseason games have shown that Allen is someone the coaches like for his explosiveness, and they are looking for ways to get him the ball.

Adam Peters said the Commanders have a ‘few cornerstone pieces.’ Who are they?

Adam Peters said the Commanders had a few cornerstone players. Who are they?

“I believe there’s a few cornerstone pieces in this roster. I believe we have a lot of work to do.”

That is how new Commanders GM Adam Peters replied when asked what he thought of the current roster.

So, who does Peters feel are the “few cornerstone pieces”?

On offense, it would have been great if Sam Howell had developed enough this past season, but that did not occur, as Howell led the NFL in sacks taken and interceptions thrown.

Brian Robinson accumulated 733 rushing yards and 368 receiving yards totaling 1,101 yards from scrimmage. But Robinson is a running back. So Peters may not feel it necessary to pay Robinson a second contract, but we can cross that bridge in a couple of seasons.

Much was made of Terry McLaurin accomplishing a fourth consecutive season of 1,000 yards receiving. Frankly, wasn’t too much made of this? In today’s NFL, the rules and officiating favor the offense much more than the defense. Thus, there is more passing in today’s game. In addition, the NFL regular season is now 17 games. He is a fine, hardworking player and is a team leader. Yet, one would be hard-pressed to persuade us that McLaurin is an elite receiver. But his contract may keep other teams from trading for him. Is he really worth his $24.1 million cap hit in 2024?

This leaves the only real offensive cornerstone piece upon which the Commanders must build around, and that is right guard Sam Cosmi. Cosmi’s 2024 cap hit will only be $2,108,135. His last contract year is 2024, so Peters will want to re-sign Cosmi to that second contract.

Defensively, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne have been sturdy and energetic inside forces, but that did fall off some this past season. Allen and Payne will have cap hits of $23 million and $26.17 million in 2025. Allen and Payne were drafted in the first round by Washington in 2017 and 2018, respectively. If Peters wants to receive the highest possible value back in a trade, he may want to trade one or both this offseason.

A few young players who have shown a toughness that Peters may keep around include safeties Darrick Forrest and Kam Curl. Curl is a free agent, however, and may want to hit the open market. A third is Quan Martin, a second-round choice who flashed at times in the later games of the season.

Three other players on the offense could be nice developmental pieces. Chris Rodriguez Jr. exhibited a real toughness on special teams and in running the ball. Jahan Dotson has had his moments where he looks like he really belongs. Another is Curtis Samuel. However, Samuel is a free agent, and Peters may not want to give him a third contract.

Armani Rogers, the most athletic of the tight ends, missed this entire season with a torn Achilles tendon. But he is an athlete Peters will want to keep, as he most likely does not bring back Logan Thomas.

Peters was absolutely correct. He has a lot of work to do.

 

 

Commanders OC Bieniemy understands the need to adjust when things aren’t going well

Bieniemy gives some insight on adjusting when things don’t go according to plan.

Eric Bieniemy has learned preparation before a game does not always suffice.

As offensive coordinator he spends hours each week constructing a game plan, then teaching it and practicing with the offensive unit. However, three times already the game plan had to be heavily altered due to early deficits by the Commanders.

The Commanders found themselves down 21-3 to Denver in the second quarter of their Week 2 contest in Denver. They were also down 16-0 after three quarters against Buffalo in Week 3, and in Week 5, down 27-3 at the half against the Bears.

A great deal of coaching consequently becomes how quickly a coach can adjust during a game, sometimes even throwing out the game plan to address what urgently needs to be addressed.

“There’s a lot of things that go into a game plan you’re wanting to do. But at times, unfortunate things happen. And my job is to make sure that I’m giving us every opportunity to have a chance, said Bieniemy to the press Thursday.

Referring to the Bears first-half disaster, Bieniemy offered, “Now, we obviously didn’t get off to a great start. One thing I’m proud of, and I thought we could’ve played much better, but I’m proud of the way that we played the second half. We came out with the energy that I was expecting in the beginning. Now we just need to find a way to make sure that energy starts from play one. How are we going to get that done? I’m working that out.”

Part of culture construction for a coach is leading the team to respond to adversity with a mental toughness. Some coaches whine and complain when adversity comes; thus, their teams often follow them. But Bieniemy is not making excuses.

“Ideally, you don’t want to be sitting here at 2-3. But for whatever reason, we put ourselves in that situation. And it’s helping us to grow collectively. It’s helping us to grow individually, but the thing I’m loving about it is helping us to grow as an offensive unit together.”

Down 20-3, Bieniemy knew it was time to discard the game plan. So he then called 55 consecutive passing plays.

Sometimes leaders learn they must adjust on the spur of the moment, admitting their best plans were only plans at best.

Commanders need to rebound against Falcons in Week 6

The Commanders badly need a win on Sunday.

If ever there was a week that coaches should have the attention of the Washington Commanders, it was this week.

Last week was nothing short of a disaster. Against the one-win Chicago Bears, Washington was humbled and humiliated, losing 40-20 at FedEx Field.

The embarrassment should have infuriated the Commanders and motivated them to prove themselves this week at Atlanta against the 3-2 Falcons.

The Washington secondary has something to prove after getting burned by Bears quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver DJ Moore. They will need to do it without starting safety Darrick Forrest, whose shoulder injury landed him on IR for at least the next four weeks.

The offensive line has given up 67 quarterback pressures, which is 26th in the NFL. Quarterback Sam Howell has to prove he can get rid of the ball sooner, having been sacked an NFL-leading 29 times for minus-185 yards. It stands to reason if Howell can deliver the ball sooner, the quarterback pressures will come down some as well.

Yet it is also true Howell has six interceptions in five games, which is tied for second-most in the league.

Meanwhile, the Falcons’ offensive players, like QB Desmond Ridder, tight end Kyle Pitts, WR Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson, are hoping the same Commanders defense shows up in Atlanta.

Ridder has been sacked 16 times this season, suggesting both teams have had troubles at times with their passing game. In fact, through five games, Howell’s passer rating is 22nd at 86.0, and — look at that — who is next? Ridder is 23rd at 85.8. When it comes to QBR, Howell is 19th at 48.2, while Ridder is 24th at 42.7.

Perhaps it will come down to the running game, where the Falcons have certainly been more efficient than Washington. Robinson and Tyler Allgeier have rushed for 364 and 191 yards, respectively. By contrast, Washington is led by Brian Robinson and Howell with 271 and 101, respectively. Bijan Robinson is averaging a sixth-best 5.4 yards a carry and Allgeier 3.1, while Brian Robinson is averaging 4.0 a carry for Washington.

Imagine that — a game in 2023 could be won in the trenches.

When they last met: Commanders and Bears

It was ugly — and on Thursday night.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Washington 12, Chicago 7 – Week 6,  October 13, 2022

Talk about winning ugly; that is exactly what the Commanders did, defeating the Bears 12-7 in a Thursday Night game at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Darnell Mooney bobbled what would have been the winning touchdown for the Bears, gifting the Commanders a 12-7 win in Chicago.

The Commanders had led 12-7, and Joey Slye had the opportunity to give Washington an eight-point lead with 1:49 remaining. However, Slye badly hooked his attempt wide left.

The Bears then drove 61 yards in eight plays against the Commanders defense. On 4th & Goal from the 4, Justin Fields looked right, spotted Mooney and fired his pass. The ball crossed the imaginary plane of the front of the end zone into Mooney’s hands. However, Mooney bobbled the ball, was hit by Benjamin St-Juste, and, falling back into the field of play, gained possession of the ball at the one-yard line. This gave the ball back to the Commanders for one quarterback sneak/kneel, running out the clock.

The game was ugly from start to finish. The only scoring of the first half was a Slye 38-yard field goal with 46 seconds remaining in the first half.

Fields connected with Dante Pettis on a 40-yard touchdown pass, providing the Bears their 7-3 lead through three quarters. Slye then was successful on a 28-yard field goal nine seconds into the final quarter for a 7-6 Bears lead.

Washington was gifted another scoring opportunity when on a Tress Way 57-yard punt, Christian Holmes recovered a muffed punt, giving Washington 1st & Goal from the Bears 6.

The second of two Brian Robinson runs was good enough with the help of a Carson Wentz block, providing Washington a 12-7 lead in the final quarter.

Fields gave the Commanders defense trouble all night, rushing for 88 yards with a long of 39 yards. But the Commanders defense sacked Fields five times and intercepted him once.

The Commanders offense struggled all night, with Wentz completing 12 of 22 passes for 99 yards, while Robinson could manage only 60 yards on his 17 rushing attempts. It was later discovered Wentz had actually fractured a finger on his throwing hand.