Tag: Sam Howell getting reps

Rivera confident Commanders stronger at QB in 2023 offseason

The head coach is excited about his quarterbacks in 2023.

Ron Rivera really likes his top two quarterbacks.

Tuesday at the owners meetings in Phoenix, Rivera spoke with the Washington media.

Rivera is really looking forward to having the newly signed Jacoby Brissett in his quarterback room.

“A couple of things about Jacoby. First of all, when you target a guy, you want to do a background and kind of see how people feel about him. See if there is any issues or anything. The biggest thing we kept hearing was that he is great to be around young quarterbacks. The next thing you hear is that he’s a guy that learns very quickly. He is a very bright and very smart guy. He knows a lot of football.”

Rivera believes Brissett has the necessary physical skills to come in and contribute on the playing field as well.

“You see a guy that has good athletic skills, has good quarterback skills, has a good arm, has a quick twitch to him and makes good decisions for the most part. He is athletic. This is a guy that we thought we’d bring in, he’s going to compete.”

Rivera believes Brissett’s NFL experience, his athleticism and drive will be good for both the team in general and Sam Howell in particular. “He’s going to push [QB] Sam [Howell], and Sam is going to push him. I really think we will have a really good room because of guys like that.”

Rivera believes he saw Howell mature during his rookie season and believes Howell is ready to play in his second season.

“I think there is a certain point towards the end of the season last season that we started seeing some real positive signs that really showed you that he is very confident and comfortable. Knowing what we did, you really started to see that because when he was the number two guy, he got reps. A couple of times some things happened in practice and you would see him fix it himself. That was always something that you look for.”

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Commanders WR Dyami Brown missed an opportunity

Dyami Brown missed some opportunities on Saturday. Could it impact his roster spot?

Dyami Brown was likely the talk of the first half.

Brown, a third-round draft selection in 2021, was really being counted upon this preseason, and the results have been less than was expected.

On Saturday night against the Ravens in Baltimore, Brown raised eyebrows again, more for what he did not do than what he actually accomplished.

Brown was matched up with former North Carolina Tar Heel teammate and quarterback Sam Howell. Sure enough, Howell provided Brown with five targets in the first half. However, the five targets would produce only 42 yards, and there was a big one that got away from Brown.

On Washington’s initial offensive possession, a 1st & 10 from the 33 saw Howell go over the middle to Brown, but the pass was incomplete.

On a 3rd & 4 from the 50, Brown held on to a Howell pass for 26 yards, taking the ball down to the Baltimore 24.

Brown then dropped a slant from Howell on third down and Washington had to settle for a Joey Slye field goal attempt, which he missed.

On the Commanders’ second offensive possession beginning at their own 27, Howell on the first play went to Brown over the middle. Brown made the catch, gaining 16 yards for a first down up to the Washington 43.

Then the big one that got away occurred. On 3rd & 9 from the Ravens 26, Howell found Brown down the right sideline. The pass was slightly up; but by no means was it overthrown. Brown really needed to make that catch. Perhaps after watching the replay, he might think he should have gone up with two hands to make the catch? It was a sure touchdown that got away from Brown when he really needed it.

Brown made two nice plays, but he also certainly dropped two balls he should have caught. Last year coaches were very hopeful Brown would become a second option after Terry McLaurin. Now, he might actually be behind Cam Sims and be the team’s fifth receiver. With Dax Milne and Alex Erickson offering the ability to return punts and kicks, might Brown be in trouble for a roster spot?