Tag: Shaka Toney

Penn State names Deion Barnes defensive line coach

Penn State announces its new defensive line coach

As Penn State gathers for the start of spring football practices, the search for a new defensive line coach has officially come to a close. On Monday, Penn State announced [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] will take on the role on the coaching staff.

“We are excited to have Deion represent his alma mater as our defensive line coach,” head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] said in a released statement. “I have really been impressed watching him grow as a coach and leader these last three seasons. Deion’s passion for Penn State and the defensive line room has been a differentiator. It is clear to me that he wears his pride for this University through his work.”

Barnes, a former Penn State defensive lineman from 2012 through 2014, has spent the past three seasons on the Penn State coaching staff as a graduate assistant. During that time, he has helped to develop [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], [autotag]Jesse Luketa[/autotag], [autotag]Odafe Oweh[/autotag], and [autotag]Shaka Toney[/autotag]. All four were drafted by NFL teams, including Oweh as a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2021.

“I am thrilled and honored to be the defensive line coach for my alma mater,” Barnes said in a released statement. “I am extremely grateful to Coach Franklin for giving me this opportunity to lead a room of tremendous young men who have worked so hard each and every day. I have a lot of pride and passion for Penn State University, and I am excited to go to work with this coaching staff, this team, my letterman brothers and the best fans in college football.”

Barnes will fill the spot on the coaching staff previously occupied by John Scott Jr., who left the program for an opportunity with the Detroit Lions.

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Penn State opens spring football practices on Tuesday, March 14. The annual Blue-White spring game is scheduled for Saturday, April 15.

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Montez Sweat credited with zero pressures in Week 3 loss vs. Eagles

The Commanders need more from Montez Sweat.

Remember in the summer of 2021 when Washington defensive end Montez Sweat predicted he and Chase Young would break the NFL sack record for a season by teammates?

That feels so long ago, but each week that passes without Sweat getting to the opposing passer and bringing them down, that comment comes back to mind.

In the ugly Week 3 loss to the Eagles, Sweat was credited with zero pressures on Jalen Hurts, according to Pro Football Focus. Per PFF, Sweat had 15 pass-rushing snaps and did not register one pressure. Sweat did not record a quarterback hit, either. For the season, Sweat has zero sacks after three games.

Look, we know sacks aren’t everything, but pressures and QB hits tell a bigger story. Sweat isn’t getting close. On more than one occasion Sunday, Sweat would rush the passer too wide against the offensive tackle, leading Hurts to step up and Sweat to run himself out of the play.

This is what we saw from Chase Young at times last season. It’s almost as if the speed rush isn’t working; Sweat lacks a countermove. Now, in fairness to Sweat, he had a terrific game in Week 1, although he didn’t record a sack. He was impactful. And with 21 sacks through his first three seasons, we know Sweat can wreak havoc.

A popular pick for a breakout player in 2022, Sweat’s combination of size, power and speed sets him apart from most. Somehow, some way, the Commanders need Sweat to start getting to the quarterback more frequently.

The defense needs help, and defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are doing their part. Sweat raising his game would do a lot for Washington’s struggling secondary.

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Every Penn State player on an NFL opening day roster in 2022

Here is every former Penn State plater on an NFL roster to start the new NFL season in 2022.

The start of a new season in the National Football League is here and there will be a good amount of Penn State flavor throughout the league this season. Penn State will have the eighth most players on an NFL opening day roster this season with 34 players appearing on an NFL team’s 53-man roster to start the season (plus two additional players on injured reserve and another on the physically unable to perform list). In all, Penn State claims 44 players are on NFL rosters to start the year with the inclusion of practice squad players.

That includes nine players who were on the Penn State roster in 2021, including wide receiver [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag], and safety [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag]. Dotson is one of four Penn State players on the Washington Commanders, the most of any NFL franchise to start the season.

Former kicker [autotag]Robbie Gould[/autotag] continues to be the elder statesman of the Nittany Lions football family in the NFL. Gould, of the San Francisco 49ers, is entering his 19th season in the NFL.

Here is a look at every Penn State player on either an NFL team’s 53-man roster or practice squad at the start of the 2022 season.

Commanders chose Toney over Bradley-King

Why did the Commanders choose Shaka Toney over William Bradley-King for the final defensive end spot?

William Bradley-King or Shaka Toney?

That was a decision the Washington Commanders’ brass was forced to make for the initial 53-man roster 4 pm deadline Tuesday.

The Commanders’ top 8 defensive linemen were already clearly established, while Chase Young is recovering from his torn ACL. Starting on the outside will be Montez Sweat and James Smith-Williams. On the inside, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are proven. Providing depth on the inside will be Phidarian Mathis and Daniel Wise, while Casey Toohill and Efe Obada conclude the top eight down lineman.

Keeping one more lineman who can be an extra pass rusher, the Commanders determined for now they would keep Toney (No. 58) on the active roster while placing Bradley-King (No.5 6) on the practice squad. So, how will the Commanders use Toney?

Both Toney and King saw time in the 2021 season for Washington. Toney appeared in 10 games and King played in 3. Toney appeared on 10.66% of defensive snaps; King on 5.33%. Toney was in on 14.84% of special teams snaps, while King was not used on the special teams’ units.

Toney was in on 2 solo tackles, 6 assists and one tackle was for a loss. He also contributed 3 QB hits and 1.5 QB sacks. King contributed 5 assisted tackles, 1 QB hit and .5 QB sacks.

Commanders analyst Logan Paulsen was confident Bradley-King had won the final defensive lineman spot, stating he had a more consistent training camp and preseason than did Toney. However, in fairness to Paulsen, he also had stated last week that though Bradley-King had been more consistent, it was Toney who possessed more athletic explosiveness that could be utilized in pass-rushing situations and coverage teams.

Lining up against 300-pound offensive tackles while weighing only 238 himself, Toney is at a huge disadvantage on running plays. Thus it is highly likely Toney would only see snaps (barring injuries) during definite passing downs.

In the preseason, Toney exhibited his pass-rushing ability (and agility) on some plays that one can’t help but notice how Toney can bend the edge with speed. His nice tackle on punt coverage against Kansas City demonstrated his ability in the open field. Yet, Toney was seen at times determined to head up the field, taking himself far out of some plays.

Bradley-King doesn’t exhibit the explosiveness of Toney, yet at 254 pounds brings more size than Toney. Bradley-King (Baylor) has not demonstrated the same explosiveness, yet he has been more consistent. He could again be brought up to the active roster sometime in 2022.

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Commanders’ pass rush remains a question mark

The Commanders had a hard time getting to the quarterback on Saturday.

What did you think of the Commanders’ pass rush Saturday night against the Ravens?

With 2020 defensive rookie of the year Chase Young now officially scheduled to miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season, the Commanders need to produce more pass-rushing options.

Of course, Washington understandably chose not to even play three of their four expected starters along the defensive line. Why risk some guys getting injured when the next time you play a game it will count in the NFL standings? Understandably James-Smith-Williams was the only one of the four to see any action Saturday, and it was early in the contest.

Yet for an entire game being played, it was hard to miss there was hardly any pressure on Ravens quarterbacks, while Sam Howell was often attempting to escape sacks by Ravens’ rushers. At one point in the final quarter, the curiosity was getting the best of me, so I looked at the stats, and sure enough, the Commanders had no QB sacks. Even more, they had not a single QB hit as well. The game finished with the Commanders failing to achieve either one in the stat column.

It is no secret the starters at defensive end are going to be Montez Sweat and Smith-Williams. Watching the previous two preseason games suggests the backups will be Casey Toohill and perhaps Efe Obada.

If Phidarian Mathis and Daniel Wise back up starting tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, that would bring the number of defensive linemen up to eight (4 DE, 4 DT).

How many defensive linemen will the coaching staff determine to keep on the 53-man roster?

Penn State second-year player Shaka Toney was someone I was looking forward to seeing Saturday night in Baltimore. We should know official offensive and defensive snap counts soon. So I recognize I may have missed him. I did see Will Bradley-King a bit.

Toney has displayed some explosion the Commanders need off of the edge, getting after quarterbacks. Perhaps they will keep Toney because he appears to possess more athleticism on the edge than anyone on the team right now. But I do recognize at only 240 pounds; his size is going to be an issue. Perhaps Toney will be used as a third-down pass-rushing specialist as well as seeing much time on the special teams’ units.

 

Washington makes multiple roster moves, including adding 2 more to COVID list

Washington will be without its top three defensive ends for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

Just when the Washington Football Team thought it was getting healthy for the season’s final stretch run, the team received a string of bad news over the last several days.

First, there was tight end Logan Thomas going on season-ending injured reserve after last week’s dirty hit in only his second game back. Next, there was defensive end Montez Sweat, who the WFT expected to return in Week 14 from a fractured jaw. However, Sweat was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and is out for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

On Saturday, Washington received more bad news when defensive end James Smith-Williams and cornerback Darryl Roberts were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Linebacker Khaleke Hudson was placed on the COVID list after Sweat, meaning Washington has placed four players on the list over the last week.

Losing Smith-Williams is a tough blow for Washington. The WFT is already without Sweat and Chase Young. Now, Washington will be without its top three defensive ends for Sunday’s NFC East battle. Rookie defensive end William Bradley-King and safety Jeremy Reaves were activated from the practice squad as replacements for Smith-Williams and Roberts.

In more bad news, guard/center Wes Schweitzer was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Schweitzer is a backup but has started most of Washington’s games over the last two years and is a critical reserve.

Washington signed center Jon Toth from the practice squad to replace Schweitzer on the roster.

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio will now be relying on young players Casey Toohill, Daniel Wise, Shaka Toney, Bunmi Rotimi and Bradley-King Sunday to apply pressure on Dak Prescott.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys continue to receive positive injury news.

Washington defense frustrated Russell Wilson

Washington’s defense played well in the Monday night win over the Seahawks.

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The Washington Football Team defense was mostly good Monday against Seattle with only a few hiccups.

Washington limited the Seattle offense to 10 total first downs, only one rushing first down and 34 total rushing yards. Alex Collins was held to 14 yards on seven carries, and Russell Wilson had two carries for 16 yards.

For 58 minutes, Russell Wilson was repeatedly hounded by the Washington pass rush, hurrying throws to avoid sacks and QB hits.

Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio for the most part chose to rush only four after Wilson, choosing to drop seven into coverage.

Matt Ioannidis, Daron Payne and Casey Toohill all recorded two QB hits on Wilson, while Jonathan Allen, Shaka Toney, Kamren Curl and Daniel Wise each added one QB hit as well.

On five consecutive Seattle offensive possessions, the Washington defense forced Seattle into three plays and a punt. For the game, Seattle only earned ten first downs and was only 4 of 12 on third downs.

The Seahawks only ran 45 total plays (while Washington had 79 offensive snaps).

Even with Wilson’s final 96-yard drive Seattle only had the ball 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill repeatedly remained disciplined setting the edge on run plays, while in their pass rush, they remained on the outside shoulder of Wilson not permitting him to roll outside of them for big runs.

However, there was a blown coverage in the first quarter when Wilson found Tyler Lockett for 55 yards, leading to a Seattle touchdown.

The final two-minute drive of 96 yards, including the inexplicable wide-open Freddie Swain’s 32-yard touchdown catch from Wilson in the final 20 seconds was disappointing.

The defense had yielded 31.0 points average in the first six games to just 20.3 in the next three games.

Tonight, they only surrendered 15 points.

When they had given up the final touchdown drive, Kendall Fuller read the eyes of Wilson, left his receiver to intercept the two-point attempt that would have tied the game with 15 seconds remaining.

It was a 17-15 win, an ugly win, but the defense, for the most part, played quite well.

Ron Rivera fired up after Washington’s win over Seahawks

Ron Rivera was fired up after Washington’s win.

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The Washington Football Team defeated the Seattle Seahawks 17-15 to pick up their first win on Monday Night Football since 2014. The win was Washington’s third straight, and the team now holds the NFC’s seventh and final playoff spot for the time being.

As you might expect, Washington coach Ron Rivera was fired up after the win. Cameras caught Rivera interacting with the crowd as he was leaving the field after the game. We won’t tell you what the coach said, but it’s not hard to tell.

Rivera wasn’t done. Once he got to the locker room and met with his team, he delivered another fiery speech, and his team was loving every second.

“Everything we need is in this room,” Rivera said. “Everybody in this room, we need.”

Rivera was correct; Washington did need everyone in the room. His team was down to its fourth center of the season and didn’t have a kicker for the entire second half, meaning other players had to step up.

Rookie defensive end Shaka Toney was among those who stepped up, as he recorded his first NFL sack and had another takedown of Russell Wilson as he left the pocket with nothing but green grass in front of him.

Washington looks to get to .500 next week with a trip to Las Vegas to play the Raiders.

 

WATCH: Shaka Toney’s first career sack in the NFL was a big one

WATCH: Shaka toney records his first career sack in a clutch moment for the Washignton Football Team

The Washignton Football Team defended their home field on Monday night against the visiting Seattle Seahawks to wrap up another weekend of NFL football, and former Penn State defensive lineman Shaka Toney came through with a pretty important play. The game was anything but pretty to watch, but Toney recorded the first sack of his professional career, and it came in a clutch moment for the Washignton Football Team.

Just after the two-minute warning, with Washignton leading Seattle 17-9, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was attempting to lead his team to a touchdown to potentially tie the game. Toney was in hot pursuit of Wilson as the quarterback ran to his right looking for an open receiver down the field. With no receiver open, Wilson was simply pushed down by Toney, who closed in and made the play for Washington. Toney took Wilson down for a loss of nine yards for his first professional sack.

Unfortunately for Toney and Washignton, Wilson rallied and led Seattle to a dramatic touchdown with a 32-yard touchdown pass with just 15 seconds remaining in the game. The two-point conversion attempt to tie the game at 17-17 was intercepted by Washington’s Kyle Fuller, and Washington recovered Seattle’s onside kick attempt to run out the clock of the remaining seconds for the win.

Toney was a seventh-round draft pick of Washington in the 2021 NFL draft following his First-team All-Big Ten performance with Penn State in 2020, and second-team All-Big Ten in 2019. Toney has appeared in just four games for Washington during his rookie season and just came out of the NFL’s concussion protocol.

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With Montez Sweat and Chase Young injured, what now?

Casey Toohill, Shaka Toney and Bunmi Rotimi have a major opportunity with the loss of Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

The WFT defensive line has lost both Montez Sweat and Chase Young.

Sweat, a first-round draft choice out of Mississippi State in 2019, suffered a broken jaw against the Broncos in Week 8.

Young, the second overall selection in the 2020 NFL draft, suffered a torn ACL in Week 10 against the Buccaneers.

 

What now?

Ron Rivera, Jack Del Rio and defensive line coach Sam Mills III are forced to think, “What is best for the team, and how does the defense march forward?” It seems uncaring, but they must accept a “So what? Now what?” mindset and prepare this team. It’s their job.

Who will have to step up at defensive end?

Casey Toohill, a seventh-round draft choice by the Eagles in 2020, was signed by Washington last season and appeared in eight games. The 25-year-old defensive end played 29 defensive snaps last week against Tampa Bay, collecting one solo tackle while assisting on three others.

Shaka Toney was selected by the WFT out of Penn State in the seventh round (No. 246 overall) in 2021. At 6-2 and 238 pounds, perhaps his size will limit his snaps, and coaches may attempt to use him exclusively in pass-rushing situations. Toney was called upon for nine defensive snaps against Tampa in Week 10.

Bunmi Rotimi played at Old Dominion, went undrafted and was signed by the WFT last offseason. At 6-3 and 273 pounds, the 26-year-old lineman may be pressed into a role where he will be needed to also help against the run. He has appeared in recent games against the Packers (six snaps) and the Buccaneers (eight snaps).

Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden often said, “Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

Toohill, Toney and Rotimi are going to be thrown into the proverbial fire.  Many WFT fans will wish them good luck.

Wooden also often said, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”