Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen debuted “The Game Plan“ Sunday.
The episode is available on YouTube. This is the first of a weekly show the two will generate throughout the season.
Paulsen, at the outset, asked Rivera if going 3-0 in the preseason really meant anything.
“It does,” Rivera answered. “Because of the attitude you create, because of the tone you set. Winning begets winning. Learning to do things the right way is probably one of the most important things you want to do during training camp, and I felt like we did a lot of good things.”
Rivera declared that quarterback Sam Howell needed to show during the offseason that he was growing and headed in the right direction. Rivera feels Howell arrived at training camp and exhibited growth in his two preseason games and the two scrimmages against the Ravens.
Roster building is something Rivera has mentioned in the past that is very important in his job.
“If you can draft well and develop your guys, you’re going to have guys fit what you are doing. You’ll have a period of time with them…I’m excited to see if we are right.”
Paulsen expressed three players on the offense had stood out to him in this preseason and training camp: TE Cole Turner, QB Sam Howell and WR Jahan Dotson.
As for the defense, Rivera explained, “Defense is technically react, but your design has to be that if they react, we have an answer for whatever they do.”
He noted that he learned this playing for Buddy Ryan, who was the Bears defensive coordinator Rivera’s first couple of NFL seasons.
As for rookie CB Emmanuel Forbes, Rivera expressed, “I think people underestimate who he is. When you watch the way he practices and plays, this is a young man who is constantly putting himself in position to make plays.”
Paulsen then pointed out three defensive players he felt impressed with during camp and the preseason: CB Emmanuel Forbes, LB Khaleke Hudson and S Percy Butler.
As the coaches do their last week of preparing the team, Rivera stressed, “You want to go into this first game with the guys playing fast, confident and comfortable. A lot of the things we did this week, we are going to take and use going forward.”
“Command Center Game Day Live” will be the only Commanders’ pregame show providing live camera action down on the field one hour before kickoff with Brian Mitchell and Santana Moss.
Following the game, Paulsen will join Mitchell for the “Commanders Post Game Show” with a recap of the game’s big moments and going live to Coach Rivera at the podium.