Everyone in the Washington Commanders’ facility has stressed the importance of beating the blitz in the season opener Sunday because Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Todd Bowles seems likely to send a lot of pressure.
By Sam Fortier
Bowles could try to disrupt the unit even without blitzing by using simulated pressures to test the Commanders’ processing and communication.
Bowles’s defense will be a big test for Washington’s suspect line. Plan A is for the Commanders to start left tackle Brandon Coleman, who sat out the preseason games with a shoulder/pectoral injury, but if he’s unable to go, serviceable veteran Cornelius Lucas will play in his place.
Coach Dan Quinn spoke optimistically about Washington’s offensive line succeeding. “Because that’s what has to be done,” he said Wednesday, laughing. “There’s not a like, ‘Oh, if it doesn’t happen, it’s okay.’ Like, [the communication] has to go down.”
Curiously, Bowles has seemed relatively hesitant to blitz against units run by Kliff Kingsbury, now the Commanders’ offensive coordinator. In their two meetings — both when Kingsbury was Arizona’s coach — Bowles was less aggressive than normal. In 2019, against rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, Bowles (then Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator) called blitzes on just 13 of 46 dropbacks and usually with a linebacker.
But late in the fourth quarter, with Arizona in the red zone looking for a game-sealing touchdown, safety Jordan Whitehead blitzed from the slot. The pressure forced Murray into an awkward throw that was intercepted — and Tampa Bay marched the length of the field to score the game-winning touchdown.
The Commanders don’t need Daniels and the offensive line to beat every blitz Sunday. But they do need the unit to avoid catastrophic mistakes.
On the flip side
So will the Commanders blitz a lot? Maybe. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. will call his first full game Sunday after coming over as an assistant from Dallas, and one of his biggest responsibilities is to help create a pass rush that was nonexistent for Washington most of last season.
One big question is how often he will send blitzes. Former Commanders coordinator Jack Del Rio liked to rush only four players, but with the star edge rushers gone, defensive tackles Jon Allen and Daron Payne coming off down years and accomplished blitzer Frankie Luvu now at linebacker, the unit seems bound to tick up its rate this season.
New-look offense
Kingsbury will show more of his offensive philosophy. The coordinator revealed very little in the preseason, and the first game will give fans a glimpse of how he wants the unit to succeed. It starts with personnel — the team will almost certainly major in three-wide-receiver sets, but what will be the primary change-up? Is it sets with two tight ends, as Kingsbury preferred in Arizona, or two running backs, which he experimented with this preseason?
First look at Ertz
Zach Ertz will debut Sunday — and we’ll see how much juice he has left. The veteran tight end figures to be an important target for Daniels this year but did not play in the preseason and is coming off the fewest catches (27) and yards (187) he has had in 11 seasons as a pro.
“We didn’t get to play in preseason, but just the rapport that we built over camp and everything, man, I’m excited to go out there and see it live in the real game,” Daniels said.
Second-rounder is questionable
Will second-round defensive tackle Johnny Newton play his first snaps this week? “He’s raring to go,” Quinn said. “But … we’re not going to miss a step [in the rehab process] for him, so I’m going to take it all the way through the week and see where he is at.”
Reconnecting with Pearsall
Daniels talked to San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall, a former teammate at Arizona State, after the wide receiver was shot over the weekend. Pearsall will be sidelined for at least four weeks on the non-football injury list, but the 49ers expect him to make a full recovery.
“I mean, it’s just a blessing,” Daniels said. “That’s one of my brothers. I wouldn’t say we grew up together from day one, but we built that connection. We both came to college at 18. Obviously, I don’t want to see nobody go through that, so I told him he’s blessed.”
Commanders fire staffer
The Commanders fired vice president of content Rael Enteen on Thursday morning, a team spokesperson said.
The team moved quickly after O’Keefe Media Group posted a video Wednesday in which Enteen described NFL fans as “high school-educated alcoholics” and said of Commanders players, “a big chunk is very low-income African Americans that comes from a community that is inherently very homophobic.”
The video was recorded surreptitiously during what Enteen appeared to believe was a date. Enteen did not respond to The Washington Post on Wednesday when contacted for comment.
O’Keefe Media Group is run by James O’Keefe, who founded and then split ways with Project Veritas, the right-wing organization known for its undercover sting operations.
