Daily Slop – 17 Oct 24: No defense has allowed a higher rate of explosive plays than the ‘24 Commanders; can they fix it?

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Washington Post (paywall)

The Commanders’ work on defense starts early — with their breakfast club

Washington’s secondary has struggled, but the group is trying to hash things out in the morning before practice.

The Breakfast Club convenes first thing in the morning, before the start of team meetings at the Washington Commanders’ Ashburn training facility. What began as a weekly endeavor to try to eliminate some of the on-field breakdowns in the secondary has become a daily installment for the team’s defensive backs. Every morning Wednesday through Saturday ahead of Sunday games, the secondary gathers roughly 30 minutes before the mandatory team schedule begins to review game film, go over plays and talk.

The smallest details — communication, poor angles, getting out of place on the field, missed assignments and blown tackles — repeatedly have created big problems for the Commanders’ defense and often have led to explosive plays for opponents.

Washington gave up 12 explosive plays (completions of at least 16 yards and rushes of at least 12 yards) in Week 6, bringing its season total of 53. No defense has allowed a higher rate (15 percent) of explosive plays. The Commanders’ defense also ranks 29th in opponent yards per play (6.0), third-down conversion rate (46 percent) and red-zone efficiency (70 percent).

Eliminating mistakes will be paramount, and it may start with the Breakfast Club.

“I feel like the extra meeting time just helps us,” Igbinoghene said. “It might not be that much, but over time it could be the difference for us.”

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ESPN

Commanders RB Robinson returns to practice: ‘I feel great’

Robinson was limited Wednesday, a sign of improvement, and went through all the drills with the other running backs, running routes and taking handoffs. That has led to optimism about his ability to play Sunday when the Commanders (4-2) host Carolina (1-5). However, his official status won’t be decided until Friday.

“I feel great,” Robinson said. “I feel more like myself again.”

Robinson leads Washington with 325 yards rushing; he also has caught eight passes for 68 yards. After rushing for more than 200 yards in Weeks 4 and 5, the Commanders rushed for only 52 yards — and 2.9 yards per carry — against the Ravens.

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Commanders.com

Practice notes | Quinn sees Daniels’ ‘relentless’ work ethic as similar to veteran QBs

The results of Daniels’ work ethic are apparent all over the stats sheet for the Commanders’ offense. They scored at least 34 points in three straight games — a feat not accomplished by the franchise since 1991. They’re fifth in yards (378), tied for second in points (29.7) and second in third-down conversion rate (48.6%). Though the defense is steadily improving since Week 1, the Commanders sit atop the NFC East with a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020 because of the historic numbers Washington has put up.

And Daniels has garnered praise for his own performance as well. Aside from being the first quarterback in league history to pass for at least 1,000 yards and rush for at least 250 yards through their first five games, he’s also leading the league in completion percentage. He’s also among the top 10 in just about every major quarterback statistic, from passing yards (ninth with 1,404) to QBR (third with 73.7) and passer rating (107.1).

But there’s more to playing quarterback than putting up numbers, and that’s where Daniels’ extra work shows itself the most to Quinn.

“It doesn’t just get seen on just the way he’s throwing it; it’s the way that he’s playing the position,” Quinn said. “And often the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet are a really big deal.”

And here’s a stat that shows just how quickly Daniels is making these pivotal decisions: he’s getting rid of the ball in 2.6 seconds, which is the fifth fastest in the NFL — just .05 second slower than the next player ahead of him, Aaron Rodgers.

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Commanders.com

Commanders place Jon Allen, Javontae Jean-Baptiste on IR; add depth to defensive line

[T]he Commanders have signed defensive tackle Sheldon Day from their practice squad and free agent defensive end Jayln Holmes to the active roster. They have also signed defensive tackle Carl Davis to their practice squad.

Day has been on the team’s practice squad since August and has eight years of NFL experience. A fourth-round draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, Day has appeared in 74 games with four starts. He has recorded 85 tackles, seven sacks and seven pass breakups in his career.

Holmes, a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018, was most recently with the New York Jets and recorded three tackles in the Jets season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Holmes is a seven-year veteran and has 69 tackles with two sacks in his career.

Davis played for Quinn and the Dallas Cowboys’ defense in 2023 and recorded three tackles in three games of action.

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Riggo’s Rag

Commanders need more from Daron Payne without Jonathan Allen

There have been flashes of promise this season, but they’ve been fleeting. Payne didn’t record a single statistic at the Baltimore Ravens, which was unacceptable. He’s far too talented to be a non-factor – something that cannot continue moving forward without the services of Allen to call upon.

The Commanders will be counting on Payne more than ever. The Alabama product needs to remind the world why he was such a highly touted draft prospect and why he received a four-year, $90 million extension with a $28 million signing bonus and $59.01 million guaranteed. Washington needs this as the team looks to continue its exceptional start to the campaign and potentially challenge for the NFC East championship in Year 1 under new head coach Dan Quinn.

This gets even more testing if Dorance Armstrong Jr. – the team’s most prolific edge rusher – is also forced to miss time. The defensive end is getting further tests on a rib injury suffered against the Ravens. If it’s bad news, Payne needs to become the game-wrecking force fans witnessed in 2022.

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Upcoming opponent

Cat Scratch Reader

Panthers Reacts Survey: Where do we go from here?

Talent evaluations are already rolling in. Now we have to build with them

The question in front of most fans and observers of the Carolina Panthers is what to do with the quality players we have when the rebuild process could last longer than the primes of some of their careers. That means the likes of the newly signed veterans like Robert Hunt and Diontae Johnson and the longer standing Panthers like Taylor Moton and Derrick Brown, to name a few. So this week we’re asking what you would do if you were Dan Morgan. Try to build soon around the solid corps of talent that you have now or trade them all away for as much draft capital as you can find to build for later?

We’re also asking who you think should start at quarterback this week since Dave Canales is somehow still getting asked that inane question at every post-game press conference. Let’s put this one to bed.

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