Daily Slop – 22 Aug 24: Media judgement on Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is premature

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

Commanders links

Articles

Washington Post (paywall)

Jamin Davis is learning a new position to give the Commanders an edge

The Commanders are considering converting the former first-round pick into an edge rusher after his three years at inside linebacker have been up and down.

When Washington Commanders practice ends, Jamin Davis’s second practice usually begins. The 2021 first-round pick leaves one field at the team’s training facility and heads to another with assistant linebackers coach Ryan Kerrigan.

For 15 to 30 minutes, Davis receives personalized direction from the franchise’s all-time sacks leader on technique and the nuances of playing on the edge, a position Coach Dan Quinn and his staff asked Davis to learn this offseason.

“I feel like it’s given me a chance to just really cut it loose and just go hunt some quarterbacks, honestly,” Davis said during organized team activities in June. “I’m having real fun with it right now and just going to see [where] this thing takes me.”

Quinn had said the plan was to test Davis’s skills on the edge but also continue to work him at linebacker. So far in the preseason, he has played almost exclusively on the line, save for a few snaps.

Adding versatility to Davis’s game could be a win for everyone.

Davis’s willingness to learn a new position impressed the staff and, combined with his progress, seems likely to secure his place on the roster. Davis’s play thereafter will determine his future.

In the Commanders’ preseason opener at the New York Jets, Davis played 19 defensive snaps and had back-to-back run stops from the edge in the first quarter.

Against the Miami Dolphins in the Commanders’ second preseason game, Davis batted a pass by quarterback Skylar Thompson in the second quarter. On consecutive plays in the third, he chased down quarterback Mike White for a hit and then strip-sacked him. Davis beat Dolphins tackle Patrick Paul (the brother of Commanders tackle Chris Paul) inside to bring down White and knock the ball loose; defensive end Andre Jones recovered it.

---

Bullock’s Film Room

Jayden Daniels impresses again in second preseason outing

Breaking down Jayden Daniels performance in the Commanders preseason game against the Dolphins

[W]hat did Daniels do that stood out in the second preseason game against the Dolphins?

This was the first third down attempt of the game. The Commanders align in a trips formation to the left with Dyami Brown isolated to the right. Before the snap, the Dolphins show a heavy blitz look, which Daniels understands likely means man coverage behind the blitz. In this offense, the quarterback has the freedom to attack one-on-one matchups against man coverage and that’s what we see here. Daniels could work the three-man combination to his left, but instead takes Brown one-on-one.

As he drops back, Daniels locates the deep safety to confirm there’s no late disguised coverage rotation before aligning his body to make the throw to his right. Daniels makes this throw with terrific rhythm and timing. He anticipates the break, trusting his receiver to make the cut at the right time. You can see that Daniels begins his throwing motion well before Brown begins his cut. It’s just as well too because the corner plays tight coverage.

This is one of those throws where the quality of the coverage really doesn’t matter. The timing, anticipation and placement of the throw is perfect and thus the corner has no real chance to make a play without knowing exactly what route was called beforehand. Brown doesn’t really generate any separation here, but the ball arrives as he works out of his break and is placed on his outside shoulder to protect the ball from the defender. The throw is just too good for a defender to do anything about.

It might seem like an easy thing, especially given it was only a short throw, but you don’t see every quarterback make this throw to this level. Many quarterbacks are capable of it in practice but on third down in a real game with a blitz coming, mechanics and rhythm can often get thrown off, leading to slower processes and perhaps inaccurate passes. But Daniels was poised and made a great throw. It wasn’t the only time he did it either.

---

Sports Illustrated

Washington Commanders Notebook: Kingsbury’s Offense and Jeff Driskel Goes Deep

Notes from Day 15 of Washington Commanders training camp.

QUICK TO JUDGE

It’s no secret that media covering anything, but especially a professional sport, can be quick to judge. That rapid judgement doesn’t always come in the form of negativity, but in the case of judging Kingsbury’s offensive strategies two games into a preseason with a brand new rookie quarterback, that’s exactly what’s taken place.

The conversation around how much Kingsbury is and isn’t using motion and the variance in receiver Terry McLaurin’s formation usage is catching on with some, and most of them are forgetting it’s preseason and what you see is only what the coaches are willing to let you see.

On the practice field – where we’re not permitted to chart and report these types of figures or fully describe formation usage – we can tell you that McLaurin is moving around, as is the offensive formation, enough that it shouldn’t be considered something that just isn’t going to happen in the regular season.

We won’t go as far as to predict record-breaking numbers in motion usage or to say that McLaurin won’t be the X receiver more times than not. But any claim to what Kingsbury’s offense will be in 2024 is at best premature and comes across as a desire to have a ‘told you so’ ready to go should the coordinator’s numbers reflect his past.

---

Commanders.com

Practice notebook | Quinn looking for consistency in final practices before roster cuts

The biggest thing Quinn wants to see from the roster bubble players over the next few days: consistency.

“Sometimes, when a person can be in this spot…they can press to really show out,” Quinn said. “Being tighter doesn’t allow you to play better.”

Quinn understands the emotions behind that desire. Players want to show up on film, especially now. They want to prove that they can handle certain responsibilities or make a tackle in critical moments of the game.

At this point in camp, though, the coaching staff already has a good idea of each player’s skill set and their limitations. And while Quinn likes the motivation to make plays, playing “tighter” as he put it leads to players being more anxious.

So, as players get ready to make their final pushes to make a roster spot, Quinn wants them to focus on staying in the flow of their routine and let the coaches worry about giving them opportunities.

“There may be some higher reps on a special teams portion or lower and higher on offense or defense,” Quinn said. “So, you’ll see some shifting going on because there may be one phase of the game that we wanted to see more than another.”

---

Commanders.com

Four players from Commanders training camp making final push to earn roster spot

Brycen Tremayne

Tremayne, an undrafted free agent last season, flashed a few times during his first camp, but those moments have been more consistent in Year 2. In the first week of camp, he had a fourth-down reception during two-minute drills. In the joint practice with the Jets, he had back-to-back deep receptions during one-on-one drills.

In the preseason games, Tremayne got fewer snaps but made the most of his opportunities. He caught a 16-yard pass against the Jets and a five-yard reception against the Dolphins.

Most of the receiver position is set, but there are perhaps one or two spots available for Tremayne to claim as his own. It will take another solid week of practice but based on how he has played since the start of camp, he’s capable of accomplishing that goal.

---

Podcasts & videos

---

---

---

Locked on Commanders

---

Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Commanders begin prep for Patriots

The Washington Commanders were back on the field Wednesday in preparation for their final preseason game. Check out the top photos from the afternoon.

---

NFL league links

---