A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders
Commanders links
Articles
Commanders.com
Practice notes | Commanders prepare to take on Caleb Williams, Bears offense
Though problems still exist for the Commanders’ defense, the numbers have gotten better. Over the last three weeks, the unit is eighth in yards allowed (292), fifth in points allowed (16.7), seventh in third down percentage allowed (30.3%) and fourth in passing yards allowed (167).
Williams and the Bears’ offense will be a much different test compared to the likes of the Panthers and Browns. They’ve scored at least 35 points in their last two games with 797 combined yards in those matchups.
So, Whitt knows the Commanders’ defense will need to put together another team effort, not just to contain Williams but also D.J. Moore, who had 230 yards and three touchdowns against Washington last season, D’Andre Swift, Keenan Allen and the rest of the Bears’ weapons.
“We just have to do a good job,” Whitt said. “Because the running back’s running well…they run the screens as good as anybody in football, especially with Swift and Moore. So, we have to make sure we do a great job of leveraging those screens.”
ESPN
The Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, Bears’ Caleb Williams and the OROY race
Each QB has lived up to his team’s expectations so far. And if they continue their promising trajectories, the pair could be competing for individual and team honors in the years to come. But it begins with one award this season: the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Jayden Daniels, Commanders
Stats: Daniels has thrown for 1,410 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions and trails the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen (77.6) and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (74.3) in total QBR at 73.9. Daniels has run for 372 yards and four touchdowns. He leads the NFL in completion percentage at 75.6.
Beyond the stats: With 90 passing yards and 28 rushing yards, Daniels would join former Washington star Robert Griffin III as the only players in NFL history with 1,500 passing yards and 400 rushing yards in their first eight career games. Daniels already set two records: the highest completion percentage after four games with 82.1% and the first to complete at least 85% of his passes in consecutive games.
Why he could win OROY: After four games, he was already being mentioned as a possible MVP candidate and was named Rookie of the Month for September. There are multiple reasons for Washington’s offensive resurgence — coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and his staff among them. But it all starts with Daniels.
Caleb Williams, Bears
Stats: Williams has thrown for 1,317 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. His 65.3% completion percentage and 88.7 passer rating both rank 20th among starting quarterbacks, while his 46.4 Total QBR is 26th. After a bumpy 1-2 start, Williams has thrown six touchdowns and just one interception in his last two games for an offense that ranks 12th in points per game (24.7).
Beyond the stats: If Williams throws for 300 yards and two touchdowns against the Commanders, he’ll become the fifth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to have three such games in his first seven starts.
Why he could win OROY: Williams had a passer rating above 100 in each of his last three games while completing 74.1% of his passes since Week 4, and he is the catalyst for an offense with a lot of potential.
Washington Post (paywall)
For a second straight day, Jayden Daniels misses Commanders practice
Marcus Mariota served as the primary QB as Daniels sat out with a rib injury suffered Sunday against the Panthers.
For the second day in a row, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels did not practice or appear in the locker room during the portion open to media as he continues to manage a rib injury.
Marcus Mariota took starting quarterback reps again at Thursday’s practice, followed by backup Jeff Driskel and third-stringer Sam Hartman.
The Commanders (5-2) could rule Daniels out for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears (4-2) on Friday, when the team must release its final injury report, or wait until 2:55 p.m. Sunday, when the team must declare its inactives.
If Washington needs Hartman to be the emergency third quarterback, it must elevate him from the practice squad by 4 p.m. Saturday; if he’s not elevated, that could be a sign Daniels will be active for the clash against the Bears.
A reporter asked McLaurin whether he has to change anything depending on which quarterback starts. He gave the reporter a look as if to say, Dude, I’ve played with so many quarterbacks in my career.
If Mariota starts, Kingsbury will tailor the game plan to include different concepts. But the core philosophy of the offense will remain the same, including deep passes and designed quarterback runs, such as zone reads. Mariota would face a steep challenge against the Bears’ elite defense, which is especially tough against the pass.
The Athletic (paywall)
Hope is dangerous in D.C., but Jayden Daniels has the Commanders believing
[T]he NCAA was digging into ASU’s program for alleged recruiting violations. Herm Edwards, the former NFL coach Daniels had come to Tempe to play for, was on his way out. The quarterback sought a bigger stage to finish his college career and an offense better suited to his strengths. He decided to transfer. His phone started blowing up.
Daniels decided he wouldn’t demand the starting job at his next stop, and his top choice, LSU, wasn’t offering it. He’d arrive as the fourth QB on the depth chart.
Jay stepped aside and let his son make the decision.
“High risk, high reward,” Jayden told him. “If I can’t make it at LSU, then I don’t deserve to be in the NFL one day.”
It was December 2022. Daniels had decided to return to LSU for his fifth and final college season, and Wilson, the Tigers’ director of player retention, wanted him to know what the next few months were going to look like.
Wilson had been goading the quarterback for weeks while he weighed entering the draft. “If you wanna be a fourth-round pick, fine,” Wilson wrote at one point. “But you have more to do here.”
For Daniels, everything changed. He’d think like a pro, study like a pro, work like a pro. The first thing he did was sit down with LSU’s coaching staff and tick through a series of questions he wanted answered. Among them: “What’s the detailed plan of how we’re going to win a national championship?” And: “What do I need to do to turn myself into a first-round pick?”
The coaches looked around the room. They already had Daniels’ next few months mapped out, but for the quarterback to show this type of initiative? They knew what was coming. They knew he was about to take over.
“He put everything into that offseason,” says Joe Sloan, LSU’s QB coach at the time.
[Now], at 9 a.m. every Saturday, an hour before the rest of the team has to be in the building, inside the room, it’s just the quarterbacks and skill position players. The 23-year-old rookie stands at the front, running through the 10 or 12 scripted plays the offense plans to open the game with a day later. Daniels reminds them of the audibles he can check into and the coverage beaters he’ll be looking for.
“We’ve never had meetings like that here,” McLaurin says. “Not since I’ve been here.”
Sloan, now LSU’s offensive coordinator, has followed Daniels’ rookie season closely. Nothing’s surprised him. He can’t help but laugh when he thinks back to the question he kept getting from NFL evaluators last spring. They all wanted to know if Jayden Daniels was ready to be a pro.
“Listen,” Sloan kept telling them, “he’s already a pro.”
Washington Post (paywall)
Taylor Swift is part of the Commanders’ playbook. So is Beyoncé.
The play call that led to rookie TE Ben Sinnott’s first NFL score is one of many nods to pop culture.
Everyone wanted to know about “Taylor Swift” — the play call that led to rookie tight end Ben Sinnott’s first touchdown.
several players said many play calls have simple, one-word tags that are easy to remember. Some are named after pop stars, such as Beyoncé, Whitney Houston and Latto, and one is named after model Amber Rose. Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin’s favorite play is a passing concept called “Joe Montana.”
“Taylor Swift” was new this year, Kingsbury said, and as a “run-pass option,” it could have ended up as a handoff or a throw to the flat. Kingsbury had been ready to call it for three weeks before he finally got around to it Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. The play went for a three-yard touchdown.
While Sinnott enjoyed the result of the play and that he hoped to hear it again, he suggested the play might receive so much attention that they would need to change the name.
After his news conference ended and the group of reporters broke up, someone joked to Sinnott: “Have fun talking about that for the rest of your life.”
Upcoming opponent
Windy City Gridiron
NFL Week 8 Game Preview: Chicago Bears vs. Washington Commanders
What was supposed to be a battle between the first and second overall picks might not be.
This is one of just three games featuring both teams with a winning record this week.
And it was flexed to the big afternoon slot on CBS in anticipation of the two quarterbacks, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. The first two picks of this year’s draft. Both of them have been playing very well and appear to be turning around their respective franchises.
But Daniels’ injury against the Carolina Panthers last week is putting that in doubt. We’ll see what today’s injury report brings, but it might be Marcus Mariota against Williams.
That doesn’t mean the game doesn’t still carry a lot of weight. Both teams are playing well and want to build real playoff hopes as October comes to a close.
Audacity.com
Montez Sweat, Bears have reaped rewards together since his trade to Chicago
Sweat signed a four-year, $98.5-million contract extension that secured his place as a mainstay for the Bears. It was a bold investment by Poles, one that has paid great dividends.
Since that trade, the Bears are 9-6, and they currently sit at 4-2 this season as they visit the Commanders (5-2) on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT from Northwest Stadium.
The Bears defense found its form late last season and has proved itself as a top-five unit in the NFL this year. Chicago has allowed 21 points or fewer in 12 straight games and has established an identity that has led to collective success.
Sweat has been the catalyst to the turnaround while enjoying a personal breakthrough since landing in Chicago. He had a career-best 12.5 sacks in 2023, when he led both the Bears (6) and Commanders (6.5) in sacks for the season. He also earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time and is now considered one of the NFL’s premier defensive ends.
The Bears have reaped the rewards of the “Tez Factor,” as this team has affectionately termed it.
“He’s a person that’s big-play capable every time that he lines up,” Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “He’s a person that you can win because of and not just with. We’re glad to have him on the team. I’m glad that he’s here, and I’m looking forward to what he’s going to do this week.”
Sweat was a first-round pick of Washington in 2019, and the team’s vision was for him to be a mainstay in its plans. He had 44 sacks over 82 games for the franchise, but the Commanders’ losing took its toll.
Washington never had a winning season over five years with Sweat on the roster. He was traded away as the Commanders’ focus turned toward the future, but that didn’t make digesting the move any easier.
When Sweat reported to Halas Hall on Nov. 1, one day after the trade was struck, he wasn’t yet prepared to strike a long-term contract extension. There was clear hesitation in his voice about suddenly being thrust into the Bears’ uncertain future.
That all changed quickly as Sweat settled in with his Bears teammates and found his fit with the group. On the night after his second practice at Halas Hall, Sweat was invited over for dinner by teammate DeMarcus Walker. It became a tradition each Thursday night, with Sweat now serving as the host for his fellow defensive linemen.
Sweat soon saw the benefit of being with the Bears.
“I mean, I got my first Pro Bowl, I got paid,” Sweat said. “There were a couple things that fell into that. But I mean, I’m happy just being somewhere that I’m wanted, being in a place where they want me to be here and I got a spot.
The Athletic (paywall)
Caleb Williams left the Washington, D.C., area for national stardom. Now he’s coming home
[E]veryone loves a homecoming story. Local boy makes good and all that. Williams, who grew up in Maryland, is ready to show the locals how far he’s come.
“Since I left high school, I haven’t been back except one or two times,” Williams said. “So being able to go back and share the experience is going to be great. It’s going to be fun. To come out with the win is most important.”
“I hope Washington wins, but I want Caleb to throw for 500 yards and eight touchdown passes,” he said.
One of their high school teammates, Kye Holmes, isn’t a Commanders fan, but he can empathize with why some of their teammates will be rooting against their friend.
“It’s a bit of a love-hate thing where you want to see Caleb do well, but at the same time, everybody wants their team to win,” he said.
Their old coach at Gonzaga, Randy Trivers, isn’t dealing with any cognitive dissonance. He’s a Cowboys fan, actually.
“I’m not a Commanders fan, personally, but I am a Caleb Williams fan,” Trivers told me this week. “It’s no secret who I’m going to be rooting for on Sunday.”
Gonzaga has its last home game of the season Saturday, and the next day, Trivers is bringing his entire football team to the game. Usually, Sundays are for work, going over film and preparing a game plan. But he’s making an exception for this field trip.
“It’s one Sunday where I’m going to be doing the game planning in the morning and more game planning later on,” he said. “But I’m going to have my boots on the ground on game day and I’m gonna be hanging right with him, with my heart, my body, my spirit, every single play. That’ll be fun.”
Podcasts & videos
Breaking Down theBears Containing Caleb Williams and Big Fletch Hits the Field | Command Center
SCARY TERRY Mic’d Up for Week 7 vs. the Carolina Panthers | Washington Commanders
The John Riggins Show 10.24.24
‘Confidence About Jayden’s Future and the Jerry Tours of Big D ‘ by The Bram Weinstein Show https://t.co/vtdwQAB5qw
— Bram Weinstein (@RealBramW) October 24, 2024