Daily Slop – 3 Aug 24: Competition heats up on Day 8 at steamy Commanders training camp

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

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Riggo’s Rag

Commanders safety Tyler Owens is making a strong push for roster consideration

The depth chart dynamic is starting to take shape heading into the business end of camp. One player who’s surged into roster contention is undrafted free agent Tyler Owens, who’s typified the attitude Quinn is looking to instill across the roster.

Owens is a tremendous football player. The safety went undrafted but was a highly coveted prospect once the selection process concluded. Washington had to provide the player with a decent contract to attain his services. Based on his early impression, it was a shrewd piece of business.

The former Texas Tech star looks assured in coverage. Owens is intelligent enough to give support when needed and anticipates things well. He’s also got the physicality to come further down and help against the run. There’s a long way to go, but the first-year pro got the attention of coaches and fans alike.

That was always going to be half the battle for Owens or any other player starting from the bottom.

This is an outstanding start from Owens – perhaps better than even the player anticipated. At the same time, there are some significant hurdles to overcome before confidence rises about his hopes of making the initial 53-man roster.

Washington’s safety room is pretty crowded. Jeremy Chinn and Quan Martin are the projected starters. Darrick Forrest and Dominique Hampton should make the team. Jeremy Reaves’ special teams prowess makes him a virtual lock. That leaves Owens fighting it out with the likes of Percy Butler for the sixth spot if that’s how many the Commanders take through.

Standing out when preseason reps come his way is the litmus test. Owens did well in practice. Producing in a typical game-day setting – albeit against backups and third stringers – will be a better sign of how far the defensive back has come.

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Sports Illustrated

Washington Commanders Notebook: First Signs of Training Camp Strain on Day 8

The Washington Commanders have been extremely disciplined, but even the most can have moments.

The Washington Commanders put on the pads for a second-straight day on the hottest day of training camp so far and we got our first signs of patience wearing thin.

Thus far the Commanders have been extremely disciplined this training camp when it comes to in-fighting as the summer days get hotter, the practices get longer, and the contact intensifies.

But on Friday, tight end Zach Ertz and safety Percy Butler broke the seal, and we got our first sign of Washington needing the joint practices against the New York Jets to arrive sooner rather than later.

Zach Ertz and safety Percy Butler went facemask to facemask and had to be seperated by teammates like cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly.

We’re not sure what led to the conflict – a pushing match, not a fight – but it’s the first sign of cracks in the foundation and no surprise it came on the hottest day of camp near the end of two very physical practices.

PLAY OF THE DAY

There were plenty of plays made on Friday that could be considered as candidates for today’s award, but we’re giving it to Washington running back Brian Robinson Jr. and his run through the left side A-Gap that went for about 40 yards before he decided to go down on his own to preserve the ball and give his team the opportunity to run more clock in a four-minute offense scenario with a small lead near the end of the game.

Robinson’s big run drew cheers from the crowd in attendance, celebrations from Daniels, and unhappy coaching from defensive line coach Darryl Tapp whose angst appeared to be aimed at third-year defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Day 8 takeaways: Dan Quinn stresses consistency ahead of chippy practice

Friday’s practice was originally scheduled to be the Commanders’ longest workout yet, but Coach Dan Quinn called it at 90 minutes as temperatures topped 90 degrees without any cloud cover.

Maybe the heat — or maybe eight days of workouts, including four in full pads — got everyone riled up because Friday’s session was among the team’s most chippy. Tight end Zach Ertz and safety Percy Butler started to get into it after a rep, and if coaches really let players play fully, there’s a good chance a fight would have ensued at some point between the offense and defense.

Quinn has stressed competition (no, really, he says it at least five times a day) but has also told players to treat workouts like sparring sessions: Be aggressive but in control.

Quinn has said he won’t tolerate fights — messaging he’s sure to keep going into next week, when the Commanders travel to Florham Park, N.J., for a joint practice with the New York Jets ahead of their Aug. 10 preseason opener.

But as he preaches control from players, he’s also seeking more consistency.

“You’ve probably heard coach-speak that ‘he flashes’ during a play,” Quinn said. “That’s not what we’re looking for, to flash. You want to see those plays played consistently over time. The more you do it, the better it gets. I said to [the players], ‘Usain Bolt didn’t get tired of running straight ahead.’ There has to be some consistency about the execution, about how we’re doing things. And the expertise to get to that level, that’s really what we’re digging for.”

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Washington Times

LOVERRO: Open practices show fans’ hunger for football the Commanders don’t feed enough

There is some work to be done to repair this fan base, and more open practices would seem to be a smart gesture.

The 32-year-old facility is undergoing $10 million in renovations, building upgrades and the installation of a new grass field after tearing up the old Astroturf (in 2012, the team announced $30 million in headquarters upgrades, some of which was paid for by Virginia taxpayers).

All that is considered a roadblock to more fans in attendance.

Also, their preseason schedule — two road games plus joint practices in New York and Miami limits the days they are at Commanders Park for training camp.

The team may not be long for Commanders Park. In June, theburn.com reported that the team filed plans with Loudoun County to build three data centers on the headquarters/training camp property.

The team issued the following statement: “The Washington Commanders are committed to the Commonwealth. Loudoun County is where many of our coaches, players and employees not only work, but also call home. Our intention in filing for this approval is to secure the option and flexibility for possible future development on our 162-acre site and it is not a plan to take any action in the near future. Any development we do will be leveraged to reinvest in our football program and fan experience.”

Buddy Rizer, the county’s economic development executive director, told theburn.com that the filing was not a surprise.

“We were aware this was coming,” he said. “(The Commanders) have been very transparent with us.” He said the Commanders were preserving the value of their land for all potential future uses, and that there are no actual plans to build data centers on the property at this time.

But the team is also pursuing plans for a new stadium, and it’s likely those plans would include a new headquarters and practice facility.

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Commanders.com

Dan Quinn’s bag drill is not your average warm-up exercise

Somewhere between five to 10 minutes after the start of nearly every team practice Dan Quinn has conducted in Washington, a controlled and purposeful hell breaks lose. It’s loud, often times drowning out the sound of the music blasting from the speakers. Coaches wave their arms and jump up and down while players move between rapid footwork and short sprints.

“Nobody is running away from the bag drill,” linebacker Frankie Luvu said. “It’s pretty much just, ‘Who’s got the most energy?’ It’s where you wipe off the long eyes and waking up … That’s going to set the tone for the whole practice.”

Consisting of minimal equipment and very little instruction, the bag drill is simple and some version of it is done by many teams at every level. Dan Quinn’s version, though, has a few special wrinkles and stands as an example of the kind of competitive, high-intensity and fun culture the coach is establishing in Washington.

“Going through the bags, you only go four reps, but after each one the emphasis is we finish with a burst. At every position, that’s also getting ready to play…those little bursts, we have hundreds of them in a game, so it’s priming the body and the mind for all these little quick interactions.”

Divided into two lines, the drill pits the offense versus the defense (special teams is split among the two). Each of the drill’s four reps demands a different kind of footwork followed by a quick full-out sprint. Adding to the fire is the involvement of all the coaches. Tight ends coach David Raih perpetually delivers hype on the offensive side.

Quinn doesn’t treat the bags like one might expect an NFL head coach to treat a short warm-up exercise (i.e. a thing to cross off before getting to the “real football”); In fact, he loves an opportunity to put a microscope to it. The coach is known to display video of the drill in team meetings and declare a winner. As for which side — offense or defense — tends to win, well, it’s a touchy subject that conjures mixed answers.

“It’s a good, competitive period where we get to beat up on the defense a little bit day in and day out,” said wide receiver Jahan Dotson.

“Do I need to answer that one?” Coach Gay said. “Sometimes we have to let the offense win, but that’s a defensive drill.”

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Podcasts & videos

Commanders guard Sam Cosmi anchors the O-line

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Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes set on making an impact in Year 2

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Rookie Luke McCaffrey is making a name for himself

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Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Best shots from Day 8

The Washington Commanders continues their work during the second week of training camp. Take a look at all the action from Friday.

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NFC East links

ESPN

NFL training camp 2024 live updates: Latest on roster battles

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys

Micah Parsons was limited in his work Friday because of elbow soreness. He did not take part in one-on-one pass rush drills and he mostly lined up as an off-the-ball linebacker during the team drills he did participate in.

Parsons went through individual drills and did some conditioning work off to the side as the pass rush drills took place. It’s not considered a serious problem, more just maintenance during camp.

Rookie Marshawn Kneeland lined up opposite DeMarcus Lawrence with the first team along the defensive line. With Sam Williams out for the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, Kneeland is being counted on to play a larger-than-expected role. — Todd Archer

(Last update: Aug. 2)

Washington Commanders

Though Washington coach Dan Quinn does not want to name Jayden Daniels the starting quarterback just yet, the rookie has quietly started to take all or most of the first-team snaps the past two days. The Commanders still want to see how he progresses but he has impressed teammates by how he has not only recognized leverages in coverage, but also how he has then adjusted.

During practice Friday, Daniels connected with receiver Terry McLaurin on another back-shoulder throw in which McLaurin made a one-handed grab. The two have started to develop a good rhythm; Daniels has also connected often with tight end Zach Ertz. With two joint practice sessions as well as two preseason games in the next two weeks Washington will get a stronger feel for where Daniels is in his growth. But there has been no reason to doubt that, so far, the Commanders like where he’s headed. — John Keim

(Last update: Aug. 2)

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NFL league links

Articles

Deadspin

There’s No Universe Where Tyreek Hill Is the NFL’s Best Player

Allow me to preface by stating that Tyreek Hill might just be the best wide receiver I’ve ever seen. Like many people, when he was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins, I was very curious to see if he could have success without Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes facilitating things offensively.

He proved any doubters wrong.

He’s caught 119 passes in each of his two seasons with the Dolphins. Last season, he was one yard shy of 1,800 receiving yards. He scored 13 touchdowns. At 30 years old, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, and is eyeing another big payday to stay in Miami.

It’s also the offseason. I understand that these lists are populated to give fans and pundits alike an opportunity to debate and keep the NFL front and center of our minds.

But let’s be real with ourselves. Hill is not the NFL’s best player. It’s Mahomes.

Outrageously enough, Mahomes was the No. 4 ranked player on this list. Lamar Jackson and Christian McCaffrey were also ranked higher.

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Barstool Sports

At the Risk of Sounding UnAmerican, I Don’t Hate the NFL’s New Kickoff Rules

The powers that be took a league that had achieved near perfection, and they meddled with it. They added the watered down product that is Thursday Night Football. Lengthened the season. Expanded the playoffs. And wrote an endless series of confounding, incomprehensible, overly enforced rules that made it impossible for the public to understand a matter as basic as the definition of the word “catch.”

Admittedly, the kickoff rule that debuted at the Hall of Fame Game is just the latest. My default setting will always be to prefer rules that any idiot can understand. The reason being that I’m an idiot and don’t want to have to solve Fermat’s Last Theorem just to know what’s happening. But this is how they’re explaining how a kickoff works now:

If you have to use Nintendo Wii graphics and draw green rectangles around different parts of the field – in fact, if it takes more than two sentences to explain – then it stops being a game that’s been played since the 19th century.

But at the risk of contradicting everything I’ve just said, as well as drawing the hatred of all my fellow purists, I’m OK with this rule. At least I’m at the “So far, so good” stage of my acceptance after one trial run. Let’s look at the results of last night:

NFL.com – The clubs combined for eight kickoffs in the 21-17 Bears win that ended with 3:31 left in the third quarter. The longest of the eight was returned to the 31-yard line. Three were brought back to the 26. One was a touchback that came out to the 30.

The average starting position was the 25.6-yard line.

It’s just one game, but there was a noticeable lack of explosive plays. It even caught Bears Hall of Fame returner Devin Hester off guard.

“I’m watching it, man, and I’m surprised that we’re not seeing more big runs,” he said during an in-game interview, via Awful Announcing. “You know, that’s shocking. But hey, it’s the first game. So I figure a lot of coaches are going to evaluate this game and try to figure out what they can do to get some more big plays. But right now — it’s kinda shaky right now. But who knows? The first game. We’ll see.”

“We’ll see” is right. There’s a lot to be considered and the cleverer special teams coaches will figure out the ways to exploit the weaker ones. But if nothing else, if no other factor is considered, at least these were actual plays. The football being caught and run with. Blocks being thrown and shed. Ballcarriers being pursued and tackled. Which is something we’ve seen far too seldom since the last time the league tinkered with the kickoff.

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