Coach Ron Rivera made his final weekly appearance of the 2021 season on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” on The Team 980 (M-F, 6-9 am).
“I am not satisfied with it (2021 season); I’m even disappointed, to be honest”, said Rivera. “We had some opportunities and the unfortunate circumstances derailed what we had built and put ourselves in place to try and accomplish. But there were some moments that I found to be positive, really truly positive.”
Rivera pointed back to the four-game winning streak (Tampa Bay, Carolina, Seattle, Las Vegas) as showing what the team was capable of achieving.
Coach Rivera cited their record, conveying he gets it, that in the end, their record and not being in the playoffs means they are below average.
Kevin Sheehan inquired why the defense with a lot of expectations did not perform well. Rivera said immaturity did not handle the expectations well, and some of the expectations were unrealistic as well. He said he hoped the team learns from these experiences this year of not meeting expectations.
Rivera does feel his staff had some learning to do this season as well and did feel they are learning and growing as players and the staff. He reiterated this third year (2022 season) is a learning opportunity to take a big step forward as a team.
Rivera praised his coordinators Jack Del Rio (defense) and Scott Turner (offense) saying they both have done good things in their role, and that he delegates some more than he did earlier in his coaching career.
He has already met with the owners Dan and Tanya Snyder and felt it went well, discussing the players, this season and some plans for this offseason. He said he thought the Snyders were supportive in their response.
Landon Collins was also an object of praise from Coach Rivera, saying he made some impact playing the hybrid/Buffalo nickel position really well.
Rivera is looking for a QB that has an arm to make the throws needed, a quick-release guy that can get the ball out quickly, and some mobility to move in the pocket, extend a play, avoiding the rush.
You can listen to Rivera’s appearance on Sheehan’s show here.