Daily Slop – 18 Oct 23 – Sam’s sacks, Daniel’s neck injury & Jonathan Allen’s attitude

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

The Athletic (paywall)

Sam Howell, Commanders’ sack problem far from fixed (and might be getting worse)

Those five sacks pushed Washington’s season total to 34, or a league-worst 5.7 per game entering Monday night, with at least four in every game. The debate over who is at fault — Offensive line mistakes! Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s play calling! — isn’t going away, but the data points pointing toward Howell added up in Atlanta.

Howell’s average time to throw against the Falcons was a season-high 2.94 seconds, per TruMedia. That’s more in line with Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals (2.90), when he took six sacks, and Week 2 versus the Denver Broncos (2.79). He showed progress against the Philadelphia Eagles (2.64) and Chicago Bears (2.62).

Three of the sacks Sunday took at least 4.2 seconds, per TruMedia, a season high. Through five weeks, only five of Washington’s sacks had taken at least 4.2 seconds. Sunday’s takedown on third-and-10 from the Commanders’ 20 with 4:23 remaining — and Washington clinging to the one-score advantage — clocked in at 4.8 seconds. That was the third-longest of the season.

Howell’s expected points added, or EPA, per attempt is 0.10 this season, ranking 14th in the NFL. His EPA per dropback is minus 0.06, which ranks 21st. The gap between those two (minus 0.16) is tied for the second-largest in the league, behind only Justin Fields. That’s despite Howell ranking seventh in EPA on scrambles, which should shrink that gap.

Overall, Howell has lost the most EPA in the league on sacks (47.52) despite having just two fumbles; 18 QBs have fumbled at least three times this season, and two have fumbled seven times.

Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Cody Barton shines in Commanders win over Falcons

Breaking down the performance of linebacker Cody Barton against the Falcons

This has been an issue plenty of times for Barton this season and it typically ends up with a lineman climbing up to the second level and cutting him off. But here, because he has Obada and nose tackle John Ridgeway in front of him, no offensive lineman is available to climb up to him. That allows Barton a free path to the running back and he shows off his athleticism as he bursts across to make the tackle.

Even on plays where he was having to read and diagnose a little more, this five-man front was really helping Barton.

Down near the goal line, the Falcons attempt another zone run to their right. Barton aligns in the middle of the field at about five yards of depth. He immediately works to the right side of the line at the snap, but with so many defensive bodies in front of him clogging up lanes and occupying blockers, he knows he doesn’t need to rush things to make up a gap. Obada in particular does a fantastic job occupying two blockers, which means there’s nobody free to block Barton.

With the extra time to think, Barton is able to get his eyes into the backfield and locate the running back. He feels the back has nowhere to go and is likely to cut his run back, so he slows himself down and positions himself to play for that cut back. The running back does indeed cut his run back and Barton suddenly emerges in the hole to make the play.

Now you may be wondering what happened to Barton when the Commanders went away from that five-man front. Did he just revert back to the Barton we’ve seen all season that is slow to diagnose run plays and gets caught on blocks? No. It appears as though Barton took the confidence gained from playing behind that five-man front and applied it to plays when he only had four defensive lineman in front of him.

Down in the red zone, the Falcons look to convert on third and one with a fake fullback dive inside before tossing to Robinson on the edge. To further add to the confusion, they break the huddle and quickly line up and snap the ball, giving the defense very little chance to react and get set. A few weeks ago, this would have been enough for Barton to get completely lost inside. But here, he doesn’t bite on the fake to the fullback and immediately triggers on the toss to Robinson. He’s helped by James Smith-Williams making a nice read too, forcing Robinson wider, but Barton is the one to close on Robinson and make the tackle for a loss in a big spot.

Commanders Wire

Why is Commanders WR Jahan Dotson’s production down?

What is going on regarding Jahan Dotson?

The second-year wide receiver flashed some clutch catches in his rookie 2022 season. He got off to a great start, you recall, with four touchdown receptions in his initial four NFL games, including the game-winner against the Jaguars in the opener at FedEx Field.

However, in 2023, Dotson is far below meeting expectations, and on Sunday, he was only targeted once and dropped that deep pass that Sam Howell put right on the money that would have been an explosive play for the Commanders.

Monday with the press, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was asked regarding Dotson’s low productivity thus far. “Obviously, you know everybody can’t get all the catches every game, but obviously, his production has been off from last year. What are you seeing with him right now?”

Rivera provided a very lengthy response.

“I think it’s just a matter of time,” replied Rivera. As we continue to work and try to distribute the ball to all the players, it’ll happen. It’s just one of those things that sometimes guys will be targeted more.”

Riggo’s Rag

4 lingering observations from the Commanders victory at Falcons in Week 6

This could have saved the Commanders’ season…

Commanders got many standout performances

Usually, game balls typically go out to the offense, but this is all about the defense. This unit carried this and made some game-changing moments for the Washington Commanders to secure a pivotal victory.

As previously stated, Jack Del Rio’s group gave up some yardage in the game. But they prevented the big plays that have plagued them over the last couple of contests. Getting to the quarterback helped, too.

Chase Young has been leading the team in quarterback pressures and is one of the league’s best in that category. These notable players in Sunday’s game were also difference-makers and deserve their flowers.

Kamren Curl, who has been the Commanders’ best safety and is working on a contract extension, made his presence all over the field. He finished with 11 tackles and two passes defended, coming up with some thumping hits along the way.

Next, we have Kendall Fuller, who is also having an outstanding season so far and has taken up the slack at the cornerback position. He secured an interception when he jumped in front of a route and he should have had another one earlier in the game.

Casey Toohill replaced Montez Sweat due to an injured thumb and made the most of his opportunity, recording two sacks, one tackle for a loss, and forcing a big pressure that forced Desmond Ridder into an intentional grounding call. Not bad from limited reps, it has to be said.

Fans have been waiting for Jamin Davis to finally come into his own. He sealed the game with his first interception by diving in front of running back Bijan Robinson with two minutes left. The linebacker also recorded eight tackles, one tackle for loss, and a sack to round off an impressive display.

Commanders Wire

Jonathan Allen glad Commanders got the win

“When I first came out of college, I still had the Alabama mindset. Early in my NFL career, even if we won, I wouldn’t be happy unless we dominated. But the NFL is not like college. I’ve learned to really appreciate every win in the NFL because it’s tough.”

Atlanta drove 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown in their opening possession. Allen expressed, “The most dangerous part for a defense in the NFL is the first 15 they script. They have a game plan, an idea of how we are going to line up in certain situations. Then they have a precise plan of how to attack us…as a defense, we have to be better in the first 15.”

When asked about Emmanuel Forbes being benched, Allen said he and Kendall Fuller both told Forbes to stay focused and he will be ok. Both talked of how they failed at times early in their career and learned from it.

Allen also expressed he believes in Casey Toohill and was not surprised by the plays Toohill made when getting snaps at defensive end Sunday.

DC Sports King

Commanders secondary looked improved as Emmanuel Forbes played zero snaps

The Commanders’ defense was on the field for 83 snaps against the Falcons, and Forbes didn’t touch the field even once. Instead, third-year cornerback Benjamin St-Juste got kicked out from the slot to boundary cornerback. Veteran Danny Johnson then played in the slot in the absence of Forbes.

Forbes remained on the sidelines even as Falcons wide receiver Drake London hauled nine catches for 125 yards. The majority of those catches occurred with St-Juste as the primary defender, including a Kyle Pitts touchdown against man coverage during Atlanta’s first possession.

Still, St-Juste got his first career interception in the fourth quarter, as Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder flailed a pass into the end zone off his backfoot for the pick. Meanwhile, Johnson had a significant pass breakup as he smacked down a pass intended for Pitts on fourth-and-eight in the fourth quarter.

The weaknesses that draft pundits pointed out for Forbes got laminated through his first five games. His slender frame has made him a target against bigger frame receivers — see AJ Brown, DJ Moore, and Courtland Sutton.

Those receivers boxed him out and took advantage of Forbes’ aggressive approach to trying to get an interception. On Sunday against the Falcons, St-Juste got beaten more times than he would have liked, but he limited the times a receiver got behind him.

On the touchdown to Pitts, St-Juste was picked by Johnson, his own teammate, as Johnson tried to stay with his man in coverage. London had a large portion of his catches on St-Juste but no touchdowns.

Podcasts & videos

Commanders Film Study: Khaleke Hudson Needs MORE SNAPS!!! – Washington vs Atlanta All-22 Film

Tweets

NFC East links

Big Blue View

Daniel Jones: ‘Tough to say’ if he will be ready to face Washington Commanders on Sunday

Jones tells Kay Adams he is “trying hard to get back”

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones said Tuesday morning on the ‘Up & Adams Show’ with Kay Adams that it is “tough to say” whether he will be healthy enough to play Sunday when the Giants host the Washington Commanders.

Jones, of course, missed Sunday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills with a neck injury suffered the previous week against the Miami Dolphins. Tyrod Taylor quarterback the Giants in their 14-9 loss to the Bills.

Jones said he missed the game Sunday because he is “still dealing with some of the symptoms” from the injury.

“I’m trying hard to get back,” said Jones. “Still dealing with it a little bit, bu

t trying to do everything I can to heal up and prove to the doctors and trainers that I’m ready to go.”

Jones said his rehab has included soft-tisse work, needling and exercises to “try and get everything working again and doing what it needs to do.”

Jones told Adams that “it’s tough not playing. You want to be out there with the team, with the guys.”

Barstool Sports

Howie Roseman Does It Again: The Eagles Sign Julio Jones To Create The Greatest Receiving Trio In All The Land

Howie Roseman. What a menace to society this ol’ sneaky bastard appears to be. Talk about a signing that came out of absolutely nowhere.

Everyone knows the Eagles need major help with their secondary. Everyone knows the Eagles probably need to sure up the Right Tackle position just in case Lane Johnson’s injury continues to nag on throughout the season. Everyone knows they’ll probably run a constant carousel at the punter position. But nobody had the Eagles going out and bringing Julio Jones to South Philly.

And I gotta tell you—I love the shit out of this move. Obviously Julio is 34-years-old and his best days are behind him. But we don’t need Julio Jones to be the Julio Jones of 2015 and 2018. Why is that? Well because the Eagles already have two of those guys in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. The Eagles had 2 Julio Joneses before today, and now they have 3 of them.

The issue is that Olamide Zaccheaus and Quez Watkins just aren’t consistent enough to be a legitimate threat out there. So defenses get to just pick their poison on whether they want to completely take DeVonta Smith away or completely take AJ Brown away. Obviously one of those guys is always going to get you, but defenses are able to at least make sure that both of them aren’t going crazy at the same time because they don’t even have to worry about Zaccheaus or Watkins. But if you add Julio Jones to the mix? Well now that makes everything wide open because you can’t just completely forget about a guy like that.

The Eagles now have two WR1’s, and a guy who has led the league twice in receiving yards as WR3. That’s a wagon. Buy your stocks on Eagles explosive plays now before the price goes through the roof.

NFL league links

Articles

NFL.com

NFL looking to eliminate hip-drop tackle, discussing ‘tush push’

League executive Jeff Miller said Tuesday the hip-drop tackle increases risk of injury by 25 times the rate of a standard tackle.

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith briefly left a game against the Giants in Week 4 after getting hurt by a hip-drop tackle.

“It is an unforgiving behavior and one that we need to try to define and get out of the game,” Miller said at the league meetings. “To quantify it for you, we see an injury more or less every week in the regular season on the hip-drop.”

The league made the horse-collar tackle illegal several years ago because a defender’s body weight ends up on the legs of the ball carrier, enhancing risk of injury. Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, called the hip-drop tackle a “cousin” of the horse collar.

“What’s happening on the hip-drop is the defender is encircling tackling the runner and then swinging their weight and falling on the side of their leg, which is their ankle or their knee,” McKay said.

“When they use that tactic, you can see why they do, because it can be a smaller man against a bigger man and they’re trying to get that person down because that’s the object of the game. But when they do it, the runner becomes defenseless. They can’t kick their way out from under. And that’s the problem. That’s where the injury occurs. You see the ankle get trapped underneath the weight of the defender.”

The league is gathering data and conducting a study on the hip-drop to make a determination. McKay understands defensive players won’t be happy if another way to tackle is banned.

“Last year, we did talk about it a lot. There were enough teams to say it’s one year, let’s see it and leave it alone. So we did, and I’m sure it’ll be back again. But I just don’t want to get in the business of predicting because I really don’t know what the outcome will be. I do know it will be talked about.”

NFL.com

COACHING INTERVIEWS DELAYED

Owners voted to push in-person head coaching interviews back one more week until after all divisional playoff games have been completed. The goal is to slow down the hiring process and increase diverse hiring.

The timeline for virtual interviews remains the same and interviews may take place earlier for internal candidates or those not working for a club or within the NFL.

“The data shows when you have a more intentional process, you end up with more diverse results,” NFL executive Dasha Smith said. “So that is really the goal here is to ultimately have a more inclusive and diverse, head coach, GM, senior leadership across the entire NFL but in particular we’ve been focusing on the head coach position.”

Pro Football Talk

Brawls at SoFi Stadium are latest example of NFL teams not doing enough to protect paying customers

More fighting happened on Monday night at SoFi Stadium, where the Cowboys faced the Chargers. As explained by Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times, multiple skirmishes occurred, throughout the night.

From the concourse to the stands, partisans of the two teams — who fought on the field before the game began — did battle among each other.

Ultimately, per Henson, no arrests were made.

It’s become an accepted risk of going to NFL games. Between the raw emotion and the overpriced (and overconsumed) alcohol and the physicality playing out in front of the fans in attendance, the planets align in a way that results in humans pushing, shoving, punching and/or kicking other humans.

It shouldn’t happen. The simple fact that it does, and that the various teams know that it might, is reason enough for every team to carve into the exorbitant profit margin to better protect the paying customers.

Although any and all fights are the direct result of intentional acts of violence directed by one or more persons to one or more others, it’s all foreseeable to those who make money from the thousands crowding into the stands to watch any given NFL game.

Whatever the teams are doing to prevent such incidents isn’t enough, as evidenced by the fact that the fights keep happening. Maybe it’s as simple as not selling beer at the games. Maybe it’s more complicated (and costly), requiring stadium operators to have at least one or more security officers assigned to every single section of seats.