Before the advent of media devices, football coaches at all levels used simple whiteboards to outline plays, map out player positions and explain schemes in real time. Nowadays digital playbooks and tablets have taken over, but coaches still use whiteboards on occasion to impart information quickly and effectively. The following are some quick notes and observations from the Washington Commanders‘ 13-2 loss to the LA Rams at home.
Daronte Jones had no answers for Puka Nucua
Make no mistake, Puka Nucua is one of the best wide receivers in the league,
and he is going to get his yards. This was a known fact heading into the matchup, but Daronte Jones and Washington’s defense knew the key was to simply limit him. Jones spoke openly about it in his Thursday presser, but when it came time to contain the All-Pro wide receiver, the defense appeared to have no idea how to accomplish it.
Puka torched Washington’s secondary, hauling in 14 receptions for 150 receiving yards and one touchdown, and the Rams wide receiver didn’t have to work particularly hard to do it. The Commanders played zone coverage throughout the game and rarely tested Nacua with man or double coverage, and while Washington was successful limiting his yards after the catch, he picked them apart underneath.
How did the rest of the Rams receivers fare? They combined for 78 total receiving yards and no touchdowns. There was simply no need to target them, as Washington’s defense never found a way to force the issue. The Rams ran the ball effectively in the second half with Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, and Nucua combining for 124 yards on the ground. It was enlightening to watch Sean McVay run a clinic on how to properly execute an offense with a heavy personnel emphasis.
While some analysts were quick to point out that the defense wasn’t the reason the Commanders lost the game on Sunday, their performance is indicative of how coordinator Daronte Jones is unable to adjust his game plan from week to week. The pressure didn’t get home, the secondary couldn’t stop their playmakers, and the defense was reliant on turnovers to compete. Conversely, Minnesota DC Brain Flores changes his game plans weekly, and at times will shift away from his preferred zone schemes in favor of more man coverage when the matchup calls for it.
David Blough’s offense does not have an identity yet
When David Blough was promoted to offensive coordinator during the offseason, there was a lot of discussion about the number of quality offensive coordinators he had played or worked under and which he would draw from to build his own offensive scheme, including Jeff Brohm, Kevin O’Connell, Ben Johnson and even Kliff Kingsbury. Nine weeks into the season, fans are still wondering what Blough is trying to accomplish on the offensive side of the ball.
At times, the Commanders’ offense leans into heavy personnel and under center looks before reverting to shotgun-based schemes with 11 personnel when things don’t go according to plan. Some plays are well-called and timely; others make little sense for the situation or the defensive looks. Blough spoke openly of wanting to utilize the screen game more, but never went back to it after having success early, and only one team has a lower percentage of screens than Washington this season.
The Commanders are also supposedly implementing a wide-zone rushing attack, but with little to no evidence of it on the field or that offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton knows how to implement it. They actually found some success early in this matchup, then inexplicably went away from their running game later in the game. The pass protection also struggled and while a good portion of the problem is certainly on the offensive personnel, part of being an effective coordinator is scheming plays to maximize your strengths while providing a cohesive plan for the offense every week. The game plan versus the Rams should have called for chip blocks to help Brandon Coleman on the edge and designed roll-outs to move Daniels out of the pocket. Instead, fans saw very little of either one.
So far, David Blough seems to be simply calling plays instead of coordinating an NFL offense. The Week 5 editionof Whiteboard called for Anthony Lynn or another consultant to assist the rookie coordinator. Headed into Week 10, it may now be too late.
The problems from Week 1 are still issues in Week 9
Similarly, the Week 1 Whiteboard article called out the fact that, while many of the faces had changed at the coordinator level, the same problems from last season persisted. Those include pre-snap penalties, and while Week 9 wasn’t quite as bad as the opener, the Commanders still had their fair share of false starts on their own home field. Meanwhile, other issues were also persistent and equally damaging. Both Stefon Diggs and Antonio Williams dropped catchable balls on critical downs, while looking ineffective at run blocking. Diggs also questionably tried to run for more yards instead of stepping out of bounds in the final moments of the game. Fans shouldn’t be surprised if Diggs is not invited back for another season, which would potentially have the wide receiver looking for his fourth new team in as many years.
It wasn’t all on Diggs. Dan Quinn also burned what would have been a valuable timeout earlier in the game by challenging a play that was clearly not going to be overturned. Once again, the Commanders were short on timeouts during the critical final moments of the game.
The issues at the center spot had faded after the addition of Lucas Patrick in Week 2, but came back front and center after Patrick delivered a number of high snaps before leaving the game with a possible concussion. Instead of Nick Allegretti, who had received the unwavering support the coaching staff and front office all offseason, Patrick was replaced with sixth-round rookie Matt Gulbin. This effectively ended the ability of Washington’s offense to move the ball in the fourth quarter, as Rams’ defensive coordinator Chris Shula struck quickly and effectively.
Is the Washington Commanders’ season over?
Whiteboard Week 2 concluded with this same question, following a game in which Jayden Daniels dislocated his elbow for a second time. At that point, it was theorized the team could make a comeback if Marcus Mariota could find a way to win a game or two and Daniels received positive news on a possible return. Both happened, but Dan Quinn and the rest of the Washington Commanders have failed to capitalize on the several opportunities to win games since then, including the Giants in Week 5, the Niners in Week 6 and now the LA Rams in Week 9. Despite all of that, the Commanders still have a chance to win their division, starting with a critical matchup this Thursday versus the Giants.
New York and Washington both have the same remaining strength of schedule, so a win on Thursday night and a loss by the Dallas Cowboys to the 49ers in Week 10 could help the Commanders gain ground in the division race. Washington would also get a full 10 days to prepare for what would become a critical matchup versus the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football.
A loss would leave Washington with no hope of reaching the playoffs this season and the burden of correcting the current issues with the team would fall to members of leadership higher up in the organization.
