Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough was the latest in a line of players and coaches to talk about that Week 5 tie with the Giants where the clock was unfathomably allowed to run out before giving Drew Stevens a chance to convert a makable field-goal attempt.
Like head coach Dan Quinn and quarterback Jayden Daniels before him, stood up and took responsibility for what went down. Blough said he thought extensively about the play and how he could’ve done better, emerging with resolve that the Commanders
will do what’s required to fare better in the future.
The messaging is sound. The shielding of others makes sense, though it’s clear many share blame in what happened against the Giants. The Commanders are ready to move on, as they should be with the unbeaten 49ers up next.
The topic will continue to come up, especially when GM Adam Peters gives his weekly 106.7-FM radio appearanceon Monday morning and against during the Monday Night Football broadcast.
What we shouldn’t expect to hear, though, is anything new. There was some hope for more details on the communication breakdown or the order of operations that led to this mess.
There was hope Blough might shed some light on key facets, but didn’t offer much. The unified front was retained. If there are know Sunday morning show leaks, that’s another plus that Quinn is holding the Commanders together.
But…
Did the Commanders know they had zero timeouts, as guard Chris Paul and Sam Cosmi alluded to earlier?
Blough didn’t say in an answer Ben Standig’s question about it. It’s suspect, considering the lack of urgency getting back to the line of scrimmage, but we don’t know.
Why substitute so late, with no timeouts and less that a minute left, going from 11 personnel to 13 personnel?
“Whether it’s an advantageous look we saw earlier in the game,” Blough said, “or we’re trying to get to something helping the kick at the end…”
What was the intent of the play, a shot down the field with Chig Okonkwo and Treylon Burks working deeper, or a chance to get a few extra yards with a pass to Ben Sinnott on the left sideline?
“Every play has different intent, but, with the way the weather was shaping out and how the kicking game had been on both sides with the field conditions,” Blough said, “we really wanted to help out the kick. It wasn’t good enough for our unit, starting with me.”
Not knowing everything is part of being an NFL football fan. Or even a football reporter. You can watch the tape and infer and listen to players and coaches, but we’re never going to fully get to the bottom of this case. The puzzle will always be missing a few pieces. That’s both aggravating and part of the deal.
And while Blough was part of this whole thing, it shouldn’t alter Commanders impressions of him overall. He’s a 31-year-old rookie play caller still learning on the job. Week 5 proved a costly lesson, but the guy is smart and well-composed and sure seems to be pragmatic. There’s confidence he’ll learn and be better for this.
“For me in particular, how do you handle that situation better then next time you’re in it?” Blough said. “It’s a scar that we all wear but we move forward. That’s all you can do.”
