Daronte Jones was hired to revamp the Commanders defense, to create an aggressive scheme that can set the tone.
Washington’s new defensive coordinator came over from Minnesota, where he worked under respected play caller Brian Flores, who has a reputation for creating exotic blitzes that can disorient the opposition.
There’s an expectation that Jones will develop something similar in Washington, and while that’s in fact the case, Jones said that his system won’t just be a carbon copy of what Flores
runs in Minnesota.
While Jones stated that Flores “has been very instrumental in my background,” — you can bet that this defense pay homage to what’s run in Minnesota — he rattled off a bunch of coaches who have helped form his defensive philosophy. He singled out Mike Zimmer and Adam Zimmer. He mentioned Marvin Lewis and Vance Joseph, plus Dave Aranda and Lou Anarumo.
“Those guys have been very instrumental,” Jones said in a Tuesday practice prior to a Commanders OTA session. “So, I like to think you’re pulling from a little bit of everyone and just your experiences as we all have done in our past with anything. You know, you take multiple classes in college, you’re going to pull from all types of classes, you know what I mean?”
Jones won’t be tipping his hand regarding precise strategies or coverage schemes, a smart move in the name of competitive advantage, but he was clear about the type of defense he wanted to implement.
There’s one word most often used to describe it.
Attack.
Jones used that word 10 times during his press conference to describe the scheme and the players within it. That’s no coincidence.
“Honestly, it’s about playing with fundamentals and techniques,” Jones said. “I’m going to be honest with you, that’s what it’s about. I mean, defeating blocks, tackling, keeping the chunks off the tape, elite communication, all that goes into play. So, you know, to say we’re an attack — and I wouldn’t quite say we’re an attacking defense but to say we’re an attacking-style defense; every defense is attacking. You know, no defense wants to sit back and just catch, right? So, that’s what I’m talking about in terms of attacking.
“It’s just playing with great fundamentals and techniques, guys playing with a certain level of physicality. It’s all that we’re looking for. So, my players often joke with me a little bit. I like to say football is a simple game, complicated by man, and we make it more difficult than what it has to be.”
The scheme will be relatively easy to execute but difficult to identify, with looks designed to create confusion and quarterback missteps.
That’s clear to those on the other side of the ball.
“We’re getting tons of different looks,” center Nick Allegretti said in his meeting with the media. “They’re showing rotation or blitz frequently. It’s drawing our eyes to a lot of different places. Besides just the base looks, we’re getting more looks than we’ll get from most of the teams (we’ll play). …We’re seeing six, seven, eight fronts per day.”
Jones also wants his players to understand the scheme conceptually over their role in a specific play. That’s what is happening now as Jones builds the foundation of this system and fosters the team chemistry required to execute it well. Early reviews have been positive, including one from veteran linebacker Frankie Luvu.
“It’s very aggressive and very downhill,” Luvu said in a press conference. “We’re disruptive. We’re moving around in the backfield and making changes at the line of scrimmage. Guys in the back play off of that as far as our coverages and whatnot. For the most part, we get the lasts ay. We’re making checks, with everybody operating as all for one. We’re just being aggressive at the end of the day.”
