Washington’s offensive line had another rough day in Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked four times, and the Commanders managed only 60 rushing yards, averaging only three yards per attempt.
When Washington entered its bye week, head coach Dan Quinn spoke of potential shakeups along the offensive line. He later said they weren’t necessarily personnel-related, but more so scheme and technique-related.
In the two weeks since the Commanders’ bye, the only personnel change came in Sunday’s game, when center Lucas Patrick left with an injury and rookie Matt Gulbin replaced him. Yes, that’s right: instead of going to a healthy Nick Allegretti — Washington’s handpicked center since March — Quinn turned to the sixth-round
rookie.
“We went with how we’ve been practicing more like Nick at guard,” Quinn said after the game. “And so, both of those and Matt there. So, in that moment, I would’ve felt comfortable with Nick as well, but I thought, let’s give the guy who’s got the most reps of where we’ve been hitting and putting Nick at guard. So that was the decision behind it. It’s difficult, but this is part of the gig.”
That’s Quinn saying he and GM Adam Peters were wrong all along, without actually saying it.
Now 2-5-1, the Commanders have a short week before facing the New York Giants on Thursday night. Could Quinn shake up the starting offensive line?
He wasn’t ready to make any promises after Sunday’s game, as he hoped to re-evaluate the film. One thing was certain: he was not happy when talking about the offensive line.
“I’d rather give you a better answer tomorrow,” Quinn said on Sunday. "There’s a lot to go in and consider and see what matchups did we chip, where’d we help, you know, what was in the run game, why did some go early and some not? I don’t wanna just cast out and say where I think it is, but I’ll certainly look at it tonight and watch it. And then, like I said, we’ll make any adjustments that we need to as we head into tomorrow because 72 hours back on the plane and ready to go again.”
What is Quinn going to say on Monday that’s any different from what he said on Sunday? He’s not. If he plans on making any changes, we’ll see them on Thursday. It could also be that the coaches just don’t feel they have a better combination on the bench, and there will be no changes. If Patrick is out for Thursday, it will be interesting to see if the Commanders stick with Gulbin in such an important divisional game.
We shall see.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders coach Dan Quinn not happy when discussing offensive line play
