2025 Washington Commanders- All Things Defense

[Dah-Dee]

I would rather have Jones/Harris at S insteady of Martin/Reaves; and Sainristil looks like he's regressed, so maybe Iggy at slot until #0 gets his act back together. Still think Amos/Lattimore should be playing straight man every snap, the zone coverage crap is not working.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I would rather have Jones/Harris at S insteady of Martin/Reaves; and Sainristil looks like he's regressed, so maybe Iggy at slot until #0 gets his act back together. Still think Amos/Lattimore should be playing straight man every snap, the zone coverage crap is not working.

Harris had a broken something in his leg, so in theory he should be back later this season. The problem with broken bones, however, is the bone will heal up but you literally can't use that limb at all and you lose all of your strength in the limb while it heals. And that takes some time to re-build. Having broken both arms twice each, I'm familiar with the process.

Quan had been playing well, and apparently had a good PFF grade even with the ridiculous missed tackle on Monday Night.

I think Reaves has given everything he's got, and I appreciate that. I don't remember the game, but he chased down somebody from behind from across the field and saved a TD. Maybe the Atlanta game? Dude hustles.

 

[Phantvm]

I don't remember the game, but he chased down somebody from behind from across the field and saved a TD. Maybe the Atlanta game? Dude hustles.

Yes he chased down Bijan on a swing play. I couldn’t believe it.

 

[Solitary Man]

You don’t have to be a body language expert to see that Joe Whitt Jr. Is sitting personally defensive. For most of his presser today he did not seem to take personal accountability.
Since they are dropping balls, they are working on new ball drills. What ball drills have they been working on before?

And when asked what is the current strength of the defense, he said “pressuring the quarterback “. And he said we don’t have a speed problem.

I don’t blame Joe for the personal issues we have on defence. Since we have obvious weaknesses I hope Dan will be spending a lot of time with Joe trying to give us the best chances to get stops.

 

[method man]

I know some here don't care for him but Suter on Sheehan's podcast calling out that Sainristil has been terrible in man coverage and was getting beat like a drum in Chicago

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[skinsinparadise]

I know some here don't care for him but Suter on Sheehan's podcast calling out that Sainristil has been terrible in man coverage and was getting beat like a drum in Chicago

I listened to it. He also talked about how they have Wagner as the assigned underneath defender on crossers and how among other things it creates confusion at times, its poorly executed and fails repeatedly yet they just stick to it without changing it.

Yeah he thinks Sainristill is terrible in man coverage. He thought Preston Smith was awful. Quan and Lattimore get in each others way too much.

Whitt was better taking accountability today saying they need to run more drills to help this team acheive more turnovers. But as Sheehan pointed out on his show today, when Whitt was flat out asked about why does this team give up so many explosives is it execution or scheme? He goes execution and then cites examples.

I know plenty of coaches who would say look its on me to get these guys prepared versus saying yeah its not me its them. But at least he took some responsibility for the lack of picks.

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[skinsinparadise]

He can’t play inside anymore. Lost the quickness. Maybe outside.

He did play some safety for the Pats last season and is a sure tackler. Maybe we see him a bit in that type of role

Feels like benching Sainristil for Noah I doesn't seem crazy.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I actually thought (and I am pretty sure I wrote here various times) St. Juste got a pretty bad wrap here. I thought he actually made some tough plays in completely ISO situations. Those are tough. He was covering #1s as well.

Yes, he got flagged every minute it seemed, but I also thought there was something in the coaching that just wasn't right there. I didn't really get it. The physical traits, some other aspects he HAD. I thought the components that were missing - to me, they looked teachable. Count me in the minority for not simply being glad he left, but yes, I didn't like watching PIs all of the time. So sure, if we weren't going to fix that, he had to go. Unsurprised if he turns out OK elsewhere, and frankly a little irked. Jury's still out, I suppose.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I actually thought (and I am pretty sure I wrote here various times) St. Juste got a pretty bad wrap here. I thought he actually made some tough plays in completely ISO situations. Those are tough. He was covering #1s as well.

Yes, he got flagged every minute it seemed, but I also thought there was something in the coaching that just wasn't right there. I didn't really get it. The physical traits, some other aspects he HAD. I thought the components that were missing - to me, they looked teachable. Count me in the minority for not simply being glad he left, but yes, I didn't like watching PIs all of the time. So sure, if we weren't going to fix that, he had to go. Unsurprised if he turns out OK elsewhere, and frankly a little irked. Jury's still out, I suppose.

Yeah, one thing which I picked up on from one of the Charger's folks was he doesn't play much, and when he does play, he's not asked to do much, hence it looks like he's having a better season than he actually is having.

I think he was just put in a position he could not succeed in here. He was expected to be a starter, and he isn't. And that's basically that.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I actually thought (and I am pretty sure I wrote here various times) St. Juste got a pretty bad wrap here. I thought he actually made some tough plays in completely ISO situations. Those are tough. He was covering #1s as well.

Yes, he got flagged every minute it seemed, but I also thought there was something in the coaching that just wasn't right there. I didn't really get it. The physical traits, some other aspects he HAD. I thought the components that were missing - to me, they looked teachable. Count me in the minority for not simply being glad he left, but yes, I didn't like watching PIs all of the time. So sure, if we weren't going to fix that, he had to go. Unsurprised if he turns out OK elsewhere, and frankly a little irked. Jury's still out, I suppose.

He was better before last season. Never loved him. But my point about him is the CBs didn't improve under Whitt whether it was Forbes, St. Juste, Lattimore. Easier to argue they were worse in this scheme.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Yeah, one thing which I picked up on from one of the Charger's folks was he doesn't play much, and when he does play, he's not asked to do much, hence it looks like he's having a better season than he actually is having.

I think he was just put in a position he could not succeed in here. He was expected to be a starter, and he isn't. And that's basically that.

Another Chargers reporter thought he was playing well. So two different camps from the reporters that cover them. Looks like his snap count has been rising.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Another Chargers reporter thought he was playing well. So two different camps from the reporters that cover them. Looks like his snap count has been rising.

It sounds like you and Voice_of_Reason are potentially saying complementary things:
VOR: he is not being asked to do much so his numbers look better than they "should" - but he is not a starter
You: he wasn't taught well here. no one has truly improved here. seems like his snapcount is rising.

I can interpret, maybe, that:
1) He is being slowly brought up / coached up, and as he proves himself, given an opportunity to do more
2) It is a worthwhile investment if you see enough potential, and pretty much every player can benefit from coaching and investment if it is planned the right way; the fruits will be worthwhile IF the planning is done right (contract / timing / etc.)

If all of that is true, maybe he matures into something more resembling a starter, but that snapcount seems super low.

One thing that is sometimes underrated on CBs is how well they hold the edge. Very valuable in divisions with big rushing attacks, which the NFCE definitely does. This dude always was a pretty solid tackler, again sometimes underrated but yikes when you watch Quan you kind of appreciate it at that moment for sure!

 

[DWinzit]

You don’t have to be a body language expert to see that Joe Whitt Jr. Is sitting personally defensive. For most of his presser today he did not seem to take personal accountability.
Since they are dropping balls, they are working on new ball drills. What ball drills have they been working on before?

And when asked what is the current strength of the defense, he said “pressuring the quarterback “. And he said we don’t have a speed problem.

I don’t blame Joe for the personal issues we have on defence. Since we have obvious weaknesses I hope Dan will be spending a lot of time with Joe trying to give us the best chances to get stops.

So he has the defense spending time on how to catch a ball...How about about more tackling and covering drills?!?!

In my eyes Joe is the DC and had a hand in selecting a lot of the personnel. He deserves some degree of blame for not being able to put his players in positions to win their assignments (all teams have some injuries they need to work around). I am looking forward to see the changes that will be implemented this week.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

In my eyes Joe is the DC and had a hand in selecting a lot of the personnel. He deserves some degree of blame for not being able to put his players in positions to win their assignments (all teams have some injuries they need to work around). I am looking forward to see the changes that will be implemented this week.

I actually doubt that part is true. Adam Peters selects the players. Now, does the coaching staff have input and provide grades which goes into Peter's decisions? Yes. And I generally think if Whitt said "that guy stinks" Peters wouldn't overrule him and sign him anyway.

But while it's a collaboration between Whitt, Quinn and Peters (+ the rest of the FO), I doubt very much Whitt has a really loud voice in that room. The final decision is with Peters. And that's how it should be.

 

[Phantvm]

The defense just lacks playmakers. They are what they are. No amount of tinkering is going to alter the state of that side of the ball in any menaingful way. This Team has been built to feature Jayden and the offense it’s just unfortunate how that cookie has crumbled to this point this year.

 

[DWinzit]

I actually doubt that part is true. Adam Peters selects the players. Now, does the coaching staff have input and provide grades which goes into Peter's decisions? Yes. And I generally think if Whitt said "that guy stinks" Peters wouldn't overrule him and sign him anyway.

But while it's a collaboration between Whitt, Quinn and Peters (+ the rest of the FO), I doubt very much Whitt has a really loud voice in that room. The final decision is with Peters. And that's how it should be.

I said he had a hand in it. I am certain he does whether it has a large impact or not. DQ and AP both boasted of working as a team for at least part of the roster whether FA or draft. There is definitely some collaboration, perhaps DQ has a much larger voice in the room but he echoes Kliff and Whitts wishes

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I actually doubt that part is true. Adam Peters selects the players. Now, does the coaching staff have input and provide grades which goes into Peter's decisions? Yes. And I generally think if Whitt said "that guy stinks" Peters wouldn't overrule him and sign him anyway.

But while it's a collaboration between Whitt, Quinn and Peters (+ the rest of the FO), I doubt very much Whitt has a really loud voice in that room. The final decision is with Peters. And that's how it should be.

I really think the Conerly pick was a hard clue into AP’s approach. I fully believe he takes in coach input as a high priority. Not saying I know when he gets it or doesn’t but I imagine he gets at least some and I think there is a high value there. I also think that may or may not be a good idea all of the time, and I think as he gets more years under his belt he may change some of his mix and strategy.

That Conerly pick, and AP showing us that paper, I thought it was some hard evidence of some of his weighting of variables in player selection.

 

[Conn]

I actually doubt that part is true. Adam Peters selects the players. Now, does the coaching staff have input and provide grades which goes into Peter's decisions? Yes. And I generally think if Whitt said "that guy stinks" Peters wouldn't overrule him and sign him anyway.

But while it's a collaboration between Whitt, Quinn and Peters (+ the rest of the FO), I doubt very much Whitt has a really loud voice in that room. The final decision is with Peters. And that's how it should be.

I actually have the opposite fear. We have some examples of picks being a favorite of this staffer or that, and late round picks are mainly guys who assistants stand on the table for (Commanders Caucus picks — not the same as Commander Tag). That seems fine, but:

I do sometimes worry that because he hasn’t run the whole show before or had final say ever before, that AP is being a little TOO collaborative with the coaching staff. You want collaboration, but you also want your guy known to have a studly eye for talent to be the one swinging the bat on high upside guys more often, if he feels the conviction. And maybe AP does, we don’t know. But if Whitt turns out to be a bad DC, what’s to say he knows what his D needs from a college prospect, and even more so, can actually identify it on their college film and then pound the table for that guy?

I’m sure it’s a healthy process and I’d certainly rather the GM work with his coaches to keep the building on the same page and avoid political games with players who nobody but the “talent guys” wanted, which we’ve heard stories of before. That’s a nightmare scenario.

But I do wonder if AP isn’t a little green and inexperienced in his position, and maybe leans on his coaching staff a little TOO much. Part of me wonders if the 2025 draft seeming more productive earlier on than the 2024 draft (which had way more capital, and obviously not counting the home run that was Jayden Daniels) is a result of AP learning some things last year and applying them this year. Who knows. But I think it’s reasonable to wonder where the appropriate line is between personnel/coaching staff in the building in regards to college prospect scouting and if we definitely have the exact correct balance there. Logic says we probably don’t, just because AP is learning to be the big shot caller on the job and we expect him to improve his processes and decision making over time, just like we would any stud prospect.

Or maybe it’s the opposite and AP is becoming MORE collaborative and it’s a good thing. Who knows. They didn’t advertise who the “Commander Tag” players were this year because I think they learned from last year that it created unrealistic expectations from fans and created a caste system within the draft class (from the outside) that really isn’t fair to anyone. So we don’t get that info anymore, which I think is smart even though it sucks losing the inside info.