5 reality checks for the Commanders’ Week 3 battle with the Eagles
By Tim Payne
The entirety of the first half against the Lions was a reality check for the Washington Commanders as their entire football operation laid an egg in their attempt to get to 2-0. While the second half contained a few glimmers of competence, the net effect of Sunday’s game was to hammer home the reality that this team has a long way to go if they hope to be competitive in the NFC playoff picture this season.
For those fans ready to leap off the bandwagon after the Commanders fell to 1-1, however, I have one simple thing to say, in the immortal words of Bobby McCain: “Don’t be a fan later.” Just kidding. I feel your pain and understand the instinct to panic. But I will remind you this team was 1-1 after two games last year having barely eeked out a miracle win in NY off a gift neutral zone infraction. They subsequently fell to 2-6 heading into their bye, and just when we thought we were staring in the face of another lost season, the ripped off four straight wins to get themselves right back into the mix before COVID bit them hard and they stumbled to the finish line. All that is simply illustrative of this simple point: it’s a long season and we don’t KNOW much of anything about who this team will end up being quite yet.
But reality is coming in clearer in a few areas, so let’s take a look at this week’s Commanders reality checks, balanced analysis of what is, and what isn’t true of your Commanders:
5 reality checks for Commanders vs Eagles
5. The Reality Is, injuries are already piling up.
With Chase Roullier added, this team has four high-end starters (Chase Young, Chase Roullier, Phidarian Mathis, and Brian Robinson) on IR, one (Kam Curl) who has missed two games, one (Wes Schweitzer) who has missed most of one game, and one (Jon Allen) who basically had to coast through a game on one leg because they didn’t have enough bodies.
Add in Tyler Larson on IR, Daniel Wise missing most of last week with an ankle injury likely to sideline him longer, and Casey Toohill in concussion protocol, and while it’s only Week 3, the roster is already pretty banged up. Injuries should never be the first excuse for any football team’s underperformance because it’s the job of the team to allocate resources to limit the impact of inevitable injuries.
But the Commanders really can’t afford any more injuries along the offensive or defensive lines in particular. A massive key to every football game is the battles in the trenches, and the Commanders are going to need some guys to step up big and somehow avoid injury if they expect to survive this week against Philadelphia.
4. The Reality Is, miscommunication is a 4-letter word.
Washington gave up 4 plays over 50 yards Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Let that sink in. Then, after you’ve finished pulling your hair out, consider that the primary reason (excuse) given for that incredible futility on defense and special teams was “miscommunication”. That word has been the culprit here in Washington, specifically in the secondary, since the days of Reid Doughty, and has a long line of adherents like Laron Landry, David Amerson, DJ Swearinger, Josh Norman, Will Blackmon and Bashaud Breeland.
Last season, Jack Del Rio argued the secondary struggled with miscommunication because some of the guys missed mini-camp. I’m beginning to think that “miscommunication” is just code for “we have no idea where we’re supposed to be because the our gameplans are so complex we can’t possibly keep track of it all.” Or possibly, “we don’t like the play caller so we’re just freelancing.” Or, my personal favorite, “how dare you plebs criticize the vaunted Washington Defense! Don’t you remember that we were ranked high that one year when we played against Ben Dinucci?” I’m to the point where I’d take pretty much any explanation over “miscommunication” when the defense gets gashed. And here’s hoping that I’m wrong just this once and it truly is just miscommunication and they come out locked and loaded on Sunday.