What concerning elements emerged from the Washington Commanders' preseason win over the Baltimore Ravens at FedEx Field?
Despite a promising start to the 2023 preseason, the Washington Commanders' win over the Baltimore Ravens revealed several areas of concern that are likely to cause problems at some point during the campaign. The good news is that most of these have solutions – or else will tend to resolve themselves over time.
There is an obvious new energy apparent in everything the Commanders are doing right now. Josh Harris’ goofy brand of enthusiasm has been infectious. In all fairness, your least favorite teacher from grade school could have taken over from Dan Snyder and we’d all be singing hosannas, so the bar isn’t very high.
More importantly against the Ravens, this team responded after falling behind, retaking the lead on three distinct occasions. They made big stops when they needed them. They scored twice in the final five minutes and got a game-winning field goal at the end.
All-in-all, a pretty successful night.
But that joy and success have a way of masking problems. If the Commanders don’t address these issues in the coming weeks, they will fester into the regular season.
So let’s point out a few of these concerns and offer some helpful tips on how to address them.
Commanders interior run blocking
The Washington Commanders offensive line certainly showed some signs of improvement against the Baltimore Ravens. The pass protection was rather good throughout the game.
Sam Howell took one bad sack early on, and there were a couple of other times when the protection did not adjust to overloads, which resulted in free runners and blown-up plays. But all-in-all, the line traded off on stunts quite well, and Andrew Wylie didn’t have the same problems he had against the Cleveland Browns a week ago.
Yes, the line did play better. But only in terms of pass protection. This unit – especially the interior – does not run block very well. Right guard Sam Cosmi provides a perfect example of this.
Cosmi is a converted college offensive tackle. He is athletic and moves well. He held up well in pass protection. When he was asked to pull on counters, he did quite well. But when he was asked to fire out and move defensive tackles, he wasn’t nearly as effective.
On the Commanders' first offensive snap, veteran tackle Brent Urban ate his lunch and tackled ballcarrier Brian Robinson on the line of scrimmage. This would happen a few more times during the course of the first half.
Cosmi, for all his athleticism, is simply not a very good drive blocker. The other interior linemen – Saahdiq Charles and center Nick Gates - are not particularly effective at firing forward either.
This may be one of the downsides of moving college tackles inside. They are good in space, but not nearly as strong in the trenches.
Since the Commanders cannot go back in time and draft Cody Mauch or O’Cyrus Torrence, they will have to work with what they have. Ricky Stromberg and/or Chris Paul might help out a bit over time, but this may also require some scheme adjustment.
Counters and traps that allow the guards to move laterally will be better suited for this personnel. Robinson is an excellent cutback runner and Antonio Gibson and Chris Rodriguez Jr. should be able to perform well in that scheme as well.
Cosmi is not going anywhere, so the running game either has to accentuate his strengths or else try shifting him back outside to tackle.
Commanders overloading their rookies
This could apply to offensive linemen like Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels, but I’m really just talking about one player here – Quan Martin.
Martin is going to get some praise because of his spectacular interception in the end zone against the Baltimore Ravens. To be sure, the second-round pick showed amazing concentration and hand-eye coordination to secure the takeaway.
But don’t let that influence your perception too much. Overall, Martin didn’t play very well.
For one thing, he was beaten badly on that interception and only a poor throw allowed him to recover. Otherwise, it would have been the second touchdown he had surrendered during the game.
On the Ravens' first score, Martin was totally lost as Zay Flowers broke into the flat all alone. He then compounded the problem by whiffing on an attempted tackle, allowing the wideout to stroll into the end zone.
I’m not going to worry very much about Martin, Not yet.
It’s very early and he is being asked to play a new position that sees him line up all over the field. What I am most concerned about is that Martin will become overwhelmed.
This is exactly what happened to Jamin Davis during his rookie season when the Washington Commanders asked him to take on a very complex role. He had trouble adjusting and I think his play suffered throughout his opening campaign in the pros.
I like the fact that the defensive coaches see a lot in Martin, and are therefore challenging him to do a lot. But let’s use a little common sense here.
The Commanders have other players with more experience who can take some of the trickier positions, at least early on. Let Martin get his feet wet. Let him adjust to the speed of the NFL before asking him to man a complicated spot on defense.
Commanders playing people out of position
As above, this may apply to others. But it is really about Rachad Wildgoose.
Wildgoose is a slot cornerback who can play man, but is better in zone. Due to injury and caution, he opened Monday night playing the perimeter, where Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste will be once the season begins in earnest.
And at that position, Wildgoose was toast. He whiffed on a tackle early on, then singlehandedly gave up more than 70 yards and a touchdown on two consecutive plays.
Last year, a similar situation with missing players saw the Washington Commanders playing Danny Johnson on the perimeter. He may well be the team's best zone defender and slot corner, but like Wildgoose, his limited athleticism caused him to struggle in space.
When all the regulars are on the field, Wildgoose will not be tasked with playing outside. But once the injuries begin, please remember this Ravens game and do not ask him to play outside again.
Christian Holmes and Tariq Castro-Fields may be iffy propositions, but they are better suited to playing outside. Stop putting players in positions where they are likely to fail.
Commanders run defense
I have already written about this. More than I want to, in all honesty.
The Washington Commanders linebackers are not good run-stoppers. This flaw – more than the quarterback or the offensive line – will cause the team to lose games in 2023.
Cody Barton is an active linebacker, but far too often he gets caught up in the wash. If he does tackle the ball carrier, it is coming five, six, or seven yards downfield.
This doesn’t happen every time - both he and Jamin Davis will occasionally step up into the hole and make a good stop. They just don’t do it consistently enough.
The Commanders do have some linebackers who can do this more effectively. I have written about David Mayo in this role. And I believe De’Jon Harris does this fairly well too.
These are more classic interior linebackers. The problem is they are not nearly as athletic as Davis and Barton. They can be exposed in pass coverage, or when asked to cover a lot of ground.
If the Commanders don't find another linebacker, their scheme and probability will be crucial this season. Playing a fifth lineman will help on obvious running downs, as will getting the stoppers on the field at the proper times.
Washington will also be asking a lot of their cornerbacks, as they cheat safeties forward to help out.
Commanders backup QB
The common wisdom in the league this off-season has been that the Washington Commanders have among the weakest starting quarterbacks, but also boast one of the NFL's best backups. If you watched Jacoby Brissett play on Monday, you would have to seriously question that assumption.
Simply put, Brissett was awful. He missed – badly – on more than half of his throws. With a veteran player it is easy to write this off as one bad game and move on. But there is something else going on here, and the offensive coaches had better be cognizant of it.
Brissett is a big strong guy who can take hits and runs if needed. He has a good arm. When he can stand in the pocket – even in a collapsing pocket – he makes quality throws.
However, Brissett has never been very good at distributing while on the move. All of his really bad throws against the Baltimore Ravens came when he was moving.
You can scheme this a little bit, meaning the implementation of designed rollouts for Sam Howell. If Brissett has to come into the game, those plays should go in the garbage.
There will be times when Brissett has to move around a little bit. I think new quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard either has to figure out why his throws on the move are so inaccurate and correct it, or else instill in him the wisdom of simply not taking risks in such situations.
This, of course, is the exact opposite of what you would normally want from your quarterback. It is the opposite of what you would ask of Howell.
Usually, you want your quarterback’s eyes constantly downfield looking for the split-second opening that results in a big play. But if he can’t make that throw, don’t ask him to.
This isn’t a new thing for Brissett. From what I have seen, he has never been very accurate on the move. If he is going to have to play serious minutes, the game plan will have to acknowledge that reality.
The Commanders are making strides in the right direction. But they will be confronting assorted weaknesses throughout the season. Minimizing those weaknesses will have a major impact on how successful they can be.