Commanders News: Eric Bieniemy, Sam Howell, Emmanuel Forbes and next man up
By Dean Jones
Which Washington Commanders news stories are hitting the headlines as those in power make final preparations for their Week 6 game at the Atlanta Falcons?
The stakes couldn't be much higher for the Washington Commanders ahead of their Week 6 trip to the Atlanta Falcons. Losing four straight wouldn't be a great look for head coach Ron Rivera and his staff, with pressure already mounting for landmark changes across the board from some sections of the team's fanbase after a promising start.
All hope is not lost, but the margin for error is razor-thin. Until then, the stories causing debate include confidence in Emmanuel Forbes, the Commanders' next-man-up mentality, high priase for quarterback Sam Howell, and Eric Bieniemy's adjustments.
Let's delve into each topic in more detail.
Commanders' next-man-up mentality
It's been a difficult week on the injury front. Starting safety Darrick Forrest and All-Pro special teamer Jeremy Reaves are both on injured/reserve after suffering complications against the Chicago Bears, with the latter set to miss the entire campaign with a partially torn ACL.
This is a blow, there's no getting away from that. While Ron Rivera was disappointed - especially for Reaves given the severity of his injury - there is a clear next-man-up mentality from the head coach based on comments via the team's website.
"That's a big blow for us. Obviously we have some guys on practice squad that we're going to look at and we will be elevating. A couple of those guys are guys that are special teams guys as well. We drafted Percy [Butler] for a reason. We got Quan [Martin] for a reason, and this is why. So now it's the next man up mentality, and we just gotta go forward and get ready."
- Ron Rivera via Commanders.com
The Washington Commanders could have done without two key figures going down when they're on a three-game losing skid. However, those tasked with increased responsibilities need to roll up their sleeves and get on with it.