Of course, with the addition of Jayden Daniels, he’ll dominate the headlines and stories—that’s cool. I would like to track something this season. I want to be a bit defensive…
With new Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn and his former assistant, now defensive coordinator for Quinn and the Commanders, Joe Whitt Jr., bringing their talents and success to the DMV, I would like to give weekly grades to the unit and track their performance throughout the season.
It did not get off to a great start!
The good: Hardly any. Maybe, defensive pressure…
The D-Line was more unfortunate than trash in Week 1. I don’t think Allen and Payne played as poorly as some say. Both were in Tampa’s backfield a lot. They just couldn’t finish. I expect that to be an anomaly more than the norm for the 2024 season; just gotta give Mayfield his props.
The bad: Everything else.
I went into this game thinking the team would struggle defensively, but goodness gracious, that was ugly. Tampa could have easily put 50 on this team due to their lack of playing together as a unit with efficient communication. Hopefully, this will be corrected with more familiarity with each other and better play from all three units of the defense.
Two up ✌️
Jamin Davis (PFF DEF Grade: 78.8 )
Davis looked good to me the few times I saw him. With so much wrong happening Sunday, it was nice to see him swim and not sink on the defensive line.
Noah Igbinoghene (PFF DEF Grade: 72.3)
Well, get used to seeing this name a lot. I was surprised that he played more than free-agent signing Michael Davis, but he played okay when he replaced Emmanuel Forbes. Speaking of Forbes…
Two down 👎
Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (PFF DEF Grade: 33.5)
It was reported that the second-year corner will be out for at least the next month due to thumb surgery. Hopefully, during that time, he works on his mental game and angles because that’s what’s doing him in. He also isn’t playing hard, which is not a good look and, once again, proves how bad Rive… Never mind, we’re moving on.
Benjamin St-Juste (PFF DEF Grade: 61.4)
The crazy thing about “BSJ” is, that I still can’t give up on him. He just shows too many flashes at the position due to his good movement covering receivers. It’s the last second of his coverage that holds him back. He’s not good at tracking the ball when it’s in the air, nor does he catch the ball well. He dropped another interception, and with Forbes being out, he has become even more important for the overall success of the Washington Commanders’ 2024 defense.
Season Progressive Grade
Week 1 Grade: D
Season Grade: D
Defensive Rankings
Total YPG: 392.0 (26th)
Pass YPG: 280.0 (29th)
Run YPG: 112.0 (16th)
3rd Down: 69.23% (Last)
Ironically, with Daniel Jones coming into town, the defense will be tested to prove that this is indeed a different defense from 2023…
Photo credits: Commanders.com
Comentários