Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Defense Looked Rough

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September 11, 2024

by David Earl

Rough Start Defensively

Let’s get right to the point: Emmanuel Forbes Jr has just not been good, especially considering that he was drafted in the first round. While I did point out some improvement in my Training Camp Spotlight, it just appears he has peaked as a corner in this league. It may be a bit of a bold or rash statement to some, but the fact of what could have been just makes Forbes’ Jr lack of development frustrating. Washington’s decision to pass on Christian Gonzalez was disappointing and it’s not even hindsight saying he should have been Washington’s pick. I do not recall a single person speaking on the idea of Forbes over Gonzalez being a good selection. It was gross incompetence on the part of Rivera and one of many draft misses too. When you see the numbers of Gonzalez against some of the top wide receivers in the NFL and look at what the cornerback room has looked like since last season it is enough to drive anyone crazy.

Forbes is not the only problem, as this poor performance extends across the entire cornerback room. A prime example was the 32 yard touchdown to 3rd-round rookie WR Jalen McMillan early in the 4th quarter. Quan Martin came up from his safety position to take initial coverage, then passed him off, expecting the coverage to be there on the backside. Reading the tight end sitting in the zone just in front of Martin, he released off McMillian only to see rookie CB Mike Sainristill out of position and hesitant on where he needs to go. Whether the recognition was bad by Sainristill or the communication of responsibilities pre-snap was not made clear, a disciplined well well-coached secondary should not have allowed McMillian to be wide open.

Early in the first quarter Benjamin St-Juste read the route perfectly in coverage against Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin. He jumped the route and nearly had an interception which could have been a game-defining moment in momentum early on. That was just about it for his highlights all game. While he had good coverage on wide receiver Mike Evans‘s 17 yard touchdown reception, he needed to continue to get his head around and make a play for the ball. I know just how good Evans is, but as a number one corner in the NFL entering his 4th season, St-Juste needs to have better awareness in this area of the field entering the end zone.

The defensive line was getting pressure throughout the game but was not able to capitalize very often. Finishing the game with 1 sack and 4 quarterback hits, coverage breakdowns combined with Baker Mayfield‘s mobility negated much of the pressure. As a result, Mayfield completed 80% of his passes and earned a 146.4 quarterback rating, while the offense converted on 69% of their 3rd down attempts. The defense was not a complete disaster, as they only allowed 3.7 yards per carry in the run game and allowed only an 18% first down conversion rate against the run. That is something to build off, but Dan Quinn and Joe Witt Jr. will need to figure out the secondary – primarily the cornerbacks – or this defense will yet again become the get-right game for struggling quarterbacks.

What Else Stood Out

Kliff Kingsbury did well to protect Jayden Daniels, who passed only 46% of the time, as he emphasized the running game early. He did incorporate motion/movement 40% of the time but needs to find more creative ways to get Terry McLaurin the ball as 4 targets will not work going forward. Daniels not only navigated the pocket well avoiding much of the pressure but was also efficient as a passer. He completed 70% of his passes and average 9.5 yards per completion, 7.7 yards per attempt, earning a 93.1 quarterback rating. The running game continues to be an issue though – the running backs averaged 3.8 yards per carry, a number that went up to 4.6 yards per carry when Jayden Daniels‘s 88 rushing yards off 12 attempts and 2 rushing touchdowns are included.

The offensive line was a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. There were some solid moments from the interior guys but the combination of Andrew Wylie and Cornelius Lucas as the offensive tackles was just hard to watch at times. The play below shows both Wylie and Lucas losing their blocks and simultaneously being overpowered off the edge. This resulted in a sack of Jayden Daniels and a fumble which Washington recovered. It is what most of us fear the most entering this season and this is not sustainable too. On the bright side Brandon Coleman, limited to 14 snaps, played strong and allowed no pressures from his side. As you will see below, Coleman’s athleticism is noticeable too. This is a positive step towards me potentially being 100% wrong on him as a starting left tackle, but the road is long. Coleman has already supplanted Lucas as the starting left tackle entering next week’s game as reported by JP Finlay, so the team will see how Coleman responds to a long in-game grind for 4 quarters.

Beyond the Team Observation: Oh Tyreek Hill

The conclusions drawn here have mostly been biased toward the cops or Tyreek Hill, which, in my humble opinion, shows the tunnel vision of society. I want to isolate this incident and separate it from the noted checkered past of Hill and domestic violence plus the negative national reputation of the police. Were the police were too aggressive? Yes, but Hill also should have had situational awareness. They are directing traffic safely yet he felt the need to speed. Hill’s disregard for the safety of the pedestrians was blatant and he should take accountability for his gross negligence. Following that, he began to disregard the orders of the police, which is the point at which the situation began to escalate. It is reasonable to agree that the cops mishandled the situation, as they should have begun to de-escalate the situation; instead, they began to immediately raise their voices immediately and take an intimidating posture. This whole situation could have been avoided Hill had just followed the posted speed limits and direction of the police. The aggressive handling of Hill also could have potentially been avoided had the police handled the situation calmly and de-escalated the altercation. It was just a complete mess all around, unfortunately.