Commander Dan Quinn on ‘annoying’ lack of finish

The Washington Commanders suffered a setback in the start of a new era of football, suffering a one-sided 37-20 loss on the road to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under quarterback Baker Mayfield.

There was a lot to figure out before last Sunday’s game, but after it, Dan Quinn and his staff had an idea of ​​where their attention was needed most. The offense wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. You’d like to see more passing and less pressure from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, and that obviously coincides with more involvement from wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

The real problem came from the Commanders defense. Dan Quinn’s brainchild, being a defensive coach, failed to stop the Buccaneers’ offense from scoring on all but two possessions of the game, one of which was a game-ending kneeldown. Not ideal for a team coached by a defensive guru with noticeable upgrades in personnel on that end of the court.

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One glaring area where the defense failed to capitalize on Sunday night was in finishing plays in the opposing defense. Against the Bucs, the Commanders were able to pressure the defense and Baker Mayfield multiple times, but were unable to convert sacks because Mayfield was able to escape the pocket and either run or throw a pass in traffic.

Speaking to the media during practice this week following the loss, head coach Dan Quinn addressed the wasted opportunities when the team pressured Mayfield and how the team plans to address those issues as it prepares for an even more mobile quarterback in the Giants’ Daniel Jones.

“When you’re not dealing with it, yeah, it’s definitely a pain.”

– HC Commander Dan Quinn

“Yeah, you know what, there’s always a learning curve to it. And what I said, if you miss a tackle or you miss a sack opportunity, why? Why is that? And sometimes it’s as simple as taking that extra step where you put your feet down or you lunge to do it,” Quinn commented.

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“Other times it might be a concerted effort to say, ‘Were we in the right space to try to stop him?’ Because mobile quarterbacks who can extend plays, there are basically two plays, one, and then when the guy comes out of the pocket, the second. And we’ll do that well this week because that’s definitely one of (New York Giants QB) Daniel Jones’ strengths. But we prepare for that and against our offense and the quarterbacks here who are mobile, get out there. We’re prepared for that, but when you don’t handle that, yeah, it’s definitely a pain.”

Head coach Dan Quinn wasn’t the only Commanders coach who was unhappy with how the defense finished the game against the Buccaneers. Speaking to the media on Thursday, defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. admitted that his defense’s attacks weren’t what he wanted them to be.

“No, it didn’t. It didn’t. We missed more tackles than I expected. We missed a step. And that’s one thing we talk about, take an extra step. There was a play on the sideline. Two of our really good players missed tackles, and that shouldn’t have happened,” Whitt Jr. said of the lack of tackles on defense against the Buccaneers. “I mean, we’ve got to take an extra step, and when I say it shouldn’t have happened, I mean, we’ve got to do a better job. And in practice today, you don’t go down. So we’ve got to make sure we’re getting our bodies in the right position, every practice we’re running to the ball, getting our bodies in the right position to get people down. So, no, that wasn’t up to par.”

Baker Mayfield isn’t the most mobile player in the league, but he puts pressure on defenses to contain him in the pocket so he can’t create an explosive field. The Commanders only managed one sack last week, courtesy of Clelin Ferrell, and they’ll look to increase that total by a significant margin when they return home to face Daniel Jones and the Giants, who are coming off a disastrous performance in their 2024 season opener.

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