Daily Slop – 5 Oct 24: Browns will be without RB Nick Chubb and 4 other players on Sunday at the Commanders

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

Commanders links

Articles

The Athletic (paywall)

With Commanders off to surprising start, how aggressive should they be on trade market?

Peters’ modus operandi involves exploring all options and not being afraid of risk in the name of the big picture. Trade bait exists with numerous expiring contracts and a prominent potential 2025 salary-cap casualty in two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.

Trading non-2025 veteran roster locks like Allen and running back Austin Ekeler, a reasonable idea with a losing record, would add more picks. When a 28-point road victory over the Arizona Cardinals extends the team’s winning streak to three games and Daniels racks up weekly awards, there must be a conversation about acquiring help. Perhaps a quote by George Allen, Washington’s 1972 Super Bowl coach, gets invoked. Is the future now?

Contention windows in the NFL are never guaranteed. Washington fans know this better than most. It’s been over 30 years since the franchise last lifted the Lombardi Trophy as Super Bowl champions. Forget winning it all. The 1991 season was realistically the last time Washington had contender vibes.

That drought makes this new high all the more exciting. Thirsty fans want bold action, and national reporters see this surge as justification for plopping the Commanders into trade speculation.

The next challenge is having the discipline to stay the course if Washington keeps winning.

---

Commanders.com

Five keys to Washington beating the Browns

2. Take advantage of one-on-one opportunities.

It doesn’t take much film study to know that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is going to bring pressure on the Commanders come Sunday. His Browns unit has the sixth-highest blitz percentage in the league through four games, and the one time Jayden Daniels looked human this season was in Week 1, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought pressure to confuse and flush him out of the pocket.

It also doesn’t require Kliff Kingsbury’s high-level understanding of offenses to know that more pressure means more one-on-one opportunities for Washington’s receivers. Kingsbury and his offense must capitalize on these.

While the Browns do put their cornerbacks on an island more than most teams, they also have the personnel to do so. Martin Emerson Jr., Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II spearheaded a secondary that is 10th best against the pass. According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns are also a top man coverage defense in first down-plus-touchdown rate allowed (33%).

Fortunately, the Commanders have one of the man-coverage beaters in Terry McLaurin, who has six receptions for 60 yards against man coverage. He scored the game-sealing touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals against man coverage, and he and Daniels connection has continued to blossom since then.

If Daniels has enough time to see his matchups, it could be another big day for McLaurin.

5. Keep the crowd in the game.

Northwest Stadium is expected to host a packed crowd on Sunday, perhaps in a way that has rarely been seen in recent years. The energy around the team has been further hyped by the growing national attention surrounding the Commanders, and many pundits have them as a top 10 team.

After spending three of their first four games on the road, the team is pumped to be playing in front of a home crowd, and they want to give the fans a good show.

“We are absolutely lit to be coming home and hopefully create a home field advantage,” said coach Dan Quinn. “It’s as fun as you could possibly imagine when a stadium’s going crazy for the team. And so, we’re certainly wanting to capture that.”

The Commanders are familiar with what even a smaller contingent of the Burgundy & Gold faithful can do. Several fans made the trip to Arizona for their win over the Cardinals, and Whitt said Thursday that the atmosphere “felt like a home game at some point.”

There will obviously be more fans at Northwest Stadium, all of which will be eager to see their team extend their lead in the NFC East. It will be important for the Commanders to keep those fans loud and engaged. The best way to do that is by playing the brand of football they’ve established over the past month.

“It’s a huge advantage for the team because as loud as it can get and silent cadences and all that goes with that, it’s just an absolute blast,” Quinn said. “The energy goes through the roof. So, that’s what we’ll dig for and keep battling for it and the better that we can play, the more we can create that together.”

---

ESPN

Four reasons Washington Commanders’ offense is red hot

Versatility

Washington can hurt teams with the run game — the Commanders rushed for more than 200 yards in wins over the New York Giants and Cardinals.

Running back Brian Robinson Jr. rushed for 101 yards against the Cardinals. In four games, he’s rushed 66 times for 307 yards and he’s carried the ball 16 or more times in each of the last three games. He only carried 16 or more times in a game four times all of 2023.

But the Commanders also are helped by Daniels’ legs: He’s scrambled 22 times for 163 yards. They can run power plays with Robinson, pulling linemen; they can run zone plays and quarterback runs — whether off a zone read or simply a sweep action.

“It’s run and play-pass, that’s a combination,” Quinn said of why the offense is working so well. “And then the combination of Jayden outside the pocket with his legs creating some first downs. That’s what makes it tough.”

McLaurin leads the team with 19 catches for 191 yards — 152 of those occurred in the past two games.

They also have players such as Olamide Zaccheaus who played five snaps and wasn’t targeted in the Monday night game, yet caught six passes for 85 yards at Arizona. He’s second among receivers with 10 catches this season. Veterans Ertz (15 catches, 150 yards) and Ekeler (nine catches, 121 yards) have helped as well.

Brown, signed on Aug. 28, has caught nine passes for 111 yards the past three games combined.

“That’s the cool thing about being in an offense like this,” Zaccheaus said, “everybody can make a play.”

---

Washington Wire

Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. will not back down from Myles Garrett

If Robinson plays, there’s a good chance he’ll go head-to-head with Browns star edge rusher Myles Garrett at some point on Sunday. Robinson takes pride in pass protection, so he will not back down if he meets Garrett.

” I attack, it really don’t matter,” Robinson said. “I don’t see names, I don’t see colors. I just see jersey numbers and I just attack. When I see him in a hole, it’s me and him. May the best man win on that rep…..it may be him, it may be me. And we may meet several times and it’s going to be the same every time.”

---

Upcoming opponent

Dawgs by Nature

Browns vs. Commanders: Week 5 Need to Know

Cleveland looks to salvage its season in a road tilt against Washington. Here is everything you need to know about the game.

This is a matchup of teams trending in opposite directions as the Browns have lost two consecutive games while dealing with injuries, a defense that has not lived up to expectations, and an offense that can’t find any rhythm after the opening series of a game.

The Commanders are riding the high of a three-game winning streak with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels at the controls of an offense that has scored more points in the past two games than the Browns have all season.

While there are still 13 games remaining on the schedule, this is as close to a “must-win game” for the Browns as can be found on the first Sunday of October. No one is running away with the AFC North at the moment, but the schedule is about to get more difficult for Cleveland, and using this game as a way to correct the situation before they hit divisional play in a few weeks would be a good idea.

All-time series: Cleveland leads the all-time regular-season series 35-12-1, and is 17-5-1 as the road team against Washington.

Weather: 73 degrees and sunny, with no chance of rain. Winds from the south/southwest at 5 mph. (weather.com)

Uniform: The Browns will go with their standard all-white uniform:

---

Browns vs. Commanders: Scouting the Washington Commanders with our Q&A with Hogs Haven

We ask about Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels, how their defense has performed so far, and more.

Chris: “While the Commanders’ offense has been efficient, their defense ranks 27th in the NFL. Even though Cleveland hasn’t even been able to get 20 points in a game this season, if the lightbulb finally clicks on offense, what area appears to be the most vulnerable for Washington’s defense?”

Andrew: “New GM Adam Peters has prioritized “building the team from the middle”, which on defense has meant prioritizing the DT and LB groups. As a result, our boundary CBs, Safeties, and Edge defenders looked extremely vulnerable through the first 3 games. However, they improved their play quite a bit in week 4, allowing only 14 points to a Cardinals offense that had the 4th most points scored through the first 3 weeks, so we’re hoping that’s a sign the defense has finally figured things out. If the defense has actually not figured things out though, passes to the boundary and runs to the edge were the most effective ways of attacking this defense in the first 3 weeks.”

Chris: “We’re always interested in who Browns DE Myles Garrett will line up against at left tackle, and for Washington, it’ll be rookie third-round pick Brandon Coleman. How has Coleman performed through four games?”

Andrew: “First, it’s important to note that Brandon Coleman has been splitting time at LT with veteran swing tackle Cornelius Lucas, as Coleman was recovering from an injury in training camp and still getting up to speed with NFL play. Lucas had the majority of snaps at LT the first 2 weeks, but Coleman’s share of the snaps gradually increased to the point that they are about even with Lucas now. That being said, both have performed reasonably well. Lucas has been a competent backup, but Coleman has flashed lots of raw talent. He has an athletic profile almost identical to Trent Williams (a bit short, but with long arms and tremendous athleticism to compensate). However, he was raw and had fewer reps at LT in college than most draft picks at OT and missing much of training camp didn’t help. Myles Garrett will be the best DE Coleman has faced this season, but he has already faced Bengals star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in week 3 and the OL allowed a low 13.3% pressure rate (though Hendrickson did get 1 sack).”

---

Browns vs Commanders: 3 big changes Cleveland needs to make to win in Week 5

Jim Schwartz and Kevin Stefanski in the spotlight this week

Avoid playing man defense against Jayden Daniels, make things difficult for him

It’s safe to say that rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is playing lights out the last two weeks. However, it is fair to question the defenses that he went up against. The Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals rank 30th and 27th in defensive EPA/per play. In terms of efficiency, that’s bad.

When I watched the all-22, Daniels was able to go through his progressions with ease, with little to no resistance. With that being said, the Browns defense has to make things uncomfortable for him. Cleveland ranks third in Pass Rush Win Rate, which is probably the highest the Commanders will face at this point this season.

Washington’s offensive line has been decent but this is another test against a stout defensive line (they played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1).

Another thing Cleveland should avoid is playing man defense against Daniels. Dual-threat QB’s thrive off man defense because once the defender’s back is turned, it allows them to take off and gain additional yardage.

If Cleveland wants to leave Washington with a victory, they must make things difficult for the young rookie quarterback.

---

Podcasts & videos

Quan Martin + Kay Adams + Champ Bailey Back HOME for Week 5 | Next Man Up | Washington Commanders

---

---

---

---

Jayden Daniels & COMMANDERS vs BROWNS PREVIEW: Gruden Loves Football

---

---

---

Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Preparing for a tough offensive test

Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders going through their second practice ahead of their matchup with the Cleveland Browns.

---

NFC East links

ESPN

Orlovsky stunned by Eagles’ regression: ‘Has anyone gotten better?’

Dan Orlovsky breaks down the Eagles’ struggles since the beginning of last season under coach Nick Sirianni.

“That’s a poorly coached football team. Watch their tape. Number one, since the start of 2023, has anyone gotten better on the team? Jalen Hurts, in a matter of 20 games, has gone from the MVP in the Super Bowl to a liability on offense. And I know Jalen Hurts isn’t lazy. Number two, watch that game from this past weekend, there isn’t one person on that football team who pops off the tape. It’s the new guy, Saquon Barkley. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith aren’t available, you throw the ball seven of the first nine snaps? And I love Kellen Moore, he’s a good friend of mine. What the fudge are we doing? Why are we not giving the ball to Saquon to start the game? And if you watch some of effort moments? You’re sitting there going how come the guy that’s been there for a month this season is the one that you sit there and go he’s playing the best? The offensive line is pass protecting their butt off, yet the quarterback’s holding the ball for absolutely ever, he’s got a turnover in like 70 straight games or whatever right now. There’s questions of ‘where’s this defense?’

---

Blogging the Boys

Dallas Cowboys fans not moved by Giants win, see a loss to the Steelers

Dallas Cowboys fans are pretty apathetic these days.

The Dallas Cowboys were able to get a win last week over the New York Giants and even their record at 2-2. The victory was a little underwhelming compared to previous wins over the Giants, and the team lost some players long the way. They will be without Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Brandin Cooks for the Pittsburgh Steelers game on Sunday night.

So even though the Cowboys won, on the road, in the division, it was still not enough to really inspire the fanbase. It will take more. We asked you earlier this week about your confidence in the direction of the franchise, and only 11% are confident the team is heading in the right direction. That is actually a 6% increase from last week’s figure of 5%. Clearly, the masses are unconvinced.

We also asked you earlier in the week about whether you thought the Cowboys would win in Pittsburgh. The current line from FanDuel has the Cowboys as 2.5-point underdogs.

Only 27% of Cowboys fans think Dallas will win.

---

Big Blue View

Giants’ DBs coach Jerome Henderson critical of Deonte Banks’ effort vs. Dallas Cowboys

Henderson “didn’t like” touchdown catch by CeeDee Lamb

New York Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson was critical on Friday of cornerback Deonte Banks’ effort on a 55-yard touchdown pass Banks allowed to CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday.

“Didn’t like it. Liked nothing about it,” Henderson said. “When your man catches the ball, you have break your legs, figuratively, to get him on the ground. And I thought there was room to do more. We expect that from him and he expects that from himself but in that moment he failed.”

After watching the play on film, Banks agreed that the play “was a bad finish by me.”

Banks was drafted by the Giants to be a press-man cornerback in Wink Martindale’s scheme. Shane Bowen’s defense that relies more on zone coverage is an admitted adjustment.

“I’m trying. Doing my best,” Banks said. “I’m trying to be a better player every day.”

---

NFL league links

Articles

The Athletic (paywall)

NFL players say more money, second bye week needed to approve 18th game: Poll

“If it means more money, I’m down,” another said. “A lot more money, though. Not just another game check. (And) two bye weeks.”

Another player, thinking of the earning potential, also said he would sign off on an 18th game.

“Yes, if the salary, regardless of inflation, is gonna reflect it, and you up the amount of practice squad players per team,” he said. “Just because I always think about the little guys, so I’m looking at minimum salaries and practice squad players. I just want the bread. I just want another $100K or $200K. I’m not tripping off getting extra rest as long as it’s all the same playing field and everybody else get the same rest. It’s cool with me, but then again, I’m a grinder. I’ll play 20 games for another $500K.”

A few players liked the idea of an 18th game simply because they enjoy playing.

“Love the game,” one said. “You wanna add more? Add more.”

They believed with proper adjustments to the preseason and with the implementation of a second bye, players would find ways to manage and adjust to the additional wear and tear.

“Two real bye weeks,” one player said. “Not a three-day week that the league tries to get away with after Thursday games. Two full weeks and that gets you to the Presidents Day holiday for the Super Bowl like they want.”

Players surveyed seem to know that no matter their reservations, an 18th game is coming, and there is little they can do aside from work to negotiate the best possible financial and benefits package.

As one veteran said, “I hope by the time we get to the point, way later down the road, that I’m out of the league. But I know it’s coming.”

---

Pro Football Talk

Jerod Mayo: Rhamdondre Stevenson won’t be starting this week

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo [had previously] considered benching running back Rhamondre Stevenson for Antonio Gibson after four fumbles from Stevenson in four games. And now Mayo has made his decision.

Stevenson won’t start on Sunday against the Dolphins.

Gibson has 29 carries for 155 yards in 2024. He has added seven catches for 82 yards.

Sunday’s game is a critical one for the Patriots. Both Miami and New England are 1-3, and the Dolphins are currently vulnerable.

---

Tweets

---

Discussion topics

Washington Post (paywall)

In abrupt shift, some NFL players move midweek interviews outside locker rooms

The NFLPA has encouraged players to move interviews outside locker rooms, citing privacy and comfort concerns.

Players on some NFL teams are exercising their right under the league’s media policy to be interviewed by reporters outside rather than inside locker rooms during the practice week.

The move does not represent a change to the NFL media policy, which long has given players that prerogative. But it does represent an abrupt shift in the players’ approach, given that they rarely have exercised that right in the past.

And it comes after Lloyd Howell, the NFL Players Association’s executive director, told The Washington Post in July that players and the union are attempting to have the league’s policies adjusted to have reporters interview players in a setting other than the locker room following games and during practice weeks.

“The NFL’s current media policy is outdated,” the NFLPA said in its statement. “We … urge the NFL to make immediate changes to foster a more respectful and safer workplace for all players. In the meantime, we encourage each player to ask for interviews outside the locker room during the week.”

The league sets the sport’s media policy. The NFLPA has had discussions with the league and with the Pro Football Writers of America about potential changes. But no changes have been made to this point.

Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler, a member of the NFLPA’s executive committee, told reporters Wednesday that Commanders players would opt to conduct practice-week interviews outside the locker room. Ekeler said that he expected the initiative to begin with 10 teams.

---