Rivera & Del Rio Need More Consistency & Help
There are plays, maybe too few and far between, that show the potential of the Washington Football Team. The rare deep pass, sudden scoring drive, occasional three-and-out defensive stop.
But they come so sparingly that coach Ron Rivera wonders if consistency solves the team’s 1-4 woes as it faces the New York Giants (0-5) on Sunday. If Washington can regularly convert third downs and prevent big defensive gaffes, can they rise to contention in the weak NFC East?
“A little bit more consistency is . . . we make a couple plays, but then we allow something to happen,” Rivera said. “We can’t do that. We have to be consistent where we’re not going to allow those plays and we’re going to be where we’re supposed to and we’re going to continue to dial out those plays. I hear it when we do our reviews on Mondays for the coaches: ‘We did this, we did this, we gave up that.’ Well, we can’t go where we gave up. That doesn’t work.
“You’ve got to keep playing. No matter what happens, you’ve got to keep playing. I was in the same situation as a first-time head coach. I was in the same situation as a first-time coordinator. Things are going to be hard. I’ve said that from the beginning. This is not going to be easy. Just because I’m showing up does not mean we’re going to win the division. We’ve got to work through it. There are a lot of things to grow through. You have to keep playing and you have to keep playing the guys that you think are going to help you going forward. That’s what we’re trying to do right now.”
Now that sounded like the old Carolina version of Rivera when rebuking players after watching bad plays on film. That version hasn’t been openly seen in Washington – yet. But consistency is definitely a key for this defense to stop its streak of allowing 30 or more points in four straight games.
“We get a team into third-and-long and we’ll allow a first down.” He said. “That’s the frustration is that the consistency is not where it needs to be. We haven’t learned to sustain the success. That’s important. You’ve got to do it over 60 minutes. It’s not these moments that you have where you sit there and say: ‘Oh, well we played well in the second and third quarter. Oh, we played well in the second half.’ No, that’s a moment. You’ve got to do it over a period of time and that period of time is 60 minutes. That’s the frustration that I have that we don’t play consistently well for 60 minutes.”
The worst part for coaches is watching players make the same mistakes repeatedly. When the secondary doesn’t hand off coverage and an open receiver scores. When the quarterback misses open receivers. When offensive linemen can’t seal the edge while pass rushers soar by.
“When you start seeing simple things being missed, that becomes frustrating,” Rivera said. “When things that have been done repetitively, that’s when you struggle to accept: ‘OK, that’s going to happen.’ No, that should not happen. That’s sometimes how I feel. We’ve got enough good players that some things shouldn’t happen.
“But, we have young players that are going to make mistakes. We’ve got young guys in the secondary, young guys in the linebacker position, young guys on the D-line, young guys on the offensive line, young guys at wide receiver, young guys at running back, young guys at tight end. We’ve got young players. That’s the thing. But, they’re playing and that’s the thing that helps.”
The only change Rivera and his staff can make now is playing time. Quarterback Dwayne Haskins was benched. Guard Wes Martin will be replaced by rookie Saahdiq Charles. But mostly, the team has to ride with its starters and hope for improvement.
“Well, conversations about trying to find the right combination and the most productive combination are constant,” said defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. “This business is about production. We’re learning our team; our team is learning us. We are attempting to give looks, to give opportunities. That’s how we’ve kind of progressed throughout the season. We’ll continue to do that. We’re looking for the right combination, and we’re looking for production. So, we’ll roll guys if we need to and settle when guys have earned it.”
Translation – Look for lots of change in 2021 if this unit can’t stop beating themselves.
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Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Washington football team in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks
