Scheme vs. Style: Commanders Coach Joe Whitt Jr. Shares Thoughts

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. shared his thoughts on the contrast between style and scheme.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. is receiving high marks for his introductory press conference on Thursday where he shared his thoughts on a myriad of topics. 

One of those topics, and arguably one of the more important, are his thoughts on what the Commanders defense is going to look like on the field.

Not in name as much as style, coach Whitt told us he's not worried about schemes because no matter how many down linemen there are his Washington defense is going to have one very specific trait.

Washington Commanders cornerback Jartavius Martin (20) celebrates after an interception during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

“One thing I could tell you, like Dan said is more about the play style than anything else," Whitt says. "We're gonna get that right first and one thing that we're gonna do is we're gonna be a run and hit defense...The way that we live is not for everybody, okay? It is not, alright, because we're gonna run and put our bodies on people in a violent manner. And so, we're gonna get that play style right first, right? And then the structure of what we do doesn't really matter. You know, 3-4, 4-3. Everybody really plays the same coverages to some point. The structure doesn't matter to me. The main thing that matters to me is, are we gonna be arriving violently? And we're gonna turn the ball over, right? We're gonna make sure we disrupt these quarterbacks.”

Those words should be music to the ears of Commanders fans whose faith in the previous coaching staff faded with every snap they witnessed where an opposing quarterback stood tall in clean pockets or ran free in open lanes. 

Of course, pressure is cumulative, and as coach Whitt also pointed out most interceptions don't come on accurate passes and the best way to create inaccuracies from quarterbacks is by applying that pressure and confusing them.

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Last season the Dallas Cowboys, where Whitt and new head coach Dan Quinn both are coming from, finished top five in sacks per pass attempt and top 10 in interceptions.

Contrastingly, Washington finished 25th or worst in both categories.