Washington Commanders 'Defense Travels' Says Coach Joe Whitt Jr., Pleased with Trends

The Washington Commanders defensive coordinator spoke to media on Thursday.

Aug 17, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (13) and safety Darrick Forrest (22) warm up before the game against the against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

ASHBURN, Va. -- Part of the Washington Commanders 'recalibration' is re-establishing the identity of the team.

On both sides of the ball that identity is expected to be the same. Commanders football is intended to be played fast, intensly, and with maximum physicality.

Thursday, during the last padded practice of training camp for Washington, defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.'s unit displayed that physicality as they were allowed to fully (at least as fully as you can in a same-on-same practice) compete with their own offense for the last time before the regular season gets started.

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Aug 17, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (13) and safety Darrick Forrest (22) warm up before the game against the against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

“DQ’s [Head Coach Dan Quinn] mantra has been competition, and that's the only thing that we're worried about right now," Whitt said following practice on Thursday. "Guys that come out and compete, compete, compete their ass off, and that's what we want. From the cornerback position to any position on the team and defense, just guys that will compete and go out there and make plays.”

For Whitt, he wants opponents to understand that when they get ready to face the Commanders defense that means two things. First, it's going to be a physical contest from the opening whistle to the final one, no matter the game result. Second, that any time the offense puts the ball in play his defense is going to look to take it from them.

“When we went down to Miami we talked about, my hat that I always wear it says, “defense travels.” And we wanted to make sure that they felt our speed and our physicality, especially in practice," said Whitt. "We ran, we hit, we don't, we didn't do everything perfectly, but the way that we approached the practice, and the game was the right way. So, we have that right now, just the finer details of the scheme and understanding, so we're not just running the playbook that we're playing football. I don't think we're playing football yet. I think guys are still thinking a little bit, and it's our job to get them from thinking and to playing fast. But from the physicality standpoint, I'm pleased the way we're trending.”

The only part coaches Quinn and Whitt aren't fully satisfied with yet is how the takeaway business is trending for their team.

Creating turnovers, or taking advantage of the opportunity to get them, is something Quinn has always hung his hat on, and so to has Whitt. It's a fundemental part of their strategy for winning football games.

Yet, the Commanders defense has only forced one this preseason, coming on a strip-sack by outside linebacker Jamin Davis.

They've created a few more in practices, but not enough to make either coach happy with it. Still, coach Whitt says it's not something he's 'too concerned' about either.

“I'm not too concerned about it. I’m just not used to it either," he says. "We're not going to chase the ball. ...When you chase, when you start to chase interceptions or fumbles or what have you, you're going to miss tackles, you're going to blow coverages. And that's not what we're going to do. Most interceptions are caused on poorly thrown balls. Tips and overthrows. And then when you have those opportunities, you have to make the play. In the game, we dropped two interceptions (against Miami). Those balls we have to make. So, if we get those two balls plus the fumble, we probably win that game. But we didn't get them, so we lost. That's the reality of this league. When you have the opportunity to make the play, make the play, there's no excuse for not making the play and knocking the ball down is not good enough in my eyes.”

It's not good enough. That's the bottom line. But signs are trending in the right direction.

In practice on Thursday linebacker Frankie Luvu hit the dirt to secure an interception against second-team quarterback Jeff Driskel. That effort, and ability to take advantage of an errant pass - the intended target stopped running his route and the quarterback threw it where he was headed - is exactly what coach Whitt wants to see. And he wants to see more of it.

The team will get one more dry run in Sunday night's preseason finale against the New England Patriots. From there, it'll be time to put lessons and effort to results.

It'll be time to turn competition into production. In Whitt's words, it'll be time to play football.

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