Commanders Looking to Play 'Full Brand' of Defense vs. Cardinals

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator talked about his defense's progression ahead of their Week 4 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton (95) tackles Cincinnati Bengals halfback Zack Moss (31) in the third quarter of the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tempe, AZ -- The Washington Commanders have reinvigorated their fan base with back-to-back wins including a historic performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3.

As historic as the Commanders' offense was on Monday night against the Bengals, the defense was nearly bad enough that that effort was wasted.

A win is a win, but Washington knows it can't be a team that needs uncommon offense to continue winning in today's NFL, and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. is already taking steps toward getting better production out of his unit.

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton (95) tackles Cincinnati Bengals halfback Zack Moss (31) in the third quarter of the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Talking about some of the things he and his staff have done to improve the defense, coach Whitt said, “We talked about the first week there was some communication issues, and we shored that up. ...We tweaked some of the coverages from the standpoint of reductions. Now it’s just, it's still really the third down where, alright, sometimes we got to understand the leverage and make the plays. Now it's to the, ‘Alright, how can I help him make the plays and get that done.’ So, hopefully, this is the week that we played a full brand of what we want (to) do.”

That brand includes hunting quarterbacks and the football. Something his group hasn't done all that well thus far this season.

So far, the Commanders have one takeaway and have sacked opposing quarterbacks just four times in three games.

Asked about getting more pass rushing success as the season progresses, Whitt said, “Well, we've changed some of, not changed, but tweaked some of the techniques that could help it, maybe not get as penetrating up the field of sometimes. And that's why we're getting trapped and whammed. We can play some of those doubles a little bit thicker. But that's just easy with tweaking the calls a little bit. So, I understand people want to put things directly on players. I'm not going to do that. We're going to put them in a position and we'll have to get them to play better.”

It's a team effort, says Whitt. Coaching to players and players executing the coaching. When things go wrong, the blame isn't held by one level of the operation, but the entirety of it.

So the plan is to continue tweaking, shifting, and adjusting their designs until they finally unlock the formula for playing Commanders defense.

"We haven't played the brand of football that I was hoping for up until this point," Whitt concluded. "And like I said, that's on me. We want to be a team that produces the ball. We haven't...So, this is not the style that I envision right now, but we're trending that way.”

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