Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 12 minutes ago
Kevin Sheehan previews the Washington Commanders' upcoming matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, addressing Jayden Daniels' past record against Dallas while laying out the key strategies for a Washington victory. He emphasizes offensive patience through the run game, limiting Dallas’s explosive plays, creating defensive tackles for loss, and eliminating special teams blunders.

Category

🥇
Sports
Transcript
00:00Let's get to my keys. Washington beats Dallas on Sunday.
00:07If. So number one, I'll start with, I think they have to be really patient again on offense.
00:15You know, you've got to run the football against a Vic Fangio style defense with the two high safeties.
00:22You have to be efficient in the quick passing game.
00:25You know, the run extension throws.
00:27That's what the Giants did. The Giants ran the football.
00:32They completed short passes.
00:34They converted by getting into good down and distances on nine of 11 on third down.
00:41You know, you can't attack down the field against these teams that want to keep everything in front of them
00:48until you've made those two high safeties or at least one of them come down into the box
00:56because you've run the football well, because you've completed short passes that have essentially been run extension plays for five,
01:04six yards.
01:05You've moved the sticks. You know, that's what they did, you know, in the first half.
01:10Now, they weren't efficient.
01:12They weren't as successful as you need to be against Philadelphia running the football and completing the short, quick game
01:22stuff.
01:23But you've got to do that.
01:24And I'm going to tell you right now, I think for them to do that, I think Jaden's got to
01:29be a part of the run game this week.
01:31You know, and I'm not talking about designed runs.
01:34I'm talking about option runs.
01:37Jackson Dart had a couple of zone read pools that were big plays.
01:42You know, you've got to make Dallas, you know, cover and account for everybody in the run game.
01:49I'm not sure Washington's as built to be a power run team as the Giants are right now.
01:56And they're going to use the Giants are Jackson Dart in the run game.
02:00You should use your quarterback in the run game if he's that kind of a quarterback against a team that
02:05you really have to run the ball well against to stay on the field.
02:11So I know that that really is cringeworthy for many of you, but Jaden Daniels is a lethal run threat.
02:21But he did have a couple of zone read calls in the game against Philly on Sunday.
02:27I think you're going to see more of it on Sunday against Dallas.
02:32I think the success that Dart had with it, I think Jaden is an excellent zone read quarterback.
02:38Although I have been a little bit critical sometimes of his decision making there.
02:43But you will make it easier for Krosky Merritt, for Catron Allen, for Rashad White, if Jaden is a run
02:54threat on every play.
02:57So patience on offense, which leads to, you know, meaning you've got to run the football.
03:05You've got to stick with the run.
03:07Running the football has to include the quarterback this week.
03:09And then you've got to use the quick game from a passing standpoint to act as a run extension play.
03:18We're getting it out quickly.
03:19We're getting it out in the flat.
03:22And then, by the way, if Rashad White's going to be the Devin Singletary guy where, you know, he's a
03:29check down or he's a swing out of the backfield, he's got to make people miss.
03:34You know, the best pass-receiving running backs don't get tackled by the first guy.
03:40You've got to make that guy miss.
03:42I thought Rashad White looked slow and slow-footed last week against the Eagles.
03:49Now, to be fair, the Eagles are really good.
03:52And Zach Bond was an amazing player last Sunday, as were several of the Philadelphia defensive players.
04:01Patience on offense, and that means you've got to run the ball.
04:05You've got to hit on the quick passing game.
04:08And I do think that Jaden's got to be a part of the run game.
04:12Number two, defensively, number one is you've got to limit the explosives.
04:18You gave up six, and that was the difference in the game Sunday.
04:22And I thought overall, we talked about it on Monday and Tuesday, it was a pleasure, considering what we have
04:32watched in recent years, to watch them defensively Sunday against Philadelphia.
04:37But it wasn't perfect because you're not going to win many games when you give up six big-time explosive
04:45plays,
04:46which, by the way, is the exact number that they gave up against the Cowboys last year in that October
04:53game in week seven.
04:55Dallas very capable of big-time explosives.
04:58You have to limit the explosives on defense, and that means you've got to have your deepest be the deepest
05:06on the field, nobody behind them, and then tackling becomes critical.
05:12You've got to tackle C.D. Lamb on a quick hitch.
05:16You've got to tackle Pickens on something over the middle.
05:20You've got to tackle Javante Williams if there's, you know, a decent-sized hole where he's into that second level.
05:27You've got to make it a six- or a seven-yard run, not a 16- to 17-yard
05:32run.
05:34Got to stop the run.
05:36That's number three.
05:37I went with explosives first because that's what killed him last week.
05:41But stopping the run is just as important.
05:44And Javante Williams is a really good back.
05:47I was always a big fan of Javante Williams.
05:49He just never stayed healthy.
05:51And he had a big year last year, and he was healthy, and he is a good back, a good
05:57vision back.
05:58He's got underrated quicks in speed, and he can run over you.
06:04I think defensively, you've got to get, like you did last week, several negative plays.
06:12So another 10 TFL tackles for loss day would be huge.
06:17You know, negative plays created by the defense to get Dallas into bad down-and-distance situations
06:23where you then can really unleash what you think is a much-improved pass rush,
06:29which will include the return of Dorrance Armstrong on Sunday.
06:33To get into that situation, you know, a negative play, a big-time negative play,
06:40say every other series or at least two out of three series, would be huge.
06:46Now, Philadelphia overcame that.
06:48They had a third-and-17 touchdown pass in the red zone.
06:52That's really inexcusable what happened on that play.
06:55You cannot allow that to happen.
06:57That has to be the play that Durante Jones is kicking himself more than anything else.
07:02There's no reason to show aggressiveness pre-snap on third-and-goal at the 17.
07:08You don't need seven guys up at the line of scrimmage.
07:11You need seven to eight guys at the goal line making sure that everything has to be thrown underneath.
07:21TFLs, negative plays created by the defense will be huge.
07:25You've got to pressure Dak Prescott, and you've got to hit Dak Prescott.
07:30This has to be a game where you are the more physical team.
07:36You're the team taking it to them defensively.
07:39This has to be a big-hitting game.
07:41You've got to hit Dak over and over again.
07:45It's not something that we've seen our team do a lot of in recent years.
07:49But they have, I think, the potential to be that kind of a team this year.
07:54So defensively, limit the explosives.
07:58Obviously, you cannot get gashed in the run game.
08:01And the TFLs, the negative plays, if that becomes a hallmark of this team,
08:08it's just going to be so much more fun to watch, A.
08:12B, so much more successful than it's been.
08:15You know, the worst result for an offense to start a drive is a sack or a negative run,
08:25a tackle for loss.
08:28It's worse than a penalty because the penalty doesn't cost you the down.
08:34The sack does.
08:35The three- or four-yard loss on a running back on a swing pass out of the backfield on
08:41first down,
08:42that down counts.
08:44Second and 14 is much more difficult to overcome than first and 15 or first and 20.
08:54Takeaways.
08:56Zero turnovers in the game last week.
08:58Almost had one with Bill Krosky-Meritt.
09:01Great job by Josh Connerly, Jr.
09:03The Giants fumbled four times against the Cowboys,
09:07and the Cowboys did a good job in forcing four fumbles.
09:12They just only lost one of them.
09:13I mean, if they lose one more, that game's coming down to the final drive.
09:18And if they lose two of those other three, they lose the game.
09:23So the Cowboys had the ball on the ground four times in that game.
09:29And our defense was obviously not a team that took the ball away from anybody last year.
09:36Second worst in the league with 10 total.
09:39Only the Jets had fewer.
09:41And the year before that, tied for 26th in the league in takeaways.
09:46This seems to be a defense that intends on creating takeaways.
09:53You know, the Brian Flores defense last week in the Minnesota-Green Bay game.
09:58The game really turned or got away from the Packers because that Brian Flores defense has created takeaways.
10:07Jordan Love had a pick in the fourth quarter, and Jordan Love had a fumble in the fourth quarter.
10:12You've got to start getting some takeaways.
10:15You've got to make it a little bit easier on the team and on the offense.
10:19This has been an offense for two straight years, if we want to go back further, even more than that.
10:25But in the Dan Quinn era, in two consecutive years, that is operated essentially without any easy, easy field position
10:36opportunities because of takeaways.
10:39You've got to get some, you know, and this would be the week to get them.
10:43Now, do I think they have to be at plus one or plus two to win the game?
10:47I don't, you know, seven punts on 11 drives like Philadelphia had would be a really good result, you know,
10:58and holding teams to field goals in the red zone.
11:01Red zone efficiency, huge.
11:03But, man, it would be nice if it were seven punts out of 11 drives and then two takeaways on
11:09two other drives.
11:13Another key, you can't give up points in the kicking game.
11:18A missed PAT and a missed field goal, a blocked PAT by Jalen Carter and a missed field goal last
11:25week were really big plays, clearly big plays.
11:30You know, that's four points off the board.
11:33Not to mention, on the missed 54-yard field goal, that's the kind of field position you don't want to
11:38give the other team.
11:40So, they can't give up those kinds of scoring opportunities, one of which leads to poor field position for your
11:51defense when they get back out onto the field.
11:53And expect to win games that, you know, going in look like they could be close games.
11:57I mean, Dallas is a three-and-a-half, four-point favorite.
12:02And then lastly, Jaden may have to put on the Superman cape on Sunday.
12:10I don't want him to do it to the point where he's pressing and he's forcing.
12:14I thought that that was a big part of what kept them in the game last week is that they
12:19didn't force.
12:20They were patient.
12:21They actually said, you know what, a throwaway and a punt is better than a forced throw that gets picked,
12:29and now we're not even in the game.
12:31They were in the game.
12:32There was no reason to really force it at any point.
12:36But on Sunday, you've got to stay on the field because the offense that is coming back out onto the
12:43field for your opponent is more lethal than the one you just faced.
12:48So, Jaden's got to do what the offense needs him to do, to stay on the field and keep Dak
12:58and CeeDee Lamb and Pickens and Javante Williams on the sideline.
13:05So, a third and five, you've got to go get it if nobody's open.
13:10You've got, you have to go, zone reads, you've got to read it, and then you've got to make them
13:17pay for having a DN not play the quarterback.
13:21I think we're going to see a significant increase in zone read looks for sure because they've got to run
13:29the football, and that means shotgun.
13:31It means more shotgun than under center.
13:33Now, against this defensive front, might we see more under center play action, under center bootleg versus what you have
13:42against Philly,
13:43which is a fear that they're just so good that you're not going to get that opportunity and you don't
13:48want to turn your back to the defense?
13:50We'll see.
13:51But I would not be surprised if there are four or five read calls.
13:57Doesn't mean Jaden's going to keep it and run it.
13:59But he may hand it off every single time to Bill or to Catron or to Rashad White.
14:08So, patience on offense, got to run the football.
14:10Jaden's got to be a part of the run game Sunday.
14:13Short passes, quick game, got to stay on the field.
14:17Defensively, have to limit the explosives, which means you've got to tackle well.
14:21I mean, we've not tackled well against Dallas.
14:24You've got to stop the run.
14:25Javante Williams is legit.
14:27You've got to create negative plays.
14:29Those TFLs were huge against the Eagles on Sunday.
14:32You've got to pressure Dak and you've got to hit him.
14:35He's got to know that he's in a physical football game where he's going to be bruised and battered in
14:43this one.
14:44It would be great to get a couple of takeaways.
14:47You can't give up points in the kicking game.
14:50No, you can't have a blocked PAT.
14:52You can't have a missed field goal.
14:53And Jaden may have to put on the Superman cape in this one a few times to ensure that the
15:00team stays on the field offensively.
Comments

Recommended