00:00I wanted to get to this. So Ben Standig talked to Adofe Awe about the defense and, of course,
00:11the pass rush and all of that stuff. And, like, what's going on? We had Ben on yesterday, right?
00:19And he wrote this column about O.A. and the Washington defensive struggles being still a thing of communication, right?
00:36Why? Because the defensive staff that Durante Jones inherited did not come with him.
00:46They didn't come from Minnesota. So he takes over the defense, and he's got to teach not only the players,
00:54but he's got to teach the coaches, Ken Norton, William Gay, Ed Donatel, and others, right?
01:04He's got to teach them. So he said, standing, in Last Man Standing, Substack,
01:13the assistants tasked with teaching coordinator Durante Jones' blitz-heavy scheme
01:18are learning the system alongside the players.
01:23And that is true, and that's something we haven't done a good enough job identifying,
01:29is even though they had all offseason to learn it, study it, whatever, since Durante Jones was hired,
01:37like, they can't...
01:41You can read, you can look, you can look at video,
01:46but communicating with players on what they need to do and how they need to do it
01:52is different when you can't work with them half the offseason.
01:56You have very limited grass time.
01:58Everything is monitored. Everything is regulated.
02:02And you can't keep them in the building for more than a couple hours a day for most of the
02:07offseason.
02:10And you're the defensive coordinator coming in and installing a complex, movement-filled scheme.
02:19And, again, you're trying to teach it to the players and the incumbent coaches
02:23because you're not getting to bring your entire staff with you, right?
02:27So, Durante brought the Brian Flores scheme, as we all know.
02:32But he didn't get to bring over coaches, okay?
02:35So, that's a problem.
02:39And I'm trying to look at...
02:41I'm trying to...
02:41Okay, here's the Adofe Awe quote that Ben had.
02:46Quote...
02:47And he called it growing pains, which is accurate.
02:52Quote, a lot of times, the coaches are saying they probably didn't understand the way that Durante saw it.
03:00So, there's a miscommunication with that.
03:04Said Owe.
03:06That's what I'm saying.
03:07It takes way longer than what those outside the building think it is.
03:12It's not just, oh, X is going here.
03:15The players should get it.
03:16And sometimes, there's a disconnect in communication and stuff like that.
03:24So, what Adofe Awe is saying is the communication can be very different from the way and the vision that
03:36Durante Jones has
03:37and what he knows and what he's trying to call, what he's trying to disguise and design
03:43to not only the players, but also the incumbent assistant coaches.
03:49I don't know if incumbent is the right word.
03:51But the assistant coaches that were basically retained, like, again, Donatel and Gabe on the back end,
04:02like Ken Norton.
04:03So, I would expect, if this coaching staff is around next year, for things to be way different.
04:09And we just don't know if this is a one-year deal and out or not.
04:17So, in that sense, it makes a lot of sense to add Steve Wilks.
04:24I don't think anybody had an issue with that.
04:29But Steve Wilks has never worked with Durante Jones, to my knowledge.
04:35Steve Wilks worked in San Francisco when Adam Peters was there.
04:41He has never worked with Dan Quinn before.
04:44So, basically, they're hailing Steve Wilks as this unifier, as this savior, as this difference maker.
04:56And I'm not saying that he's not making a difference.
05:00And maybe it will be just enough.
05:04And maybe the players love him, and the coaches love him, and DQ loves him, and Durante loves him, and
05:10AP loves him.
05:12All of that.
05:15But if he doesn't know the scheme, or if he didn't know the terminology, or the finer points until two
05:24weeks ago,
05:25it's hard to imagine that right now, he's going to come in and be a further expert, or a better
05:31expert,
05:33than any of the guys that have been in this scheme and learning this scheme under Durante since late January.
05:39Right?
05:41I'm not saying he's not smart.
05:43I'm not saying he can't help.
05:45But they're talking about not just players on the field not communicating with each other,
05:52and being in wrong spots, and not knowing who to cover, and where to be, and all that stuff.
05:59They're talking about, hey man, during the week, in meeting rooms, on the field, on the sideline, from the booth,
06:07whatever.
06:08Remember, that these coaches are still learning, are still adjusting.
06:16Not that they don't know anything, but they're not 100% caught up to speed.
06:23They're not 100% bam.
06:29Which, I got to be honest with you, until Ben wrote about it, I didn't think about that.
06:36So that's my bad.
06:38I should have thought more about that.
06:40I thought they would have been, you know, and I'm sure they're, I'm sure they understand the terminology,
06:46I'm sure they understand the general design, all of that.
06:52But there's a difference between understanding something and having it stone cold.
06:57One.
06:58Two, if then it is your responsibility to make sure that young players who are working limited hours during the
07:08offseason,
07:09and I don't even think that much during the season, if, if you're trying to teach them,
07:18and yet you have a different vision than Durante Jones had, all it takes is somebody being in one wrong
07:26spot sometimes.
07:29Right?
07:30So this is an issue, a problem.
07:33And I'm sure it's being spun, and I don't know how it's being spun.
07:36I'm sure it's being spun, oh, you know, this is ridiculous.
07:38Ah, the coaches, the coaches are stupid.
07:40The coaches aren't stupid, guys.
07:42They might not be the best, but they ain't stupid.
07:46It's probably a very complex scheme with a lot of little nuances.
07:53And some of this should have been considered, if not known and expected, in year one.
08:00And if they go out and hire new coaches next year, if somehow Durante Jones and, say, DQ stay around
08:06or whatever,
08:06or maybe it's just Durante Jones, I don't know, there's going to be some issues next year as well.
08:12And then there's going to be new players.
08:16So maybe that's why the defense has been blitz heavy but hasn't been able to get home.
08:25Has largely stopped the run but hasn't stopped the pass.
08:30Maybe that's why.
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