A day after inflicting a stir together with his feedback about quarterbacks, Commanders Coach Ron Rivera addressed his group and spoke to Carson Wentz to make clear his intent.
Washington
Ron Rivera apologizes to Commanders players for ‘misconstrued’ comments
He added: “I’ve been doing this fairly a while, and for me to not end my thought utterly, I tousled. And so I simply advised the fellows that it was [on] me, and it received’t occur once more.”
Rivera stated he apologized to his gamers as a result of he nervous the feedback had turn into a distraction.
On Monday, when requested by a reporter why the Commanders have struggled this season as the opposite groups within the NFC East have to date thrived, Rivera responded tersely: “Quarterback.”
He was requested a number of occasions to make clear, and he added that the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles all have quarterbacks who’ve been with their respective groups for fairly a while.
“It’s like strolling into a brand new job,” Rivera stated. “The job’s already been there. … You stroll in, and also you’re the brand new man. You’ve acquired to study everyone, don’t you? You’ve acquired to study to work with everyone, acquired to study to do your job with everyone.”
Rivera’s feedback went viral Monday evening, partially as a result of solely a portion of his response was clipped and shared. NFL gamers previous and current, followers and media weighed in, criticizing the coach for basically blaming his quarterback for the group’s woes.
Omitted in lots of these clips had been his solutions to the follow-up questions, during which he tried to make clear his view and stated the Commanders “selected [Wentz] as a result of we consider in him.”
Former Washington quarterback Alex Smith, now an analyst for ESPN, stated on the community’s “Monday Evening Countdown” present: “Once I heard it, I couldn’t consider it. … This can be a defensive head coach that’s completely driving the bus over his quarterback.”
Robert Griffin III, one other former Washington quarterback, chimed in on Twitter: “You NEVER do that to your Quarterback. The distinction between Washington and the remainder of the division is Teaching. Daniel Jones has a 1st time Head Coach and so they look the perfect they’ve in YEARS. The Cowboys have gone undefeated with their BACK UP QB. Teaching issues.”
You NEVER do that to your Quarterback. The distinction between Washington and the remainder of the division is Teaching. Daniel Jones has a 1st time Head Coach and so they look the perfect they’ve in YEARS. The Cowboys have gone undefeated with their BACK UP QB. Teaching issues. pic.twitter.com/CWG2RShFsq
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 11, 2022
But, some Commanders gamers stated Tuesday that their preliminary response wasn’t practically as robust.
“Once I noticed the video, I knew what he meant,” quarterback Taylor Heinicke stated. “So it was good that he stood up in entrance of the group and advised everybody what he was considering. I feel everybody sort of assumed that’s what he meant, however once more, it was good of him to clear that up.”
Added working again Antonio Gibson: “He apologized to the group for that and stated he shouldn’t have made that mistake, but it surely occurs. … You simply acquired to watch out with what you say and the way you method it.”
Wentz stated he wasn’t even conscious of Rivera’s feedback and the response they created till the Commanders’ director of soccer communications, Sean DeBarbieri, knowledgeable him.
“Coach addressed it, dealt with it, and there’s nothing … I’m overly involved about,” Wentz stated Tuesday. “Coach is a really simple, upfront man, and he addressed it within the group assembly, which I assumed was actually cool.”
Wentz appeared to agree with Rivera’s perception that it takes time for even a veteran quarterback to acclimate to a brand new system and playmakers, however he declined to put blame on accidents, particularly on the offensive line. The Commanders are on their third heart, Nick Martin, and final week they modified their starters at proper guard and proper sort out.
“There’s at all times one million causes, and you can also make excuses, and for us, there’s none,” Wentz stated. “We acquired to execute. We acquired to ship, and I acquired to do higher ensuring everyone’s on the identical web page with the communication.”
After the Commanders’ loss to Tennessee, Wentz got here away with a number of points that also want correcting. Left sort out Charles Leno agreed with the evaluation and stated the Commanders appear to “take two steps ahead and 5 steps again,” hindering their potential to be constant and put up factors.
However Washington has restricted time to attempt to appropriate the problems and get better bodily earlier than going through the Chicago Bears on the street Thursday evening. The group added Wentz to the damage report this week due to soreness in his throwing (proper) shoulder, however Rivera stated Wentz took all of his reps within the group’s non-padded follow, and Wentz added that he “feels wonderful.”
“It’s simply sort of a little bit extra expedited this week,” Wentz stated. “It’s very robust, very difficult, but it surely’s additionally prime time, and guys get fired as much as go play and hopefully placed on a great efficiency.”
Accidents elsewhere — together with to rookie receiver Jahan Dotson (hamstring) and beginning tight finish Logan Thomas (calf), each of whom didn’t take part in Tuesday’s walk-through — may depart the Commanders restricted.
However at 1-4, gamers have stated they really feel the urgency followers do and are wanting to get on observe.
“I used to be speaking to Carson immediately; we had a four-game dropping streak final yr, and we got here again with a four-game profitable streak,” Heinicke stated. “And I really feel like now we have a greater roster this yr, so there’s no purpose we will’t do it once more this yr. It’s nonetheless early, so there’s time.”
A win in opposition to Chicago (2-3) could possibly be the begin to the Commanders’ turnaround, the confidence-builder the group wants.
A loss, nevertheless, may immediate far more vital change in Washington.
“It’s do or die proper now,” defensive sort out Jonathan Allen stated. “This can be a must-win for us.”