Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders
Breaking down the best performance of Newton’s rookie season so far.
[T]he coaching staff recognized his quickness is his main threat right now and put him in positions to best use that quickness effectively.
This was one of the final defensive plays of the game, but it’s a great example of how the coaching staff helped Newton make the most out of what he’s doing best right now. Newton’s quickness off the snap is a huge asset against interior lineman, especially centers. Centers can struggle with quicker defensive tackles because they have to snap the ball with one hand and then try and get it back into position as quickly as possible. That gives a quick rusher like Newton something to take advantage of.
You can see Newton anticipate the center raising his right hand as quickly as possible after the snap to try and get that hand back in the fight. Newton gets off the snap quickly and immediately swats that hand down. With the center focusing on getting his snapping hand into the equation and immediately having it knocked down, he has no way of slowing down Newton.
Newton penetrates past the center with ease and the center does his best to lean on Newton to slow him down. He does just enough to buy the quarterback time to deliver the throw, but Newton lands a hit and prevents the quarterback from delivering an accurate pass. Unfortunately, Benjamin St-Juste gave up a defensive pass interference, wiping out the play, but it was still a good example of how Newton’s quickness can be such a strong trait for him, especially against centers. Because of that, the Commanders were smart in consistently getting him lined up directly over the center. Typically, you’d only see a big, 350-pound nose tackle line up directly over the center trying to control the run game, but the Commanders consistently put Newton there to let him use his quickness effectively.
Here are the standouts, disappointments and pressing questions for Washington roughly two quarters through the regular season.
Terry McLaurin: The connection between Daniels and his top wide receiver keeps growing. McLaurin has long been considered underrated — even after it stopped being true — and the team is treating him like a star. He is second in the league in team share of attempted air yards (46.6 percent) and fourth in receiving yards (579). He has four touchdowns, tied for his total from last season, and he’s an emotional leader and mentor.
“We relish in the work,” he said. “We relish in the grind and putting it in Tuesday through Saturday to get ready for Sunday. And we got...
