Hogs Haven
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Washington Commanders fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Today, we have three simple yes/no questions to answer.
The first is our standard question that is posed every week of the season (until December, anyway), asking about your confidence in the team’s direction.
There has been a lot of criticism of Washington’s defensive play — especially at the 2nd & 3rd levels of the defense.
Future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner, it has been said by some, has lost too many steps. He is a liability in coverage and simply can’t keep up with speedy running backs on the edges. While his instincts keep him performing well in the middle of the field, and his tackle stats are impressive, too many tackles on completed passes or edge runs are made too far downfield to be counted as positive plays for the defense. On the other hand, he wears the green dot and both head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt regularly praise him for his role as a ‘coach on the field’. That said, the defense is clearly not functioning as intended.
At cornerback, aside from the rookie, Trey Amos, no one in the group has covered himself in much glory this season. Mike Sainristil, Marshon Lattimore and Noah Igbinoghene have all struggled to prevent completions and the group has drawn too many key penalty flags.
The conversation has progressed from fans grumbling among themselves about the play of the defense to open calls by bloggers and radio hosts for Joe Whitt’s job to be in danger and for certain starters to be replaced:
The defense has allowed the same explosive plays all season, and no adjustments have been made. Lattimore should be benched with Jonathan Jones back from his injury, and an honest conversation needs to be had about defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.
A number of fans have made the argument that older players on the roster need to take a seat, making way for younger or better players. For example, there have been repeated calls for 2nd-year linebacker Jordan Magee to get more playing time. Some fans think that having a younger, faster player on the field will lead to more wins this season.
Others argue that the roster is too weak for personnel changes to add wins in what is already a lost season (since the defense seems incapable of playing well enough to win games against quality opponents). Still, these fans argue that, while younger players may not help the currently overmatched defense win more games, those younger players, who represent the future, will benefit enormously from the experience of playing. This argument is used to bolster the idea that, if any starting cornerback should be benched, it should be the older player...
