Hogs Haven
With the news of Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn taking over defensive playcalling duties from Joe Whitt Jr., many around the league are now asking if this move is coming too late in the year for a team with such lofty expectations heading into this season. At 3-7, Washington has now lost four consecutive games by a margin of at least 21 points, tying a record going back to the 2002 Arizona Cardinals.
While Quinn remained adamant earlier this season about his involvement in the defense, the playcalling on game days was ultimately Joe Whitt’s job up until Quinn made his decision following the loss to Detroit.
So with Quinn now calling plays, what changes for a defense that’s hardly looked like an NFL-caliber unit the past month?
Well, with a quick turnaround trip to Spain this week to play the Miami Dolphins, we are not likely to see many personnel changes aside from a potential Trey Amos replacement after his season-ending injury this past week although we can forecast a few minor changes we potentially could see from a severely banged up defensive side, mainly based on Quinn’s past with Seattle, Atlanta, and Dallas.
From 2021-2023, Dan Quinn’s Dallas defenses ran the third-highest man coverage rate in the NFL (33.8%). Through ten weeks of this season, the Commanders defense has operated out of mainly zone coverage, coming out to approximately a 65-30 zone vs. man split. Washington is currently running the ninth-most man coverage compared to the rest of the league, per Sharp Football Analysis.
Expect the man coverage to increase with DQ taking over the playcalling as Quinn’s defenses are known to challenge receivers with aggressive press coverage (hence why the team targeted Lattimore in 2024). While Washington does not run nearly as much zone coverage as some other teams, the lapses in zone this season have been plentiful for the Commanders and they need to make adjustments.
Think about how many different blitz packages the Seahawks deployed in Washington two weeks ago. Seattle does not have any of the NFL’s premier pass-rushers, but Mike Macdonald’s defenses supplement the lack of edge star power with varying stunt packages and exotic blitzes from anywhere on the field.
The Commanders are missing major starting contributors across the defensive line due to injuries, including Deatrich Wise, Dorance Armstrong, Javonte Jean-Baptiste, and will now be missing Daron Payne this week due to a one-game suspension handed down from the league following Payne’s punch thrown at Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Washington can severely benefit from implementing more stunts/twists and exotic blitzes from the linebackers and secondary. Mikey Sainristil did a fair amount of blitzing during his time at Michigan, so he could be a deployable chess piece in terms of bringing pressure. It’s not out of the question to expect Quinn to deliver here, but he’s not necessarily known for bringing complex pressure. Wait and see mode…
