Can the Commanders offensive unit see an immediate jump in production against the Eagles as they continue to learn Bieniemy’s scheme?
Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy did not hesitate to take accountability for the offense’s three-point outing against the Buffalo Bills in week three. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re doing a great job as a coaching staff,” Bieniemy mentioned in his weekly presser, “and that starts right here with me; I am the offensive coordinator.” Bieniemy also acknowledges that the players are still getting to understand his scheme, and there are struggles there. However, Bieniemy’s demeanor can be seen as a breath of fresh air; his calmness amid perceived chaos with the quarterback and offensive line concerns indicates that he has complete faith in the offense being able to break the code soon.
“I think it’s been a journey, and I’m enjoying the journey. I think the journey has been good so far. Obviously, you don’t like to take a direct hit like we did last week, but I think our guys are in the right place. It’s been fun getting to this point. Never anybody, as any coach, wants to go through what took place. But the thing I learned many moons ago is that in order to appreciate winning, you have to despise losing.
Now that process that we just talked about, getting to this point, it’s my job to make sure that I’m digging in and making sure that I’m doing everything under the sun possible to help us to be the best team. Not just about a system, but helping us to be the best team that can go out and perform up to the level of expectations that we expect them to.” – Bieniemy on matching his system with what works best with the current roster
Neither did Sam Howell lack accountability, for that matter, as he clearly showed a high level of self-awareness in this week’s presser. While fans and media members have attempted to, to some degree, absolve Howell of some of his struggles due to inexperience, the second-year quarterback is not taking the bait. Howell acknowledged that the NFL does not wait for any player; it is all about playing at a high level.
“Honestly, no. I don’t make any excuses for myself. I expect to play much better than I played on Sunday, and my teammates and this organization deserve for me to play better than I played on Sunday, and I just got to do a better job. I can’t go out there and make the excuse that I’m young because the teams we’re playing, they don’t care. The scoreboard doesn’t care. So, I got to do my job at a higher level in order for this team to go where we want to go. I’m excited to get back out there on Sunday.” – Howell on if he finds solace in the fact that he’s a young quarterback and that game was only his fourth start.
Change begins with accountability and self-awareness, but the next step for the Commanders will focus on whether they can take the lessons they learned from the loss to Buffalo and incorporate them into the game plan for the Philadelphia Eagles this upcoming Sunday.
Listen to the latest Trap or Dive Podcast; AJ, Dre, and I preview the Commanders week four matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Starting with Sam Howell and Eric Bieniemy, we have a lengthy discussion on how they can help each other out for the better. Then, they discuss their keys to the game and predictions.
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