Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera met with the media Wednesday. Here are excerpts from his comments regarding the Commanders offense.
Rivera was pleased with the return to practice of T Sam Cosmi and WR Jahan Dotson.
“It was good to see. Logan’s still off to the side, but Jahan got some reps today, looked good out on the football field. Cosmi got some reps too. He’s trying to learn how to play with the hand taped up with basically his left hand, and he actually looked pretty good.”
With Carson Wentz out for at least a few weeks, Rivera is confident that Taylor Heinicke possesses enough knowledge of the offensive system.
“You see it. Like today we had a route out there and one of the guys could have done something a little different and Taylor right away explained it to him and you see that just because of his background in this. So, he’s got a very good knowledge of it.”
Of course, every NFL coach would prefer to have a starter last a full season.
“Well, that’s what you want. You wanna be able to do that. I was fortunate to have that earlier when I was in Carolina, but the continuity’s important. And for a guy like Terry (McLaurin), especially Terry and the rapport he has and he develops with guys is tremendous because of his athletic ability and his skillset.”
Rivera likes his three running backs and the various talents they possess.
“Well, one thing I’d like to see us do is at the end of the second quarter, and into the third quarter, I really saw what we hope for and what we envisioned. I mean that’s what these guys can all do, and they bring to the table. We’ve gotta be able to make sure we can have that kind of mix because it gives us an opportunity to really open up the offense. It’ll really help with the play-action. And I know Taylor [Heinicke] is very good at play action, so we’ve gotta be able to run the football.”
Rivera understands each quarterback has his set of strengths and weaknesses.
” Well, I see the play calling tilted more towards Taylor. It’s tailored for Taylor. I think that’s what you’ll see. I mean, to take advantage of his skill set and what he does really well.”
Heinicke doesn’t possess the size or strength of Wentz, but Rivera does like Heinicke’s overall interaction and understanding of the offense.
“The way he controls it with his teammates, the way he disseminates it and spreads it amongst his guys. I’m telling you, I see a little bit of air confidence. I really do, and I think it’s spreading to his teammates, just his overall knowledge. And I think that’s going to be an interesting thing to watch.”
Rivera is hopeful to have Jahan Dotson join the receivers for QB Taylor Heinicke:
“Again, with Jahan back and going against their secondary, which is one of the best in the league, this will be a really good challenge and it’ll be a good challenge for everybody across the board. And not just the receivers, but those tight ends. You throw those guys into the mix. And if we can sustain a running game, I think it’s going to make for a very interesting Sunday.”
Rivera likes how Dotson has played in the red zone.
“When you have a catch radius, you know, you can come up with contested balls, you present the type of target that a quarterback needs, it doesn’t matter where he throws it, he’s going to be able to go get it and protect it. And I think that’s one of the keys to his success. I think his route running because it’s very precise as well. He runs very mature routes. It’s probably a good way to put it.”
