Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s weekly press conference last week was highlighted by his surprising criticism of second-year linebacker Jamin Davis.
“Jamin was just okay in the game,” Del Rio said. “I think he practiced better throughout the offseason. It was just a so-so performance. I think he’ll do better as the year goes on.”
It’s not often that coaches outwardly criticize a specific player. Head coach Ron Rivera has critiqued players needing to be more assignment-sound, but that’s normal. Del Rio appeared to be making a point with his public critique of Davis.
Del Rio really isn’t in a position to criticize anyone publicly. Has he watched his defense since the beginning of the 2021 season? Has he seen the embarrassing amount of missed assignments and busted coverages? There are far more issues than the young linebacker.
On Monday, Davis took to Instagram to post a curious message that one Twitter user captured.
Jamin Davis just posted this clip on his Insta post… 👀 pic.twitter.com/Uk4c3ZqEhJ
— 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗻 🪖 (@WentzToMcLaurin) September 19, 2022
The post is now deleted. While I will not get into the content of the message, it certainly seemed curious, considering the timing. Davis has since deleted the post. The post was also liked by safety Bobby McCain.
This is not a good look. I tend to side with Davis in this situation, but you don’t use social media to take passive-aggressive shots at your coach. Address him directly or to the head coach. And veteran players certainly shouldn’t be “liking” said post.
If Davis was using his social media platform to take a shot at Del Rio and the coaching staff, what does it say about the team’s culture? All fans hear about is how the culture has completely changed.
Now you know why defensive tackle — and team captain — Jonathan Allen says he hates social media. He understands the toxic nature of it and how it can seep into the locker room. Allen has also stated he doesn’t like to blame coaches because players need to take care of their business on the field.
Davis is understandably frustrated here. I sympathize with him. The coaches have mishandled his development. You drafted him to do one thing and realized he was better somewhere else. Now, two games into a new season, you’re already throwing the towel in on the young linebacker? Here’s an idea, find the things he does best and use him there. He looked pretty good on that blitz Sunday.
As far as the coaches, maybe they feel like they’ve done all they can with Davis and he isn’t progressing. That’s also possible. But keep it in-house. Do you think Joe Gibbs would have thrown one of his players under the bus?
At this point, everything is speculation. But if Davis truly had a problem with the public criticism, he should’ve spoken with Rivera. As for McCain liking the post, it’s a bad look. Pull the young player aside and talk to him. Don’t encourage it.
There’s plenty of blame to go around on Washington’s defense and the frustration is mounting. It’s not going to get any easier in Week 3 with the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles coming to FedEx Field.
