Having scheduled a practice/scrimmage against the New York Jets for Thursday, the Commanders coaches made Wednesday an off day.
Most fans will be looking ahead to Saturday’s preseason opener vs. the Jets, and that is certainly understandable. However, the coaches are just as interested, if not more interested, in this joint practice/scrimmage session on Thursday.
Take rookie offensive tackle Brandon Coleman, for example. He has looked good in training camp thus far. Yet, remember that he is working against the same Washington Commanders teammates day after day. Coleman is not stupid. Thus, he naturally begins to learn those players’ tendencies and techniques over time.
Suddenly, on Thursday, he will be going against players, first of all, who are not teammates. Secondly, he is going up against players whose moves and strengths he has not yet seen in training camp. Consequently, in just a couple of plays, Coleman (or any other offensive lineman) could be embarrassed, and ball carriers exposed to Jets defenders.
Remember also that the Jets had one of the better defenses in the NFL last season. That is to say, the Commanders’ offensive line may see much more penetration than it has thus far in training camp.
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels may, therefore, see a stronger pass rush than he has thus far. If so, how will he respond?
NFL coaches realize these joint practices provide them the opportunity to work on various situations in a much more game-like atmosphere than their own teams have experienced thus far in training camp.
In fact, during this 2024 NFL preseason, only two teams (the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders) do not have a joint practice/scrimmage scheduled.
So, when the Commanders and Jets meet Thursday at Florham Park, NJ, it will be an opportunity for first-year players on each team to become a bit more enlightened regarding competing at an NFL level. Coaches will be looking to see how their players respond when things go wrong, assignments are missed, or mistakes are made.
