Ron Rivera keeping his Commanders realistic
The Commanders have won three consecutive games and it would be easy to become giddy right now.
Yes, the Commanders have won three consecutive NFL games. It’s also just as true that the Commanders have won those games by 5,2 and 1 point. They defeated the Bears 12-7, Packers 23-21 and Colts 17-16.
Head coach Ron Rivera has been coaching in the NFL long enough; he is certainly not giddy. Even more, Sunday night following the game, Rivera’s comments unveiled that the players this week are going to be hearing Rivera remind them of some very basic tenants of the reality that is their 4-4 record.
“It’s a little concerning at times… the truth of the matter is when we watch this tape, and I told the guys, ‘I promise you there’s going to be things that you sit there and say, I should have done this better. I should have done that.'”
“There’s a couple of things that are really disappointing. We had an opportunity on a couple of those third downs to shut them down. We had a couple of guys do their own thing, and that’s crap. We’re not going to have that. We’re going to get that corrected.”
In the same press conference he spoke warmly of Terry McLaurin, “I think as a young man you’re impressed by who he is. That’s important. So I got a lot of respect for when he speaks out. When he starts talking, obviously you’re going to listen.”
When asked about the three wins and building momentum, Rivera cautiously chose his words. “I think we can grow off of it. We can feed off of that energy. But the truth of the matter to is against other opponents, you can’t constantly miss the opportunities. You have to do, what you should do, what you’re supposed to do, what you’re being coached to do. What the defense asks, what the offense asks, special teams, you have got to do your job.”
“We put ourselves a couple of times (pause) this is what really disappoints me. We put ourselves in a bad spot a few times. When we see it on tape, we will make sure everybody understands.”
“If you do it the way we ask, and we win, they get the glory. Do it the way we ask, and we lose, it’s my fault. It’s on me. But when you do your own thing, you can’t do it that way. That’s what we are trying to stress. Trust us, it’s all part of coming together as a team.”
