For the Washington Commanders, the good feelings following the Week 1 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars are long gone. A three-game losing streak marked by poor play on both sides of the ball has taken care of that and left the fan base looking for answers and any sign of positivity.
Unfortunately, former Washington head coach Jay Gruden there might not be much hope for fans of the Burgundy & Gold, and also, sometimes, evidently, all-black.
“They’re just not good enough in any phase of the game to warrant any optimism,” Gruden told Russell & Medhurst during his weekly appearance Monday.
One of the big questions around the team: Are the offense’s struggles simply a Carson Wentz issue or do they extend beyond the quarterback?
“I think you have to look at the entire group of the offensive players right now – offensive line, tight end play, receiver play, obviously, quarterback play – I don’t think any of it’s been good enough,” Gruden told Russell & Medhurst.
He added Washington did run the ball better against the Cowboys than in previous games, but the offense still couldn’t sustain and finish drives.
“You gotta re-look at everything right now,” he said. “There are some signs of concern, for sure.”
The former head coach said his old team’s offense has to “figure something out quickly.”
“They gotta protect better, they have to figure out some ways to get some splash plays, obviously, 1st-and-10 has been an issue for ‘em and they’re not doing good enough job getting big plays,” Gruden said. “Protection is key, you always gotta protect your quarterback, and they’re not doing that.”
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Gruden agreed with Chris Russell’s assessment that in year three of Ron Rivera’s tenure, things are trending downward.
“After a good start against Jacksonville, they haven’t really mustered up any reason for optimism around there. The offense isn’t playing good enough, the defense isn’t getting any turnovers, they’re having a lot of penalties, and nothing really looks good,” Gruden said on The Team 980.
“The quarterback they got isn’t playing up to speed and they got some issues,” he said. “But they’re three games back, a quarter of the season’s over, they better turn it around quickly.”
Gruden added the team’s highest-paid players are struggling to make impact plays in Wentz, corner William Jackson III, and their best playmaker, wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
“Those are three of your best players right there that aren’t doing really anything,” Gruden said. “William Jackson had too many penalties. Terry is not getting the ball thrown his way enough, and when he is it’s obviously not a very good ball.
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"And obviously, Carson’s struggling with picking up [the blitz] and getting the ball out of his hands, and obviously, with the protection issues, which aren’t all on him, but there’s a lot he could do better to make the team better. Also, William and the defense in general getting some turnovers. Nothings really happening with any of their good players.”
While Gruden pointed to the play of Washington’s high-priced corner, he said, like Wentz and the sacks issue, it isn’t all on him.
“It's hard for me to pick on William Jackson III when the entire team is not really put in a position to win games or make plays,” he said. "The entire 11 guys on defense need to play better."
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