A lot of people, and by a lot we mean everyone, was ripping made after the Commanders' loss to the Giants, most notably Jonathan Allen in his post-game interview with JP Finlay.
You know who else was mad? Brian Mitchell, who went OFF on Sam Howell at the top of Monday's BMitch & Finlay Show – which was "an indictment from A to Z" of the loss, according to JP.
"I think people are frustrated because we hear every player say the right things," BMItch started. "I saw Sam's press conference yesterday, and he got flying colors for how he handled that – he says everything he's supposed to say, how you want it said."
JP agreed, and knows it's real, but BMitch is done – because it's time to bring it, not sing it.
"Brian Keith Mitchell, me, I couldn't care less what you say if you don't do something about it," BMitch began. "First of all, I don't know why the hell it takes him so long to get into the press conference, but my whole thing was we have sat here and critiqued people off of how they handle press conferences, but they were handling stuff on the field. Now, we have a guy who's excellent at the press conference, but he's not making the adjustments quick enough. And I know today, everybody wants to say Eric Bieniemy and this, that and the other. But there comes a point in time when, if you're the one getting your ass kicked on a regular basis, you will throw the football a little sooner."
So far, 40 sacks in seven games, still a record pace, says otherwise, but BMitch wasn't done.
"I sat there and watched, and when Dexter Lawrence came up the middle and there was a four-yard space in between Sam and Dexter, he sat there and he held the ball, and then when Dexter came, all he did was fold up and took the sack," Brian said. "He's mobile. He could have ran right or left, or dumped the ball off, and he never did that. I know the offensive line is not good, but I also heard the Junkies just say, 'what if another quarterback was in his position, would they have been sacked 40 times?' I would probably say no."
Brian watched as every time the Giants brought extra pressure besides their four or five-man front, Howell simply didn't seem to know what to do.
"When see a safety, or a linebacker, or a corner walk up, that's the sixth guy. So what does the quarterback have to do in that situation if you don't have a running back blocking that person? You are now ready for the hot routes," Brian said. "I watched snaps go to Sam in situation where they are obviously blitzing, and he catches the ball, shuffles and pats – it's a blitz! The ball should be out of your hand as soon as you touch it. When there's a blitz, you do not shuffle, shuffle, pat, pat before you throw the ball, you throw the damn ball as soon as you touch it! Most of these plays have designed hot routes there. People can sit here and look at the pressure coming, but that's not necessarily on the line. The sixth guy, sometimes the seventh guy, is the quarterback's guy – the ball may be not be caught, but guess what? It will not be in your hand when you get hit by somebody."
And then, the dagger from Brian.
"He has to get his alertness, his football IQ in sack situations and blitz situations, a lot better. No, his offensive line is not good. They are garbage. But, your quarterback can erase a lot of that stuff if he just understood in blitz situations," Brian said. "You don't have time to look down field or shuffle, he has to throw the ball. And, it's at this point now where we are hoping, but he has to get better – because if you get another offensive line and they can't block and he still don't throw the ball, are we gonna blame that offensive line again? He has to get more decisive in whatever he's doing, in all aspects."
The only way JP could reply?
"I think there are some truths that are starting to become obvious, and I would say, undeniably, part of the problem with the sacks is on the quarterback period, full stop," JP said. "He's taken a sack on 35 percent of his pressures. Like, make a play! Throw it away every time you're pressured, you don't have to get sacked, and do not throw it to the other team. We're now seven games in to the Howell project, and there have been highs, but this is starting to be a consistent issue. We understand the analytics, the metrics involved that when you take sacks on these drives, they kill you, they kill you, and everybody's a part of it."
Take a listen to Brian's entire rant and JP's full reaction above!
