Brian Mitchell on how to make adjustments the second time you see a team in the season
BMitch saw the Cowboys and whichever two of the Redskins, Eagles, or Giants he wasn’t with twice a year every year for a decade, with some playoff rematches mixed in too, so he knows all about what it’s like to get a second crack at a team in the same season.
The Commanders were 2-1 in rematches (after going 1-2 in the first round) against division opponents this season, and now, the Bucs will be their fourth double-dip and hopefully, they keep the inverse records and go to 3-1 against teams they were 1-3 against.
But, Brian, what is that like the second time around, especially in the playoffs and/or after a loss?
“Playing in the NFC East and seeing some guys later in the playoffs that you have seen earlier that year, the way it is for me, I just went back to the game and watched everything to try to make sure I had a keen idea on what they were trying to do,” BMitch said. “And then, after going through the tape and trying to figure all that out, you come back and you start trying to watch yourself. You knew what the game plan was, and you tried to find out what they did against you to try and circumvent what you were trying to do or trying to upset what you were doing, and then you came up with a game plan.”
Sometimes, Brian says, coaches are so confident in things that they run it back almost exactly the second time around, while others don’t – and Joe Gibbs was the former, especially coming off a win.
In this instance, we’ve had 17 weeks and 16 games since Jayden Daniels’ debut, and the Bucs’ season hasn’t quite been as good as their Week 1 performance, but the point is that the Commanders have to learn not only from those last 16 games, but also what didn’t go well in the first.
“The main thing for me is to make sure I go into the game and understand everything that I did that did not go right. All the things I did right, I don't have to waste a lot of time on it; I can try to enhance that, but the things I did wrong, I wanted to totally correct,” Brian said. “U think if every man were to go into the game with that mindset, and you correct the things you did wrong, you put yourself in a way better chance.”
Brian gave some examples of certain situations and little things to look at, and also how bringing in other opinions could be a positive.
“I don't think you go into it trying to completely change up anything, it’s just trying to take the things you've done and enhance it, and overhaul some things in a sense,” Brian said. “Tampa had their way with Washington, so they're gonna feel like they’re a better team. They were that day, but if that game had more time, Washington started to make some adjustments and began to make plays, so they have to look at the second half, and late in that game, and see what they did differently to be able to start having some level of success.”
B thinks Todd Bowles will understand the Commanders of January are better than the Commanders of September, so it’s all about taking it to Jayden Daniels and confusing him – and for the Commanders, it’s about understanding that there is no ‘win or learn’ here, because the latter means going home.
“At this point, there is no tomorrow if you don’t win, so you need everyone on the field to empty the clip,” B said. “If you have it in you, it has to come out in that game.”
