After a disappointing loss to the Bears in which the Commanders defense allowed 27 points in the first half of a 40-20 defeat to Chicago, what does Washington's Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen think is going wrong with the defense?
"Ah, man if it was an easy answer we would have it fixed," Allen said during his weekly appearance on Monday with 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, which is presented exclusively by our partners at MainStreet Bank — Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put Our Team in Your Office.
"I think we should get back to the basics as far as players taking accountability, first and foremost, I think everyone's gonna be looking for an easy way out, a quick way to fix this solution overnight," Allen told the Junkies. "But let's just get back to the basics, let's go back, let's look at the film and see what we can improve, and let's get back to doing the little things right. You know what I mean? Fundamentally sound football, and I think that's the first step we're gonna take this week."
Allen said that when it comes to the NFL, offenses are great at exploiting weaknesses. So if there is a play or concept a defense struggles with, the offense will return to that action to exploit that fault until they can prove they can stop it.
"All the plays that we've been struggling with so far, teams are repeating them," he said. "So, we have to get better at the things that we're struggling with. And we'll do that, but we can't let big plays become big explosive touchdowns. And I think that's one step that we have to get improvement with.
"Big plays are gonna happen, you can't let those big plays compound, you can't let the dam break, and it's just, yeah it's definitely a struggle. Definitely tough, we're struggling right now. But we're going to improve."
When asked about an area of his own game that he can improve, Allen said he didn't see one aspect but several: Play with more energy, more effort, better technique, and go back to the fundamentals.
"Again, this isn't just a solution where it's 'hey if we fix this one thing we're gonna be perfect.' Like that's not football, that's not life," he said.
How much of it is down to communication? "I think that's a part of it," Allen told the Junkies, adding that "it's a bunch of little things" that are contributing to a lack of success on the field.
On the defense's struggles, Allen added: "I promise you this isn't going to continue."