Jon Allen joined the Junkies on Tuesday this week for his weekly appearance sponsored by MainStreet Bank – Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put their team in your office. – and told JP and Cakes he enjoyed Christmas with his family, although we found out he’s an apple over pumpkin or sweet potato pie guy.
Whatever pie he ate, though, could’ve washed down the bitter taste of a Sunday at MetLife where the Commanders were down 20-0 quickly and saw Jacoby Brissett bring them all the way back to up 28-27, only to lose on a late field goal that protected draft position but also frustrated pretty much everyone.
Could’ve, but didn’t, because Allen knows he gave his all on Sunday.
“No…coach used to always say this, and I truly believe this, the amount of work I put in this week leading up to the Jets has been probably some of the most I've ever done in my entire career,” Allen said. “The way I was able to go out there – and I'm talking about me personally – and play hard for the amount of plays we had, I can go to sleep knowing I left it all out there on the field. When things get tough, I mean, you really just got to look at yourself and focus on what you're doing. So, with the amount of work I put in, and the preparation I put in towards the game and the amount of effort and the intensity in which I played with, I was able to go to sleep knowing I left it all out on the field, and really, that's all I could do.”
The Commanders did fall and are no 4-11 with the No. 3 draft position, and with games against a 49ers team trying to keep the No. 1 seed and a Cowboys team that could still be fighting for an NFC East title still ahead, it’s not going to get any easier.
But that tanking for the pick perspective? Yeah, as you might’ve guessed, he hears it and understands it, but pays no mind to it.
“It’s definitely annoying, but I always tell people you gotta look at it from which perspective people are looking at it,” Allen said. “I'm not looking at it from over the next 5 to 10 years and we do this, we'll be successful, I'm looking at it of it like let's win right now. I don't care about none of that draft order crap, I want to win. Fans look at it like they've been fans for 30-40 years, so what puts us in the best position to win the Super Bowl long term? Me, I’m just trying to win right now. So it’s just about the perspective on what you're looking at; I understand why fans think like that or you guys speak like that, and a younger version of me definitely would be upset by that, but now I've come to realize that it is what it is.”
So then, if trying to win now, should the QB on New Year’s Eve be Howell or Brissett?
“I mean, that's a tough question. I think right now a lot of people are gonna be saying Jacoby, and obviously, Sam is struggling and Jacoby is playing great,” Allen said. “Thank God I don't get paid to make those decisions, you know, I just focus on what I gotta do. It’s a tough question, do you move off of him or continue to try to work with him? I don't really think that's the question that I can answer.”
Brissett is “the ultimate competitor who competes his (tail) off” according to Allen, and Howell is “handling it well” in regards to his struggles and those being in the spotlight – and “there’s not a player that has played in the NFL that can say I've never lost confidence at any point in my career” – so whatever happens will be a good opportunity for either QB in some way.
Take a listen to Allen’s entire segment, which also includes thoughts on the Niners and their game last night, how the Commanders are handling all the swirling rumors of the end of the Rivera era, Chris Rodriguez’s strong December, and more!
