HUGE news out of the Commanders' press conferences on Thursday: offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy revealed that Ron Rivera told him to pull Sam Howell in Sunday's loss to the Rams.
"Coach Ron, he basically said, 'Hey, you know what, let's rest him, give him a break and give him an opportunity to observe Jacoby, and give Jacoby an opportunity to go play," Bieniemy said. "I agreed with him. At that particular time, there was no hesitation. And obviously Coach Rivera is the head man, and when he makes a comment, he has 51 percent of the vote. And I honestly agreed with him at that particular time because I felt he was pressing, and you never want to see someone pressing."
So, EB was with it, but it was Ron's decision…and in the open of his own show Thursday, Chris Russell revealed that he found that answer 'interesting.'
"I thought that was a pretty interesting answer – not fascinating or overly revealing, or anything to try to stir the pot with, but struck me as somewhat odd," Russell said. "Bieniemy said it was Ron's suggestion, and Ron is 51 percent of the equation…which basically means, 'I have pretty much full control over the offense, until the big man jumps in and makes a suggestion, and then I have to listen.' We know Ron preached he had turned the keys over to Bieniemy, and you can believe that EB still had more stroke than others – but is it logical to think that for the next three weeks, Ron can make a suggestion and EB has no choice?"
One other thing Bieniemy said about the situation, though, was that Jacoby Brissett 'played and didn't think,' and that's what's Sam Howell got out of watching – and that, too, is interesting to Rooster 15 weeks into the season.
"I think we could all see that, and it was clear, so a couple of things come out of that," Russell said. "Are you surprised, or disappointed, or okay with what Bieniemy said? I was hoping that decision came from EB, but it makes me think when Sam was not pulled in ugly games, it was because Ron didn't make the suggestion. But does it bother you in any way that Bieniemy said all that? And the bigger picture we have to acknowledge moving forward is maybe Sam Howell, as things have gotten worse over the last month, has just gotten too tight? Maybe instead of he's beat up, or the season is too long, or whatever excuse, maybe he's just thinking too much, and we'll see a more aggressive Sam Howell this week?"
This was the topic of most of the first two hours of Thursday's show, so take a listen to all of Rooster's crowing above!
