As the clock passed 8:15 on Wednesday morning and players trickled onto the field, rays of sun began burning off the clouds. It had been another dark and stormy offseason for the Washington Commanders, but with the addition of a few key pieces and a pretty friendly schedule, some on the football side of the organization harbored cautious optimism.
Commanders finally back on the field after a turbulent summer
The opening of this year’s training camp felt different from those in the past. The team has a new name, logo and quarterback, and for the first time since 2012, it’s starting at home in Ashburn rather than at the facility in Richmond. Coach Ron Rivera held his pre-practice rightsholder radio interview with a classic-rock station instead of a sports-talk hub. The crowd of fans was smaller, and it lacked the grinning rogues of Richmond who roamed the sideline wearing Eagles and Cowboys jerseys while basking in the boos.
Instead, the Commanders’ first preseason practice was relatively short and low-key. The session started a countdown to the critical third year of Rivera’s tenure — 47 days until Week 1 — but everyone, perhaps especially the coach, seemed excited just to get back to football. The franchise had spent all spring and summer in controversy quicksand as stadium legislation failed to pass in Virginia, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio called the Jan. 6 insurrection a “dust-up,” and owner Daniel Snyder’s bitter battle with Congress dragged on.
The night before camp, Rivera was asked how he had dealt with a third straight summer being swamped by bad news.
“If I’m not here, I ain’t worried about it,” he quipped. “I’ll tell you that right now.”
But then his tone grew a little weary. “It’s almost to be expected, to be honest with you,” he added. “It goes in cycles.”
Rivera’s words and shrugging shoulders seemed to be a glimpse of how the constant strain has worn on him. He tried one of his favorite phrases to explain how he deals with the team’s problems — “Don’t focus on what’s interesting; focus on what’s important” — but this time, it didn’t feel quite right. These investigations and allegations are important, he said, and he didn’t want anyone to think he was being dismissive. But at the same time, he cannot control Congress or Snyder.
“To me, the important thing is football,” Rivera said. “I’m here to be judged on that, okay? The judgment starts with winning or losing. … Does [the controversy] make what I do harder? Yeah, it really does.”
“As a football coach, what I have to do is I’ve got to make this team presentable as a football team on the football field and in the community,” he continued. “The players and coaches, we have to have success. We have to go out and play. Why? Because we need the fans behind us. The fans get behind us, give us support, help build this up, get some momentum going, and some good things can happen. I believe that because I know what this area is capable of.”
Rivera, a linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1984 to 1992, reminisced about how raucous the fans used to get at RFK Stadium.
“I want to get the fan base back,” he said. “I don’t want people mixing up what happened back then [in previous scandals] with what we’re trying to do as a football team, okay? Appreciate us for being the football team — and the other stuff is over there. That’s what I’m hoping.”
Out on the field, Rivera surveyed his progress. He greeted players with fist bumps and handshakes and listened to his coaches coach. (“This is how you read a release,” assistant defensive backs coach Richard Rodgers barked.) He watched offensive coordinator Scott Turner direct the retooled unit, and when quarterback Carson Wentz connected on a deep throw to star wideout Terry McLaurin, Rivera remarked, “If anybody’s wondering why we did [his contract], that, to me, is the perfect example.”
In some ways, Wentz’s fortunes parallel Rivera’s as both try to emerge from two years of turbulence to reclaim a measure of stability and respectability.
“One year you’re here, one year you’re there, and you try to have your sights set on [the] long term wherever you are,” Wentz said. “But God has different plans sometimes. I try and make the most of it and just keep plugging along. … [We’ll be here] for, God willing, hopefully a long time.”
Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen is one of the few players who has given the franchise stability since before the Rivera era. He always has said the team’s off-field troubles don’t affect his play, and though he understands they weigh on Rivera, he doesn’t feel as impacted.
“I get asked questions about [controversies], but I can always defer, and I can always move on,” he said. “Coach [Rivera] doesn’t have that ability. He has to answer, and he has to take these problems head-on, so when outside noise does happen, it does affect him more. But when I get criticized on Twitter or when [the media] bring it to me, it’s in one ear, out the other. I don’t care. I’m here to play football.”
After practice, reporters asked Rivera football questions. How was Wentz? What about defensive end Montez Sweat? How does rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. fit into the game plan?
It was a welcome return to normal. Overall, Rivera said, he liked to see his players so enthusiastic.
“The first day’s always fun,” he said. “Like I said, optimism is high.”
Source: WP
