One of the biggest surprises of the season so far has been the proficiency of the Washington Commanders’ offense. Take the Bengals game for instance. With six possessions, five touchdowns, one field goal, and two one-play kneel-down drives, Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching showed vigor that his predecessor Eric Bieniemy failed to do last year. While fans are surprised by this turnaround, the players aren’t because they are enjoying playing under Kliff’s tutelage.
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Earlier today, Washington Post’s Sam Fortier wrote an interesting story on Kliff Kingsbury’s quick impact on the Commander’s offense. As per Fortier’s interaction with the players and personnel around the Commanders, the biggest difference between Kliff and Eric is the former’s collaborative approach towards coaching.
Fortier noted that while Bieniemy is an old-school coach who treats the film sessions as his bible, Kingsbury flips the script by having three walk-throughs in a day with his players.
For the Commanders players, this was a game changer as the approach brought the freshness that was needed for them to imbibe the playstyle quickly.
Another pivotal change from Eric’s reign per Fortier is the way post-practice meetings were approached. While traditional coaches have extended sessions with the playmakers, Kingsbury goes the extra mile by having the same sessions with every position group.
As per veteran TE Zach Ertz, the energy that Kliff brings is palpable, and attributed his Thailand trip to his rejuvenation. “He’s rejuvenated; his energy is palpable,” theorized the TE.
Thanks to Kliff’s novel approach, the results are evident in the Comannders’ first three matches. Fans are undeniably happy with the recruitment and have been lauding their team management for recruiting the former Arizona man. However, in reality, the recruitment was more of an opportunity exploited well.
Raiders’ loss is Washington’s gain
Before the Washington Commanders roped in Kingsbury, the OC was in talks with the Raiders. However, the deal stalled due to a key contractual dispute – Kliff wanted a three-year contract with industry-standard compensation while the Raiders could only offer two years.
This is where the Commanders decided to strike. For HC Quinn, Kliff was always the first priority. So when news emerged of the deal between the former Arizona man and the Raiders being stalled, Quinn & Co. made an “11th-hour” shot at wooing Kingsbury to Washington.
“That was definitely an 11th-hour, block-’em-up-and-go-take-a-shot,” reminisced Quinn. Luckily for the Commanders, they were able to convince Kliff by explaining their project and his role convincingly. “We were able to get quickly to him and explain what we’re going to do,” the Commanders HC stated.
All said the Raiders’ loss is Washington’s gain. While the former is 1-2 in the season so far, the Commanders have surprised all with stellar performances so far.
Safe to say, it will be intriguing to see where Kliff Kingsbury’s impact takes the Commanders this season.
