Want a good way to make an impression on a new team? How about taking one 98 yards to the house on the opening kickoff for a touchdown?
That’s what Austin Ekeler did (sort of) on Sunday, and even though it was called back via penalty, he was still glowing about it when he joined Grant & Danny Tuesday for his weekly visit.
“What an epic way to start out the home opener, huh? I was like, there’s no way this is starting out like this, but the boys locked it up and I didn’t have to go too crazy. Unfortunately, someone blocked too good and got the holding, but what a great way to bring the energy to the home opener that could’ve been epic,” Ekeler said. “We still celebrated because we didn’t know what the flag was and it’s not often you see one taken to the house, but hey, we got the most energy out of it as we could.”
The culprit immediately apologized to Ekeler and owned up to the mistake, which Ekeler appreciated, so it’s all good and there’s no hard feelings – and hopefully, he’ll have more opportunities to return kicks, which he hasn’t done regularly since he was a rookie.
“It’s different now; I think this takes out the big collisions of the initial stopping of bodies, so as far as the concept, I think it works,” Ekeler said of the new kickoff format. “Still, it’s a violent play, and it’s still football, so you can’t take that totally out. It looks funny, but we just have to get used to it, and eventually it’ll be like, this is how we do it.’ I think it’s here to stay.”
In between those moments, he’s still the team’s leading receiver with 99 yards (and tied for second with seven catches), so he’s contributing big time in his role as a more pass-catching back, which might be surprising to some given his injury history and his move from the Chargers.
“What’s really unique about the NFL is that we have kind of a base as an offense, but you game plan for every opponent and install new things every single week based on matchups and philosophies we have to counter,” Ekeler said. “It’s always an evolving playbook, but we know how to communicate.
We have to iron out some of these false starts, but I feel comfortable so far.”
Oh, and beyond that, he’s also been huge in pass protection and blocking so far, making him a quadruple threat.
“There’s a lot that goes into it; it’s not easy but it’s usually not complicated. You have to understand who the defensive coordinator is and what they want to do, and then understand what we’re trying to do on offense,” Ekeler said. “Different plays have different types of protection rules, so knowing the play, knowing the defense, studying it and marrying it together, you know who to block – and then you have to go do it, so that’s only step one. If you know who you’re blocking, you can do it quicker, which gives them less time to react so you don’t have to take on a full charging player. Then it comes down to technique – I’m 5-foot-8 so I’m probably lower than you are, so it comes down to setting a good base and executing a good block with a strong lower body and good body control.”
All that adds up to how much, and what kind of, film Ekeler watches during the week, as he tries not to get bogged down in the minutiae and relies on what he’s learned over his nine seasons – and one thing he’s seeing this season, and saw Sunday, is the Commanders’ run game is on point, and perhaps the strength of the offense.
“Brian Robinson is definitely a punisher, a big back who looks for contact and will run you over. That’s his philosophy, and he’s going to continue to run with his size and strong lower body,” Ekeler said. “I think it’s awesome we have him as that type of punisher and them myself as more of the pass-catcher who can make you miss. It’s a good two-headed monster we have, and credit to the O-line for getting us going and giving us gaps. We’ve had a good running plan, and it’s good complementary football when we can put the run game together.”
None of it got them in the end zone Sunday, but hey, a win is a win, and in this case, a learning opportunity with it.
“There’s some good and bad. The good is we didn’t have to punt and moved the ball into scoring position, but bad because offensively we never scored. You take it how it is and you learn from it,” Ekeler said. “Yes, we showed signs of being able to consistently move the ball, and we want to build on that, but we have to get rid of these red zone penalties that are killing us and keeping us out of the end zone. You might squeak out one or two, but you’re not going to win a lot of games where all you’re getting is field goals, so we have to work on that.”
Take a listen to Ekeler’s entire visit above, which also includes some deeper thoughts on parts of Sunday’s win and the Commanders’ offensive philosophy!
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