Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. says the communication must improve

Imagine a defense in basketball that does not yell to teammates to inform them of a pick, a cutter, or a rotation needed to trap in the corner.

Well, Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt, with the press Thursday, felt similarly regarding his team’s communication Sunday in Tampa. “I don’t expect to have the communication mistakes that we had. We hadn’t made them. I don’t expect them. The standard is the standard, game one or game 17.”

Whitt talked of how they attempted to work on their communication in game-like situations, but apparently, it all fell apart during the pressure and pace of a regular-season game.

“We talked about putting them (defense) in stressful situations, which we have. When we get in game stadiums we got to communicate the same way we do in the practice field.”

Whitt then turned to how he would step it up himself: ” I have to do a better job of demanding it, and I hear it the way that it should be said in the walk-throughs and practice.”

When asked if perhaps they didn’t know what the Bucs would do, Whitt smiled, responding, ” No, no, no. We knew what they were going to do. That’s when I said, ‘Make them beat you and not beat yourself.'”

Then Whitt was asked how he improves the communication this week.

“Just like I said. Demanding it in the walk-throughs,” Quinn answered. “I stood way back in the walk-through we just had. I told them I am way back here and I got to hear it. So you have to scream it; it has to be loud.I don’t want to have one player say, I didn’t get it. So communication is sent, received and acknowledged.”

One thing is certain: the Commanders’ defense needs to be on the same page against the Giants on Sunday at home.