Commanders defense begin to reveal sub-packages in preseason opener

Breaking down some of the defensive sub-packages the Commanders showed in their preseason opener against the Jets

Something I’ve been looking forward to seeing from the Washington Commanders in preseason is their defensive sub-packages. Under the previous regime, the Commanders pretty much lived in the same five packages; base 4-3, nickel, buffalo nickel, dime and cinco (five defensive lineman). It was rare to see them get away from those packages or have much variance within them. New Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. both used a lot more personnel packages in Dallas and appear set to do the same here in Washington. 

Now we’re unlikely to see too many different things revealed in preseason, but the Commanders do also need to practice some of these different looks and see how they work, what situations they can be used in, and which players fit the different roles within each package. So while they certainly won’t show everything, we will get a few glimpses at just how multiple this defense can be. In the preseason opener against the Jets on Saturday, we saw the starting defense for only one series, but even then we saw multiple different packages. So let’s break those down. 

4-2 Nickel

On the first play of the game, the Commanders came out in a basic 4-2 nickel package. This consists of four defensive lineman, two linebackers and five defensive backs. On this occasion, the four defensive lineman were Dorance Armstrong and Clelin Ferrell at defensive end, Phidarian Mathis and undrafted free agent rookie Norell Pollard. At linebacker, rookie Jordan Magee played the Mike (middle) role while free agent signing Frankie Luvu played the Will (weak side) spot. Rookie Mike Sainristil started as the nickel in the slot with Emmanuel Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste on the outside at corner. Jeremy Chinn and Quan Martin filled out the defense at safety, with Chinn down in the box as the strong safety and Martin back deep as the free safety. 

There isn’t a huge amount to dive into with this package as it’s a very basic package that will probably get used by the Commanders a lot. 4-2 nickel is the most common personnel package on defense around the NFL now. Every team runs it and it’s replaced the different “base” defenses of 3-4 or 4-3 for most of the league due to the rise in passing and 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) on offense. 

The test for the Commanders in this personnel group will be stopping the run. The league now looks to deploy bigger slot receivers like Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua who are almost as effective at blocking as tight ends. This can be a mismatch in the run game for that nickel corner, as they are part of the run fit as well as having coverage responsibilities. Mike Sainristil is undersized and while that allows him to be more agile than most, he still will have some tough battles taking on blocks in the run game and teams will certainly be looking to test him in that regard. Fortunately though, Sainristil plays with a fantastic attitude and isn’t afraid to be physical. 

We can see that here on this play. The Jets start their first series with a crack toss run scheme directly at Sainristil’s side of the field. Sainristil doesn’t back away or hesitate like many other small slot corners would. Instead he recognizes the run scheme and works hard to get to the outside and establish an edge to force the runner to cut back inside to the rest of the defense. He beats the block from the wide receiver and gets outside, forcing the back to cut his run inside where Emmanuel Forbes is there to bring him down. 

So that’s a good sign that while teams will attack Sainristil and indeed Washington with runs like that against this personnel package, Sainristil is definitely capable of holding his own and not becoming a liability in the run game that other players his size could easily do. 

4-1 Dime

After a false start on second down got the Jets backed up into a second and nine situation, the Commanders quickly changed out of their 4-2 nickel package and shifted to their 4-1 dime package. This is a similar package but instead of having a second linebacker, they sub in an extra safety to play as a lighter, more agile dime linebacker.