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Feb 27, 2024

Eric Bieniemy is helping shape the Commanders' new approach to practice

The Washington Commanders’ training camp practices don’t end with the last whistle and final huddle. For roughly 30 minutes after the team’s on-field workout, many skill players head to the end zone

The Washington Commanders’ training camp practices don’t end with the last whistle and final huddle. For roughly 30 minutes after the team’s on-field workout, many skill players head to the end zone to catch footballs and tennis balls.

Post-practice reps on the JUGS machines are hardly new, but the addition of tennis ball machines are courtesy of new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

“It’s [about] hand-eye coordination,” he said with a grin after Wednesday’s practice. “Wait until we put dots on them and they have to call out the colors.”

After a stint playing for Andy Reid in Philadelphia and 10 years coaching with him in Kansas City, Bieniemy has become well-versed in the habits of Super Bowl-winning teams. That he would bring many of those habits (and even some players) to Washington was almost a certainty.

The tennis ball machine after practice is an Eric Bieniemy addition. “Hand-eye coordination,” he said. “Wait’ll we put dots on them and they have to call out the colors.” pic.twitter.com/xa1lE3vJRN

Since Bieniemy arrived, Washington has signed four players who were with him in Kansas City: tackle Andrew Wylie, wide receivers Marcus Kemp and Byron Pringle and running back Derrick Gore. And the Commanders’ similarities to the Chiefs spill over to structure and the finer details of practices.

“It’s the same structure,” Pringle said.

Added running back Jaret Patterson: “You look at the Chiefs, they must have been doing something right, so I’m glad we’re doing that type of practice style.”

Washington’s practices are built around movement and teaching. The typically two-hour sessions are designed to keep players working at all times — no standing around — and the intensity high, just like in games.

In 2020, Reid said the Chiefs don’t do any conditioning after practice for a reason. “We’re not lining up and running sprints,” he said. “Condition during practice, we’ll keep you watered down — we’re not doing the no-water game. But we know that in games you have to be ready.”

Reid, like Bieniemy, stays focused on the little things, too.

Svrluga: As the Commanders dare to dream, here comes Sam Howell

If quarterback Sam Howell is too lackadaisical in gathering the huddle after a play, he will hear about it — just as he did Wednesday.

“Get them in the … huddle!” Bieniemy yelled. “Enough with all the … walking!”

Fans applauded, and one screamed back: “Get them, dog!”

Bieniemy barks not for the sake of yelling but for the repeated emphasis on the details — the things that so often derailed Washington in recent seasons. His practices, too, are intentional. Most workouts last season included six team periods; this season, multiple practices, including the Commanders’ first in pads Tuesday, have featured four action periods that run longer and sometimes have a narrower focus.

For instance, the team may have a nine-on-seven period that includes more emphasis on third downs — third-and-short situations, third and medium, third and long — instead of just trying to gain 10 yards.

Coach Ron Rivera said he talked with Bieniemy and defensive coordinator Jack del Rio, and they concluded that “if we stayed on one thing a little bit longer and focused and concentrated on these things specifically, let’s see what that would do for us in terms of growth.”

On Wednesday, the Commanders practiced a bit longer and added two more action periods to focus on specific situations. After individual work, which included running back routes, the team stretched and then moved into red-zone work, a focus of the day.

When it transitioned to 11-on-11 team drills, it applied aspects of the individual drills. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. was the first target for Howell and, along with the other backs, was used regularly in space.

“One thing Eric is doing is he is throwing a lot at the guys and is forcing them to study,” Rivera said. “He’s forcing them to do the extra things to get up to speed as quickly as he wants them. And … we’re not game-planning out here. … You’re taking the volume of 300, 350 plays and narrowing that scope for the game plan. So these guys have to learn a lot, retain a lot and then take it and put it on the field.”

To do all that, the Commanders spread out to both practice fields to work on specific situations.

On the field farthest from the bleachers of fans, the tight ends and backs worked on blitz pickups and routes against the linebackers. The near field was split, with offensive and defensive linemen going one-on-one on the left and wide receivers and defensive backs going one-on-one (and sometimes two-on-two and three-on-three) on the right.

The Commanders had two goal-line sessions later in practice, another red-zone period and more drills of a specific focus as positional groups spread across both fields.

“To be in shape — to be in great shape — you got to have more volume,” tight end Logan Thomas said. “… It’s been good for us, and it’s going to be good for us come the actual football season because when we get in the fourth quarter, we’re not going to be sucking air.”

When Rivera made the coordinator change earlier this year, he said the Commanders needed to do a better job of getting the ball to their playmakers — and quickly. Bieniemy’s system relies heavily on a quick passing game to open up vertical, chunk plays.

“Last system, we didn’t have much of a quick passing game,” Thomas said. “... You got to have a quick passing game because, if not, everybody’s just going to drop out. Everybody’s going to be underneath everything.”

For Commanders’ defense, confidence is great. Maturity is even better.

The Commanders have centered much of camp around shorter routes, with plenty of presnap motion and “bunch” formations that group multiple offensive skill players on one side to help create separation. The results have been constant movement and a mental lesson to work through the adversity.

“They’re putting in a lot more movement, a lot more steps,” Rivera said. “They’re covering a lot more ground. And this is all part of the conditioning aspect as well, but they’re in shorter bursts, too.”

Commanders players wear athletic vests during practice that have GPS devices enclosed in the back to track their movements and monitor their exertion and performance. Thomas said his tracking data shows he has covered more ground in practices this year than he did at past camps.

“I don’t really pay attention to it, but I know, like, in a normal training camp practice last year, I was around 4,500 yards,” he said. “[I’m] a little bit above that now.”

That has been the case for most players. Rivera said that instead of having three, four or maybe five players reach the high ranges of exertion like in years past, the team typically has eight to 10 players hitting those ranges each day. Even the defensive players.

“Because there is no stagnant period,” safety Jeremy Reaves said, “you’re doing something at all times. . . . So everybody’s getting the most out of their reps and their day.”