NFC Notes: DaRon Bland, Jack Del Rio, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles

Commanders

Commanders owner Josh Harris issued a statement regarding the state of the team and where he wants them to end up not only this season but moving forward.

“I feel exactly how our fans feel today: disappointed and frustrated,” Harris said, via PFT. “It’s how our players and staff feel as well. I knew our first season of ownership would include challenges along the way, and we will not shy away from hard work, nor will we be deterred by adversity. As Coach Rivera and I discussed, all of our energy for the remainder of the season will be focused on playing better, more consistent football and developing our players while intently evaluating the areas in which we need to improve this offseason. Our fans deserve a team that can compete with the NFL’s best and win sustainably over the long-term. I will not waver from that mission. Thank you to our fans for the ways in which you’ve breathed new life into our franchise. We have not been good enough this season, but our resolve for the future is unbroken.”

• Commanders HC Ron Rivera said they felt like they needed to make a move from DC Jack Del Rio and DBs coach Brent Vieselmeyer after things “snowballed” defensively against the Cowboys in Thursday’s game: “I did feel like change was necessary to shake some things up and get things moving forward. … It’s one of those things that as you watch things happen last night, it just kind of snowballed. I was concerned,” per Ralph Vacchiano. 
• Rivera doesn’t feel their dismissal of Del Rio and Vieselmeyer is an indictment against their coaching: “This isn’t an indictment on Jack Del Rio and Brent Vieselmeyer. Those guys worked their asses off. For whatever reason it wasn’t coming together,” via Nicki Jhabvala. 
• Rivera explained they plan on “doing things differently” on the defensive side and feels they were “aligned” on his plans: “We’re going to do things differently… Jack did a great job; I was aligned with what he did on defense. I thought they were good solid things. Some things I have different opinions on and those are things I do differently. This is nothign about fighting or arguing,” via John Keim. 

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had high praise of CB DaRon Bland for recording his NFL-record fifth interception returned for a touchdown so far this season and mentioned how the entire team rallied around Bland. 

“That was NFL history in there,” Jones said, via ProFootballTalk. “I’ll tell you this: I’ve never seen a group of young, older men and coaches any more excited to be a part of something like that record that [Bland] had than the genuine cheering and seeing them congratulating and enjoying it with him. It meant something to everybody in that room, and of course, he’s just Mr. Humble.”

Bland said he wanted to show off his return skills in his touchdown return against the Commanders on Thursday. 

“Actually, I wanted to show my teammates my return skills,” Bland said. “That’s what they said, ‘We’ve seen a lot of pick-sixes. We [need] to see one with return skills.’ Hopefully, I showed them. . . . I wasn’t going to be denied on that one.”

Bland said achieving the single-season record for interception returns means a lot to him and is glad to provide an example for kids back home in Modesto, California. 

“It means a lot,” Bland said. “That was one of my biggest things, show the kids back home you can do it. Whatever it is you put your mind to, you can do it.”

Eagles

• Eagles HC Nick Sirianni was non-committal when asked if CB Avonte Maddox (pectoral) could return at some point this season: “We’ll see… [He’s] working real hard,” per Brooks Kubena. 
• Sirianni thinks the criticism against OC Brian Johnson is unjustified: “I think it’s a very silly take on him if there is any criticism on him. I think he’s doing a phenomenal job. I think our offense is doing a good job. You can look at every stat you want, but do you score as many points and win as many games? That’s all it’s about, right? We’re averaging half a point less than last year and we have the same record, so he’s done a nice job,” per Zach Berman.