Originally Posted by
Mojouw
Actually listen/read what Ben said -- most commentators don't seem to have -- and it is some pretty benign stuff. He basically indicates him an AB talk about how to freelance and adjust routes on RPO plays. Imagine the hue and cry if they didn't do that?
"Looking at it on film, I can't tell if he would've caught it or not, obviously, but he did undercut AB. So who knows what would've happened? That's where I talk to AB, like, 'AB, you have to come flat. You can't drift in the end zone, because those undercuts can happen.' So would the guy have had a chance? Yes, I definitely think he would've had a chance. I can't control that guy. I can only control the safety and if he comes and takes the run away, I can throw it over his head."
That isn't exactly throwing AB under the bus. He simply said that the play situation caused him to believe the best opportunity was to try and put the ball in a spot his all world WR would beat the DB to. If Ben and AB weren't thinking of the same spot -- that is what Ben's comments are directed at. He later goes on to say that he should've thrown the ball away.
For Washington, he is relating what happened in film study and criticism that has already been directed towards Washington by multiple coaches and Ben himself in the privacy of the locker room:
"I think he just didn't trust his hands. For some reason he jumped/drove. I'm not really sure what he's doing. We looked at it. Coach got on him pretty good yesterday. We took a long hard look at it. James just needs to run through it, and it's a touchdown. ... James, he needs to make that play. Yes, he's a rookie, but you cant be out there if you're not gonna make those plays for us." "When I said 'confidence,' I think he needs to have confidence in himself. I think when you leave your feet for a ball that you don't need to leave your feet for — it's not just me, this is, I think, if you ask receivers, if you ask coaches, if you ask people around the NFL — it's the same sort of thing if you talk about a DB who's having issues intercepting a ball, they're trying to catch it with their chest or their body, right?
“When receivers are having issues, they're trying to catch it in their bellies instead of trusting their hands, right? When you trust and you have confidence in yourself, you use your hands and you catch the ball. I just felt like when he jumped and dove, whatever you want to call it, that just to me show showed a lack of confidence in himself and his hands. I have the confidence in him. I mean, I wouldn't have thrown it to him if I didn't. He needs to just have the trust and confidence in himself, and he needs to bounce back, right? We need him to bounce back and make some plays this week for us."
That isn't exactly torching a guy. I mean, I wish my supervisors criticized me that gently.