5 Takeaways from Ron Rivera’s Zoom Conference

Ron Rivera made some smart, eye-opening statements on behalf of himself and the Washington Redskins, proving once again, there's a new way of doing things.

It was a call that was really unlike any other I have listened to and for good reason. 

Head coach Ron Rivera started it off by reading a statement on the killing of George Floyd, the massive protests across the country, and what the Washington Redskins will be doing internally to help make sure that everyone is heard.  

There are actionable items they can carry out including owner Daniel Snyder donating $250,000 to help get started, the creation of the Black Engagement Network (BEN) by employees, and a town hall program that will consist of 6 people that are within the organization.

A message from head coach Ron Rivera.

Click the link for full press conference ⬇️

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 10, 2020

Protesting and kneeling during the anthem will be supported by Ron Rivera.

Running back Adrian Peterson has come out and said that he is planning on kneeling during the national anthem. And the head coach supports that. 

Rivera used the example of when safety Eric Reid was signed by Carolina and the conversations they had on the issue. He understands what the kneeling means in relation to protesting police brutality and social justice. Ron also said that he went back and re-read the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Oath of Office and it is about those freedoms and rights that the military fought for. It also sounds like Dan will not interfere with what Ron is trying to instill in the locker room and the message to the public. According to Rivera, Dan told him that, “you have to communicate it and make sure the players understand that you understand them and know what you want.”

How things look on the field is ultimately going to be what determines key position battles.

Rivera is looking forward to seeing what the competition breeds in positions where there are a lot of question marks. Ben Standig, who had asked the question, mentioned left tackle and Ron doubled down on that. Ron also discussed the left guard battle between Wes Schweitzer and Wes Martin, the tight end position, and then Ryan Anderson on where they can put him and use him with his skillset. And then how is the depth chart going to shakeout in the secondary.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins is meeting Ron’s expectations for him as a leader.

Rivera has seen Dwayne’s growth since the conversation they had when he first arrived in D.C. Ron believes he has done a great job with everything this offseason has thrown at Dwayne and the leadership he is showing with the protest and the Black Lives Matter movement. There is a maturity there that Rivera is excited to see and looking forward to seeing Haskins continue to develop as a professional when they get back together as a team.

The young players are going to have an opportunity to prove themselves.

We could not get out of the interview without the Dwayne Haskins and Antonio Brown workout video being asked and whether Ron is interested in bringing in Brown. Ron believes that they if you bring in veterans in before seeing what the young receiving group has and their growth from year one to year two could stunt their growth and not showcase their abilities. If there were the traditional OTA’s, rookie camps, and the rest of the normal offseason schedule they might have brought in more veterans, but that is not in the cards until training camp gets underway.

The coaching staff has gotten creative with how to teach during the Zoom meetings.

Ron noted that the most difficult thing during this time is that there is no real film of their own to teach off in terms of practice tape. The coaching staff are having to back and find clips and cut ups of the plays and style of play they are wanting to install this year on both sides of the ball. The offense has been easier to finds things on because there are some similarities to blocking, motion, and other schemes, but the defense has been a little bit more difficult as they have had to find a mix of several different teams.

To watch/listen to the entire ZOOM conference courtesy of Redskins.com - watch this:

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Alan Lepore joins RedskinsReport.com while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.