Commanders Coach Bobby Johnson Aiming to Set, Enforce Standards
ASHBURN, Va. -- Typically, those outside the NFL view division rivalries like the ones the Washington Commanders share with NFC East opponents as sacred borders not to be crossed.
But inside the league, they aren't as rigid, as demonstrated by the Commanders bringing in coaches from the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants this offseason.
One of them, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, comes to Washington after spending the past two seasons with the New York Giants and is part of a newly minted staff that is still getting to know each other while setting the table for what will become a new identity for each of them, in the DMV.
New York Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson on the field for mandatory minicamp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in East Rutherford. News Giants Mandatory Minicamp
© Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
"We've started to scratch the surface on what we strive to be," coach Johnson says. "Balance is a major concept that we want to strive to be (on offense). I've been in a lot of offenses and that's always the goal because it gives the defense a hard time defending you. If you are one-dimensional, they can take that one dimension away or they can play to that one dimension. If you're balanced, they're not quite sure what you're gonna be and they gotta play both and that stresses the defense. The big thing being balanced is you start to dictate to the defense, not have the defense dictate to you. So that's going to be the goal."
Dictating an opponent is something fans of the Commanders would love to see, especially after 2023 appeared to be more about reacting to the world around them more than anything else.
Coach Johnson also says that's going to start within the team itself, however, and they have to have a clear understanding of who they are and what is expected in order to achieve those goals.
"Here's what we're looking for. Here's a standard we're looking to set. Are you going to climb to that standard? If you are, great, you're going to find a role," Johnson said when asked what his message to his new players is going to be. "If you're not, somebody else is going to have that role. And you'll be surprised, most guys go, 'That's all I want. I want a clear expectation so I know what I'm working toward,' and that's really what we're trying to set here...To get to this level, you've got to be a driven guy. If you know what your expectation is, a lot of guys will strive to reach that. That's what the message is going to be...And it's not going to be different from guy to guy. It's going to be consistent across the board."
Drive and determination helps get you to the NFL. But it takes more than that to fully realize your identity as a team and impose that onto your opponent.
It's something Washington once did with regularity in previous decades of football in the DMV, and something this staff is looking to return to now.
