Three straight losses have dimmed whatever optimism the Commanders might have sparked with their season-opening win and head coach Ron Rivera’s comments this week offered little reason to think that things will be improving quickly.
Rivera said he understands the frustration with where the team is and how important it is to start winning games before tempering those thoughts by saying that he has to “be realistic with what we have and what we’re going to do” this season. That is not a ringing endorsement of the team’s roster, but quarterback Carson Wentz insists that neither the losing nor the outlook shared by Rivera are creating chaos behind the scenes.
“There’s no sense of panic. There’s no sense of chaos around here,” Wentz said, via Ethan Cadeaux of NBCSportsWashington.com. “We’re going into Week 5. We know how we’ve played [and] it wasn’t up to our standards. But at the same time, I know everyone in that locker room has a ton of confidence. We’ve seen spurts of what we’re capable of. . . . We know the sense of urgency that there is but there’s no panic by any means.”
Wentz acknowledged “patience only lasts so long” if a team isn’t winning and improvement in his play would be a good way to get more positive results. The last few seasons have done little to create confidence that he’s capable of making that kind of improvement, but there’s no sign that the Commanders are looking to anyone else to help them avoid slipping into panic mode.