Ron Rivera rips Washington for not ‘good enough’ practice

ASHBURN — Ron Rivera’s post-practice message went longer than usual. The Washington coach gathered his players, his voice rising and tone becoming clearer and clearer. After another day in which the defense dominated the offense, he said the team’s effort was unacceptable. He pointed to veterans Adrian Peterson and Thomas Davis, saying they were examples of how to make it in the NFL.

Then, he called out Wes Martin.

Using the second-year left guard as an example, Rivera preached the importance of opportunity. There are a number of younger players on Washington like Martin, who can earn an expanded role if he proves he’s up to the task. There are snaps available.

But Rivera isn’t seeing what he wants.

“It wasn’t good enough in all honestly,” Rivera said later. “I did acknowledge that the defense had a good day, but my point is: WE didn’t have a good day as a complete team. And that is something that we have to get corrected. … We have to take ownership of ourselves.”

Two days after revealing he has skin cancer, Rivera seemed more bothered by his team’s inability to practice with consistent effort than his own diagnosis. He confirmed that defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio would be the team’s interim coach if he had to step away because of his cancer treatment, but for now, Rivera plans on coaching. As he does, Rivera said he wants Washington to practice at a faster pace.

On Saturday, Washington lost focus as practice went on. Quarterbacks Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen each tossed interceptions and many of the team’s drives during 11-on-11 stalled out. Speaking to reporters, Rivera said Washington did some “good things early,” but faded down the stretch.

Why does it matter? Rivera compared it to a game. If an average game takes three hours, Washington can’t afford to play hard for only 2 hours and 15 minutes, he said. It’s about building the right habits.

Center Chase Roullier said the message was received.

“You can’t take any days off if you expect to make it to a Super Bowl,” Roullier said. “He talked about the expectations for this team to make it to the Super Bowl in his time here and that is our goal, to make it to a Super Bowl and to win a Super Bowl. … In order to do that, we have to play hard every single play and fix all of our mistakes and continue to push forward that way.”

Rivera knows what it takes. As a player, he won a Super Bowl with the 1985 Chicago Bears and as a coach, he led the Carolina Panthers to the big game during the 2015 season. Carolina lost to the Denver Broncos, but the Panthers went 15-1 in the regular season that year.

Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, a captain last year, agreed Washington’s focus needs to improve. He said he is tired of losing.

“It’s not going to be easy what we want to accomplish,” Allen said. “But hard work is hard work and we have to do it. I’m 100% bought in to what we have to do here.”