Commanders' QB reveals how the defensive shakeup is affecting offense
MADRID – Things are going to be different for the Washington Commanders this week. Will they be more successful? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.
For starters, the head coach is also now calling the defense after Dan Quinn relieved Joe Whitt Jr. of those duties following the team’s fifth-straight loss in Week 10.
“It's more in the preparation phase,” where the changes have occurred, Quinn said ahead of Washington facing off against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11. “I'm always involved with the defense, but team meetings and special teams, and those are staying the same, but just in and out of the practices, and it's been a big collaboration so far,” he continued.
A New Voice on Defense
Clearly, there are changes happening and still to come to the defense, but with the head coach taking more onto his plate, how much of an impact will it have on the offensive side of things?
'Not at All, Honestly'
“Not at all, honestly,” quarterback Marcus Mariota said about that topic. “And that's a credit to him because I think as a head coach now that you're taking some of those play calling duties over, you would think kind of firsthand that maybe he would, things would be a little different, but it's been very much the same and it's a credit to Dan and the defensive staff to allow that to happen and for us as an offense, it’s been status quo and continue to work and build and I think we're excited to get things going and practice.”
Really, Mariota’s words speak support to Quinn’s assertions that the team’s culture isn’t the problem and that it is very much still intact. And it lends a larger ability to perhaps even see significant changes in the defense because of it, though we’d caution against any hyperbolic thoughts with just under one week to really impact things in Quinn’s newly added role.
A Player-Approved Spark
We’ve seen several occasions in the past where coaching changes spark increased performances from NFL rosters, even if just for a short period, and that seems to be part of Quinn’s motivation, stating earlier this week that he’s hoping to drum up some more energy and create momentum where none currently exists.
Meanwhile, his offense that scored 22 points with his attention evenly split on game day the last time out, will likely need to exceed at least 25 to have a fighting chance at getting the team’s first win in six tries in Week 11.
Scott Sabourin wants you to know him for more than that Panthers game
Scott Sabourin might be the most popular Lightning player who hadn’t played in a regular-season NHL game for the team before this week.
There’s no doubt that many a Lightning fan threw air punches along with the 33-year-old when watching the team’s final preseason game on Oct. 4 in Sunrise as Sabourin lowered the boom on Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. Just 19 seconds into his first shift, Sabourin zeroed in on Ekblad, leveling him behind the net, then unleashing fists of fury.
“I show up every night ready to compete, and I might have gotten a little ahead of myself that time,” Sabourin said Wednesday. “I might have kind of overshot the runway.”
That night, Sabourin was the first of five players to be ejected in the game’s first 23 minutes. By the end of the night, 16 players were tossed. Some hailed the carnage as the next chapter of what might be hockey’s bitterest rivalry. Others thought it never should have happened. The league believed the latter and fined the Lightning $100,000 and coach Jon Cooper $25,000.
Sabourin received a four-game suspension and $16,145.84 fine for his role. But for taking out Ekblad, who might be Public Enemy No. 1 among Lightning fans for his elbow to Brandon Hagel’s head in last season’s playoffs, Sabourin immediately became a fan favorite.
Nearly six weeks later, Sabourin is back in a Lightning uniform, recalled along with forward Boris Katchouk from AHL Syracuse ahead of the home loss against the Rangers on Wednesday night.
Sabourin’s Lightning debut was his 48th NHL game in 14 years of professional hockey. And while he’s spent most of his career as an AHL enforcer, he’s still out to prove he’s more than just that. He’s shown some scoring touch with the Crunch, recording three goals and five points in 11 games.
“I’m excited to be back and to show some more stuff, some hockey side of it, and play my game,” Sabourin said. “And obviously there will be times when physical stuff will be part of it, too. But I want to present as a hockey player as well. … But anytime you get an opportunity to play, you know, in the top league in the world, you jump at it. So I’m excited to get here, and I’m excited to get going.”
With intermittent call-ups, Sabourin fulfilled his four-game suspension. And even though the Lightning have a need for healthy forwards, it can’t be totally coincidental that he’s rejoining the team with its first regular-season meeting against the Panthers coming up Saturday in Sunrise.
Against the Rangers on Wednesday, Sabourin scored the Lightning’s first goal six minutes into the opening period. It was his first NHL goal in nearly six years, the last coming Feb. 29, 2020, while he was with the Senators. The Lightning are Sabourin’s third organization since.
“It was great,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “The boys were pumped. It was awesome.”
But when detailing Sabourin’s story beyond that night, there are more reasons to root for him. He’s played parts of 13 seasons in the AHL.
He had an 18-goal season just two seasons ago in the AHL but has struggled to stick in the NHL. After playing 35 games with Ottawa in 2019-20, he’s appeared in no more than seven NHL games in a season since. He got into just one NHL game last season with San Jose.
“I think at my age now, it’s kind of keeping your speed, right?” Sabourin said. “I’m kind of on the back nine. So, it’s important to stay focused on your regimen, your health, your food, your nutrition, your fitness, all that stuff, right? It’s all part of it. And if I square that all the way and I have good gym time, then I should be able to keep my boots for a handful more years here.”
When Sabourin signed a two-way contract with the Lightning during the summer, they made it known to him that the organization was looking for more physicality. He knew the Lightning’s reputation as a “world-class organization.” And in his time in Syracuse, Sabourin has loved playing under coach Joel Bouchard.
“Bouch pushes us to be better every night, and he pushes us to compete,” Sabourin said. “So that’s helpful. And then it pays dividends when you come up here and you feel like you know you’re in unreal shape, that’s awesome. You want to feel that way when you get on the ice in the NHL, right?”
Now, Sabourin has another chance to show he’s the type of player who can help teams win. And while his physicality is a part of that, he wants to show he can do the other things to make the Lightning a better team.
And in that way, it was no different going into that preseason game six weeks ago.
“I just wanted to get in hard on the forecheck, to be honest,” Sabourin said. “And then, you know, one thing led to another. But day in and day out, you know, I want to compete. I want to be hard to play against, and I want other teams to know that I’m on the ice, right?
“So, again, that might not have been the best way to go about it, but at the end of the day, the other team will know I’m out there.”
