Washington Commanders fans should be feeling incredibly hyped following comment from Hall of Famer Warren Sapp about their defensive line.

Defence for the Washington Commanders took a pretty big backwards step last year when it came to their overall production. Having ended 2020 with the 2nd best defence in the league when it came to yards allowed with just 4,873, they dropped to #22 in 2021 as that number skyrocketed to 6,108. 

Part of that could possibly be down to the sheer number of injures they suffered, not least to star defensive lineman and 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young who suffered a torn ACL midway through the season having taken the league by storm with 42 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in his debut campaign. 

They also had one of the worst passing defences in the league last season, giving up the 4th most yards through the air with 4,333 to go with 34 passing touchdowns, the most in the league. 

But as the old saying goes, football is won and lost in the trenches, which might explain why they decided to bring in Hall of Famer Warren Sapp to teach them a few things.

Aiming to get back on top

During the 2020 season, sacks played a huge part in how dominant they were as a team, ranking 6th in the league in that category with 47 as the likes of Young as well as 2nd-year defensive end Montez Sweat wreaked havoc on opposing offensive lines, making up for an offense that ranked 3rd worst in the league with just 5,076 yards that saw them limp to a 7-9 finish, although still enough to get them the #1 spot in the NFC East. 

In 2021, that number dropped to just 38, which ranked 17th in the league, so if they are to get back to anything like the defense that they were in 2020, then it is all going to have to start up front, and if you listen to what Sapp has to say, he thinks they are more than capable of bouncing right back. 

Sapp left gushing over their potential

Speaking to media during the team’s minicamp, Sapp couldn’t contain his excitement at how talented the players were, likening them to a ‘bowling bowls with butcher knives’, before going on to explain how crucial the defensive line is to winning games:

When it comes to dominant defensive linemen, Sapp knows exactly what he is talking about as his NFL career saw him put up 605 total tackles across the regular and post-season to go along with 102 sacks, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and a Super Bowl victory in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

So if this line are getting his approval, then the league is hopefully being put on notice with these comments.