Lions defensive coordinator Mark Washington reacts to a play during a win over Montreal on June 16th/2018. Photo credit: David Friederich
Never one to get overly excited about the highs or down about the lows, but Mark Washington has had a hard time wiping the grin off of his face of this past couple of weeks. Yes, his defence has turned some heads to start 2018. He has also been relishing his beloved Washington Capitals hoisting the Stanley Cup earlier this month, ending a long and frustrating era for championship-starved DC sports fans. He admits he hasn’t quite come down from the cloud just yet.
“Well sort of, because (head coach) Barry Trotz is now gone,” said Washington in between Wednesday film sessions with his staff.
“We knew that was coming, but most importantly, they won and got over the hump. The DC area has needed a champion for a long time and the Caps delivered. I didn’t expect them to, but once they beat Pittsburgh in round two, I knew they had a chance.”
The veteran coach and longtime Lion bleeds DC and the sports franchises that have long represented it. His father George, how fitting, was a White House photographer in the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations. When he wasn’t snapping pictures of key political figures, the elder Washington always found the time to take his two sons to sporting events, including the lowly Capitals of that era.
“Some way, somehow my dad would end up with tickets. My brother and I would go and we just became big Capitals fans. You always root for your hometown team, whether it’s the Redskins, Bullets, the Caps or Georgetown Hoyas, you rooted for them.”
How long had it been since the District had celebrated a major sports championship? You have to go back to Mark Rypien and the Redskins taking down Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI in January of 1992. In between, there was a good mixture of bad teams and very good ones who simply couldn’t win when it mattered most. As much as Alexander Ovechkin’s heroics have made the region’s sports fans happy, they have also brought a refreshing feeling to a city that has lately been marred with controversy on the world stage.
Lions defensive coordinator Mark Washington speaks with linebacker Solomon Elimimian during a win over Montreal on June 16th/2018. Photo credit: David Friederich.
“Normally when people refer to Washington DC, it’s always negative,” explained the defensive coordinator.
“It tends to be political or negative. We needed a champion and the Caps game through. I didn’t think it would be them. I thought the Nationals would have a chance at a World Series first. I’m glad the Capitals did it because they had been working hard at it for awhile.”
As for his main passion, Washington’s defence has given Lions fans plenty to be excited about to start this season. After giving up a long touchdown drive to start Saturday’s victory against the Montreal Alouettes, they locked it down tight and pitched a shutout over the final three quarters. The Alouettes offence only got into Lions territory twice over that span, something that will make any defensive coach happy.
“The game the other night had its harrowing moments where you wonder what was going on. It didn’t seem like us at the beginning, but once the fellas settled down a little bit they performed to their capabilities,” added Washington.
The real dagger came early in the fourth quarter when defensive back Garry Peters intercepted a Drew Willy pass to set up Jonathon Jennings with good field position and a drive that ended with Cory Watson’s touchdown reception to give them a 12-point lead. Last season, Washington’s unit finished in the bottom third of the league in a few important categories including interceptions, sacks and total points allowed. The stated goals over the offseason were to beef up the pass rush and get more takeaways. So far, they have done just that.
“That’s what it’s all about. Our job as a defence is not necessarily to defend our end zone, but also to put our offence in a better position to score,” explained Washington.
“I don’t look at as defending anything. We have to get as much ground and terrain as we can. I want our offence to have a short field and put them in an advantageous position so that they can score easily. That’s what defence and special teams are all about.”
Each position group has done its duty. The defensive front led by newcomers Odell Willis and Gabe Knapton have established how nasty they can be for opposing quarterbacks, committing five sacks against the Alouettes. Despite that early setback, the bigger and more athletic secondary has also come as advertised. And of course, they are still led in the middle by 2015 CFL Most Outstanding Player Solomon Elimimian. We don’t like making early proclamations, but could it be the best defence Washington has had in his five years as the coordinator?
“It’s early, man,” cautioned Washington.
“Hopefully, it will be. That’s not really my concern. It’s making sure that we perform at a high level every week and making sure that we win. I mean, we can be known as the worst and it wouldn’t matter if we were winning ball games. That’s the main goal at the end of the day.”
And sipping from the Grey Cup is the ultimate pay off. Hey, if the Capitals can have their names engraved on Lord Stanley’s mug, anything is possible.