Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has a new offensive coordinator in Eric Bieniemy, and he’s learning everything he can about the offense Bieniemy coordinated in Kansas City the last five years.
Howell says he thinks he has grown as an offseason, and that has come from working with Bieniemy as well as doing his own individual study of Bieniemy’s Chiefs offenses.
“I feel like I’m a lot better,” Howell said, via ESPN. “Once I knew we had E.B. [Bieniemy] I was watching Kansas City film and seeing what they were doing. I was able to match up my footwork.”
The Commanders will have Bieniemy calling the plays into the speakers in Howell’s helmet, and Howell relaying the plays to his teammates on the field. During offseason work, the Commanders have been recording Howell’s play calling and having him study it, with Bieniemy critiquing how well he communicates the plays to his teammates.
“It’s something I’ve really never heard before,” Howell said. “Coach EB says it all the time, to overcommunicate clarity. Just saying one more word, one more code word that means something they need to hear.”
Howell says he has spent as much as an hour a day just reciting plays to make sure he’s well practiced in getting plays called correctly. He wants the Commanders’ offense running as smoothly as Bieniemy is accustomed to.
