Daily Slop – 16 Nov 24: Observers wonder what’s happening with Jayden Daniels after poor game vs Eagles

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Washington Post (paywall)

Jayden Daniels says he’s fine. His performances tell a different story.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels hasn’t looked like himself, and there are no easy answers.

He missed throws, struggled to escape when running and rarely pushed the ball down the field. He threw his third interception of the season. He got stopped on a fourth-down rollout, a play that had worked for him several times earlier this year, and once, when he took an early hit, he grimaced in pain.

Afterward, Daniels and Coach Dan Quinn said the rib injury he suffered Oct. 20 was no longer affecting him. They said he wasn’t limited by the cut between the pinkie and ring finger on his throwing hand, which the team closed with a medical adhesive. A reporter asked whether he was healthy enough to play his game.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be on the field,” he said.

Okay, then what’s up? Daniels’s struggles in Washington’s 26-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t as simple as, “Oh, he’s facing better competition now,” or “Oh, defenses are catching up to him and/or to Kingsbury’s scheme,” though that could be part of it.

But by many traditional and advanced metrics, the Eagles’ loss was Daniels’s worst game as a pro. It wasn’t just that he didn’t shine in some areas in which he has excelled all year — against the blitz, while scrambling, under pressure and with the deep ball. It was that he sometimes struggled with the basics.

In the first 10 weeks, Daniels was off target on just 3.8 percent of his throws that traveled five air yards or fewer, according to Pro Football Focus. But in Week 11, he was off target on 16 percent of them — and that was a huge deal against the Eagles’ two-high safety heavy scheme, which often forces quarterbacks to throw short. (Twenty-five of Daniels’s 32 attempts Thursday night were short.)

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Jayden Daniels struggles as Commanders fall to Eagles

Breaking down Jayden Daniels issues in the Commanders loss to the Eagles

Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had one of the worst performances of his career to date as the Commanders fell to a 26-18 loss to the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. Daniels completed 22 of 32 passing attempts for 191 yards and a touchdown, along with one interception. He added seven rushes for just 18 yards on the ground. Daniels looked uncomfortable all night, struggling to get things going and being more impacted by the pressure up front than he typically has been this season.

What stood out most was his misses on third downs. Daniels has been missing a few opportunities each game this year, but on third down he’s typically been sharper and able to convert, keeping drives alive and giving himself more chances to correct his mistakes and make up for those missed opportunities. But against the Eagles, many of Daniels’ missed opportunities came on third down.

Daniels can see that the linebacker doesn’t blitz, so feels more comfortable in his protection holding up and proceeds to work to the dagger concept on the other side. However, what didn’t click for him was that linebacker attaching to Ekeler. The spot and wheel combination to that side of the field is a man-beating concept and while the Eagles are actually in zone coverage, they match man-to-man on the back side. The corner follows tight end Zach Ertz inside while the linebacker looks to match Ekeler. The elite quarterbacks would intuitively recognize this and immediately look to the wheel route, knowing Ertz’s spot route will likely cause traffic for the linebacker in coverage.

Daniels doesn’t do this though, which is a great shame because Ertz blocked off the linebacker (possibly illegally but it wasn’t called) and Ekeler was open. Instead, Daniels progressed back to his left where he worked the dagger concept. He spots Noah Brown working over the middle behind and underneath linebacker and I like the aggression to anticipate Brown coming open in a second window behind the linebacker. However, I’m not sure he saw the safety drive down on it, which could have led to a big hit or at least a contested catch. The underneath linebacker also does a terrific job here, reading Daniels and shifting across to break up the pass with a full stretch dive.

It’s perhaps being harsh given Daniels is a rookie quarterback, but the level he’s played to at times this season is far beyond that of a rookie. This will be the kind of thing the coaches will be hoping Daniels would eventually learn and adjust to, so it’s worth looking at. Having taken the time to check the linebacker underneath to see if he was blitzing, Daniels could have noticed he was actually covering Ekeler and that should have set off an alarm in his head that the wheel route might be there, but it clearly didn’t. It’s a good mental note to make to see if Daniels learns from that miss later in the season.

The next third down the Commanders faced, Daniels again had a missed opportunity.

As Daniels gets to the top of his drop, you can see that the back side safety actually stays deep and waits for the deep over route to come his way. In theory that should leave the middle hook open, but the linebacker in underneath coverage does a terrific job sinking back under it and taking it away. That forces Daniels to go off-script a little. He steps up to avoid some pressure in the pocket and begins to scramble to his right.

Now at the start of the season, Daniels would immediately take off in these scenarios, but he improved as the season progressed and was doing a much better job of scrambling to pass instead of run. If he had done the same here, he would have been able to see that both Ekeler and Ertz were open as options to throw to for the conversion. Instead, he keeps it himself and tries to put a move on the linebacker in the open field. Unfortunately, that linebacker is more of a safety playing linebacker and he’s able to close on Daniels and make the tackle short of the first down marker, forcing a punt.

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ESPN

How Commanders coach Dan Quinn reinvented himself

Quinn’s tenure with the Falcons also included offensive staff changes. After the Super Bowl loss, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan left to become San Francisco’s head coach and took four assistants — including Mike McDaniel, who was an offensive assistant and received a promotion by joining the 49ers — while quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur was bypassed as his replacement and left to become the Los Angeles Rams’ quarterbacks coach.

Rather than elevate from within, Quinn replaced Shanahan with Steve Sarkisian, who brought in his own offense. Two years later, Sarkisian was out and Quinn hired Dirk Koetter, who had no previous ties to the team. As a result, the players had to learn three different offenses in the span of four seasons. An offense that ranked first in points in 2016 spent the next four seasons between 10th and 16th despite having talent such as quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones.

In his next opportunity as head coach, Quinn realized he needed a stronger offensive staff. That way, he could better maintain continuity by promoting from within when a coordinator leaves. But to do so, he would need a deep pipeline of assistants.

In Washington, Quinn hired former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator but also mixed in proven veteran coaches such as Anthony Lynn to handle the run game duties and Brian Johnson the pass game duties. Quinn retained Tavita Pritchard as the quarterbacks coach and hired David Blough as his assistant. If someone leaves, Quinn has choices to promote from within.

“That was part of the reason of having a big, deep staff here,” Quinn said.

Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played for Quinn in Seattle, has noticed a difference with Quinn.

“He found his voice,” Wagner said. “He found what works for him.

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Commanders.com

Five takeaways from Washington’s TNF loss to Philadelphia

The fourth-down attempt.

The play of the game came with eight minutes left to go in the fourth quarter. The Commanders stalled at the Eagles’ 26-yard line, and rather than kick a field goal, which would have given them a one-point lead, coach Dan Quinn decided to keep the offense on the field to try and convert a fourth-and-2.

There was logic in the Commanders electing to stay aggressive. They were tied for the second most fourth-down conversion in the league, and a touchdown would have put the Eagles in a difficult situation, had they been able to convert.

The play itself, however, was not executed well from the start. Daniels bobbled the snap and scrambled to his right to try and get beyond the marker. There was actually a lane for that to happen, but it quickly closed with Reed Blankenship cutting under Brown for a tackle that resulted in no gain.

Washington’s players were willing to take the blame after the game. Daniels said he could have called the cadence louder. There was miscommunication on the offensive line, as Sam Cosmi pulled to his left, but Brandon Coleman, Tyler Biadasz and Andrew Wylie pulled to their right.

But they were also bought in on the idea of trying to win the game on their terms.

“We’re coming out to play. We’re coming out to win,” Ekeler said. “Touchdowns win games. That’s what DQ [Quinn] wants, and hey, when we get in those game-winning moments, when it’s on the line…we know we’re going to be going for it.”

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Commanders.com

NFC East roundup | Commanders drop to second place after first division loss

Pennsylvania teams were not kind to the Washington Commanders over the past few days. First, Washington dropped a Week 10 one-point loss at home, 28-27, to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game was the team’s first loss at Northwest Stadium this season.

After a quick turnaround, the Commanders then dropped their Week 11 Thursday Night Football matchup to the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-18. The two-game slide is Washington’s first consecutive loss this season and moves them into second place behind Philadelphia in the division.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels opted for short throws to tight ends rather than deep shots to his wide receivers; Terry McLaurin didn’t see his first target until the third quarter. Daniels also threw his third interception of the season late in the game.

The Commanders’ defense also had a rough go in the second half of both games. The defense started out dominant against Pittsburgh before letting up a 10-point lead. Against Philadelphia, the defense held their own until the fourth quarter, when running back Saquon Barkley ripped through for two touchdowns — one a 23-yard run and the other a 39-yard run. The 10-day break before facing another divisional opponent when the Dallas Cowboys come to town will likely offer much-needed rest on both sides of the ball.

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Upcoming opponent

Commanders.com

NFC East roundup | Commanders drop to second place after first division loss

With quarterback Dak Prescott out due to season-ending surgery on his hamstring’s partial tendon avulsion, Cooper Rush took the helm of the Cowboys’ offense for the first time against the Eagles. Rush didn’t have his best outing, throwing for 45 yards with a 56.5 completion percentage and two costly fumbles which added to the team’s offensive woes.

Rush appeared on this week’s injury report with a neck strain, although he practiced in full and will likely be good to go for Monday Night’s bout with the Houston Texans. Star edge rusher Micah Parsons returned from injury against the Eagles, adding much-needed strength to their defense. Houston will need a plan to keep Parsons in check, or he’ll wreak havoc.

On Thursday, Dallas officially named running back Rico Dowdle the lead back which ends the team’s by-committee approach. Dowdle has led the Cowboys in carries in six of the eight matchups he has played in this season and had three receptions for 53 yards against the Eagles. In contrast, the Texans’ offense is injury-riddled with wide receiver Stefon Diggs out for the season with an ACL injury and top-rated running back Nico Collins recently activated off injured reserve. The Cowboys’ run defense ranks as one of the lowest in the league, so the Texans will likely try to exploit that as much as possible, especially with running back Joe Mixon catching fire.

Dallas has yet to win at home this season and hosting the in-state rival Texans might not feel like home field advantage.

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Battle Red Blog

Five Good Texans questions with a Cowboys “Expert”

Cornelius Bumfuzzle joins BRB for five Cowboys questions.

Author’s note: What follows is an interview with a composite Cowboys fan. No actual Cornelius Bumfuzzle exists and any likeness to any fan or anyone actually named Bumfuzzle is coincidental.

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Recapping Week 11, Bobby Wagner’s Impact & Fred’s Top 5 | Command Center | Washington Commanders

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