Daily Slop – 2 Nov 24: Dexter Lawrence and the health of Brian Robinson will be keys to Sunday’s outcome

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Jason Reid – ESPN

Robert Griffin III couldn’t be happier for Jayden Daniels, Washington: ‘He has invigorated the city’

Former quarterback gives his thoughts on current Washington Commanders sensation

“[I]t’s not just Jayden Daniels,” [said Griffin]. He is the one [who] has invigorated the city and taken over the city. And I’ll say this, and I’ve told you this before, ‘When you win in D.C., there’s no better city to be in. And when you win in D.C., the quarterback is more important than the president of the United States.’ That’s what Jayden Daniels has accomplished. … But it’s not just Jayden Daniels. It’s Josh Harris, the new owner. It’s Adam Peters, the new GM. It’s the new head coach, Dan Quinn. It’s the new offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury. It’s about bringing in a vet like [tight end] Zach Ertz. It’s about bringing in a vet like [running back] Austin Ekeler.

“It’s about [running back] Brian Robinson. It’s about [wide receiver] Terry McLaurin. They’ve done so many things to get a fresh scent of Febreze from the top of the organization down. Peters has done an amazing job putting his team together with guys that know how to win. … Daniels, he was the most explosive passer and the most explosive runner in all of college football last year. The stats back it up, and that’s why he won the Heisman Trophy. He was absolutely incredible. But when you actually look at his [NFL] stats, he’s [tied for] 22nd in the league in touchdown passes with seven. He’s top five in yards per attempt [fifth, 8.4-yards per attempt]. And for yardage, he is 12th in the league.

“But the way that you feel when he’s on the field, you would think he was leading the league in touchdown passes, leading the league in passing yards and all of that. It’s because Washington is winning and not asking the world of Jayden Daniels. So, when they need the world from him, like they did on that Hail Mary, he delivers. It’s a beautiful recipe for success. As he continues to grow and develop, he’s not trying to do too much. He’s not trying to put the team on his back. It’s just natural for him. And that’s what makes it so exciting. I am so happy for him.

“I’m honored to be connected to him and his family and be a mentor when he needs me to be. Jayden Daniels is top level when it comes to his mindset, how cerebral he is, how smart he is. You see it in his play. He doesn’t force many things. He has a natural ability to make big plays happen at just the right time. So, yeah, I am genuinely happy for him. And I’m even more happy for the city.”

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Pro Football Talk

Jayden Daniels has no injury designation for Sunday

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (ribs) does not have an injury designation for Sunday’s game against the Giants.

The rookie had a full practice Friday after limited practices the previous two days.

He played through the injury last week, taking all 74 snaps, after two missed practices and a limited practice. So, he is healthier this week and isn’t expected to have any limitations.

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Commanders Wire

Benched Giants cornerback who trashed Commanders will start in Week 9

During his rookie season, Banks helped New York sweep NFC East division rival Washington. That mattered to Banks, who was born and raised in the DMV and played collegiately at the University of Maryland, only a few minutes from the Commanders’ home stadium.

When the Giants swept a terrible Washington team, Banks took to social media to issue an NSFW rant against the Commanders. We aren’t going to repeat it here, but here’s the video in case you forgot.

Well, Deonte, that’s 2-1 now. The Commanders defeated the Giants in Week 2, and the two old rivals have a rematch this weekend at MetLife Stadium. And, despite his recent struggles, Banks will be on the field vs. Washington.

Do you think Terry McLaurin has forgotten some of those things Banks said? Probably not. Never forget, during Banks’ rant, he said the following on McLaurin:

“Did 17 play today? That’s all I wanna know. Did he play today?”

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Washington Post (paywall)

Commanders trade deadline primer: What do they need? Who could they target?

The deadline is Tuesday and GM Adam Peters could be in position to add to a team that’s currently in first place. Will he?

Greg Newsome II, CB, Browns

The 2021 first-round pick has been the subject of trade rumors for a while with multiple teams in need of help at cornerback. Washington could be among them, but there’s one drawback: Newsome’s contract. The Browns exercised his fifth-year option for 2025 for $13.377 million, which any acquiring team would take on its books.

Jaycee Horn, CB, Panthers

The Panthers have the NFL’s worst record (1-7) through Week 8, and they already traded wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Ravens. Horn was one of the top corners in the class of 2021 and was selected eighth overall by the Panthers. Fox Sports reported that the team does not plan to trade Horn, but such declarations mean little. Remember when Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters in March 2022 that the team had “no intention” of trading quarterback Russell Wilson? They traded him six days later.

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Commanders.com

Three keys to Washington sweeping the Giants

2. Dexter Lawrence vs. Washington’s interior offensive line.

Dexter Lawrence is playing like one of the best defensive players in the league right now. He leads the league with nine sacks as an interior defensive tackle and is tied for the third-most pressures at his position. Keeping him away from Jayden Daniels as he tries to dissect the Giants’ secondary will be the top priority for the Commanders’ offensive line, particularly center Tyler Biadasz as well as guards Sam Cosmi and Nick Allegretti.

The Commanders’ front five should be well-equipped to handle the Pro Bowl defensive tackle. The group is sixth in pass-block win rate at 65%. Biadasz, who has not allowed a sack all season, has the second-highest pass block grade for centers from Pro Football Focus, while the duo of Cosmi and Allegretti are both top 15 in the category for guards.

Lawrence had a solid day in Week 2 but did not get one of the Giants’ five sacks on Daniels, although he did get four hurries. The game ended up being his third worst this season by PFF’s standards, as he was given a 65.2 pass rush grade.

One way the Commanders could slow Lawrence down is by leaning heavily on their ground game, just as they did with their 215 rushing yards on 35 carries in Week 2. The Commanders are first in run-block win rate this season, and Biadasz is ninth among interior players in the category.

And if there’s one glaring weakness to the Giants’ defense, it’s on the ground, as they have given up 141.8 yards per game and rank last in yards allowed per attempt.

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Upcoming opponent

Hogs Haven

Washington Commanders vs New York Giants: Five Questions with Big Blue View

3) A season after firing him, what is your assessment of OL coach Bobby Johnson (who has since come to DC)? Do you still think the firing was justified, or was he scapegoated for some issues outside of his control?

I don’t know if Johnson was scapegoated. I do know that Daboll and Johnson worked together with the Bills and had a good relationship, and that Daboll wouldn’t have fired him unless he thought he had to.

The Giants offensive line was a mess last year. Injuries were part of it. There were, though, a lot of head-scratching personnel and lineup decisions. I don’t know if those were Johnson’s ultimate decision, but I have to believe he had something to do with them.

The other problem was a lack of development from the four young linemen — John Michael Schmitz, Evan Neal, Josh Ezeudu, Marcus McKethan — Schoen drafted in 2022 and 2023.

It just wasn’t working with Johnson in New York, and changes had to be made.

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5) How should Washington go about gameplanning this matchup on both sides of the ball?

On offense, I think you want to run the ball. The Giants have the worst run defense in the NFL. Do that, put yourself manageable down and distance situations so the Giants — who lead the league in sacks — can’t fully turn their pass rush loose. Don’t be afraid to take the deep shots when they present themselves.

On defense, I think you start by bracketing Malik Nabers. I also think you crowd the line of scrimmage. That isn’t because of a great Giants run game, although it isn’t bad. It’s because of the Giants lack of ability to create explosive plays. They are playing what I call “offense by inches.” They are grinding out everything, throwing the ball short, looking for yards after catch. They haven’t taken, or been successful, on enough deep shots. Crowd the line, challenge Jones to take those shots and hit them. Put pressure on Jones to cloud his decision-making.

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Big Blue View

Giants-Commanders, Week 9: What to expect when New York has the ball

The Giants’ game plan in Week 2 was simple: run the ball, establish double teams up front, pound the rock with a DUO attack, incorporate some TRAP/WHAM to hinder the penetration and punish the slanting defensive line, use the successful rushing attack to open up the play action passing attack, and take shots when middle-of-the-field-closed (MOFC) looks are available.

Quinn did a good job disguising his defense and rotating from middle-of-the-field-open (MOFO) looks to closed right at the snap by buzzing deep half safeties down into the box. This was to prevent deep shots to Malik Nabers with a young secondary and to play a safer defense that keeps the offense in front — a bend-don’t-break approach against a knickerless team. It also added a quick extra defender into the box against the run; that defender would be late from depth, allowing the Giants to run the ball — that and [the] ten missed tackles forced [by RB Devin] Singletary.

New York should employ a similar DUO approach from under center and shotgun. Last week against Pittsburgh, Daboll went back to the run and it worked! The Giants started three drives with some variation of shotgun DUO and zone-read while mixing shotgun power with the backside guard pulling into the rotation during the second half. New York should continue diversifying the rushing attack, but the foundation run should still be DUO.

Bobby Wagner is still playing solid football at age 34, and Luvu is an underrated player. Still, the safeties have not fit the run well from depth this season, specifically uber-athlete Quan Martin. Safety Jeremey Chinn is a box presence who struggled in Week 2 against the Giants but is usually a very effective player in run support.

New York has relied heavily on 11 personnel in recent weeks.

The Commanders will match that package with nickel, bringing Noah Igbinoghene onto the field over the slot. The offense can attack Igbinoghene and attempt to get him mismatched against Malik Nabers. The starting cornerbacks are solid assets. Rookie Mike Sainristil is a sure-tackling good football player, and Benjamin St. Juste is a solid starter. Nabers got the best of the latter last game, but St. Juste was in solid coverage on many catches, including the touchdown.

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Big Blue View

Does Malik Nabers have a drop problem?

The only chink in the Nabers armor is the increasing perception that he has a drop problem. It first surfaced in the training camp joint practice with the Jets, when he had several drops, including one that might have gone for a touchdown. He had one in Week 1 vs. Minnesota. Then in Washington in Week 2, with the game tied at 18 with two minutes left, Nabers dropped Daniel Jones’ fourth-down pass at the 11-yard line, a play that might have led to a Giants’ victory (“might” because they had no kicker)

On Monday night in Pittsburgh, after returning from a concussion, Nabers had two more drops, including this one:

A receiver whose stock in trade is screen passes and slants (think Wan’Dale Robinson – three drops, 4.2% drop rate, 4.0 yard ADOT) should in principle have an easier time catching the ball than a receiver who runs more intermediate and deep routes. Nabers’ 10.5 ADOT is in the mid-range of the top 20 receivers in drops. In fact, he is second in the NFL among all wide receivers in being targeted deep (bet you wouldn’t have expected that from someone catching passes from Daniel Jones)

Unfortunately, he’s only caught three of his 17 deep targets.

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Podcasts & videos

Jalyn Holmes + Rick Doc Walker on the MARYLAND MIRACLE and the GIANTS | Next Man Up | Commanders

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Washington Commanders Kliff Kingsbury, Andrew Wylie, and Luke McCaffrey on Stifling Giants Pass Rush

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“I Ain’t Never Seen That Before!” Mike Sainristil Mic’d Up vs. the Bears | Washington Commanders

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Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | A rematch in the Meadowlands

Check out the top photos from the Washington Commanders’ week of practice as they prepared for their Week 9 matchup with the New York Giants.

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