Commanders head coach Dan Quinn joked again Saturday night with the press following the Commanders 13-6 loss to the Dolphins in Miami.
When Jayden Daniels called an audible for an empty backfield deep throw to Dyami Brown, Quinn joked later, using the Top Gun movie as an analogy.
Saturday, when Daniels, who is quite thin, allowed himself to take a hit on a called-run play, Quinn again joked with the media, this time using an Animal House movie reference to Daniels now being on “double secret probation.”
Quinn is good with people. He is wise and experienced, and he knows how to deflate or de-escalate a situation for the public or the media.
But don’t fool yourself. Quinn was not happy. And why should he be? You know they told Daniels several times this week to get a first down and get down, avoiding taking a hit.
We caught a glimpse of Quinn on the sideline, wasting no time showing Daniels he was not happy with Daniels’s decision not to slide.
Jayden Daniels immediately turned to Dan Quinn on the sideline after running for 13 yards and not sliding. He knew. 😂 pic.twitter.com/g0unNTxMbo
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 18, 2024
Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury have watched the LSU film. They are not stupid. They know well, quite well, that Daniels is young and naive when it comes to taking hits. Several of the hits he took at LSU were entirely unnecessary and not wise on his part.
The coaches have Daniels’ and the team’s best interests at heart. Do you think they want to face the Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys with Marcus Mariota or a healthy Jayden Daniels?
When the real games begin in September, the hitting will be much more intense, and Daniels risks injuring himself and the team if he doesn’t learn now when to run and when to slide.
Dan Quinn was right. So right, if you noticed, standing to Quinn’s left on the sideline was safety Jeremy Reaves, and he was also telling Daniels to get down and avoid the risk.
That tells us all that Daniel’s teammates really believe in him and want the best for him. They want him healthy. Now, it’s his turn to learn it, and he should learn it now.
The old saying is true: ” Men learn from experience, but wise men learn from the experience of others.”
