Washington Commanders star Jayden Daniels made another appearance during a preseason game in the loss to the Miami Dolphins, 13-6, and had some moments that were notable. However, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke after the game to talk about Daniels performance saying that the rookie quarterback is in “double secret probation.”
For those who don't know, it is a reference to the 1978 comedy film “Animal House” where that phrase was used in a humorous manner, the same with Quinn's reference to Daniels. The reason being is that when the dual-threat player goes to run, he opts to gain extra yards instead of sliding and taking what he got, still Quinn called it a “really good outing” according to ESPN.
“He had another really good outing,” Quinn said. “The accuracy, the decision-making of where to go. He really is a unique competitor. But, yes, he was in trouble again with the head coach.”
In total, Daniels threw for 78 yards while completing 10 0f 12 pass attempts while having a 93.8 quarterback rating and 13 yards in rushing. In regards to the concern, there was a play in the first quarter where Daniels took off to run where instead of sliding after he got the first down and more, he got tackled from behind. One can see on the broadcast Daniels looking to Quinn after the play to see him exclaiming to slide.
“It's a constant battle between me and him [Quinn],” Daniels said. “It's a fine line, knowing when to take your chances and get down. (On the 13-yard run), I didn't think a lot of people were behind me. After I got tackled, he was on the sideline like, ‘Get down, get down!' That's our little joke we have going on.”
Jayden Daniels doesn't want to lose explosiveness with Commanders
It will truly take time for Daniels to instinctually understand the best times to slide or when to gain extra yards as it is important to not tamper his explosiveness.. He showed it off at LSU last season where he took home the Heisman Trophy where he threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and four interceptions while also rushing for 1,134 yards to go along with 10 scores.
“I'm still learning. God blessed me with a gift, I don't want to take that away,” Daniels said. “I'm very competitive, so I want to make explosive plays and score a lot of touchdowns…It means a lot that they trust me to play the position, put the ball in the right spot, take care of the football, let me play football, a couple times I ran it, they might be screaming to get down, but other than that it’s been fun.”
“If he just gets outside the pocket to run, that's a lot easier to defend … but this player can stay alive and throw on the move,” Quinn said at the time. “That's where it is. And then as he gets closer to contact, we're going to go over to visit with the Nationals a lot and learn sliding and other important topics down the line.”
Washington's final preseason game will be against the New England Patriots next Sunday.
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