Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn’s first question Wednesday was about the late-game failures.
What else could we expect, right? The Commanders have two new coordinators, yes, hired by Quinn this past offseason. Even more, Quinn decided the best route was to go with two first-year coordinators: David Blough (offense) and Daronte Jones (defense).
John Keim of ESPN directly asked Quinn Wednesday, “How much do you think that plays into some of the growing pains in those areas? Quinn replied, “Well, I’d say we’re all frustrated. We want to get to the bottom of that and get the things correct that we want.”
Indeed, the final minute was another bad exhibition by the Commanders, last week vs. the Rams. When Jayden Daniels hit Stefon Diggs for
a 42-yard gain, Diggs could have easily gone out of bounds after about a 37-yard gain. He elected to go inside for five more yards; however, he was tackled with 42 seconds remaining and with no timeouts, it took the Commanders 12 seconds to run up the field 40 yards, get everyone set, and spike the ball.
After a Daniels incompletion, Daniels scrambled to his right, got out of bounds for a one-yard gain, and left 20 seconds on the clock. On third down, Daniels found Jaden Bradley for 12 yards to the Rams’ 31. The Commanders hustled to the line, got set, and Daniels spiked the ball with 09 seconds left in the game.
Mysteriously, Daniels threw to the five-yard line for Diggs, who seemed to understand that if he caught that ball, the game was over. He immediately turned back to Daniels, signaling no good with his hands. One final play with three seconds on the clock, Daniels throws to the end zone from the 31, correct?
No, he throws to tight end Chig Okonkwo only five yards down the field at the 26? Okonkwo breaks a tackle and runs until two Rams meet him at the 10-yard line. He then laterals backward; the ball is fumbled, and the Rams recover, ending the game.
From the 31, isn’t it much easier to simply drop back and throw the ball into the end zone? When the ball is around the 50, it takes your receivers longer to get to the end zone, so you need more protection time before passing. But from the 31, how much time would Daniels have needed to drop back and pass?
Following the game, Daniels was asked about the mysterious final play. “It’s the play call. You have to execute it.” Daniels wouldn’t elaborate any further.
Naturally, Quinn didn’t want to elaborate either, Wednesday. “We’ve got to be able to nail these, honestly. That’s where we are at the halfway point. So, no excuses on that part. This is part of the gig and how we have to get it done. And we have to get these done.”
What else can he say?
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' Dan Quinn opens up on first-year coordinators’ growing pains
