Several things stand out about Daniels, but one thing stands above the rest, according to Quinn.
Dan Quinn was asked about Jayden Daniels, and he offered one word: ‘poise.’
Quinn, a guest on the “Rich Eisen Show” Wednesday, was asked about Daniels completing seven of nine attempts for 91 yards in his last two possessions Sunday in the 21-18 win over the New York Giants.
“The thing about him that is remarkable so far, the word that comes to mind is ‘poise,’ expressed Quinn. In those moments, Jayden is really rock solid.”
“He really puts in the work, which I think gives him a lot of the confidence, and the other players definitely feel that from him. As he’s growing, the team is as well…Now that we are in the games, you see a calm, cool, collected guy that stays razor-focused.”
Eisen responded, “How much do you talk to him about sliding, getting down? That moment when he had the wind knocked out of him, where he tries to split two defenders. I was like, watching a horror movie through the fingers of my hand. What do you say to him?”
“We are a work in progress on that part, Rich,” replied Quinn. It is a physical league. We want to make sure of the smart decisions: When to get down, when to get out of bounds.
“Just like every other part of his game, there’s going to be some extended plays where he’ll remain a passer and lets it rip down the field and that also goes into some of the scrambles. I think we are going to work hard at that. He’s been crushing all of the things we have thrown at him and this is another one. Remaining a passer as longs as you can, knowing there are some big plays out there.”
Indeed,, Daniels has struggled with sliding and getting down. Yet he has made big first downs on his feet and made the big throws to help the Commanders win that game Sunday over the Giants 21-18.
He’ll need poise on Monday, when he travels to Cincinnati to face the Bengals on the road in a Monday Night Football contest.