What everyone said after the Commanders’ Week 7 rout of Panthers

Here’s what everyone said after the Commanders’ blowout win over the Panthers.

On Sunday, the Washington Commanders were much better than the Carolina Panthers, running away from them in a 40-7 rout. Here is a collection of postgame quotes from players, analysts, coaches, and media personalities.

Craig Hoffman

“Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? Well, maybe. The score, that was fun. But, a big ‘but’ with the Jayden Daniels injury.”

“Dante Fowler gets that pick-6 and I was literally like, ‘I can throw my not pad away.’ There was no point in the notes of this game. The game ended right there. Because from that point, Carolina was going to be chasing the game.”

Danny Rouhier

“I’m happy but there is also something missing, you know?”

“I don’t feel euphoric here after a blowout win. We usually tell people to smell the roses because they don’t come around all that often. Taking advantage of a bad opponent, you don’t apologize for who is on your schedule. You handle them the way Washington just did.”

Marcus Mariota

“When you have a brotherhood like this, you’ll find ways to win.”

“Obviously, it’s going to take some time, whatever it is. We have no idea, but I think he was in good spirits. You check on him, see how he is doing. And then we will take it day to day.”

Austin Ekeler

“He’s (Mariota) been a great leader for us, and he went out there and showed it again.”

Zach Ertz

“Obviously my first thought was just concerned about him (Jayden Daniels). He’s the leader of our team essentially and he’s a phenomenal player. He’s going to be a great player for a long time, and he’s really a good friend of mine. I was obviously just worried about him. From there, you just gotta get back out there and play.”

“We got a lot of confidence in Marcus. They didn’t bring him here just to be a backup. They brought him in here to compete with Jayden obviously. We got a lot of confidence in Marcus.”

Dan Quinn

“The message for this week was, ‘Can we get stronger’? We knew there was another gear for us to find. We had to dig for it and find it. I was pleased to see the fight in the guys. I thought Dante’s touchdown was really the thing that set it off.”

“I cannot give you an update on Jayden. I will just as soon as we find out. We’ll do some further tests tomorrow. Then, when we get together in the afternoon, we’ll give you an update.”

“You know what? I was really proud of Marcus (Mariota). It’s been a tough start, IR and getting an injury. For him to come back and see that kind of poise in the game, there was no flinch.”

“I look back to see post-practice to see who is out there working, and he and the guys are going through the script. I tip my hat to he and Tavita, David Blough and others that are spending that extra time. So, if your moment gets called you are ready to deliver for the team. I  think that is a really powerful thing.”

Sam Fortier

“Dan Quinn said he didn’t have an update, said he would have one Monday. His (Daniels) status going forward is the biggest thing for this organization.”

“The offense kept rolling without him (Daniels). Kliff Kingsbury was cooking. The Panthers defense was very depleted…”

“They (Commanders) are demolishing bad teams. Yes, the five teams they have beaten so far have a combined record of 9-25. But it is still the NFL. I think it says something when you are taking care of business to this degree.”

 

Commanders forced to go inside the bubble; Howell up and down

Some good and bad from Sam Howell as the Commanders finished up minicamp.

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The Commanders had to practice indoors Thursday, closing their mandatory workouts for the week.

Due to wildfire smoke from fires in Canada, MLB postponed the Nats home game, which had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, as local authorities warned residents in the DMV to stay inside, also recommending their pets be brought inside.

Consequently, the Commanders took their OTA workout to the bubble in Ashburn.

With the limited space inside the bubble (remember the roster is currently at 90, while during the season, it is reduced to 53 plus a practice squad, some vets were given time off, such as Kendall Fuller and Charles Leno.

Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reported that during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 in the red zone work, quarterback Sam Howell was both up and down, throwing interceptions and touchdowns.

When asked about Howell being the starter heading into training camp, Fortier expressed head coach Ron Rivera had stated that Howell had still accomplished/shown enough during the OTAs that he will indeed be the QB1 at the beginning of training camp.

Fortier declared perhaps Rivera was playing up his praise for his young quarterback a bit, but Fortier also sincerely felt that “it is Sam Howell’s job to lose. I don’t think he has gained or lost standing during these workouts. It is really hard to say Jacoby Brissett is nipping at the heels of Sam Howell at this point.”

Commanders have shown some real progress in two areas

Emmanuel Forbes continues to be a bright spot for the Commanders.

A local reporter believes confidently the Commanders have made real progress in two key areas of the roster this offseason.

The Washington Post Commanders reporter Sam Fortier went as far as Thursday on the Craig “Hoffman Show” on The Team 980 to suggest that if the Commanders were playing the Vikings and wanted to shadow wide receiver Justin Jefferson, it would not be Kendall Fuller, given the assignment. It wouldn’t even be Benjamin St-Juste.

No, Fortier declared it would be rookie Emmanuel Forbes who has yet to play his initial NFL regular-season game. “If you want to be CB1 by that definition, then I think (Forbes) is your guy right now. He has been impressive. In terms of minicamp for a rookie? He has looked pretty dang good.”

Hoffman then transitioned, “The offensive line is still a massive area of concern.” He asked Fortier, “Have you seen anything to ease your concern in that position group this Spring?”

Fortier’s response was noteworthy. “If you want to say that they are old, unathletic and immobile like they were last year at guard with Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner. Then, I have seen things to boost my confidence. Saahdiq Charles looks bigger and stronger, and Sam Cosmi is going to transition nicely into guard.”

Fortier continued; however, he did not feel Rivera was as confident in the offensive line as he would like to be. Hoffman referred to how confident coaches were in 2022 of their offensive line despite its ability being much less than in 2020-21. Hoffman suggested this is good in that it shows they are more aware of what they actually have and don’t have on the offensive line now than in 2022.