Jayden Daniels and the Return to Commanders Field 🏈 | Command Center | Washington Commanders

[Music] [Music] what's good commanders family and welcome into Command Center we have breaking news to start the show former first round pick Johan Dawson has been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fifth round pick for a 2025 third round pick and two seventh round picks we also have acquired a kicker from the Browns we sent a conditional seventh round pick to the Browns for kicker Cade York now now a lot of breaking news we are going to be talking about these new acquisitions next week however it's all about our qb1 right now that's right jayen Daniels has been named the starter for the Washington commanders I told you all what about two months ago that he was going to be the starting quarterback okay like but it didn't really register in my mind I be like now I'm ready right now commanders family we have a jam-packed show for you today Jaden Daniels was named the starting quarterback of the 2024 season we talk about what this means for our commanders then we get into the film room Logan and the Fellas break down plays from Jaden's first two preseason games and the captain London Fletcher joins the show to talk about our new starting QB all that and more starts right [Music] now what's good commanders family Brian Copa Jr here with Fred smoo Santana Moss Logan Paulson we are out of the heat for good now we're back in the cold Studio fellas yes big news qb1 jayen Daniels has been announced as our starting quarterback initial thoughts on that uh we knew it was going to come we just didn't know how fast it was going to come and how fast he was going to take that Playbook how fast he was going to learn how to control that huddle so I'm I'm glad to see everything kind of expedited but we knew this day was going to come I was definitely anticipating that day you know I mean when you're watching a guy preseason you saw so many things that he was doing that was just you know I guess you can say uh Beyond his years and you just knew it was going to come sooner or later U not sure but we just knew what what day would you know Dan make that decision and I'm glad he behind him now yeah I think kudos to the coaching staff I think they just did a great job handling this you know not only coaching staff but Adam Peters as well not setting an expectation letting him kind of develop slowly and uh and I think like it just turned out really well for them and I really appreciate how they handle the process and Logan use the word expectation yeah it's hard for fans Not to see this and start setting expectations for our rookie quarterback y'all have been there before man you wore a first round pick you know what that pressure is talk about that and why fans should not set an expectation for this well I think one of the things you know I'm one of those guys um even if I wasn't a guy that had been in that you know thrust that roow I don't think none of us is going to feel what he's going to feel as a quarterback you know I mean as a player we already have those expectations from our not alone you know the the team and organization when you're a first round pick but it's already going to be you know pressure so why put put why add more just allow the kid to be the kid I think uh you know I want to see them you know slowly progress every you know every game I think each and every game you see this team form and continue to grow together and then you allow him to do what he's going to do that's enough pressure in itself so why put a bar out there for him you know yeah don't put the expectations people fail when you put expectations on them let's just watch this guy get better week in and week out that's all I expect I want him to be better from the first game to the fifth game I want to see him mature I want to see him not make the same mistakes but also not going to make him the M the Savior complex I'm not he's not the Savior he's a piece of the puzzle but he's not to save you yeah it's it's it's so easy to kind of say oh this throw is great this throw is bad like I think for Fred hit it there you want to see him slowly mature and grow over the course of the season and if you can do that and he shows that he has the the potential to be a top 10 kind of guy in the NFL at the end of this thing we're going to be doing all right for years to come so it's not about this year it's about the subsequent years and what he can grow into and one thing I think we've seen from jayen so far is he's ready to rise to the occasion I actually got to talk to our rookie quarterback a little earlier in the week about those expectation about him being named the starter you were just name the starter man so I need you to take me back there man where were you at when did you find out tell me everything yeah um it was on Monday um I was chilling in the quarterback room um talking with Charlie um PR guy yeah PR guy Charlie PR guy we over talking about Lakers and Nicks basketball stuff um next thing know DQ just walked in and and he's like I talk to Jaden and from there we kind of just having a conversation about you know my routine and stuff like that and then he tried to slideing under there and but that's when I found out yeah man what was that like man cuz it sounds like when d d quit talks he's just so casual and chill about everything so like what was your first thought when he hit you like just slid it in like hey just started oh okay like but it didn't really register in my mind I was kind of thinking about my routine and stuff like that and then uh from there I was like oh and then we had the conversation I was just tell him thank you appreciate all that and when and when that did settle when you really realized like the moment who was the first person you called to share the news with yeah I mean I called my mom um told her first and then called my dad and told him so the two I told everybody else had to keep under R until until it came out I mean you had to have been dreaming about that moment your entire life man so now that you've been there now you're on the back end of it cuz it's hard to really be in the moment during those times what was that moment for you man what was going through your head man what what sat in with you yeah I don't think it kind of hit me until I got home um kind of able to to gather my thoughts but it was a very surreal moment cuz growing up you know loving the game of football watching NFL Sunday you see one of the 32 out there um you know playing quarterback so always dream to being one and uh you know I'm grateful I had the opportunity to be one of those you talk about dreaming of being that starting quarterback when do you think that dream hit when you're like this is what I want to do do I want to be an NFL player yeah it started very young um I want to say like 8 n years old um kind of around the time when I started playing football wow um and then you got you know you kind of venture off and then I got into the basketball phase and then kind of like eighth grade going to high school is kind of where I was like okay uh I could really do something with this football thing take it very serious um and that's when around the time I put that on my wall um you know I play in the NFL I didn't know where I get drafted to I just knew that I had the opportunity to play in the NFL great catching up with our rookie QB I know we're all excited to see what he can do now you can catch our full interview on the next man up Podcast that's right the next man up Podcast is back every Fridays you can watch it on the commander YouTube page or listen wherever you get your podcast now let's take a look at Jaden's preseason numbers through those first two weeks Jaden was efficient throwing for 123 yards having a QB rating of over 100 and he even rushed for a touchdown great to see Jaden ball out can't wait to see what he does in the regular season welcomeing in big Fletch to the broadcast man we had to bring the C in because we are talking about our new starting quarterback Jaden Daniels London how are you feeling when you heard the news we haven't got to hear from yet well you know I I I told you all what about two months ago that he was going to be the starting quarterback so it wasn't a major surprise to me but I will say this I can appreciate the way DQ and and the rest of the coaching staff kind of handled the situation didn't want to come in and annoy Jaden as the as the franchise starting quarterback right away let him go through some competition let him earning and and from that standpoint especially for a team that and a coach that uh preaches competition at its highest level but the thing about Jay and I appreciate the way and love the way he's going about his business just coming in each and every day wanting to get better and really showing in these not just the two preseason games but throughout the uh mini camps the OTAs and training camp that he deserves to be the starting C quarterback and he's earned that right London one thing that impressed me about him is his Red Zone how he seized the Red Zone we know it's harder to throw in the Red Zone than any other part of the field the way he did it at practice in Miami the way he's done it in the game what about you shocks you that he's he's at that level so far already yeah that's that's that's the the big thing when especially when you come from a a system like the the spread offenses that most uh most offenses playing college now you don't know how quickly these young quarterbacks can adapt to the NFL defenses especially in the Red Zone all the different coverages and nuances of coverages the game against the Miami Dolphins they threw a lot at him um more than you typically will see from a preseason type defense they brought zero blitzes fire zones coverages where they disguised the looks and and really uh some of the different rotations but him being able to process those things so quickly you mentioned in Red Zone there was a time on a on a third and I think a third and 12 situation where the um the Dolphins they kind of morphed into a a cover two after the ball was snapped and he he stayed patient to try to let the Dig develop it wasn't there he ended up throwing to his check down I think it was um it was um baits in the in the in the flat didn't try to force anything so those are things that you love to see from not just a a rookie quarterback but from any quarterback mhm yep yeah obviously the uh the third preseason is coming up Fletch and one of the things that I'm always worried about is like the depth of the roster and specifically a linebacker you know they've moved Dominique Hampton a linebacker how do you see that room shaking out especially with kind of some new body types in there and some injuries yeah with with the injury to McGee that definitely kind of threw a wrench in in the system so to speak and and I know there was big plans on him and I wanted to see him play but I thought Mel Michael Walker did a nice job the other day and and Dominic Hampton who you mentioned the um what fifth round draft pick he didn't look out of place playing linebacker he has size at at 63 about 220 but just watching him in the uh in the box and in the game against the the Dolphins he didn't look out of place like sometimes you can move a safety into the box and they can look a little bit out of place not really uh knowing how to take on blocks and and those type of things but he looked almost like a natural so I can see him you know developing into to uh one of those backup linebacker Spots I'm not sure you know who how that how everything will shake out in terms of the backup but I again I like what Walker did and I I like what Hampton did yeah London speaking of the third preseason game who are some of the other guys out there that you have on your radar that you I guess you can say have potential of making it or you want to see them play a little more to see if they can really solidify you know those hopes that you have for him yeah I I really liked um Castro Fields what he did in that ball game man he stood up and he was put in a lot of lot of man manto man type of situations he had to defend that slot fade a few times down the field and he was outstanding uh chig Anum he showed up I know the outside corner is still like who are going to be those guys and and Coach Quinn talked about that as well but uh Anum he showed up and um and made some nice things Tyler Owens we've been talking a lot about him and and um you know since it seems like forever uh continuing to make plays the backup safeties what's going to happen with my guy Derek Forest I love him I think he's you know he was one of my favorite players to watch and him him dealing with that injury last year I think that really hurt our defense he doesn't he's not that big safety that like they like they' like to have but he's a playmaker ball hwk you know a few years ago he had four interceptions so how's that backup safety kind of obviously we the receiving core what's that not just the second and third receivers but who's gonna be that that fourth fifth and sixth guy is is um Oz gonna be your fourth guy or your third guy you know what's happening with Jan what's happening with with dami brown who's played really well so you know it's still a lot of lot of decisions to be made and and London before we let you go you're going to be doing the broadcast of our last preseason game man tell them where we can hear you guys at uh you can hear us on the big 100.3 FM Bram Weinstein Logan Paulson and big Fletch hey we have a lot of fun on that on that broadcast man 100.3 hey London we appreciate you pulling up on us man it's always a good time with you and we'll talk to you soon man we'll see you Sunday all right appreciate it bro big one [Laughter] it's time for some C Miss moments presented by FanDuel make every moment more with FanDuel and official partner of the Wason commanders guys we're back in the film room and I think it's a good opportunity to break down the new quarterback one and that's Jaden Daniels man kind of going through all his plays from the preseason one of the things I think he's done a great job of is identifying coverages this is manto man coverage and manto man's easy right we're going to say where's our best matchup and tana like if I'm him I'm saying man this guy down here doing a pretty good job winning one-on ones let's find this one-on-one let's identify it my eyes I love his eyes man stay down the middle of the field let's hold the coverage there let's keep our base in a good spot let's deliver a strike right here and look where he pushed this ball that's how Terry has the ability to turn and run on this a lot of quarterbacks like to throw that to that inside shoulder right there that's how we make that tackle throwing it to that outside shoulder right there allows him to turn and run right there yeah placement is everything I mean for a guy like Terry knowing that hey I'm going to attack his outside shoulder to get him to turn and now put my foot in the ground aggressive ly and ball is already in the air so it was a great job by both of those guys yeah just to reiterate that ball placement is so critical he did that throughout the game he had one to dami every single time right he's letting the receiver make plays on the football and he's on time he's on rhythm with a good base which is awesome have to stay on schedule yeah and then so again like we talked about how good he's been identifying coverage he's been excellent probably I'd say like nine out of 10 this is one that's a little bit tough right they're going to kind of get in this like cover two the other safety's off the field here they're bringing a pressure so he thinks it's man right look down here at the bottom the Corner's pressed up I would think c c he should prob up top this little sit concept right T because they not covering the back but what I do like Fred you said this before right even though he makes a mistake this throw allows him to be successful every every completion ain't a good completion this is a great throw out of bounds him understanding dead play I'm not going to like look where we at on the field right now I can't lose any yards I can't turn the ball over this is a smart play this is what the quarterbacks do yeah I love that you said that Fred because again like he right here he's like they got me right and he could he could try to force this ball but no let's get this ball out of here cuz this cover two guy right cover two guy he's taking away Jan there's a guy over top let's get this thing out of here and you can tell he intentionally threw this ball because of where it lands and The White Strip right yeah I've seen so many young quarterbacks be dealt with this situation and panic and that's the first thing I saw he didn't Panic got the ball out of there and saved for the next down composure love that that's a great word Fred composure and you see that on this too right right we're going to get uh kind of a kind of a what I call Fork concept here across with a dig it's third and 11 they get into this really soft cover two shell Miami there's not a lot there right look at the look at the cross it's dead right like right here dead right he's going to sit be patient in the dig the Dig is dead but I love how he's slow through the process cuz what do you say Fred in zones right you got to let it breathe a little bit yes you got to like the one thing about a Zone time scetches us all right if you can make some time for yourself we will show you who we are and we will get out of and I just want to also point out look at his eyes man like look how he works through his progressions right every opportunity we go go here go to The Dig go to the flat right my feet match my eyes I'm never in a bad spot I never lose ball velocity great job by him and again it's that maturity that composure you're seeing from such a young guy and then this he hasn't done a lot of this right but this is so advantageous it puts defense in such such conflict just a little Zone read backs coming downhill he can hand it or he can pull it or read in this is the conflict Defender he gets a little bit nosy Dives down on the dive and then we're on the perimeter and as a defensive coach man this limits the coverage structures you can play yes I can now I can play no man to man with a quarterback like this especially when he's a ball handler like Kyrie Irving is a ball handler when it comes to the NBA he is a ball hand he's a wizard with the ball in his hand and this right here makes us only can play cover two cover three and cover four because he can beat you with his feet yeah and T I don't know about this man but like probably get down get out of bounds yeah get out of bounds right take a little slide there football player a and this is the play man this is the play everyone was talking about right and this one is very similar right we identify what coverage is it it's man right we're man up across the board right there we got this guy where is he at this guy's the plug player he's the other man guy it's clear right they said they had a screen caught on this play it was going up here to dami T versus press screens are tough no doubt right because this this guy's got to get H here in Black right I don't love that you're bringing this guy to the party he's going to make the tackle so what do I do I check the play I identify my match up and T you've said this a ton talk about his eyes here man cuz what does he do to the safety here man he keeps him right in the middle of the field right he ensures the one-on-one ensures the throw there's a little bit of pressure again base his footwork and his base has been totally on point love to see it right and then we put this ball up and down just let it rip great catch by your guy though great it was all around great man I think that's one of the things that you see in this kid like he's a guy that's playing ahead of schedule when it comes to making of these decisions not the decision alone but just where he has his eyes and then now I'm going throw this ball where my guy can get it only you know what I mean so everything about this play was just perfect and I'm glad dami came down with a catch absolutely and the thing the other thing I love about it is the arc on the ball he lets diami adjust to it perfect I can I can let my receiver work for me great play love the mat love the maturity he's showing love the composure he's showing and can you still get better Oh yes most different absolutely but this is a heck of a start can't wait for week one Brian why don't you take it away commanders family we have a full week of shows just for you this week on the Get Loud podcast they talk Jaden Daniels doc Walker joined the show and they discussed the sprinting beef between Tyreek Hill and Noah ly can't wait to hear what that conversation is about and then on the command center podcast Logan tan and Fred talk about guess what Jaden Daniels being announced as qb1 and as you all know Command Center comes out every Thursday with me and the guys so thank you all for supporting and watching us every week and if that's not enough content for you we got to even more we have Booth review which comes out next Monday with London Fletcher and brand Weinstein we have access to all press conferences with media pass and hail Tales which is stories of Washington football history some great content on deck for y'all and we do it all for our commanders family make sure you tune in to all commanders content on the commanders YouTube page and wherever you get your podcast fellas our final preseason game and our first one back at the crib at commanders field and we know what we're looking for here it's all about depth offens and defensive side Tanner we're going to start on the offensive side what competitions are you looking at most I'm I'm going tell you man I'm very interested in just to see the lineup in this game cuz I remember around this time last year you know we we kind of figured we had that one or two and three spot kind of solidified at the receiver position y now it's like just Terry and who's who's next you know what I mean so I'm looking forward to see these guys go out here and play man I'm going to be very interested in just seeing who line who's going to be playing and how many reps they're going to get cuz I I think they're really still trying to see who's going to take that two and three spot yeah absolutely I think with the receiver specifically it's like also do you use this as an opportunity to Def find roles I think we know who's going to make the team but can you kind of clean it up is Johan better in the slot is oie working outside who's returning kicks and again those guys might not even play which is crazy and they can figure that out during practice but I think this is an interesting opportunity to kind of to do some of that stuff yeah speaking of room what about the DB room we we talking about M DAV is playing we don't know if St juice is going to play in this game we don't know if a Manu for is going to play in this game then you got Mike DAV you got the rest of these guys so you're talking about a room where you really this game can decide who playing what and who's where and then when you mix in the safety position like the safety room that could be one of our better rooms on this roster so it's going to be a good player cut I hate to say that like it's going to be a good player cut but that's what good teams do good teams cut good players and there's a really strong correl actually between these two rooms because there's guys that are working as cross training as returners right you got Jameson Crowder you got Luke mcaffry you also got all working different stuff so that is going to really Define I think whether we keep a 6db or a six receiver cuz that returnability is going about that linebacker room what about the linebacker room cuz I think it coess with the defensive end room if you ask me so you got Jam Davis a guy playing tweener we got a guy that's injured now how does that affect that room as a hole so I think when you look at that I got to say well who's going to play of course Bobby Wagner not playing Frankie louu not going to play in this game but it's going to be some guys like Hampton that say you know what not only can I play safety I can play some linebackers for you too so I think they're going to help also you got talk about those correlations between positions so Logan I'm going to stick with you tight end room that actually can affect how many receivers we keep and how many running backs we keep because Cliff kingsberry we've seen dual tight end sets a lot how many tight ends do you think we keep on this roster yeah I don't know it's a really good question because you got guys that are kind of in between and like do you use multiple backs like do you keep an extra running back because they want to be in a different Personnel Group like we anticipate 12 but what if they're in more 20 like we don't know for sure so I think that's something that again they have to figure out much like usage pattered in the receiver room they still got to kind of find that ident and so identifying four tight ends six receivers maybe you keep keep an extra back you know I think it's going to be really interesting and again that's why this game I think is so critical right because it helps helps that last person you know your cold Turner your Oz whoever it is kind of put their stamp and say this is what we should be in Personnel wise in the year because we're the better position group and we need to be on the field more yeah and it's all about that competing it's all about that analysis of these players so we have one more time one more chance to make a name for yourself and that's at the crib against in Commander field who do you guys need to see Step Up it's tons of guys but like I want to see Tyler hor continue to make animal I want to see Wy continue to run the ball I want to see Bryant make some plays I want him to go out there and make a claim and say I can be your Red Zone wide receiver I could be your 50-50 ball throw it up to me I want to see I want to see guys specifically do what I think they can do head and into the season so it's tons of guys that have a lot to prove it's so many guys that you can kind of like name and pick from from offensive side and defensive side uh what I'm still curious about is this kickoff return team like like who's going to be the guys back there you know I've seen a couple of guys back there but I don't think that no one has solidified that job yet and say hey you know what this is going to be for me cuz I do believe that you need a a guy with a little more statue and so you need a certain body type and that can run between the tackles a little bit some you know someone who played halfback a little bit so I'm going to be looking to see if they put more running backs back there and will it be a guy that who's probably in potential of being running back probably the third running back or the fourth guy that they can say hey I can solidify this spot and maybe now I get a job as that backup third you know third down you know running back Logan before we end this conversation I think a lot of people are like okay why watch a preseason week three game nobody's going to play my favorite quarterbacks not playing why is this game so important for these players I mean these guys hit on already a little bit right it's it's the last opportunity for you to say I deserve to be in the NFL I deserve to be on the 53 I deserve to be on the practice squad because again this will be some guys last game ever playing let don't let it be you right don't let it be you put put the best film you get out there cuz it might not be for the commanders it's going to be for one of those other 32 teams and it is a critical game it's it'll always have a a good place in my heart for me it was the fourth preseason game make make your stamp make your opportunity and uh make it happen a lot of great things to see in our final preseason game now let's give you some info on how you can tune in and watch your commanders commanders fans this Sunday we are back at commanders field as the guys welcome the New England Patriots for our final preseason game kick off is set for 8:00 p.m. and we'll be on prime time that's right NBC you can catch our radio crew featuring London Fletcher bran Weinstein and Logan Paulson calling the game on big 100 we can't wait to have you all back at the crib bringing that energy and speaking of HomeField Advantage we have some exciting new features for you that will be present at Commander field it's time for the best seat in the house presented by SEI your ticket to Great Commander seats we are kicking off the season this Sunday night at commanders field and we need you all to bring that energy make sure to join us for our new pregame show beginning 20 minutes before the game make sure you're in your seats 20 minutes before kickoff I promise you won't want to miss it fellas nothing quite like a Commander's home game now tner yeah you're missing Superstition we know that right we know you had all rituals for the game what were your rituals for that first home game uh well I can't just put it on one game you know it was it was what I did from day one from the first day I ever played this game in high school I found you know you got to find that I guess you say that routine that you convince you to say okay now I can play on this level and so I found it I found this one particular album ATL in by Outcast I listened to that and then I had different ways of you know my socks cut you know shirt uh my shirt that I would under my pads so I just kept that going all the way until I played my last game at 35 years old in this league so it was one of the things that I felt like if it's not broke don't fix it so the Same album every game wow man I did that too Phil Collins yeah in in the air the night you know when that breakdown come be like now I'm ready right now and I I used to also like lay my uniform out like a mannequin on the floor Day School yeah and I us to just dress it up and then that's I want to see how I was going to look before I put it on plus I had this one dirty sock that I wor for 900 consecutive days that's crazy man to it was just a ring around my ankle and I kep that sock disintegrated how many years how many years did you wear it how many years three years my first three years I had this sock and I think the first game that I didn't wear the sock I got burnt for a touchdown and I was like oh I missed my sock yeah I mean I did the ritual thing too I did it like tan like I had everything timed out the food right portion then I was just getting too freaked out about oh I didn't do this right I messed that up I didn't put my sock on correctly I said forget this this is too stressful let's move Onex over thinker guys well man I cannot wait to see all you guys over at commanders field commanders fans we hope yall enjoy our final pre season game until next Thursday we out [Music]