Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn addressed the media on Aug. 19. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.

Opening Statement:

"All right. Well, let's get rocking. First thing I thought I would get into was, I told you about a month ago, that naming our starter at QB wasn't a secret, and it was a process. And that process with time, I'd know, he'd know, and I'd let you know. And as much as we knew [QB] Jayden [Daniels] would get there, [General Manager] Adam [Peters] and I were most excited about watching how he would. And the how has been absolutely outstanding. He went through the whole thing. He didn't miss a beat, hit the targets that we had put in front of him. We talked about the practices against the other teams, the games. So, he's ready and he's earned the right to do that. He's really put in the work, while being surrounded by some excellent teammates here. And in that case, I wanted to make sure I singled one of them out. In a perfect scenario, a young QB would have a leader to also learn from, but perfect rarely happens. But we do have that in [QB] Marcus Mariota and him sharing nine years of gold with Jayden, I think has been something that's really cool for us to see. Rookie QBs usually don't get that, and we do. When QB rooms are special, that energy can be felt throughout an entire team, and we have that. So, really cool to say. Apologies for having you come up with new storylines for today, but Jayden Daniels is our starting quarterback."

On what Daniels has done recently to secure the starting job:

"I think the practice before we left to go down to Miami was the best one I had seen from him. On the Tuesday prior to us leaving that Wednesday. The command of it, the accuracy, the details of it, that was one of the best practices I'd seen him have. It was the best practice I had seen him have. I think that was more in line with who he is, what he does, the checks, the calls, the communication, the delivery of the ball. He was just really on point. It was just cool to see all of that come to life."

On if Daniels earning the starting job surprises him at all:

"It didn't surprise me. We knew we would get here, but we were just excited to see how we would. So, seeing him hit all the spots, this is a rare competitor, and those are the things that I knew about him. But seeing it in your own building, on your own team, around new teammates, that was cool to see. He's just had a remarkable start to things here, he's earned the respect of teammates, and coaches, and people inside of the building. He's very thankful to be part of a group with the quarterbacks, and the coaches helping him get ready. That's a big deal too."

On potential areas of concern with Daniels during the draft process and on Daniels addressing those:

"Yeah, I think the first thing you want to do is make sure that you had some things in place before the player arrived. And so, did some things offensive line wise on the interior to make sure that, obviously adding a tight end like Zach [Ertz] having a run game that you would add to it. All of those things were part of the design prior to even Jayden being here. But the added element that he's brought, the confidence, the swagger that he plays with, the details that he has. All of those things, what you'd hope to see, and that's why I just thought it was best to go through the process and get through all of the steps and then do that. But without having to do that. Our whole program is going to be based on competition. And so, I felt best to go through the whole competition before making any big statements."

On the main offensive goal against Miami:

"Well, I think it was going to be a different system. But going back into the game, different system. You'd see some more pressures getting in and out of calls. You probably saw some quick game and throw some of the bubbles to go. When to get in and out of plays, that would be where the test would take place on this particular game. And getting in and out of plays based on different looks, that was part of it, for sure."

On telling Daniels he's the starter from his perspective and on Daniels' reaction:

"It's cool because I also wanted him to know years from now, 10 years from now, we're going to say to a young player, 'You have to go earn it and you have to go compete for it. And we did that with Jayden in his first year.' That's always going to be what we stand for, in terms of the competition and going forward in battling for it. I wanted that to be the standard. And he said, 'That's what it always is, competing.' And that's just who he is at the core. So, that's kind of what we talked about. It would've been something we could have done, but the competing is still, that's the number one thing here. And to make sure that always is the case. We'll be able to look back, and years, and years from now and say, that we did it from day one as well."

On examples of Daniels winning over the locker room with his leadership:

"Well, I think he has that, but even before going to that, he doesn't have to be the leader of the team. He has to play his position well and be a great teammate. And I told the group earlier, my favorite part of this team, and the best part of our team, is the team. It's not that one person has to put them on your back and say the things to bring everybody up in the huddle. What Jayden's got across is, I put the work in, and people trust me, because they do. They've seen how hard he worked, they've seen him go deliver on that hard work at practice and through the preseason game. As a young player, you're really trying to earn respect and to show that I'll do things that you can count on. And that to me is what he's demonstrated to his teammates over and over again is, 'Man, you can count on me. I'll make the right call, put us in the right play, make the right decisions.' Past that, he's got his own connection with the guys. Even in his own rookie class, there's some other leaders that are emerging. Guys like [DB Mike] Sainristil and others, that have some of those same traits. So, top of the pile man, be a great teammate, play your spot well. There's other guys here that are ready to carry more of that. It'll come in time. But I didn't want to add extra onto him when we selected him. I just wanted him to be the best version of him right away. But he didn't have to take on more than was required.'

On what he wants to see from Daniels before Week 1:

"One, we have two more installs on both sides of the ball. That'll be going in this week, Wednesday and Thursday. That'll be the last of our package of the playbook that we're putting in. And then as we get through the weekend and into next week, we'll narrow down some of that playbook, think of like, volumes and volumes of plays. And then now how do we trim them down? Which people are the best parts for each of the plays and how we feature guys. In other words, which personnel packages can we feature? And so going back through those into next week, that would be what we'll see. But that's a byproduct of going through all the camp, what went well, what needs work, what's game ready, what's not game ready. And even if it's not game ready yet, doesn't mean we wouldn't use it. We wouldn't use it in the first game, but sometimes it just takes a little while for a system or a play to get there. And when it does, then you can do it. But if you do it before that, usually it doesn't work out good. You don't have all the answers, it's not as comfortable. We'll make sure between [Daniels] and the other guys on the offense over the next practices this week and into next week, that's at the top of our things that we do best."

On helping Daniels know when to take a chance and when to throw it away:

"Yeah, so great two-part question. The first one, 'Where should I go against this blitz?' And so, to the side of the blitz, we had a swing by the back and that probably was the one to take into that instance to go give the runner a chance on a play right there. That's different than running and scrambling and getting out. So, good news about playing against Miami, I was super impressed by the pressures, different looks to go. We had some real life look at things, but where to go, the decision-making process, that would be the first part. And then the second part is outside the pocket, when do I have enough and then make the decision whether I'm sliding, get out of bounds, those ones to go. So, he heard it plenty from me today regarding one of the plays that was down the field, and so we had some fun with that."

On how key it is to have players blocking downfield:

"That is probably where a lot of the explosive plays live, and it's the downfield blocking. It could be a run play that goes out the backside and the backside wide receivers trying to go get to the middle field safety. The example of that is really using the urgency, not coming back towards the line of scrimmage, but working downfield to the next block, or to the next block or something that we worked a lot on. And [TE] John [Bates] getting in another block into that one was good. It was good to see [QB] Jeff [Driskel] get out, make some plays with his legs. That's always been part of his game and showed up again Saturday night."

On DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste and on his first sack:

"Yeah, I thought it was probably the best version of him so far. And I saw him be relentless on that particular sack. The first play started, the quarterback then drifted outside the pocket to begin to scramble and Javontae had to go and chase him and finish. And I think as a defensive lineman, so many of the plays are made in that way. You don't just beat the offensive tackle once and you get the clean sack. That happens some, but there's plenty that a stunt happens, or a blitz happens, and the quarterback gets outside the pocket and can you go finish on them. That's something you've heard me say a lot, the ability and the demonstration of going to finish. To see him do that on that play, I thought that was really cool. There were a couple moments like that. I hope you guys saw the excitement, enthusiasm on the sideline, for some of the guys making plays. And I thought, 'What a great example and demonstration of brotherhood by some of these guys.' I pointed out one earlier that [S] Tyler Owens had made a big play on the sideline and [DT] Jon Allen was the one running down the field to try to connect with him as he came off the field. So, moments like that of guys supporting one another is what you'd hope to see as a coach, and to see that happening on the field I was really pleased for that."

On if Daniels will play in the final preseason game:

"We can probably hit more on that towards the end of the week on Friday. We're going to do two practices against ourselves Wednesday and Thursday, and then we'll begin the New England prep onto that as we go. But I thought today had enough. I just gave you the starting quarterback. I mean, it's taking both hands right now, geez [laugh]. No, I'm just kidding. Obviously, we'll talk through all the team next week and I'll have a better answer for you guys on Friday."

On how he told Daniels he was the starter:

"I went to the quarterback room and just spent some time, and we had talked first about the process going from Jets week into Miami week. Even as much as like warming up and what did that look like. So, I'd asked him to make some changes or assess what he liked and what needed to be different. I said, 'That's what preseason games are for'. To find out whether we're playing at one o'clock or seven o'clock or four o'clock, this happens two hours before the game, this is 1:45. So, we went through that process together and then I just said, 'Man, I'm naming you the starter today and the name of our whole program will be about competition and you've absolutely crushed it and earned it, and so it's time to do that.' I wanted to just let him know that that's always what we're going to stand for. It was a cool moment, but one that he had absolutely earned."

On when he first emphasized to Daniels that he didn't need to take on more responsibility as the team's quarterback:

"I think sometimes you can cast upon that just by the position. That comes with it, the quarterback, 'I have to lead the team and do that.' I think the first thing you have to do is, you especially as a younger player here, is demonstrate you can be absolutely counted upon. I said that to him probably when he first arrived, 'You don't have to put the cape on and carry the team, all I want you to focus on is playing quarterback to the very best of your ability and be the most absolute best teammate you can be. That's not your job to have to go rip [WR] Terry McLaurin about something, I'll handle that. You can just lock in and go do your thing.' I said, 'Those things come with time, man. And the leading in that way. What you need to do is be able to absolutely deliver on your end.' And Jayden Daniels is an absolutely fantastic teammate, because he cares, he puts the work in, he gives support to others. There didn't need to be that, and I think sometimes, and certainly NFL players, but a lot of people can see through bullshit. When someone's acting some kind of way that's not really who they are, like, 'Nah man, that ain't you.' I wanted him and his teammates to get to know him in a really cool and authentic way. And that is who he is. He's a competitor, he is a great teammate, he's on his stuff. That's what I wanted his team to see. Nothing where he had to take on a leadership mantle that he didn't need to yet. That'll come."

On if he feels he needs to manage Daniels after being named starter:

"No, I don't feel that way at all. His whole life he's been about competing, and so there's nothing that would back him off of that."

On if there have been rookie moments from Daniels:

"Yeah, of course."

On what the conversations were like after the rookie moments from Daniels:

"Yeah, I could say there's lots of them. In the practice at the Dolphins we didn't put a motion on, we ran right into a blitz because we didn't motion a player. So, of course there's mistakes that any player has. And this is a good sign, if there's one to have, before he turns around he may have already known what the correction may have been. And I think people improve the most when they have self-awareness. If you're always having to be the one correcting something or someone on something with no awareness for that, you'll likely have to correct that a lot. But when somebody comes to you and says, 'Yes, I missed that, this is why.' That's usually the person that has the most self-awareness. They improve the most, they develop the fastest, because they're able to fix some of the things that go wrong. Sometimes you got to figure it out. You can't rely on the coach every single moment to say, 'End this, end this, end this.' And Jayden has that at the highest level."

On if he's announced to the team that Daniels is the starter:

"I have not."

On what he expects the team's reaction to be after hearing Daniels is the starter:

"I would think they would have probably figured it out before you guys did."

On LB Jordan Magee:

"So, Jordan had a procedure on his knee. He had a [meniscus] injury. And the good news is that this is not a season-ending injury, which obviously you're concerned, you don't know until the procedure takes place. So, that is the good news for him. He will be back this season. And timeline wise, I don't have one for you. But that was great news for us, knowing that he's going to be a key component of our line backing crew."

On if anything stood out from players trying to make the roster after watching the game tape:

"Yeah, I thought a number of things stood out. One of the things that was positive, I thought, could we really play physical? And I wanted that then to be one of the things of our play style that would come out over and over again. And I felt a lot of that. I felt the contact. We got a long ways to go in terms of how well we tackle, but the mindset to hit and the go for it was there. We got a long way to go to take care of the ball better, to create more takeaways, but by and large, as a play style, I wanted to make sure when people watch us play, they say, 'Man, these guys absolutely bring it.' So, that part, if we do that over and over again, those are lessons that you could take. It may have not shown up in the win column, but knowing how hard you have to go and compete and fight for it, those are things that matter, especially to players who haven't played in the NFL yet. Going through that and saying, 'Okay, this is the ramp up and that's different.' People ask, well, what's so different about the NFL and college? And oftentimes in practice you don't really get to know other than just speed, but then there's the physicality element that comes with the game. Seeing who is really ready for those challenges, it was cool to see a number of guys do that."

On his review of the offensive line:

"We're improving on less pre-snap penalties and those are the ones that you want to get rid of. So, earlier that part to go. It was good to have [OT Andrew] Wiley back with him not being able to participate in the Jets game, and same with [OT Cornelius Lucas]. For those two guys, getting their first game work, I thought that was important for them. The inside three felt further ahead because they had one more opportunity to do it than Andrew and Luke, but I was pleased with them through the first two drives of what we had. I think Andrew had one foul, he'd certainly like to have back on a third down and one play. But going into it, these are why you play the games and go through it and get yourself ready. I anticipate those guys continuing to ascend in the weeks ahead."

On an update for DT Jer'Zhan Newton and T Brandon Coleman:

"So far, you're going to see those guys work individual. It would have to be towards the end of the week if they would get any team reps to go. Brandon's a little bit further along than Johnny, but not by tons, but both of them I see on the way up. As far as getting them to the game, I'll have a better sense for that as we get to the end of the week. We'll see Brandon more this week really ramp up the contact and that kind of stuff up, you'll see more running with Johnny. Those are two guys that are on the arrow up, but I don't have an official game time, timeline for them yet."

On his confidence in K Riley Patterson and on if they will bring in another kicker:

"Yeah, I think the second one's probably a better question for Adam. At this time of year there's evaluations everywhere, and I'm sure you can relate roster size being 90 all the way to the final cut is different. Sometimes when it went from 90 to 75, teams that carried more than one specialist, oftentimes that was the moment that some specialists, were going to go from carrying two to carrying one. The competition for us at that spot is not settled by any stretch, along with some other positions. But as far as heading into the game, no decisions on that with adding anybody else to the roster."

On if he needs to see more from Coleman in order for him to start:

"I think needing and wanting are probably different in that way. Would I want to, you bet. Need to, no. I do know there's next week's practices and the following week's one, so I think I'll have a better assessment once I go through a few days with him this week and then see if we have a realistic shot for him to play Sunday night or not. He's certainly trending in that way, but we're just going to use all the caution we can with him and Johnny to make sure there's no setbacks and that's super important too. As much as the want is there, we'll make the more difficult right, over the easier wrong every time when it comes to the player's safety."

On his confidence in the outside corners:

"So, just for the outside piece, we've mixed and matched different guys in the different spots. I was certainly impressed, [CB Tariq] Castro-Fields in the game. I thought on the deep ball to go, made some plays onto that. I thought [CB Chigozie Anusiem] really made a difference in the way that he competed and played. And then we've really kind of been working the three part of [CB] Ben [St. Juste], and [CB] Emmanuel [Forbes Jr.], and [DB] Mike [Sainristil] and the different spots. I thought Emmanuel showed his best week from practice down at Miami and into the game. I love when I see this, on the way up. We're still into the middle of that of what the best combinations look like, but I was definitely pleased to see Emmanuel on the way up. But I thought Ben had showed a lot of consistency through camp, through the preseason game leading into Miami. It's certainly the touchdown pass on fourth and one, he'd like to have that one back from a technical standpoint at the line. But I'll get there and we're still working through who, but I love how they're competing. I love how they're going for it and I love how they're supporting one another, which when you're in a competition with someone, it's not always the easiest thing to do but with this group, they do. That shows me that, that's a cool thing because they're in it from one another too."

On anything that stood out from the receivers and returners:

"Yeah, I was hoping we'd get a few more shots on the punt return. Where we didn't into that spot a couple, you don't get a chance to hit it. So, I was wanting to see more there. We'll do some more of that this week with [WR] Kaz [Allen] as one of the people back there. I've got great confidence in [WR] Jamison [Crowder]. Like I said, where his returnability as a punt returner, it's easy to see that whether through practice or the experiences of the game. And then [WR] Byron Pringle is somebody that has shown, demonstrated explosive ability to go hit them. We still have work to do into that, that'll carry over into this week and into the game. But as far as the returners go, not settled in that spot. I like the candidates, but to say we're at the final set of that, not yet. Not yet."

On what stood out from the receivers:

"I know you guys were talking about that. We really do have some unique guys and some guys that are absolutely going for it. What you were calling 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, all of these players will go in and have a role into it. It's been cool to see Luke [McCaffery] following Olamide [Zaccheaus] some. Preparation and processing, and what does practice look like. So, to see Luke make some plays in the game, I was certainly happy with that in the slot. You saw the one going down the seam, he's back there trying to return punts. He's a relentless competitor and it's one of the things I really admire about him. He's just always down for it. 'Yeah, you want me to return kick, I'll be the wing.' I was like, 'No, you can't do them both. It's the same thing on punt return. You don't get to do both of those.' So, his just relentless ability to go after, I think is going to make the player ascend as we're going. Dyami [Brown] and Jahan [Dotson] had shown some cool stuff for us and you feel Jahan's speed. I feel Dyami get on top of people. We got a number of people, but I'm not going to be boxed in and say this is one, this is only this, this is only this. I was referring to, how do we utilize the players? Not everybody will have the same exact role. We got to try to find them and put them into the spaces of things they do well. By and large, what are you looking for at receivers of contested catches, beating man-to-man. Those are things that you have to be able to do. And then the yards after the catch and the playmaking ability, those are things that you're looking for all the time. At the core, the urgency, the finish. Those are the things that I'm looking for on a regular."