Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn addressed the media before practice on Sept. 19. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
"Alright. Nice to see you guys. As we're getting started, we were really pumped to get rolling and begin the week. For us, there was certainly, going through it there was a lot to tighten up on that we wanted to improve on and that's definitely gonna be the case. But also getting excited with all the preparation that goes into Cincinnati and the challenges that they provide as well. So, with all that said, ready to get rocking with you guys."
On DT Jonathan Allen and DT Daron Payne through the first two weeks:
"Yeah, through the first two, I definitely know their presence inside. Some games you get more chances to rush and some games you don't. So what we wanna always make sure is we're finding the matchups when we can and get into some drop back stuff. Sometimes when you have the production they've had, other people go into the game saying, 'Okay, these two are not gonna ruin the game.' So, a little bit of both. But yeah, we're definitely looking forward to them for this week and really making their impact felt and they want that too."
On anything that has surprised him from RB Brian Robinson Jr's performance in the first two weeks:
"I wouldn't say surprised, but what I would say is maybe coming in, I didn't know his hands were as good as they are. Just for me coaching against him, and so that's been one of the things that I've been really impressed by. I knew this guy was a rare competitor, I just knew that. But what I didn't know was that he was complete in that way in terms of running and catching and being outside and doing that too. So that would've been something I wouldn't say I was surprised at, but I was like, man, that's cool to see."
*On what he saw coming and what he sees now that tells him Robinson Jr. is a rare competitor: *"Well first I would say, coming outta college. And so he may have not had as many carries early on, but neither would a lot of people who had some of the guys in the back field in front of him when he was a freshman there. What I thought early on that showed a lot of perseverance to say, 'Hey, your time is going to come here', but when you were playing behind some of the guys that were absolutely hitting it at the highest level, I'm sure some of those standards and toughness came through that. And then coaching against him, tackling plan, how do you go about him? You gotta get down to the legs because of the physicality, seeing him step through some tackles. That's a big deal. And so it wasn't a normal tackle a lot of times with him based on his size and his strength. So, the rare competitor comes out when he gets one-on-one and sized up on somebody, you better have your tackling plan correct or he can make you look bad."
On how he works through double teams:
"Yeah, and I wanna be clear, I think what we're probably talking about first, John, is first and second down. Because the play pass, you can still do a double but it's a run-action. I think when you're talking about trying to get four hands on them, it didn't happen every snap, but that is something on the first and second downs, how do you beat it? Some blitzes where you're looping and getting outside. And so those are some of the ways that we do that. If we had actually gotten them down a few times in Tampa, I would say the conversation is probably a little bit different. But that's competing and that's ball. So, what do we like to do? Get some on the move. That helps guys who have that kind of quickness for their size and we'll continue to do that."
On how to balance getting the ball to explosive players and getting them the ball in explosive situations:
"Yeah, well I would say, try to move [WR] Terry [McLaurin] around into different spots, which you know, is important because he has that play making ability. You wanna find the spots to go. As we're going just into our second full lap together, there'll be more opps for him and we need them to be. What you don't wanna do is force the ones that aren't there and make sure even though in a certain route, he may be the primary read, but if that one's taken away, that you don't force that one and go to somewhere else. I really respect that about [QB] Jayden [Daniels] of making good processing decisions. Sometimes you have a play design that's going to go to one place and it's not there. The worst thing you could do is try to force something in that's not there. And so I'm pleased that we're not doing that. Do we want to get him involved? Man, you bet, in the biggest way. And so, the catch and run opportunities, I thought we had one or two chances that didn't go his way. One we had a penalty on that I thought on a trap pass. I think [G] Nick [Allegretti] might have been down the field on a slant, that was gonna be a big play. That one doesn't count as one of the targets to go."
On T Brandon Coleman's growth from Week 1 to Week 2:
"Yeah, I think the good news is we're trending up for him and so that's what we were wanting to see. More practice time, more playing time to go, so continue to see that part improve as we're going week-to-week. We'll keep assessing it and move from there, but it was good to see just more playing and more going. And I think the same thing for [DT] Johnny Newton, it was maybe a week later but got in for near the prescribed amount of plays that we had allotted for this game and now we get to do more. And those two guys need reps in playing time and so I'm glad that the trajectory's finally here. We had to battle through some of the injuries early on with both of them, but we knew at the time, if you guys remember what I was talking about, we knew this wasn't season-ending and those kind of things. And it was frustrating at the time for them and for us. But the good news is now, okay, those are behind us and we're moving forward and they're gaining more experience as we're going."
On if Coleman is on a pitch count:
"No."
On if Newton's trajectory is going up and on expecting more stats from him:
"We do, yes. So it was by design, coming off an injury to make sure that we weren't going past where we thought was the right amount in his first game. And so now that we get that then we get more available for us moving into this week."
On his thoughts of the interior defensive line group through the first two games:
"Yeah, I think we just addressed it before you came to say, 'How do we get more production with the inside guys on the early down?' Some movement helps where they can get outside and get outta some double teams to go. We've got a lot of faith and belief in them and Johnny inside so we're excited to get those guys revved up and going."
On if he has seen any recurring areas of improvement through the first two weeks:
"Yeah, I would say are we a lot better than we were at the start of training camp? You bet. You know, I don't know what, six or eight weeks later. I'm hearing the communication improving on both sides. But that one is from here to here to here. So I would say there's some things that we've probably gone in that way from like a D to then a C and a C+. And so not to where we're going to be, but I do feel like that has been improved. The communication at the line of scrimmage in combination blocks, I think we probably had talked about that at one time, maybe when we didn't have a lot of the offensive line together and how would we do with not having a lot of reps together. I'm seeing those combinations, those techniques working together, so that's been another one in the running game that I've been pleased with."
On the starting field position battle against New York:
"We did not win that one on the starting field position. So, that's a big one for us to make sure that we have really unique [opportunities] to go. When we had the holding penalty on the opening play, that was a big shift. To know that here we are, got a chance to go all the way on the opening kick and had a foul on that one. I love the big tackle we had, I think it was TO [S Tyler Owens] that knocked one down right on the 15-or-18-yard line. That's a big play. So, for us it factors into everything. Like we didn't punt in the game, which is unusual, but those are some swings that get into that as well but it's a big factor. The turnover margin, that was number one, top of the pile, to say, 'If we can win the ball, we got a chance to go win the game.' And so that was one, the tackling margin was better than we had the previous week. Those were two things that that arrow went up. "
On U.S. tennis player Francis Tiafoe visiting the team:
"Well first, it was really cool because he's very authentic, and very real and very honest. And he really connected with a lot of the players. We did not let the team know that he was coming through. But we had actually spoken about his journey the week before and we were talking, the message was a little bit about perseverance and gratitude for people making sacrifices for you. And for his family moving here from Sierra Leone, and just his journey coming up. So, we wanted to spend some time with him, and most of the questions with the players were talking about performance, and routines, and getting ready, and mindset and how do you react after a bad play or a good play. He's very strong from the neck up as well, and we noticed that right away. So yeah, we really enjoyed spending the day with him."
On an area that's getting close to what he wants to see from the team:
"That's a good question. I would say taking care of the ball. We're doing a nice job of that on the offensive side. So, I'd say that's really important for us to get into the plus, we've gotta create more takeaways. I'd say we're getting closer because we're having a really good conscious to take care of the ball, but now the defense has to knock a few out. Because then that really affects what we were talking about earlier, to say how does field position change? You get a takeaway, you get chances to give the offense another drive. I would say we're closer into that, but not to where I think we'll get to. But if we're talking progress then I would say yeah, I think we have a real thoughtful approach to the ball and that part's really important because if we get that right then a lot of other things can come into place as we're trying to establish who we are and our identity. And it's going to take a few weeks for that to come in to fully express ourselves of how we want to go. The speed improved, not to be confused with the standard. And so that's what we're chasing, and that's what we're going to go after. And that's why it's a fun group to coach because they're down for the challenge. They're down for the things to work on. And so that as a coach makes you excited because the progress that happens in these big spurts, you coil up, it's like boom and you land at another spot. You coil up and you land at another spot. So, all of these games are opportunities for us to go and improve and get better. And I love that today as the week is starting, it's a lot on Cincinnati but there's plenty of us in there too of things that we want to tighten up."
On his remarks to the team before their first primetime game of the season:
"To embrace the buildup for it and enjoy it because it's a really cool experience. And one that for the players that haven't done it before, to enjoy it. But it'll really come down to us, that's my message. To say our style, our play and how we get down once the game kicks off. It'll be like normal if we function in that way, but I wanted them to enjoy the buildup and knowing there's a routine that goes into place for a night game. What does the day of the game look like? We have some meetings and things that day, but we have to be at our best in the evening that day. So, we've had some experience with that in the preseason with some night games. But just going through that process, having the younger players lean into the older guys onto that, it's a big deal and yeah, we're really excited for it."
On WR Noah Brown:
"Well, what a first start for him, I thought, in a really cool way of having some trust already with [QB] Jayden [Daniels]. I thought Jayden absolutely ripped the dagger that went inside on the last drive to Noah. He's an aggressive, strong player and I think he demonstrated that in the game. He's worked really hard to try to learn it and get involved. So, as he's going at the receiver position, it's really all hands on deck and we like to feature the guys in different ways. I know it was a topic earlier, who's two and all of this. And I don't really see it that way. I see this as all hands on deck and they go and attack and battle and feature them in different ways. I love that they play on special teams, and return punts, and cover kicks, and it really demonstrates team at the highest level. So, positions like that where you've got a lot of competitive guys, it's a lot of fun to coach."
On how receivers continue to get targets when teams know that's the offense's goal:
"Yeah, and it's a fair question. So, what I really thought was an excellent job, most of the time when that happens a player has to move around to different locations because maybe you and the fans have heard bracketing somebody, which can be good down in the red zone because there's a person behind there called the 12th man who's the back line. When you bracket somebody that's called in and outing, so you're not the threat of it going vertical because there's an end line there. Out in the field sometimes you have to high-low double team. Because if you bracket them and the guy runs through it, there's no one deep to go. So, putting guys in different locations is a good way to do that, to feature them to go. In that particular instance, there were some times that [New York Giants WR Malik] Nabers had a double on him and if you lose a leverage, or do one of those things, it always comes back to fundamentals and techniques. So, that is no different really than how did the pass rusher get this many sacks or that type of thing. So, the unique players and he's going to be one, he's very strong, very competitive. I was certainly impressed by him. But moving people around is one way that people try to do that."
On the conversation of an 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals team coming into Monday night hungry:
"It doesn't come up because we can't control their emotion or their energy for that. But what we can control, it's going to be an awesome environment, crowd noise and that. And so that's one of the things that we'll have to do a really good job of handling. Because if you can handle that part, then it allows more normal playing field to go. But I think when you get in the games, man, everybody's desperate to win and you're battling your asses off for it. So, whether they were 2-0, or 0-2, I sense that we would get the same hard, tough, really good performance from Cincinnati. That's kind of who they are. They're a really good team, and so sometimes the really good teams and there's a record here where we are just two games in, would you expect them to have two losses? Probably not. But that's where it is and once eight o'clock or whatever comes you're not thinking about records. You're just thinking about how do we go win and we're really pumped to go battle with them, and we've got respect for them, but we'll be ready to fight as well."
