Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels addressed the media after practice on Oct. 9. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
*On his first impression of the Baltimore Ravens' defense: *"Very physical team. They go out there and they going to hit you in your mouth. So, better have your chin strap buckled."
On mentally preparing to face a strong run defense:
"Go out there and execute the game plan. That's it."
On his relationship with Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson:
"It goes back some time. Kind of like a big bro, little bro type of thing, but it's a mutual respect between both."
On any aspects of Jackson's style applied to his own game coming up:
"No, I mean I just like watching football. I like watching good quarterback play. I'm a fan of his, and how he plays the game, how he approaches the game. But we're two different quarterbacks, two different styles. But I just like going out there and I appreciate what he's done for the sport and what he's done for the African American quarterbacks."
On what has surprised him so far this season:
"I mean just any given Sunday, got to go out there and do it again week in and week out. Go out there and try to execute and help your team. The best way to go out there and try to get a win."
On if the Ravens' strong run and pass defense impacts his game plan:
"You gotta focus on what you do, can't get too caught up because they might come out there and show you something completely different than what they've shown on film. So, you gotta go out there and focus on yourself and try to get better as a unit."
On what about Jackson he enjoys watching from a quarterback's perspective:
"Just how he plays the position. Whether that's running, throwing, making plays, he is a fierce competitor, so I respect that about him."
On if he is tired of the comparisons between him and Jackson:
"Yeah, I think it's, you go out there and just appreciate each individual for who they are. So, I don't like when people really like try to compare me to Lamar and vice versa. We're two different players and just go out there, just appreciate what the quarterback players being played. So that's what I try to do, is just appreciate everybody for who they are."
On if he can appreciate that this is essentially the game of the week for the league:
"Well, that's for the league to figure out. That's for what the people to talk about. For us, man, we just go out there and we're just playing a football game. That just happened to be the next opponent up for us. So, we're going to focus this week on trying to get better execute the game plan on Sunday."
On what he did and didn't like about last week's performance after watching the tape:
"Yeah, I mean some throws that I missed. Obviously, the interception and things like that. Try to clean up the turnover that we had, whether that's me or just the whole team as a unit. That's the number one thing in the NFL is ball security, try to take care of the football. But other than that, man, they went out there, they played us man coverage. Obviously, the completion percentage is going to be lower because it is man-to-man coverage. But, if you could hit some and hit some big plays, man, it is there to be, it is. The plays are out there to be made, and we made enough plays, and our defense did a hell of job getting us the ball back and letting us get into a rhythm."
On how he has appreciated what he has accomplished this season:
"Yeah, I don't let myself get too caught up into it, but obviously, this game is very hard, so you got to appreciate the wins. Especially in this league, man, they're hard to come by, so you gotta be able to appreciate the win. So, I get myself, I say, I've been like this win, lose or draw, 24-hour rule. Go out there, 24 hours, appreciate what happened or having to get into your thoughts if you lost or either win or lost. But go out there the next day, man, it's time to go to work. Move on to the next week. What happened last week? Doesn't matter."
*On where his mentality comes from: *"Yeah, I would say my dad. He's the one that that kind of told me that growing up was like, 'Man, you got 24 hours to go out there, man, and really just sit there and appreciate what you did. Win, lose or draw. But after that, man, it's on to a new week."
On Head Coach Dan Quinn's message about taking it one week at a time:
"Yeah, I mean, it's kind of just the thing that he preaches, man, it is next game mentality. It doesn't matter what people are trying to hype up, man. It's how can we go out there and execute ourselves. People could say this might be the game of the week or things like that. But for us, man, it's just another game. And they just happened to be an opponent."
On when he noticed people starting to use him in comparison and on when he realized he didn't like that:
"I don't know. I mean, I think growing up, high school you get comparisons for college and then college you get kind of within the draft comparisons of who this is, kind of the skill set is like. But I would say for me, it's kind of just go out there and it is trying to be unique and trying to be, not really different from everybody, and appreciate what they could do. Because you always learn stuff from other quarterbacks within the league. I'm not close-minded, I always want to be able to grow, but at the end of the day I want to be known as Jayden Daniels and not the next such and such."
On when he got comfortable playing from the pocket and playing on time:
"Kind of say when I got to LSU, as I was able to grow up a little bit more mature. And in this league, man, that's what you have to do. You got to be able to play from the pocket, be on time, be on schedule because once you get off schedule, they got very good defenders on the other side that could get you in second and long, third and long situation. You're trying to stay to avoid those because those guys get paid to rush the pass and make plays. So, if you could stay on time, stay on schedule in this league you'll have a shot."
On if he uses the comparisons as motivation and on if he is a self-motivator:
"Nah, I mean, it wasn't [that] I didn't like who I was being compared to. It's just those guys are who they are. They're great players and we need to respect them for who they are and stop. For me personally, it's like, man, I'm not trying to be the next such and such. I'm just trying to be the best version of myself."
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On quarterbacks he watched and incorporates into his game:*
"Honestly, I watched just football in general growing up. I mean, I watched Lamar, watch [Kansas City Chiefs QB] Pat [Mahomes], you watch [Former NFL QB] Tom Brady, [New York Jets Quarterback] Aaron Rogers, those guys. But I just like watching football in general. And I know a lot of those guys within the league, so we kind of just go back and forth and bounce ideas off each other. And then all season I work out with a couple other NFL QB starters, so be able to just go out there and see where you're at. Not really compare but go out there and compete and see what they're good at and just trying to learn from there, like, 'Oh, I've seen this play. Watch your film here. How are you doing this? What was your offense like?' and stuff like that. So just picking brains and bouncing ideas off each other."
On if teams who are geographically close can be rivals even if they're not in the same division or conference:
"I'm just new here. I mean, that's for other people to determine. For me, just go out there and be able to play another game. It's not really any rivalry or stuff like that. Obviously just this area, the DMV having two teams within certain radius, obviously people could look at as a rivalry, but for us, man, it's just another game."
