ASHBURN, Va. — There’s plenty of newness around the Washington Commanders this training camp and preseason. There’s a bevy of new players playing under a new head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and (for the most part) coaching staff. The practice structure is new. Even where the players stay is new.
As the players found out when they reported to work, “Tell the Truth Monday” is new, too. It came two days after the Commanders’ 20-17 preseason loss to the Jets, and there were plenty of learning opportunities.
“Some of the things I know now, today, I didn’t know at this time last week, so that was good, that’s what you find out in a game,” head coach Dan Quinn said. “It was good to tell the truth Monday — this is what we learned, this is what we need to do heading into this week.”
Quinn added that “Tell the Truth Monday,” which took place throughout the morning until lunch, is a two-way street. Coaches told players what they saw, but also listened to players who may have been uncertain about a certain assignment or rule. The team then worked on actually fixing the issues, and Quinn emphasized to players, “Don’t harden your heart to the corrections.”
The Commanders are dealing with plenty of truths, good and bad, at the moment. The most significant “good,” by a wide margin, was Jayden Daniels‘ debut performance. Daniels played just one drive, but impressed with an audible leading to 42-yard pass to Dyami Brown and a 3-yard touchdown run to finish the series.
There were other positives, too, and Quinn was happy to acknowledge them. He was pleased with the team’s ball security and the tackling from safeties Percy Butler and Jeremy Reaves. He praised Daniels’ fellow rookie, Ben Sinnott (three receptions for 57 yards), for the type of all-around performance that made him an appealing prospect.
“It was a huge positive,” Quinn said. “I think we were clear on the run blocking, about the physicality of what he could do, and we really wanted to see the downfield throws and what does that look like: Can he extend and create separation as all the good tight ends do? So it’s nice to see that.”
On the other side, though, there are plenty of aspects the Commanders are working through, and frankly struggling through. Tackles Brandon Coleman (shoulder/pectoral), Andrew Wylie (tightness) and Cornelius Lucas (personal) did not play, leaving Washington in a bit of a bind. Six different players lined up at tackle during the game. Three of them — Mason Brooks, Chris Paul and Braeden Daniels — would ideally be competing for guard depth spots, and another, Armani Taylor, was signed three days before the game.
“‘Tell the Truth’ is good and bad,” Brooks said Monday, “There’s high points — like your rookie quarterback making a check like that — and there’s low points, like guys missing assignments and coming up short. Obviously when you don’t win the game, it’s a little bit more serious of a ‘Tell the Truth Monday’ than if you come out with a win.”
Brooks played 34 of his team-high 53 snaps at left tackle, a position he hadn’t played in a game in nearly two years, when he was at Ole Miss. With a joint practice and preseason game at the Dolphins coming up this Saturday, Brooks stayed well after practice ended Monday, running by himself to prepare himself for the heat and the added reps.
“You just have to take things in stride the best that you can,” Brooks said. “When you’re working in uncharted or new territory, there’s a lot of new experiences for you to have. I think the important thing is just to keep moving forward the best that you can.
“Enjoy the good, but you beat yourself twice if you don’t learn from the bad.”
Washington is dealing with injuries elsewhere, too. Johnny Newton (foot), Jordan Magee (knee) and Sam Hartman (shoulder) are all banged up. Though that gives other players opportunities to prove themselves, it also takes away important reps especially for Newton and Magee, rookies expected to contribute sooner rather than later.
Quinn also lamented some tackling woes and the lack of turnovers forced. And even though the result doesn’t matter much in the long run, Quinn emphasized the habits needed to win the game can be built in the preseason.
“You go in there, and the eye in the sky don’t lie,” Sinnott said. “We still got a lot of stuff to improve on. I think the big thing that we kind of heard — the ‘truth’ — just being able to finish that game, make the plays that we need. We had a three-and-out, penalty on our last drive to go and take the lead, so just things we need to clean up, pre-snap errors, that kind of stuff that we can clean up and hopefully take our game to the next level.”
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Author: Zachary Pereles
August 12, 2024 | 7:00 pm
