OPINION:
Let us go back to a time when no one was using words like playoffs and NFC championship game in conversations about the Washington Commanders — certainly not first-year coach Dan Quinn.
Quinn was asked on the first day of training camp in July about what he believed would count as a successful season.
“I think number one, we want to start off and make sure our identity, and who we are and how we play, that has to come along strong. If you get that first and get that right, that’s when a lot of the success will follow. But you can’t put the record before you have the identity and who you are. So, I’m hopeful that when you and our fans and families see us play, they see that identity coming to life. The speed, the physicality, the winning football in the most critical moments. Those are all the things that are going to make up our identity, and we’ve got to use this time to start establishing that in the very best of ways.”
I’m not sure they accomplished that this season.
They accomplished a lot, far more than anyone expected on the first day of training camp for a team that finished 4-13 the year before under Ron Rivera. No one looked at the bargain-spackled roster that general manager Adam Peters put together and saw a 12-5 regular season record and two road playoff victories.
And they certainly established an identity. But not necessarily the identity that Quinn described on that first day of training camp.
We absolutely saw the winning football in the most critical moments. They were certainly an improved physical unit over previous years before Quinn arrived. I’m not sure anyone will think of the 2024 Commanders as speed demons.
But yes, they certainly found an identity — an identity rooted in the grit, determination and heroics of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The superstar carried the roster Peters and Quinn assembled to open training camp to this stunning year that caught everyone off guard. It became clearer and clearer as the season went on, until the weight became too much to bear in a 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
The sports world marveled at Daniels’ record-setting winning performances week after week — last-minute victories driven by his arms, his legs and his heart — the winning football in critical moments that Quinn hoped for when training camp began.
On Sunday, America was lighting candles for Daniels.
We learned the limits of the weight Daniels can carry. He can’t put on his shoulders a team that turns the ball over four times (one by Daniels himself)/ He can’t save an offense and a defense that commits damaging penalties on the road against a better team.
We also got more evidence — substantial, given it came in defeat — of the faith that Daniels has in himself, a faith that spread throughout the locker room.
He was, according to reports, visibly shaken by the loss. “We believed that we belonged here,” Daniels told reporters. “I don’t ever want to feel this way again. But you’ve got to deal with it and move on.”
There’s your identity. Daniels believed his Commanders would beat the Eagles. And if his teammates didn’t implode with turnovers and costly penalties, who is to say they wouldn’t have?
Quinn was asked what he thought of Daniels’ performance — 29 of 48 for 255 yards, one touchdown and one interception, his first since Week 17, plus 48 yards and one touchdown on the ground — on a “big stage.” His response was likely universal: “It just doesn’t seem like there’s going to be one that’s too big, honestly. He has that rare competitiveness that makes him unique in a lot of ways. I love inside how he can stay into this space in the toughest environment.”
But Daniels has his limits.
Now it is up to Peters, Quinn and owner Josh Harris to make the right decisions to realize the identity the head coach talked about when training camp opened. They’ll have the resources, with much cap space money available and seven draft picks.
They made the right call in last year’s draft when they picked Daniels with the No. 2 pick in a class of quarterback options. And if you are building an identity, a good place to start is with the most important position on the field.
It is time, though, to lighten the load on Daniels.
• You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
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