A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders
Commanders links
Articles
Washington Times
LOVERRO: Quinn’s Commanders are a team that can take a punch
[Jayden Daniels] may be the coolest player in the league.
NBC television cameras showed Daniels several times sitting on the bench during the game. He looked like he was sitting in the Morgan Boulevard Station Metro stop waiting for the last train to arrive.
“You see him on the bench, whether it’s right before the two-minute drill and overtime, he is literally just the same person,” said tight end Zach Ertz, who caught the game-winning touchdown from Daniels. “Whether it was OTAs when we’re working two-minute drill against the defense or with the opportunity to go to the playoffs or solidify ourselves with an opportunity to go to the playoffs. He’s literally the same guy. He’s the most mature rookie I’ve ever been around. He approaches the game, he loves to learn. And so, he just, he exudes such a quiet confidence. He’s not out there, a rah-rah guy, but we all know how good he is and how much confidence we have in him. And so, he doesn’t need to say anything.”
This was as important a game as the Commanders have played this season — clinching a playoff position with their 11th win of the season before a packed house of mostly Washington fans at Northwest Stadium, many of whom had likely never seen their team win 11 games in any season, since the last time it happened was the 1991 Super Bowl season.
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
Jayden Daniels carries Commanders to win over Falcons
Breaking down another outstanding performance from the star rookie QB
Daniels completed 24 of 36 passes for 227 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, but he also had a crucial 127 additional yards rushing on 16 carries.
Those 127 rushing yards were incredibly important to the Commanders winning the game, so I’ll start this post looking at that. The Commanders struggled to get much going in the run game early on, with some fans even calling to bench Brian Robinson for Chris Rodriguez. But Kliff Kingsbury turned to Daniels to try and get the run game going and he did just that.
Here we see a read-option keeper from Daniels midway through the second quarter. The Commanders line up in the pistol with Robinson behind Daniels and two tight ends to the right of the formation. Just before the snap, Daniels sends tight end John Bates in motion across the formation and quickly snaps the ball soon after. Daniels opens to his left and puts the ball out for Robinson to run onto as he reads the unblocked edge defender to the left side of the line. That defender initially crashes inside and reads the tight end coming from the back side as a sift block, so prepares to take on that block. However, Bates isn’t blocking him, he’s arcing around him to lead the way for Daniels on a keeper.
Daniels reads the defender crashing inside on the run and pulls the ball himself. He runs to the edge where he has Bates out in front of him to lead the way. Bates does a nice job not getting committed too early and keeps working down the field before engaging in a block to seal the defense inside. That enables Daniels to use his speed to turn the corner and sprint down the sideline for 26 yards before eventually being forced out of bounds.
The quarterback run schemes were the most effective runs for the Commanders in this game and really got the offense going. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury went deep into his bag of schemes with certain designed quarterback run schemes which I might break down in more detail later this week, but they were much needed in this game. It enabled the Commanders to give the Falcons some different looks to contend with, which then opened things up for the more conventional run schemes later on. But it wasn’t just the designed quarterback runs that were effective, in fact Daniels ability to scramble was perhaps the biggest reason the Commanders won this game. He used his legs to get the Commanders out of many tight situations.
The Hog Sty
What’s in the RFK Stadium Site Bill?
The Act was unmodified from the original version passed by the U.S. House of Representatives several months ago. The Act requires the U.S. Department of Interior to transfer administrative control, but not fee simple ownership, of the RFK Stadium site – what the Act calls “the Campus”, which includes a total of 174 acres – to the District of Columbia for 99 years within 180 of the date of enactment of the Act. This essentially a long-term ground lease, which is a common tool in real estate development.
The Act also requires that 30 percent of the property, not including the waterways, be used as parks and/or open space. That’s important because the entire site is 174 acres[1], which leaves less than a maximum of approximately 120 acres for development, depending on the size of the waterway area. That sounds like alot, but it really isn’t in the world of stadium development. It’s enough to build a modern stadium, but probably not much else. To put this in context, the entire SoFi Stadum development in California, the home of the Rams and the Chargers that has a large mixed-use development surrounding the stadium, is 298 acres[2]. The NRG Stadium complex in Houston, the home of the Texans that includes a convention center, training complex for the team, a parking lot, and the now-abandoned Houston Astrodome, is 350 acres[3]. In contrast, Empower Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos, is just 55 acres[4]. The takeaway from this is that 120 or so acres that encompass the RFK Stadium site is enough to build a new, modern NFL stadium, but probably not much else, and that could end up affecting the District’s plans for the property. The Act requires the District to include sufficient parking, so that probably means that they can’t just solely rely on the Metro for transportation, which I doubt they would do anyway.
The Act places a number of obligations on the District, which are supposed to be memorialized in a memorandum of understanding between the District and the federal government, as well as in a declaration that will be recorded in the real property records. I’m not going to repeat all of the requirements placed on the District here; suffice it to say that the District will be responsible for funding any and all development on the property, including demolition costs. It is also worth pointing out that the Act expressly forbids the use of any federal funding for either stadium development or related training facilities or offices; essentially, anything having to do with football.
Commanders.com
‘We’re built for the spotlight’: Commanders celebrate earning playoff berth after OT win vs. Falcons
Ahead of the start to the 2024 NFL season, the Washington Commanders were projected 6.7 wins with a 12.5% of making the playoffs by ESPN before even taking the field. With questions swirling about the team’s new ownership, a new coaching staff and a rookie quarterback, Washington wasn’t expected to be a playoff contender.
These are all things guard Nick Allegretti – among others including linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, and defensive end Dorance Armstrong – knew when he signed with the Commanders in March, although he also understood what the team was capable of.
“A lot of guys, when they signed here, we knew the organization’s past, the history,” Allegretti said in the locker room postgame. “Our goal was to change it and change it quickly, and we had the guys leading with [Head Coach Dan Quinn] D.Q. and [General Manager Adam Peters] A.P. to give us that chance.”
Fast forward to Week 17, and the Commanders have certainly become a team with a winning football culture and defied all pundits’ expectations. For the first time since 2020, Washington clinched a playoff berth with the defeat of the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24, in a thrilling overtime win.
After the win, the locker room was abuzz with music blasting and players embracing one another. It was hard for punter Tress Way to put into words just how special a post-season appearance is to him. Having been on the team since 2014, Way is the longest-tenured player on the roster and is embracing the moment, as well as the fans’ buy-in to the Commanders’ new winning culture.
Riggo’s Rag
Dan Quinn makes intentions crystal clear for Commanders’ regular-season finale
Dan Quinn doesn’t take his foot off the gas. Neither will his players.
Almost immediately after Washington cemented its place in the playoffs, speculation rose about whether Quinn would rest some of his top stars for Washington’s season finale at the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18. There are obvious benefits, but it also brings some potential complications that cannot be ignored.
His response was emphatic, outlining the desire to finish strongly and lock up the sixth position by getting one over on his old employers.
“We’re going to go after it as hard as we can. I think the seeding portion of this is really important, and that’s what we discussed as a team. We thought last night — the vibe was awesome at the game — we thought we left some plays out there. And so, for us, that leveling up as we’re heading into this week with Dallas would be really important. But we recognize having a sixth seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing. So, we’re going to fight like hell to keep that.”
Dan Quinn
Nobody should have expected anything less from Quinn.
Sports Illustrated
Commanders WR Olamide Zaccheaus Has Stepped Up in the Past Two Weeks
With his crucial contributions in Week 17 Washington Commanders receiver Olamide Zaccheaus once again showed he can be a major part of this team’s success moving forward.
Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus was an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2019 when the Atlanta Falcons, led by head coach Dan Quinn, took a chance on him and brought him onto the team.
Eventually, Zaccheaus left, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles last year before rejoining Quinn with the Commanders. In Week 16, the veteran was instrumental in defeated those Eagles, and in Week 17 he was absolutely critical in beating the Falcons.
Call it a revenge tour if you want, but whatever it is, Zaccheaus has stepped up for his team in a big way catching 13 passes for 155 yards and three scores, and he was one less bad officiating call from making it four touchdowns in the past two games.
Whatever Zaccheaus has cooking we hope its not just about playing former teams, because his spark could be incredibly valuable in beating the Dallas Cowboys this weekend.
Upcoming opponent
The Sportstack
‘Zeke jumped off the cliff’: Skip Bayless’ Blunt Take On Ezekiel Elliott’s Exit From the Cowboys
with Zeke underperforming this year, longtime Cowboys fan and analyst Skip Bayless explained why the #15 star moving from the team makes sense, in his reaction video.
Ezekiel Elliott is gone now. He is gone for good from our Dallas Cowboys. No more of this, not ever. No more jumping into the Salvation Army kettle sometime before Christmas, because the truth is, once Jerry Jones paid Ezekiel Elliott after his third year with the Dallas Cowboys, Zeke jumped off the cliff for good. Never the same. He started to look washed then, and this year, he looked all-time washed to the point where I cringed every time he carried the ball, even in short-yardage goal-line situations.
Skip’s criticism gets the support from the statistics. In the 2024 season, Zeke finished with 74 carries, 226 yards, and 3 touchdowns, with a dismal average of 3.1 yards per carry. In comparison, his fellow RB and now the Cowboys’ starting RB, Rico Dowdle, had 213 carries, 1,007 yards, and 1 touchdown, with an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
Podcasts & videos
Commanders Thrilling Win – Jayden Daniels Shines – Key Takeaways and Playoff Push – Wk 17 Breakdown
No, THIS was the Take Command Tape Tuesday, with @CraigHoffman and Logan Paulsen breaking down Jayden’s performance against the Falcons: https://t.co/vwL1l1n41P pic.twitter.com/2asIQkTbZw
— The Team 980 (@team980) January 1, 2025