Jon Gruden gives good insight into Jayden Daniels’ injury controversy after Dan Quinn’s comments don’t help much
Jayden Daniels’ gruesome injury during the Washington Commanders’ bad loss to the Seattle Seahawks is surrounded by controversy, and it makes sense.It’s totally understandable for people to think Daniels should’ve been pulled from the game down 38-7 late in the fourth quarter, but there are more layers to the situation than it appears on the […]
Jayden Daniels’ gruesome injury during the Washington Commanders’ bad loss to the Seattle Seahawks is surrounded by controversy, and it makes sense.
It’s totally understandable for people to think Daniels should’ve been pulled from the game down 38-7 late in the fourth quarter, but there are more layers to the situation than it appears on the surface. It’s not just a simple decision of pulling a guy, and former Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden gave good insight after Dan Quinn’s postgame comments didn’t help much.
“Number one, it is 38-7 with seven minutes left, you probably should take the guy out of the game,” Gruden said on the latest episode of Wake Up Barstool’s Football G-Spot with Greg and Gruden. “(Especially) given the fact that he’s already been hurt twice. There is a thought, however, that Daniels and this offense, they’ve got to come together and find some kind of identity. Let’s get them a couple completions – maybe get them a couple mop-up touchdowns, and maybe get this offense going. They have just not looked good at all.
“Daniels is scrambling on almost every single drop back pass. I would have taken him out, given the circumstances of the game, but I know deep down Kliff Kingsbury and the Commanders staff probably wanted to generate a little bit of confidence [and] try to get some positive momentum for this offense that has really disappeared.”
Gruden’s comments make a lot of sense
He’s absolutely right that Daniels and the Commanders’ offense don’t look the same as they did last year. Granted, injuries have played a huge role in the situation, and Terry McLaurin’s holdout certainly could’ve hampered the passing attack a bit. Therefore, staying in the game and trying to find some kind of rhythm/identity isn’t the worst idea in the world.
Plus, quarterbacks like to stay in the game simply from a leadership and camaraderie standpoint. They don’t want to be perceived as someone who bailed on their teammates and the game, even if very few people would think that. They want to either rise or fall with their teammates in the fray.
One can harken back to 2020, when Tom Brady played 98% of the offensive snaps in a 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints late in the season. The Saints led by as much as 35-0 at one point in the game, yet Brady hung in there and tried to make the most of the situation. These guys are just built differently.
“I’ve been in many games where we were on the wrong side of the scoreboard, and you find yourself in the fourth quarter and you start looking at the clock, and you’re saying, ‘Alright, how long am I going to be in here?” said former NFL tight end Greg Olsen. “If I am in here, my expectation is I have to play hard. I have to compete. What you put on film is what you are. That’s a kind of a big kind of narrative around the league amongst the players. I hate second-guessing coaches in these situations, [because] I think it’s a lose-lose [situation].
“I think obviously, if they knew he was going to get hurt, they would have taken him out of there. He could have gotten hurt in the third quarter, he could have gotten hurt, and the score was 14-7. It’s so hard in the NFL to make the call on when you’re going to take guys out of a competitive game.”
It’s such a tough call, ultimately. The NFL schedule is the sports world’s shortest schedule for a reason, and these guys only get so many chances to make concrete impressions not only among their teammates but throughout the league as well. The best way to do that, as Olsen states, is through film. And if you’re not on the field, well, you’re not optimizing your ceiling regarding what you put on film.
But no matter how you slice it, it’s objectively an awful situation for the Commanders, especially when factoring in all the other injuries from Sunday night. Here’s hoping Daniels comes out of it better and stronger than ever before.
This article was originally published in A to Z Sports Washington Commanders as Jon Gruden gives good insight into Jayden Daniels’ injury controversy after Dan Quinn’s comments don’t help much.
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