- 14 minutes ago
Kevin Sheehan reacts to Dan Quinn’s press conference after the Commanders’ week one loss to the Eagles where he addresses Mikey Sainristil’s less than stellar play, the two-point conversion play call at the end of the game and how he feels about Sonny Styles’ regular season debut.
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00:00But Dan Quinn held his day-after press conference yesterday, and I thought that there were a couple of interesting
00:06quotes from Quinn.
00:08We already played the soundbite on San Ristil.
00:12Ben Standig asked him, it was the last question of the press conference, asked him about the San Ristil performance.
00:19And Dan Quinn was as critical as I think I've ever heard him be.
00:25And it wasn't direct criticism, but he typically tap dances around any sort of public criticism of a player.
00:36Tee that one up again, Max.
00:38Let's just play for those that didn't hear what Quinn said about Mikey San Ristil in the performance.
00:43Ben asked him the question. Here's what he said.
00:45Dan, with Mikey up, they said the two plays, he seemed to be on the wrong end on the 60
00:52-plus yard or then the touchdown in the corner.
00:53I don't know if there was any correlation.
00:55I couldn't tell if he was maybe pausing for some reason.
00:59What did you kind of see on those two plays and just kind of where is he at at this
01:02point in his third year?
01:04Yeah, sure.
01:05The touchdown play definitely felt like as the motion got over, you have to go get set.
01:10And those are things that we have to get corrected.
01:13We've definitely identified a few things that, hey, man, these are the things that we have to get corrected.
01:18Mike's a very good competitor.
01:19I'm certain that we will, but to have that type of play and just not have the right focus at
01:24the right time,
01:25like completely not acceptable.
01:27On the second play, the deep pass play that I think you're referring to, kind of the same thing as
01:32you lost track of the ball,
01:33like finish it out, man.
01:34And so I think that's the lesson in the game.
01:36It wasn't schematically related to him or something that communication error or some normal things that go into like a
01:43big play to go.
01:45So that's definitely the things we will identify with him, and I'm certain that he'll work on that.
01:50We definitely need to.
01:52You know, I'm looking for something because I got a tweet from somebody who said,
01:58didn't Quinn talk up San Ristil all summer?
02:01He kind of did, didn't he?
02:03He did that with Quan Martin two years ago, and then Quan had his terrible year.
02:07Again, the point being that even the people in the building sometimes don't know until you play real games.
02:14But back to what he said about San Ristil.
02:17That's as critical as you're going to hear Dan Quinn calling something, you know, not acceptable.
02:24That is, that's tough love on San Ristil, and they got to figure this out for sure.
02:32They got to figure it out at corner.
02:35This was him talking about the two-point conversion.
02:40After sleeping on it and thinking about it, here's what he said.
02:44Hey, Dan.
02:46You know, the big talker obviously today is the play call and that two-point conversion.
02:50You've had, you know, 24 hours to kind of digest and reflect on that play call.
02:56I guess kind of explain your thought process looking back over the play, looking over the film.
03:01Would you have done anything differently, the execution not there?
03:03Kind of just take us through that, the last 24 hours, kind of looking at that play.
03:07Yeah, you want to be specific when you're going through a game plan to get it all organized and going.
03:11I thought it was a good play.
03:13It was one that we had practiced.
03:15I thought their player also made a good play spinning out of the block with Nick, you know,
03:20to kind of stuff the play to go.
03:21But with a well-executed play, I think we really got a great chance to go execute the two-point
03:27play,
03:27which was going to lead to overtime and others.
03:29But it's an effective two-point play.
03:32It's an effective, you know, low red zone play.
03:36So I don't want to just, you know, base it purely on the outcome.
03:40The execution is definitely a part of that.
03:42And also give credit to Philadelphia.
03:44You know, their defensive tackle is certainly made a good play.
03:47You know, so look, it's true.
03:52Shovel passes are good red zone plays, condensed field.
03:56See teams, once you get into the red zone, they really emphasize trying to run the football.
04:02Trying to, they'll get quick bubble screens.
04:05You see more of that in the red zone.
04:06You see more with the dual-threat quarterbacks, more zone read in the red zone sometimes.
04:12Because it's a condensed field.
04:14It's hard to get people open in timing when you can't threaten the field vertically.
04:21There's not much field to threaten in the red zone.
04:25So those kinds of plays tend to be effective.
04:28Now, he mentioned what I think is 100% true, which is it was a very good play by Moro
04:35Ojomo, number 97.
04:36It was also, simultaneously, not Nick Allegretti's best.
04:41Maybe it was his best, and that would be a problem.
04:44I also just want to mention one other thing.
04:47Because, God, I've watched this play, like, maybe many of you have a bunch of times.
04:51So, again, Jaden's read is Jalex Hunt, number 58, on the outside.
04:59Okay?
04:59If he plays Jaden, he's got to shovel it.
05:02That's what the play calls for.
05:03Could Jaden put the Superman cape on and say, I don't really like this play call.
05:08I'm not giving it to Bates.
05:10I don't trust our interior offensive line against their strength, their interior D-line.
05:17I'm going to pull it, even if Hunt is playing me.
05:20I'm going to get around him, and I'm going to throw it to White in the flat, or I'm going
05:23to run it myself in.
05:25Because, remember, the throw to White, if he decides to not read his key and throw it, Jalex Hunt is
05:35actually going to have some say in whether or not that ball's out in timing and if he's able to
05:44get it out accurately.
05:46Just like on that touchdown throw to Antonio Williams, there was pressure off the edge.
05:50Jaden had to throw it borderline sidearm to get it there.
05:54Now, the thing that I wanted to point out after watching this so many times is everybody just assumes if
05:59Alec Reddy makes a really good block or if, you know, if Ajomo doesn't make an incredibly athletic play, that
06:07Bates walks in.
06:08It would have been close because Jalex Hunt is a very, very good edge player, and he would have bounced
06:16right off of it, and he'd have been right there to potentially stop Bates short of the goal line.
06:23Not to mention that Jihad Campbell was sort of let free as well.
06:29So it would have been close.
06:30Bates obviously would have had a better chance had Ajomo not made that play or Allegretti made the block.
06:36But it wasn't like 100% that he was going to cakewalk into the end zone behind Cosme.
06:45Anyway, that play was certainly one in which, yes, it does work.
06:53Yes, it does work in the red zone.
06:55But on your team versus the team you were playing, was that the best choice?
07:00I would say from my seat, which isn't an expert seat by any stretch of the imagine, I would say
07:06no.
07:08All right.
07:08This was him on the third and goal from the 17, right?
07:15That's what we're playing right now.
07:16No, we're playing the Allegretti bite.
07:19This was him talking about Nick Allegretti's performance overall.
07:26Coach, now you've had a chance to look at the film.
07:28I'm curious how you assess the offensive line's performance, especially Nick Allegretti with his first start at center.
07:33Yep.
07:34So I liked how we had some good zone plays early in the game, Liam, especially the first run.
07:40So we thought that would be one that we would need to when a team plays, you know, some too
07:48high safety defense.
07:50You have to be able to challenge them to say, can we get some run game going in that space?
07:54The front and the linebackers, like I said, kind of the corner, that's the strength of their group, especially the
07:59interior of their front, Liam.
08:01I thought all three of the big guys were active and involved and, you know, had their chances, you know,
08:06to make some plays.
08:07So I thought overall, you know, in the run game, I thought maybe we left a little bit of meat
08:16on the bone on some of the plays.
08:18I thought Bates did a nice job getting out to the edge on the blocking in that space.
08:22I thought Bill and, you know, the running backs were decisive with their cuts.
08:27As far as Nick goes, I would say there's, you know, times that it, you know, looked good.
08:31There's times that, you know, you'd like to have some plays again.
08:33But at the end of it, it was like a good, hard division battle, like I thought it would be.
08:40Yeah, you know, when he says, you know, about their interior, the, you know, the strength of their group, especially
08:50the interior of their front,
08:52maybe that should have been considered a bit more on the two-point play.
08:56By the way, in going back and watching a lot of the All-22 yesterday, you know who is just
09:01an outstanding player for them?
09:04We know Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and Quinn Young.
09:07I think that's so many good players.
09:08And Jonathan Grenard didn't even play.
09:10But one of the best free agent acquisitions in the last three years was Vic Fangio, Howie Roseman and company,
09:18plucking Zach Bond from New Orleans and turning him into a middle linebacker, which he had not played.
09:24He is an outstanding player.
09:28He is just, he's been great for them for now what?
09:33This is season three, right?
09:34Season one was their Super Bowl season.
09:36He, number 53, is one of the best inside slash middle linebackers in football.
09:43And they just, it's almost like they've got so many name, big name players defensively.
09:49And I think sometimes people, and Zach Bond's one of them, don't get me wrong, but he might be the
09:56best and the most versatile and the smartest on that entire defense.
10:03I mean, he is definitely Vic Fangio's mind and voice and communicator and player on that field.
10:11That's one thing you see with Bond is, first of all, he plays every single snap.
10:17He's on the field every single snap.
10:20And he is just an outrageously, I think, great middle linebacker.
10:26And I think a little bit under-discussed around the league.
10:32All right, this was Quinn, actually, we'll save this.
10:36I know we've got a break.
10:38I wanted you to hear what Quinn said about Sonny Stiles' first game and what he said about that third
10:44and goal 17 touchdown pass to Goddard in the early part of the second quarter.
10:50We'll get to that next.
10:51Kevin Sheehan showed the Team 980 and the Team980.com.
10:54There are two other Dan Quinn soundbites from his media presser yesterday that I want to play.
11:00He was asked about Sonny Stiles, who certainly had some big plays in his first game.
11:07Here's what he said.
11:08And then, kind of on the flip side of that, with Sonny, what stood – I know the speed and
11:13the power, but, like, what stood out particularly on that sack where he ran through Barkley and got to Hurst?
11:18Yeah, I think you guys have been hearing me talk.
11:20I've been definitely laying some breadcrumbs.
11:22I don't know if you're following them or not.
11:24But he – I had said all along I was excited to show his blitz ability.
11:30And he didn't do a ton of it, you know, his previous year playing at Ohio State, but he was
11:35definitely, you know, could run and hit.
11:36So we knew that was going to be part of his game.
11:38Part of being a blitzer is, like, you know, using your physicality on the block, and then the next time
11:43they changed it up where you have to go about it differently.
11:46But I liked not just in the pass game, but he also had a good TFL to wrap up on.
11:51And so, in that game, you saw him, you know, covering kicks.
11:54You saw him, you know, being our green dot when Frankie left and making some big plays.
11:58I thought that's a sign of a mature young player who impacted the game in some different ways.
12:04And so, when ready for that moment, I thought he really delivered.
12:09As first games go, you know, to have a sack in your first one or, you know, a big play
12:14here and there, I think that's a sign of things to come for him.
12:17He really is into his preparation to make sure he's detailed and on it.
12:22But at the end of it, like I said, one of the things I liked about the defense was just
12:26their overall physicality, and Sonny was very much a part of that.
12:29So, okay, real quickly on the Stiles portion of it, you know, he did everything on Sunday.
12:38When Luvu left the game, he's wearing the green dot, he's playing special teams, and, you know, it's true.
12:45He did not blitz a lot at Ohio State.
12:47I loved him as an early down blitzer in particular.
12:51That aside, I just want to mention something, because this is the second time, third time I've heard this.
12:57I really, really like Dan Quinn.
12:59I think everybody does, who's, you know, certainly the people who have been around him.
13:04He is incredibly highly respected, well-respected around the league.
13:09He is a player's coach.
13:11I think he's a good coach.
13:12I do.
13:13I don't like when he said at the very beginning, if you guys have been listening to me talk, you
13:20know, I've been definitely laying some breadcrumbs, as in, I've kind of been telling you guys, you know, Sonny Stiles
13:27look pretty good here for us.
13:30Let me just, this isn't overly critical.
13:33This is just an observation, because I do like Quinn.
13:37And by the way, I say it all the time, that especially with guys like Quinn, the best things you
13:43can take from August is sometimes what a coach says, especially if it's a coach that likes to talk and
13:49likes to lay out breadcrumbs.
13:52You know, I've said it for the third straight summer, Quinn, if you listen closely, he'll tell you a couple
13:59of things here, you know.
14:00Sometimes you don't have to read between the lines.
14:02He'll just tell you directly.
14:03It's the first thing that pops into his mind.
14:05Sometimes you've got to read between the lines.
14:07But here's what I would just say to him, because I do like him a lot.
14:11He's a bit too much of a pleaser with the media.
14:16You know, this should be more of an inconvenience for him.
14:22That doesn't make the job easier for those that are doing it.
14:26And there are people that would say, no, no, no, this is exactly how you should do.
14:29And he went through a lot of media training, remember, with Laura, what's her name, Oakman or whatever I think
14:35her name is, when he was out of coaching.
14:38But I just, he comes to every presser.
14:43He's got an introductory statement, a theme, something.
14:47He doesn't have to do that.
14:48It's helpful for the beat reporters, there's no doubt.
14:51He is very, very media accommodating, media pleasing.
14:58I think sometimes I prefer the coach that comes off with, you know, as, you know, you guys are idiots
15:05and this is an inconvenience for me.
15:07Not that he should treat them that way, because you don't want to be, you know, some of the guys
15:12that have been total first-rate, you know, a-holes.
15:15You don't want that either.
15:17But it's a bit too much of trying to please.
15:23And you just better win, you know.
15:26When you've got tell-the-truth Mondays and you've got a lot of these, you know, things and themes and
15:32you're, this should be an inconvenience.
15:35This should be the last thing you're focused on.
15:38Now, they have a completely different PR department out there than they used to have, and it's first-rate.
15:45It is one of the, I think they won the award for the best public relations.
15:48I mean, that is a sea change from what it used to be.
15:51I mean, they had legitimate incompetence in their PR department during the Snyder years.
15:58And Sean and all of them out there do a phenomenal job, and they get them ready.
16:03This is more about how he innately sort of handles it.
16:08He is definitely trying to accommodate and please everybody in these pressers.
16:15And I think that that's fine, but you've got to win.
16:19You know, you absolutely have to win, or that stuff looks like you shouldn't have been worried as much.
16:26You shouldn't have prepped comments before or had anybody do it for you.
16:30You should have gone in and tried to make it as quick as possible and get back to work.
16:35You know, I think there are a lot of guys that treat it that way.
16:38He doesn't.
16:39And he is respectful, incredibly respectful of the media.
16:44And I think that there is a savviness to what he's doing.
16:47I'm not suggesting that there isn't.
16:50But he doesn't need to lay breadcrumbs for anybody.
16:53That's not his job.
16:54You know, everybody else's job is to figure it out.
16:57And usually you've got to wait until the real games begin to start to figure it out.
17:02Anyway, just a thought as I listen to that for a third time over the last 24 hours.
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