Dan Quinn opened his Tuesday press conference with the news Washington had feared since Monday night: Terry McLaurin will have surgery and miss the rest of the season. Beat writers reported the injury as a torn patellar tendon. “I had a chance to speak with him last night on the plane and again after testing today,” Quinn said. “Man, I’m gutted for him as captain and like one of our real leaders. We’re all here to support him. That was certainly tough news.”
Most of the rest was about the bye. The Commanders are 1-4-1 after a 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, and Quinn said he told his team in a meeting that “the first six haven’t gone as planned” and that it has “had a season of adversity in six games.” He added, “The reset, the response is what I’m most looking forward to. You can bet as a staff and as a team, we’ll work our ass off, become more decisive, more exacting and stronger in the execution. We need that.”
“No more trial”
Quinn said the off week is “a chance to look even more closely at why we’re in this situation and how we’re going to do things to absolutely get our way out of it.” Asked what changes are on his radar, he described cutting the playbook down. “Sometimes that can mean streamlining to say, these are the eight things, 10 things that we’re going to over and over hit,” he said. “As the first part of the season goes, there’s some trial and some error. But now that we’re this far along, no more trial. This is how we want to get down.”
He said the fixes will be tweaks, not a rebuild. “It feels smaller to me, only because we’ve been digging in,” Quinn said. “There’s going to be some things that will look differently when we come back. It’s not going to be a new system. It’s not going to be new plays, but I do think you’ll feel the system be more precise.”
Asked whether players will start losing reps if they keep making the same mistakes, Quinn did not hesitate. “100%. 100%,” he said. “That’s part of having responsibility and accountability as a teammate, as a coach. This is how we say we’re going to do it. This is how it has to be done. So if that is what’s required, that will be what is done.”
The offensive line and the explosive plays
Quinn was blunt about the offensive line. “I thought this performance was below the standard that we’ve set for ourselves at offensive line,” he said. “We’re going to continue to look and find the right combination.” He said pass protection shows up more “if there’s a hit or a sack,” but that both the run and pass blocking have to be in sync, and that the line missed “too many times” on blitz pickups, stunts and pocket presence.
Asked to review offensive coordinator David Blough’s first six games, Quinn liked the ball security. A reporter noted Washington is plus-six in turnover margin. “The only way you get in the plus is creating them on defense and taking care of it,” Quinn said. “But overall, I’d love to see more explosive plays from us. When we hit those, we’re hard to deal with.” On defense, he said the first fix is pre-snap: “urgency, call selection, and getting these guys’ cleats in the grass to go play decisively and fast.” He added that there have been “too many explosives” allowed in the passing game.
A tale of two halves
Washington did little in the first half on Monday before nearly coming back. “I was surprised we started as slowly as we did,” Quinn said. “It felt worse at the half than what it was. From about the middle of the third quarter on, I liked the switch. I liked the aggressiveness.” He said getting that level for four quarters is the key. “I saw it in the half last night, and to me that’s when we’re going to be at our best,” he said. “That’s the secret sauce. That’s what I’m digging into as hard as I can.”
On the turnover margin not turning into wins, Quinn said, “We had one takeaway yesterday. I think we had three or four and a punt. I know that tide will turn once I see the whole game executed at the level that we like.”
Replacing McLaurin
Asked about losing McLaurin, who caught a 27-yard pass on Washington’s opening drive before he was hurt, Quinn said, “He brings a lot on and off the field.” “We do have a deep crew at that position, and we’ll lean in on a number of the guys to find some of the unique roles that Terry does,” he said. “There are guys who have the over-the-top speed. Terry’s superpower is really on the contested catches, and that’s one of the things that make him excellent. But it’s a big hit.” Washington had already lost receiver Jaylin Lane for the season with a broken ankle. Quinn had no update on defensive end Javon Kinlaw or receiver Trey Burks because imaging was still going on, and said he would have more on Monday.
Jayden Daniels and the fourth down
Quinn was asked about Jayden Daniels throwing the ball away on the fourth-down play in the first half that also drew an illegal-shift flag. “Even when you know there’s a penalty, you still take your shot, man, to go throw it, complete it. You don’t know if it’s going to get picked up,” Quinn said. “That was what I expressed to him.” He said he expected a “scramble to throw” game against the 49ers and wants more of Daniels’ plays outside the pocket and more keepers off play action. “He always can make some throws that just kind of leave you thinking, man, there it is,” Quinn said.
“A golden opportunity”
Asked what it means that his players keep competing despite the fans’ frustration, Quinn said, “This is a special group. They’re resilient, they are tough, and they also know, as difficult and frustrated as we are, there’s also a golden opportunity this year in our division, and it’s going to take the whole year.” He said the bye is one the team needs “physically to heal up, but also mentally,” and added, “Most people say this is just when we needed the bye to happen. Well, in this case, in this year, this is one that we need, knowing what’s ahead.” Washington’s next game is at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8.
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