Commanders HC Dan Quinn Transcript 8/8
COMMANDERS HEAD COACH DAN QUINN
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
August 8, 2025
DQ: I missed it, man. We missed it tonight by a lot. All three phases. So, what I’m looking for over the next ten days is really good improvement. We had made good strides. Even coming up here for the joint [practices], a lot of evaluations to take place between the practice and the game, and that’s still the case. I will look forward to going through both and getting to it. There were some things early I saw that I liked. Saw some from [Josh] Conerly, [Trey] Amos, [Jer’Zhan] Newton, couple early that I saw. Then past that,jus t like I said, hated the score. But I’ll look at the evaluation, still things to get from it. I expect us to improve a good bit. Our flagship has certainly been on the special teams side. To see them score right off the bat, that one was a gut punch. I thought we battled back and got right to it and never clicked on in that way tonight. You probably saw from an injury standpoint, some guys. I’ll fill you in more before practice on Sunday. You may have seen Luke [McCaffrey] walk in. He had an illness pre-game. He definitely tried to give it a go. So, he’ll be back. But I wanted to make sure I filled you in on that. Open up to your guys’ questions. Like I said, injury-wise I’ll have a better sense for you on Sunday.
Q: When you look at the game overall, what are some of the things — was it the little things that weren’t executed? But what did you see overall from the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball a little bit?
DQ: Yeah, all three phases, I thought it was sloppy tonight. We had 15 penalties in different varieties. Pre-snap, 12 in the huddle, illegal formation. We had two holdings I believe on a kickoff return. There is just — they stacked, and that showed sloppiness to me. This is going to sound so unusual, in the practice, it was almost just the opposite. And I thought, okay, you know how I feel about penalties, so that did not make me happy. Sometimes with penalties there is an over-trying that takes place. Usually that’s with a holding, you know, he didn’t let go, trying to make a play. But the pre-snap ones, those are lack of focus. Those are the ones that irritate me and drive me up a wall. And so those are some of the things that I talked about standards I expect to be improved in these ten days.
Q: Coach, to pull on that thread a little bit more, because yes, we do know how you feel about penalties. So, what is the process there from an evaluation standpoint and that corrective action? What would need to be done from a coaching perspective or player perspective to really get that focus?
DQ: Yeah, it’s a lot. First, we do teach off it. This is a foul. This is why it’s a foul. This is the technique. And then you have to really drill it, to be honest with you. It’s as easy as in a holding one, when do I release? Get to drill that. I got contact, I’m in contact, now I let go. Where you don’t see two different colors, like for the referee, where he sees restricted material being grabbed, and I work to release. As far as the focus goes, those are ones aligning in the neutral zone, the pre-snap ones, why wasn’t the formation correct? That does take extra focus. The practice for that is also mental work. Our inner game is not strong enough if you have that many fouls. Meaning our inner game, our preparation for that. And so, I’ll work hard at that with the players.
Q: What did you see from the linebackers tonight?
DQ: Yeah, I want to watch it before I see. It didn’t feel as clean as I hoped it would look. So, we have a lot of work to do. There is some real competition in that spot. As you’re going into first performances, I don’t want to rush to judgment on it. But I would expect more plays, more rotations into the next game. We have another game, another practice, and another game for real evaluations. We go against ourself and that counts. But it does make a difference against opponents in games.
Q: What did you like about what you saw from [Jer’Zhan] Newton today?
DQ: Yeah, I thought what I’ve seen over the last probably two weeks, I’ve really felt like his hand use as a pass rusher has stepped up, stepped in. He’s got very good initial quickness off the ball. He can beat somebody to the punch. So, there was a play, maybe the second drive, where he and [Jacob] Martin combined on a sack. You guys probably had a better view than me. But I do like what I’ve seen from him pass rush-wise, his hands, so I thought he was off to a good start.
Q: Coach, since you’ve been here you guys have placed a high importance on special teams.
DQ: Yes, absolutely.
Q: …starting a game with a 100-yard kickoff return and Matt [Gay]’s missed field goal, what would you say about your special teams?
DQ: Yeah, it stung for us tonight because we have really, really high standards in that. Not just the returns, we had fouls on that. That’s one of the phases that we really emphasize. Larry [Izzo] is right in the front of all that. It’s impressive, and so to have a performance where it didn’t go our way, it can be confusing, can be surprising, all those emotions. None of us will have saw that coming. I like that we’ve tried to feature different guys. There are high standards that we want to do it, so let’s get to it. But I was surprised and confused, like we all are. That’s one that we really count on and lean in hard on, and we will. But that was not indicative of who we want to be on [special] teams for sure.
Q: Could you talk a little bit about the quarterback play from both [Sam] Hartman and [Josh] Johnson? Johnson was in here. You could just tell the frustration on his face. And just connecting to the receivers, that looked like it was off a little bit.
DQ: Yeah, I think you’re right on that. I’ll go back and have a better sense once I go through. It did feel off in some ways. There are some good — like most things, this guy, he did well; I don’t want to like push it as one whole thing. I’ll have a better sense after I go through it, Donna, honestly. I’m glad Josh [Johnson] and Sam [Hartman] are in this battle. I’m glad they got reps two days ago and they’ll get more as we’re going. We will get a sense where Marcus [Mariota] is at. It’s important and they need the game reps. So even when it’s uncomfortable it’s really, really valuable and important. That’s why I said in the next ten days I expect to see a better performance in all three phases.
Q: [Jacory Croskey-]Merritt, seems like he had a pretty solid game. Seven carries for 24 yards. He had the one catch. It seemed like he had some explosiveness in there and he was reading really well.
DQ: Yeah, there was also one I believe that may have got called back. I don’t know if it was a checkdown or a run, but I like the skills that we’re seeing from Bill (Jacory Croskey-Merritt). I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far, and I knew he was amped and ready to go for tonight. But he makes plays, he’s got quickness. I love the ball security that he had tonight. Those are important things that you can’t overlook. He was really ready to compete.
Q: The wideouts have had a lot of opportunities with Terry [McLaurin]’s absence. Are you waiting for a guy to really step forward and really seize that?
DQ: Yeah, that’s kind of sometimes the — I don’t know if I have the right word, the silver lining. Noah [Brown[ hasn’t practiced a lot either. So, okay, then the chances come, and the opportunities come, and you probably saw some of that tonight, whether it’s featuring a guy on a deep ball, crossing routes, like different ones to go. I liked what I saw from Deebo [Samuel] at the practice. His catch and run, there were screens, there was a fade. We call it a box fade, where he’s lined up at No. 2, and him and Jayden [Daniels] have a nice connection already on certain routes, and that happens. Okay, Zach [Ertz] this thing, Deebo to here. But you’re right. We’re still digging in to go and find out who can emerge, what it looks like, what the roles are. Seen some good things from Jaylin [Lane], Chris [Moore] in the practice parts I’ve seen some more, I’m talking about. We still got work to do and figure that part out. There are moments that they get more, and although sometimes you got to go through the evaluation piece and learn, like there is silver lining. It’s hard when you’re going through it, but I do enjoy those moments to find out as well, I’ll be honest with you. Even when it’s uncomfortable.
Q: Coach, when you have a performance like this does it make you look ahead and think, okay, obviously with the starters in there, things may click better? Or is it just, young guys have to fight through this, that’s part of the NFL?
DQ: Yeah, definitely the second. We have really high standards about how we want to do things and how we want to get down. When you miss them, man, you talk it. You drill it, you discuss it. We’re going to watch it all, every bit of it. We also did the same thing when we like the plays from the practice. So, it all counts. Everything does. That’s no surprise to any of the players or any of the coaches. When you miss it, you acknowledge and talk it, and say this can’t happen. I’m not one that looks the other way or moves on to the next. That’s not how I get down. So, if there is a lesson, I’m going to learn them. If it’s for this player, on this moment, in this situation, it’s important. And so, I’m the one that has to keep the standard and we miss it, I missed it. So, as much as there are some things I liked from the practice, there are some things that I really disliked from tonight’s performance. But, you know, what it all counts and it’s all part of it. Adam [Peters] and I have plenty of tape to watch. We have a nice stretch between this game and the next one. I expect some of that sloppiness to get going. You get your ass kicked, and you’re in the fight the whole time, I can live with that. The ones that I don’t are like, man, when we didn’t play to the style, the attitude, the penalties. Those are the ones, I can almost live with any result when you put it all in and do it right, but when it’s sloppy and not to the standards, that burns my ass.
Q: Do you think Josh [Conerly Jr.] showed progress?
DQ: I’ll have to look, but it felt that way. The practice one, I felt it. I really did. Quickness off the ball. I liked seeing him and LT (Laremy Tunsil) doing some things together. I didn’t get as much of a sense tonight. Although, protection to his side felt strong. So, I’ll get a better sense, but it just felt clean for him. We knew going into it, we were going to play him X amount at practice and try to get 20 or so in the game. We accomplished that. So, it felt clean. It’s usually what happens with the younger player. They go in these jumps and hit plateaus and hit the jumps again. For the veteran players, it’s like the ceiling is harder. A guy like Jeremy McNichols. Really consistent. Like it’s a little bit more and I liked it because of that consistency. For the younger ones, you see these big swings. It’s like awesome one, sometimes a down one, and you’re trying to level it out. So, what I felt, maybe over the last couple days is like this. (Showing upward.) I’ll have to look at it and assess it again. But, being available, and the work ethic, and the way he’s growing, he has got some really cool veterans around him that can share that too. I know what I felt from watching the practice tape. I sense I’m in the same space again. Like I said I felt strong with him in the first performance.
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