Hogs Haven
Washington Post (paywall)
Daniels, who has been cleared to play Sunday, scrambles more than any quarterback in the league. Protecting himself while doing so will be the key to a successful return.
The…urgent question, both for Daniels and the team, is the same one that has trailed him for years: Can his scrambling ability continue to be his superpower, without also being his kryptonite?
“In this league, to survive, there’s certain hits you have to try to avoid,” Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said last week.
“We can talk about it all we want, but when he’s out there, he’s got to understand: You’re carrying the entire organization with you anytime you’re out there. And to err on the side of caution, if there is a hit you can take off your body.”
Daniels, the reigning offensive rookie of the year, is generally thought of as a running quarterback. The truth, though, is that he gets most of his yards when scrambling rather than on designed run plays or run-pass options — especially outside the red zone.
According to TruMedia, Daniels has scrambled on a whopping 13 percent of his dropbacks since he entered the NFL at the start of last year — the highest rate among any quarterback with more than 100 dropbacks during that span. He has also scrambled for 152 more yards than any other signal-caller in the league, despite missing so much of this season with injuries.
David Blough, who has assumed the responsibilities of quarterbacks coach following the recent departure of Tavita Pritchard, said Friday that there have been multiple conversations — and film sessions — with Daniels focused on how he can protect himself on the field.
Daniels has spoken repeatedly about understanding the need to protect himself from unnecessary hits. And, despite some misconceptions about his recklessness, that is what he has done in the overwhelming majority of cases.
During his time in Washington, Daniels has stepped out of bounds, slid or otherwise given himself up at the end of nearly 69 percent of his scrambling attempts — and he has actually done so at a slightly higher rate this season (71 percent) than a year ago (67 percent), albeit with a smaller sample size.
The issue is that the minority of plays in which he has taken hits have come with an outsize risk. Daniels sprained his knee while trying to run away from Green Bay linebacker Micah Parsons on a second and 10 with the Commanders trailing 17-3 in the fourth quarter. And he injured his elbow while freelancing on a play near the goal line with his team down 38-7, in what amounted to garbage time.(The play was supposed to be a handoff or throw, not a scramble, according to Quinn.)
Now that he is cleared to play, Daniels will have five games to begin reinforcing to Washington’s coaches (and its wary...
