Jay Gruden: Commanders offense was more impressive Sunday due to QB circumstances
Another Victory Monday, another 5 p.m. segment on Grant & Danny where former Washington coach Jay Gruden can only say good things about the Commanders – and this time, about their depth.
“I think it’s time to say they’re pretty good, and they did it with their backup quarterback which is equally impressive, if not more impressive,” Gruden said Monday about the team who is tops in the NFL in scoring and point differential. “Marcus came in off the bench was prepared and ready, they protected him, and he did a great job, and of course, the defense continues to impress. An all-around dominating performance against those Panthers.”
Backup quarterbacks get limited if any reps in practice with the first team, especially on a team like this one where the QB1 is an undisputed horse…so what’s it like when QB1 goes down in a game, especially as early as Jayden Daniels did Sunday, and how does that change game flow?
“That depends on the backup. Marcus is a great backup because he's a veteran guy with a similar skill set to Jayden, so you don't have to really change your game plan,” Gruden said. “You still have all the zone reads, designed quarterback plays, and RPOs – Marcus can do all that and he's a veteran, a pro, so he’s a great backup to have in case something happens to Jayden and he proved it Sunday. If you have a younger backup, you’re a little bit shaky and conservative, but I don't think Kliff was conservative at all. He just let it hang out and let them roll, and that's the benefit of having a veteran like Marcus.”
And that is, to Gruden, a hell of a place to be.
“It’s a great feeling; sometimes you don't have that feeling because you don’t have linemen that can block, but fortunately, Washington has a very good offensive line, and they’re playing at a high level,” Gruden said. “You feel better as a play caller when guys aren’t getting to the quarterback, so you just keep dialing them up. That’s a great thing to have, especially when you have a really good conceptual run game that is hard to defend because there's so many different levels you have to defend. They have it working on all cylinders right now.”
That all said, though, how does Gruden think the Commanders should handle Daniels’ rib injury heading into Sunday?
“You have to really be in close communication with the trainers, asking how he’s feeling, what's the long-term deal if he gets hit again, and what’s his flexibility like,” Gruden said. “Can he get the torque on it necessary to throw the deep ball and the deep outs and all that stuff if he's having discomfort? Discomfort is one thing, but lack of flexibility is another, so if he can't make the throws, he shouldn't play, but if he can play with a little bit of pain and he still has the flexibility to rip it down the field? I think is depends on Jayden. Mariota will be ready to go, and you’d have to dress three quarterbacks, but if he feels ready to go and he’s not risking anything long-term, I’d keep an eye on him early and limit some of the designed runs and see how he feels. If he's ripping it, then let him roll, but if he's struggling, then I'd probably pull him and give him another week to heal.”
Listen to Gruden’s entire visit above, where he also talks about how to game plan with Marcus Mariota if necessary, how the Commanders are tricky with schemes, and more!
