Rich Gannon joined BMitch & Finlay on Monday to go around the NFL, but as they did, the guys asked Gannon a little bit about both the NFC West and NFC South, the two divisions that have teams that will be battling the Commanders for the final Wild Card berth in the NFC – and one of which has our old pal Kirk Cousins.
Within that, though, talk turned to our current QB, of course Jayden Daniels, and the former Washington signal-caller Gannon is a big fan of what’s happening here in DC now.
“I think the Commanders hit the jackpot. There’s so much to like to his game, and his poise has been incredible, even going back to that Week 1 loss at Tampa Bay,” Gannon said. “They’re one win away from their first winning season in a while, and you look at what’s on the schedule, this team could go 11-6. That’s pretty incredible with a new head coach and a young quarterback.”
Oh, and his numbers are pretty good, too.
“He’s completing 70 percent on the season, and he's only thrown six picks,” Gannon said, “and he’s rushed for 590 yards and six touchdowns. He rushes for a couple of first downs each week, and I think they’ll get better in the passing game. They'll get better around him, but his poise, his moxie, his confidence, his swag, it’s been really impressive.”
So, too, has his ability to command the team as a rookie, especially with what’s around him.
“I liked him coming out of college, but I just really felt like there was gonna be some real growing pains. I think going to a team that was in the midst of a transformation would be tough,” Gannon said. “And here’s the other thing that's been really impressive: when you look at the running game , I like Brian Robinson, but he's missed a couple of games and he's only averaging about 64 yards a game, and Austin Ekeler, the injuries he’s has, he has four touchdowns this season – and this is a guy who had 30 touchdowns the last three seasons with the Chargers, more than any running back in the NFL. So, when you don’t have that consistency, when guys aren't playing week in and week out and the running game hasn't been something you can really hang your hat on a week in and week out, that's had an impact on Jayden Daniels. They went through that tough stretch, but they came back and beat Tennessee soundly, and I think they come off their bye and they've got a chance over the next month to do some special things. I'm really excited with this young quarterback.”