Sunday at FedEx Field will not be the first time Sam Howell takes the field as an NFL starting quarterback, but Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals will be the first time he takes the reins as the leader of the team, as a captain, and as the true, legitimate "QB1" of the Washington Commanders. Howell spoke to Team 980's Kevin Sheehan about taking charge of the offense, working with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, what this week's practice schedule will be like to install the game plan and if he has any nerves heading into the season opener.
"No, honestly, not really," Howell told Sheehan when asked if he had any added nerves for Sunday. "I just kinda treat it like any other game and try to do my best throughout the week to be as prepared as possible going into Sunday and once Sunday hits, it's just football. And just play the same game I've played my whole life and go out there and give everything I've got and leave it all on the line.
And I know if I do everything I can throughout the week to be as prepared as possible, and give it all on Sunday, then no matter what the result is I know I gave it my all. But I don't really focus on the nerves or the pressure or anything like that, I just try to go out there and do everything I can to help my team win."
Sheehan asked if all of Bieniemy's offense was at his disposal for Week 1 or if it would be a slow build throughout the year. Howell said that "you never go into the game with everything at your disposal" and that "you try to scale it down to things that you really like."
"I think we're gonna have whatever he thinks is best for this week, that's what we'll have," Howell said. "I'm sure there's things that we might get to down the road that we're not doing this week, but everything we have that we think is good against the Arizona Cardinals we're gonna have in the game plan. We're not holding anything back, we're gonna try and let loose and have fun and put some points on the scoreboard."
So what is Bieniemy like? "He's awesome," Howell told Sheehan. "He's so passionate and he just cares so much about his profession and he just cares so much about this team, been so much fun to learn from and play for a guy who works so hard and cares so much and at the end of the day all he wants is what's best for the team, what's best for the players.
"It's been a lot of fun to be around every single day, I've learned so much from him. I can't imagine someone better to go into battle with on Sunday."
Listen to the full segment for all the details on the Commanders' offense, what Howell expects for himself in his first full season, Ron Rivera's recent comments about his playing time last year to Sports Illustrated, the sacks during the preseason, the great playmakers around him and what he expects from the crowd at FedEx Field at Sunday's game on the audio player above!
