Jim Nantz was on the call for the Hail Jayden, and it will go down as one of the most iconic calls in the history of the Washington football franchise – and he lamented that he didn’t come in studio with the Junkies while he was in town last week, but was glad he got to see Jayden Daniels play again.
“I thought all along he was going to play – we had them up in Baltimore too, met with him in person there, but we Zoomed with him last week,” Nantz told the Junks. “I had a prevailing feeling he’d play, probably driven by the fact that that Tony (Romo) had dealt with a number of rib injuries in his career and never missed a game, and my impressions of him are it’s all a plus-plus.”
Nantz has seen a lot of football and works with a Pro Bowl QB, and he thinks that Washington is set up for success for a long, long time.
“When you see (Daniels) with your own eyes and you see the precision, you see the comfort with moving around in the pocket making things happen, you see his ability as a rookie to audible call plays no huddle at the line – that’s llke year four or five stuff,” Nantz said. “The position has been conquered, and Washington its quarterback for a long, long time – and by the way, Dan Quinn, who I have always admired Dan Quinn back to the days when he was an assistant in Seattle, there’s something about his motivational tactics, his way of communicating with people; he’s the best. He’s amazing, and I'm very excited to see the rebirth of the Washington franchise that has been down for so long. I know what the fan base is like there, and this is a great boost to the league to see Washington relevant, and to know they're going to be relevant for a long time.”
So, Jim, about that stadium atmosphere…
“I got to the stadium at 11:30 for a 4:25 game, and I saw it come to life. I hadn’t been there since we had TNF in 2017 or 2018, but it was electric,” Nantz said. “The matchup had so much sizzle to it with Caleb Williams coming in and the Bears being hot, and how many pre-snap penalties were there against Chicago, maybe five? The fans are making a difference there; unquestionably, the 12th man kind of attitude has always been there, it just hasn't been able to bubble to the surface here for a long time.”
Nantz went through the game a little bit, especially noting how Caleb Williams had some issues…and then there was the Hail Mary.
“It didn’t feel all day like Washington was in danger of losing the game, it felt like pure domination, and now you're gonna lose this game and the only way you can win it is to heave a pass that travels 65 yards in the air? As far as a Hail Mary goes, I said on air it was like the easiest catch,” Nantz said. “And that video (or Tyrique Stevenson) is quite an indictment; I don't know that I've ever seen at this level, anybody ever be so lacking in focus with the game still undecided.”
Nantz revealed that Tony Romo told him Matt Eberflus, who was on the Dallas staff while Romo was there, ‘measures loafing plays’ in practice and games, and ‘if you end up being the guy that tips the ball, who knows what kind of position you might have been in if you actually had your head in the game!’
The Junks then asked for a Daniels vs. Williams comp halfway through their rookie year, and we got this:
“There’s something about Daniels that I’ve never seen from anybody I've ever seen in the league. He has the elusiveness to extend plays – it’s not at a Lamar Jackson level but it's pretty smooth; scrambling is a desperation play most of the time, but he makes it look easy, and somehow he gets tremendous rushing yardage. His passing is pretty darn good, his precision is amazing, and I’ve watched it with my own eyes. Comparisons are a dangerous game, but it’s amazing what I see; his passing is right up there with the accuracy and the strength. The guy's got an arm that is some weapon.”
Listen to the whole interview above, which also includes Nantz’s thoughts on how far the Commanders can go in the NFC!