MIAMI GARDENS, Fl. — An unfortunate byproduct of six weeks of training camp and relatively meaningless preseason games comes from the emergence and propagation of football narratives.
It happens every year and isn’t that hard to figure out why. In the absence of real games, the absence of wins and losses, fumbles and touchdowns, brilliant plays and bonehead blunders, the minutia becomes the meat.
Thus fans and analysts alike examine the details that likely aren’t actually telling the story that snap counts or formations in an August football game might portray.
Attempting to solve that problem? Enter Dan Quinn – Washington’s head coach and self-ordained myth buster.
“I think there’s a narrative that can happen for any ball player outside the building versus inside the building,” Quinn said late Saturday night after the Commanders’ 13-6 loss to Miami in the second week of the preseason.
Quinn was answering a question about second-year cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, but the answer could have applied to a number of positions. Forbes has had his struggles this preseason (and certainly last season) but he’s firmly on the 53-man roster and is a player that Quinn and company hope can show significant improvement this fall.
That doesn’t match with some of the vitriolic comments made about Forbes – and other players – on social media. And Quinn is over it.
“I wanted to make sure he was aware of the decisions that we’ll make, Adam [Peters] and I, are the ones that come from inside the building, not from outside. I love the way he’s competing at practice,” Quinn said about Forbes.
The comments came as Forbes said during the team’s game broadcast that sometimes he feels under a microscope and that his mistakes get taken out of proportion by the fanbase. To an extent, Forbes is right.
Fans take far too much stock in preseason performances, particularly as often coaches are trying to put players into different and more difficult roles to test what might work in the regular season.
While his 2023 rookie season was subpar, Washington’s entire season was subpar. How much of that is on Forbes? How much of that was on the situation?
Those questions won’t have answers, at least for a few months, but Forbes isn’t the only player with lingering questions. Many if not most of Washington’s players from the 2023 season can’t be happy with their play. The Commanders went 4-13 and dramatically overhauled their roster this offseason.
So as fan angst rises from players that didn’t perform their best for a coaching staff that has been almost entirely replaced, how much does that carry over to this season? For Quinn, not much. And for the storylines forming based on last year’s production and early preseason returns, the head coach doesn’t want to hear it.
“I know that’s a narrative in here but it’s not as much as me. I want to be clear on that,” the coach said. “We’re trying to feature all the things players can do.”
Specifically, Quinn was asked if a hierarchy was emerging for the Commanders’ wide receivers, which has been a hot topic as fourth-year pro Dyami Brown continues with a strong camp. But the comments could have been made about just anybody.
Far too much has been made about a seemingly down camp for 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson, who has three catches so far this preseason. Like Forbes, Dotson is firmly in the Commanders’ plans for this fall and has a close relationship with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Quinn went out of his way to say he “loves” the way Dotson runs his deep and in-breaking routes and that showed during the Commanders’ joint practice with the Dolphins.
“I don’t see it as one person has to be in this space. I just want the guys to be absolutely flying and at their best and competing and playing with urgency. It’s not about a number at a position, it’s really about just the urgency, competitiveness, contested catches, route running, getting away from press coverage, beating man-to-man. Those are all the things I look for.”
It is interesting to note the shift in Quinn’s tone when talking about the wide receiver group. Earlier in the week the head coach stressed competition for the second wideout – Terry McLaurin has the WR1 role locked up. So in a way, Quinn bears some responsibility for the WR2 conversation emerging as a hot topic, but in much the same way the conversation about Forbes went overboard, the same happened with Dotson.
“It doesn’t have to be a 1, 2, 3; it just has to be really consistent,” Quinn said of his wideouts. “I like the group.”
In just three drives this preseason, Daniels has completed 12 of 15 passes, spreading the ball around to a number of pass catchers. If the rookie can maintain that efficiency and accuracy in the regular season, there will be plenty of work for all the wideouts.
Quinn’s reputation around the NFL is of a stand-up guy who builds strong relationships. Sure it was just a few minutes of a postgame interview after a preseason game, but in trying to shut down emerging narratives and support the organization’s 2022 and 2023 first-round picks, Quinn is showing why he has that reputation.
Since his arrival as Washington’s head coach back in early February, Quinn has stressed competition. Now it’s happening, but not without some compassion against the social media tides.
“I think belief is a big deal for a player,” Quinn said. “I think the best of the best players can have a lot of confidence and are still going to have some times where it fails and doesn’t do them good. And so in those moments, you want to remind them: this is how to create it and correct it because if you keep hanging onto that to the next play or the next down, it can certainly affect you.”
Confidence matters for NFL players, especially in August. Quinn wants his group confident. He can control narratives now, but a month from now, the results speak for themselves.
