Stopping ‘special’ Saquon Barkley is ‘not a one-man job,’ and what else the Commanders are saying about the Eagles
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn knows getting off on the right foot in Week 1 with an NFC East matchup against the Eagles won't be easy. Here's what he and the rest of the staff had to say.
The start of a new NFL season brings a certain kind of excitement. A new season against a division rival? Well, that brings the thrill of a whole other kind.
After resting most of their starters in Week 18 and dropping their regular-season finale to the Commanders, the Eagles are ready to run it back against Washington on Sunday (4:25 p.m., Fox29).
However, the feeling is mutual. Here’s what the Commanders are saying ahead of their Week 1 opponent.
» READ MORE: Eagles edge rusher Jonathan Greenard ruled out for Sunday; rookie tight end Eli Stowers listed as questionable
First-time coordinators
The Commanders have two new systems in place with new play-callers on both sides of the ball. Daronte Jones is in his first season in Washington as defensive coordinator and will go against a new offensive system for the Eagles in Sean Mannion’s NFL debut as a play-caller. On the other side, David Blough, the Commanders’ first-year offensive coordinator, has the challenge of facing a well-established Vic Fangio defense.
Blough is in his third year with the Commanders after spending the past two seasons as an assistant quarterback coach. His few years with Washington have provided him a close look at Fangio’s defense and how it operates, a familiarity Blough is hoping will help come Sunday.
“They’re so sound as a defense, how they attack you, where they try to stress you as an offense, and they got a lot of really good players who have been there for a long time,” Blough said about the Eagles defense Thursday. “We’ve seen matchups with some of our familiar players. We’ve seen things that Jayden [Daniels] does well. We’ve seen ways that they’ve tried to attack us. So, all of those data points for us kind of go into how we build the plan to get after him this week.”
Stopping Saquon
For Jones and the Commanders’ defense, a whole new problem is apparent. While there is less data to use to game plan for Mannion’s new offensive scheme, one thing is clear: in each of his four games, including playoffs, against the Commanders as the Eagles’ primary running back, Saquon Barkley has rushed for over 115 yards and has scored at least one touchdown.
Whether Jones hasn’t yet figured out how to stop Barkley, or is just keeping his cards close to the chest, he offered a vague answer regarding his plan to slow down the running back.
“Saquon is special,” Jones said. “It’s not a one-man job. It’s a team effort and even with that, I mean, his explosiveness, his playmaking ability, he’s very dynamic, and they’ve done a great job of using him in that way and finding different spaces to get him touches. And so, you take your hat off to the organization [for] how they utilize their personnel over there.”
‘A hard-fought game’
After a sophomore season riddled with injury, quarterback Jayden Daniels said he is ready to do “whatever it takes to win a football game” on Sunday.
During his rookie season, Daniels faced the Eagles two times during the regular season, passing for 449 yards, rushing for 99 yards, and tossing six touchdowns compared to three interceptions. His most recent game against Philly did not go as well and ended with a 55-23 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship at Lincoln Financial Field.
Head coach Dan Quinn said the fire in Daniels to get back out there has been burning since the end of last season, and while working through a new system and changes, Daniels has been “more accurate than he’s ever been,” and getting bigger and stronger.
“It’s an exciting time just in general; football is back,” Daniels said. “I know [the Eagles are] not worried about who they play, who’s on the schedule. They’re just worried about executing, being the best version of themselves. And us too. So, go out there and just try to execute at a high level. Like I said, they got really good players over there. We got good players over here too, and this is going to be a hard-fought game.”
The regular season is almost here! All the preseason talk has been about Jalen Hurts and new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. But there’s somebody else who will have a big say in how high the Eagles fly. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane explains why this year, in the absence of traded star A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith has to take the next step, while also taking charge of the Eagles’ wide receivers group. Plus, Jeff dips into the mailbag for listener questions about Jalen Hurts and some key roster spots. Listen here.
Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.
