10 Commanders Quotes That Define Washington Entering Week 5 vs. Giants

The Washington Commanders are back home for Week 5, and there's plenty riding on Sunday's matchup with the New York Giants. Jayden Daniels is returning, the injuries continue to pile up, and Washington has some things to clean up after last week's loss in London.

Here are 10 quotes from this week's press conferences that help explain where the Commanders stand heading into this NFC East matchup.

10. David Blough — “It’s safeties coming down out of the sky”

Question: “Morning, David. It looks like the Giants have been able to limit tight ends in their previous four games, outside of maybe Trey McBride. What have you seen from what they’re doing to specifically take tight ends out?”

“It’s man coverage. It’s safeties coming down out of the sky wanting to create matchups, and guys have to go out and win one-on-ones. That’s what they’ve wanted to create. It’s a good scheme. They’ve done a good job over there implementing it through the first four weeks, and we’ve got a good challenge on our hands with them coming to town this week.”

9. Jayden Daniels — “We’re just out here playing point guard”

Question: “You’ve managed to get the ball to Terry and to Diggs and to Williams, and so has Marcus. Do you think it’s an issue that the tight ends haven’t been as involved yet? Do you think there’s a way to incorporate them into the game plan more, or is it just the guy who’s open gets the ball?”

“The guy that’s open gets the ball. We’ve dealt with a lot of different injuries and stuff like that up to this point, where people are in and out of the lineup. And obviously, I think teams do a good job of covering our tight ends, too. So these other guys one-on-one outside, they win too. But we’re just out here playing point guard, trying to get the ball to the open guy.”

8. Daronte Jones — Mike Sainristil’s reduced role wasn't just about performance

Question: “And with Mikey, what do you need to see from him to get back on the field, to kind of earn his way back on there? And how has he handled this rough stretch?”

“Mike’s a pro. Mike has been a pro with that. Going into the game plan last week was a little different. It was more so, it wasn’t like keeping him off. We went from a regular personnel, so our true three linebackers against their 11 personnel on the early downs, and then when they got to got-to situations, we went to Big Nickel, which is where Mikey came onto the field. They just were in that 11 personnel early down more than that, and that’s where Kain Medrano was there on those situations. But Mikey as a whole, he understands his consistency and just doing the routine things routinely. He’s working on that day in, day out, and he has a great attitude towards that approach.”

7. Daronte Jones — “One play 70 times”

Question: “For you guys, the second-half defense has not been there. The numbers are what they are. Why have there been struggles there in the second half?”

“We’ve addressed that with our guys this week and just talking about our ability to sustain, which comes with, we say physical conditioning precedes all else. With that being said, you may be asked going into a game and say, ‘I’m only scheduled to play 25 snaps,’ and end up playing 40. We can’t let that be a determining factor. We can’t let things out of our control be a determining factor. So our ability to respond, our ability to sustain not only success but adversity as well, is building the mental toughness for that. That’s been the focus this week, just tapping into the mental toughness however it may shape and not letting anything outside of what we can control affect our play. And then also focus. I think a focus, play in, play out. We talk about, you don’t have to be great and locked in for 70 plays. Just have to be locked in and great, or damn good, for one play 70 times, and that way you can take one play at a time.”

6. Dan Quinn — “It is definitely a trenches game”

Question: On the Giants' defense and what kind of game Washington expects Sunday.

“Yeah, it is definitely a trenches game on both sides. I thought Dennard’s done a nice job with their unit. They’ve got speed out on the edges. They’ve got big guys inside, linebacker play. I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen from them. As you’re going back and forth, different packages, run game premium for sure on both sides. Classic line-of-scrimmage football day. Might be some good football weather as well. Even if it’s not, we’re still going to have a line-of-scrimmage game.”

5. Daronte Jones — Jameis Winston can “put four or five touchdowns on you”

Question: “Speaking of a guy who likes to give advice, Jameis Winston is someone who has historically turned the ball over a lot. How does your approach change, if at all, when you know there’s a guy who is prone to giving up interceptions?”

“Well, that same guy is also prone to making big plays. He’s done that in his career, which is why, obviously, it’s not a one-way street with Jameis. Jameis is a guy who is high risk, high reward, and because of his reward and the plays that he’s made in his profession is why he’s still doing the things he’s doing now, especially for the New York Giants and why they’re where they are right now is because of a lot of him and providing those opportunities. We can’t be mindful of, yeah, he’s going to turn the ball over. He can also put four or five touchdowns on you in a heartbeat, which I’ve experienced that back at the Bengals, back at the Dolphins, and even with the Vikings when he came in with the Saints when Derek Carr got injured. So his strength is his ability to one snap and clear. That’s dangerous for an opponent because whether it’s a great play, he can move on. Whether it’s a bad play, he can move on. Each play has a life and history of its own, and he’s the true definition of that. So you’ve got to be mindful of that.”

4. Dan Quinn — “I would definitely consider that”

Question: “With regard to the offensive penalties that you’re having, I know you want to have some continuity, but you do have the power to remove people from the field if they continue to make those mistakes. Is that something that you consider doing?”

“I would definitely consider that. And I’m certain that we are going to get this fixed. Certain. We have to. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. Losing big plays due to a pre-snap foul, and in the defensive case a post-snap foul, cost us. We’re going to work really hard to attack that.”

Question: “Along those lines, is that what you mean when you say this one’s different? Just the fact that you’ve gone through what this process is like, or is it something else that feels different?”

“I mean, yeah, I went through the process and it wasn’t the end of everything. Like I said, I was blessed enough to still be allowed to play this game, and I’m just going to go out there. I’m going to embrace it. I’m going to embrace the brace. Not really worry too much about it and go out there and just be the best version of myself.”

2. David Blough — Jayden Daniels has no game-plan limitations

Question: “You have a quarterback like Jayden coming back after the dislocation and he’s coming back wearing the brace. How does that affect your game plan in any way, knowing maybe what he may or may not still be able to fully do, or is he full-go and you can game plan without limitations?”

“He’s full-go, man. We’re looking forward to having him back.”

1. Dan Quinn — Jayden Daniels, Sam Cosmi and Rachaad White are ready

Opening statement, injury update:

“It’s not lost on me, a lot of names on our injury report. I’ll give you a full list at 4:00, but I do have a few updates. Jayden, Sam Cosmi and Rachaad White are all good to go, and that’s a big deal. Unfortunately, Stefon Diggs will be out. Terry, I thought, looked really good today. So we’ll decide as we get closer to the game. Today, that was excellent to have him back on the field. Outside of those, I won’t have any other injury updates, but I wanted to give you the information that I had. I could share that with you. So let’s get rolling.”

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