Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden joins G&D to discuss Jayden Daniels' epic performance, and he thinks they have a chance to play in the Super Bowl.
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00:25Jay, at some point during the game,
00:27as we bring on Jay Gruden,
00:28the former head coach of the then Redskins here in DC,
00:31you tweeted something to the effect of,
00:33this quarterback is unbelievable.
00:36I don't think you were talking about Jared Goff.
00:39What play made you tweet that?
00:41Like when was the moment where you went,
00:43oh my God, that was stupid.
00:46That's the whole body of work, man.
00:47It's just, it's unbelievable.
00:49He doesn't ever wilt under pressure.
00:52He always makes the right decision.
00:53He missed maybe one or two throws,
00:55but everything else he does is like perfect.
00:57He runs when he has to run.
00:58He throws it to the right guy and he's accurate.
01:00He's on five and got hands in his face.
01:02He's got pressure coming at him, unblocked players.
01:05He just drops the ball where he has to drop it.
01:08It's unbelievable.
01:09It's unbelievable to watch him.
01:10The reason I asked is that throw to De'Ami Brown
01:14might be my favorite play of his season,
01:17where he like doesn't have his legs in the throw.
01:19Couldn't set his feet right.
01:20So he like kind of off of both flat footed feet,
01:25like drops his arm angle down and takes a shot
01:27and just delivers a moon ball
01:29that he dropped right into his arms.
01:33Yeah, hard to argue that one.
01:34That one was pretty good.
01:35Pretty good catch too.
01:36The guy had his hands over his face.
01:38I don't know how he saw the big thing,
01:39but yeah, that was just one of many that he was unbelievable.
01:44And I mean, he made some things
01:45that were probably not so unbelievable to the naked eye,
01:49but when you're a coach and you understand free runners
01:51and people in your face and his ability to get the ball,
01:54a little simple out route to Zachary, which is unbelievable.
01:56We have free runner, the crossing route
01:57to Barry McLaurin on fourth down was a hell of a throw.
02:00He had a free runner on that one too.
02:02Just the touch and the accuracy that he has.
02:04These are not easy throws from guys
02:05that run at full speed away from you.
02:07And you have to throw it with people in your face.
02:09And he just makes it look so easy
02:11that not many people recognize how hard it is.
02:14On air and on the road,
02:15Jay Gruden is driven by the Tedbritt Automotive Group,
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02:26Jay, you were just touching on it.
02:28Detroit Blitz felt like every down or every other down
02:30or whatever, it's a huge percentage.
02:32Why is Jayden Daniels and why is this offense
02:34so effective against the Blitz?
02:37You know what?
02:38They do a great job of protection.
02:39Jayden has a good understanding of who the free hitter is.
02:41He can avoid it or he can get it out
02:43before the guy gets there.
02:44Not many quarterbacks have that ability to do that.
02:46Knowledge of protection schemes.
02:48You saw CJ Stroud get hit unmercifully
02:51against Kansas City's free runners.
02:53Has no idea.
02:53So yeah, there's a protection plan
02:56that they have in place.
02:57It's very good.
02:57I know Anthony Lynn's been in the league for a long time.
02:59He does a great job as a run game coordinator there,
03:01but also with pass protections.
03:02And you know, the center Tyler Bidash,
03:04he does a good job.
03:05And obviously Jayden has total control.
03:08When Sam Cosby went out,
03:09Trent Scott came in.
03:10How challenging is that in terms of continuity?
03:13Just, you know,
03:14losing one of your better offensive line,
03:15one of your better players,
03:16on the road, loud environment, et cetera.
03:19You know, what did you think of Scott
03:20and how do you think about that going forward?
03:22Yeah, it's gonna be a challenge.
03:24Obviously, the strength of the Eagles' defense
03:26is right there where the guard is.
03:28That'll be a challenge.
03:29Hopefully Tyler will give him some help
03:30and they'll get two hands on him
03:32or four hands on him every time.
03:33But yeah, it happens.
03:34You know, I'm well aware of how many times
03:36you can lose offensive guards in pro football.
03:38We lost like 30 of them in one year.
03:40But Trent's been there for a long time.
03:42He's bounced around in different positions.
03:43He's played some tackle.
03:44He's played some guards.
03:45So he should be okay.
03:46Jay Gruden on Grant and Danny.
03:48They're on the fan.
03:50So let's start with defensively,
03:53the fact that they were able to generate
03:54a little more pressure than they normally had.
03:57How much of that do you think was
03:58knowing where Goff's gonna be
04:00and it's easier to rush him
04:01because he's not moving around a lot?
04:03Or how much was that they might have actually
04:05figured something out here?
04:06Lawrence Armstrong, Dante Fowler,
04:09they all kind of consistently got home, it felt like.
04:13Yeah, the first sack fumble Armstrong
04:15came from over the guard, which is good
04:16because that's probably Detroit's weakest link.
04:19So they put their best pass rusher over the left guard.
04:21And Fowler's been doing pretty good all year long.
04:23I think he's got double digits sacks.
04:25So they just manufactured pressure with different people.
04:27You know, Wagner's rushed from inside.
04:29Lugo's rushed from outside and inside.
04:31So they have a good scheme of defense up front
04:34where they can move people around
04:35on different people and get pressure.
04:37Not any of them are spectacular rushes,
04:39but them as a whole, as a unit,
04:41they do a damn good job.
04:43Five takeaways, four interceptions, three off Goff.
04:47Obviously Goff also with a fumble.
04:49So four turnovers in the game, but they were plus five.
04:52I don't know that I can remember a playoff game
04:54where a team was plus five,
04:56they're plus six in two games at this point.
04:59It feels to me like maybe outside
05:00of just how good Daniels has been,
05:02that's the whole story for their postseason so far.
05:06Yeah, it's quite amazing for a quarterback
05:08to handle the ball as much as Jayden does,
05:09running the ball where he had 12 carries
05:12and then throwing the ball at 30 dropbacks
05:14or whatever, 35 dropbacks where he doesn't turn the ball over
05:16and it's just a hell of a tribute to the kid.
05:19The quarterback coach and the offensive coordinator
05:21and everybody involved in that building off at the line.
05:24The four teams in advance, none of them had a turnover
05:26and that's a critical part of playoff football.
05:29Buffalo didn't turn the ball over,
05:30Philly didn't turn the ball over,
05:31Washington and obviously Kansas City did.
05:33And so moving forward,
05:34it's gonna be a key component of the game
05:36come Sunday or whenever they play.
05:37Jay, Washington ran it better than they have
05:39in nearly a couple of months
05:41at Tennessee game notwithstanding.
05:42Did they find something in the run game
05:44or is it just frankly they're playing Detroit
05:46because they're so beat up?
05:48Yeah, Detroit's pretty beat up
05:49and they're probably the weakest front they played
05:51in quite a while as far as stopping a run.
05:53So they had some success in the air
05:55and obviously on the ground.
05:56So that helps out a lot.
05:57It takes a lot of pressure off Jayden
05:59and that opens up his own reads
06:00and the quarterback design runs
06:02and it's always good to see Brian
06:03hit some big hits in the middle
06:04because that shows dominance of your offensive line
06:07and you like that.
06:08They play physical, they get into the game more,
06:10helps with tempo.
06:11You can jump into no huddle when you get a big run
06:14and it keeps the defense off balance
06:16and that's what they did.
06:17Jay, this run, it just doesn't happen.
06:19I mean, I can't think of anything like this.
06:21What's the comp for you?
06:25There have been worse to first.
06:26We're in a sport where you could go from five wins
06:28to 11 and make the playoffs or whatever.
06:31But to go from picking second because you're terrible,
06:34not because you traded up,
06:35to potentially the Super Bowl, that's unheard of.
06:40Can you think of anything like that?
06:42No, hell no.
06:43Nobody ever would have picked Washington
06:46before the season.
06:48He'd be an idiot.
06:50Come on, I think it's the greatest rookie season
06:52we've ever seen.
06:52Maybe Magic Johnson with the Lakers, I don't know.
06:55But yeah, this is the greatest rookie season
06:57of anybody I've ever seen.
06:58It's the toughest position in sports to play.
07:00I mean, you think of all the great quarterbacks,
07:02Tom Brady, he wasn't great as a rookie
07:04and Dade Manning wasn't great as a rookie.
07:06This guy has been unbelievable
07:07and he's not just doing it with zone reads and running,
07:10he's doing it with through the air
07:11and anticipation and reading blitzes
07:13and critical situations, third, fourth down, red zone,
07:17game on the line, playoffs.
07:18I mean, he's doing it all.
07:19And you'll never see that again.
07:21I don't think we'll see that again.
07:23Jay Gritton with this year.
07:23CJ had a pretty good year last year,
07:26but not to this extent.
07:28Yeah, and I think you said yesterday,
07:29yeah, Jay Daniels has the best rookie season of all time.
07:31So he willingly handed the mantle over.
07:33Jay Gritton with this year on GND.
07:35You mentioned the fourth downs.
07:36If it was just a tush push or a brotherly shove,
07:40whatever, like Philadelphia does,
07:41or, you know, I don't know,
07:42one zone read or something like that.
07:44They get the fourth down a different way every play,
07:46it seems like.
07:47You mentioned that McLaurin crosser,
07:48sometimes it's a design this or that.
07:51It's like, they're just running their normal playbook.
07:53They're running their normal stuff.
07:54Just go into that and, you know,
07:56what does that mean for an offense?
07:58Yeah, I gotta see Cliff Kingsbury's fourth down list.
08:01He must have 40 plays on that son of a gun.
08:04I mean, it's unbelievable.
08:05The touchdown of Zach Kurtz is fourth down, I believe,
08:07and there's like three crossing routes
08:08and the only guy open, remotely open, was Zach Kurtz
08:11and he just happened to find him.
08:12It's just, it's crazy.
08:13So yeah, I don't know how they decide
08:17how many plays they're gonna carry on fourth down
08:19because they're in a red zone, they're out in the field.
08:21They're fourth and three, they're fourth and five.
08:24So yeah, he does an unbelievable job, Cliff,
08:26of coming up with these plays and formations
08:28and the team does a great job of executing.
08:30Dan Quinn has a hell of a lot of trust in his unit,
08:32which is pretty awesome to see.
08:34It's another part of the game
08:36that Washington has done this year
08:39that has been pretty much unheard of,
08:40converting 80-something percent of fourth downs.
08:4381%, 27 of 33, and it goes without saying,
08:47particularly in read option,
08:48Jaden Daniels with his legs
08:50can make you right on a lot of those, right?
08:52But still, we're seeing a trend around the league.
08:56Dan Campbell, he's got the antithesis
08:59of a mobile quarterback,
09:00and they go for more fourth downs
09:01the last couple years than anybody.
09:04I never thought that you weren't gutsy on fourth down,
09:08but you never got into a groove like this,
09:11where it was like, we're in plus territory,
09:13and it's fourth and three or less.
09:15We're going for it.
09:16In this new era, watching the way that you do,
09:20if you had another crack at it as a coach,
09:22would you go for a lot more fourth downs in plus territory?
09:26Because I've always wondered why more teams don't do it.
09:28It's just insane to me.
09:29Even fourth and a foot or so in minus territory,
09:33to me, it should be a no-brainer.
09:34And we're trending that way in the league, it seems like.
09:38Yeah, I just felt like you get down in there,
09:40especially early in a game,
09:41if you go for a fourth down and don't get it,
09:43it's like a kick in the, you know what?
09:45Because you do all that work to get down there.
09:46You just want to get something to show
09:48for your success of getting down there.
09:50And you risk a lot of not only momentum,
09:53but I don't know, confidence in your team a little bit,
09:57if you don't get it.
09:57I was more scared of not getting it than being aggressive.
10:01Hey, we're going to get it.
10:02I wish I would have, yeah.
10:03I for sure wish I would have gone for more
10:05because obviously the proof is in the pudding
10:08of what Washington has done.
10:09Now you got to have a quarterback
10:10that can execute like Jaden Daniels, you know,
10:12and Kirk was pretty good.
10:13And Alex was pretty good when we had him,
10:15when he was healthy.
10:16I'm sure they would have been fine,
10:16but yeah, it's just a different train of thought nowadays.
10:19Do you think it's going to keep trending this way?
10:22And like, where, what is the line where you would say,
10:25okay, let's settle down?
10:26Like, I mean, it seems to me like, I don't know about you,
10:29like at the 40 minus 40,
10:31when you're 10 yards from midfield,
10:33teams now start thinking
10:34about those short yardage situations.
10:36I think Kansas City, the way they play defense,
10:38will probably play it more close to the vest
10:40and kick more field goals
10:41because they win a lot of close games
10:42and three points are critical for those guys.
10:44And if they get a lead, it's hard to catch them
10:46because their defense is pretty good.
10:47A lot depends on your defense,
10:48how good your defense is and what offense you're playing.
10:50If you're playing a high powered offense like Detroit,
10:53three points may not be good enough.
10:54You have to get six every now and then.
10:55So a lot of factors in the going forward on fourth down,
10:59quarterback play, line play, who you're playing against,
11:02what your defense is like,
11:03what their defense is like, et cetera, et cetera.
11:05Jay, at what point during this game
11:06for Washington against Detroit,
11:08did you go from maybe they can win this thing
11:10to, dude, I think they're going to win this thing.
11:12Like, when was that conversion for you?
11:16Probably, you know, the second quarter barrage.
11:19You know, they scored a touchdown,
11:21then they got to pick six, or they scored two touchdowns,
11:24got 28 points in the second quarter.
11:25I think right around halftime, I said,
11:27not like you may win this thing.
11:28I said, these guys might win the whole damn thing.
11:30I mean, this is insane.
11:32I mean, these guys are playing fast,
11:34they're playing physical, they're creating turnovers.
11:36The quarterback's not wavering.
11:38They're blitzing the hell out of him.
11:39He's not even blinking.
11:41So yeah, I think right around that 28,
11:43right around halftime, I was like,
11:44this team has a chance to put a ring on their finger.
11:49It's hilarious.
11:53It's insane.
11:54You can't even, they can't make this stuff up.
11:56No, it's so funny, actually.
11:58Like you laughing after you said it
12:00is what I've been doing every time.
12:02For days, Jay, that's all we've been doing.
12:03For a week, I'm like, they're going to go to the Super Bowl
12:05and I just start giggling.
12:07It's so dumb.
12:10It's crazy, man.
12:11It's just a hell of a thing for these coaches
12:14and Jayden and the rest of the team.
12:15It's fun to watch.
12:17The Eagles are next up in Philly.
12:19Obviously, like any other game you play here,
12:22Buffalo or Kansas City, ultimately,
12:25if you're to beat the Eagles,
12:26this one's going to be an uphill battle
12:28and they're going to be an underdog.
12:29That said, they just beat them.
12:32They have hung with them twice now.
12:35Biggest concern about this game?
12:38Well, the obvious is Saquon and Jaylen's ability to run.
12:42Those, that's the biggest concern.
12:43And then defensively, that front,
12:45the big guys up the middle,
12:47stopping running, getting pressure up the middle on Jayden
12:50is the biggest concern.
12:51Quinion Mitchell being out will be a big plus
12:54because he's starting to play pretty good if he's out.
12:55I don't know if he's out or not.
12:57But other than that, man, I think
12:59Washington's going to go out and play their game
13:00and do what they do, go forward on fourth down,
13:02make some key plays,
13:03and hopefully they can force Jayden, Jaylen,
13:06to throw the ball
13:07because they're having trouble completing a forward pass.
13:09How much of the recent matchup plays in
13:11or is it just totally irrelevant?
13:15I think a lot plays in, really.
13:16Matchups play a big part.
13:18Offensive and defensive line play,
13:19wide receiver versus corner play,
13:21tight ends versus safeties, all that stuff.
13:23It all plays in scheme.
13:25We're going to stop Saquon in the outside zones,
13:27in the mid zones, in the shotgun run,
13:28in the under center, wherever it might be.
13:30There's a lot of information you can gather
13:32from those two games.
13:33Obviously, it'll be quite different.
13:35The environment will be quite different,
13:36but there is a lot of personal information,
13:38head-to-head information that you can gather.
13:40So with Cosme out,
13:42I feel like you had centers and guards missing
13:46almost every week for a couple of years in a row.
13:49How do you go about blocking up Jaylen Carter
13:53and those big guys or trying to mask that deficiency?
13:58Yeah, I think Tyler Biedasz has to do a good job
14:01of making sure he tries to help Trent out
14:03as much as he can.
14:04If everything's equal,
14:05we got to make sure we get two hands on Jaylen Carter.
14:08And I don't know if it's better to run away from him
14:09or run right at him and get double teams right at him.
14:11So if you run away from him,
14:13you're going to have a single cutoff on him.
14:15If you run at him, you're going to have double teams on him.
14:16So let's pitch a poison against that guy.
14:18He's a monster, but I think getting out on perimeter
14:20with some of the screens that they run
14:22will be very effective.
14:24Like the one that Terry McCorn and the bubble screen,
14:27say they run quite a bit of,
14:28I think you'll see a lot of that from alerts,
14:29but you gotta just go out and play him.
14:32I mean, he's a hell of a player,
14:33but scared money don't make no money.
14:36He's Jaylen hurts as bad right now as it seems like he is.
14:42And why are they so broken throwing the football?
14:45I don't know.
14:46I don't know if it's confidence
14:47or he does not seem to feel very well.
14:49They're not giving him a whole lot of opportunities
14:51to let it rip down the field with Saquon
14:53and the effectiveness they have in the running game.
14:56And sometimes as a play caller,
14:57you're like, well, I will just give it back to Saquon.
15:01Why are we even trying to throw it?
15:02Cause he's so good and been so effective.
15:04So that's part of it.
15:05But the other part of it,
15:05I just don't think hurts to see him feel very well right now.
15:08He doesn't have a lot of confidence.
15:10If the first three is not there,
15:11he doesn't have confidence in going to the second one
15:12or third one.
15:13He just won and done in my opinion.
15:16What would the message be for you this week to the guys?
15:18I mean, you know, this,
15:19for a lot of them,
15:20a lot of the veterans have been here before.
15:21They've been to the top,
15:22like the Bobby Wagner's of the world,
15:23know what act and know what to do.
15:24But for a lot of these guys that have been here,
15:26they haven't seen a lot of success
15:27in their whole careers basically.
15:29How would you kind of keep them on message?
15:31And you know, what would you be saying to guys?
15:34Yeah, I think you rely on your veterans
15:35like Bobby Wagner who's been there and done that.
15:37He's a strong influence in that locker room
15:39and he's going to be the one that's going to really
15:42calm the nerves of everybody
15:44and make sure everybody does
15:45what they're supposed to do during a week.
15:46That's the most important thing is to make sure
15:47we take care of the minor details
15:49throughout the week of the game plan
15:51and really focus on what we're supposed to do
15:53and who we're playing against.
15:54And I think that'll be an easy task for these guys.
15:56These guys have been well-prepared
15:58and well-coached every game that they played.
16:00And Bobby Wagner is a big part of that.
16:01He doesn't take anything other than people's best.
16:05Jay, the commanders are in the NFC championship.
16:08I wish I would have met that
16:12before the day season started.
16:13Yeah, you and me both.
16:15You'd have done all right.
16:18You could treat Danny and I to a nice steak dinner.
16:21Steak dinner, you got it.
16:23Well, I just meant if you hit your bet.
16:25No, no, he said yes.
16:25He said yes.
16:26If you want to do it anyway.
16:27I'll take you guys out for a steak when I get back.
16:29When I get back and the sun comes out over there,
16:31I'll come back and take you guys to DC Prime up there.
16:34All right, we'll do it.
16:35Yeah, I'll eat that steak.
16:36I'm good at that.
16:37Yeah, mashed potatoes.
16:38You should see Danny cut.
16:39He cuts like a violin or something.
16:42It's like 14 saws through the steak.
16:45That does not surprise me one bit.
16:48Although Jay will love how I do it too.
16:50Yeah, so what Grant does is,
16:52you ever seen somebody in like a slasher movie
16:54they hold the knife?
16:55That's how he holds his fork, right?
16:57So he stabs with the fork and does like a one saw
17:02with the knife and eats it.
17:03By the time you've like got your napkin on your lap,
17:06he's 80% of the way done with the steak.
17:07And then it's like asking people personal questions.
17:10I'm surprised he uses a knife at all.
17:12I figured he'd just pick it up and eat it.
17:14He's one step shy of that.
17:15I'm on my way.
17:15I'm gnawing at it like a wolf.
17:17That and some mashed potatoes.
17:18That's the name of the game.
17:20Jay, hopefully we're talking about the commanders
17:24in the Super Bowl.
17:25Go to the Super Bowl, you know.
17:27Enjoy the games this weekend.
17:29I will do it.
17:30Thank you guys.
17:31All right, see you buddy.
17:32There's Jay Gruden, former head coach here in DC.
17:35I love that.
17:35He had the same thing.
17:36Yeah, just chuckling like we are.
17:37Same response I did.
17:38He's like, they might go to the Super Bowl.
17:39Just starts laughing.
17:40Yes.
17:41It's a giddy time around these parts.
17:43People, the commanders are playing
17:46in an NFC championship game.
17:48What?