00:00Veteran minicamp out in Ashburn today for the Commanders,
00:03Dan Quinn, spoke before practice.
00:05He was asked if he's going to do his normal routine
00:08that all the coaches around the league seem to do,
00:10where it's a three-day minicamp,
00:11but you actually practice real hard for two days,
00:13and then it's this formality, foregone conclusion
00:16that you don't practice the third day because the coach says,
00:19you guys did great, you worked real hard, no practice,
00:21don't show up tomorrow, we're going to go to a movie theater.
00:23Or maybe just you can fly home because we're done our work week.
00:27Dan Quinn is not about that life in 2026.
00:30Yeah, they should not be asking you,
00:32are we going to get a bone or that?
00:33Like, no, you guys should, yep, we'll be here, yeah.
00:36You might have had the offer, yeah.
00:38Was that from a player, right?
00:41So that's Quinn saying, we will be here,
00:44we are not doing that thing this year.
00:46And it doesn't sound like a big deal.
00:48You know, it sounds like a coach saying,
00:50no, we're going to work for the next three days.
00:52But if you were around last season,
00:55I think you can assume that this is the beginning
00:58of a turning of the page.
01:00From Club Quinn, whatever that was,
01:02when they were coming off the NFC Championship game,
01:04they were a veteran-laden team
01:05where a lot of guys needed days off.
01:07And routinely, you know, you would practice a day
01:09and then you'd get a day or two off
01:10and then you'd practice hard another day.
01:13They're trying to up their workload this offseason.
01:16And they need to, by the way, after going 5-12 after a 12-5 season.
01:20Yes.
01:22Yes, Dan Quinn.
01:23Yes.
01:24You have not arrived.
01:25Now, I'm not mad at him because he did the correct thing,
01:27but this is the general message.
01:29Nobody should be expecting it.
01:30It should be a nice bonus when you turn in all the great work.
01:33If you've done countless amounts of hours
01:36and dedicated yourself and there's no stone unturned
01:39and you are ready to go win a game right now this minute.
01:41I mean, that's hyperbolic.
01:42Nobody is.
01:43But you know what I mean.
01:43If you are going to be awesome
01:46and there are no reasons for insecurity,
01:47yeah, let's take a day off.
01:48Put our feet up.
01:49Let's rest.
01:49Get in the cold tub.
01:50Maybe go play some putt-putt.
01:51Then let's go watch a Netflix movie.
01:53Dare I say,
01:54coming off of the 12-5 season nobody saw coming
01:57and the NFC Championship game
01:59and having had an offseason
02:00where you had good attendance at OTAs
02:02and you were happy with the progress
02:04and where everybody was,
02:05it made some sense a year ago
02:07that everybody is feeling themselves
02:08and having a good time
02:10and so we're going to decide
02:12we're not going to practice on that third day.
02:15Not this year.
02:16You haven't earned it.
02:17This is an entirely new group
02:19who doesn't really have any pelts on the wall,
02:21by the way.
02:21The majority of this roster, Danny,
02:23who's going to be taking part in minicamp
02:25is new to the commanders
02:27and or was only here for last year
02:29when it wasn't that good.
02:30Yeah, and the new players are here
02:31because last year was terrible.
02:32You know what I'm saying?
02:33There's turnover in the NFL every year,
02:35but they went on a spending spree
02:36not because the defense was awesome.
02:37They went on a spending spree
02:38and they have a new defensive coordinator
02:39not because everything was so good
02:41that a guy got promoted.
02:43Guys got fired
02:43and they were complacent
02:45and sat on their hands
02:46and the thing that frustrated me
02:48was the lack of desperation
02:51to try something different
02:53and hopefully this offseason
02:55because remember,
02:55one of the things
02:56that was a selling point for Dan Quinn
02:57after his mediocre time in Atlanta,
02:59granted, he got a team further
03:00than anybody thought
03:01that he could get them
03:02for one time,
03:03but for the most part,
03:04it's what it's been here.
03:05Very middling,
03:06very 500,
03:07a lot of cliches
03:07and a lot of good feelings
03:09and high fives.
03:10Well, one of the things
03:11that was a selling point for him
03:12was he delved deep
03:14and figured out
03:15what made him an ineffective coach
03:16and what he could do better this time.
03:18He asked around,
03:19he interviewed people
03:20and he really was introspective.
03:22You guys remember any of that?
03:23Remember all that stuff about it?
03:24I think it was,
03:25is her name Laura Oakman?
03:26Sounds right.
03:27Former Sideline reporter
03:28did a project for him, basically.
03:30He had a relationship,
03:32friendship with as a media member
03:33where she reached out
03:35to 100 people or whatever
03:37on his behalf
03:38and got them to give feedback
03:40on Dan Quinn,
03:40what he does well,
03:41what he does poorly,
03:42put it together
03:43and gave it to him
03:44and that was like
03:44his big research project
03:46to try to figure out
03:47with some anonymity
03:48to get some real answers
03:49what people think
03:50he's good at and bad at.
03:51And it's admirable.
03:52That's awesome.
03:53I love it.
03:53It shows, yeah,
03:54I think it's great.
03:54It shows a willingness
03:55to do what?
03:56To change, to adapt,
03:58to do something different.
03:59I would have loved
04:00to have seen some of that
04:01last year.
04:01They just went down
04:02with a ship
04:03and they go,
04:03man, the ship's going down.
04:04Anyway, what's for dinner?
04:05And watch this thing
04:07crash into the iceberg
04:08and just sink slowly
04:09into the freezing cold abyss
04:11as it was one of the worst seasons
04:13you could have ever had
04:14anywhere ever
04:15with that disastrous
04:16five-game stretch
04:17right nestled
04:18in the middle of it
04:18with no panic.
04:19Again, Joe Witt
04:20changed seats.
04:20That's what they did
04:21for eight weeks.
04:22So I'm hoping
04:23that you do some inventory
04:25and go,
04:26oh, the way that we have done
04:28a lot of these things
04:29is completely ineffective.
04:31I'm going to change
04:32my pathology.
04:33Seems like they're off
04:34to a good start
04:34in that regard.
04:35I applaud that.
04:36Yeah, this is what needs
04:37to happen.
04:38It's what should happen
04:39and I hope this is
04:40the beginning of
04:42some evidence
04:43that they're going to turn up
04:43the heat and practices
04:44that they're going to do
04:45more hitting,
04:46more physicality.
04:48I don't know that you're
04:48ever going to see
04:49a Dan Quinn team
04:49tackle to the ground.
04:50It's pretty rare.
04:51There are teams that do it,
04:52by the way,
04:52but I haven't seen it done here
04:54in many, many years
04:55under many, many regimes
04:56and it's infrequent
04:57around the NFL
04:58at this point.
04:59But I've got a lot of questions.
05:00I'm at Grant Paulson
05:01on Twitter,
05:02at Grant H. Paulson
05:03on Instagram
05:03from people
05:04who want to know
05:06what is the biggest difference?
05:07What are some of the
05:09differences between
05:10minicamp,
05:10which is going on
05:12day one of three now
05:14and OTAs previously?
05:15This is what Quinn
05:16had to say about that.
05:17The one difference
05:19for minicamp
05:20will be
05:20I'm really pushing
05:23some of the guys
05:24who haven't got a lot,
05:25Nicky,
05:26right now
05:26to see where they're at.
05:28All of us know
05:29it's not a question
05:30of if,
05:32but when.
05:32You know,
05:33you're going to need
05:33this type of depth.
05:34So I really want
05:35to shine a light on
05:36to see how competitive
05:38the group can get
05:39leading in the training camp
05:40so we can absolutely
05:42push one another
05:43at a higher spot
05:44and exercises like this
05:46over the next three days
05:47kind of reinforces that
05:49to say,
05:49man,
05:49like,
05:49this is the standard.
05:51This is the execution,
05:52you know,
05:52we're expecting
05:53and it'll provide,
05:55I think we have a lot
05:55of competition
05:56in a lot of spots.
05:57So moments like this
05:58are important
05:58for the assistants
05:59to also say,
05:59this is what I see.
06:01This is where we go.
06:02And then as you got
06:02into the season,
06:03be able to tell
06:04Durante or David,
06:05this is exactly
06:06where I think,
06:07you know,
06:07he can go.
06:08Yeah,
06:08I think they're going
06:08to start sorting
06:09out a pecking order,
06:10particularly behind
06:11the starters
06:12in this minicamp
06:13because there is
06:13more competition.
06:14You have to acknowledge
06:15that,
06:15especially on defense.
06:17Knowing that D-line
06:18is an example.
06:18On the interior
06:19where it's Settle
06:20and Payne
06:21and Johnny Newton
06:22and DJ Davidson,
06:22not a familiar name
06:23to people maybe,
06:24but has done some good
06:25things with the New York Giants.
06:26Ricky Barber
06:27flashed with Washington.
06:28This undrafted free agent,
06:30Jeffrey Umba,
06:31is a guy they really,
06:31really like.
06:32On the edge where,
06:33you know,
06:34Kinlaw,
06:34I should say,
06:35is also in that D-tackle spot,
06:36but on the edge
06:37where you've got now
06:37Caleb on chase on
06:39and Adafi Owe
06:40and Dorrance Armstrong
06:41and Joshua Josephs
06:42and Charles Amenehu
06:43and Dietrich Weiss,
06:45like there's just
06:45more competition.
06:46You and I don't love
06:48the secondary per se,
06:49but in terms of names
06:51and similar guys,
06:52if you're talking about it
06:53like a starting rotation,
06:55there's five spots.
06:56Yep.
06:56They might have
06:57eight or nine
06:59potential,
07:00like fourth starters
07:01in baseball parlance
07:02in the sense of
07:03Cross,
07:04Harris,
07:04Sanristill,
07:05Robertson,
07:06Amos,
07:06Witherspoon,
07:07Reeves,
07:07Martin,
07:08Antonio Hamilton
07:09was their best corner
07:10at the end of last season.
07:11Owens,
07:12you could keep going,
07:13but like,
07:14I think I just ripped off
07:15ten names there
07:16for what is going to be
07:16a rotation where they're
07:17using like five to six guys.
07:19Yeah,
07:19maybe it's a sum of their
07:19parts group,
07:20right,
07:21where,
07:21you know,
07:21if everybody's communicating
07:22well,
07:23playing on a string
07:23and,
07:24you know,
07:24you're running the scheme
07:24well,
07:25you've seen
07:26non-household names
07:27have pretty decent
07:28secondaries.
07:29And again,
07:29look to Dan Quinn's
07:30groups in Dallas.
07:31He would take
07:32each year a guy
07:33that was previously
07:34anonymous and turn him
07:35into the league leader
07:35in interceptions.
07:36See Duran Bland
07:37as an example of that.
07:38Now,
07:39I know that's not
07:39his defense specifically
07:40here,
07:41but it's certainly possible
07:42because there are going
07:43to be areas of every
07:44football team in the
07:45salary cap era,
07:46era rather,
07:47that cannot be
07:48$50 million a year guys,
07:50nothing but,
07:50right?
07:50There's always going to be
07:51after some area where you go,
07:52we can get away with that
07:53here.
07:54I don't want to get away
07:55with a receiver,
07:55for example,
07:56which it seems like
07:56they're trying to do,
07:57save signing another veteran
07:58or something else,
07:59but you can't do that
08:00at a lot of spots.
08:01They think maybe you can
08:02do that at corner.
08:03It seems,
08:04just reading the tea leaves,
08:04maybe you can do that
08:05at corner this year
08:06based on the increase
08:08in the pressure
08:08that we're presumably
08:09going to put on
08:09opposing defenses,
08:11how we're going to
08:11come downhill and blitz
08:12and confuse and conflate
08:13and guys,
08:14you know,
08:14where they make a quarterback
08:15hesitate for a split second,
08:17a 5 out of 10 defender
08:19in the secondary
08:19becomes a 7 out of 10 defender
08:21because you have
08:22less responsibility
08:23or you're dictating
08:24to the quarterback.
08:24There's a whole
08:25philosophical approach here
08:26and maybe that's where
08:27you would do it
08:28on the cheap.
08:29They did that
08:30in Rivera's regime,
08:31for example,
08:32at linebacker
08:32and it bit him.
08:34They just couldn't get
08:35that spot right
08:36for so many years
08:37and it was actually
08:37disastrous at times.
08:39They tried that.
08:40This is what they're doing here
08:41in terms of going cheap
08:42on cornerback.
08:43Grant and Danny on the fan.
08:45A couple of big stories
08:45in the NFL today.
08:47One of the better players
08:48in his position of his era
08:49could be coming back
08:51to the league.
08:51We'll talk about that.
08:52Plus,
08:53Chiefs wide receiver
08:54Rasheed Rice
08:54is out of jail.
08:56Interesting video
08:56as he got out of jail today.
08:58We'll discuss next.
08:59You're listening to the
08:59family.
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