The Commanders are betting big on David Blough’s first season as offensive coordinator, and Dan Quinn says the new voice in the room already has something you can’t coach.
“There are certain people who have that ‘it’ factor. He does,” Quinn said, via Jonathan Jones of The Athletic.
“And so the best way I can help support is to stress him out here at practice. I’m trying to do that every day, not just to the players, but to the staff as well.”
Blough’s own vision is just as clear: build the offense around Jayden Daniels and make sure it lasts. He wants a system that doesn’t get torn down and rebuilt every time there’s a new coach in town.
“Our hope was that 10 years from now we built something so strong that whoever is coming here to coach Jayden is running Jayden’s offense,” Blough said. “It’s all built around this young man who’s the centerpiece of this organization.
Tom Brady ran the same offense for 20 years. That was our goal.
We don’t want him switching terminology and verbiage ever again.”
Daniels, meanwhile, is focused on sharpening the mental side of the position in 2026. He talked about working through his “pre-set process” to sort out defenses before the ball is snapped.
“You gotta have a general idea, like, this is my key defender on this concept, this is what they could be in possibly,” Daniels said. “You’re not gonna have all the answers to the test, right?
You don’t wanna go out there and chase ghosts. You still gotta react and play ball.
You gotta do your pre-set process, you have to go through your rolodex and stuff that they could do from your film study. Those guys get paid money to get sacks and blitz and all that, so you have that half-second of, ‘Oh shoot, I don’t know what’s going on,’ type of moment.
You might turn around and somebody might be right there. But the more you do it, the more you rep it, the more comfortable you get with it.”
In Dallas, Broderick Jones said the biggest issue in Pittsburgh was simple: he never got settled. After being traded to the Cowboys, the offensive tackle pointed to the constant movement between left and right tackle as a major reason for his struggles.
“ For me, I would just say bouncing around, just not being able to get my feet set, ” Jones said, via Steelers Wire. “ That was a challenge for me.
Coming in, hopefully I can stick to one side. Compete for that, get comfortable, get familiar with it, get familiar with who I’ll be playing next to and go from there.
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Over in New York, Darius Slayton isn’t letting the roster noise get to him. The Giants wide receiver said he’s heard the chatter before and expects to hear it again, but it doesn’t change how he handles his day-to-day work.
“It’s not the first time, probably won’t be the last time,” Slayton said, via Pro Football Talk. “But I really don’t pay it too much of mind, honestly. I just take it day by day… At the end of the day, you control what you can control and let the rest fall where it may.”
In Other News...
Commanders Enter 2026 With Pressure Mounting And One Rookie To Watch
The Commanders head into 2026 with plenty of moving parts and a growing sense that this is a season the organization cannot afford to waste. Roster changes have left the group looking different, injuries remain part of the conversation, and the pressure is rising on a team that needs cleaner health and better production to match the expectations around it. For a coaching staff trying to steady the picture, the next few months are about making sure the offense has enough dependable answers.
One of the more interesting names in that mix is rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams, whose role could matter sooner than many young receivers do. Washington is looking for options who can fit into the offense and provide some lift as the team sorts through its personnel questions, and Williams is the sort of addition worth watching closely during a season that carries real weight for both the roster and the staff. His progress may not solve everything, but it could become one of the clearer signs of where the Commanders are headed. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Face A Brutal 2026 Doubt Fans Will Want Answered
The Commanders 2026 outlook is already drawing scrutiny, and not the flattering kind. NFL analyst Mike Tanier painted the offseason in bleak terms, calling it miserable and questioning whether Washington has done enough to improve the roster around its core. His case centered on the kind of concerns that tend to stick with a team trying to build for the long haul: aging additions, shaky depth and not much room for error when the margins get thin.
There is at least some counterweight to that pessimism, since Washington also brought in younger players and added through the draft. Still, the larger debate is obvious enough for fans to feel it now: has the Commanders front office built a roster with real staying power, or is the team leaning too heavily on short-term fixes while missing the chance to stockpile help for later? Taniers view is only a projection, but it taps into the uncertainty that will shadow this team until those offseason bets start to show whether they were enough. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Fans May Not Like Where Zach Ertz Could End Up
Zach Ertz is moving closer to the next step in his recovery, with the veteran tight end now cleared to resume football activities after tearing an ACL during his time with the Commanders. For Washington, the bridge to Ertz has already been crossed elsewhere, as the team has added other tight ends and does not appear to be planning a reunion.
Philadelphia is the part of the story that could sting some Commanders fans, even if nothing is imminent. Reports suggest a possible return to the Eagles, the team that drafted Ertz, is at least being considered as he works his way back, leaving Washington with the familiar sight of a former contributor potentially resurfacing in a place its fans would rather not see him. [Read more 🡒]