Speaker 1: Welcome into the game plan logan our last game of
Speaker 1: the regular season and it's against the Cowboys. We catch
Speaker 1: up with hit coach Dan Quinn and talk about today's matchup.
Speaker 2: And you know how we in the show. It's the
Speaker 2: must watch matchups.
Speaker 1: We in the show with that against the Dallas Cowboys,
Speaker 1: all that walks on the game plan.
Speaker 2: Welcome you in.
Speaker 1: Head coach Dan Quinn. Clinched the playoffs. That's something some
Speaker 1: people never get to do. You did it in your
Speaker 1: first year. How great does that feel? And what does
Speaker 1: that say about what this team's doing this year?
Speaker 3: Well, this is a fun team to coach, and they
Speaker 3: are tough. They battle for it in a lot of ways.
Speaker 3: And in this game, I thought, what a great demonstration
Speaker 3: of brotherhood of guys stepping into spaces to make plays.
Speaker 2: We knew this would be a hard game.
Speaker 3: We knew Atlanta was absolutely back to the wall going
Speaker 3: for it, and so we were going to have a
Speaker 3: five quarter mindset going into it, and sure enough, it
Speaker 3: went into that extra session. Sometimes we just say that,
Speaker 3: but this we meant it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and you've you've done it a couple of times
Speaker 4: in it was Seattle Atlanta. What are some similarities with
Speaker 4: those teams, maybe in this one that kind of say, hey,
Speaker 4: this team or the structure of this team is built
Speaker 4: the right way.
Speaker 3: For me being along the journey with everybody and to
Speaker 3: see the leaders lead and have high standards logan about
Speaker 3: how you practice, how you meet, how you do walkthroughs,
Speaker 3: and those things matter, man. They carry over into the
Speaker 3: games and knowing that they're willing to make the sacrifices
Speaker 3: that's needed to play well and teammate to teammate. You've
Speaker 3: seen that what it looks like, what it feels like.
Speaker 3: And so there's a lot of players on this team
Speaker 3: that sacrifice a lot knowing that they're willing to give
Speaker 3: it up for one another.
Speaker 1: And coach, we talk a lot about those winning time moments. Yes,
Speaker 1: so you're heading into overtime at home, what is your
Speaker 1: message to these guys to get their mindset right for
Speaker 1: that overtime drab.
Speaker 3: You know, going out when you're in overtime, obviously you
Speaker 3: want the ball. So we're going to take that first.
Speaker 3: If you get a chance to go and score, and
Speaker 3: that's the game. So we're going to be pretty aggressive
Speaker 3: into that spot if we had our chances to be
Speaker 3: and I thought jaden Man in that drive alone was
Speaker 3: just on it and like all the way down the
Speaker 3: field and we took a time out at the end,
Speaker 3: I could see him and Marcus talking their communication together
Speaker 3: and an absolute rip to Zach. So those winning time
Speaker 3: moments we practice him a lot, knowing that you know
Speaker 3: what could happen, what's the scenario, what's the situation, and
Speaker 3: being comfortable in those spots that's a big deal.
Speaker 4: And so again you probably practiced two minutes quite a
Speaker 4: bit third down, you know he's second and long. But
Speaker 4: how much do you talk about or practice overtime scenario
Speaker 4: because I was thinking back to when I played, and
Speaker 4: I don't know if we we talked about I don't
Speaker 4: if we did it that much.
Speaker 3: We did it two weeks ago going into Philadelphia, and
Speaker 3: we did an overtime as part of our two minute
Speaker 3: at the end to say this isn't fast. You know,
Speaker 3: this is irregular because in the overtime ten minute period,
Speaker 3: there's a two minute that would come up at the end,
Speaker 3: just like a quarter, you get two time out. There's
Speaker 3: no challenge for me, only from the booth. So going
Speaker 3: through those will be good and in a few weeks
Speaker 3: will adjust those guidelines for what it means in the playoffs,
Speaker 3: because it's not the same regulations in the regular season
Speaker 3: as is in the postseason. So we'll wait till then
Speaker 3: until we discuss those. But yeah, we stay on a
Speaker 3: pretty regular case.
Speaker 2: That fantastic.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's we just want the guys feel comfortable in
Speaker 3: those spots and.
Speaker 1: Culture as we turn the page to today's game. Dallas
Speaker 1: a tough place to play, as you know, what is
Speaker 1: the biggest key to finding success here in Dallas?
Speaker 3: You know, it's a It is a tough environment. The
Speaker 3: fans are fantastic in Dallas. They long time tradition, you know,
Speaker 3: there with the team, So it can get loud, and
Speaker 3: that if you can handle the noise, you know, that's
Speaker 3: then it's an even playing field. And so that's usually
Speaker 3: the trick when you play at a stadium that can
Speaker 3: get rocking to go, you gotta be able to handle
Speaker 3: the noise.
Speaker 4: And so much of that is probably predicated on being
Speaker 4: effective offensively and you're going to be quiet, right like?
Speaker 4: And how important is that going to be.
Speaker 3: In different snap counts and different cadence is and different
Speaker 3: silent counts. And the offensive line is really at the
Speaker 3: front of that, and they have their ways, different silent ways,
Speaker 3: and so.
Speaker 2: We'll work through that all through the week.
Speaker 3: Knowing that there'll be some times when you know, no cadence,
Speaker 3: no clap everything on socier and we'll need that. But
Speaker 3: like I said, the offensive line, quarterbacks, everybody, we have
Speaker 3: our ways and we do that sometimes and walk through.
Speaker 3: There is no verbal communication, you know on these next
Speaker 3: you know plays, and so we try to make it
Speaker 3: loud at practice, but nothing can simulate, you know, an
Speaker 3: in game environment.
Speaker 4: So when I was with you in Atlanta, you guys
Speaker 4: did something and I always credit it to Matt Ryan,
Speaker 4: but maybe it's yours where he would whisper for walkthrough,
Speaker 4: So yes, he'd whisper the cadence, he'd whisper the snapcount.
Speaker 4: Is that is that something you've brought from him? Or
Speaker 4: who gave you that? Greg nap Yeah, Greg nap Man.
Speaker 3: And so make the people listen, make them engage to
Speaker 3: pay attention. And you can see it on TV at
Speaker 3: a stadium when everybody is putting their helmet into the huddle,
Speaker 3: not this way, but really trying to dig in and listen.
Speaker 3: And I don't know if there's one, you know stadium this
Speaker 3: ticks out one to another for you where you had
Speaker 3: to put your help and those are ones that you
Speaker 3: have to be ready for that and Dallas is one
Speaker 3: of those spots.
Speaker 1: It seems like every week we watch our defense and
Speaker 1: they continue to improve. Big, big moments are happening. Qualm
Speaker 1: Martin's an interception to start the game was huge. How
Speaker 1: can our defense continue to approve today?
Speaker 2: Against Dallas?
Speaker 3: We thought, you know, getting a fast start would be
Speaker 3: a big deal for us, and so they decided to
Speaker 3: take the ball talking about Atlanta to you know, on
Speaker 3: the opening drive and so to get the interception early
Speaker 3: and then go get a touchdown, we call that making
Speaker 3: them pay. You know, here's the takeaway and then you
Speaker 3: go get you know, the touchdown and get points off
Speaker 3: of it.
Speaker 2: So that was an important start for us.
Speaker 3: That's starting fast, and anytime you can get that kind
Speaker 3: of momentum going early, that's a big deal for your team.
Speaker 4: And so not easy to get the interception, but you
Speaker 4: had two sacks, which again, like I think they're really
Speaker 4: cool plays because the coverage is supporting the rush and
Speaker 4: the rush is kind of coming to life. How do
Speaker 4: you kind of build off some of that stuff that
Speaker 4: the guys did well.
Speaker 3: I love the use of the stunts and game. And
Speaker 3: two of the sacks caused fumbles and we didn't get
Speaker 3: the ball. And so I love when we hit it
Speaker 3: in a sack because anytime you knock the ball out,
Speaker 3: that is a sack. And so both Dante and Dornce
Speaker 3: both got it, and so we got to make sure
Speaker 3: that you can, you know, finish that play with getting
Speaker 3: the ball out, but having rushers, you know, when the
Speaker 3: space is there, beat Chip plans do things. We'll need
Speaker 3: you be at our best again, you know at Dallas and.
Speaker 2: Coach you got Jonathan Allen back.
Speaker 1: And on pregame, our pregame show, we have the camera
Speaker 1: on the field and we see this big scrum, this breakdown,
Speaker 1: and in the middle of it is Jonathan Allen getting
Speaker 1: the boys right.
Speaker 2: His first game back. How important is it to have
Speaker 2: him back and how did he help this team?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's honestly, it's great to have him back because
Speaker 3: you're adding another player with that type of style and
Speaker 3: attitude that he can bring to the team. And so
Speaker 3: we had a certain you know, amount of snaps that
Speaker 3: you know, we allotted him to play in this game.
Speaker 3: As he's on his way back and we'll do, you know,
Speaker 3: a little bit more as we're going into Dallas. But
Speaker 3: just having his presence back and his strength back, Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's really cool.
Speaker 4: And you know, I think it kind of allowed you
Speaker 4: to use some guys in some different ways. You know,
Speaker 4: Praying gets to play defensive end, Holmes comes in, plays
Speaker 4: in and just some different packages. And I'm sure that
Speaker 4: flexibility is helpful, right, And I think his presence helps
Speaker 4: out helps him.
Speaker 3: It does because it does allow you to mix and
Speaker 3: match when you want to load up on the run
Speaker 3: or change it up into a certain group to pass.
Speaker 3: And so having him back, you know, because he got
Speaker 3: injured against Baltimore, so it's been a long time.
Speaker 2: So to get him back in the in the rhythm. Man,
Speaker 2: he's he's really worked.
Speaker 1: Hard and Coach, We've talked to other players and they've
Speaker 1: said that his presence was still felt even when he
Speaker 1: wasn't around. How impressed were you by John than because
Speaker 1: you know, this is your first time getting to work
Speaker 1: with him, seeing him and how he handled being injured.
Speaker 2: And still stay so involved with this team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he had a very good demeanor throughout and oftentimes
Speaker 3: when you're injured there's a really high and low emotional
Speaker 3: you know cost that goes with that.
Speaker 2: You know, you feel detached.
Speaker 3: From the team when you're not playing, and so the
Speaker 3: fact that there was a hook at the end to
Speaker 3: say you can come back, that was a big deal
Speaker 3: because oftentimes that injury can be season ending and that's
Speaker 3: sometimes the hardest one for a ball players would know
Speaker 3: as a teammate er, this season's done. You don't get
Speaker 3: to come back. And he had a sense that this
Speaker 3: was a crew that you know, had a lot to
Speaker 3: play for, and so having that hook out there to say,
Speaker 3: if you hit all these markers, you know, then you
Speaker 3: got a shot to come do it, and man, he
Speaker 3: hit them all and then some.
Speaker 1: And coach Logan touched on how our defensive guys have
Speaker 1: all been ready to that next man up mentality, but
Speaker 1: on the offense we see the same thing. C rot
Speaker 1: all the media guys are stepping up. As a coach,
Speaker 1: how do you keep these guys ready and prepared.
Speaker 2: For when the numbers called?
Speaker 3: You know, we have one standard and so if Logan
Speaker 3: was a tight end, it's not just the three guys
Speaker 3: that are up, you know, Cole Turner also has to
Speaker 3: be ready and so everybody in that room has the
Speaker 3: responsibility ready. You just don't know when your numbers called.
Speaker 3: So whether that's a running back at offensive line, it's
Speaker 3: not just the forty eight that are playing. We have
Speaker 3: a seventy man roster, including all the practice squad, and
Speaker 3: so every one of those seventy if called upon, they
Speaker 3: have to be ready to deliver. So they get reps
Speaker 3: at practice, they're quizzed in the same way. So there's
Speaker 3: no red shirting here. You've got to be ready. Not
Speaker 3: to say everybody plays, but you do have to be ready.
Speaker 4: Is there anybody that surprised you with how they've been
Speaker 4: able to stay ready because it's tough.
Speaker 3: It's really hard. And Chris Rodriguez comes to mind where
Speaker 3: he started off, you know, practice squad, not a lot
Speaker 3: of reps to go, so he would be one that
Speaker 3: absolutely jumps out to me. On the defensive side, I
Speaker 3: would say Michael Walker, although he hasn't played a lot,
Speaker 3: he's done a lot on teams. He practices, he's got command,
Speaker 3: he can make the calls to go. That would be
Speaker 3: another one. So Carl Davis thought, and you know, three
Speaker 3: turns for him to come up off the practice squad
Speaker 3: played square and strong, and so there's a number of
Speaker 3: players that you know, when called upon, they're really ready
Speaker 3: to deliver. And it's a big responsibility. And so I
Speaker 3: don't view our team as a team and then a
Speaker 3: practice squad.
Speaker 2: It's just one roster.
Speaker 3: I don't differentiate that some are just inactive for the games.
Speaker 1: And I think one thing that's probably surprised a lot
Speaker 1: of people was the strength of zach Ertz and what
Speaker 1: he's been able to do this he's especially how he's
Speaker 1: finished this season. What are you seeing from him that
Speaker 1: we don't see on the field, in the locker rooms,
Speaker 1: in the weight rooms. What is the work he's doing
Speaker 1: to be able to still play at such a high level.
Speaker 2: You know what.
Speaker 3: He's been a man on a mission for the whole time,
Speaker 3: and last season didn't go well for him. Wasn't sure
Speaker 3: where his career was even going to go and would
Speaker 3: he be able to play still, And so coming here
Speaker 3: took a leap of faith and Adam and myself, but
Speaker 3: he also really put the work in. We knew he
Speaker 3: was a good route runner, and would he have a
Speaker 3: role in the red zone and on third down? And
Speaker 3: he did, and then some and built it more into
Speaker 3: the offense and more, and he's got great standards about him.
Speaker 3: He's been an excellent teammate to these other tight ends
Speaker 3: to the quarterback, and so he is really taken advantage
Speaker 3: of this op and really made an impact on our team.
Speaker 4: But you can tell that with how he runs routes
Speaker 4: and his preparation all that stuff. But the thing that
Speaker 4: surprised me in the game was, I don't think you
Speaker 4: had fifty six yards in him still like like that.
Speaker 4: So it's great to see him kind of make that happen, you.
Speaker 2: Know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Yeah, we uh, we give him a little, you know while,
Speaker 3: but his presence is felt. He's got honestly command like
Speaker 3: you logan, really like he can think like a quarterback.
Speaker 3: Why is my split here? What if I was out here?
Speaker 3: He can see the game from the view of his
Speaker 3: helmet differently, and not everybody can do that, but he can.
Speaker 3: He has a wide vision, man, He sees a lot
Speaker 3: and he's able to articulate it be in the right spots.
Speaker 2: Very quarterback friendly, very.
Speaker 1: Quarterback friendly coast is crazy to say this, but we
Speaker 1: are at our regular season finale, lesson with a season,
Speaker 1: what has been your message to the guys to finish
Speaker 1: out this season strong before the playoffs.
Speaker 3: We fight the matters on man all one day.
Speaker 4: You're gonna get it.
Speaker 2: I feel love it. I love the vestage. I need
Speaker 2: it every time you try to sneak that one into real.
Speaker 2: So what about this week, Coach.
Speaker 3: Let's just you know, roll the ball out there and
Speaker 3: see what happened. We got we left a lot uh
Speaker 3: on the field, we thought in our last game, and
Speaker 3: so we feel like we got a number of things
Speaker 3: for us to work on. And if we play like
Speaker 3: we're capable of, then anybody anywhere, anytime. But we got
Speaker 3: to work to do to be able to you know,
Speaker 3: play like we're capable that nobody has to put the
Speaker 3: kpe on. But we got to do what we do
Speaker 3: collectively really well.
Speaker 1: Coach, a huge game today. Can't wait to see you
Speaker 1: guys play. But before we do that, you and Logan
Speaker 1: got to get in that field. We'll appreciate your coach,
Speaker 1: all right, thanks guys.
Speaker 2: Commanded family, We know you are enjoying the game plan.
Speaker 1: However, if you want to see Coach and Logan Paul
Speaker 1: said break down plays in the film room, you could
Speaker 1: check that out on the Commander's YouTube page.
Speaker 2: Logan is always our ticket to a win. Are these
Speaker 2: must watch masters?
Speaker 1: And you only got like thirty seconds, So I'm gonna give.
Speaker 2: You one, brother. It's the very first one right here. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I love this.
Speaker 4: Michael Parsons versus the offensive line, And to me, this
Speaker 4: is maybe the thing that makes the game when you
Speaker 4: look at the first match of this guy, obviously defensive
Speaker 4: Player of the Year caliber player, but they moved him
Speaker 4: all around the front. He played in and he played tackle,
Speaker 4: play knows and everybody had to kind of find a
Speaker 4: way in a one on one matchup to deal with him.
Speaker 4: Can Cliff, can they work on a technique scheme to
Speaker 4: manage a sky because if they can, it's gonna help
Speaker 4: Jane Daniel stay upright and deliver that football down the field.
Speaker 1: All oys will be on Mark Michael Parson's and this
Speaker 1: matchup for the last time of the regular season for
Speaker 1: head coach Dan Quinn, Logan, Paulson, Brian cople Jr.
Speaker 2: This is the game plan.
Speaker 1: Let's get this win today over the Dallas Cowboys. Commanders Famy,
Speaker 1: you could catch us every Sunday on WSA nine Sunday
Speaker 1: mornings before your games. This is game plan with Brian Coble,
Speaker 1: junior Logan Paulson, IT coach Dan Quinn till next Sunday.
Speaker 2: Comanda's family. Yeah, m