Doug Williams was within the course of of watching video of Jayden Daniels – who else? – earlier this week when he took a break to share some quarterback-on-quarterback perception.
The legend on the phenom. This guarantees to be good things.
“He’s always poised. He’s always thinking,” Williams informed USA TODAY Sports. “When you watch him, you know his mind is moving. He’s never under pressure, mentally. Even if he misses a guy, he finds a way to get some positive yards with his legs. But he doesn’t just use his legs to run. When you see him come out of the pocket, I can promise you he’s looking downfield. He’s just composed, man.
“It’s hard to imagine this with a young guy with four starts under his belt…It’s almost like he’s been here before.”
With Daniels heading into Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Cleveland Browns as one of many NFL’s most exceptional storylines from the primary month of the season – he is ignited the Washington Commanders (3-1) to 3 consecutive victories in spectacular trend, posted the best completion price (82.1%) throughout any four-game stretch for an NFL quarterback since not less than 1950 (minimal 100 passes) and put himself within the pole place for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors – Williams sounds as upbeat about this improvement as probably the most rabid D.C. soccer fan.
Yes, “PTI” Tony, the bandwagon, pushed by Daniels, is filling up once more. Lord is aware of, this battered franchise – which dropped its racist group identify in 2020 – wanted Daniels to come back alongside to guide the makeover for a brand new period.
Yet for Williams, 69, who made historical past in 1988 as the primary Black quarterback to start out and win a Super Bowl, it's deeper than that. That’s why he seems like a proud uncle, too.
“It means a lot to me because of where we come from,” stated Williams, the Super Bowl XXII MVP. “You hate to say it’s because he’s a young, African-American man, but to see him doing what he’s doing because of yesteryear, to be in the same building, watching him every day, to me, that’s a plus, man. It does my heart great just to be here.”
Williams needn't clarify something about his cultural delight for Daniels. Sure, roughly half the beginning quarterbacks within the NFL are African-American. But throughout Williams’ heyday, there have been barely any. When Warren Moon got here into the NFL in 1984 with the Houston Oilers, he was the league’s solely Black quarterback. Williams, at the moment, toiled within the USFL. And when Williams landed on the massive Super Bowl stage, his race was solid as the most important storyline.
And let’s not neglect that means earlier than Williams, Washington was the final NFL franchise to interrupt the so-called shade line and have a Black participant.
Think Daniels has tapped Williams as a strolling useful resource to study such historical past? Not fairly.
“He hasn’t,” Williams stated, “but you know what I believe? He hasn’t said it with his words, but he’s shown it with his actions.”
During pregame warmups at Arizona on Sunday, Daniels threw the soccer round as he wore a T-shirt emblazed with Williams’ picture. It was one other instance of how the 23-year-old pays homage to the in-house legend. Before his preseason debut in August, Daniels strolled into MetLife Stadium rocking a No. 17 Williams throwback jersey.
“He has shown so much respect to me,” Williams stated. “It warms my heart. There’s no way I can’t give it back to him.”
During the ultimate minute of the 42-14 blowout at Arizona (through which Daniels handed for 233 yards and a landing, plus rushed for 47 yards and a rating), Williams embraced the younger quarterback on the sideline and whispered an encouraging message in his ear.
It was a traditional picture that was made for TV, historical past books and for, properly, going viral on the Internet. My USA TODAY colleague, Mike Freeman, tweeted it out, with this suggestion: “Put this in the Louvre.”
The symbolism is hanging, however for Williams and Daniels, it’s private. After all, Daniels’ mom, Regina Jackson, was one of many dozens of people that texted Williams the picture of the viral second along with her son.
“You know what it is? I’ve known Jayden for a while,” Williams stated of the sideline snapshot. “It’s just a carryover of respect, from a standpoint of what he’s given me and what I’ve given him. It’s good to be in the same building with a young guy like Jayden, who don’t have no diva in him. You know what I mean?
“For me, I’m just a guy that he can lean on and talk to – not about football, because he’s got a bunch of coaches. I don’t talk to him about that. I just tell him to keep doing what he’s doing.”
Williams and Daniels met in 2018. Daniels was at Arizona State (the place he performed for 3 seasons earlier than transferring to LSU and successful the Heisman Trophy) and attended a panel dialogue concerning the historical past of Black quarterbacks. Williams was joined on that panel by James “Shack” Harris and Marlin Briscoe, who in 1968 turned the primary Black beginning quarterback in fashionable professional soccer.
“Who’d ever thought back then that I’d be in the same building with this young man every single day?” Williams stated. “I wouldn’t have.”
Interestingly, Washington’s new regime, headed by coach Dan Quinn and normal supervisor Adam Peters, introduced Williams again into the fold within the soccer operations this 12 months after he was pushed apart by the earlier regime headed by Ron Rivera. Williams saved a job however was relegated to non-football tasks whereas working beneath group president Jason Wright. Years in the past, when Bruce Allen served as GM, Williams had a big function within the personnel division.
He’s elated to be again on the soccer aspect, formally because the senior advisor to the final supervisor. He stated from the second Quinn turned the brand new coach, the vibe modified.
“It wasn’t somebody threatened by whoever’s in the building, compared to the last regime,” Williams stated, undoubtedly taking a shot at Rivera. “That’s how Dan, the ownership (headed by Josh Harris) and Adam looked at it: Why not have Doug around here?”
In his new function, Williams breaks down video to investigate personnel, assembly recurrently with Peters and assistant GM Martin Mayhew to share his insights. He’s not concerned deeply with the teaching however raves concerning the versatility that offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has employed in calling the sport plans to help Daniels. Quinn, he added, has completed a lot to maintain the hoopla in examine.
“He lets everybody know: We ain’t made it yet,” Williams stated.
Williams is aware of. Football seasons – and careers – have their twists and turns. He’s inspired that the rookie has his head on straight and has exhibited an amazing work ethic. He’s additionally gained over teammates and, properly, balled out.
“He’s been incredible,” Williams stated. “You’re reluctant to crown him, but you can’t help but notice what has transpired over the last four weeks. I think he realizes it, too. That’s the good part about it.”
Given the place Washington’s franchise has been and what Daniels might signify, the expectations for this new chapter are clearly monumental. It figures that Williams can assist the rookie take care of it.
“It’s early,” he stated. “You don’t want to put no pressure on the kid. You want him to play football. You don’t even want to bring it to his attention. You don’t even want to talk about it. We’ve still got a long way to go.
“The fans are excited, and they’ve got a reason to be excited. But if you work in the football office here, that’s what you try to protect against.”
Which is clearly a superb drawback for the Commanders to have about now.
