Nolan Smith Jr. #3 of the Philadelphia Eagles sacks Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey says his former team, the Washington Commanders, have a “winning formula” in place.
The Commanders are coming off of an extremely surprising season, advancing to the NFC Championship Game with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Washington not only won their first playoff game since the 2005 season, they became just the sixth team in NFL history to advance to the conference championship game with a rookie quarterback at the helm.
Bailey says the combination of Daniels at quarterback and the right owners — Josh Harris and Magic Johnson are a part of the ownership group — have led to the Commanders' sudden success.
“You have to get the right players, but in order to get the right players, you got to have the right people picking them,” said Bailey in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of Trulieve, the world's largest cannabis retailer. “I think once Josh Harris and that group took over, you add Magic Johnson to the mix, you have a winning formula. They've proven that they can draft very well, picking up a quarterback like Jayden Daniels. There were other distractions out there and picks you could have had. He's been the perfect fit for that city.”
The Commanders faced a lot of turmoil in recent years under the leadership of previous owner Dan Snyder. Snyder was fined $60 million — the largest penalty levied against an NFL owner — for sexual harassment of a former cheerleader and marketing employee of the Commanders.
In 24 seasons under Snyder's lead, the Commanders had just six playoff appearances and never advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs.
Bailey started his career in Washington as a first-round draft pick in 1999. He played five seasons in Washington before he was traded to the Denver Broncos. The 46-year-old Hall of Fame cornerback details how passionate the football fan base is in Washington.
“I'm just happy for them to get back on track,” said Bailey.
“The funny thing about their fan base is they've been loyal all this time -- the 20 or so years of misery that they've lived through. They've stuck with that franchise, and it's probably the most loyal and one of the undervalued fan bases in professional sports. I think people are going to start taking notice. It's good to see them win.”
The addition of Daniels has fast-tracked their success. Just a year after finishing 4-13 and firing their previous head coach, Ron Rivera, the Commanders won two playoff games and improved to a record of 12-5. Bailey says the “sky's the limit” for the Commanders with Daniels at the helm.
“A couple other guys proved this as well, that you have to have a mobile quarterback to win in this league today,” said Bailey.
“You just can't be one-dimensional. Your best chance is to have a quarterback that can get those tough fourth downs and convert those third and shorts. It's inevitable that all the teams will start looking for it. The sky's the limit with this franchise.”
Bailey says in order for the Commanders to get to the next level, they need to improve on defense. While the Commanders ranked fifth in points scored, they ranked 18th in points allowed.
“Defensively, I think it's where they need the most work,” said Bailey. “You obviously want to keep your quarterback fresh. They have a solid O-line, but getting him more weapons, I think they do need to add another receiver on the offensive side. I brought up defense first because that's where you saw the points in that loss to the Eagles.”
The Commanders allowed 55 points in their NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The game was already over by the fourth quarter, leading Philadelphia to sit starters such as Saquon Barkley during the closing minutes of the game.
While the Offensive Rookie of the Year race is a tight one, with fellow quarterback Bo Nix having led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs and Brock Bowers setting rookie records with his 112-reception, 1,194-yard season, Bailey says Daniels is “hands down” the rookie of the year.
“I feel like he did more with less,” said Bailey of Daniels when compared to Nix. “He just did more with less. He won some big games this year and winning 12 games with expectations of hopefully winning five games. That's so impressive. It's one of those franchise-changing moves, getting a guy like him, and he stood up to the task. I give it to him, hands down.”
DJ Siddiqi
