ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders have pegged quarterback Jayden Daniels as the franchise's latest hope.
Now the goal is to protect him.
They're doing so with a rebuilt offensive line one season after allowing a franchise-record 65 sacks, but believe a new scheme, a mobile quarterback who makes quicker decisions, and a revamped interior will see them succeed. They also know talking about it now won't alleviate any concerns.
"The only thing that really gets people to not worry about that," Commanders offensive line coach Bobby Johnson said, "is to have success and produce."
Despite the big number last season, the sack total wasn't solely on the offensive line. Playcalling and rookie quarterback Sam Howell holding onto the ball too long were also major factors. But guard Sam Cosmi says he's liked what he's seen so far and believes new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's scheme will better keep defenses "second-guessing" a season after Washington attempted the most passes in the NFL.
"We're doing stuff to always trick the defense and it just helps a ton. ... We're trying to take as much as we can off his plate, but he's been doing really good adjusting to Kliff's playcalling and I feel like it's accommodating his style of play as well."
Washington coach Dan Quinn said a big key is marrying the concepts of the run game to the pass game, helping with play-action and providing further protection. The Commanders, for example, have pulled their interior linemen on both runs and passes this preseason.
"The run action with the play pass and the runs, that's where the secret sauce is," Quinn said.
Another factor: Howell had the ninth-highest time before being sacked last season, which coaches attributed to slow decision-making. Johnson said Daniels' presence should help alleviate those issues.
"He makes it easy because he's a quick decision-maker," Johnson said. "He gets the ball out and hey, if all else fails, he's got great legs and he can take off on you. That can put some pressure on the defense; they've got to be sound in the rush lanes. If they get off a rush lane and he sees a seam, he can go."
The offensive line itself has been more difficult to get a read on at times this summer, where injuries and absences have created a rotating cast of players.
Veteran right tackle Andrew Wylie has been limited for more than a week with what the team describes as "tightness." And Wylie, rookie left tackle Brandon Coleman (shoulder/pec) and veteran swing tackle Cornelius Lucas (personal reasons) all missed the preseason opener against the New York Jets.
Lucas will play Saturday against the Miami Dolphins, and Wylie looks likely to play as well. But Coleman has not practiced since Aug. 4.
The only thing that has gone to plan on the unit has been the interior. Guards Nick Allegretti and Cosmi and center Tyler Biadasz have received plenty of work together. After a joint practice against the Jets, Allegretti said he and Biadasz "experienced a couple things" for the first time, allowing them to watch film and figure out how best to handle in the future.
In the preseason game against New York, the issues at tackle forced some interior lineman to play on the outside. But despite the revolving door, Allegretti said the unit's experience -- four-fifths of the projected starting lineup has been in the NFL for at least four years, and a possible fifth, Lucas, has started 47 games over 10 seasons -- is a reason to quell concerns about the unit.
"Ideally in a perfect world you'd have five guys, especially in the first group, just working together nonstop, and we haven't had that ability quite yet," Johnson said. "The good thing is we've had a pretty good consistency on the inside. That's where a lot of the communication goes down. Their communication really works from inside out."