Deebo Samuel, Mike Sainristil and a promising sign for the Commanders

Washington Post

3 days ago

After the Washington Commanders finished practice Wednesday, veteran receiver Deebo Samuel and second-year cornerback Mike Sainristil kept working out together in a moment that encapsulated the state of the team.
Samuel, who's entering his seventh season, ran about a dozen routes to show the young corner how receivers could use different release techniques at the line of scrimmage to create separation against him.
One big focus was refining how to stick to receivers who use an outside release to set up an inside route. Sainristil has seen such moves before, of course, but he wanted to see them again and again so his reactions would become automatic.
The moment was a metaphor. The team is Sainristil, a young upstart with lots of promise, and it wants to be Samuel, a proven winner and consistent presence in the biggest playoff games.
Their work together distilled the purpose of this space in the NFL calendar between the roster-building flurry of the spring and the training-camp battles of the summer. These offseason workouts, which will end next week with mandatory minicamp, are for experimentation, relationship-building and skill development.
'You would've thought he's been here the past five years of his career the way he's adjusted,' Sainristil said of Samuel. 'He's a guy that loves extra work, loves football, loves to win. So, any way I can pick his brain about what receivers do to help myself, I'm going to do exactly that.'
Coach Dan Quinn gushed about 'the environment that the players have created together.'
'We all know, to be at our best, it's gonna take all of us improving,' he said. 'If that's Mike asking Deebo a certain technique or vice versa, that's really where it takes place. And so, we take these times on the field seriously, 'cause it's not just the scheme, it's the individual skill work.'
There's a massive difference, Quinn pointed out, between knowing what to do and having the minute details ingrained in muscle memory.
'Be very specific; I think that's where the gold is,' he said. 'That's why I think the teaching this time of year has to shine on the coaches, and we've got some excellent ones because they'll get very specific on the certain techniques. 'Let's try that one again. Let's put the hand into this space.' You're not in a rush to get to the next play [like you are during the season]. … If they have to do it four or five times, that's okay.'
Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. recently did similar work. He had a group of safeties practice press technique against a tight end. That specific skill set might not always be top of mind for coaches. But it could matter a lot in a big moment of a big game if safety Will Harris has to press, say, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert.
It might not have been a coincidence that Wizards Coach Brian Keefe attended practice Wednesday.
'We learn a lot from the NBA [in terms of] what that small group would look like, of a specific two or three players getting better on something,' Quinn said.
Samuel said he knows there are things he needs to work on himself. His top goal of the offseason was 'being in better shape for sure,' he said, though he declined to detail what he focused on or how it would show up in his game. He pointed out he also needed to learn a new offense.
But Samuel showed through his work with Sainristil that he understands his value to the Commanders goes beyond his individual skills. He's been here just for a few weeks but has already embraced the word 'brotherhood,' the team's favorite way to express closeness.
'The guys in the locker room make it easy,' Samuel said. 'When I walked in the locker room, I felt like I've been here before because of how the guys treated me.'
Said Whitt: 'When we went on that three-game losing streak [last season], it wasn't anything other than the brotherhood that kept them together.'
The brief post-practice scene Wednesday carried all this subtle significance. Mentorship from talented veterans can help younger players — and therefore the team — actualize their potential. And the relationships built in those moments can help players stick together during tough times.