Latest news with #sophomoreslump
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels 'striving to be a perfect player'
A popular topic in a boring offseason for some was to predict that Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels would have a sophomore slump in 2025. Washington coaches and teammates disagree with that assessment because they see Daniels every day. Teammates and coaches see Daniels arrive first at the facility. They see Daniels never placing himself above the team, always rooting his teammates on, from long snapper Tyler Ott to star wide receiver Terry McLaurin. They also see how hard he works, not just in the weight room and on the practice field, but in the meeting rooms, too. Daniels is always looking for ways to improve and gain an edge over that week's opponent. ESPN SportsCenter visited Washington's training camp on Sunday, and Daniels joined the set where he discussed everything from staying grounded to his expectations for himself. "I think it's the humility part, being grounded and never letting your ego, especially in the quarterback room, we always say, 'Check your egos at the door,' and that's the main thing they harp on," Daniels said. "Because everybody has egos. Everybody is selfish in their own ways. As human beings, that's just human nature. But for us, it's like, 'How can I just go out there and take that away from me?' Push the ego out of the way, and how can I be able to grow and get better because I still got so much to learn. I'm striving to be a perfect player." How many other young quarterbacks talk like that? Daniels is different. After coming off a record-breaking rookie year in which he led Washington to its best season in 33 years, Daniels is looking for ways to get better. He's looking for ways to get past the Eagles. While no human being is perfect, on and off the field, there's nothing wrong with striving to be perfect. Good luck to those who predicted a sophomore slump. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels 'striving to be a perfect player'
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Regression or progression for Commanders QB Jayden Daniels in 2025?
This week, there was more talk about Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels potentially experiencing an NFL sophomore slump. But in this case, the two hosts weren't buying the talk of Daniels falling into the dreaded sophomore slump. Nope, Robert Mays and Derrick Klassen on their "The Athletic Football Show" podcast actually held firmly that they don't see Daniels falling off drastically. Advertisement For example, they discussed how NFL teams will adjust their strategies this year and employ different blitzes against Daniels. Thus, yes, a quarterback's performance against the blitz can vary from year to year. When suggesting that Daniels could fall back slightly against the blitz, a reference came to how, when being blitzed late in a game, he threw a deep touchdown. That no doubt was referring to the MNF win, when Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin down the right sideline, in the end zone, ensuring the Commanders' road win in Cincinnati over the Bengals. It was admitted that though Daniels might not maintain the rate to make a large gain against the blitz, the two ended up agreeing that they actually can easily see Daniels making enough of the plays he needs to make against blitzes in 2025. Comical is not the accurate description when listening, however, it was evident that both hosts agreed that when watching the film of the 2024 games, Daniels showed more than a few times that under duress, he already had an understanding of where to go with the football against certain blitzes. No, Daniels was not in the top ten quarterbacks in yards passing, but that's okay; he wasn't in the top ten in passing attempts either. Advertisement Maintaining a level of objectivity, Daniels did have a weakness last season of taking sacks. Being sacked 47 times, he was sacked the sixth most by an NFL quarterback in 2024. How much of that was the line? How much of that was Daniels? It's not a simplistic answer, as there were times last year when the line was inadequate; there were also instances where Daniels is clearly holding the ball and ends up being sacked. One side note, I recall numerous times when Daniels didn't throw the ball away and instead ran, only to get sacked for a loss of only a yard or two. Look for Daniels to be more consciously aware in this second NFL to taking sacks vs throwing away the ball. Who knows, having the same offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury), might the learned familiarity with the same offense, result in Daniels not experiencing a slump at all? This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Will Jayden Daniels experience a 'sophomore slump' in 2025?
National Post
10-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Can Dustin Wolf avoid sophomore slump?
There is no real reason to just assume that Dustin Wolf is going to suffer from a sophomore slump. Article content Wolf's performances in the crease for the Calgary Flames throughout the 2024-25 season not only earned him a Calder Trophy nomination, they were also a major factor in the Flames staying in the playoff fight right until the very end. Article content Article content If Wolf can avoid any regression, it will at least give the Flames a shot next season. Article content Can he, though? The sophomore slump is infamous in every sport and the idea that players in their second year often take a step back is almost accepted as fact. Article content Is it true for goalies, though? Article content If we look at the three most recent goaltenders who earned Calder Trophy nominations, it's hard to come up with any real consensus. Article content Previous Calder nominees in Year 2 Article content Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner is the most recent example. After posting a .914 save percentage in his Calder-nominated season, he followed it up by posting a .905 mark in 2023-24. Article content A couple years earlier, Alex Nedeljkovic posted a .932 save percentage with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2020-21 to a .901 the next season when he was with the Detroit Red Wings. Article content A few years prior to that, Jordan Binnington earned a Calder nomination after putting up a .927 save percentage in 2018-19 with the St. Louis Blues and then followed it up with a .912 the next season. Article content So yes, all three saw their save percentage dip the season after they were named as one of the top three rookies of the year. Article content Article content Article content There are, of course, external factors that need to be considered: The context matters. Article content It's worth noting that when we dig just a little bit deeper, we can find goalies who burst onto the scene in their first full seasons and didn't get nominated for the Calder who subsequently saw their numbers improve in Year 2. Igor Shesterkin would be the best example, having posted a .916 save percentage in 2020-21 and then jumping to .935 the next season. Article content So there's no hard rule that goalies automatically will regress. Even among the three recent Calder nominees we did mention, Binnington backstopped Canada to 4 Nations Face-Off glory in February while Skinner is playing in the Stanley Cup Final right now, so the season-to-season drops in save percentage only tell us so much.
