Dec. 8: DE Phillip Daniels

Blighty Skins

Hello from one of your British fans.

You've pretty much tackled every quarterback worth mentioning. Which one gave you the most satisfaction bringing down to Earth with a thump?

Keep up the good work Phillip! I'm in awe at your athleticism and muscular physique.

Phillip Daniels

Heh heh. I would have to say Drew Bledsloe. The four sack game I had, just to bring him down, everyone of those times. Ya know I loved it & our fans loved it. Anytime you can beat Dallas and do that against Dallas and get him on the ground, it's a good thing. It's wonderful. But the victory's more important.

shsu1

What are your reactions to one of your teammates on defense calling out Gregg Williams?

Phillip Daniels

I think that's bad because Gregg's had the #3 defense, he's had the #9 defense, and I think it's a bad thing for a player to call out a coach when it's not the coach's fault. Actually when you point that finger, you have that thumb pointing right back at you. A lot of the times it's us not running the schemes and not doing the things we need to do on the field. It's nothing to do with the coaches, or the players. If the players do their jobs, then the coaches will look good. Right now, as players, everybody's not doing their job.

ClintonPortis4MVP

Hey whats up? I was just wanting to say you are one of my favorite redskins on defense. I just wanted to know if there is anything you do or maybe eat before every game to get you focused on sacking the quarterback. Thank you and have a good rest of the season

Phillip Daniels

Well, the only thing I do is drink a little bit of lemon water, which is hydration. I think hydration is the key when going a long period of time during a game. Just drinking a lot of fluids and hydrating. I think that's the key to winning.

Sailskipper

When you are on the line, right before the snap, what is going through your mind? What reads do you make and how do you decide what move you will make?

Phillip Daniels

Please don't let me mess this up! :laugh:

When you have a big guy in front of you, I just read their stances. If I'm front of a Tackle, and he's leaning back, I know it's a pass. If he's got his weight going forward, then I know it's a run. If I can get that key, then it helps me do my job a lot easier.

panel

What DE of the past, if any, to you look up to and try to model your game after?

Phillip Daniels

Oh man. That's a tough one.

I'd say Reggie White. As far as playing. He was a physical guy on the field. Tossed people around. I don't have the strength he had, or the same frame as he had. But as far as being physical, I try to go out there every week and try to be physical and let them know I'm there.

Loyal2Washington

Why can't this defense get off the field in critical situations? It has been a staple of this defense for the previous two years to produce three and outs like they were going out of style. Now teams treat third and ten's like they are third and one's and seem to have little, if any, fear or respect for our defense. The pass rush has been horrid and the run defense has been gashed the entire year, is this a product of poor conditioning, poor defensive play selection, poor execution on the defensive players part, or a combination of all three?

I respect your ability to speak to the press and fans in a fair and open manner and I apologize for a hard frank question on a Redskin message board but we as fans are probably the most disappointed we have been in a very long time.

Phillip Daniels

I think one of the reasons we can't get off the field is that every guy has got to be where he needs to be to make the defense work. Sometimes, ya know, on third down, that's the thing. We couldn't get off on third downs most of the season. It's always one guy not doing his job or somebody being in the wrong spot. We just gotta come together and play as a unit. Everybody has to trust each other. I think trust is a major factor. If everybody trusts each other, then we can get off the field on third downs.

computerclone

Phillip

Watching you dominate last year was amazing... Hell of a job..

On to my questions.. Do the players or you really care what uniform colors you use? If so whats your fav?

Seems to me having contrast with other team colors is best given the time of day played. Is the contrast against other teams colors being considered when choosing?

Thanks for being "A WASHINGTON REDSKIN".. hope your here for along long time!"

Phillip Daniels

I care. Man I wish we could switch up a lot more because we get bored when you're wearing the same uniform all the time. We wore that white a long time and it kinda got boring, but I do like the scheme we're in now with the burgundy pants and the white jersey, but I wish we could go all burgundy. At least once. That's something I think we need to get our equipment staff to look at and hopefully next year we can do that.

SkinsTillIDie

Philip,

The defense has had a major setback this season, plain and simple. Other than using the cliched "missed tackles, lack of concentration" excuse, how can you possibly explain such a drop off in performance?

Phillip Daniels

Well, you know, everybody points the finger at us now, but we had two solid years. When you lose some players, like you know, we lost some players during the off season plus we got new guys here learning the scheme. So when you got that, sometimes it takes awhile to build that chemistry and to be together on the same page. I think that trust factor, like I said, trust in each other, is one of the reasons, but I think we're getting better every week. I think our coaches and Dan Snyder are smart enough to fix everything this off season.

Huly

Gas or charcoal?

Phillip Daniels

Charcoal!

That's the only way to go. That's the only way I cook.

Somewhere, in his absence, Art smiles.

the burgundy and gold

Phillip how has Andre Carter impacted you as a player?

Phillip Daniels

He's a great guy, ya know. It's good to play on the other side from him. Earlier in the year he took a lot of criticism. I told him to keep his head up and know he's playing the best ball that he's played in his career, I think. Just to be with him on the field. To be able to talk with him during plays. Let each other know that 'Hey, let's go get the Quarterback. Let's meet at the Quarterback.' Sometimes we can't get there because the ball comes out quick or they do something different on offense. But just to have that mentality to be able to look at a guy and know he can get to the Quarterback is real good.

Ax

Hey Phillip,

How hard was the to switch to the other side of the line for you?

What's most different about it?

Riggo-toni

How has switching sides on the line affected your play? Is it a big difference in technique, or does it feel less natural initially?

Also, you had something of a slow start at the beginning of your tenure here due to injuries, but came on strong the second half of last year and blossomed into a fan favorite. Up until the Falcons game, Andre Carter seemed to be going through a similar struggle this year, in terms of starting slowly in Williams' system. Did you ever come up with any words of encouragement for him, or would you like to say something to all the fickle fans who have been so eager to label him a bust?

Phillip Daniels

It wasn't hard because I played there in Chicago. It wasn't a bad switch for me. Like I've said, I kinda wished I coulda stayed on the right side because I got kinda familiar with that side at the end of the season. I had a great second run last year. But to bring someone in here like Andre Carter that can play that side and have a guy like me that can play both sides, I think that was a good thing. I don't have any complaints. I just want to help the team win any way I can.

Closing Statement by Phillip Daniels.

I'd just like to thank the fans for supporting us this year no matter win or lose, you guys make our season. Whenever you guys come out and cheer for us and we see that burgundy and gold up in the stands, you know that's all that matters. As long as you guys stay with us, we'll get it fixed and we'll have some good years to come.