NFC Notes: Jalen Hurts, Daron Payne, Commanders, Eagles, Giants

Commanders

When reflecting on last season which turned into a career year for the former first-round pick, Commanders DT Daron Payne said he found a personal system that “worked for me” going into 2022 and hopes to follow the same formula this offseason. 

“I found some things that was good for me, that worked for me, and I was able to make a whole lot more plays, and it really made the game way more fun, so I’m going to try to do that same thing and then try to take it up a notch and get some more sacks and make some more disruptive plays,” said Payne, via Mark Inabinett of AL.com. 

Payne’s goal last season was to finish with 10 sacks and is now aiming at 13 sacks with more tackles for loss and forced fumbles. 

“Last year, I went into it with a goal of 10 sacks, and I got eleven and a half,” Payne said. “So I think I’m going to shoot for 13 and whole bunch of TFLs and forced fumbles.”

As for his four-year, $90 million extension, Payne is glad to have negotiations past him so he can focus purely on football. 

“It just feels good not to have to worry about the confusion,” Payne said. “I just get to go out here and play football. I get to invest a lot into myself. And I got all the big bucks. Now I can help other people and do things I always wanted to do.”

Eagles

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and new OC Brian Johnson have a relationship that goes back further than most people actually realize. Johnson coached Hurts in high school and college and is a friend of his family, meaning they already have an understanding of what to expect from each other.

Johnson believes things just worked out this way and Hurts is excited about what the two can do together, believing that Johnson will eventually wind up as a head coach. 

“He’s going to be a star one day. He’s going to be a big-time head coach one day,” Hurts said, via Tim McManus of ESPN. “Hopefully we can keep him here as long as we possibly can, but nonetheless I’m proud of him and it’s definitely just the beginning for the both of us. I’ve known him for a very long time. He’s been a guy that’s always been around in my life, always been someone that’s been a family friend. Me watching him play growing up and seeing how things have shaken out, him being a quarterback coach for two years now being the offensive coordinator, I think it’s going to be good for us and I think that can definitely be a benefit for us with the relationship that we have.”

“The most successful guys all share some of the same qualities in terms of their determination, how they handle adversity, their competitive spirit, leadership qualities. I think all the stuff that’s really intangible separates guys once the talent level kind of equals out,” Johnson said of Hurts. “There was no question in my mind that he had the talent. But then you saw his presence, you felt his presence. It was something that to me, I thought, he has a chance to be a great player. Somebody always has a plan. It wasn’t my plan. But there’s a plan out there for us all. It wasn’t meant for us to be able to work together while he was in college but it all works out how it’s supposed to.”

Giants

Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux is looking forward to improving his sack numbers entering his second year with the team. Thibodeaux added that he’s focused on finishing plays.

“Getting sacks, finishing,’’ Thibodeaux said, via the New York Post. “There were a lot of times when I had a good pass rush that I didn’t finish. You realize the guy on the other side of the line is paid a lot of money. They’re not going to let him get touched. Continuing to sharpen the end of my rush, that third phase and make sure I start to finish.’’

Thibodeaux admitted that he realized he wasn’t going to hit the sack total he set out for himself his rookie year.

“When you go four or five games with no sacks you start to realize ‘Forget that number,’” Thibodeaux said. “What can I do to just make a play? Come the Baltimore game it was like ‘OK, I’ve got to make a play. I don’t really have time to think about the goals I had. I’ve got to go for something now.’”