NFC Notes: Sam Howell, Dan Quinn, Ron Rivera, Mazi Smith, Commanders, Cowboys

Commanders

Commanders QB Sam Howell doesn’t seem concerned about taking hits each game, saying he used to run the ball a lot when he was younger so it doesn’t bother him much. There are still issues that can come with your quarterback being hit consistently and both HC Ron Rivera and OC Eric Bieniemy are aware of it. 

“Growing up I used to run the ball 20, 30 times a game,” Howell said, via John Keim of ESPN. “I’m used to, after games, hardly being able to walk. When I get done with an NFL game I feel great…There’s definitely a time and place for my aggressive mentality as far as running the football but for the most part, I just want to protect myself. I mean, I’m not running anybody over in the NFL anyway. So just try to do a better job of trying and protect myself and just move on to the next play…I’m tired of talking about it.”

“There’s growing pains,” Rivera noted. “The biggest thing that you see is that his eyes are up,” Rivera said of Howell when under pressure. “So, when he steps up into the pocket, he’s not looking around as much as he’s looking downfield, and that’s one of the big keys I know that [Bieniemy] talks about all the time.”

“You want to make sure that you’re taking care of your quarterback,” Bieniemy commented last week. “Some of that is self-inflicted wounds by him, but also too, I mean, we’re a team, and collectively, we all take our share in the blame.”

Cowboys

Cowboys DC Dan Quinn was asked about the possibility of DT Mazi Smith having a breakout performance against the Giants in Week 10.

“I think you saw Mazi with the TFL, kind of looping around,” Quinn told reporters, via the team website. “It’d be nice if you just add water and you [get] instant kick-ass but it takes time and coaching to get there, and he is certainly doing that. I thought [Sunday] was more of what we’ve seen in practice, so to see him come through like that and play well, being aggressive and taking his shots, he had some good pass rushes as well, sometimes you need that one moment to help kick you going. The inside player, we oftentimes measure somebody just on their sacks if you’re a defensive lineman, but what impact do they have on the game?”