ASHBURN, Va. — In his first year in the NFL, Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin says he had to adjust to the speed of the game and the lifestyle that comes with playing at the highest level of football.
Football as a job hits a bit differently than football as an aspiration, but there’s still room for goals for the Commanders safety who says there isn’t much he does in his off-time that doesn’t involve some kind of game film being run alongside it. All part of doing what he can off the field to make sure his performance on it helps get his team their next win.
“You got to, man, just to stay above and just keep a step on your opponent,” Martin told WUSA9’s Chick Hernandez in an exclusive interview Wednesday. “You just got to do extra outside the building. There's only so much we can do inside, so just take advantage of the time you have at home, whether you lying in bed, watching a movie - whatever you doing, man. Just always trying to have some kind of film rolling. Really just looking through your notes just to stay ahead of the game.”
STANDARDS REQUIRE SACRIFICE AND LEAD TO SUCCESS
It’s all part of the sacrifice Washington head coach Dan Quinn discussed after his team returned home following a full week away in search of a 2-0 record over the past two weeks.
Martin and his teammates accepted that sacrifice just as they do any other, with a determination to make the most of it. While the idea of sacrificing to succeed at the highest level isn’t a new one, it’s one that not all teams follow as well as this Commanders one appears to be through the first quarter of the season.
In that same vein, every team in the NFL will talk about standards. Yet, for Martin, he says that’s the biggest difference between his 2023 rookie campaign and this one. Not just talking about standards, but actually setting them.
“Nobody's above the standard and we just play together as a family, as a team,” he says. “Just continuing to go out and work hard and just trying to go places that we haven't been.”
One of those places is the NFL Playoffs. Technically speaking, the Commanders have never made it to the postseason - of course, we’re also only in the second year of that name’s existence.
For Washington as a franchise, it's been three seasons between appearances and 18 since a postseason win.
BUILDING WINNERS FROM WINNING
In that stretch, linebacker Bobby Wagner has played in 16 playoff games and won nine of them, including a Super Bowl.
With that experience comes an expectation of leadership, and the ability to push teammates to a whole new level. Martin says Wagner has been delivering on that expectation and more.
When asked what the Commanders are getting with Wagner in the building, Martin said, “A leader. A guy who going to run the show, run the team, and just hold everybody to the same standard. He's going to continue to push us, push me just to be more vocal and he's done that through OTAs, through camp, and he's just a guy you don't want to let down on the field.”
Perhaps that’s the secret sauce going around Washington. Veterans not only lead younger teammates but encourage them to find their own voices, and through them finding new ways to influence winning football.
Calling him a coach on the field feels a little too cliche for what Martin says Wagner is bringing to the organization. But it's the popular phrase most would likely use.
Martin is feeling good about the trajectory of his team, and his own personal growth on the field, and like everyone in the organization is looking forward to getting back on the field in front of a home crowd this weekend.
The Washington Commanders play host to the Cleveland Browns inside Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland at 1 p.m. ET.