January 11, 2025 • 29 mins
The playoffs are here! The Washington Commanders are heading back to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a rematch from Week 1. Senior Writer Zach Selby is joined by play-by-play voices Moises Linares and Bram Weinstein to break down how the Commanders have changed since September, key matchups and more.
Host: Zach Selby
Guests: Moises Linares, Bram Weinstein
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
What's up? What's going on, y'all? This is another episode
of the Beatdown podcast. How are we all doing? Welcome in,
and that breezier feeling of the last few days is
not just the foot of snow that's been so graciously falling,
and you know it's calling all of trouble. It is
playoff season. That's right. The Commanders are heading to the
playoffs for the first time since twenty twenty and playing
(00:28):
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers any rematch for Week one. It's
not the first time these teams have met in the postseason.
You remember last in twenty twenty of these guys met
when the hin heat height was just starting to starting
to brew and really hit a fever point there. But
they met several other times two thousand and five other
times throughout the team's history, and all the games have
been pretty close. They've been pretty crazy for one reason
(00:50):
or another, and this one is shaping quite the case again.
So how are we going to be discussing this? How
are we going to be adding another addition to this
play history. Well, that is what we're going to be
talking about today. And in a special edition, we had
both the play by play announcers for the commanders with me.
We had Brian Weinstein, who does the English version brand
(01:11):
how you doing good?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Zach?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Hello, doing all right? And we have Moies Leonaris who
is on the Spanish broadcast. But moyses, how are we doing? Man?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
We're excited, baby, let's sell Bran. How you doing baby?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Going on?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Already?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
You ready to start screaming again?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I'm already. You know, I was a little sick this week,
but I'm prepping a lot of tea, a lot of
you know, just ginger or whatever. Anything ginger helps. According
to the experts.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
We know both of you guys have gone viral for
various various calls of the year, and I will say
for both of you, I mean both of your calls
are fantastic. I'm sure this is You'll have plenty of
plenty of great highlights on this Sunday. I'm sadaying at
football at eight pm. But guys listening, they know the deal.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Here.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
We will be asking three questions from these guys and
they will be ge There were giving points at the
to beach round and like as always it is as
the host, it is my heavy burden to be giving
a winner out after this and it might be a
tough one here, but we we full soldier on no
matter what. Without all that being said, we were going
to get right into it. And I think we're gonna
(02:15):
start with the Commander's defense here, because that was something
that you know, you saw the pressure that the Commander
bringing against Baker maybe in that first matchup, and whether
it was just getting the ball out quickly or whether
it was just a lack of finishing tackles, they just
couldn't really quite generate the sacks that they wanted to
on Baker. Now he I mean, I didn quit even
(02:36):
said that he is an excellent player inside the pocket
and that's a very unique skill to have. But Brandon,
we'll start with you. Like when I would imagine obviously
the plans to get him on the ground as much
as possible. Again, but what do you think they can
do to generate more sacks and were pressure on Baker?
Speaker 4 (02:52):
So like that game feels like eons ago, right, I
mean it was I tell you this, Tampa Bay scored
on the seven nine possessions. If that happens again, Washington loses.
So that literally cannot happen again. And they've progressed and
gotten to be a prolific offense. They're the only team
in the NFL that's top five in most of the
(03:12):
major categories rush offense, scoring offense, all those things. Like.
So they've had what I think is an extremely under
the radar great season, not a good one, a great season,
and their offensive coordinators starting to get head coaching opportunity
interviews now. And I'm not surprised, especially after what we
saw week one. You know, I think some of it
was miscommunication, Like they openly admitted that the corner tandem
(03:33):
is very different than when it was Week one. Think
fact the starters were Emmanual Forbes, Benjamin Saint Juice, It's
probably going to be hopefully Marshall Latimore, Mike Sanders Stilt,
So it's completely different back end of the defense. I
think this team's playing with the playing speed and physicality
that Dan Quinn and Joe would have talked about all year.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I think that's going to be different. Frankly, they just
got to tackle better. And I think what's interesting about
Baker is he's, let's see.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
This year, he's double the amount of rush yard and
she's had in any other single season. So he's running
the ball more. But there's one thing about them that
this is what I love our opportunity. This is where
I love about our opportunity. This weekend, David preaching all
your ball's life, were going to hit the ball out,
Tampa Bay turns the ball over a lot. Baker Mayfield
has tied for most interceptions in the NFL this year.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
And there's one stat where I.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Think he's been lucky, and it goes along with all
this running stats that he's done. He's fumbled the ball
nine times, only lost one of them. That's lucky, right,
that's lucky. So the way that Washington is playing, with
the physicality, they're playing tackle better, Baker's going to give
you opportunities. My whole key for this thing is if
we can flip the ball, get two turnovers, pull the
ball as life, I think Washington gets out of there
(04:41):
with the win.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
And to that point, Baker, you know, not as start
with the fumbles, but he also leads the league with
sixteen interception Despite you know, the fab heat. We thought
last year was a good year for Baker, He's been
phenomenal this year. Forty five hundred yards, forty one touchdowns
with the completion percentage of seventy one point four percent.
I mean, to your point, he really has been has
his offense turning in a way that we haven't really
(05:05):
seen from him or or Tampa's offense is in probably
Brady a few a few years back whenever he was
there and he led them to the super Bowl. But
more than this will flip over to you and we'll
ask you the same question to start out, but like,
what do you what do you think that the committeers
need to do to generate more pressure and more sacks
on Baker to get him to make some of these mistakes.
Like Brahmon was talking.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
About, well just to be just to play the devil's
advocate here, I'm gonna disagree with bram and say that
there's no luck in sports. I think that what we've
done just proves that they're a great team. They've been
pretty much elite the past couple of weeks. We also
have to analyze who they played, right, They played the Panthers,
the Giants, the Raiders, probably teams that are not at
(05:45):
the top of the NFL standings, But they do have
an elite quarterback in Baker Mayfield. At least he's played
that way the last couple of weeks, I think for
Washington when we when we see this team, like coach said,
there's a new sea in the horizon. We have to
focus on what's happening from Sunday moving forward, forget about
(06:06):
everything else. Because this Commander's team, they've reached the quarterback
forty three times, which tells you it's not a bad team,
number eleven in the ranking when it comes two sacks.
But there's been instances where we see plays that they
should have made and they haven't made for whatever reason.
I think now you have to step up your game.
(06:27):
You have to take it to the next level. You
have to finish the place. We've seen the players get
to the quarterback but not able to finish the play,
or they end up committing a personal foul which costs
the Commanders a lot of yards. So for me, in
order for them to be successful against Baker Mayfield, this
Elevator player, you're in the playoffs, show that playoff type
(06:50):
of mentality that probably this Washington commander doesn't have. They
don't have the experience, but this is going to be
a good test. You see the Tampa Bay offense, they
are top ten, like like Bram said, right, top number
four in scoring, number four in rush, and these are
some of the areas where the Washington Commanders have struggled.
I reiterate this is an opportunity for the team to
(07:13):
elevate their play. It is the playoffs, and I believe
if they want to be successful, perhaps it's putting more
pressure on Baker having players like Dorians Armstrong and Dante
Fowler finished some of these places we've seen the last
couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
You know, if you if you look at like, you know,
the the wins that the Buccaneers have had, you know,
they've won six out of the last seven games. You're right,
they have the teams that are kind of you know,
in the bottom and they obviously be the charge and
the charges of a playoff team. The teams like the Giants,
like you said, the Panthers, the Raiders, I mean, those
teams are are definitely picking at the top of the
draft for a reason, right, And to kind of expand
(07:47):
on the point about Baker, here is you know, in
that first matchup, and like Bram said, it was eons ago.
One of the reasons he was able to get the
ball out so quickly because there was a lot of
really open guys, especially in those first couple of drives
that he just could hit on it first, and then
all of a sudden you start seeing kind of getting
a little bit of a groove there, obviously generating good
pass rushes twofold, right, You've got to have the guys
up front to do and then you've also got to
(08:08):
make sure the coverage on the back end is holding up.
They're into the bargain to help make Baker hold onto
the ball for a little bit longer. And this commander's
secondary is going to be having a little bit, a
little bit of an upgrade, I guess you could say,
with marsh On Lattimo or looking like he's going to play.
You know, it was a full participant on Wednesday. We'll
see what he does for the rest of the week.
Moses will stick on you here for a little bit.
And I think I want to talk about the secondary
(08:30):
specifically and how that's going to help, you know, this
pass rush, Like, how how big is Marshaan going to be,
especially going begainst Mike Evans, who you know, they're battles
between those two have been kind of well known for
a while now. How do you think that's going to
affect the way that the commanders from rush of passer.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, now you have a real weapon on defense when
it comes to the secondary. I think marsh On when
he's healthy, when he's one hundred percent, he can go
one on one against any wide receiver, and he's had
several battles against Mike Evans. I think all the fan
bases waiting to see what that's gonna look like this weekend.
I think if he's if he's healthy, he gives you,
he gives you another weapon. And and that's something that
(09:08):
we haven't seen most of the season for the Commander
is because look at how many games he's actually played.
I'm sure that if he's ready to go, he's gonna
give that support to the to the secondary. But we've
also had other other guys step up. Sander still Noah
as well, Jeremy chen has has been great. I think
(09:29):
if these guys can stay the course, they will do
a good job defending and make a life a little
bit more complicated for a Baker Mayfield if you can
take some of those lanes away. With Marshawn playing at
that elite level, we know he can play and I
think we have a different ballgame, right. I think that
it's gonna come down to one of the things I've
observed all season, do a better job against the running game.
(09:51):
If you can close those lanes, then you're gonna force
Baker Mayfield to make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Hey, you know the Commander secondary is I think, even
though there's still a lot of work to do overall
with them, I think they have come you know, they've
made progress since that's been Week one matchup. You know,
Baker in that first game twenty four thirty yards and
four touchdowns. Since then, the Commanders are having third fewish
passing yards fringing and now part of that is because
they've they've all had so many yards on the ground.
(10:17):
I still think that you you liked it, you like
what they've I think there's definitely a foundation in terms
of how they can build going forward. And bram Uh,
before we move on to the next question, I want
to ask you just like your overall evaluation of the
Commander's secondary and Hey, you think they're going to go
up against a Buccaneers off a wide receiver corps that
doesn't have Chris Godwin, but they've still got Mike gam
They've still got a lot of other good playmakers there.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Yeah, they have really good players the sky. Jalen McMillan
has been touched down in five straight games. He's had
seven over the last five games. He is on a
streak that no receiver has been on since Randy Moss.
So they found their number two. They don't need Chris Godwin,
and they're still prolifically scoring. They're extremely dangerous team. But
the addition of Latimore is huge and we haven't obviously
(11:01):
seen it in full effect yet. And hopefully he's healthy
and hopefully he's out there and makes an impact. The
difference between Week one and now is the physicality that
dan Quinn Joe would have talked about is there on
the back end, Jeremy Chin, Kwan Martin, now Latimore. Secondarily,
I think we can all agree that this team, when
(11:23):
we get to the offseason and in this season, have
needed more playmakers on both sides of the ball, Guys
who can make explosive plays. Lattimore and kind of embodies
that as someone who not only can get his hands
on the ball, break things up, be physical, but potentially
get an interception. I mean, the one thing that has
not happened this year. That and dan Quinn preached about
all the year was ball is life. They're going to
(11:44):
get the ball.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
They haven't.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
They're like bottom half of the league. Seventeen turnovers won
a game. That's not going to cut it for them,
and it's probably not going to cut it this weekend.
I think they need to get the ball a couple
of times, but I think they're a very physical different
team this time around. That typically carries into January. And
I'll go back to Baker again when he scrambled and
when he has this year, look at that rush number again,
(12:05):
double the amount of yards he's had in any other year.
He's willing to run the ball more. He's put the
ball on the ground, and it's because of the way
he plays. He's physical like he is unlike most of
the quarterbacks that will slide or go out of bounce.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
He'll take a hit. Josh Allen ESQ like he wants
to smoke, he'll do it. So they're going to have opportunities.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Their physicality is going to be tested here when they
get their opportunities. Franky Luvu dropped the ball a couple
times the last couple of weeks, Marshaun Lattimore, assuming the
ball comes his way like it didn't against the Saints,
They've got to get their hands on the ball. They
got to flip the field. And I really believe the
turnovers are everything. This is the only team in the playoffs,
Tampa Bay that has a negative turnover margin. That is
(12:48):
their downfall this weekend. Washington takes advantage of the mistakes
they make, They're gonna have a real opportunity to win.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
And you know, also like the Commanders have seven interceptions
this season, that's time for the fourth fewest in the league.
And you know, for a team that that does emphasize,
as you said, Paul his life, they do that so much.
And you can tell how frustrated Joe Witt is with
with that, because I don't think he's ever experienced a
(13:14):
defense that he's been a part of where they've committed
committed so few turnovers in this season. And you know,
I think that you're right, there definitely will be some
opportunities there against Baker Mayfield. We'll move on to the
next question. Before we do that, we'll give a score update.
Bram your head forth to three. The turnover points. I
thought you really, really hits hard there, but was still
(13:34):
have a chance to catch up here. And we'll start
with you because we're gonna move over to the committed's
offense here. And the running game has been so important
to this to this offensive success pretty much for them
for most of the season. And there's still, you know,
a top five unit in that regard. But it seems
like the quarterback, whether it's whether it's Jane Daniels, whether
it's Marcus Mario who came in there, it seems like
(13:56):
the quarterbacks are more carrying the load for the run
game over the last weeks as opposed to Ryan Robbins
and Jeremy mc nichols, Chris Rodriguez and now Austin Eckler
who is back from its concussion. And this this Buccaneers
defense is, I mean, they're very stout against the run.
They're they're fourth in yards allowed on the ground. It's
it's gonna be tough slighting for them no matter what.
(14:16):
But you have to in the playoffs, you have to
find a way to get to get some yards in
the middle there. You have to find a way to
get b ro up going. So a simple question for you,
simple mean, what can Cliff do to get this run
game going.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I'm not sure if it's a Cliff question. I think
that the line has to pull a little bit better.
I know that we've seen injuries, and if those guys
are healthy, then probably that's going to open more lanes
for the Washington Commanders. But I think it's tough and
when we asked a question, what can Cliff do? Because
I think that he probably is doing everything that he
could do. But this is a game where we're gonna see,
like you mentioned, the number three offense rushing against the
(14:52):
number four rush defense. It's gonna be a good test
for these Washington Commanders. When we look at the past
couple of games, we've seen the run game cool off
a bit. We haven't seen that explosive Brian Robinson that
we've seen at the that we saw at the beginning
of the season. Jerremy McNichols, we know he comes in
as a backup Austin Eckler has been injured. I truly
(15:14):
like what Chris Rodriguez has done coming off the bench,
and perhaps this is an opportunity to give another guy
a look. Chris has looked very well, very good. When
he comes in, perhaps give a defense has a different
view of what the Commanders can do. But like you mentioned,
I believe, and I don't know if Brown's gonna agree,
(15:36):
Jaden Daniels might be the difference maker eight hundred and
ninety one yards this season rushing leads all runners for
the Commanders. I think that the game is gonna go
through Jaden Daniels. And we've seen these Buccaneers. They've had
issues against quarterbacks. They scrambled, and I think Jaden Daniels
is nothing like they've seen the past couple of weeks.
(15:58):
He's a different type of van and if he has
his a game going, they're going to be successful in
the run game and perhaps open other links for Brian
Robinson and whoever comes in second, whether that's Austin Eckler
or Chris Rodriguez. But I do feel that a lot
has to do with how well the old line plays,
(16:18):
and we've seen they've been down a few guys the
past couple of weeks due to injury.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, I mean the other one has been has been
banged up quite a bit. I mean, losing Tyler Biadich
for two of the last four games has been very tough.
Last week, I mean Michael Dieter was in there as
a backup, And I mean no disrespect to like Michael
Dieter or anything. He's a professional for a reason. But
at the same time, like to Beondis has been one
of the best sinners in the league for all year.
So obviously it's gonna be a little bit of a
(16:43):
drop off there. But Brian, you know, we'll switch over
to you now. And you know, as Moss said, like
it's hard, it's harve a cliff to kind of drop
probably a game plan when you have injured off at
the lineman up front and all that other stuff. But
in terms of getting the run in going, is it
just are you just leaning more heavily into Jayden or
like you trying to scheme up some other ways to
get past some of those injuries on the offensive line.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
So when this team was at their best at the
beginning of the season, they played with tempo, and you
actually saw that last week against Dallas when Mariota came in.
When they are playing with tempo, that's when they have
their most success running and throwing, whether it's with Jayden
b rob whoever. In fact, Robinson's best carries game in
(17:25):
the second half on tempo. It starts with drive starters.
In my opinion that they've had a lot of penalties
that have backed up drives. This team doesn't seem to
function very well when it gets behind the sticks early,
So they need to be in second and mid second
and five second and six maybe even better than that.
And at that point if they can hit the gas,
(17:48):
not go no huddle, come out and get the ball
out of Jaden's hans quickly. It seems to keep the
other team off kilter, and it seems to be when
they function at their best. So I look at it
as here's an extremely aggressive team. They're gonna pressure you,
They're gonna put people up on the line. Their run
defense is ranked for a reason what it is, and
running in the middle against Vitavea is a waste of time.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
So how are you going to get around this?
Speaker 4 (18:12):
I think it's gonna be a lot of quick game
to start drives, plays on the outside, end around, try
to use their aggressiveness against them. Can you set up
a couple of better wide receiver screens. Eckler being back
to me is a big deal. You can move him
out of the backfield, you can run him from the backfield.
I think he has a big role in this game,
and I'm glad to see he played.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
A week ago.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I wasn't sure in what condition he would be, and
I think he played the amount that he did to
get him up to speed for this one. In particular,
get the ball out of Jayden's hands quickly, get into
these second and manageables, and all of a sudden, all
these other things we were talking about earlier, the prolific
nature of the Buccaneers offense, the way they're able to
run the ball, the deficiency of Washington's run defense. They
(18:52):
can't do nothing if they're on the sideline. So if
we can start generating these long drives that eat clock,
it starts at the beginning, know, with drive starters, And
that's where I want to see Cliff kind of come
through here, like, are they going to just be able
to run a standard rush offense? Well, they haven't all
year anyway, but are they gonna be able to do
it against this team?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Unlikely?
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Can you use their aggressiveness against them and scheme up
some drive starters with short passes and screens that gets
the ball out of Jaden's hands, maybe does a little
more zone lead than they've done in recent weeks with
him to try to use these edge rushers and their
aggressiveness against them if they're in second and six, second
and five often in these drives and they're playing up
(19:31):
tempo off of it, I really really like what I
think the results will be with their offense, because that's
been their key to success the entire season.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
It really, it really has. And I think something that
something that has hurt them in the first half of
these of these last four games where the rayame hasn't
been going, is because they've been in second and third
and long so much in the first half of these games,
whether it's through penalties, whether it's through miscommunication, there's through
you know, airs for for whatever reason, it seemed like
they are really just they're behind the sticks literally so
(20:03):
much so much, and they seem to sort of get
back in the groove of that in the second half
of these games, and for example, like the last three games,
they've scored nine touchdowns in the second half and overtime
of all these wins. And it's great that they are
they're able to do that, as dank Wuinn said, but
you don't always have to do it like that. You
always have to come you know, more difficult. Uh, you know,
(20:23):
moys is real quick. Before we move on to the
final question here, I want to ask you, like, if
the Committee come out in this first half a flat
like they've done for the better part, you know, of
the last month, it's gonna be very tough for them,
and I don't think they're going to be able to
pull off another miracle. Now, granted I've been wrong before
and this team is probably troven people wrong constantly, but
it will undeniably be more difficult to come come from
(20:45):
behind against the Buccaneers offense like this. So what do
you what do you think they can do to get
more production, whether it's in the run game or something
else offensively, to get out of these ruts they build
themselves in the first half.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
I think Bradmas is right when he meant since the
fact that this is a top run defense and you
have guys on the other side like Vita Vea that
are are you know, who's a monster. So you have
to change it up. You have to scheme it up,
you have to look at different you have to do
different things to be successful against this defense. But you
also have to remember this defense might be good against
the brush, but they're terrible against the pass.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Therefore, you have to start the game looking for your weapons.
We've seen Terry McClain go through entire halves without a target.
We cannot afford to do that. You have to look
for him early, get him involved. That's your playmaker, and
then find your other weapons. Like Sakias who's also stepped
up the past couple of weeks, zach Ertz has done
the same thing. I need. I believe you need to
(21:42):
use your weapons in order to be successful. If the
roung game is a no go for the commanders, then
go and attack their weaknesses, which is the pass game.
They're allowing two hundred and forty three yards per game,
six yards per play. I think these are very important
numbers to look at if you want to be sick
accessible against them. Make them defend the pass, which perhaps
(22:03):
is going to open some lanes for the runners.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, I think so. And Jayden has as as prolific
as he's been this year as as a running quarterback,
he is just exceptional when it comes to passing the ball.
I mean everyone has talked about how how much far,
how far along ahead he is as the passer compared
to other rookies, and that's that's been another huge key
to while this offense and this team has just progressed
so quickly in a way that a lot of people
(22:26):
didn't really expect because he I mean easy to forget.
But like you know, they were protected win six and
a half games this year and now they've you know,
they've they've doubled that easily move on to a ton
of question. But guys, you were tie handing to this
last monso to come down to the wire here, and
we'll keep it really simple with this one. Obviously, you
know Dan Quinn he mentioned you know, obviously a lot
of a lot of cameras are gonna be focused on
the Marsha Lattimore Mike Evans matchup, and that's gonna be
(22:48):
that's gonna be really really fun to watch every single
snap out there, assuming Latimer players, which it looks like
he will be. But there's a lot of other matchups
out there that are going to play very key role
here and Bram will start off with you in this one.
It's pretty simple, but like, which matchic are you most
looking forward to aside from Latimore and Evans on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Jayden Daniels versus the edge rushers of Tampa Bay. They
are an extremely aggressive team. They're not going to hide
what they do. I agree with Moisis on the back
end of their defense. The advantage for Washington is going
to be how many, how injured they are. I don't
know if Antroon Winfield's playing, I don't if Jamal Dean's playing.
I know Jordan Whitehead's not playing. But they're not going
(23:28):
to back off because they're using their backups and third
teamers back there, which means there should be opportunity for Washington.
But when things break down, or if things go in
a manner of which I could foresee, which is a
little more zone read, moving Jayden around, moving the pocket
around a little bit, getting the ball out of his hands,
at least initially early, but getting into second manageables, then
(23:51):
it's going to come down to some of these one
on ones. Yahyad Diadi was the NFC Player of the
Week last week. He had four tackles for a loss
of a sack. Klaijah Kanti didn't play in the first
game against Washington. He's back last nine games. He's had
over six acts so he would have been on track
for a double DIGITSAX season. They're getting a lot of
production out of the scheme and out of these particular players.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
But Jaydeen, We've seen this over and over and over.
Speaker 4 (24:15):
And I want to see it on this stage, on
this level in the playoffs on Sunday night, with the
lights as bright as they could possibly be, he starts
shaking a juking these guys and getting out into some
open grass, because that's how Tampa Bay plays.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
They're dead, So that's what I want to see.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Can they get into these second and manageables, get up
tempo and then let Jayden do his thing. And if
he starts juking Yaya Jiabi and Elijah Kansy and his
out and open grass, Washington's gonna have a lot of
success Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yes, very true. I think him and Kalaijah Cansy, seeing
him those two go up against ech other is going
to be very fascinating because I've always been a big
fan of Kalijah Knsi's game. I think he's a very
unique skill set out there. But you know, to the
injury point here, it looks like Angel onlyinfield was a
full participant in yesterday's walkthrough for the Buccaneers, the Monty
David also was hit a knee. He was liminated limited,
(25:06):
So so we'll keep an eye on them. But I
think Eve, you know, Topbos even said that, you know,
Winfield would have been I mean would have even even
if they run like a full practice, Winfild would have
would have been able to play. But Moys, this final
question going over to you, Other than Ladimore and Mike Evans,
which matchup are you most looking forward to seeing?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
By the by the way, Jalen is very good against
the blitz, so bring them on. I think he has
sol touchdowns when teams blitz against him. He worked, He
works very well under pressure, So we'll see how that
works out. Brown. But I'm gonna have to go in
a different direction, just not to say the same thing
you mentioned right now. I'm gonna say Jalen McMillan versus
(25:45):
either Sayer Still or Benjamin Saint Juice, one of those
two guys is gonna have to step up. I believe
it's gonna be Mike who's gonna have the goal for
the Commanders. I think that's an interesting matchup considering the
fact that it's gonna be rookie versus rookie, and the
rookie on the other side has eight touchdowns this season.
I think he's been one of those revelations in the NFL,
(26:06):
very good player, very successful this this campaign. But I
believe Mikey has proven that he's an elite defender in
the secondary as well. So I think that's an interesting
matchup to look at, and I'm gonna I'm gonna are
on the side of Mikey being successful and shutting him down.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You know, Samrseol was all over the field against the Cowboys.
It seems like he has really come into his own.
I mean, I know that he was supposed to be
a slot corner when they drafted him. Uh, and he
might still be next year, which I'm assuming that they're
going to be addressed in the cornerback position at some
point in the offseason. But if you really need to,
if you want to keep him outside, I don't see
there the would be any reason to keep Mike uh,
(26:47):
you know, you know, prevent Mike from going staying outside
because he's so versatile, he's you know, got a really
good mentality, he's a hard worker. He's just got a
lot of talent and he never gives up on a play.
I think that's what makes what makes him very very
on to watch. Winner For this one, it's super tough.
Both of you guys made really great points. But I
think moys is, I have to go with you on
(27:10):
the win because as important as Latimore and Mike as
that matchup is going to be, it's there. As Brand
said earlier, there's a lot of really key talented players
on this on this Buccaneers offense, and the rest of
those guys for the defense have to elevate. So moys
as you have the victory, any parting word of victory for.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Us, well, that's great. Great. I mean I would even
call it a tie because I think Bram threw out
some crazy numbers in the first question, which left me
I'm like, wait, let me, let me go back into
my notes and see what I have down. But it's
a pleasure man. Like I said, it's not about winning.
For me, I like to have these conversations, arguments and debates.
(27:46):
They make me better and I know that Brown probably
feels the same way. So at the end of the
of the day, it's all about winning. And as long
as we win this coming Sunday. I think we'll both
be happy. I disagree.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
I this is a out winning to me of this,
that's ridiculous. I know it's fine, but if I'm gonna lose,
I at least I appreciate the competition. And I love Moises.
And I'll take an l here reluctantly, only because it's him,
only because it's him.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I'm so glad you're able to accept the loss. Ram.
I know that was tough for you.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
I'll I'll buy you a beer in Tampa on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
We'll hold you to that, Moises, all right, you know, well,
you know, if we win, we're buying everybody beers for sure. Yea.
And to the point to your two Moises' point, it
was very very close on. It was great hearing your points,
Dan Braym hearing your points as well, because, as I
always say, it is not really about my opinion about
who wins to lose it here, It's about the objective
takes to everyone I've had on this on this podcast
(28:47):
this season, what they have to say, because they have
all been the stars of the show. They've been the
insiders and light moiss. We are hoping for a Commander's
win over the Buccaneers this weekend. We'll see where they
go from there. But I've been saying I think this
team has a chance against anybody they play against, And
I mean, what a magical season either way regardless, and
(29:07):
it's been so much fun and hopefully we'll see each
other for another week. If not, be sure to rate
your view subscriber, every yet your podcasts, and this has
been the beatdown
What's up? What's going on, y'all? This is another episode
of the Beatdown podcast. How are we all doing? Welcome in,
and that breezier feeling of the last few days is
not just the foot of snow that's been so graciously falling,
and you know it's calling all of trouble. It is
playoff season. That's right. The Commanders are heading to the
playoffs for the first time since twenty twenty and playing
(00:28):
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers any rematch for Week one. It's
not the first time these teams have met in the postseason.
You remember last in twenty twenty of these guys met
when the hin heat height was just starting to starting
to brew and really hit a fever point there. But
they met several other times two thousand and five other
times throughout the team's history, and all the games have
been pretty close. They've been pretty crazy for one reason
(00:50):
or another, and this one is shaping quite the case again.
So how are we going to be discussing this? How
are we going to be adding another addition to this
play history. Well, that is what we're going to be
talking about today. And in a special edition, we had
both the play by play announcers for the commanders with me.
We had Brian Weinstein, who does the English version brand
(01:11):
how you doing good?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Zach?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Hello, doing all right? And we have Moies Leonaris who
is on the Spanish broadcast. But moyses, how are we doing? Man?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
We're excited, baby, let's sell Bran. How you doing baby?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Going on?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Already?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
You ready to start screaming again?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I'm already. You know, I was a little sick this week,
but I'm prepping a lot of tea, a lot of
you know, just ginger or whatever. Anything ginger helps. According
to the experts.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
We know both of you guys have gone viral for
various various calls of the year, and I will say
for both of you, I mean both of your calls
are fantastic. I'm sure this is You'll have plenty of
plenty of great highlights on this Sunday. I'm sadaying at
football at eight pm. But guys listening, they know the deal.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Here.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
We will be asking three questions from these guys and
they will be ge There were giving points at the
to beach round and like as always it is as
the host, it is my heavy burden to be giving
a winner out after this and it might be a
tough one here, but we we full soldier on no
matter what. Without all that being said, we were going
to get right into it. And I think we're gonna
(02:15):
start with the Commander's defense here, because that was something
that you know, you saw the pressure that the Commander
bringing against Baker maybe in that first matchup, and whether
it was just getting the ball out quickly or whether
it was just a lack of finishing tackles, they just
couldn't really quite generate the sacks that they wanted to
on Baker. Now he I mean, I didn quit even
(02:36):
said that he is an excellent player inside the pocket
and that's a very unique skill to have. But Brandon,
we'll start with you. Like when I would imagine obviously
the plans to get him on the ground as much
as possible. Again, but what do you think they can
do to generate more sacks and were pressure on Baker?
Speaker 4 (02:52):
So like that game feels like eons ago, right, I
mean it was I tell you this, Tampa Bay scored
on the seven nine possessions. If that happens again, Washington loses.
So that literally cannot happen again. And they've progressed and
gotten to be a prolific offense. They're the only team
in the NFL that's top five in most of the
(03:12):
major categories rush offense, scoring offense, all those things. Like.
So they've had what I think is an extremely under
the radar great season, not a good one, a great season,
and their offensive coordinators starting to get head coaching opportunity
interviews now. And I'm not surprised, especially after what we
saw week one. You know, I think some of it
was miscommunication, Like they openly admitted that the corner tandem
(03:33):
is very different than when it was Week one. Think
fact the starters were Emmanual Forbes, Benjamin Saint Juice, It's
probably going to be hopefully Marshall Latimore, Mike Sanders Stilt,
So it's completely different back end of the defense. I
think this team's playing with the playing speed and physicality
that Dan Quinn and Joe would have talked about all year.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I think that's going to be different. Frankly, they just
got to tackle better. And I think what's interesting about
Baker is he's, let's see.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
This year, he's double the amount of rush yard and
she's had in any other single season. So he's running
the ball more. But there's one thing about them that
this is what I love our opportunity. This is where
I love about our opportunity. This weekend, David preaching all
your ball's life, were going to hit the ball out,
Tampa Bay turns the ball over a lot. Baker Mayfield
has tied for most interceptions in the NFL this year.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
And there's one stat where I.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Think he's been lucky, and it goes along with all
this running stats that he's done. He's fumbled the ball
nine times, only lost one of them. That's lucky, right,
that's lucky. So the way that Washington is playing, with
the physicality, they're playing tackle better, Baker's going to give
you opportunities. My whole key for this thing is if
we can flip the ball, get two turnovers, pull the
ball as life, I think Washington gets out of there
(04:41):
with the win.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
And to that point, Baker, you know, not as start
with the fumbles, but he also leads the league with
sixteen interception Despite you know, the fab heat. We thought
last year was a good year for Baker, He's been
phenomenal this year. Forty five hundred yards, forty one touchdowns
with the completion percentage of seventy one point four percent.
I mean, to your point, he really has been has
his offense turning in a way that we haven't really
(05:05):
seen from him or or Tampa's offense is in probably
Brady a few a few years back whenever he was
there and he led them to the super Bowl. But
more than this will flip over to you and we'll
ask you the same question to start out, but like,
what do you what do you think that the committeers
need to do to generate more pressure and more sacks
on Baker to get him to make some of these mistakes.
Like Brahmon was talking.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
About, well just to be just to play the devil's
advocate here, I'm gonna disagree with bram and say that
there's no luck in sports. I think that what we've
done just proves that they're a great team. They've been
pretty much elite the past couple of weeks. We also
have to analyze who they played, right, They played the Panthers,
the Giants, the Raiders, probably teams that are not at
(05:45):
the top of the NFL standings, But they do have
an elite quarterback in Baker Mayfield. At least he's played
that way the last couple of weeks, I think for
Washington when we when we see this team, like coach said,
there's a new sea in the horizon. We have to
focus on what's happening from Sunday moving forward, forget about
(06:06):
everything else. Because this Commander's team, they've reached the quarterback
forty three times, which tells you it's not a bad team,
number eleven in the ranking when it comes two sacks.
But there's been instances where we see plays that they
should have made and they haven't made for whatever reason.
I think now you have to step up your game.
(06:27):
You have to take it to the next level. You
have to finish the place. We've seen the players get
to the quarterback but not able to finish the play,
or they end up committing a personal foul which costs
the Commanders a lot of yards. So for me, in
order for them to be successful against Baker Mayfield, this
Elevator player, you're in the playoffs, show that playoff type
(06:50):
of mentality that probably this Washington commander doesn't have. They
don't have the experience, but this is going to be
a good test. You see the Tampa Bay offense, they
are top ten, like like Bram said, right, top number
four in scoring, number four in rush, and these are
some of the areas where the Washington Commanders have struggled.
I reiterate this is an opportunity for the team to
(07:13):
elevate their play. It is the playoffs, and I believe
if they want to be successful, perhaps it's putting more
pressure on Baker having players like Dorians Armstrong and Dante
Fowler finished some of these places we've seen the last
couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
You know, if you if you look at like, you know,
the the wins that the Buccaneers have had, you know,
they've won six out of the last seven games. You're right,
they have the teams that are kind of you know,
in the bottom and they obviously be the charge and
the charges of a playoff team. The teams like the Giants,
like you said, the Panthers, the Raiders, I mean, those
teams are are definitely picking at the top of the
draft for a reason, right, And to kind of expand
(07:47):
on the point about Baker, here is you know, in
that first matchup, and like Bram said, it was eons ago.
One of the reasons he was able to get the
ball out so quickly because there was a lot of
really open guys, especially in those first couple of drives
that he just could hit on it first, and then
all of a sudden you start seeing kind of getting
a little bit of a groove there, obviously generating good
pass rushes twofold, right, You've got to have the guys
up front to do and then you've also got to
(08:08):
make sure the coverage on the back end is holding up.
They're into the bargain to help make Baker hold onto
the ball for a little bit longer. And this commander's
secondary is going to be having a little bit, a
little bit of an upgrade, I guess you could say,
with marsh On Lattimo or looking like he's going to play.
You know, it was a full participant on Wednesday. We'll
see what he does for the rest of the week.
Moses will stick on you here for a little bit.
And I think I want to talk about the secondary
(08:30):
specifically and how that's going to help, you know, this
pass rush, Like, how how big is Marshaan going to be,
especially going begainst Mike Evans, who you know, they're battles
between those two have been kind of well known for
a while now. How do you think that's going to
affect the way that the commanders from rush of passer.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, now you have a real weapon on defense when
it comes to the secondary. I think marsh On when
he's healthy, when he's one hundred percent, he can go
one on one against any wide receiver, and he's had
several battles against Mike Evans. I think all the fan
bases waiting to see what that's gonna look like this weekend.
I think if he's if he's healthy, he gives you,
he gives you another weapon. And and that's something that
(09:08):
we haven't seen most of the season for the Commander
is because look at how many games he's actually played.
I'm sure that if he's ready to go, he's gonna
give that support to the to the secondary. But we've
also had other other guys step up. Sander still Noah
as well, Jeremy chen has has been great. I think
(09:29):
if these guys can stay the course, they will do
a good job defending and make a life a little
bit more complicated for a Baker Mayfield if you can
take some of those lanes away. With Marshawn playing at
that elite level, we know he can play and I
think we have a different ballgame, right. I think that
it's gonna come down to one of the things I've
observed all season, do a better job against the running game.
(09:51):
If you can close those lanes, then you're gonna force
Baker Mayfield to make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Hey, you know the Commander secondary is I think, even
though there's still a lot of work to do overall
with them, I think they have come you know, they've
made progress since that's been Week one matchup. You know,
Baker in that first game twenty four thirty yards and
four touchdowns. Since then, the Commanders are having third fewish
passing yards fringing and now part of that is because
they've they've all had so many yards on the ground.
(10:17):
I still think that you you liked it, you like
what they've I think there's definitely a foundation in terms
of how they can build going forward. And bram Uh,
before we move on to the next question, I want
to ask you just like your overall evaluation of the
Commander's secondary and Hey, you think they're going to go
up against a Buccaneers off a wide receiver corps that
doesn't have Chris Godwin, but they've still got Mike gam
They've still got a lot of other good playmakers there.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Yeah, they have really good players the sky. Jalen McMillan
has been touched down in five straight games. He's had
seven over the last five games. He is on a
streak that no receiver has been on since Randy Moss.
So they found their number two. They don't need Chris Godwin,
and they're still prolifically scoring. They're extremely dangerous team. But
the addition of Latimore is huge and we haven't obviously
(11:01):
seen it in full effect yet. And hopefully he's healthy
and hopefully he's out there and makes an impact. The
difference between Week one and now is the physicality that
dan Quinn Joe would have talked about is there on
the back end, Jeremy Chin, Kwan Martin, now Latimore. Secondarily,
I think we can all agree that this team, when
(11:23):
we get to the offseason and in this season, have
needed more playmakers on both sides of the ball, Guys
who can make explosive plays. Lattimore and kind of embodies
that as someone who not only can get his hands
on the ball, break things up, be physical, but potentially
get an interception. I mean, the one thing that has
not happened this year. That and dan Quinn preached about
all the year was ball is life. They're going to
(11:44):
get the ball.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
They haven't.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
They're like bottom half of the league. Seventeen turnovers won
a game. That's not going to cut it for them,
and it's probably not going to cut it this weekend.
I think they need to get the ball a couple
of times, but I think they're a very physical different
team this time around. That typically carries into January. And
I'll go back to Baker again when he scrambled and
when he has this year, look at that rush number again,
(12:05):
double the amount of yards he's had in any other year.
He's willing to run the ball more. He's put the
ball on the ground, and it's because of the way
he plays. He's physical like he is unlike most of
the quarterbacks that will slide or go out of bounce.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
He'll take a hit. Josh Allen ESQ like he wants
to smoke, he'll do it. So they're going to have opportunities.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Their physicality is going to be tested here when they
get their opportunities. Franky Luvu dropped the ball a couple
times the last couple of weeks, Marshaun Lattimore, assuming the
ball comes his way like it didn't against the Saints,
They've got to get their hands on the ball. They
got to flip the field. And I really believe the
turnovers are everything. This is the only team in the playoffs,
Tampa Bay that has a negative turnover margin. That is
(12:48):
their downfall this weekend. Washington takes advantage of the mistakes
they make, They're gonna have a real opportunity to win.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
And you know, also like the Commanders have seven interceptions
this season, that's time for the fourth fewest in the league.
And you know, for a team that that does emphasize,
as you said, Paul his life, they do that so much.
And you can tell how frustrated Joe Witt is with
with that, because I don't think he's ever experienced a
(13:14):
defense that he's been a part of where they've committed
committed so few turnovers in this season. And you know,
I think that you're right, there definitely will be some
opportunities there against Baker Mayfield. We'll move on to the
next question. Before we do that, we'll give a score update.
Bram your head forth to three. The turnover points. I
thought you really, really hits hard there, but was still
(13:34):
have a chance to catch up here. And we'll start
with you because we're gonna move over to the committed's
offense here. And the running game has been so important
to this to this offensive success pretty much for them
for most of the season. And there's still, you know,
a top five unit in that regard. But it seems
like the quarterback, whether it's whether it's Jane Daniels, whether
it's Marcus Mario who came in there, it seems like
(13:56):
the quarterbacks are more carrying the load for the run
game over the last weeks as opposed to Ryan Robbins
and Jeremy mc nichols, Chris Rodriguez and now Austin Eckler
who is back from its concussion. And this this Buccaneers
defense is, I mean, they're very stout against the run.
They're they're fourth in yards allowed on the ground. It's
it's gonna be tough slighting for them no matter what.
(14:16):
But you have to in the playoffs, you have to
find a way to get to get some yards in
the middle there. You have to find a way to
get b ro up going. So a simple question for you,
simple mean, what can Cliff do to get this run
game going.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I'm not sure if it's a Cliff question. I think
that the line has to pull a little bit better.
I know that we've seen injuries, and if those guys
are healthy, then probably that's going to open more lanes
for the Washington Commanders. But I think it's tough and
when we asked a question, what can Cliff do? Because
I think that he probably is doing everything that he
could do. But this is a game where we're gonna see,
like you mentioned, the number three offense rushing against the
(14:52):
number four rush defense. It's gonna be a good test
for these Washington Commanders. When we look at the past
couple of games, we've seen the run game cool off
a bit. We haven't seen that explosive Brian Robinson that
we've seen at the that we saw at the beginning
of the season. Jerremy McNichols, we know he comes in
as a backup Austin Eckler has been injured. I truly
(15:14):
like what Chris Rodriguez has done coming off the bench,
and perhaps this is an opportunity to give another guy
a look. Chris has looked very well, very good. When
he comes in, perhaps give a defense has a different
view of what the Commanders can do. But like you mentioned,
I believe, and I don't know if Brown's gonna agree,
(15:36):
Jaden Daniels might be the difference maker eight hundred and
ninety one yards this season rushing leads all runners for
the Commanders. I think that the game is gonna go
through Jaden Daniels. And we've seen these Buccaneers. They've had
issues against quarterbacks. They scrambled, and I think Jaden Daniels
is nothing like they've seen the past couple of weeks.
(15:58):
He's a different type of van and if he has
his a game going, they're going to be successful in
the run game and perhaps open other links for Brian
Robinson and whoever comes in second, whether that's Austin Eckler
or Chris Rodriguez. But I do feel that a lot
has to do with how well the old line plays,
(16:18):
and we've seen they've been down a few guys the
past couple of weeks due to injury.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Yeah, I mean the other one has been has been
banged up quite a bit. I mean, losing Tyler Biadich
for two of the last four games has been very tough.
Last week, I mean Michael Dieter was in there as
a backup, And I mean no disrespect to like Michael
Dieter or anything. He's a professional for a reason. But
at the same time, like to Beondis has been one
of the best sinners in the league for all year.
So obviously it's gonna be a little bit of a
(16:43):
drop off there. But Brian, you know, we'll switch over
to you now. And you know, as Moss said, like
it's hard, it's harve a cliff to kind of drop
probably a game plan when you have injured off at
the lineman up front and all that other stuff. But
in terms of getting the run in going, is it
just are you just leaning more heavily into Jayden or
like you trying to scheme up some other ways to
get past some of those injuries on the offensive line.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
So when this team was at their best at the
beginning of the season, they played with tempo, and you
actually saw that last week against Dallas when Mariota came in.
When they are playing with tempo, that's when they have
their most success running and throwing, whether it's with Jayden
b rob whoever. In fact, Robinson's best carries game in
(17:25):
the second half on tempo. It starts with drive starters.
In my opinion that they've had a lot of penalties
that have backed up drives. This team doesn't seem to
function very well when it gets behind the sticks early,
So they need to be in second and mid second
and five second and six maybe even better than that.
And at that point if they can hit the gas,
(17:48):
not go no huddle, come out and get the ball
out of Jaden's hans quickly. It seems to keep the
other team off kilter, and it seems to be when
they function at their best. So I look at it
as here's an extremely aggressive team. They're gonna pressure you,
They're gonna put people up on the line. Their run
defense is ranked for a reason what it is, and
running in the middle against Vitavea is a waste of time.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
So how are you going to get around this?
Speaker 4 (18:12):
I think it's gonna be a lot of quick game
to start drives, plays on the outside, end around, try
to use their aggressiveness against them. Can you set up
a couple of better wide receiver screens. Eckler being back
to me is a big deal. You can move him
out of the backfield, you can run him from the backfield.
I think he has a big role in this game,
and I'm glad to see he played.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
A week ago.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
I wasn't sure in what condition he would be, and
I think he played the amount that he did to
get him up to speed for this one. In particular,
get the ball out of Jayden's hands quickly, get into
these second and manageables, and all of a sudden, all
these other things we were talking about earlier, the prolific
nature of the Buccaneers offense, the way they're able to
run the ball, the deficiency of Washington's run defense. They
(18:52):
can't do nothing if they're on the sideline. So if
we can start generating these long drives that eat clock,
it starts at the beginning, know, with drive starters, And
that's where I want to see Cliff kind of come
through here, like, are they going to just be able
to run a standard rush offense? Well, they haven't all
year anyway, but are they gonna be able to do
it against this team?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Unlikely?
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Can you use their aggressiveness against them and scheme up
some drive starters with short passes and screens that gets
the ball out of Jaden's hands, maybe does a little
more zone lead than they've done in recent weeks with
him to try to use these edge rushers and their
aggressiveness against them if they're in second and six, second
and five often in these drives and they're playing up
(19:31):
tempo off of it, I really really like what I
think the results will be with their offense, because that's
been their key to success the entire season.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
It really, it really has. And I think something that
something that has hurt them in the first half of
these of these last four games where the rayame hasn't
been going, is because they've been in second and third
and long so much in the first half of these games,
whether it's through penalties, whether it's through miscommunication, there's through
you know, airs for for whatever reason, it seemed like
they are really just they're behind the sticks literally so
(20:03):
much so much, and they seem to sort of get
back in the groove of that in the second half
of these games, and for example, like the last three games,
they've scored nine touchdowns in the second half and overtime
of all these wins. And it's great that they are
they're able to do that, as dank Wuinn said, but
you don't always have to do it like that. You
always have to come you know, more difficult. Uh, you know,
(20:23):
moys is real quick. Before we move on to the
final question here, I want to ask you, like, if
the Committee come out in this first half a flat
like they've done for the better part, you know, of
the last month, it's gonna be very tough for them,
and I don't think they're going to be able to
pull off another miracle. Now, granted I've been wrong before
and this team is probably troven people wrong constantly, but
it will undeniably be more difficult to come come from
(20:45):
behind against the Buccaneers offense like this. So what do
you what do you think they can do to get
more production, whether it's in the run game or something
else offensively, to get out of these ruts they build
themselves in the first half.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
I think Bradmas is right when he meant since the
fact that this is a top run defense and you
have guys on the other side like Vita Vea that
are are you know, who's a monster. So you have
to change it up. You have to scheme it up,
you have to look at different you have to do
different things to be successful against this defense. But you
also have to remember this defense might be good against
the brush, but they're terrible against the pass.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Therefore, you have to start the game looking for your weapons.
We've seen Terry McClain go through entire halves without a target.
We cannot afford to do that. You have to look
for him early, get him involved. That's your playmaker, and
then find your other weapons. Like Sakias who's also stepped
up the past couple of weeks, zach Ertz has done
the same thing. I need. I believe you need to
(21:42):
use your weapons in order to be successful. If the
roung game is a no go for the commanders, then
go and attack their weaknesses, which is the pass game.
They're allowing two hundred and forty three yards per game,
six yards per play. I think these are very important
numbers to look at if you want to be sick
accessible against them. Make them defend the pass, which perhaps
(22:03):
is going to open some lanes for the runners.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, I think so. And Jayden has as as prolific
as he's been this year as as a running quarterback,
he is just exceptional when it comes to passing the ball.
I mean everyone has talked about how how much far,
how far along ahead he is as the passer compared
to other rookies, and that's that's been another huge key
to while this offense and this team has just progressed
so quickly in a way that a lot of people
(22:26):
didn't really expect because he I mean easy to forget.
But like you know, they were protected win six and
a half games this year and now they've you know,
they've they've doubled that easily move on to a ton
of question. But guys, you were tie handing to this
last monso to come down to the wire here, and
we'll keep it really simple with this one. Obviously, you
know Dan Quinn he mentioned you know, obviously a lot
of a lot of cameras are gonna be focused on
the Marsha Lattimore Mike Evans matchup, and that's gonna be
(22:48):
that's gonna be really really fun to watch every single
snap out there, assuming Latimer players, which it looks like
he will be. But there's a lot of other matchups
out there that are going to play very key role
here and Bram will start off with you in this one.
It's pretty simple, but like, which matchic are you most
looking forward to aside from Latimore and Evans on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Jayden Daniels versus the edge rushers of Tampa Bay. They
are an extremely aggressive team. They're not going to hide
what they do. I agree with Moisis on the back
end of their defense. The advantage for Washington is going
to be how many, how injured they are. I don't
know if Antroon Winfield's playing, I don't if Jamal Dean's playing.
I know Jordan Whitehead's not playing. But they're not going
(23:28):
to back off because they're using their backups and third
teamers back there, which means there should be opportunity for Washington.
But when things break down, or if things go in
a manner of which I could foresee, which is a
little more zone read, moving Jayden around, moving the pocket
around a little bit, getting the ball out of his hands,
at least initially early, but getting into second manageables, then
(23:51):
it's going to come down to some of these one
on ones. Yahyad Diadi was the NFC Player of the
Week last week. He had four tackles for a loss
of a sack. Klaijah Kanti didn't play in the first
game against Washington. He's back last nine games. He's had
over six acts so he would have been on track
for a double DIGITSAX season. They're getting a lot of
production out of the scheme and out of these particular players.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
But Jaydeen, We've seen this over and over and over.
Speaker 4 (24:15):
And I want to see it on this stage, on
this level in the playoffs on Sunday night, with the
lights as bright as they could possibly be, he starts
shaking a juking these guys and getting out into some
open grass, because that's how Tampa Bay plays.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
They're dead, So that's what I want to see.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Can they get into these second and manageables, get up
tempo and then let Jayden do his thing. And if
he starts juking Yaya Jiabi and Elijah Kansy and his
out and open grass, Washington's gonna have a lot of
success Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yes, very true. I think him and Kalaijah Cansy, seeing
him those two go up against ech other is going
to be very fascinating because I've always been a big
fan of Kalijah Knsi's game. I think he's a very
unique skill set out there. But you know, to the
injury point here, it looks like Angel onlyinfield was a
full participant in yesterday's walkthrough for the Buccaneers, the Monty
David also was hit a knee. He was liminated limited,
(25:06):
So so we'll keep an eye on them. But I
think Eve, you know, Topbos even said that, you know,
Winfield would have been I mean would have even even
if they run like a full practice, Winfild would have
would have been able to play. But Moys, this final
question going over to you, Other than Ladimore and Mike Evans,
which matchup are you most looking forward to seeing?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
By the by the way, Jalen is very good against
the blitz, so bring them on. I think he has
sol touchdowns when teams blitz against him. He worked, He
works very well under pressure, So we'll see how that
works out. Brown. But I'm gonna have to go in
a different direction, just not to say the same thing
you mentioned right now. I'm gonna say Jalen McMillan versus
(25:45):
either Sayer Still or Benjamin Saint Juice, one of those
two guys is gonna have to step up. I believe
it's gonna be Mike who's gonna have the goal for
the Commanders. I think that's an interesting matchup considering the
fact that it's gonna be rookie versus rookie, and the
rookie on the other side has eight touchdowns this season.
I think he's been one of those revelations in the NFL,
(26:06):
very good player, very successful this this campaign. But I
believe Mikey has proven that he's an elite defender in
the secondary as well. So I think that's an interesting
matchup to look at, and I'm gonna I'm gonna are
on the side of Mikey being successful and shutting him down.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You know, Samrseol was all over the field against the Cowboys.
It seems like he has really come into his own.
I mean, I know that he was supposed to be
a slot corner when they drafted him. Uh, and he
might still be next year, which I'm assuming that they're
going to be addressed in the cornerback position at some
point in the offseason. But if you really need to,
if you want to keep him outside, I don't see
there the would be any reason to keep Mike uh,
(26:47):
you know, you know, prevent Mike from going staying outside
because he's so versatile, he's you know, got a really
good mentality, he's a hard worker. He's just got a
lot of talent and he never gives up on a play.
I think that's what makes what makes him very very
on to watch. Winner For this one, it's super tough.
Both of you guys made really great points. But I
think moys is, I have to go with you on
(27:10):
the win because as important as Latimore and Mike as
that matchup is going to be, it's there. As Brand
said earlier, there's a lot of really key talented players
on this on this Buccaneers offense, and the rest of
those guys for the defense have to elevate. So moys
as you have the victory, any parting word of victory for.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Us, well, that's great. Great. I mean I would even
call it a tie because I think Bram threw out
some crazy numbers in the first question, which left me
I'm like, wait, let me, let me go back into
my notes and see what I have down. But it's
a pleasure man. Like I said, it's not about winning.
For me, I like to have these conversations, arguments and debates.
(27:46):
They make me better and I know that Brown probably
feels the same way. So at the end of the
of the day, it's all about winning. And as long
as we win this coming Sunday. I think we'll both
be happy. I disagree.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
I this is a out winning to me of this,
that's ridiculous. I know it's fine, but if I'm gonna lose,
I at least I appreciate the competition. And I love Moises.
And I'll take an l here reluctantly, only because it's him,
only because it's him.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I'm so glad you're able to accept the loss. Ram.
I know that was tough for you.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
I'll I'll buy you a beer in Tampa on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
We'll hold you to that, Moises, all right, you know, well,
you know, if we win, we're buying everybody beers for sure. Yea.
And to the point to your two Moises' point, it
was very very close on. It was great hearing your points,
Dan Braym hearing your points as well, because, as I
always say, it is not really about my opinion about
who wins to lose it here, It's about the objective
takes to everyone I've had on this on this podcast
(28:47):
this season, what they have to say, because they have
all been the stars of the show. They've been the
insiders and light moiss. We are hoping for a Commander's
win over the Buccaneers this weekend. We'll see where they
go from there. But I've been saying I think this
team has a chance against anybody they play against, And
I mean, what a magical season either way regardless, and
(29:07):
it's been so much fun and hopefully we'll see each
other for another week. If not, be sure to rate
your view subscriber, every yet your podcasts, and this has
been the beatdown
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