October 26, 2024 • 30 mins
The Commanders are back at Northwest looking to take on the Chicago Bears for the third consecutive and get to 6-2. Senior Writer Zach Selby is joined by DC News Now's Alex Flum and Moises Linares from the Commanders' Spanish broadcast to break down the possibility of Marcus Mariota starting on Sunday, Caleb Williams and more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Is what's going on, Commanders Fan. This is another episode
of the beat Down podcast. I am your host, senior
writer for the Washington Commanders, Zach Selby, and the vibes
are once again high out here at Ashburn because the
Commander's romped the Carolina Panthers forty to seven.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
You had a pick six, You had.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Marcus Mario to coming in and lead the team to
the office to thirty three points. It was a great,
great day overall. You couldn't really ask for much more
than that, other than obviously Dave Daniel's being out. That's
not ideal. We will keep that monitor throughout the week,
but we cannot dwell too long on our spoils of
victory because the Commanders have another really tough test coming
(00:51):
up this week against the Chicago Bears, a number one
overall pick KAYLEB Williams. They are riding a three game
winning streak coming out of the bye, most recently taking
down the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. It's gonna be a
number one versus number two no matter what happens, guys,
whether it's Jade Daniels or Marcus Mario to playing.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Uh, but it's gonna be quite the test either way.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
And how they're gonna be able to come away with
a starting another winning streak for the Commanders, Well, that
is exactly what we are going to be.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Talking about with me. Of course.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
We have two more guests here, Alex Flumm, sports reporter
and anchor from DC DC News Now and Moyses Lenari
is the play by play announcer for the Commander Spanish broadcast.
We had one last week. We had to get Moyses
in this week. Guys, how are we doing pretty good?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, I tell you doing I'm good.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
It's this is my second time on this thing, so
this is pretty EXCD.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
So you're number one and I'm number two. LS role
any day.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Well, you know, you know Flum unfortunately did lose his
first matchup, so he is definitely out for blood, so
to say, hey, hanging into this is this round two
for him. But all the viewers, they know the spiel,
they know the deal with For you guys, if you
flub me know up and more of us, you know
we'll be asking you guys questions. You guys are gonna
be debating. I'm gonna give you points. And since it
(02:09):
is my show and the Bird has arrested on my
heavy shoulders. Uh, it is my responsibility to play a
winner at the end of this bout.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But for all the viewers, you.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Should be more focused on what's happening with these two
guys and how they are able to deliver this objective
content and this subjective analysis about these teams because they
are of course some of the best of what they do.
And without further ado, now we have the rules and
regulations out of the way, let's go ahead and jump
into it, starting with the offense. Probably the biggest thing
that the commanders are gonna have to be paying attention
(02:41):
to this week because Cliff Kingsbury is going to quite
the challenge.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
If Marcus Mariota does play. We don't know whether.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
That's gonna be the cancel out as of this recording
of this podcast. There might be some updates when you
hear this on Saturday, but for now we do not know.
Because Jayden Daniels did not practice on Wednesday with a
rib injury, Marcus more Riota took the first team reps.
He was addressing the media on Wednesday. Uh So it
is a big mystery right now as to which number
two overall pick we are going to see uh pseudo.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
For the Burgundy Gold as the starting quarterback.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
But for all into the purposes, let's just say that
Marcus Mariota does play. Now we're not saying, of course,
that he is or isn't, but let's just say that
he does. Flum, We'll start with you, what can Cliff
Kingsbury do to elevate Mariota if he plays, Because he
came in there and performed really well in relief for Jayden.
(03:35):
But again, this this Chicago defense is going to be
quite the challenge against. They are top five unit in
several several stats here. How can Cliff Kingsbury take on
this challenge of la Mariota in in the best way possible?
Speaker 5 (03:49):
Yeah? Well, I think, first off, I think they need
to get Mario to confident out there, have him make
a few early throws, maybe to Terry, maybe to Elaminae
a Kiis or some or Diami Brown or zach Ertz
or went out there.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
It seemed like he had a good report with the
tight ends last week.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
But I also think that they really need to establish
the run out there. I think back to the Ravens
game with no Brian Robinson in that game, none of
the running backs were able to get more than I
think twenty one twenty two rushing yards in that game,
So I think they really need to run it down.
The Bears throats establish the run early with Brian Robinson,
so there's a little bit less attention on what Mariota
(04:24):
is doing down the stretch if the game is close, especially,
so I think if they can get that running game
going early and they can get a little bit of confidence.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
In Mariota to start things off, I think he'll.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Be able to get rolling and he should be able
to have a good day, just like he did this
past week.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
And you know, if you bring up the point about
game Mariota offsho a good start there. And you know,
we've seen, you know, some decent Mario performances over the
course of his career, but it really was quite quite
the day for him in games where he's passed at
least twenty times. It was the third highest completion range
(04:58):
rating he had with seventy eight eight percent. Uh, it
was a really great day for him. Two touchdowns, only
had five incompletions. And you also bring in the point
about the running game, which I think is I think
in area that the that the Commanders could try to
exploit here, because while the Bears are very good in
a lot of other areas, they're not as good defending
the run. I think they're you know, they're still they're
flirting around there with the top ten top ten defense
(05:21):
terns on the ground defense, but it's not it's not
quite as good as the passing game in the secondary.
Uh you know, they's they're not as quite as proficient
there in terms of scoring. Uh So, moys Is, I'll
flip that over to you and kind of focuses specifically.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
On on the running game here.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
And I mean, obviously you're gonna be rob You're gonna
have Austin Eckler in there. But as far as Mario
to as a runner, Like, what do you really expect
him because he didn't carry the ball a few times
against the Panthers, But what do you expect out of
Mario with his legs heading into the Bears game.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Well, he showed us that he has the ability to
run with the ball, right, he didn't do it as
many times because the team didn't need him to run
the ball, but we seen him in the past. This
is a veteran we're talking about ten years in the league.
You know, we saw what he did with other teams
such as Tennessee where perhaps we saw his greatest seasons
than the Falcons. But I think Marcus Mariota, what you
need to do with him is just trust him. He's
(06:14):
a veteran. You brought him in for this specific moment.
This is not a coincidence that we're getting to this point.
It's the NFL injuries happened. So now that we have
Marcus Mariota in this exact position, it is a moment
for him to show why he was brought in. I
think he understands his role. For me, it's more on
letting Mariota do his thing, allowing Cliff Kingsbury to trust
(06:39):
him just a bit more.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Whether he's gonna throw, whether he's gonna run. He has
the ability.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Maybe we'll see some rbos and allow him to use
his legs a little bit more. But if that's not
the case, he has a couple great running backs such
as Brian Robinson Junior, who's shown that he can put
the team on his back, and I think this will
be a Brian Robinson Junior your type of game of
ground and pound and with his ability. I think the
(07:04):
Commanders will have the ability to to move the chains
and score touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
But I think it's not a coincidence.
Speaker 6 (07:11):
I think Mariota he know, he knows, and he knew
that this day would come, and here we are. If
it is him, if his number is called on Sunday,
I think he will be He will.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Be more than ready.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
I don't really see why people would be worried Mariota
might play. Look ten years in the league, Heisman Trophy winner,
it's his moment, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Okay, So just to pull the curtain back a little
bit here, I grew up a Titans sand and uh
you know, I was in I was in college whenever
the Titans drafted Mariota, and I loved watching him play
it Oregon loved watching him play with the Titans. Uh
so I've seen a lot of him, and you are.
You do bring up a good point, was it's about,
you know it in trusting Mariota in terms of like
(07:51):
how he's able to just make plays off scripts. I
think that was some of the best plays that he
made against the Panthers last week. You know, when the
play breaks down, he's able to scream around a little
bit and find this open guy. Now, Alex, I'll go
back to you with this specifically, because you know Cliff
Cliff has has has been able to call again a
certain way with Jayden Uh. You know, you see some
(08:12):
of the offscript stuff here and there with with Jayden,
but it seems like there's more of that with Mariota
the scene where he thrives the most. So what does
this offense look like when it's maybe when plays break
down and you have to rely on Mariota uh to
come through with these plays that you know, maybe he
wouldn't necessarily make if he was doing them on time.
Speaker 5 (08:32):
Well, I think with Jaden, we saw that when plays
broke down, he wasn't afraid to run, and he wasn't
afraid to adjust and and you know, change things on
the fly. And I think, like Moisas was saying, I
think Mariota is not going to be afraid to do
that either. Like you said, he's a veteran in this league.
Jayden's still just learning. Mario has kind of been there,
(08:53):
he's he's had the experience, he's had the rep So
I think if if plays break down, you know, it
may not look as smooth as some of the plays
Jayden's been able to make, like some of these deep,
impressive throws to Terry that he's made under pressure.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
But I think he'll.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Still be able to fix plays that have broken down
and extend plays and extend drives.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
And you know, last.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
Week we saw it in a lot of those plays
where he was able to make something happen even if
the play broke down a little bit. So I agree
with Moys says that I think Mariota will be ready
for the moment.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, I think so too.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
And I think these players do is what his teammates
do as well, And I think that's something that really
goes Maybe you know, you're not gonna see it on
the stat sheet, like the player belief stat is not
really going to show up on the Boss or whenever
the Commanders and the Bears play, but it really does.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Simply that has quite the effect.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Now, and Moys, before we go to the next question,
I'll bounce that to you in terms of, you know,
how big is the fact that the these teammates they
trust Maria even though he hasn't been on the field
really since the preseason. How big of a factory is
that they're able to trust him to go out there
and deliver on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's huge. He's a leader.
Speaker 6 (10:04):
He's a leader on and off the field, and I
think we've spoken about that, even when we knew he
was not going to be the starter, he was brought
into lead. He was brought into mentor a young Jaden Daniels.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
But I'll add another point to this.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
You know, this conversation we're having, the communication has been
a lot better. From week one to week number six,
We've seen a huge improvement and we can single out
a couple of players such as Sam cost Me and
Andrew Wiley and the type of communication that they're having
on the line. That's also allowing the quarterback to have
more time to make a decision. It was a case
with Jaden Daniels, and we expect that to be the
(10:37):
same case with Marcus Manriota.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah, I can't wait to see the challenge that he
faces going up against the Bears, because you know, the
Panthers was it was an exceptional game for him.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
You know, the Bears are going to be quite thee
quite the task.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I think it's probably one of the best eamens is
they'll they'll play all year just from a statistical standpoint.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Moving on to the next question, but.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
First score update, you guys are tied three to three
in terms of points. You guys made very good showing
here for both of you. But we're gonna flip it on
over to the commander's defense and we're gonna talk about
Caleb Williams, the number one overall pick, because I feel
like we have to talk about him right because he's
He's never an overall pick. He was picked right before Jaden,
So these guys are always going to be linked no
matter what. And Caleb has been playing quite well over
(11:23):
the last month or so. I think he leeds a
lead in passer rating. I think he has a seventy
seventy four percent completion percentage. He's doing a lot of
really good things. He tossed four touchdowns against the Jacksonville
Jaguars in London. It's gonna be it's gonna be interesting
to see what the commanders are able to put cook
up to try to stop him. So this will start
(11:43):
with you with this one. In terms of making some
rookie mistakes for Caleb, because he did, he did start
his career making some up and down mistakes.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
There you know, as you would expect from a rookie.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
But you know, how what can the Commanders do to
maybe force those rookie mistakes to happen a little more
often against them.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Probably blits a little more. So, Let's pressure Caleb Williams.
He's a mobile quarterback. We know that he's getting better
week by week.
Speaker 6 (12:09):
I know they were doubters saying that perhaps he's not
the guy we thought he was. Look, it's the NFL.
Not everyone starts like Jaden Daniels did. It took him
some time to get acclimated to the way the way
of play in the NFL. But for the Washington Commanders,
it's all about players stepping up. We saw that last
week Dante Fowler with the interception running it back for
(12:30):
a pick six. We need some more of that throughout
this season. Up to this point, Frankie Lulu has been
one of the leaders for.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
The linebacker unit.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
Bobby Wagner has also been there, and for the first
time this season we mentioned his name, Emmanuel Ford stepping up.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
If we can keep doing this, I think the.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
Commanders have a good opportunity to make it a very
long afternoon for Caleb Williams or to better put it,
it won't be that easy.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
These are not the Jacksonville Jaguars, which are probably the
worst team in the league.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
I think the Washington Commanders are trending in the right direction.
We're talking about Caleb Williams, but he's not the only
problem that Washington has to worry about. How about DeAndre Siff,
how about DJ Moore who was a freaking nightmer for
the Commanders a year ago. So these are all things
that have to be of concern for the Washington Commanders.
But speaking and concentrated on Caleb Williams, make them feel pressure,
(13:24):
make them leave the pocket, and make them force probably
throw one of those force passes that is probably gonna
end up in an interception.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
So those are my keys for the defense this coming week.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah, I really think the defense has played a lot
better over the last few weeks. So I know a
lot of people were very concerned about how they were
going to how they actual They performed in Week one
against the Buccaneers, and that's a really good team that
they played in Week one. But since then they've really
made these small incremental improvements to the point where you're right,
I mean, they're close to the league average in a
(13:58):
lot of areas, and I think that's kind of what
you would you want out of that unit, especially in
terms of like the pass rush and things like that.
And we'll focus on that with you, Alex, because I
think the pass rush has really come along recently, because
you remember, I think, you know, with the with the
Cardinals and the Bengals, there was a lot of talk
about how, you know, the passers just isn't really getting there,
(14:18):
They're not really finishing, and now it seems like they
really are with Frankie Louvou out there, with Dante Fowler
getting more snaps with Dorince Armstrong and when heever he
comes back and he's he's gonna get more rushes. He
had a really good stretch there, you know, before he
got hurt with a rib injury. So how big do
you think this pastor is going to be, Alex for
in terms of containing halob because they they this is
(14:39):
not the first time the Commanders have faced a mobile
quarterback this year.
Speaker 5 (14:42):
Yeah, I mean, I think the pass rush definitely gonna
be huge, And you bring it up Dante Fowler Junior,
and I have to give Moisas on the other side
a shout out too, because Yeah, plus in the locker
room yesterday that he loved moist sas Is called the touchdown.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
That was an awesome thing. But I just to throw
that in there real quick. But you know, he's had.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
A heck of a game last week, and it's like
you said, it's been someone different stepping up every week.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I mean, Drance Armstrong.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
Had good games when he was healthy and they definitely
hope to have him back. Cleveland Ferrell, Doran Payne, you know,
Johnny Newton started to take on a larger role.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
But as much as we're going to talk about that
pass rush, and I want.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
To bring up something that Mike Sanders still said yesterday.
He said, instead of telling the D line rush so
we can cover, we need to cover so they can rush.
And I think this game is actually going to fall
upon the secondary because you know, we talked about the
struggles they had at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
They've started to come on a bit more lately. Like
you said, Forbes had the pick last week.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
So I think that secondary and them being able to
stop Caleb and that trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen
and Roma Dunzaman that's a really solid wide receiver trio.
And I look at what Caleb Williams has done this season.
The first couple of weeks, if you watch his games,
he was not able.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
To throw the ball down field.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
It was a lot of short plays, you know, dinks
and dunks, not a lot of stretching the field. And
I think the Commanders need to recreate that situation where
the secondary eliminates the opportunities downfield and keeps things in
the short field, because I think Caleb is actually gonna
succeed most when he can, you know, get in those
situations where he can run and get outside the pocket
(16:22):
a little bit and create some different you know, kind
of like the Mahomes effect or kind of like what
we've seen with Jayden Daniel's extending plays. Doing that and
throwing the ball deep. I think is where he's really
shown to improve the last few weeks. And if the
Commanders can eliminate that, I think they might have the
upper hand in this.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
You know, we keep dancing around, you know, djmore. We
will definitely talk about him, you know, heading into the
final question. But you know the other guy that Roal
Madoon Day, Keenan Allen, like DeAndre Swift, Like all these
guys are are so key. So I mean they invested
heavily in the in in that offense, you know, this offseason,
and has it's really paid off for them? It seems like,
(16:59):
oh the last two weeks or so. Uh, But moys,
it's like, let's focus on on those weapons like Keyan
Allen and romadoons and in terms of like with Alex
throwing the deep ball down to but that's all. That's
kind of been an area where the commanders have have
have maybe shown some you know up and down growth,
you know, over the last few months or so, they've
seen that they've gotten better at but they're also still
(17:20):
vulnerable in other ways, like whenever they played Begainst the
Bengals and Jamar Taes really just went you know, towards
him in a lot of other areas, especially downfield. So
how did how does the how does the commander secretary stack.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Up against this overall group of receivers.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And what can they do to to to limit those
big plays downfield? So it's okay, well, all he has
to do is digging dunk down, you know, down the field.
Speaker 6 (17:42):
Well, we have to acknowledge the fact that Dj Moore
and Keenan Allen are ballers. Both of those players are
elite when we talk about NFL receivers.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Keenan Allen a veteran in the NFL.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Right, we've seen his his career twelve years in the league.
DJ Moore, you know half of that amount of the
fact that they can play ball.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Those are players you're going to have to look out for.
But I'm going to go back to what.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
Defensive coordinator Joe with Junior said a couple I believe
it was last week when he said the communication has
been an issue. He acknowledged the fact that there's been
problems in the play by play booth.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
We've seen the same.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
We've seen moments when the communication in the secondary seems
to just break apart in no one's talking and we
see opposing players wide open on the field. Joe what
Junior said, communication is sent, received and acknowledged, and if
you can improve and those three key you know factors
in the defensive side, I think we're going to see
a better defensive unit.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
We've seen improvement.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
We've seen the secondary we come up with big plays,
but now they have to show consistency. If we can
see that from them. I think we're going to be
okay where we hit. We need players like Benjamin Saint Jews,
who's a great player but on easis has come up short.
Perhaps you know, he has some bad calls, but also
(19:01):
times where there's no communication. We're expecting him to step up.
We're expecting Emanual Forbes to keep playing well like he
did last week and come up with a blick.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Plays now, Mike bay point is.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
Caleb Williams is a great quarterback. Perhaps he's going to
be elite in the upcoming season's upcoming years, but he's
not Lamar Jackson. Yets and the Washington Commanders showed that
they can keep up with a quarterback like Lamar Jackson
got to him three times.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
You have to keep doing that.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
This shows you that the potential for this unit to
take that next step is right there for grabs. So
I think if you could put the pressure on Caleb
Williams and if the secondary can have better communication consistency
in the communication department, they're going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, I really think.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
You know, obviously communication is important for all sides of
the ball, offense, deven special teams, but like it seems
like communication with the secondary is just it's so critical
vote because they are all working as one unit in
a lot of ways, and they all had to feed
off each other. And I do think it has has
gotten better, a lot better. And you also bring up
a good point about, you know, putting pressure on on
(20:14):
Kleb because you know, Calamari they did. They kind of
did the same thing. He didn't think, only had like
one rush at him for like three yards. Deshaun Watson
really didn't do much outside of the pocket again when
they played the browns Lamar Jackson is Lamar Jackson. But
I feel like they, you know, at times they had
a good plan for for containing him and bottling him up.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Alice, real quick before we move on.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
You know, we talked about Emmanuel Forbes briefly there, but
you know, he had he had an interception, you know,
the first one he's had since his you know, since
last year. I think it was Week two against the
Denver Broncos. So I mean just having him in general,
like being able to produce, like how how important is
that going to be for this secondary who which which
has been you know a little shallow and depth at times,
(20:57):
but getting him back first round, picking being productive, like
how how big go Well.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
When Emmanuel Forbes was drafted here, there were a lot
of high hopes for Forbes and you know, he set
records in college with interceptions and pick sixes, and that's
something that Commanders fans were hoping to see from him here.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
So if you add that dynamic of Emmanuel Forbes being.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
Able to come in and be a ballhawk in games,
I mean, I think back to when D'Angelo Hall was
on this team and he was making plays left and right,
and you know there was a game against the Bears
where he had four interceptions in it, and you think,
you know, Sean.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
Taylor made a lot of plays like that.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
So you know, that's something that Commanders fans are hungry
for and we saw it last week with the huge
play to Dante Fowler Junior. So if you add that
dynamic of Forbes coming in, you start to kind of
slowly see that secondary get going. I mean, Jeremy Chin
has been great this year. Kwon Martin has held his
own at the safety position.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
We talked about Ben Saint Jus.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
You know, he's had his moments of struggles, but he's
had solid moments as well. Sandrus still he had option
in Baltimore, So you know, you kind of see these guys,
know egg monogamy, Mike Davis, you know they're coming and
making plays. If you can throw Forbes into that equation
and he can be relied upon, especially when you talk
about going up against great weapons weekend and week out
(22:15):
in the NFL, that that can make a major difference
and also would be really nice just to see after
the adversity he's been through to have that success.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
You know, the potential of a manual is just is
just so great because you know, he broke he broke
the FBS record for most pick sixes. And you see
the four three speed, you see you know the length,
you see the range, you see the coverability. It's just
it's it hasn't always gone the way he or the
team would want it to yet. But I hope that
(22:47):
you know, in the corner is just such a it's
such a confidence based position that I really hope that
that pick that he had just really sends him flying
through the roof here and gets him back on track
because I think he could really be such a big
key for the defense. All right, So final question before
we do score up date, guys, are still tied, so
it's all coming down into the wire here and we're
(23:08):
gonna focus on a guy we have kind of talked
about a little bit here and there, but we were
gonna focus specifically on DJ Moore because the last time
he was at this stadium he had a big day
career day. Eight receptions on ten targets for two hundred
and thirty yards with three touchdowns, average twenty eight point
eight yards per catch.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
He's gonna be a big key for this team. The
players who were still in this defense from last year
definitely remember the kind of performance he had. They're gonna
be trying their best to stop him. So Alex will
start with you. You're what is your best plan for
the Commanders to contain or stop DJ Moore from having
(23:50):
a similar day.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
Well, I'll tell you this, and we'll keep in mind
DJ Moore went to the University of Maryland, where Zach.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
And I both went, So you turt.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
That you know he's coming in motivated in this game.
And not to mention, Caleb Williams also grew up here
in the DMV played his high school ball at Gonzaga,
so they're both going to have local connections.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
To this game extra local motivation.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
I think they're both going to be excited, and I
think the Commanders simply need to put that extra attention
on DJ Moore because Roma Dunza is young, you know,
he's a rookie in this league. Keenan Allen is a
veteran that maybe isn't the same as he once was.
So I think DJ Moore, in the prime of his career,
just getting that big contract, I think he does garner
(24:37):
that extra attention. So whatever it is, whether it's a
Manda man or zone on a given play, I do
think they need to focus on DJ to Moore as
that primary target for the Bears. Force the Bears to
throw to Keenan Allen, who maybe hasn't been as effective
this year, forced the Bears to have to throw to
Rome Dunes.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
They forced the Bears to have to run the ball.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
We talked about the Commanders being to develop the run Bears.
Probably we need to do that too, And I think
you can make a good point. The b rob is
having a better season than DeAndre Swift, So I think
if you force the Bears away, take DJ Moore out
of this game as the primary focus, you know, maybe
you can let him still get those short plays and
(25:18):
give him a little bit.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
But like we're saying with eliminating.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
Those deep plays for Caleb Williams, you know, if you
need to have someone help on a deep throw, just
don't let them get that connection. Because you know, if
you we talked about cornerback being a confidence game, it
works on the other side too.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
If a quarterback can make an eighty yard throw to
DJ Moore, you.
Speaker 5 (25:38):
Know that's going to give them confidence to do it
again and keep targeting him.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
So just don't let up that big play.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
And like I said before, the secondary, this is gonna
be a big test game for them because they're gonna
be an X factor and if they can stop DJ
Moore and they can stop Kayleb Williams, we're gonna be
looking at a six and two Commanders team, which will
be very exciting.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
All right, boys, s, you were there Thursday night for
the broadcast. You saw what DJ Moore did to this team.
What is your best plan for stopping him?
Speaker 6 (26:09):
Well, first of all, Alex, I don't care if he
went to the University of Maryland.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
I Caleb Williams is from the DMB.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
On Sunday when we're on from four to seven pm.
They're the enemy. They've played for the opposing team. Beat
them at all costs. It doesn't matter where they are from.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
What's cool they went to And I agree with you,
though I'll give you some credit.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
Yeah, you have to force Caleb Williams to make difficult passes,
make them throw to other receivers. But here's the thing
that is the key. Caleb Williams is the key. If
you're able to make them feel pressured, leave the pocket,
make difficult throws, you're gonna have an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Now when we look at.
Speaker 6 (26:53):
The humpers, we're talking about how the Chicago Bears beat
on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yeah, but you also have to
go back to that game and realized the Jaguars pretty
much self imploded. They made a lot of mistakes and
even then the Jaguars, the Jaguars were able to sack
uh Caleb Williams on three occasions. So that tells you
(27:14):
there's an opening for the for this Washington Commander defense
to step up and make big plays. If you limit
Caleb Williams, there is no Dj Moore, there is no
Keenan Allen.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Make them throw to the rookies, to the to.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
The Tyner Scott, to the Carters, to the to the
Jones Junior, and you're gonna give yourself an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
I think that's the key.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
You're right, and I think this this, this, this commander's
pass rush has has slowly risen up the sack ranks
is here. They I think they they put the pressure
on Andy Dalton, They've put the pressure on Deshaun Watson. Uh,
they even got to Lamar Jackson a couple of times.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
It's it's definitely gonna be a big key.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Both of you made excellent points for different reasons, for sure,
But I think I'm gonna have to go with I'm
gonna have to go with Alex here because I think
the secondary is still gonna have to have go with
the challenge of taking on DJ Moore keeping him from
(28:19):
getting those big plays.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
So, Alex, you are the winner. You've won, You've won
your first victor in the beat Dom podcast. How does
that feel? Do you have any party wars a victory
for us?
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Well, it feels great.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
I had to avenge myself after losing to Candy before
the Giants game.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
But I will say I had a very very, very
formidable opponent.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
I think if Moist Sasen I did this one hundred times,
one person wins fifty times, the other person wins fifty times.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
So I was honored to go up against the great opponent.
And everybody better listen to his calls on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Yes, please do, because they are all excellent and guy
Alex's Rightley it was.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
It was very tough.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
I was down like the last second, okay, probably the
most competitive debate we've had on the entire show.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
So I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it first time on
the show. It's great.
Speaker 6 (29:07):
Congrats Alex, I think you are worthy winner. Before we end,
I just want to also say shout out to someone
we don't mention a lot, but it has done a
great job that there in mathis.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Niks number ninety eight, always showing up.
Speaker 6 (29:21):
One of those dudes that he just makes the play
and you know, he goes his way and pretty much
sometimes we forget about him.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
But those are the type of players that make a difference.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
So Alex, ingrats, I'll see you on Sunday and hopefully
the Commanders win and it'll be happy.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I mean, for all that is a great way to
end it.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Definitely shout out to Fiederia and Mathis and hopefully, as
Alex and Moys said, we will be looking at a
six and two commander squad. Next time you hear us,
be sure to rate, review, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
And this has been the beatdown
Is what's going on, Commanders Fan. This is another episode
of the beat Down podcast. I am your host, senior
writer for the Washington Commanders, Zach Selby, and the vibes
are once again high out here at Ashburn because the
Commander's romped the Carolina Panthers forty to seven.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
You had a pick six, You had.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Marcus Mario to coming in and lead the team to
the office to thirty three points. It was a great,
great day overall. You couldn't really ask for much more
than that, other than obviously Dave Daniel's being out. That's
not ideal. We will keep that monitor throughout the week,
but we cannot dwell too long on our spoils of
victory because the Commanders have another really tough test coming
(00:51):
up this week against the Chicago Bears, a number one
overall pick KAYLEB Williams. They are riding a three game
winning streak coming out of the bye, most recently taking
down the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. It's gonna be a
number one versus number two no matter what happens, guys,
whether it's Jade Daniels or Marcus Mario to playing.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Uh, but it's gonna be quite the test either way.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
And how they're gonna be able to come away with
a starting another winning streak for the Commanders, Well, that
is exactly what we are going to be.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Talking about with me. Of course.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
We have two more guests here, Alex Flumm, sports reporter
and anchor from DC DC News Now and Moyses Lenari
is the play by play announcer for the Commander Spanish broadcast.
We had one last week. We had to get Moyses
in this week. Guys, how are we doing pretty good?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, I tell you doing I'm good.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
It's this is my second time on this thing, so
this is pretty EXCD.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
So you're number one and I'm number two. LS role
any day.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Well, you know, you know Flum unfortunately did lose his
first matchup, so he is definitely out for blood, so
to say, hey, hanging into this is this round two
for him. But all the viewers, they know the spiel,
they know the deal with For you guys, if you
flub me know up and more of us, you know
we'll be asking you guys questions. You guys are gonna
be debating. I'm gonna give you points. And since it
(02:09):
is my show and the Bird has arrested on my
heavy shoulders. Uh, it is my responsibility to play a
winner at the end of this bout.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But for all the viewers, you.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Should be more focused on what's happening with these two
guys and how they are able to deliver this objective
content and this subjective analysis about these teams because they
are of course some of the best of what they do.
And without further ado, now we have the rules and
regulations out of the way, let's go ahead and jump
into it, starting with the offense. Probably the biggest thing
that the commanders are gonna have to be paying attention
(02:41):
to this week because Cliff Kingsbury is going to quite
the challenge.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
If Marcus Mariota does play. We don't know whether.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
That's gonna be the cancel out as of this recording
of this podcast. There might be some updates when you
hear this on Saturday, but for now we do not know.
Because Jayden Daniels did not practice on Wednesday with a
rib injury, Marcus more Riota took the first team reps.
He was addressing the media on Wednesday. Uh So it
is a big mystery right now as to which number
two overall pick we are going to see uh pseudo.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
For the Burgundy Gold as the starting quarterback.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
But for all into the purposes, let's just say that
Marcus Mariota does play. Now we're not saying, of course,
that he is or isn't, but let's just say that
he does. Flum, We'll start with you, what can Cliff
Kingsbury do to elevate Mariota if he plays, Because he
came in there and performed really well in relief for Jayden.
(03:35):
But again, this this Chicago defense is going to be
quite the challenge against. They are top five unit in
several several stats here. How can Cliff Kingsbury take on
this challenge of la Mariota in in the best way possible?
Speaker 5 (03:49):
Yeah? Well, I think, first off, I think they need
to get Mario to confident out there, have him make
a few early throws, maybe to Terry, maybe to Elaminae
a Kiis or some or Diami Brown or zach Ertz
or went out there.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
It seemed like he had a good report with the
tight ends last week.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
But I also think that they really need to establish
the run out there. I think back to the Ravens
game with no Brian Robinson in that game, none of
the running backs were able to get more than I
think twenty one twenty two rushing yards in that game,
So I think they really need to run it down.
The Bears throats establish the run early with Brian Robinson,
so there's a little bit less attention on what Mariota
(04:24):
is doing down the stretch if the game is close, especially,
so I think if they can get that running game
going early and they can get a little bit of confidence.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
In Mariota to start things off, I think he'll.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Be able to get rolling and he should be able
to have a good day, just like he did this
past week.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
And you know, if you bring up the point about
game Mariota offsho a good start there. And you know,
we've seen, you know, some decent Mario performances over the
course of his career, but it really was quite quite
the day for him in games where he's passed at
least twenty times. It was the third highest completion range
(04:58):
rating he had with seventy eight eight percent. Uh, it
was a really great day for him. Two touchdowns, only
had five incompletions. And you also bring in the point
about the running game, which I think is I think
in area that the that the Commanders could try to
exploit here, because while the Bears are very good in
a lot of other areas, they're not as good defending
the run. I think they're you know, they're still they're
flirting around there with the top ten top ten defense
(05:21):
terns on the ground defense, but it's not it's not
quite as good as the passing game in the secondary.
Uh you know, they's they're not as quite as proficient
there in terms of scoring. Uh So, moys Is, I'll
flip that over to you and kind of focuses specifically.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
On on the running game here.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
And I mean, obviously you're gonna be rob You're gonna
have Austin Eckler in there. But as far as Mario
to as a runner, Like, what do you really expect
him because he didn't carry the ball a few times
against the Panthers, But what do you expect out of
Mario with his legs heading into the Bears game.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Well, he showed us that he has the ability to
run with the ball, right, he didn't do it as
many times because the team didn't need him to run
the ball, but we seen him in the past. This
is a veteran we're talking about ten years in the league.
You know, we saw what he did with other teams
such as Tennessee where perhaps we saw his greatest seasons
than the Falcons. But I think Marcus Mariota, what you
need to do with him is just trust him. He's
(06:14):
a veteran. You brought him in for this specific moment.
This is not a coincidence that we're getting to this point.
It's the NFL injuries happened. So now that we have
Marcus Mariota in this exact position, it is a moment
for him to show why he was brought in. I
think he understands his role. For me, it's more on
letting Mariota do his thing, allowing Cliff Kingsbury to trust
(06:39):
him just a bit more.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Whether he's gonna throw, whether he's gonna run. He has
the ability.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Maybe we'll see some rbos and allow him to use
his legs a little bit more. But if that's not
the case, he has a couple great running backs such
as Brian Robinson Junior, who's shown that he can put
the team on his back, and I think this will
be a Brian Robinson Junior your type of game of
ground and pound and with his ability. I think the
(07:04):
Commanders will have the ability to to move the chains
and score touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
But I think it's not a coincidence.
Speaker 6 (07:11):
I think Mariota he know, he knows, and he knew
that this day would come, and here we are. If
it is him, if his number is called on Sunday,
I think he will be He will.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Be more than ready.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
I don't really see why people would be worried Mariota
might play. Look ten years in the league, Heisman Trophy winner,
it's his moment, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Okay, So just to pull the curtain back a little
bit here, I grew up a Titans sand and uh
you know, I was in I was in college whenever
the Titans drafted Mariota, and I loved watching him play
it Oregon loved watching him play with the Titans. Uh
so I've seen a lot of him, and you are.
You do bring up a good point, was it's about,
you know it in trusting Mariota in terms of like
(07:51):
how he's able to just make plays off scripts. I
think that was some of the best plays that he
made against the Panthers last week. You know, when the
play breaks down, he's able to scream around a little
bit and find this open guy. Now, Alex, I'll go
back to you with this specifically, because you know Cliff
Cliff has has has been able to call again a
certain way with Jayden Uh. You know, you see some
(08:12):
of the offscript stuff here and there with with Jayden,
but it seems like there's more of that with Mariota
the scene where he thrives the most. So what does
this offense look like when it's maybe when plays break
down and you have to rely on Mariota uh to
come through with these plays that you know, maybe he
wouldn't necessarily make if he was doing them on time.
Speaker 5 (08:32):
Well, I think with Jaden, we saw that when plays
broke down, he wasn't afraid to run, and he wasn't
afraid to adjust and and you know, change things on
the fly. And I think, like Moisas was saying, I
think Mariota is not going to be afraid to do
that either. Like you said, he's a veteran in this league.
Jayden's still just learning. Mario has kind of been there,
(08:53):
he's he's had the experience, he's had the rep So
I think if if plays break down, you know, it
may not look as smooth as some of the plays
Jayden's been able to make, like some of these deep,
impressive throws to Terry that he's made under pressure.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
But I think he'll.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Still be able to fix plays that have broken down
and extend plays and extend drives.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
And you know, last.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
Week we saw it in a lot of those plays
where he was able to make something happen even if
the play broke down a little bit. So I agree
with Moys says that I think Mariota will be ready
for the moment.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, I think so too.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
And I think these players do is what his teammates
do as well, And I think that's something that really
goes Maybe you know, you're not gonna see it on
the stat sheet, like the player belief stat is not
really going to show up on the Boss or whenever
the Commanders and the Bears play, but it really does.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Simply that has quite the effect.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Now, and Moys, before we go to the next question,
I'll bounce that to you in terms of, you know,
how big is the fact that the these teammates they
trust Maria even though he hasn't been on the field
really since the preseason. How big of a factory is
that they're able to trust him to go out there
and deliver on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
It's huge. He's a leader.
Speaker 6 (10:04):
He's a leader on and off the field, and I
think we've spoken about that, even when we knew he
was not going to be the starter, he was brought
into lead. He was brought into mentor a young Jaden Daniels.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
But I'll add another point to this.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
You know, this conversation we're having, the communication has been
a lot better. From week one to week number six,
We've seen a huge improvement and we can single out
a couple of players such as Sam cost Me and
Andrew Wiley and the type of communication that they're having
on the line. That's also allowing the quarterback to have
more time to make a decision. It was a case
with Jaden Daniels, and we expect that to be the
(10:37):
same case with Marcus Manriota.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah, I can't wait to see the challenge that he
faces going up against the Bears, because you know, the
Panthers was it was an exceptional game for him.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
You know, the Bears are going to be quite thee
quite the task.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I think it's probably one of the best eamens is
they'll they'll play all year just from a statistical standpoint.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Moving on to the next question, but.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
First score update, you guys are tied three to three
in terms of points. You guys made very good showing
here for both of you. But we're gonna flip it on
over to the commander's defense and we're gonna talk about
Caleb Williams, the number one overall pick, because I feel
like we have to talk about him right because he's
He's never an overall pick. He was picked right before Jaden,
So these guys are always going to be linked no
matter what. And Caleb has been playing quite well over
(11:23):
the last month or so. I think he leeds a
lead in passer rating. I think he has a seventy
seventy four percent completion percentage. He's doing a lot of
really good things. He tossed four touchdowns against the Jacksonville
Jaguars in London. It's gonna be it's gonna be interesting
to see what the commanders are able to put cook
up to try to stop him. So this will start
(11:43):
with you with this one. In terms of making some
rookie mistakes for Caleb, because he did, he did start
his career making some up and down mistakes.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
There you know, as you would expect from a rookie.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
But you know, how what can the Commanders do to
maybe force those rookie mistakes to happen a little more
often against them.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Probably blits a little more. So, Let's pressure Caleb Williams.
He's a mobile quarterback. We know that he's getting better
week by week.
Speaker 6 (12:09):
I know they were doubters saying that perhaps he's not
the guy we thought he was. Look, it's the NFL.
Not everyone starts like Jaden Daniels did. It took him
some time to get acclimated to the way the way
of play in the NFL. But for the Washington Commanders,
it's all about players stepping up. We saw that last
week Dante Fowler with the interception running it back for
(12:30):
a pick six. We need some more of that throughout
this season. Up to this point, Frankie Lulu has been
one of the leaders for.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
The linebacker unit.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
Bobby Wagner has also been there, and for the first
time this season we mentioned his name, Emmanuel Ford stepping up.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
If we can keep doing this, I think the.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
Commanders have a good opportunity to make it a very
long afternoon for Caleb Williams or to better put it,
it won't be that easy.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
These are not the Jacksonville Jaguars, which are probably the
worst team in the league.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
I think the Washington Commanders are trending in the right direction.
We're talking about Caleb Williams, but he's not the only
problem that Washington has to worry about. How about DeAndre Siff,
how about DJ Moore who was a freaking nightmer for
the Commanders a year ago. So these are all things
that have to be of concern for the Washington Commanders.
But speaking and concentrated on Caleb Williams, make them feel pressure,
(13:24):
make them leave the pocket, and make them force probably
throw one of those force passes that is probably gonna
end up in an interception.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
So those are my keys for the defense this coming week.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Yeah, I really think the defense has played a lot
better over the last few weeks. So I know a
lot of people were very concerned about how they were
going to how they actual They performed in Week one
against the Buccaneers, and that's a really good team that
they played in Week one. But since then they've really
made these small incremental improvements to the point where you're right,
I mean, they're close to the league average in a
(13:58):
lot of areas, and I think that's kind of what
you would you want out of that unit, especially in
terms of like the pass rush and things like that.
And we'll focus on that with you, Alex, because I
think the pass rush has really come along recently, because
you remember, I think, you know, with the with the
Cardinals and the Bengals, there was a lot of talk
about how, you know, the passers just isn't really getting there,
(14:18):
They're not really finishing, and now it seems like they
really are with Frankie Louvou out there, with Dante Fowler
getting more snaps with Dorince Armstrong and when heever he
comes back and he's he's gonna get more rushes. He
had a really good stretch there, you know, before he
got hurt with a rib injury. So how big do
you think this pastor is going to be, Alex for
in terms of containing halob because they they this is
(14:39):
not the first time the Commanders have faced a mobile
quarterback this year.
Speaker 5 (14:42):
Yeah, I mean, I think the pass rush definitely gonna
be huge, And you bring it up Dante Fowler Junior,
and I have to give Moisas on the other side
a shout out too, because Yeah, plus in the locker
room yesterday that he loved moist sas Is called the touchdown.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
That was an awesome thing. But I just to throw
that in there real quick. But you know, he's had.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
A heck of a game last week, and it's like
you said, it's been someone different stepping up every week.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
I mean, Drance Armstrong.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
Had good games when he was healthy and they definitely
hope to have him back. Cleveland Ferrell, Doran Payne, you know,
Johnny Newton started to take on a larger role.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
But as much as we're going to talk about that
pass rush, and I want.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
To bring up something that Mike Sanders still said yesterday.
He said, instead of telling the D line rush so
we can cover, we need to cover so they can rush.
And I think this game is actually going to fall
upon the secondary because you know, we talked about the
struggles they had at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
They've started to come on a bit more lately. Like
you said, Forbes had the pick last week.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
So I think that secondary and them being able to
stop Caleb and that trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen
and Roma Dunzaman that's a really solid wide receiver trio.
And I look at what Caleb Williams has done this season.
The first couple of weeks, if you watch his games,
he was not able.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
To throw the ball down field.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
It was a lot of short plays, you know, dinks
and dunks, not a lot of stretching the field. And
I think the Commanders need to recreate that situation where
the secondary eliminates the opportunities downfield and keeps things in
the short field, because I think Caleb is actually gonna
succeed most when he can, you know, get in those
situations where he can run and get outside the pocket
(16:22):
a little bit and create some different you know, kind
of like the Mahomes effect or kind of like what
we've seen with Jayden Daniel's extending plays. Doing that and
throwing the ball deep. I think is where he's really
shown to improve the last few weeks. And if the
Commanders can eliminate that, I think they might have the
upper hand in this.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
You know, we keep dancing around, you know, djmore. We
will definitely talk about him, you know, heading into the
final question. But you know the other guy that Roal
Madoon Day, Keenan Allen, like DeAndre Swift, Like all these
guys are are so key. So I mean they invested
heavily in the in in that offense, you know, this offseason,
and has it's really paid off for them? It seems like,
(16:59):
oh the last two weeks or so. Uh, But moys,
it's like, let's focus on on those weapons like Keyan
Allen and romadoons and in terms of like with Alex
throwing the deep ball down to but that's all. That's
kind of been an area where the commanders have have
have maybe shown some you know up and down growth,
you know, over the last few months or so, they've
seen that they've gotten better at but they're also still
(17:20):
vulnerable in other ways, like whenever they played Begainst the
Bengals and Jamar Taes really just went you know, towards
him in a lot of other areas, especially downfield. So
how did how does the how does the commander secretary stack.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Up against this overall group of receivers.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And what can they do to to to limit those
big plays downfield? So it's okay, well, all he has
to do is digging dunk down, you know, down the field.
Speaker 6 (17:42):
Well, we have to acknowledge the fact that Dj Moore
and Keenan Allen are ballers. Both of those players are
elite when we talk about NFL receivers.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Keenan Allen a veteran in the NFL.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Right, we've seen his his career twelve years in the league.
DJ Moore, you know half of that amount of the
fact that they can play ball.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Those are players you're going to have to look out for.
But I'm going to go back to what.
Speaker 6 (18:05):
Defensive coordinator Joe with Junior said a couple I believe
it was last week when he said the communication has
been an issue. He acknowledged the fact that there's been
problems in the play by play booth.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
We've seen the same.
Speaker 6 (18:18):
We've seen moments when the communication in the secondary seems
to just break apart in no one's talking and we
see opposing players wide open on the field. Joe what
Junior said, communication is sent, received and acknowledged, and if
you can improve and those three key you know factors
in the defensive side, I think we're going to see
a better defensive unit.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
We've seen improvement.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
We've seen the secondary we come up with big plays,
but now they have to show consistency. If we can
see that from them. I think we're going to be
okay where we hit. We need players like Benjamin Saint Jews,
who's a great player but on easis has come up short.
Perhaps you know, he has some bad calls, but also
(19:01):
times where there's no communication. We're expecting him to step up.
We're expecting Emanual Forbes to keep playing well like he
did last week and come up with a blick.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Plays now, Mike bay point is.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
Caleb Williams is a great quarterback. Perhaps he's going to
be elite in the upcoming season's upcoming years, but he's
not Lamar Jackson. Yets and the Washington Commanders showed that
they can keep up with a quarterback like Lamar Jackson
got to him three times.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
You have to keep doing that.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
This shows you that the potential for this unit to
take that next step is right there for grabs. So
I think if you could put the pressure on Caleb
Williams and if the secondary can have better communication consistency
in the communication department, they're going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, I really think.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
You know, obviously communication is important for all sides of
the ball, offense, deven special teams, but like it seems
like communication with the secondary is just it's so critical
vote because they are all working as one unit in
a lot of ways, and they all had to feed
off each other. And I do think it has has
gotten better, a lot better. And you also bring up
a good point about, you know, putting pressure on on
(20:14):
Kleb because you know, Calamari they did. They kind of
did the same thing. He didn't think, only had like
one rush at him for like three yards. Deshaun Watson
really didn't do much outside of the pocket again when
they played the browns Lamar Jackson is Lamar Jackson. But
I feel like they, you know, at times they had
a good plan for for containing him and bottling him up.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Alice, real quick before we move on.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
You know, we talked about Emmanuel Forbes briefly there, but
you know, he had he had an interception, you know,
the first one he's had since his you know, since
last year. I think it was Week two against the
Denver Broncos. So I mean just having him in general,
like being able to produce, like how how important is
that going to be for this secondary who which which
has been you know a little shallow and depth at times,
(20:57):
but getting him back first round, picking being productive, like
how how big go Well.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
When Emmanuel Forbes was drafted here, there were a lot
of high hopes for Forbes and you know, he set
records in college with interceptions and pick sixes, and that's
something that Commanders fans were hoping to see from him here.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
So if you add that dynamic of Emmanuel Forbes being.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
Able to come in and be a ballhawk in games,
I mean, I think back to when D'Angelo Hall was
on this team and he was making plays left and right,
and you know there was a game against the Bears
where he had four interceptions in it, and you think,
you know, Sean.
Speaker 4 (21:31):
Taylor made a lot of plays like that.
Speaker 5 (21:33):
So you know, that's something that Commanders fans are hungry
for and we saw it last week with the huge
play to Dante Fowler Junior. So if you add that
dynamic of Forbes coming in, you start to kind of
slowly see that secondary get going. I mean, Jeremy Chin
has been great this year. Kwon Martin has held his
own at the safety position.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
We talked about Ben Saint Jus.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
You know, he's had his moments of struggles, but he's
had solid moments as well. Sandrus still he had option
in Baltimore, So you know, you kind of see these guys,
know egg monogamy, Mike Davis, you know they're coming and
making plays. If you can throw Forbes into that equation
and he can be relied upon, especially when you talk
about going up against great weapons weekend and week out
(22:15):
in the NFL, that that can make a major difference
and also would be really nice just to see after
the adversity he's been through to have that success.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
You know, the potential of a manual is just is
just so great because you know, he broke he broke
the FBS record for most pick sixes. And you see
the four three speed, you see you know the length,
you see the range, you see the coverability. It's just
it's it hasn't always gone the way he or the
team would want it to yet. But I hope that
(22:47):
you know, in the corner is just such a it's
such a confidence based position that I really hope that
that pick that he had just really sends him flying
through the roof here and gets him back on track
because I think he could really be such a big
key for the defense. All right, So final question before
we do score up date, guys, are still tied, so
it's all coming down into the wire here and we're
(23:08):
gonna focus on a guy we have kind of talked
about a little bit here and there, but we were
gonna focus specifically on DJ Moore because the last time
he was at this stadium he had a big day
career day. Eight receptions on ten targets for two hundred
and thirty yards with three touchdowns, average twenty eight point
eight yards per catch.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
He's gonna be a big key for this team. The
players who were still in this defense from last year
definitely remember the kind of performance he had. They're gonna
be trying their best to stop him. So Alex will
start with you. You're what is your best plan for
the Commanders to contain or stop DJ Moore from having
(23:50):
a similar day.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
Well, I'll tell you this, and we'll keep in mind
DJ Moore went to the University of Maryland, where Zach.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
And I both went, So you turt.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
That you know he's coming in motivated in this game.
And not to mention, Caleb Williams also grew up here
in the DMV played his high school ball at Gonzaga,
so they're both going to have local connections.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
To this game extra local motivation.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
I think they're both going to be excited, and I
think the Commanders simply need to put that extra attention
on DJ Moore because Roma Dunza is young, you know,
he's a rookie in this league. Keenan Allen is a
veteran that maybe isn't the same as he once was.
So I think DJ Moore, in the prime of his career,
just getting that big contract, I think he does garner
(24:37):
that extra attention. So whatever it is, whether it's a
Manda man or zone on a given play, I do
think they need to focus on DJ to Moore as
that primary target for the Bears. Force the Bears to
throw to Keenan Allen, who maybe hasn't been as effective
this year, forced the Bears to have to throw to
Rome Dunes.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
They forced the Bears to have to run the ball.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
We talked about the Commanders being to develop the run Bears.
Probably we need to do that too, And I think
you can make a good point. The b rob is
having a better season than DeAndre Swift, So I think
if you force the Bears away, take DJ Moore out
of this game as the primary focus, you know, maybe
you can let him still get those short plays and
(25:18):
give him a little bit.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
But like we're saying with eliminating.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
Those deep plays for Caleb Williams, you know, if you
need to have someone help on a deep throw, just
don't let them get that connection. Because you know, if
you we talked about cornerback being a confidence game, it
works on the other side too.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
If a quarterback can make an eighty yard throw to
DJ Moore, you.
Speaker 5 (25:38):
Know that's going to give them confidence to do it
again and keep targeting him.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
So just don't let up that big play.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
And like I said before, the secondary, this is gonna
be a big test game for them because they're gonna
be an X factor and if they can stop DJ
Moore and they can stop Kayleb Williams, we're gonna be
looking at a six and two Commanders team, which will
be very exciting.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
All right, boys, s, you were there Thursday night for
the broadcast. You saw what DJ Moore did to this team.
What is your best plan for stopping him?
Speaker 6 (26:09):
Well, first of all, Alex, I don't care if he
went to the University of Maryland.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
I Caleb Williams is from the DMB.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
On Sunday when we're on from four to seven pm.
They're the enemy. They've played for the opposing team. Beat
them at all costs. It doesn't matter where they are from.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
What's cool they went to And I agree with you,
though I'll give you some credit.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
Yeah, you have to force Caleb Williams to make difficult passes,
make them throw to other receivers. But here's the thing
that is the key. Caleb Williams is the key. If
you're able to make them feel pressured, leave the pocket,
make difficult throws, you're gonna have an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Now when we look at.
Speaker 6 (26:53):
The humpers, we're talking about how the Chicago Bears beat
on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yeah, but you also have to
go back to that game and realized the Jaguars pretty
much self imploded. They made a lot of mistakes and
even then the Jaguars, the Jaguars were able to sack
uh Caleb Williams on three occasions. So that tells you
(27:14):
there's an opening for the for this Washington Commander defense
to step up and make big plays. If you limit
Caleb Williams, there is no Dj Moore, there is no
Keenan Allen.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Make them throw to the rookies, to the to.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
The Tyner Scott, to the Carters, to the to the
Jones Junior, and you're gonna give yourself an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
I think that's the key.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
You're right, and I think this this, this, this commander's
pass rush has has slowly risen up the sack ranks
is here. They I think they they put the pressure
on Andy Dalton, They've put the pressure on Deshaun Watson. Uh,
they even got to Lamar Jackson a couple of times.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
It's it's definitely gonna be a big key.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Both of you made excellent points for different reasons, for sure,
But I think I'm gonna have to go with I'm
gonna have to go with Alex here because I think
the secondary is still gonna have to have go with
the challenge of taking on DJ Moore keeping him from
(28:19):
getting those big plays.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
So, Alex, you are the winner. You've won, You've won
your first victor in the beat Dom podcast. How does
that feel? Do you have any party wars a victory
for us?
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Well, it feels great.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
I had to avenge myself after losing to Candy before
the Giants game.
Speaker 4 (28:35):
But I will say I had a very very, very
formidable opponent.
Speaker 5 (28:40):
I think if Moist Sasen I did this one hundred times,
one person wins fifty times, the other person wins fifty times.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
So I was honored to go up against the great opponent.
And everybody better listen to his calls on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Yes, please do, because they are all excellent and guy
Alex's Rightley it was.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
It was very tough.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
I was down like the last second, okay, probably the
most competitive debate we've had on the entire show.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
So I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it first time on
the show. It's great.
Speaker 6 (29:07):
Congrats Alex, I think you are worthy winner. Before we end,
I just want to also say shout out to someone
we don't mention a lot, but it has done a
great job that there in mathis.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Niks number ninety eight, always showing up.
Speaker 6 (29:21):
One of those dudes that he just makes the play
and you know, he goes his way and pretty much
sometimes we forget about him.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
But those are the type of players that make a difference.
Speaker 6 (29:30):
So Alex, ingrats, I'll see you on Sunday and hopefully
the Commanders win and it'll be happy.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I mean, for all that is a great way to
end it.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Definitely shout out to Fiederia and Mathis and hopefully, as
Alex and Moys said, we will be looking at a
six and two commander squad. Next time you hear us,
be sure to rate, review, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
And this has been the beatdown
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