December 18, 2025 • 31 mins
The Commanders snapped their eight-game losing streak with a win against the New York Giants and are now looking to get back-to-back victories for the first time this season with a home matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Senior Writer Zach Selby is joined by Scott Abraham of ABC7 and Donna Hopkins of Pro Football Plus to break down Washington's young talent, Marcus Mariota and more.
The views and opinions expressed by our analysts and/or hosts are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Washington Commanders or any of their representatives.
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
What is up?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
What's going on?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Y'all?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
This is another episode of the Beatdown Podcast, Week sixteen edition,
and by god, we have a win to discuss, right,
The Commanders pull out against the New York Giants twenty
nine to twenty one. Came close there to not being
a win, but the point is four and ten feels
a lot better than three and eleven. And it doesn't
say their season, but I will tell you after gosh,
(00:38):
it's been damn near eleven weeks since they.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Last many days?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, yeah, no one's counting right now. It's it feels.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
It feels really really great to not have to think
about a loss. So we're gonna move on to the
Philadelphia Eagles and we'll be playing them at Northwest Stadium
on Saturday at five o'clock PM. We're gonna be talking
about how the Commanders can pull off an upset and
maybe he spoiled the Eagles chances of getting the mcast
for at least another week. And with us we have
(01:06):
Scott Abraham from ABC seven.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Scott, how you.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Glad to be back on? Appreciate you having me?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Of course you won last time.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
No I didn't. I'm all for two.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Oh yeah, I know, I know, I know, I like
to I like to play with you like yeah, And
we have a newcomer on the pot. Here we have
Dona Hopkins from Pro Football plus Donna.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Yeah, I know what he's over for two, he's gonna
be old for three.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Oh no, here we go.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I will say, when I invited Donna on, she said
I want to bring the heat, so get ready.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
I know I have her on my show all the time,
that she's good TV, good radio.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh absolutely, And you know, Scott, you know how it
goes by now with Donna, I'll, you know, kind of
gave you a little bit of a brief overview. And
for everyone listening who somehow hasn't been listening to the podcast,
if you're just pulling in on a week sixteen, here
we're gonna ask the people three questions. We're gonna get
points out at the end of each round. There will
be a winner. I will decide because that is my.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Burden as the podcast hosts.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
But I always tell listeners you should be more focused
on what the stars of the show have to say
about their insight heading into this week. And with all
that being said, I think we should get into it,
starting with the big decision, right, Jane Daniels is going
to be sitting for the next three weeks. His season
is officially over. Outside of practice, he'll still be practicing,
(02:21):
but they're gonna allow him to let his elbow heal
after reinjuring it against the Minnesota Vikings, and Marcus Margotto
will start. And I think you know Cliff, obviously, Jading
and Marcus have very similar, similar skill sets in a
lot of regards, but he's still give a little bit
of an adjustment, right for Cliff to have to focus
on Marcus to do this a little bit right. He started,
(02:44):
He started in some games here, but I wanted to
know from build both of you guys, how Cliff can
best care the offense to Mariota in a way that
they can at least be more competitive.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Done. Since you're the newvie, we'll start with you.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
Yeah, I think it starts. I' playing philadelph for the
first time. Marcus has been in there in the trenches
for a lot this season, more than he was last season,
so it's not like he's new to the arena. So
therefore Cliff knows markets, he knows the Philadelphia Eagles from
when they played them last year NFC Championship games. So
(03:18):
it's no triplets right now.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Now.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
What he has to focus on with the turnover situation
that has happened to the Commanders in the last couple
of weeks, the penalties on offense, they've got to clean
up that. So for Marcus to me, the key thing
for him to help him out is you've got to
run the ball in the trenches against the Philadelphia front
four that are monsters. You've got to be able to
(03:43):
take the pressure off of markets and run the football
because I think that's your bread and butter. They've got
away from that all season long, and Marcus, you know,
has been rattled in there. So that defense of the
Philadelphia Eagles, they blitz a lot. Got to be able
to get the ball out of Marcus hands. I like
(04:03):
to see him behind the center a little bit more
play action passes.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
I think it's the key.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
But the key against the Eagles facing them to be
the Spoilers run the ball.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Set the tone there, and they did that against the
Giants right They ran the ball I think thirty seven
times for one hundred and forty five yards a touchdown
there with from Bill, and you think you did see
the offense at least move and at plints better than
it has in some instances, right, And I think you
know you mentioned this stuff under center.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I think that's very interesting.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
We can maybe del on a little bit later, but
Scott will turn it over to you same question.
Speaker 6 (04:36):
I don't think there's really a big drop off compared
to you know, Cliff Kingsbury trying to cater the offense
to Jayden or Marcus Mariota, the very similar quarterbacks. But
I think to slay a giant like the Philadelphia Eagles,
you got to go after the giants. So I'd love
for them to take some shots downfield, big plays of
Terry McLaurin, big play to Deebo Samuel, just go after them.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
You have nothing to lose. Protect the football smart.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
But I think there's gonna be opportunities in this football
game to really hit the big play, hit the chunk play.
Terry's done that a couple of times against the Eagles.
You can go back to last year, so I think
there's opportunities there for the big play possibility with Marcus
and Terry.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
And to Donna's point, the run game.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Was effective against the Giants, especially under center Bill Krossky Merritt,
I think enjoys the fact of having a leade blocker
like at Ben Sonett and a guy under center like
a Marcus Mariota. I think that fits his running style
better compared to maybe just a you know.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Shotgun formation or an RPO.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
So I think there's an opportunity here for for Marcus
to finish strong. Obviously he's a free agent after this season,
and just adds to his how valuable he is this
football team because with the question marks with Jade Daniels,
if he's gonna be able to stay healthy throughout a season,
you need a quality backup in the in this National
(05:56):
Football League, and I think Marcus Mariota has proven time
and time again he's one of the most important pieces of.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
This football team.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
So I think he's just gonna build on has already
resume that he's he's established here in Washington, and why
not play the role spoiler and get a big win
against the division rival of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So you both of you test on a little bit
of different things. And I do like that because with
the deep shots, I mean, you got Terry and you
remember his first big play that really put him onto
the scene was against the Philadelphia Eagles back in twenty nineteen.
And I think the difference is between this the next
three weeks and then earlier in the season they actually
have some of their deep weapons. Now you've got Terry,
you were able to use Debo a little bit better
(06:34):
than you have in the past. Obviously, Arts and No
Brown aren't there anymore. But it's gonna open up some
other opportunities for these for these other other receivers, maybe
to have a shot shot there. And I'll talk to
about you about that, Scott maybe later on. But Donald,
you mentioned the run game, as you said, and I
do like that because as a former off the lineman,
I love to run the ball, and I think this
offense is at its best when it does lean on
(06:55):
a run game a lot. But I'm curious about like
this this rotation now, because you've got me, Nicholas, You've
got Bill, You've got ce Rod. It seems like they've
all got their moments right. They've all had different kinds
of skill sets, and Bill had more of the carries
this last week. It seems to be Anny more of
the carries now, So in terms of assuming Chris is healthy,
(07:16):
what do you want to see more out of that
running back group. Do you want to see Bill score
take the reins here for the rest of the rest
of three weeks or do you want to see what
you have at at Chris because's show them some good
things as well.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
Yeah, I think that coach Quinn and Kingsbury's have said
is the hot head in a game like that. But
the thing that people don't realize when you have three
backs with that kind of talent, Jeremy McNichols give you
a different twist. As they told me last year where
they were talking about the running backs.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
He can play multiple positions.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
He can play you know, outside, catching the ball, blocking
and all of those pieces where Bill comes in and
gives you another gear to punch in. But and then
Chris Roriquez is your bruiser. I just don't think that
they utilize them properly. If you're going to go against
a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who they are, they
come at you in so many different ways. So I
(08:08):
think the smart thing about having three backs like that
that nobody knows it's a change up in pace for
each one. But the thing that I want to see
mostly is if you Chris is the hot guy going
in and if he's producing, or if it's Bill and whatever,
you've got to let that guy stay in and be
the running back instead of constantly changing up where the
(08:32):
offensive line has to change up with that too. Now,
the key thing with looking at the running game is
the offensive line is intact right now.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
They like to block for running backs.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
They like to open up the holes.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
I saw them open up the Red Sea against the Giants.
In the holes that Bill what's coming through. So to me,
whether it's Chris in there, whether it's Jeremy mc nicholson there, brother,
it's it's Bill in there, they all give you something
that could end up causing Philadelphia a problem because the
(09:05):
way they utilize them last year and the way if
they run the ball, if they end up being pass happy.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
They're one dimensional.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
So I think when I talk about the running game,
I think that you have to stick to it to
get it going.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, And I mean they do.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
They seem very much like a three head monster in
some ways, right. And it was funny, immajuriy. They were
all up there together right talking during the press conference,
isn't it? And I mean, you know, Nichols is not insititily.
You you're number one back, but he it doesn't seem
like there's no one better on him to convert him
third downs than him. For whatever reason you handing the ball,
He's somehow gonna find a way to get the sticks now, Scott,
(09:44):
as I mentioned no Brown on Ir, ERT's on Ir
like though there are some of your your other threats
in the passing game, especially with no Brown, because like,
even though he doesn't there's always like catch those deep passes.
He doesn't know how to draw passing apperience goals better
than most.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
People in the league.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
But now he's gone, how do you because obviously he
still have Terry, but like, how do you want to
replace that, that that presence that Noah had if you
still want to pass the ball, take these deep shots
down to.
Speaker 6 (10:09):
What about like a Traylon Burks, what about like a
Jaylon Lane? Obviously both have had amazing plays already this season,
and of course everybody's still talking about that catch that
Traylon had and oh yeah, as he tries to make
his way back in the NFL in a consistent manner,
this is gonna be a good evaluation period for for
Traylon these next three games to see if he could
stick around and maybe he could be part of that
(10:31):
depth and about that position group of the wide receiver
that's been just the interchangeable parts all season long because
they just can't stay healthy. And then of course Jayalen Lane.
You know, he's he's not a one trick pony. He
came on maybe as a special team's ace. He's done
his thing as a punt returner, but how do you grow?
How does he evolve as a wide receiver? So I
think those are two names. Obviously Luke McCaffery he's not
(10:53):
available either. So two names to watch for these next
three games, Traylon Burks and Jalen Lane.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
How do they get them involved without a Noah Brown?
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, And it's funny, like you think about how great
that catch was. He has not really made a catch
since then, and I think I think that the fans
really want to see him. He had the first round
talent and he he really is I think maybe the
biggest lottery ticket they have on offense, because there's really
the expectations are not really innically high for him because
he's he's a retread in summer.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
It's low risk Kyrie Ward.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, so if you if he's if he if he's
actually able to hit in a way that he didn't
hit in Tennessee, like that does solve a lot of
problems for you, not just for this year, for the
rect three games, but like for for next year. Yeah,
we'll move on. But I've been doing this lately, not
have been. I've been holding the points off to myself
until the final round.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
They had a little bit of the stakes.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
To the intrigue, so you'll know the stakes entered the
final question.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Hey, we got it.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
The record is what it is. We've got a key
things going. We're gonna go on to the defense side
of the ball here. I think we can all agree
that this has not gone really the way that things
wanted they wanted, and I think changes are coming for
this unit in a.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
With Joe Junior no longer being a play caller, There's
can be a lot of free agents coming up.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You have a lot of more young talent that you
want to see.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
So that's really what I want to focus on, is
like they have to balance the line right about being
competitive but also seeing what they have and Scott'll scart
with you, and I want to know, like how do
you do that?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Like what's what's the plan for getting guys.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Like McGee, Padrono some of these other corners like more Resk.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Yeah, it's a tough balancing act.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
You don't want to do a disservice to a guy
like Bobby Wagner, who knows if this could be a
swan song in the final three games of his career.
You just don't know. He hasn't made that decision yet.
But so you have to kind of toe the line
a little bit by you know you're not going to
the playoffs, but you know you've heard Dan Quinn numerous
times the last couple of weeks saying, this is a tournament,
NFC East tournament.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
We want you know, this is in our division. This
is important to us.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
You have the defending champs come into town, so yeah,
they want to win these football games. So you're gonna
see I still think you're gonna see the Frankie Louvus
and the Bobby Wagner are still out there. Maybe the
last game of the season. That's where you maybe roll
out a Jordan McGee for the entire game. Or an
Antonio Hamilton or Cay Madrono. I think the last game
that's where you maybe get to see more of these
(13:17):
younger guys in those type of situations. But with three
games left, I still think you're gonna rely on those
veterans and and try to win these football games. And selfishly,
I love to see a guy like von Miller thirty
six years old.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
He has seven sacks.
Speaker 6 (13:30):
You know, von Miller wants to get to double digit sacks,
So I would love to see selfishly a guy like
that of Von Miller get the double digit sacks. So
I think there's still a lot of meaningful football for
these veterans type players. The young guys will have their moments,
their time will come. I think that'll come more toward
the last game of the season to see a Jordan
mcgeeme a leading a defense or other guys filling in.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
I like to see Johnny Newton more.
Speaker 6 (13:52):
Johnny Newton still kind of behind the snap rotation with
a Deron Pain and a Javon Kinlaws, So maybe at
Johnny Newton starting and get more snaps over these last
three games.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
So those are some names to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, I can't trying.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
I have to look it up, but it's been a
while since von Miller has had double digit sacks. Yeah,
you know, it's just the lack of availability of the
age averages.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
One sack of game here, he's gonna get tench.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
And it just seems like he's there.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
And he's even said on things on his pockets he
wants to come back to Washington. And I'm sure we
haven't talked about to Bobby about this, but I'm sure
he would like to come back to if he's available.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
So we'll see there.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Donald, same question for you about how they want to
balance the getting these young players more revs. Balls to
staying competitive in these last thir games which the Eagles
and Dallas Cowboys, they're they're no slides. They're both competing
for the for the Vision at least for another couple
of weeks.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Yeah, you know what, I'm the most competitive person ever.
Wow about winning, I'm about I know everybody wants to
see the younger players and what they can do, but
guess what they've been in throughout the season at different
moments and whatever, and coaches really assessing them from training
camp through the season too. Right now, But you've got
(15:02):
three games to go. You're trying to win ball games
at all calls and whatever. And I know Scott said
that maybe towards the last game, you let the McGee
stay in there for absolutely only if the situation calls
for him to be in there, because you have to
play the core players, no matter what I mean. And
(15:25):
Jory McGee has been in there enough for you to
assess where he's at. CA Madrono maybe a little bit more,
but you're gonna play the Eagles again at the end
of the season.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
So those guys that's in you're assessing them too.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
You're assessing the veterans, you're assessing the young guys, and
to me, sometimes you can set back.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
It's not always about.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Being in a game situation, but it's also watching other
guys operate where you can learn that way. Also, So
I know that Johnny Newton is a player that got
called out, and I really do like to see him
because to me, you win in the trenches up front.
You lost a lot of guys up front throughout the
(16:06):
course of the season. So Johnny is one of those
guys that you want to kind of like see a
little bit more to see what he can do upfront
because I think that when you look at next year,
when you look at the course of the finishing this
season strong, you want that pass rush to see a
little bit more with the guys in there. About getting
to the quarterback. You've got great quarterbacks you're gonna play
(16:28):
at the end of the season.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
So it starts up front.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Looking at some of those guys, Mikey Sandra Still, who's
been in there. You know he's still second, third year,
Kwan Martin, all of those guys. I think you have
to be able to see more of those guys in
there of what you got moving forward, you know, along
with the veterans in there.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
But at the end of.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
The day three games left, Von Miller told me, man,
we're trying to spoil it for somebody else, and Jacob
Martin said, we're trying to let somebody else go to
can cool with us.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Brother is.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Yeah, brother, it's Dallas, brother.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
It was the Eagles, and it's happened to be all
three of those teams that you're trying to be spoilers.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
So understanding that we.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Want to see the young guys in there, but you've
got to make sure that the people are in their
veteran players that's going to be able to turn the table.
And to me, those veteran guys in there you've seen. Look, look, guys,
you've seen enough of the younger guys. They've been in there,
(17:35):
and right now it's the guys that's not gonna make
the mistakes that I want in there.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
So let me play the devil advocates to both of
you guys, because I think both of you made very
similar points. I hear you on Johnny Newton, I hear
you and guys like McGee, because both of those guys
have been playing a lot, and you know, we should
say like this coach is playing younger players partly at
it because they want to see what they have, probably
because that at need because of all the injuries. But
(18:01):
let me ask you this, Scott, what is what is
the harm if you really want to stay competitive in
saying okay, maybe we give a few more reps from
Doran to Johnny or let you know, get McGee a
little more reps from from Bobby or some of these
other guys, Like what like, what is there any harm
(18:21):
in that? If you still want to say competitive but
also get like, hey, we've already seen a decent sample
size them. Let's see what they can do with this,
maybe ten percent more.
Speaker 6 (18:31):
I don't think there's any harm. You got to take
the training wheels off when you love to have Jordan
McGee call the defense show on the field for the
majority of the game. You have to put them in
those type of situations. Bobby Wagner is not gonna be
here forever. I mean, you got you have to put
stressful moments, stressful situations at the highest level for these
young guys to really see what you got.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
So I would love to have Jordan McGee to.
Speaker 6 (18:54):
Be the guy with the headset on, you know, for
getting defensive play calls for a majority of the game.
I'd love to see a Johnny Newton get more reps
from mckinlaw or Deran Payne, just to see the evaluation
of what they can do with more opportunities.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
So I don't think there's any harm in that.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
I think you still can be competitive with giving you know,
ten more snaps to a couple of guys.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
So I totally agree with that, and I want to
talk to you for one to the final question about
we've mentioned Cama drama because if you remember way back
in August June, they were still they said, Okay, we
want to figure out if this guy is Frankie or
a Kwan and he really hasn't played that much more
(19:41):
than special teams reps for whatever reason. And you know,
maybe that changes the last three games, like maybe that
changes in the in the season finale, uh in Philadelphia.
But if it were me, I would want to say, Okay,
do we really have an answer to that? Is he
quantor isy Frankie? And wouldn't you want to get more
reps than these last two games? Put him into these
(20:03):
defensive snaps more often as opposed to sticking him in
the especially thrilled until week eighteen.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Yeah, I mean, you're not going to find out that
in three games. It's not enough games to figure that out.
That's something that's a long process. If you think about
Cliff Kingsbury when he talked about Brandon Coleman today, as
far as his development, they don't know whether he's inside
or outside. That's not something they're going to learn. And
(20:29):
Brandon has been here for longer than Cain has. But
trying to force something in three games is not going
to work out to me that This is my assessment
because it takes a while for the process to take form,
and that's something maybe next year they've learned a little
bit more about Cain Madrono and different situations that we
(20:51):
don't even know about in practices and even in game
situation when they were going to put him in in
there and if they seem mistakes happening and so forth,
that's not gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
So the reason why I'm.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
Saying that that you still have to wait to go
through the process with Cane with some of the things
that you want to see from him, whether he's outside,
inside or where does he fit. Three games is not
going to materialize that for him, and I think that
you will be doing yourself a disservice or to him
also in trying to force something. You look, look, you
(21:26):
can't force a big option, option, option, option into a
small hole. So I think that in this situation with
with Madrano is that you have to still bring him
along through the process of the off season stuff and
everything and then kind of like like do what you're
(21:46):
trying to do right now in taking pressures off. I
know he's frustrated about playing everything, but in the same
breath is that don't force something that you don't need
to force at this stage of the game.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Don't make mistakes that.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
You That's something I think people don't always understand about development. Right,
If you take on a role it's too big for
you too soon, it can in a way put you
back in some way. So I do like the way
you ended that there. We'll move on to the final
question before we do that, an actual score update.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Both of you are tied three to three.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Love love, Yeah, both of you guys. The deep shot
said about it's it's dead heat here heading into the
last one, and we're gonna stick on to this young
players debate here. We're gonna go to the offense side
of the ball, and we've got plenty of options here
(22:38):
that they can see mostly out of necessity. Got Birks,
You've got Senate, You've got a lot of other guys
that mad Billion the bill in there, even though he's
got more reps than other young offensive players.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Of those offensive.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Talented players, who do you want to see more of
and who are you excited to see more of heading
into these last three games? Big opportunity for evaluations.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Donna take the Let me guess actually.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
I'm going to start with the tight ends because I
know everybody probably would have thought that I would start
with the running back situation the wide receiver.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
And the reason why I'm sticking.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
With the tight end situation is because Ben Sinnett has
been here for a minute now and they've been trying
to develop him since training camp. I watched him closely,
talk to him from training camp up to right now
of his development. Now, when when you have a guy
like Zach goes down, this is the perfect opportunity for
(23:39):
Ben to step up because they've been waiting for him
to have that explosion uh part of this season, and
the wills are open now. As you all say, Scott
take the training wheels off, Well, they had taken those
off during the course of this season. And Yankoff is
another guy that they really wanted to put in there
because you know, you got Baits and everything, and if
(24:01):
you're trying to build your tight end room and even
if Zach comes back, that's an area that you want
to kind of really assess going forward, do we still need.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Somebody in there?
Speaker 5 (24:14):
What A young Ben Sennett has the great opportunity right
now to showcase his skill set. He's you know, as
far as he's gotten better with the blocking his passing.
We know about that, and the only way that they
can look at that is you got to throw the
ball to him. And it's so much of a you know,
a slim chance that he's gonna get a lot of
talkers because you got the cherries in, you got the
(24:37):
de boats in and all of that. But Ben Senny
can be more useful, even more so of how he's blocking.
They use the blocking tight end a lot here, and
so I think his skill set there is going to
be key. So I'm sticking right now with the development
of the tight end room because you already know what
you got in the running back room with Bill because
(24:57):
as you said, he's gotten a lot of touches and everything,
and Jay Lange, uh, you know, it's so many balls
is gonna come in his way and everything because of
you got the tarry back. So I'm sticking with the
tight end room in pushing that forward a little bit more.
And Zach is still in everybody's ear, helping that group,
(25:19):
helping the bands, the yank off and all those guys
move forward.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So she said she was gonna bring the heat. The
hell of an answer, I'm not gonna lie that.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
To be honest, there's only one answer to that question,
and she one hundred thousand percent it is the tight
end position because you have to figure out in this
offseason approach, free agency draft, the tight end position is
a game.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Changer in today's NFL.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
If you don't have a dynamic tight end, you are
way behind the sticks in terms of evolving as an offense.
So Ben Sinnett, your second round pick, is not that
guy you gotta go fish for for somebody else, because honestly,
you don't know if zach Ertz is gonna come back.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
You don't know if his career is done.
Speaker 6 (26:06):
So you got three games, Ben Sinnett, Again, you're not
You're not gonna learn everything in three games. But he's
been here for two years now, So that is the
only answer. Tight End position is such a critical part
of this machine and if you don't have one, you're sinking.
So if Benson is not the dude, you're gonna have
(26:26):
to go fish. So that's the only answer in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Okay, I'm gonna do something, but you don't really do
in journalism, which is called leading the witness, And I'm
just gonna give you the opportunity to have a different answer,
and all.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Right, I got I got one, I got one.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Okay, give you give me.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
It's gonna be an interesting take here. Why not start
Sam Hartman for one game?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Okay, hear me out? Okay, Okay, So you have Jaden.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Marcus, he's gonna he's gonna have other suitors, trust me,
come free agency. Okay, So he's gonna be a valuable
commodity for a lot of NFL teams. You can never
have too many good quarterbacks on a roster. Sam Hartman,
all right, what's he got?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Well?
Speaker 3 (27:14):
What can you do when the bullets are flying in
a real NFL game?
Speaker 6 (27:18):
So I would like to see maybe Sam Hartman get
get some get some maybe reps or a start in
the last last regular season game.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So that's that's not what I was hoping you would
go with. I was hoping you pick a case of
trailing Bergs, because look, if you go back to the
way that like the evaluation for trailing Bergs, it was
a J Brown with more wiggle, and look, AJ Brown
sounds pretty great to me. I don't know about you, guys,
but that sounds awesome. But no, I do agree with
(27:47):
both of you. Vin said it is I think he's
the ultimate like ultimate player in this right.
Speaker 5 (27:52):
Now, and I gotta, I gotta, I gotta rebuttal Scott
with that, with what he just said, and I'm with
you at Trailing. So I'm gonna argue that point the
reason why I say and love you Sam Hartman. But
it's about winning in the end. You already know assessment wise,
(28:12):
he started most of you know, the preseason and all
of those games and whatever. But at the end of
the year, when you're still trying to win in here,
you have to put your best foot forward, and that
is Marcus right now. And so therefore moving on from
Sam because with the with getting Marcus back probably hopefully
(28:35):
next year, you already know who your backup is going
to be, and that third quarterback may change anyway.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
But let's go to the wide receiver room.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You know that you have to up that scale.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Also, Trailing has showed you some flashes he's got.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
He had been dogged out with his other teams.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
He came in.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
He's supposed to be a high draft pick. He did materialized,
but he showed life here in this system for the Commanders.
So if I'm going to see anybody to utilize him
a little bit more because he hasn't gotten any touches
really since he's just been a decoy for the other receivers.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
So in order to.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Find out he's a big guy that you're looking for,
because with the tight end position we're talking about, he
adds so much more dynamic as far as getting down field,
you know, being physical down there in the red zone
and all of those things. So to me, if you're
going to turn the tables and we agree both on
Ben Sennas, my other wild card would be Treylon Burke.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Well, well, you know that you didn't even have to
make that point, and but you did, and I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Scott really wanted to give it to you. I really
really did. But I told you was gonna be I think,
do you gotta take the win here?
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (29:56):
Yes, I'm in it the wind. I told you at
the beginning it was all about winning.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I'm like the commanders.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Oh, three last three games is all about winning.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Well, there you got it, Scott. You always bring the heat.
You always do.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
And I will say in each of.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
These losses they've all been closed. I really didn't try
to give you a shot.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
To come with someone someone, and.
Speaker 6 (30:22):
You know what, though I'm not gonna give up, I
am gonna be back and I'll be back to defend.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Both these guys will be back for sure, whether it's
not in the last two week next year, for sure.
It's been great. It's been great having both of you on.
Both of you guys brought it, loved the discussion, and
hopefully when you hear from me again, we'll be talking
about another commander's win, because it's always ready to see.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
The Eagles lose.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
And until then, be sure to rate your view, subscribe, ever,
get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
And this has been the beat down
What is up?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
What's going on?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Y'all?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
This is another episode of the Beatdown Podcast, Week sixteen edition,
and by god, we have a win to discuss, right,
The Commanders pull out against the New York Giants twenty
nine to twenty one. Came close there to not being
a win, but the point is four and ten feels
a lot better than three and eleven. And it doesn't
say their season, but I will tell you after gosh,
(00:38):
it's been damn near eleven weeks since they.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Last many days?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, yeah, no one's counting right now. It's it feels.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
It feels really really great to not have to think
about a loss. So we're gonna move on to the
Philadelphia Eagles and we'll be playing them at Northwest Stadium
on Saturday at five o'clock PM. We're gonna be talking
about how the Commanders can pull off an upset and
maybe he spoiled the Eagles chances of getting the mcast
for at least another week. And with us we have
(01:06):
Scott Abraham from ABC seven.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Scott, how you.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Glad to be back on? Appreciate you having me?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Of course you won last time.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
No I didn't. I'm all for two.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Oh yeah, I know, I know, I know, I like
to I like to play with you like yeah, And
we have a newcomer on the pot. Here we have
Dona Hopkins from Pro Football plus Donna.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
How are you feeling?
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Yeah, I know what he's over for two, he's gonna
be old for three.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Oh no, here we go.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I will say, when I invited Donna on, she said
I want to bring the heat, so get ready.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
I know I have her on my show all the time,
that she's good TV, good radio.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh absolutely, And you know, Scott, you know how it
goes by now with Donna, I'll, you know, kind of
gave you a little bit of a brief overview. And
for everyone listening who somehow hasn't been listening to the podcast,
if you're just pulling in on a week sixteen, here
we're gonna ask the people three questions. We're gonna get
points out at the end of each round. There will
be a winner. I will decide because that is my.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Burden as the podcast hosts.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
But I always tell listeners you should be more focused
on what the stars of the show have to say
about their insight heading into this week. And with all
that being said, I think we should get into it,
starting with the big decision, right, Jane Daniels is going
to be sitting for the next three weeks. His season
is officially over. Outside of practice, he'll still be practicing,
(02:21):
but they're gonna allow him to let his elbow heal
after reinjuring it against the Minnesota Vikings, and Marcus Margotto
will start. And I think you know Cliff, obviously, Jading
and Marcus have very similar, similar skill sets in a
lot of regards, but he's still give a little bit
of an adjustment, right for Cliff to have to focus
on Marcus to do this a little bit right. He started,
(02:44):
He started in some games here, but I wanted to
know from build both of you guys, how Cliff can
best care the offense to Mariota in a way that
they can at least be more competitive.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Done. Since you're the newvie, we'll start with you.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
Yeah, I think it starts. I' playing philadelph for the
first time. Marcus has been in there in the trenches
for a lot this season, more than he was last season,
so it's not like he's new to the arena. So
therefore Cliff knows markets, he knows the Philadelphia Eagles from
when they played them last year NFC Championship games. So
(03:18):
it's no triplets right now.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Now.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
What he has to focus on with the turnover situation
that has happened to the Commanders in the last couple
of weeks, the penalties on offense, they've got to clean
up that. So for Marcus to me, the key thing
for him to help him out is you've got to
run the ball in the trenches against the Philadelphia front
four that are monsters. You've got to be able to
(03:43):
take the pressure off of markets and run the football
because I think that's your bread and butter. They've got
away from that all season long, and Marcus, you know,
has been rattled in there. So that defense of the
Philadelphia Eagles, they blitz a lot. Got to be able
to get the ball out of Marcus hands. I like
(04:03):
to see him behind the center a little bit more
play action passes.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
I think it's the key.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
But the key against the Eagles facing them to be
the Spoilers run the ball.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Set the tone there, and they did that against the
Giants right They ran the ball I think thirty seven
times for one hundred and forty five yards a touchdown
there with from Bill, and you think you did see
the offense at least move and at plints better than
it has in some instances, right, And I think you
know you mentioned this stuff under center.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I think that's very interesting.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
We can maybe del on a little bit later, but
Scott will turn it over to you same question.
Speaker 6 (04:36):
I don't think there's really a big drop off compared
to you know, Cliff Kingsbury trying to cater the offense
to Jayden or Marcus Mariota, the very similar quarterbacks. But
I think to slay a giant like the Philadelphia Eagles,
you got to go after the giants. So I'd love
for them to take some shots downfield, big plays of
Terry McLaurin, big play to Deebo Samuel, just go after them.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
You have nothing to lose. Protect the football smart.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
But I think there's gonna be opportunities in this football
game to really hit the big play, hit the chunk play.
Terry's done that a couple of times against the Eagles.
You can go back to last year, so I think
there's opportunities there for the big play possibility with Marcus
and Terry.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
And to Donna's point, the run game.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Was effective against the Giants, especially under center Bill Krossky Merritt,
I think enjoys the fact of having a leade blocker
like at Ben Sonett and a guy under center like
a Marcus Mariota. I think that fits his running style
better compared to maybe just a you know.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Shotgun formation or an RPO.
Speaker 6 (05:34):
So I think there's an opportunity here for for Marcus
to finish strong. Obviously he's a free agent after this season,
and just adds to his how valuable he is this
football team because with the question marks with Jade Daniels,
if he's gonna be able to stay healthy throughout a season,
you need a quality backup in the in this National
(05:56):
Football League, and I think Marcus Mariota has proven time
and time again he's one of the most important pieces of.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
This football team.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
So I think he's just gonna build on has already
resume that he's he's established here in Washington, and why
not play the role spoiler and get a big win
against the division rival of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So you both of you test on a little bit
of different things. And I do like that because with
the deep shots, I mean, you got Terry and you
remember his first big play that really put him onto
the scene was against the Philadelphia Eagles back in twenty nineteen.
And I think the difference is between this the next
three weeks and then earlier in the season they actually
have some of their deep weapons. Now you've got Terry,
you were able to use Debo a little bit better
(06:34):
than you have in the past. Obviously, Arts and No
Brown aren't there anymore. But it's gonna open up some
other opportunities for these for these other other receivers, maybe
to have a shot shot there. And I'll talk to
about you about that, Scott maybe later on. But Donald,
you mentioned the run game, as you said, and I
do like that because as a former off the lineman,
I love to run the ball, and I think this
offense is at its best when it does lean on
(06:55):
a run game a lot. But I'm curious about like
this this rotation now, because you've got me, Nicholas, You've
got Bill, You've got ce Rod. It seems like they've
all got their moments right. They've all had different kinds
of skill sets, and Bill had more of the carries
this last week. It seems to be Anny more of
the carries now, So in terms of assuming Chris is healthy,
(07:16):
what do you want to see more out of that
running back group. Do you want to see Bill score
take the reins here for the rest of the rest
of three weeks or do you want to see what
you have at at Chris because's show them some good
things as well.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
Yeah, I think that coach Quinn and Kingsbury's have said
is the hot head in a game like that. But
the thing that people don't realize when you have three
backs with that kind of talent, Jeremy McNichols give you
a different twist. As they told me last year where
they were talking about the running backs.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
He can play multiple positions.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
He can play you know, outside, catching the ball, blocking
and all of those pieces where Bill comes in and
gives you another gear to punch in. But and then
Chris Roriquez is your bruiser. I just don't think that
they utilize them properly. If you're going to go against
a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who they are, they
come at you in so many different ways. So I
(08:08):
think the smart thing about having three backs like that
that nobody knows it's a change up in pace for
each one. But the thing that I want to see
mostly is if you Chris is the hot guy going
in and if he's producing, or if it's Bill and whatever,
you've got to let that guy stay in and be
the running back instead of constantly changing up where the
(08:32):
offensive line has to change up with that too. Now,
the key thing with looking at the running game is
the offensive line is intact right now.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
They like to block for running backs.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
They like to open up the holes.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
I saw them open up the Red Sea against the Giants.
In the holes that Bill what's coming through. So to me,
whether it's Chris in there, whether it's Jeremy mc nicholson there, brother,
it's it's Bill in there, they all give you something
that could end up causing Philadelphia a problem because the
(09:05):
way they utilize them last year and the way if
they run the ball, if they end up being pass happy.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
They're one dimensional.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
So I think when I talk about the running game,
I think that you have to stick to it to
get it going.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, And I mean they do.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
They seem very much like a three head monster in
some ways, right. And it was funny, immajuriy. They were
all up there together right talking during the press conference,
isn't it? And I mean, you know, Nichols is not insititily.
You you're number one back, but he it doesn't seem
like there's no one better on him to convert him
third downs than him. For whatever reason you handing the ball,
He's somehow gonna find a way to get the sticks now, Scott,
(09:44):
as I mentioned no Brown on Ir, ERT's on Ir
like though there are some of your your other threats
in the passing game, especially with no Brown, because like,
even though he doesn't there's always like catch those deep passes.
He doesn't know how to draw passing apperience goals better
than most.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
People in the league.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
But now he's gone, how do you because obviously he
still have Terry, but like, how do you want to
replace that, that that presence that Noah had if you
still want to pass the ball, take these deep shots
down to.
Speaker 6 (10:09):
What about like a Traylon Burks, what about like a
Jaylon Lane? Obviously both have had amazing plays already this season,
and of course everybody's still talking about that catch that
Traylon had and oh yeah, as he tries to make
his way back in the NFL in a consistent manner,
this is gonna be a good evaluation period for for
Traylon these next three games to see if he could
stick around and maybe he could be part of that
(10:31):
depth and about that position group of the wide receiver
that's been just the interchangeable parts all season long because
they just can't stay healthy. And then of course Jayalen Lane.
You know, he's he's not a one trick pony. He
came on maybe as a special team's ace. He's done
his thing as a punt returner, but how do you grow?
How does he evolve as a wide receiver? So I
think those are two names. Obviously Luke McCaffery he's not
(10:53):
available either. So two names to watch for these next
three games, Traylon Burks and Jalen Lane.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
How do they get them involved without a Noah Brown?
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, And it's funny, like you think about how great
that catch was. He has not really made a catch
since then, and I think I think that the fans
really want to see him. He had the first round
talent and he he really is I think maybe the
biggest lottery ticket they have on offense, because there's really
the expectations are not really innically high for him because
he's he's a retread in summer.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
It's low risk Kyrie Ward.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yeah, so if you if he's if he if he's
actually able to hit in a way that he didn't
hit in Tennessee, like that does solve a lot of
problems for you, not just for this year, for the
rect three games, but like for for next year. Yeah,
we'll move on. But I've been doing this lately, not
have been. I've been holding the points off to myself
until the final round.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
They had a little bit of the stakes.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
To the intrigue, so you'll know the stakes entered the
final question.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Hey, we got it.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
The record is what it is. We've got a key
things going. We're gonna go on to the defense side
of the ball here. I think we can all agree
that this has not gone really the way that things
wanted they wanted, and I think changes are coming for
this unit in a.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
With Joe Junior no longer being a play caller, There's
can be a lot of free agents coming up.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You have a lot of more young talent that you
want to see.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
So that's really what I want to focus on, is
like they have to balance the line right about being
competitive but also seeing what they have and Scott'll scart
with you, and I want to know, like how do
you do that?
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Like what's what's the plan for getting guys.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Like McGee, Padrono some of these other corners like more Resk.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Yeah, it's a tough balancing act.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
You don't want to do a disservice to a guy
like Bobby Wagner, who knows if this could be a
swan song in the final three games of his career.
You just don't know. He hasn't made that decision yet.
But so you have to kind of toe the line
a little bit by you know you're not going to
the playoffs, but you know you've heard Dan Quinn numerous
times the last couple of weeks saying, this is a tournament,
NFC East tournament.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
We want you know, this is in our division. This
is important to us.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
You have the defending champs come into town, so yeah,
they want to win these football games. So you're gonna
see I still think you're gonna see the Frankie Louvus
and the Bobby Wagner are still out there. Maybe the
last game of the season. That's where you maybe roll
out a Jordan McGee for the entire game. Or an
Antonio Hamilton or Cay Madrono. I think the last game
that's where you maybe get to see more of these
(13:17):
younger guys in those type of situations. But with three
games left, I still think you're gonna rely on those
veterans and and try to win these football games. And selfishly,
I love to see a guy like von Miller thirty
six years old.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
He has seven sacks.
Speaker 6 (13:30):
You know, von Miller wants to get to double digit sacks,
So I would love to see selfishly a guy like
that of Von Miller get the double digit sacks. So
I think there's still a lot of meaningful football for
these veterans type players. The young guys will have their moments,
their time will come. I think that'll come more toward
the last game of the season to see a Jordan
mcgeeme a leading a defense or other guys filling in.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
I like to see Johnny Newton more.
Speaker 6 (13:52):
Johnny Newton still kind of behind the snap rotation with
a Deron Pain and a Javon Kinlaws, So maybe at
Johnny Newton starting and get more snaps over these last
three games.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
So those are some names to keep an eye on.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, I can't trying.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
I have to look it up, but it's been a
while since von Miller has had double digit sacks. Yeah,
you know, it's just the lack of availability of the
age averages.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
One sack of game here, he's gonna get tench.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
And it just seems like he's there.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
And he's even said on things on his pockets he
wants to come back to Washington. And I'm sure we
haven't talked about to Bobby about this, but I'm sure
he would like to come back to if he's available.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
So we'll see there.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Donald, same question for you about how they want to
balance the getting these young players more revs. Balls to
staying competitive in these last thir games which the Eagles
and Dallas Cowboys, they're they're no slides. They're both competing
for the for the Vision at least for another couple
of weeks.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Yeah, you know what, I'm the most competitive person ever.
Wow about winning, I'm about I know everybody wants to
see the younger players and what they can do, but
guess what they've been in throughout the season at different
moments and whatever, and coaches really assessing them from training
camp through the season too. Right now, But you've got
(15:02):
three games to go. You're trying to win ball games
at all calls and whatever. And I know Scott said
that maybe towards the last game, you let the McGee
stay in there for absolutely only if the situation calls
for him to be in there, because you have to
play the core players, no matter what I mean. And
(15:25):
Jory McGee has been in there enough for you to
assess where he's at. CA Madrono maybe a little bit more,
but you're gonna play the Eagles again at the end
of the season.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
So those guys that's in you're assessing them too.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
You're assessing the veterans, you're assessing the young guys, and
to me, sometimes you can set back.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
It's not always about.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Being in a game situation, but it's also watching other
guys operate where you can learn that way. Also, So
I know that Johnny Newton is a player that got
called out, and I really do like to see him
because to me, you win in the trenches up front.
You lost a lot of guys up front throughout the
(16:06):
course of the season. So Johnny is one of those
guys that you want to kind of like see a
little bit more to see what he can do upfront
because I think that when you look at next year,
when you look at the course of the finishing this
season strong, you want that pass rush to see a
little bit more with the guys in there. About getting
to the quarterback. You've got great quarterbacks you're gonna play
(16:28):
at the end of the season.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
So it starts up front.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Looking at some of those guys, Mikey Sandra Still, who's
been in there. You know he's still second, third year,
Kwan Martin, all of those guys. I think you have
to be able to see more of those guys in
there of what you got moving forward, you know, along
with the veterans in there.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
But at the end of.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
The day three games left, Von Miller told me, man,
we're trying to spoil it for somebody else, and Jacob
Martin said, we're trying to let somebody else go to
can cool with us.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Brother is.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Yeah, brother, it's Dallas, brother.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
It was the Eagles, and it's happened to be all
three of those teams that you're trying to be spoilers.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
So understanding that we.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
Want to see the young guys in there, but you've
got to make sure that the people are in their
veteran players that's going to be able to turn the table.
And to me, those veteran guys in there you've seen. Look, look, guys,
you've seen enough of the younger guys. They've been in there,
(17:35):
and right now it's the guys that's not gonna make
the mistakes that I want in there.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
So let me play the devil advocates to both of
you guys, because I think both of you made very
similar points. I hear you on Johnny Newton, I hear
you and guys like McGee, because both of those guys
have been playing a lot, and you know, we should
say like this coach is playing younger players partly at
it because they want to see what they have, probably
because that at need because of all the injuries. But
(18:01):
let me ask you this, Scott, what is what is
the harm if you really want to stay competitive in
saying okay, maybe we give a few more reps from
Doran to Johnny or let you know, get McGee a
little more reps from from Bobby or some of these
other guys, Like what like, what is there any harm
(18:21):
in that? If you still want to say competitive but
also get like, hey, we've already seen a decent sample
size them. Let's see what they can do with this,
maybe ten percent more.
Speaker 6 (18:31):
I don't think there's any harm. You got to take
the training wheels off when you love to have Jordan
McGee call the defense show on the field for the
majority of the game. You have to put them in
those type of situations. Bobby Wagner is not gonna be
here forever. I mean, you got you have to put
stressful moments, stressful situations at the highest level for these
young guys to really see what you got.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
So I would love to have Jordan McGee to.
Speaker 6 (18:54):
Be the guy with the headset on, you know, for
getting defensive play calls for a majority of the game.
I'd love to see a Johnny Newton get more reps
from mckinlaw or Deran Payne, just to see the evaluation
of what they can do with more opportunities.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
So I don't think there's any harm in that.
Speaker 6 (19:13):
I think you still can be competitive with giving you know,
ten more snaps to a couple of guys.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
So I totally agree with that, and I want to
talk to you for one to the final question about
we've mentioned Cama drama because if you remember way back
in August June, they were still they said, Okay, we
want to figure out if this guy is Frankie or
a Kwan and he really hasn't played that much more
(19:41):
than special teams reps for whatever reason. And you know,
maybe that changes the last three games, like maybe that
changes in the in the season finale, uh in Philadelphia.
But if it were me, I would want to say, Okay,
do we really have an answer to that? Is he
quantor isy Frankie? And wouldn't you want to get more
reps than these last two games? Put him into these
(20:03):
defensive snaps more often as opposed to sticking him in
the especially thrilled until week eighteen.
Speaker 5 (20:08):
Yeah, I mean, you're not going to find out that
in three games. It's not enough games to figure that out.
That's something that's a long process. If you think about
Cliff Kingsbury when he talked about Brandon Coleman today, as
far as his development, they don't know whether he's inside
or outside. That's not something they're going to learn. And
(20:29):
Brandon has been here for longer than Cain has. But
trying to force something in three games is not going
to work out to me that This is my assessment
because it takes a while for the process to take form,
and that's something maybe next year they've learned a little
bit more about Cain Madrono and different situations that we
(20:51):
don't even know about in practices and even in game
situation when they were going to put him in in
there and if they seem mistakes happening and so forth,
that's not gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
So the reason why I'm.
Speaker 5 (21:03):
Saying that that you still have to wait to go
through the process with Cane with some of the things
that you want to see from him, whether he's outside,
inside or where does he fit. Three games is not
going to materialize that for him, and I think that
you will be doing yourself a disservice or to him
also in trying to force something. You look, look, you
(21:26):
can't force a big option, option, option, option into a
small hole. So I think that in this situation with
with Madrano is that you have to still bring him
along through the process of the off season stuff and
everything and then kind of like like do what you're
(21:46):
trying to do right now in taking pressures off. I
know he's frustrated about playing everything, but in the same
breath is that don't force something that you don't need
to force at this stage of the game.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
Don't make mistakes that.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
You That's something I think people don't always understand about development. Right,
If you take on a role it's too big for
you too soon, it can in a way put you
back in some way. So I do like the way
you ended that there. We'll move on to the final
question before we do that, an actual score update.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Both of you are tied three to three.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Love love, Yeah, both of you guys. The deep shot
said about it's it's dead heat here heading into the
last one, and we're gonna stick on to this young
players debate here. We're gonna go to the offense side
of the ball, and we've got plenty of options here
(22:38):
that they can see mostly out of necessity. Got Birks,
You've got Senate, You've got a lot of other guys
that mad Billion the bill in there, even though he's
got more reps than other young offensive players.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Of those offensive.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Talented players, who do you want to see more of
and who are you excited to see more of heading
into these last three games? Big opportunity for evaluations.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Donna take the Let me guess actually.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
I'm going to start with the tight ends because I
know everybody probably would have thought that I would start
with the running back situation the wide receiver.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
And the reason why I'm sticking.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
With the tight end situation is because Ben Sinnett has
been here for a minute now and they've been trying
to develop him since training camp. I watched him closely,
talk to him from training camp up to right now
of his development. Now, when when you have a guy
like Zach goes down, this is the perfect opportunity for
(23:39):
Ben to step up because they've been waiting for him
to have that explosion uh part of this season, and
the wills are open now. As you all say, Scott
take the training wheels off, Well, they had taken those
off during the course of this season. And Yankoff is
another guy that they really wanted to put in there
because you know, you got Baits and everything, and if
(24:01):
you're trying to build your tight end room and even
if Zach comes back, that's an area that you want
to kind of really assess going forward, do we still need.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
Somebody in there?
Speaker 5 (24:14):
What A young Ben Sennett has the great opportunity right
now to showcase his skill set. He's you know, as
far as he's gotten better with the blocking his passing.
We know about that, and the only way that they
can look at that is you got to throw the
ball to him. And it's so much of a you know,
a slim chance that he's gonna get a lot of
talkers because you got the cherries in, you got the
(24:37):
de boats in and all of that. But Ben Senny
can be more useful, even more so of how he's blocking.
They use the blocking tight end a lot here, and
so I think his skill set there is going to
be key. So I'm sticking right now with the development
of the tight end room because you already know what
you got in the running back room with Bill because
(24:57):
as you said, he's gotten a lot of touches and everything,
and Jay Lange, uh, you know, it's so many balls
is gonna come in his way and everything because of
you got the tarry back. So I'm sticking with the
tight end room in pushing that forward a little bit more.
And Zach is still in everybody's ear, helping that group,
(25:19):
helping the bands, the yank off and all those guys
move forward.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
So she said she was gonna bring the heat. The
hell of an answer, I'm not gonna lie that.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
To be honest, there's only one answer to that question,
and she one hundred thousand percent it is the tight
end position because you have to figure out in this
offseason approach, free agency draft, the tight end position is
a game.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Changer in today's NFL.
Speaker 6 (25:46):
If you don't have a dynamic tight end, you are
way behind the sticks in terms of evolving as an offense.
So Ben Sinnett, your second round pick, is not that
guy you gotta go fish for for somebody else, because honestly,
you don't know if zach Ertz is gonna come back.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
You don't know if his career is done.
Speaker 6 (26:06):
So you got three games, Ben Sinnett, Again, you're not
You're not gonna learn everything in three games. But he's
been here for two years now, So that is the
only answer. Tight End position is such a critical part
of this machine and if you don't have one, you're sinking.
So if Benson is not the dude, you're gonna have
(26:26):
to go fish. So that's the only answer in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Okay, I'm gonna do something, but you don't really do
in journalism, which is called leading the witness, And I'm
just gonna give you the opportunity to have a different answer,
and all.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Right, I got I got one, I got one.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Okay, give you give me.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
It's gonna be an interesting take here. Why not start
Sam Hartman for one game?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Okay, hear me out? Okay, Okay, So you have Jaden.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
Marcus, he's gonna he's gonna have other suitors, trust me,
come free agency. Okay, So he's gonna be a valuable
commodity for a lot of NFL teams. You can never
have too many good quarterbacks on a roster. Sam Hartman,
all right, what's he got?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Well?
Speaker 3 (27:14):
What can you do when the bullets are flying in
a real NFL game?
Speaker 6 (27:18):
So I would like to see maybe Sam Hartman get
get some get some maybe reps or a start in
the last last regular season game.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So that's that's not what I was hoping you would
go with. I was hoping you pick a case of
trailing Bergs, because look, if you go back to the
way that like the evaluation for trailing Bergs, it was
a J Brown with more wiggle, and look, AJ Brown
sounds pretty great to me. I don't know about you, guys,
but that sounds awesome. But no, I do agree with
(27:47):
both of you. Vin said it is I think he's
the ultimate like ultimate player in this right.
Speaker 5 (27:52):
Now, and I gotta, I gotta, I gotta rebuttal Scott
with that, with what he just said, and I'm with
you at Trailing. So I'm gonna argue that point the
reason why I say and love you Sam Hartman. But
it's about winning in the end. You already know assessment wise,
(28:12):
he started most of you know, the preseason and all
of those games and whatever. But at the end of
the year, when you're still trying to win in here,
you have to put your best foot forward, and that
is Marcus right now. And so therefore moving on from
Sam because with the with getting Marcus back probably hopefully
(28:35):
next year, you already know who your backup is going
to be, and that third quarterback may change anyway.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
But let's go to the wide receiver room.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You know that you have to up that scale.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Also, Trailing has showed you some flashes he's got.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
He had been dogged out with his other teams.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
He came in.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
He's supposed to be a high draft pick. He did materialized,
but he showed life here in this system for the Commanders.
So if I'm going to see anybody to utilize him
a little bit more because he hasn't gotten any touches
really since he's just been a decoy for the other receivers.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
So in order to.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Find out he's a big guy that you're looking for,
because with the tight end position we're talking about, he
adds so much more dynamic as far as getting down field,
you know, being physical down there in the red zone
and all of those things. So to me, if you're
going to turn the tables and we agree both on
Ben Sennas, my other wild card would be Treylon Burke.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Well, well, you know that you didn't even have to
make that point, and but you did, and I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Scott really wanted to give it to you. I really
really did. But I told you was gonna be I think,
do you gotta take the win here?
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (29:56):
Yes, I'm in it the wind. I told you at
the beginning it was all about winning.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I'm like the commanders.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Oh, three last three games is all about winning.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Well, there you got it, Scott. You always bring the heat.
You always do.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
And I will say in each of.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
These losses they've all been closed. I really didn't try
to give you a shot.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
To come with someone someone, and.
Speaker 6 (30:22):
You know what, though I'm not gonna give up, I
am gonna be back and I'll be back to defend.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Both these guys will be back for sure, whether it's
not in the last two week next year, for sure.
It's been great. It's been great having both of you on.
Both of you guys brought it, loved the discussion, and
hopefully when you hear from me again, we'll be talking
about another commander's win, because it's always ready to see.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
The Eagles lose.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
And until then, be sure to rate your view, subscribe, ever,
get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
And this has been the beat down
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