December 11, 2025 • 20 mins
The Commanders are eliminated from playoff contention, but they intend to have a strong finish for the last four games of the season. Jake Rohm from DC News Now and George Wallace from WTOP join Commanders Senior Writer Zach Selby to break down the Commanders' options at tight end, how to fix the offense and which players could have bigger roles in the final stretch.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
What is up? What's going on? Y'all? This is another
episode of the Beatdown Podcast, Week fifteenth edition. I'm your host,
senior writer for the Commanders, Zach Selby, And if I
sound like I'm in a somber mood, probably as you
know by now, the Commanders have officially been eliminated from
playoff contention after their thirty one to zero loss to
(00:35):
the Minnesota Vikings. Not really that much to say about
that game that hadn't already been said, other than, in
case you haven't already heard by now, Jane Daniels seems
to have reaggravated aggravated his elbow, Zach Ertz. Unfortunately toward
his acl he will be out for the rest of
the year. Not great, but we will soldier on. As
(00:55):
Zeke said, for the next four games, try to end
things on a positive note. In that begins with a
road trip to the Giants at MetLife Stadium and with
me to discuss how the Commanders can pull off a
win streak and hopefully hopefully end this eight game losing streak.
Is Jake Ron from DC News. Now, how you doing, Jake?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
So good, Zach good to be here, and.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
We had George Wilson, W t O P. George, how
are we doing?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I'm good, Zach ran a rock and roll I can
tell in your voice though, that you're you're feeling it,
you really.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I think we're all feeling it here. And it's such
a whiplash from last year because this time last year
we were, you know, we're in contention for the playoffs
and maybe a little bit more. And now it's, uh, well,
it is what it is, and losing, losing for two
months straight is not fun for anybody. Case Case didn't know.
I did not recommended zero stars here, but we will
(01:52):
continue on with this podcast here, winners, losers, points, questions,
all that stuff. By god, you should know how this
podcast goes by now you've been listening. Thank you so
much for listening over through these through this losing streak.
And with all that being said, we're gonna jump right
into it and we're gonna start with what I was
part of what I opened up with the podcast with here,
(02:12):
and as I mentioned, zach Ertz down for the year,
torny I cel tough, tough look for a guy who's
really had a Hall of Fame career in a lot
of ways, and you can just tell how important he
was in the locker room, on the field to these
teammates and what's and souling. Everyone's really really emotional after
seeing him go down like that. It's something that no
one ever wants to experience in their career or in life.
(02:36):
It's gonna be. It's gonna be tough, and I wish
him all the best in recovery. But for the short term,
we have to figure out what the Commanders are going
to be doing in his absence, And there are some
options out there that I think some fans would want
to see, some things that you might not think about.
But it's either either way. It's gonna be. It's gonna
have They're gonna have to find an answer here to to
(02:57):
replace that in the best way they can zach Ertz's production.
So that'll be the first topic of the question, is like,
what should the game plan for the Commanders be when
it comes to play thing zach Ertz and finding more
production of the tight end position. Jake, let's go with
you first.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah, I mean, when you think of replacing a guy
that's Hall of Fame stature in zach Ertz, it's going
to be hard to do. I mean, I think leadership wise,
it's going to be impossible to do at least the
tight end position, at least for this year. Maybe moving
forward they can find another veteran guy that can come
in and you know, replace him. But in my opinion,
I think, you know, it's down to John Bates and
Ben Sennett, and in my opinion, I want to see
(03:38):
Ben Sennen out there. This is a guy that has
been was highly touted, drafted comparisons to guys like kyleie
Yuschek when it came to what he can do blocking
wise as well as receiving wise, I want to see
more of that. I mean, the dude's only had four
catches all year, he has a touchdown, he's averaging over
ten yards of reception. I'd love to see a little
bit more of what Ben Sinnet can bring to the
table when it comes to this team. That's to be
(04:00):
kind of the trend that I talk about with the
questions that we're gonna do is just the trend in
which what we can get out of the players we
haven't seen enough of, and I think Benson is at
the top of that list. For me, is one of
those guys it's like, hey, he's been on this team
now for two years, where's the production, where's whatever? But
it's because of the fact that he's behind a guy
like a zach Ertz and a John Bates. But at
(04:21):
this point of the season where you're kind of playing this,
let's see what we kind of have out of the
guys that we have left. I think we got we
got to see what happens with Ben son Mo.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, I think that's the obvious answer. And I'm glad
you touched on him first because we will dive into
him a little bit more here in the next few minutes.
Be first, we want to get Georgia's answers. But yeah,
well I will touch on Yeah. I think it's I
think this is something that the fans have been wanting
to see for quite a while. And I understand why
he's the second round pick. He has a lot of
potential and I think, you know, he's gonna have his
opportunities to do to show what he what he can do,
(04:54):
not just his blocker, but also as a pass catcher,
which to which is you know crazy that he's he
hasn't dropped a pass. His career is great. Grant it's
only been nine targets. But George, we'll go with you
same question. What do you think that the commander should
do with the titime position and what are your thoughts
about that group overall?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, and I think I think you know, you talk
about John Bates and he's ahead of him in the
depth chart, but that's because you know, Bates is more
of a blocking specialist, not really a pass catcher, which
Ben Sennett is going to be. I think you're going
to see more of Ben Sinnet. He's got an opportunity
now the second round pick.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
As you mentioned, I.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Think you could also see Colston Yankoff get more involved
as too. He's not really you know, a big wasn't
really a big part of this roster building, but you
never know now because this somebody's gonna have to step up.
But as far as catching the football, which you see
from kind of zach Ertz, I like to see Ben Sinnett.
You know, we've seen John Bates being able to block.
We know he can do that, so I think you'll
(05:46):
see a combination. But as far as a pass catcher,
you're going to have to see what Ben Sinny can
do because look ays and you know. I mean, we've
seen guys past catchers in and out of his lineup
all year long, and you finally had a full cop
on offense the other day, and then you lose a
guy like Zach Ertz who has been playing at a
high level.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
And as Jake met you cannot replace that.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
You felt just your heart broke for him just seeing
how emotional he was leaving that field on Sunday because
of everything he has put into this this season, his career,
this team. And you know, I remember in Philadelphia last
year at the end of the MC championship game, say
wish you could have played with Jane Daniels when he
was twenty one years old. Came back this year to
play with him and taking that trying to hopefully take
that next step, and it's just going to unfortunately end
(06:28):
this way. But you can't replace that kind of leadership
in the locker room.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
And you could also see Marcus kind of giving him
some consoling words as he gets hard off the out
of the stadium. There you'll see Jaden kind of showing
his frustration for someone who's been an emotional leader for him,
been a very guiding force m guys like him and
Bobby Wagern and Austin Eckler all kind of had that
veteran leadership and guide and so that's just for Jaden,
(06:53):
but for everyone on the roster as well. And Jake,
you mentioned Benson at first, and you know, both of
you guys did, but I feel like since you touched
it first, we'll expand on that a little bit more.
And it seems like, hey, maybe it is something to
do with him being third on the depth chart, but
I think you see a lot of the athletic potential
out of this guy, and I just wonder how are
(07:15):
they going to get be able to get him more involved?
I mean, is just a matter of him getting him
a field more in place of John Bates, because you
don't want to replace that that blocking skill set that
the John Bates has. But at the same time, this
is second one pick. He's going to be heading to
his third year at the end of this season. How
impressed are you by his ability as a pass catcher,
(07:36):
and like, what do you think, what would you want
to see I've been saying specifically as a pass catcher
that will make you say, Okay, I feel really good
about him heading into his third season.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I think a little bit of what you mentioned Zach
was the fact that he's not had a drop pass
and his career, which is which is crazy. And if
you think about what I want to see out of him,
it's maybe just a little more production, a little more
targets going his way. I'm not saying give them ten
targets moving forward or whatever. You give them four to
five targets, maybe three to four in that range, and
(08:06):
see what he can maybe do with that type of
production as we move forward through this season with four
games left, a lost season like we've been talking about,
maybe you could see the upside of the potential that
we have as a pass catcher for him moving forward.
And does that come with him taking spots away from
from John Baits Maybe maybe not. It could be something
where you have to go to tight end three tight
(08:28):
end set moving forward, so that way you can still
have a guy like John Baits and his caliber of
what he can do as a blocker with this with
this offense moving forward, but still be able to get
a guy like Ben Sonon in there work on his
blocking as well. But see a little bit more production
in the past game for four to five targets a game,
I think is a nice way to ease him in
to what you could possibly see as a long term
(08:51):
tight end one for this team moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Well, I think that's I think that is interesting because
maybe in some areas you would say, okay, without urs,
they don't really have a tight end one. But that
kind of goes into what I want to touch on
with George before we move on to the next question here.
And I don't know either you'll remember, but in the
off season, both like you know, Rye and Cliff Kingsbury,
(09:17):
they were talking a lot about they want to get
John Bates more involved in the passing game, because we
talked about a guy who has sure hands John Bates,
he didn't. He's got some pretty nice hands as well.
I think he has about like a seventy ish percent catchphrase.
I mean, he's he doesn't had that many targets this
year in the passing game, but he think he has
about seventy something yards or something like that he did
(09:37):
the year before. And I just wonder, like, I mean,
for whatever reason that that hasn't really gone that's gone
by the wayside as well, and maybe that has something
to do with the injuries or how the offense is
being played and all that other stuff, But I for one,
am curious about how John bas could perform as a
tight end one. I mean, I'll do credit to Ben Sinon,
but this is also a guy that they are very
they were very excited about when they resigned him. So, George, like,
(09:59):
what do you think about John Bates possibly being a
tinaned one of being able to show that, hey, not
only am I one of the best blocking tight ends
in the NFL, I can also run around, catch some
passes and you know, get in the end zone for
these guys.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Yeah, I agree, I think this will be a chance
for him to step up. I know they talk about
these primarily the blocking tight end and route running has
been his kind of weakness, but I think you know,
I mean, okay, you could say that, but it's also
stuff that you're working on all the time. He hasn't
maybe really been put in those positions to be in
that route running spot like zach Ertz and sometimes an
e Ben Sennence. So now maybe if they do feel
(10:34):
strongly about him and have confidence in him, then they're
going to put him in those positions. That's Cliff Kingsbury's
job right now. Right to get creative and put guys
in position to be successful. And I think that they
now will try and use Baits in both of those aspects,
kind of like you've seen zach Ertz and maybe and
then see what he can do. Because look, I mean,
as we talked about a lot already in this in
(10:55):
our media all year long, or since this losing streak,
now's a chance we're going to get to you what
guys can do. You're officially eliminated now. I know dan
Quinn's been asked about it, and he's kind of been
heaving and hauled about it because you're not there yet
because you're thinking about the playoffs. But now that it's done,
you've got four division games left and you have to
see what everybody can do.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, you definitely do. And in quick quick stat correction
for me is bases at sixty nine percent in catchway
for his entire career with I think it is seventy
one yards so far on eight receptions this season. And
before we move on to you also mentioned Colson Yankov
could also be an interesting prospect there as well. They
mentioned his athleticism and he seems like he he seems
(11:34):
like he's very a natural fit for the position, and
I think he'll be someone that I want to pay
pay attention at least a little bit as well. We'll
move on here. Before we do, I'll say, like I've
been in this the last couple I think I'm gonna
hold off on the points. You know, I'll keep the
points to myself, I real, before I reveal the winner,
just to kind of up the stakes a little bit
for the podcast. That makes you where people are listening
(11:55):
a little more intently. And we'll move on here to
We're gonna stay in the offense. And I think, you know,
for me, it was a very surprising performance about how
the offense played. I think they just around two und there.
I think that was the worst offensive performance that they've
had and it's been you know, I think it's about
I think it's like twenty twenty three season. So we'll
(12:17):
keep we'll keep it real quicker because we already tested
the offense. Will one answer each for each of you
and I. Originally in the question, I said, Okay, how
do you fix the offense? That might be a little
too simplistic, but I do want to know, like, what
do you think the offensive to bounce back from such
a performance like that. George will start with you that was.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Back this week.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I mean, I still am trying to figure out what
we saw this past week when the offensive side, and
it's just really shocking the fact that they just weren't
in sync. And I don't know if it's the Jayden
Daniels thing coming back after missing time and they.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Haven't had practice.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
I know we've constantly talked about that, but it's still
shocking to see, especially with the everybody on the offensive
side for the first time.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
With the healthy offensive line, your complement a weapon.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
So as far as I think, you need a week
of practice where everybody is on the field. Now, again,
we don't know what the situation is going to be
at quarterback, but even if it is Marcus Marrioder, he's
had lots of time now with this offense to kind
of get in a rhythm because of the amount of
time he has played this year. So I really think
it comes down to just the reps. I know it's
tough to do in a week of practice because of
(13:21):
you know how little you maybe do at practice full speed,
but they just have to nail it down and just
stay get on the same page, and it's constantly in
the meeting rooms and then to the practice field and
the mental reps, and it's just it's you can tell
it's there, the weapons are there. It's just a matter
of putting it all together. And I think that the
fact that guys have not been in.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
This lineup in and out of this lineup all year
long has been a big deal.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
And I think if you can get a week of
practice with or without Jayden Daniels now and keep guys
consistent from last Sunday to this Sunday on the field
health wise, then that would go a long way against
the Giants team it is pretty bad as well, But
I also thought the Vikings were a pretty bad football team.
But this week the Giant's coming off a big losing streak.
But they are coming off of it bye, But the
(14:07):
opportunity is there.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Yeah, and again I'll remind people. It's an obvious thing
to say, but I will remind it. People want to
say this is not mad and this is real life. Like,
you can't just throw players into this line that lay
into the season expect them to perform the way that
you think they should perform. It does take time to
get out of that chemistry and get those repetitions down,
and like for whatever, you know, for the injuries, all
(14:29):
that considered, like it has been very hard for them
to get into a rhythm because of all the things
that have involved in this late in the season. It's
going to be a hard to do that. Jake, same
question to you.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Yeah, just kind of a quick piggyback off of what
George said. You know, the fact that you know Jayden
in there and some of these guys healthy back, I
think everyone, like you said too, Zach, everyone just assumed
that everyone's back, the gang's all back together, and in
the last seven or eight weeks of them not playing
together just didn't matter at all coming into this week
against the Bike, but it showed. It showed that the
(15:01):
fact that they did not have enough reps together and
that kind of was a reason that things just felt
a little off. I think you get Mariota back in there,
and he has a little more familiarity with some of
these guys on the offensive side of the ball, I
think things will start to click a little bit more.
And then you obviously play a team like the New
York Giants, Like you said, Zach, they're struggling as well,
and I think this could be a big kind of
(15:24):
pick me up game before you play Philly in Dallas
the last three weeks.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
We'll move on to final question. I will go and
reveal the score. Now, both of your tile. Like the
stuff that George said about, you know, all the chemistry
and and the revs together, and I think that that
ended up putting him up to you know, one to
one each year heading to the final round. And you know,
real quick here, it's gonna be really simple. You know,
both of you kind of tests on it. Different players
are gonna have different opportunities through the last four games.
(15:49):
But of the players who maybe haven't gotten as much time,
which one do you want to see the most out of?
And George, we'll start with you on this one.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
I'm gonna go with I know we talked about the
tight ends. I'd like to see that. I want to
see more. Let's go defense.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
I know there's been a lot of talk about Jordan
McGee this year and getting his opportunity. We've seen flashes
of it since Dan Quinn has taken over. I know
he was stepped up a little bit last week. Bobby
Wagner was in and out of practice. But mcdee with
three tackles the other day against the Vikings. I think
you've seen flashes of it six last week. The week
aldgo against the Broncos, you've seen him put more pressure
(16:22):
onto quarterback. I like the way they're using him. I
want to see him down the stretch. Bobby Wagner is great,
and his linebacking corps is great, but we know that
they are getting older and you're going to need to
rely on some of these young guys. So I'm gonna
go with I mean, there's a number of them. I
want to throw a shout to Chris Rodriguez as well.
He's been the way he's been able to be a
powerful running back as of late on the offensive side,
(16:43):
but we've kind of seeing him in and Atlanta. But
I want to see more of Jordan McGee going down
to stretch this year.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
But Deee's a popular pick. I know the fans definitely
want to see more of him, and he had no
disrespect to Bobby Whader. Of course, by the way, vote
for him for the Pro Bow. He's fourth in the
league right now, and for linebackers in probable bletting, you
should go vote for him, Jake, same question.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Yeah, I'm going familiar.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I'm gonna kind of go the same position that George did,
but I'm going Caye Madrano. I just think this is
a guy that almost in the same instance, is what
you want to see from Jordan McGee, even though Jordan
McGee's had a little bit more experience in this league
compared to the rookie Modrano. I want to see what
he can do because obviously Bobby Wager can't play untill
he's five hundred years old.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
So you know, I mean, the dude just keeps.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
I mean, maybe you can.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I mean, the guy seems to be just you know,
fanning to test the time right now with the way
he's playing, and like you said, Zach in the Pro
Bowl voting where he is right now.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
But I want to see a guy like cam Modrano.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
I mean, the guy is only played in five games
this year, and he's played a little bit more down
these past couple of weeks. I want to just see
a little bit more of what he can bring to
the table, maybe even alongside Jordan McGee, and see what
we can get with the youth at that linebacker position.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
It's really the only healthy.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Position on the defensive side. So it was hard to
pick anyone else on the defense because we've seen some
other guys step up and have to you know, get
some reps and do some stuff because of the amount
of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. So
I had to stick with that linebacker position because we
know we have from Bobby, we've seen a lot from
a decent amount of Jordan McGee as well, at least
in the last last you know, during this losing streak.
(18:14):
I should say, I want to see what the rookie
Camederno brings because I think with his speed and what
he could possibly be a potential wise, I think of
a guy like Ryan Shazier for the Steelers a couple
you know years back, where he has the speed to
be a three down linebacker if he can just kind
of get it get it right in between the years.
At the NFL level, I think we could see a
(18:35):
cam Modrono being a guy that could possibly be a
play color, possibly be one of those linebackers for the
Commanders for years to come.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I think I definitely do like Madrono a lot, and
I really hope we see more of him. I think
you make great points there, all right, winner, and it
was really tough as it was. I think it was
a rematch right between you two. Oh yeah, and it
was definitely it was definitely posted. It's close now and
I think by a hair, I gotta go with George
here on this because I love the McGee pick. I
(19:04):
think that's gonna be something. It's gonna be really interesting.
And I know you gotta leave in like a minute, George,
so go ahead and give us some partying wards a victory.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I appreciate the rematch, Jake.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
You know, I've been training for this since we were
on last time, and you just edged me out in
that twelfth round, so I appreciate you giving me another shot.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Oh it's always a pleasure. George and Zach thank you as.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Well, of course. Absolutely it was great having you both
on here. Really appreciate you guys coming on on a Tuesday,
on the day off that we have here before we
get right back into it, and for everyone listening, thank
you again for listening, and be sure to rate you
view subscriber ever you get your podcasts, and until week sixteen,
this is the beatdown O
What is up? What's going on? Y'all? This is another
episode of the Beatdown Podcast, Week fifteenth edition. I'm your host,
senior writer for the Commanders, Zach Selby, And if I
sound like I'm in a somber mood, probably as you
know by now, the Commanders have officially been eliminated from
playoff contention after their thirty one to zero loss to
(00:35):
the Minnesota Vikings. Not really that much to say about
that game that hadn't already been said, other than, in
case you haven't already heard by now, Jane Daniels seems
to have reaggravated aggravated his elbow, Zach Ertz. Unfortunately toward
his acl he will be out for the rest of
the year. Not great, but we will soldier on. As
(00:55):
Zeke said, for the next four games, try to end
things on a positive note. In that begins with a
road trip to the Giants at MetLife Stadium and with
me to discuss how the Commanders can pull off a
win streak and hopefully hopefully end this eight game losing streak.
Is Jake Ron from DC News. Now, how you doing, Jake?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
So good, Zach good to be here, and.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
We had George Wilson, W t O P. George, how
are we doing?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I'm good, Zach ran a rock and roll I can
tell in your voice though, that you're you're feeling it,
you really.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I think we're all feeling it here. And it's such
a whiplash from last year because this time last year
we were, you know, we're in contention for the playoffs
and maybe a little bit more. And now it's, uh, well,
it is what it is, and losing, losing for two
months straight is not fun for anybody. Case Case didn't know.
I did not recommended zero stars here, but we will
(01:52):
continue on with this podcast here, winners, losers, points, questions,
all that stuff. By god, you should know how this
podcast goes by now you've been listening. Thank you so
much for listening over through these through this losing streak.
And with all that being said, we're gonna jump right
into it and we're gonna start with what I was
part of what I opened up with the podcast with here,
(02:12):
and as I mentioned, zach Ertz down for the year,
torny I cel tough, tough look for a guy who's
really had a Hall of Fame career in a lot
of ways, and you can just tell how important he
was in the locker room, on the field to these
teammates and what's and souling. Everyone's really really emotional after
seeing him go down like that. It's something that no
one ever wants to experience in their career or in life.
(02:36):
It's gonna be. It's gonna be tough, and I wish
him all the best in recovery. But for the short term,
we have to figure out what the Commanders are going
to be doing in his absence, And there are some
options out there that I think some fans would want
to see, some things that you might not think about.
But it's either either way. It's gonna be. It's gonna
have They're gonna have to find an answer here to to
(02:57):
replace that in the best way they can zach Ertz's production.
So that'll be the first topic of the question, is like,
what should the game plan for the Commanders be when
it comes to play thing zach Ertz and finding more
production of the tight end position. Jake, let's go with
you first.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah, I mean, when you think of replacing a guy
that's Hall of Fame stature in zach Ertz, it's going
to be hard to do. I mean, I think leadership wise,
it's going to be impossible to do at least the
tight end position, at least for this year. Maybe moving
forward they can find another veteran guy that can come
in and you know, replace him. But in my opinion,
I think, you know, it's down to John Bates and
Ben Sennett, and in my opinion, I want to see
(03:38):
Ben Sennen out there. This is a guy that has
been was highly touted, drafted comparisons to guys like kyleie
Yuschek when it came to what he can do blocking
wise as well as receiving wise, I want to see
more of that. I mean, the dude's only had four
catches all year, he has a touchdown, he's averaging over
ten yards of reception. I'd love to see a little
bit more of what Ben Sinnet can bring to the
table when it comes to this team. That's to be
(04:00):
kind of the trend that I talk about with the
questions that we're gonna do is just the trend in
which what we can get out of the players we
haven't seen enough of, and I think Benson is at
the top of that list. For me, is one of
those guys it's like, hey, he's been on this team
now for two years, where's the production, where's whatever? But
it's because of the fact that he's behind a guy
like a zach Ertz and a John Bates. But at
(04:21):
this point of the season where you're kind of playing this,
let's see what we kind of have out of the
guys that we have left. I think we got we
got to see what happens with Ben son Mo.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, I think that's the obvious answer. And I'm glad
you touched on him first because we will dive into
him a little bit more here in the next few minutes.
Be first, we want to get Georgia's answers. But yeah,
well I will touch on Yeah. I think it's I
think this is something that the fans have been wanting
to see for quite a while. And I understand why
he's the second round pick. He has a lot of
potential and I think, you know, he's gonna have his
opportunities to do to show what he what he can do,
(04:54):
not just his blocker, but also as a pass catcher,
which to which is you know crazy that he's he
hasn't dropped a pass. His career is great. Grant it's
only been nine targets. But George, we'll go with you
same question. What do you think that the commander should
do with the titime position and what are your thoughts
about that group overall?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, and I think I think you know, you talk
about John Bates and he's ahead of him in the
depth chart, but that's because you know, Bates is more
of a blocking specialist, not really a pass catcher, which
Ben Sennett is going to be. I think you're going
to see more of Ben Sinnet. He's got an opportunity
now the second round pick.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
As you mentioned, I.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Think you could also see Colston Yankoff get more involved
as too. He's not really you know, a big wasn't
really a big part of this roster building, but you
never know now because this somebody's gonna have to step up.
But as far as catching the football, which you see
from kind of zach Ertz, I like to see Ben Sinnett.
You know, we've seen John Bates being able to block.
We know he can do that, so I think you'll
(05:46):
see a combination. But as far as a pass catcher,
you're going to have to see what Ben Sinny can
do because look ays and you know. I mean, we've
seen guys past catchers in and out of his lineup
all year long, and you finally had a full cop
on offense the other day, and then you lose a
guy like Zach Ertz who has been playing at a
high level.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
And as Jake met you cannot replace that.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
You felt just your heart broke for him just seeing
how emotional he was leaving that field on Sunday because
of everything he has put into this this season, his career,
this team. And you know, I remember in Philadelphia last
year at the end of the MC championship game, say
wish you could have played with Jane Daniels when he
was twenty one years old. Came back this year to
play with him and taking that trying to hopefully take
that next step, and it's just going to unfortunately end
(06:28):
this way. But you can't replace that kind of leadership
in the locker room.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
And you could also see Marcus kind of giving him
some consoling words as he gets hard off the out
of the stadium. There you'll see Jaden kind of showing
his frustration for someone who's been an emotional leader for him,
been a very guiding force m guys like him and
Bobby Wagern and Austin Eckler all kind of had that
veteran leadership and guide and so that's just for Jaden,
(06:53):
but for everyone on the roster as well. And Jake,
you mentioned Benson at first, and you know, both of
you guys did, but I feel like since you touched
it first, we'll expand on that a little bit more.
And it seems like, hey, maybe it is something to
do with him being third on the depth chart, but
I think you see a lot of the athletic potential
out of this guy, and I just wonder how are
(07:15):
they going to get be able to get him more involved?
I mean, is just a matter of him getting him
a field more in place of John Bates, because you
don't want to replace that that blocking skill set that
the John Bates has. But at the same time, this
is second one pick. He's going to be heading to
his third year at the end of this season. How
impressed are you by his ability as a pass catcher,
(07:36):
and like, what do you think, what would you want
to see I've been saying specifically as a pass catcher
that will make you say, Okay, I feel really good
about him heading into his third season.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I think a little bit of what you mentioned Zach
was the fact that he's not had a drop pass
and his career, which is which is crazy. And if
you think about what I want to see out of him,
it's maybe just a little more production, a little more
targets going his way. I'm not saying give them ten
targets moving forward or whatever. You give them four to
five targets, maybe three to four in that range, and
(08:06):
see what he can maybe do with that type of
production as we move forward through this season with four
games left, a lost season like we've been talking about,
maybe you could see the upside of the potential that
we have as a pass catcher for him moving forward.
And does that come with him taking spots away from
from John Baits Maybe maybe not. It could be something
where you have to go to tight end three tight
(08:28):
end set moving forward, so that way you can still
have a guy like John Baits and his caliber of
what he can do as a blocker with this with
this offense moving forward, but still be able to get
a guy like Ben Sonon in there work on his
blocking as well. But see a little bit more production
in the past game for four to five targets a game,
I think is a nice way to ease him in
to what you could possibly see as a long term
(08:51):
tight end one for this team moving forward.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Well, I think that's I think that is interesting because
maybe in some areas you would say, okay, without urs,
they don't really have a tight end one. But that
kind of goes into what I want to touch on
with George before we move on to the next question here.
And I don't know either you'll remember, but in the
off season, both like you know, Rye and Cliff Kingsbury,
(09:17):
they were talking a lot about they want to get
John Bates more involved in the passing game, because we
talked about a guy who has sure hands John Bates,
he didn't. He's got some pretty nice hands as well.
I think he has about like a seventy ish percent catchphrase.
I mean, he's he doesn't had that many targets this
year in the passing game, but he think he has
about seventy something yards or something like that he did
(09:37):
the year before. And I just wonder, like, I mean,
for whatever reason that that hasn't really gone that's gone
by the wayside as well, and maybe that has something
to do with the injuries or how the offense is
being played and all that other stuff, But I for one,
am curious about how John bas could perform as a
tight end one. I mean, I'll do credit to Ben Sinon,
but this is also a guy that they are very
they were very excited about when they resigned him. So, George, like,
(09:59):
what do you think about John Bates possibly being a
tinaned one of being able to show that, hey, not
only am I one of the best blocking tight ends
in the NFL, I can also run around, catch some
passes and you know, get in the end zone for
these guys.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Yeah, I agree, I think this will be a chance
for him to step up. I know they talk about
these primarily the blocking tight end and route running has
been his kind of weakness, but I think you know,
I mean, okay, you could say that, but it's also
stuff that you're working on all the time. He hasn't
maybe really been put in those positions to be in
that route running spot like zach Ertz and sometimes an
e Ben Sennence. So now maybe if they do feel
(10:34):
strongly about him and have confidence in him, then they're
going to put him in those positions. That's Cliff Kingsbury's
job right now. Right to get creative and put guys
in position to be successful. And I think that they
now will try and use Baits in both of those aspects,
kind of like you've seen zach Ertz and maybe and
then see what he can do. Because look, I mean,
as we talked about a lot already in this in
(10:55):
our media all year long, or since this losing streak,
now's a chance we're going to get to you what
guys can do. You're officially eliminated now. I know dan
Quinn's been asked about it, and he's kind of been
heaving and hauled about it because you're not there yet
because you're thinking about the playoffs. But now that it's done,
you've got four division games left and you have to
see what everybody can do.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Yeah, you definitely do. And in quick quick stat correction
for me is bases at sixty nine percent in catchway
for his entire career with I think it is seventy
one yards so far on eight receptions this season. And
before we move on to you also mentioned Colson Yankov
could also be an interesting prospect there as well. They
mentioned his athleticism and he seems like he he seems
(11:34):
like he's very a natural fit for the position, and
I think he'll be someone that I want to pay
pay attention at least a little bit as well. We'll
move on here. Before we do, I'll say, like I've
been in this the last couple I think I'm gonna
hold off on the points. You know, I'll keep the
points to myself, I real, before I reveal the winner,
just to kind of up the stakes a little bit
for the podcast. That makes you where people are listening
(11:55):
a little more intently. And we'll move on here to
We're gonna stay in the offense. And I think, you know,
for me, it was a very surprising performance about how
the offense played. I think they just around two und there.
I think that was the worst offensive performance that they've
had and it's been you know, I think it's about
I think it's like twenty twenty three season. So we'll
(12:17):
keep we'll keep it real quicker because we already tested
the offense. Will one answer each for each of you
and I. Originally in the question, I said, Okay, how
do you fix the offense? That might be a little
too simplistic, but I do want to know, like, what
do you think the offensive to bounce back from such
a performance like that. George will start with you that was.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Back this week.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I mean, I still am trying to figure out what
we saw this past week when the offensive side, and
it's just really shocking the fact that they just weren't
in sync. And I don't know if it's the Jayden
Daniels thing coming back after missing time and they.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Haven't had practice.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
I know we've constantly talked about that, but it's still
shocking to see, especially with the everybody on the offensive
side for the first time.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
With the healthy offensive line, your complement a weapon.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
So as far as I think, you need a week
of practice where everybody is on the field. Now, again,
we don't know what the situation is going to be
at quarterback, but even if it is Marcus Marrioder, he's
had lots of time now with this offense to kind
of get in a rhythm because of the amount of
time he has played this year. So I really think
it comes down to just the reps. I know it's
tough to do in a week of practice because of
(13:21):
you know how little you maybe do at practice full speed,
but they just have to nail it down and just
stay get on the same page, and it's constantly in
the meeting rooms and then to the practice field and
the mental reps, and it's just it's you can tell
it's there, the weapons are there. It's just a matter
of putting it all together. And I think that the
fact that guys have not been in.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
This lineup in and out of this lineup all year
long has been a big deal.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
And I think if you can get a week of
practice with or without Jayden Daniels now and keep guys
consistent from last Sunday to this Sunday on the field
health wise, then that would go a long way against
the Giants team it is pretty bad as well, But
I also thought the Vikings were a pretty bad football team.
But this week the Giant's coming off a big losing streak.
But they are coming off of it bye, But the
(14:07):
opportunity is there.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Yeah, and again I'll remind people. It's an obvious thing
to say, but I will remind it. People want to
say this is not mad and this is real life. Like,
you can't just throw players into this line that lay
into the season expect them to perform the way that
you think they should perform. It does take time to
get out of that chemistry and get those repetitions down,
and like for whatever, you know, for the injuries, all
(14:29):
that considered, like it has been very hard for them
to get into a rhythm because of all the things
that have involved in this late in the season. It's
going to be a hard to do that. Jake, same
question to you.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Yeah, just kind of a quick piggyback off of what
George said. You know, the fact that you know Jayden
in there and some of these guys healthy back, I
think everyone, like you said too, Zach, everyone just assumed
that everyone's back, the gang's all back together, and in
the last seven or eight weeks of them not playing
together just didn't matter at all coming into this week
against the Bike, but it showed. It showed that the
(15:01):
fact that they did not have enough reps together and
that kind of was a reason that things just felt
a little off. I think you get Mariota back in there,
and he has a little more familiarity with some of
these guys on the offensive side of the ball, I
think things will start to click a little bit more.
And then you obviously play a team like the New
York Giants, Like you said, Zach, they're struggling as well,
and I think this could be a big kind of
(15:24):
pick me up game before you play Philly in Dallas
the last three weeks.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
We'll move on to final question. I will go and
reveal the score. Now, both of your tile. Like the
stuff that George said about, you know, all the chemistry
and and the revs together, and I think that that
ended up putting him up to you know, one to
one each year heading to the final round. And you know,
real quick here, it's gonna be really simple. You know,
both of you kind of tests on it. Different players
are gonna have different opportunities through the last four games.
(15:49):
But of the players who maybe haven't gotten as much time,
which one do you want to see the most out of?
And George, we'll start with you on this one.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
I'm gonna go with I know we talked about the
tight ends. I'd like to see that. I want to
see more. Let's go defense.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
I know there's been a lot of talk about Jordan
McGee this year and getting his opportunity. We've seen flashes
of it since Dan Quinn has taken over. I know
he was stepped up a little bit last week. Bobby
Wagner was in and out of practice. But mcdee with
three tackles the other day against the Vikings. I think
you've seen flashes of it six last week. The week
aldgo against the Broncos, you've seen him put more pressure
(16:22):
onto quarterback. I like the way they're using him. I
want to see him down the stretch. Bobby Wagner is great,
and his linebacking corps is great, but we know that
they are getting older and you're going to need to
rely on some of these young guys. So I'm gonna
go with I mean, there's a number of them. I
want to throw a shout to Chris Rodriguez as well.
He's been the way he's been able to be a
powerful running back as of late on the offensive side,
(16:43):
but we've kind of seeing him in and Atlanta. But
I want to see more of Jordan McGee going down
to stretch this year.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
But Deee's a popular pick. I know the fans definitely
want to see more of him, and he had no
disrespect to Bobby Whader. Of course, by the way, vote
for him for the Pro Bow. He's fourth in the
league right now, and for linebackers in probable bletting, you
should go vote for him, Jake, same question.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Yeah, I'm going familiar.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
I'm gonna kind of go the same position that George did,
but I'm going Caye Madrano. I just think this is
a guy that almost in the same instance, is what
you want to see from Jordan McGee, even though Jordan
McGee's had a little bit more experience in this league
compared to the rookie Modrano. I want to see what
he can do because obviously Bobby Wager can't play untill
he's five hundred years old.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
So you know, I mean, the dude just keeps.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
I mean, maybe you can.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I mean, the guy seems to be just you know,
fanning to test the time right now with the way
he's playing, and like you said, Zach in the Pro
Bowl voting where he is right now.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
But I want to see a guy like cam Modrano.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
I mean, the guy is only played in five games
this year, and he's played a little bit more down
these past couple of weeks. I want to just see
a little bit more of what he can bring to
the table, maybe even alongside Jordan McGee, and see what
we can get with the youth at that linebacker position.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
It's really the only healthy.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Position on the defensive side. So it was hard to
pick anyone else on the defense because we've seen some
other guys step up and have to you know, get
some reps and do some stuff because of the amount
of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. So
I had to stick with that linebacker position because we
know we have from Bobby, we've seen a lot from
a decent amount of Jordan McGee as well, at least
in the last last you know, during this losing streak.
(18:14):
I should say, I want to see what the rookie
Camederno brings because I think with his speed and what
he could possibly be a potential wise, I think of
a guy like Ryan Shazier for the Steelers a couple
you know years back, where he has the speed to
be a three down linebacker if he can just kind
of get it get it right in between the years.
At the NFL level, I think we could see a
(18:35):
cam Modrono being a guy that could possibly be a
play color, possibly be one of those linebackers for the
Commanders for years to come.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I think I definitely do like Madrono a lot, and
I really hope we see more of him. I think
you make great points there, all right, winner, and it
was really tough as it was. I think it was
a rematch right between you two. Oh yeah, and it
was definitely it was definitely posted. It's close now and
I think by a hair, I gotta go with George
here on this because I love the McGee pick. I
(19:04):
think that's gonna be something. It's gonna be really interesting.
And I know you gotta leave in like a minute, George,
so go ahead and give us some partying wards a victory.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
I appreciate the rematch, Jake.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
You know, I've been training for this since we were
on last time, and you just edged me out in
that twelfth round, so I appreciate you giving me another shot.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Oh it's always a pleasure. George and Zach thank you as.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Well, of course. Absolutely it was great having you both
on here. Really appreciate you guys coming on on a Tuesday,
on the day off that we have here before we
get right back into it, and for everyone listening, thank
you again for listening, and be sure to rate you
view subscriber ever you get your podcasts, and until week sixteen,
this is the beatdown O
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