Bram Weinstein and London Fletcher discuss Bobby Wagner and how two of the greatest linebackers of all time have worn the burgundy and gold. Then, they recap the Commanders 2024 season (so far) going game by game into the late bye week.
Coming up on the Booth Review myself, Big Fletch. We're gonna go through week by week, how the Commander's got to eight and five and.
We're gonna let you know which Commander's players should make the Pro Bowl.
That's coming up on the Booth Review next. Welcome into the Booth Review. I'm Bram Weinstein with Big Fletch London Fletcher the Bye week edition of the Booth Review. So hope you had a nice relaxing week, London.
I did. Got a chance to kind of kick back, watch my daughter play a little basketball yesterday, kind of try to get my life back in order for a few days. So it's been relaxing, spending time with my dogs as well.
So you said, what in the past when we had the mini by you start watching football, but then the TV watches you. Did you get dad again this weekend? Yeah?
You know, no, not this. So let's say Monday Monday. Now. I watched the Browns Broncos Monday night game. Was outstanding, man, that was a you know, good football game. And you know I love watching football. So I doze off here here and there as you watch a little football that happens.
I think jamis Winston. It might be the most beloved quarterback ever who throws a lot of pick sixes.
Yeah, he's asking for delivering. Say man, guys say that to ask him for anything. So let's see if let's see if he gets delivered from throw up pick sixes.
All right, let's get into the commanders a little bit here. And because it's the bye week and fortunately we're off the win, so it's eight and five. There still would be qualifying for the playoffs if the season ended today. They got four games left, two at home, two on the road. A couple of them are under five hundred teams. We'll get a rematch of Philadelphia. The Atlanta game is setting up to be a really big game late week seventeen. Let's kind of set the table here for what some expectations are for the rest of the season, and then I kind of want to just kind of reminisce a little bit here eight and five. I don't know what your expectations were coming into the season. Mine were about a five hundred team. I was hoping Jaden would look the part. They've exceeded my expectations, So I don't know if that's if they're kind of tracking where you thought they would be at this point or what.
Well, during our preseason show on the Command Center, we had kind of predictions of wins, and I felt like, I believe I predicted them to win. I think it was eleven games, maybe even twelve, So they're wrong. They're close to being on schedule with my prediction. And a lot of people may thought I was kind of crazy when I said that, but you know, just looking at their schedule at the point in time when we were doing that, I predicted them to win. I think it was about eleven or twelve games.
Why what stood out to you that made you think they would be that good?
Well, I just like the you know, obviously the edition of Jay and at the court back position, you know, like the healthy b Rob you know was really Boughty in on the defensive additions, get bringing in Dad Quinn as the head coach, getting Joe wit Junior as the as defensive coordinator, the way they were going to try, the way they were going to play football. Look at that track record of win and Dan Quinn knowing that they were the defense would be a lot better than what they were. So that was a lot of it was based off of that my belief and and and them and and and their ability to get the defense to play a lot better. And I thought, also I had Cliff Kingsbury to the offense, the offense would be more productive than it was a year ago as well.
Yeah, like I liked the setup. I thought the staff was robust and deep, especially on the offensive side of the ball, with Kingsbury and ex head coaching Anthony Lynn behind him coaching the running game, Brian Johnson, who had coached at a high level with Philadelphia here as well. And then defensively, we know the reputation of Quinn and Joe Witt for years of getting turnover machines, being able to get pressure, having top ranked defenses. But you looked like across the board and you went thirty five, you know, thirty to thirty five new players. You know, some of them are veterans. We talked a lot about Bobby Wagner last week. Bobby Wagner shows up, Zach Erch shows up, Austin Eckler shows up. But you wonder, like, is this going to come together? And in the spring of the summer they were preaching that it had, and in hindsight now clearly that was true, but I'm not sure I knew it when we entered training camp.
Yeah, Brah, that's why you know I did and you did, so I guess now, but I just you know, it's about a lot of the guys. They brought in first and foremost they had prior relationships to with, so you know, they knew what to expect from these guys from a player standpoint, from a person standpoint, locker room standpoint. You mentioned a Bobby Wagner sign up, I knew he was going to play. Hugh was giving as just not not only as a as a leader, but also from a product productivity standpoint. Frankie Louvo, I think he was the top rated linebacker in free agency. Playing down in Carolina. They weren't winning a lot of games, so you don't get a lot of national exposure. Not a lot of people outside of Carolina really knew what he was capable of doing. You know, I thought, I thought adding those two pieces, getting Austin Eckler, who you know, he dealt with some injuries with the Chargers last year, but if he was healthy, that run game and what he brought to the table was going to be improved. Making some investments in the and the offensive line was key as well. So it was a lot of different things that had me feeling optimistic about the roster and what they would able to be able to do this season.
All Right, so let's reminis a little bit. Let's go through the season a little bit. And I want to start really at the week of the Jets game, which was the first preseason game, and was they spent the week, remember in New York, and they were going to have the joint practice with the Jets, and I kind of thought like, Okay, this is gonna be the first real sign we'll get a chance to kind of see what it looks like. And I think you and I were both like that practice is going to mean everything because we don't know how many you know, how much of the starter is going to play in the preseason game and all that stuff. And the practice was a total bust because it poured and Aaron Rodgers didn't practice, and we were missing a couple people and it was so rainy and cold that the whole thing was like a bust. So we get to the preseason game, Jaden's making his debut, and I'll never forget this because in hindsight now, it should have told us everything we needed to know about the guy. He only was allowed to run three plays, and on the third one he changed the play and he wasn't even supposed to do that, but he changed into the right play and threw a bomb to Diami Brown And that started the whole week of top gun in that whole thing, And that was my first real sign of okay, this guy hasn't looked like a rookie through camp, and here he is in like moment one, showing off. He's not a rookie.
Man. That seems so long ago. You take us all the way back to that Jets practice and also that Jets preseason game. I think it says a lot about just his his mental capacity, his intelligent football i Q. Making that that that all the but the line of scrimmage based on the look that the Jets were given him and making that play a perfect, perfectly throwing football to the Brown he did. He actually had a play similar to that in the practice before the rain started just really uh pouring down. That was early in the uh the scrimmage or seven on seventh part of the practice against the Jets, where he Dami on a similar type of play, and I believe Diami made a one hand to catch him and that uh that practice, but you know, just that kind of set the stage. We knew about his arm tile of his ability to throw the deep ball, especially against you know, man and man coverage, but what we didn't know is just the type of work ethic he had, you know, the amount of work he was going to be able to put in and that he has put in it to put him in the position that he's in right now.
So then week two they did the same thing. They spent the whole week in Florida, which no complaints, happy to go to Florida for a week. And we had the practice with the Dolphins, and this one was boiling outside, but at least the weather was practice a bull It wasn't like pouring like it was in New York. And this was a really strong showing, specifically on defense. And I remember standing there watching this, and you never know what you're gonna get in the preseason because everyone says, oh, there could be vanilla. They're not gonna show you anything. That's not what the Dolphins did at all. Like they ran their offense, they were running all of this motion and all these different things they do with all these different players. They have a very unique offense. They put it full on display. And it was my first sign that because we had a lot of questions about the defense, a lot of new people out there, and who were the corners to be, where's the pass rust gonna come from? Are they gonna have a good solid run defense. And that first practice was the first time that I went if you could go toe to toe with them at this stage, we're in good shape here.
Yeah. No, with the with the Dolphins, you know you talk about teams being kind of vanella during the preseason. Well, the Dolphins with under Mike McDaniels. They he's been a head coach I think now three seasons and people know what their offense is. They know kind of what you're gonna get weekend and week out for them. So it wasn't a situation where they're gonna have to hold anything close to the vest. They're you're gonna have to all of a sudden run out of the I formation when that's totally not not how they operate and have two under center the whole time. This Uh, you know a lot of misdirections shotgun, you know, take shots all kind of you know, RPOs and and zone reads and things like that to mess with you. That that really showed you. Going against the Dolphins really tests the discipline of the defense because of all the misdirection and the pullers and where's the football going to be? Is the defense going to be disciplined enough to be exactly where they're supposed to be, not not get caught up in all the eye candy, making sure you're your focus on your job at hand. So with that that practice, and also it carried over into the preseason games where the guys really had a nice showing as you mentioned, and even and also it was a great work for Jayden in the offense because of the Dolphins defense. They blitched the heck out of Jayson Jayden in that ball game. They were not holding anything he goes to the best either. They were there bring a lot of five six man pressures and Jayden he handed that uh and you really acclimated himself at an extremely high, high manner in that ball game against the Dolphins.
The other thing that really stood out about the Dolphins preseason game and the Patriots preseason game the following week, the final preseason game. What really stood out was wed we were talking about this earlier, how they had kind of preached that this brotherhood was here, that they'd really come together early, that they were all for, you know, all in on this whole thing very quickly, and that really showed on the sideline in the third and fourth quarter, specifically late both of those games were really close, and remember Jeff Driscoll had made a bunch of crazy plays in the Miami game and they had a chance to win at the end, and the sideline you could just see them was so engaged watching it, like wasn't meaningless to them. Same thing happened against New England like a week later. Remember Trace McSorley, you'd been here like a week because there were a bunch of injuries at the quarterback position. To bring somebody in, he trucked some guy from New England. The sidelines going crazy for him. So like all these like what we deemed like meaningless games that don't have you know, the score doesn't really matter, the sideline was so into it that it was kind of a glimpse. I think it was like a good little peek into the locker room of just how serious they were and kind of in it for one another at that point.
Yeah, no, absolutely, and still we didn't know how how strong the bomb was and how it was building because of And that's that's the credit to Dad Quinn and the culture that he said and getting everybody to buy him, especially when you mentioned how many new guys was on the team at that point in time, over half to I know, this was during preseason, so you're still with what at a ninety man roster. Out of that ninety, maybe fifty or or no, probably sixty were were new guys and first year guys on the football team. So that that says a lot credit to him his coaching staff to be able to get everybody to buy in, and also a credit to the leaders and the players on the football team too, Like you mentioned a guy like trace McSorley who who had only been there for a few days actually before when he played against the Dolphins. But he had only been there with maybe a day day and a half before he played against the Dolphins, and then you know the game against the Patriots, been there about a week. But for them to have Bryce Ham and him to resonate with with those guys in that manner that said a lot and says a lot about their team.
The other thing that really stood out about the preseason to me, that did carry over, And oftentimes you can't take much out of these games, but in this case, I thought it was different for these reasons, Like Jaden kind of showed he's ready to do it. You're like right off the jump, like it became obvious that he's ahead of the curve as a rookie. The camaraderie of the team was completely on display. And the other thing that really carried over I remember was it wasn't just that Jaden looked the part. Driscoll had these great moments. Mariota looked good in the times that he played McSorley walks in and yes he had a previous relationship with Cliff Kingsbury, but this is all new and he was playing well. And what I noticed early was the play calling was getting them into the drives in these second and manageables, third and shorts early in these preseason games. And it totally carried over into the regular season, where they were effectively the best offense in the NFL like the first six weeks of the season, and.
That says a lot. You know, it's smart football. You talk about staying ahead of the of the change, not having to play on third and long situation, not being in second in long situations, especially with a young offensive, a young quarterback, you don't want to have him in a ton of third and long's obvious past situation. You want to have him in some third and let's call it three four less ideally. We yeah, thirty two is even better. But the quick game, the no huddle stuff, all those types of things, running a lot where they ran tempo in the in the preseason. And that's again, that wasn't going to be a shock to to anybody who had gone against Cliff Kingsbury's offense. They knew the no huddle was a big part of his offense, and and you know they know to get jaded ready for the regular season, they had to run it during the during the preseason. They ran it too perfection and the quick passing game. It served them and served them well, especially you think about the game against the Tennessee Titans, when offense had got had a couple of games where it wasn't playing the way they needed to play, kind of playing behind the sticks a lot, being in a lot of third long situations. What did they do? They got back to the quick passing game. They ran the ball effectively. B Robb's first carry goes for forty yards. So that's what the offense it looks like when it's a clicking on all senate nurs.
So the schedule red go play a playoff team on the road to open and so that was a big ask, right to turn around that this team was brand new with probably the most overturned roster in the NFL rookie quarterbacks going to make his debut against a blitz happy defense that happens to be probably one of the teams that had the fewest amount of turnover like they had basically the majority of their team back. It was tough ask to go down there for their opener. And the two things that really stood out to me was we learned early like when they came after Jade and he was going to vacate the pocket. Remember the big story was he ran too much? Is what was everyone was trying to say on the outside. I actually looked at it as maybe, but he already showcased that even under massive duress, being blitzed, you know, high percent of times he's making the right decision with the ball, like he's never putting the ball in harm's way. And then defensively, what stood out to me was they needed to just finish at the quarterback because if they had had finished on Baker a couple of times, I'm not sure that the score would have gotten the way that it did. But this was a classic. This team's new and that team's been there, done that, and was in the playoffs, and that's what you get. Sometimes.
We had what I think about six opportunities to sack Baker and he was I think maybe I only got him down one and he was able to escape. He was more he loosen that I thought he would be. The secondary had some communication issues and you know that was something that you got and you left that ball game saying, hey, that needs to be cleaned up as well. In terms of Jaden in that ball game against the Buccaneers, he grew a lot from Week one to week two because of that game against the Buccaneers. There were opportunities for him to throw the football into, you know, take take a little bit more risks, so to speak. It was also him getting used to what was considered NFL open and what's considered open in the college res where there were times where he had opportunities to rip it and he didn't do it. He didn't necessarily trust it. And between week one and Week two you saw a big difference. He was ripping those those quickouts that he didn't do in the game against the Buccaneers. He was hitting some of those those deep digs and things like that that he didn't do in the first game against the Buccaneers. There was tis where when he left the pocket keeping his eyes down field because he was stealed. There were some opportunities a game against the Buccaneers and he kept his eyes down the field, down the field, or you know, he could hold the defense up just a half a longer or second longer, allow him to even create more of a problem running up using his legs. And that was that was a big, big ass like you mentioned, going against Tampa Bay Todd Bowles and that defense. But it was a lot of growth that he'd learned from that game and he carried it over into Week two against the Giants.
The Week two game was one of the weirdest games I've ever been around, Like they kicked seven field goals, franchise record. They didn't score a touchdown. The Giants scored three touchdowns. It was like it was the first of the many weird historic stats that we started getting in the first like six weeks, where every week we're like, not since World War two, night, since nineteen seventy six, not since this. It's that this was one of the first ones. Their kicker got hurt on the opening kickoff, so they found out quickly that they couldn't kick extra points or field goals, which mattered late when they went for a fourth down and didn't kick a field goal. Washington walks up and down the field, kicked seven field goals because they can't score in the red zone against them win a bizarre game twenty one to eighteen. Treustway didn't punt, they didn't score a touchdown. It was one of the strangest I don't even know how to really think about it now, and I think back to it.
Now. I was watching that game from home and the field goals or the offense stalling out in the red zone, and today that defensive coordinator I think is for the Giants, Shane Bowen, if I never restarted me correctly, he was outstanding as a defensive coordinator a year ago with the Tennessee Ties in brid zone defense, I think they may have been number one, number two in the in the reds on and it made it He made it tight for us, and then we had some problems you know, scoring into reson punching it in and had really a couple of teams. Yeah, penalties were also a major factor in that game. But then just think about that Austin Cyber kicking all those field goals in that game. It uh, you know, it was something I guess we didn't anticipate happening, but we were thankful to have him.
Well, I mean, like remember we were sitting there in the locker room talking Austin Cubbery. He'd been there a week, right, because they had the summer of can't figure out who the kicker is going to be every single week. Yes, traded for Caid your cade. York had a bad week one, so they moved on, brought in Cybert, who they had practiced against with the Jets, and ninety plus year old franchise breaks a field goal record after being there for five days, Like it was it was the first sign up. Also, because we've had a lot of these and we'll get to the big ones. We're kind of down for any thing this year.
Now you're you're right. And again, I'm just happy he was making those field goals because trying the preseason games and kay York in that first game, field goals were not a sure thing. No, I mean, ask the points field goals. They were not necessarily a sure thing that you could say, all right, I don't care what distance it was from. They could have been a thirty yard You're just like, you know, hold your holding your breath, like he is the kicker going to make this.
So then we get to Cincinnati and it's Monday night there, they're an annual playoff team. They're getting t Higgins back. He hadn't played the whole year. Yeah, the Vegas didn't like us. The national media is paying no attention yet because there weren't many expectations, and they're one and one coming off a game where they didn't score a touchdown, so nobody's buying them, right, So nobody's paying attention to them. And they go there and this was singularly one of maybe the greatest performances I've ever seen out of a rookie quarterback. Ever, which included the late past to McLaurin. That was the first of three. I cannot believe what I just saw moments out of Jaden late clutch play and that was I think the first sign of this is going to be different now.
He was. He was outstanding in that ballgame against the Cincinnati Bengals. Think he completed what over ninety percent of his past so close to him.
And it was like there was another one of those. It was like we it was second week in a row that we got the no rookie quarterbacks ever done that before.
Yeah, No, he was outstanding. And the growth between week one week three, all of a sudden, you know, you go from as you mentioned, not scoring a touchdown against the Giants to lighting up the the Cincinnati Bigals on Monday night football on the road, hostile environment, and he did not flinch at all. He was actually absolutely electric. I mean the passes that he was completing the poison. And you know, it wasn't a whole lot of defense being played in that game, but we got it just enough from our defense in that game to come out of there with a victory. But just you that was when we finally saw the true potential of this offense. That's when you're like, oh, ho, hold on, because we ran the ball effectively and as we as I mentioned several times, Jaden was outstanding.
There was a fourth and three I think if I remember right where he just found McCaffrey, like early in the game. That was like one of those moments where you're like, oh, man, and you start to see that he's unflappable. He's ahead of the time, ahead of his curve, and I'm like, listen. The craziest pat they hit was the hill Mary, and we'll get to it, but that one to Terry McLaurin, where it's a full on free rush, he's gonna get hit through the ball when Terry was at the twenty yard line, hits him perfectly in the end zone, mcclordy makes an unbelievable contested catch to stay in mounds. Remember he's like right on the sideline. That was singularly one of the greatest plays I've seen this team complete to this point in years. It was wild.
It was and a lot of quarterbacks can complete that pass versus a clean pocket, not under durest or anything like that. But when you have somebody barreling down on you on block and you have to stand and deliver and not flinch. And he did that knowing he I'm about to take a shot, but I have to stand in here and deliver accurate throw to Terry and I drew. Terry went to the sideline and ask Cliff to call that play, moved him to the right side. You know what Terry would normally lighted up on the left side. Moved it to the right side, and they ran that go ball. And it was also a great job by Terry because he had to give a little stutter to the defensive back to to create the type of separation or give himself a chance because the dB was playing so far off. So great great opportunity, great play call, uh, you know by Terry going to ask Ford. Great job by Cliff, trusted Terry, and a great throw by Jaden in that situation. Situation.
So then I remember, all right, this happens on Monday night football. Jaden lights it up. Now you know how this goes. The news cycles are gonna fall in love with you and all. They're only game in town. They won a game no one thought they were gonna win. They did it in style, and now everybody loves you and everyone's gonna hot take how great the team is. And they had to turn around on a short week and go to the West Coast And actually, that are Zoda game is the one that is that will stick out to me as the most impressive of the year to this point, and hopefully we got more to come, because that is set up for a loss. You're coming off of this humongous emotional win, everybody's telling you how great you are. You go out to Arizona on a short week and they blew them out. Like that was where I went this. I think when we started going is this real? Because when they did that to bounce back emotionally, physically and to beat a team, and I know people at the time were like, well that's not that big a deal. Go look at their record now and how that that one stands up. Now? That was the moment where I went, oh, this is really actually going to be different.
Well, I thought it was brilliant though also by dan quint to fly directly from Cincinnati to Arizona, not go from Cincinnati back to Virginia and nan fly out to Arizona later on a week for them to you know, fly from Cincinnati directly to Arizona to spend the entire week out in Arizona. That that that goes a long way in terms of recovery, getting acclimated to your surroundings, also building uh more, chemistry, bonding. That was that was brilliant move by by Dan Quinn and the staff for doing that. And you know it's just again you mentioned the performance. I think collectively that was the best game. Like you said, offense was rolling. Defense played out standing in that ball game, holding Arizona. To think at fourteen points.
Fourteen point, that fourth and one sack, remember that.
Yeah, yeah, so just a at that point in time, I think that's probably where a team started to believe, like, man, we really have something special because to that point, you know, defense had its moments, offense had you know, more moments. But in that ball game, both of them were hitting on all cylinders.
And I mean listen, three of the first four were on the road. Think whatever you want about Arizona. I think everybody thinks about them differently now, but think of what you want about them at the time at Cincinnati. Cincinnati's an annual playoff team, so no one knew that their season was going to go sideways like this. Tampa Bay was off of a playoff. The fact that they were three and one at that point, I think told you a lot about where this thing was going. They come back and they get Cleveland, who had really been struggling, and you know what the mark of a good team as you take advantage of it, and they blew them out. And Jayden was sitting the whole fourth quarter.
And Cleveland was a good defense going into that ball game. Like the Cleveland was a team that won eleven games a year before, and they asked some issues at the quarterback position to Sean Watson wasn't playing good football at all, but that defense was going to be a challenging and earlier in that ballgame and defense of the Browns showed up and was doing some good things. But our defense was just, I mean, were all over de Shaun Watson. Was that game we have like seven sacks or something? Yeah, it was, it was. It was just a game, a crazy game. I think Frankie Leeba was all over all over the football field of that ball game doing doing an outstanding job. And you know, just you mentioned Jaden and sitting in the fourth quarter, You don't sit in the fourth quarter like that unless you have both offense, defense special teams playing extremely good football. And you know, it could have been that could have been a situation where, Hey, you've had this these great back to back roll victories. You're going to Cincinnati on the Monday night, win a big game, go out to Arizona winning win a nice, u convincingly, convincingly win against the Cardinals. Now potential letdown game at home against the Browns team that wasn't very good, but no, what do they do? They took it to them.
The other thing about that one that got me too, because it's one of five times this has happened this year that they have collected as a team rushed for over two hundred yards. Happened this weekend against past week against Tennessee they had two fifteen. But really stood out to me about that was b Rob had eighteen yards rushing and the team had two fifteen. Like, right, if you told me at the end of the summer this is going to be a top five rush offense, I'm not sure I would have believed that they'll be good. I like b Rob, I want to see it with this new O line I know that their quarterback can run, so they'll be better than people think. But I never would have envisioned this, and that was one of the ones that stood out to me too. I'm like two fifteen and their best running back had eighteen yards of it, Like, what are we looking at here?
Now? We didn't know what the offensive line was going to be. Like you you mentioned, hey, let me see it first. They went out and invest in the offensive line bringing it, Tyler Battish bringing that, Nick Alligretty, drafting Brandon Coleman, and I'm not even sure at that point Tom him and Lucas may haves to they were still splitting and sharing times at the at the left tackle position. So for the offensive line to run the way they ran and the physicality wiched the offensive line in the run a game, the tight ends you have to include them as well. When you're and they had the receivers from a blocking standpoint, you would definitely like, okay, let me let me it was unexpected. It would definitely unexpected. I'd say, if you told me top ten, okay, I could believe that. You know, you bring in athlete lymb came from the San Francisco forty nine ers. They were already always one of the best rushing teams in the International Football League. He's the run game coordinator, so I can see them, you know, being a top ten rushing offense, but at that point to be top five, and they may have even been top three at that point in time.
They were, and I think they still are now after two sixty seven against Tennessee. I got a look at the stats, all right. So then we went to Baltimore and it was like it felt like the first big game, you know, did this team had because they're on a winning streak all this sudden there's a measuring stick. Jayden had talked about how he grew up. He loved watching Lamar play regional rivals. If you will close game, like let's find out like everyone everyone buys that Baltimore is a contender, Let's find out where we are and how real this start is. And you know what I love. I know they lost, and they hung in there and they fought and they kept the score close. But I loved how honest Quinn was after the game where he said it was lopsided because it was. The score might not have been, but it was. And I loved how the locker room was pissed, Like you could just feel it when we were there that they felt like they could have played better. They weren't going, oh, we lost on the road to a really good team, or messaged it like, well, we only lost by a touchdown and pretended like it was a really really close game. Not at all. Like I loved the honesty and intensity in that locker room that day.
Now that that was a game where you you would have loved to have be robbing that ball game. He missed that game dealing with believe it was a hamstring injury at that time or was a knee I can't it's been uh, it's been so long. Yeah, it's uh so missing that ball game against the Baltimore Ravens. They there wasn't balance like they had had in the prior games. We were too relyingt on the pass. And I know Baltimore they were the number one, number one ranked rush defense at that point in time, but it just was wasn't the right type of balance and end up throwing the football think like fifty times, if definitely over forty times, and maybe just rushing like eighteen times. It wasn't the same type of you know, run pass ratio that you you wanted, and they had been success. It was too relyant on that. Defensively, we had opportunities, didn't didn't get consistent pressure on Lamar Jackson and Jay Flowers. He had a day, you know, receiving the football, catching the catching the football. But again the fact that how they felt about that game, because they're like, hey, we're nowhere a much better football team that we just showed on that field today. We're going to learn from this. We're gonna take this and we will be a better team because of it.
And their passing defense significantly improved from that point forward. I think they've been working on the rotation of the corners. We'll see with marsh On Latimer ope Ley's playing against the Saints, we'll see, but like he's going to be back sooner rather than later. But they were working on the rotation. They were still trying to find I think the consistent pass rush where it was going to come from. That's really come around here more in recent weeks, but they were still a work in progress. Then but then they come back home, they get Carolina, so they're off their first what I think is big loss.
You know, of the year.
I don't really count the Tampa Bay loss as a big loss or but this was the one. There was a lot of build up and they loss. How are they going to respond? And this is a third time in four games that they just blew somebody out and Jayden got hurt. Remember like Jayden got hurt. It didn't start on the offense for a second.
He got hurt early in that game, and it was going back to that Baltimore Ravens game. Jayden threw it thirty five times in that game and we rushed eighteen times for fifty two yards. I knew there was a fifty two in there somewhere, but I had to check my stats. But yeah, in that game against Carolina, got hurt early in that ball game, and Maryoda came into that game. It took him a you know, a series or two to kind of get his his foot and get his rhythm going. He hadn't played a whole lot, and Dad shared with us he wasn't like he was he was getting any reps with the with the starters doing during the practice week. It was him a lot of times after practice going over the script with the practice squad guys and some of the other receivers to get himself ready, and just a tremendous performance by him, because once he really got got his feet his feet uh going, and got settled in, he he showed what he was able to do. And you know, it was just another excellent victory. Not I convinced. He went again and left no doubt that we're not gonna play around with a bad football team.
And then I just, I don't know, I had this premonition on the day of the Chicago game, like they'd moved it, they flexed it into the national window. It's Jaden versus Caleb. I know, you know, Chicago's gone through a lot since this happened, But they were four and two when Washington played them at the time, like they were, they were actually going up, they were streaking up. Their offense was playing better. I don't think actually Caleb's played better since, but like all together, they were playing a lot better. And that was a big build up for that game. It felt like a really big game and so many reasons, so I think we just kind of knew that it was going to be a really good one. I never would have anticipated what happened at the end, and I got to tell you.
Like, something excited happened at the end of the night. Guy.
It's just every time I think about it, I just feel like privileged that we were there because it had never happened before and it was amazing, honestly amazing.
Yeah, It's one of those moments where ten, fifteen, twenty third, forty years from now, people ask the question, where were you when the haill know what play happened? And we'll get to say, you know what, we were in a radio booth call of that game. We were there and we witnessed it. I'll say this. You know, it took a hill mary to win that game, but we ain't kicked it. We kicked Chicago's but in that game, like they didn't deserve to win that football game.
I agree we would have been.
We would have been so disappointed we lost that game because Chicago had really did They had done a whole lot, especially offensively in that ball game.
They shut them out the first half. Yeah, I just I know, But just every time I think about it, I'm like, man, like, we may never see that again, and it never happened before. We may never see it again. It's just unbelievable. So then not only we were talking about earlier with like Cincinnati. You know, they had this emotional win. They turn around, they played well, Now you got to get over a hill. Mary team admitted that they were kind of smelling themselves a few days because, you know, how do you get away from it. Everyone's phone's blowing up, everybody wants to do interviews with you. It's hard to refocus again. They'd turn around and play the Giants again, team that they don't win up there very much. I know what the Giants record is, but they don't win very much up there, And I thought it was just a very professional effort. They gave up a couple of late scores that made it close, but relatively like I thought they should have won going away, And had they not given up a late touchdown to the tight end on a busted coverage, I think they would have.
I understand them being kind of it taking them a while to get over that game against the the Chicago Bears. Heck, I don't know about you, but for me, I felt like I was still feeling the remnants of that game as we were the Chicago game. As we were calling the game against the Giants, like I felt still and mostly draned. We didn't even play it, so I could only imagine the emotional drant and what it took for those for those players, and you know, because it was it was a It was a and exhilarate and play one. As you said, you know we had seen before and you know, don't know if we'll see it ever again. But so it took. It was a testament for them to be able to go in there, not play their best to start with, and steal able to be able to come come away with the victory. I think coach Quinn daw said he didn't feel like the team really was over that until like Saturday, so that that lets you know they had already gone through a full week of practice and then it was like, man, Saturday is finally what you feel like we recovered from that.
Listen. That was a crazy week. Like you and I got real popular after that one too.
It was just.
Crazy, you know, like texts, I guy, I remember we were laughing. Like by the time when we went from the booth to the locker room, I had ninety one texts and it didn't stop, you know, once they started showing the clips, you know, of everything. It didn't stop for us. So what do you think the players were going through, like over the whole week, Like I you know, many people called me like for the next three days after that, it was nuts.
Yeah, you're q scoing went up, bram and yeah and uh people. People were trying to give me the new interviews. I'd declined and I'm talked out. I gotta save I need to save my energy.
I'm not that popular that often. I gotta take advantage of it, you know what I mean, every once in a while. I had my fifteen minutes on that one, all right. So then we what ended up being the rough stretch of the season. This team needed to buy bad. They've needed it for a month. I'm glad it's here. And the schedule did them no favors. It just worked out that they got two heavyweight teams in a four day span, Pittsburgh Philadelphia with Pittsburgh, Man, I don't know how we'd be feeling about the playoffs had they, I don't know, gotten a better spot on the zach Ertz catch, or didn't jump off sides late in the game, had gotten a chance to steal that thing. That was a great matchup between two really good teams. Give Russ credit for hitting not on like when we hit that one to Terry and Cincinnati. That was a big throw. That was a big boy throw that he hit late to Mike Williams. That ended up being the difference of the game. His team fought through it, and it's just unfortunate we fell short against them.
No, it was definitely was a big time throw by by Russell Wilson. And you know, it was a game again where not really able to have the the sort of balance you wont not being able to run the ball the way you would love to run the football. I thought it showed a lot of we showed a lot of toughness in that game, going going toe to toe with with Pittsburgh. I'm still perplexed on that spot. How you can It's obvious that the that the spot was short, you review it, and yet you still, hey, let's change it, move it up a half yard or whatever, let's remeasure. But for whatever reason or another, they opted not to do that. But you know, I think you mentioned I think our offensive line we were starting to deal with some injuries up in that point. At that point in the season, offensive line was banged up and and you know it's a as you were mentioned that the Bay was still a little bit of ways away.
Yeah, they needed it, had to turn around go up to Philadelphia. I just didn't have a good feeling about it. I mean, philadelphiare streaking, this team needs a buy. The injuries are piling up. Jayden wasn't fully healthy yet. I'll give them credit. They hung in there and were right there. It's a two point game. In the fourth quarter, they chose not to kick a field goal and things just went crazy for three minutes where this happens every once in a while. It was like it's like a snowball hit a mountain and an avalanche fell, and Philadelphia walks down the field, scores, gets an interception, Scores again gets out of hand, and you know, I'm very, very excited to see these two play again under different circumstances, under a different schedule, and hopefully with Washington being a lot healthier than they were when they played them the first time.
That coming off that tough, tough game against the Pittsburgh Dealers, going into Philly's going to be difficult regards in a normal week where you have a full week to prepare for them. The team is built, you know, the players that they have out their coach. That's gonna be a difficult environment in a normal setting. But to have it on a short week, You're coming up to Pittsburgh and and said, let's go tee it up again on on on a Thursday night, and to be you know, going toe for toe to toe with them. It was it was twelve ten with the eight minutes or so left in the fourth quarter, didn't get the fourth and two. Since you didn't get the fourth and two and the uh the Eagles were able to kind of open things up in that fourth quarter after that, and the score was not indicative of how coach the ball game was. And as you mentioned, would love to see what it's gonna look like. Hopefully we're at full strength, and you know, I hope they've been a full strength as well. Let's kind of see, uh see what it looks like a normal week if they're if they're going flexes, they would already flex us by now, Is that correct.
I don't think it's happening. I don't remember. I remember looking at the schedule there's a prominent game that night, so I don't I don't think it's getting moved, and I had heard Fox one it, so I don't Yeah, so that's not okay.
Maybe maybe it goes to the four o'clock even maybe not window.
Yeah maybe maybe Well I don't know if that's Fox's national window. Not sure. So I think I had heard We're stuck at one o'clock with them. It stuck the wrong court, but you know, you know it is all right. So then we get to Dallas had the mini buy. This is the only one of the year of the losses where I went, this is the one that got away from them, and not like we were talking about earlierbout the Giants game where we're kind of down for anything. That was the weirdest finish I've ever seen in my life because that that game was frustrating because this team had so many chances to put them away or at least get a lead. In the first half. Dallas had a field goal blocked, missed, a field goal, had a block count and a fumble and Washington was tied at half three to three. That's on them, and then everything went haywire. But really that's how I kind of remember it. They lost it in the first half, not the second half.
They definitely did take advantage of some great field position you mentioned of the block actually the block field goal to block pump, they turnover forced fumble by it was Bobby or or Johnny Newton forced to fumble. Just did not take advantage of the great field position that we had. And you know, at that point in time, the Cowboys, they were struggling. They were coming off of, you know, a game where they lost against the Houston Texans. I believe, you know, anytime you have a bad team, a team that's not playing great, they're already coming to the game with doubt and they're looking for a reason to kind of say, you know what, this is just not our day. Let's get out of here, healthy, get back on, get back to Dallas, you know, healthy or healthy. But we allowed them and stick and hanging and hanging around, hang around, hang around, give up a big play right before the half. Instead of being up maybe seventeen twining at halftime, we got a situation where we're tied at three to three in that ball game, and we had nobody to blame for that loss but ourselves.
And you know, like I thought that Giants game was weird. The end of this game was maybe the weirdest in the series history. Two kick returns for touchdowns, one on an onside kick, two missed extra points, blocked punt, blocked field goal, two missed field goals. The play a tear tear thirty seconds, a six yard touchdown, like the emotional up and down on those last five minutes. I've never experienced anything like that because they got back in the game. Turpin pulled up Madden move to score a touchdown on a kickoff return. We come back again anyway, get the ball back late, score a miracle touchdown, don't get to overtime. It was that was in same.
No, it was if you think about the game, quite honestly, it wasn't a great offensive display up until the last five minutes of that ball game was kind of like, ah, this game kind of boring. And then you know what happened. You mentioned the terry play and the missed extra point, all the things that happened. That the turpe it up kick return. Where that that mad move where you hit the I think it's the X button where you do the spin or exers or the circle button. Think it was, I asked my son. I think he told me was the X button.
I'm not guessing.
Yeah, I think my think my son turned was the xbunt, But he not only did the spin move, he spit and he went zero to sixty and a one step. Yeah, that's the part of it too. Okay, It's one thing to do the spin move, but to go from zero to sixty and one step. And he's a tremendous playmaker. And I'm the mostion is of that game. The way it ended, I mean, it was like, Wow, what did we just witness?
So to your point about what a team is losing, you wonder what their psyche is coming in. I'll be honest with you. I was paranoid coming into this Tennessee game because if this team's serious about making a playoff run, they had to win that game. They had to win. Right three and eight AFC team, you know, who's struggling quarterback turns the ball over a lot, but they have the number two defense of the league. They had just come off a win against Houston. I was surprised by the Dallas outcome, Like I just didn't see that coming. I thought it was a get right game for Washington, and it's just so reassuring that like out of the blue. They looked like that team that played Cincinnati, Cleveland and Carolina.
Yeah, and it was. This was a situation where we took advantage of the great field position in that ball game, especially early. You get the short field to start the ball game. I think we took over at the round our forty yard line. B Rob first carry goes forty yards. We had a what a fumble recovery by Mikey Sadrigs Steele, some other players that went our way, where instead of the difference between the game against the Cowboys and the game against his Tights, we actually capitalize on that great field position. Then in the first quarter we were up twenty twenty one nothing or twenty eight zip. Yeah. So you know, two similar type of flows to the games in terms of great field position, but the difference was we took advantage of that great field position.
I mean it was crazy. Like the whole time, I'm like walking in going I think they're gonna win, but I'm not really sure. I hope they just I don't care what the score is. I just hope they win. Get to the bye week eight and five feeling good. Put the losing street behind them. No style points necessary, But Jayden looks like Jayden from early in the season. The run game was completely unstoppable. Chris Rodriguez is emblematic of all the things we were talking about earlier, the buy in on the team. The guy's been up and down from the practice squad to the roster, had to be released. Then Austin Eckler gets hurt, they call him back, like where's his head? Shows up? Nearly runs for one hundred yards. That team was giving up one hundred yards a game. This team almost had two hundred yard rushers against them. It was really it was really telling.
Yeah, no, Jayden. You mentioned Jayden looking like he he looked. That was as good as we had probably saw him play, and especially from a running aspect, and maybe over a month since prior to the reb injury. He was making people miss it. The one touchdown run he had inside the rezon where he was dodging, dodging Tyson defenders like a you know, a pedestrian trying to cross the street a five o'clock rush hour traffic. I mean, he was he was making he was making people miss zigging and zagging. But the uh that when I looked at Tennessee's defense. That defensive front. They have some guys who can who can cause trouble for you. They have some manage rushers. They're pretty solid in what they did schematically from a from a coverage standpoint, I did not. I thought we have a tough time, tougher time running the ball. I guess that we did. We ran for over two out of sixty yards, so I was definitely surprised by that.
Yeah, it was wild, all right. We got four games ago. Playoffs are very much in sight. Division's gonna be tough because they need Philadelphia to stop winning so much and for their last five home so it's gonna be it's gonna be very tough to catch them. I still am very interested in this rematch because I think it's gonna be a very different game. But New Orleans is first under five hundred team that changed their coach in the middle of the season. What's kind of your early expectations for the game against the Saints.
I just started watching, you know, one of the Saints games against he was against the Browns man where they ran for over two hundred yards in that game against the Browns, and I was now a lot of that run running success they had came from Takesam Hill, you know, being a Wildcat quarterback. He's he's he's out for the season now. So I will say this, uh, kamaraw he's Camara, he's a he's an outstanding football player. And they got they got some playmakers on offense. And you know it's not gonna be an easy game. So for us and our fan base, don't get to thinking, hey, the the Saints there with four and eight right now that this uh, at this current juncture, they're not a good football team. They are going to play extremely tough. If you allow that dome to get rocket, it will be extremely difficult, you know, extremely difficult environment to deal with because those fans come out and support their team. So you know, we we we have to come in there a game. We're gonna come out of there with a victory. And I know, I know Dad Quinn, he he knows what it's like to play in New Orleans. He was the head coach of the Falcons for for a number of years. So he'll have those guys ready for that environment and understanding, hey, this is what we're up against. They got you know, Cam Jordan, he's gonna be He's still a good productive player for them. Tyron Matthews still good football player for them. We know Chase Younger want to have a good game against his former team team that traded him. So you know, we'll we'll have to be ready to rock and roll against the Saints in New Orleans.
So obviously, like the playoffs are very much in reach, what do you think team needs to do the last four games to ensure they get there.
I think we need to win at least two more. I think we we get to ten. I feel like ten and ten is will be enough. Obviously, I would love for us to go four and oh you know, but I'm just saying, I think if we get to ten, that'll that'll be enough. Giving need the state of the NFC West, the NFC Central or North whatever they can whatever they're called now, NFC North, I think they're gonna get three teams in and the South and the West. South and the West will only get up. We'll get one each. Whoever the division winners are of those those teams.
I'll tell you though, we need to get one that worries me is the South. Go look at the schedules that Atlanta and Tampa Bay have it's like littered with under five hundred teams so well playing each other twice. So that's the worry I have about those teams.
Here's the thing. One of those ten beat the Falcons. One of those victories needs to be against the Falcons. I agree, because and let's have hopefully the the Buccaneers. If the Buccaneers want win that division, great, but we don't need the Bucks to get to ten wins. We need the Bucks to win their division because we would have the we would lose head to head with those guys. I don't know what the bucks current record is. Are there five? And are they six and six? I think they're six and six right now? Huh, you got a shoo in front of you. Look hey, let me uh, let me got what to right? Let me hold on. I'll tell you right now. The Bucks are I believe it was six and six last time I checked.
I think so because they barely beat Carolina in overtime last week.
Yeah. Actually, the Bucks and and Atlanta both are six and six. Yeah, they're both six and six, So you want to get one of them.
Look at their schedules because there so that is, it's gonna be huge. It's gonna be absolutely huge again Washington.
Ideally we would want the Falcons. I believe we would want the the Buccaneers to win that division and US have the tiebreaker over the Falcons. Yeah, that would be the best cation area. We wouldn't want the Falcons to win that division. And I said the ty Beerker scenario with the with the Buccaneers because they they beat us and they had to hit it.
All right last thing. So we got a month. Pro Bowl nomination is gonna come out in a few weeks. All the other awards are can come at the end of the year. But I think there's a number of people here who are up for prominent awards on the Pro Bowl real quick, because I think there's a lot of good names on this team that are up for it. Here are the ones I came up with. You know, Jayden, I think Jayden should be a Pro Bow quarterback. I know he's a rookiad that he should be Terry Terry's top five receiver as entering play this week, and obviously they've played one more game than everybody else, so we'll see where his numbers are, but I think he belongs there. Louvu's been outrageous this year, and I think ought to make the Pro Bowl. Dante Fowler, I'm hoping it's gonna end up double digit sacks. Louvu two, I think he's got a shot to do it. And then on the offensive line, Beiadish and Cosmi I think are both really really good candidates for the Pro Bowl too.
Now knows, you make a great point with the with those guys, I really would love for for the offensive line because when you when you played as well as our offense has played, look at us being the top three I think top three rushing offense and Jaydenen and offense scoring as many points, that offensive line is very underrated. And Beyondis has been the glue for that offensive line. You know, you look at the battles that he had with Dexter Lawrence, and you know, and just when he's when he's on top of his game and health is is is good for him that offense role. So he had got banged up a little bit, but definitely deserved. Sam Cosman, he's been a lynch Pen tremendous leader on this offensive line. He kind of brings the toughness and physicality of that offensive line and and He's definitely very deserving off making the Pro Bowl. Jaydeen. Obviously Terry, he's second in the NFC right now and receiving behind receiving yards behind Justin Jefferson, So they'll take think what they take four wide receivers into Yeah, from the NFC. So I believe, I believe Jade and that Terry will definitely be there. You mentioned the guys on the defensive side. Louver's been Housta, He's anybody who's seen us play, They're like, man, Frankie Louvo deserves to be there. Uh, Bobby Wagner's going to be He's playing. He's been in the you know what, Ted Pro Bowl, So I think he has a great chance that he'll it's a great chance he'll he'll make it. He's still playing at a high level. He mentioned Foler, he would, he would be very He's very deserving as well.
And for the last month, I mean, I think Jade's a clear front runner for Rookie of the Year and deserves it. There's only two other players that I think really are in the discussion at this point. Bo Nicks has had a very good season in Denver has Similarly, I don't think a lot of expectations, but are playing above you know, I think what people thought he's he's really come on and then brought Bowers. So I don't know why he isn't getting a lot of attention, but he's posting un real numbers for a rookie fight and like greatest rookie tight end numbers. Ever. He's among the league leaders in receptions and yards and all that stuff. I mean, so I think it's their record. He's not getting a lot of shine for it, right, But I think Jaden's gonna end up the rookie of the year if this team ends the way they kind of started.
Well, it's funny because coming out of the draft, coming into the draft, I text, there's a Command Center group text, and I text the guys. I was like, man, I love Jade and my second favorite quarterback was a Bold Nicks. And I don't know if people, you know, really took me serious at that point in time, But when I watched him, how he played at or Auburn and how he played in Oregon. He shoot at Oregon. He completed almost seventy percent of his past maybe even more than that, and he had, you know, some ridiculous amount of starts, tremendous athlete. He was a number one dual threat quarterback coming out of high school, and people didn't really understand. If you didn't watch a lot of Oregon games, you probably didn't realize his mobility. I thought he would have been tremendous in that Kyle Shadahan that that type of office obviously ended up going to a to a you know, Sean Pagne and the Broncos, and he's one of the great quarterback guys. But Rookie of the Year is Jade's Deluz you know he could he's he's the front runner. I don't think it's it's really that close. Brock Bowers, they're two and ten. That's why you're not here about him, and and the quarterback is gonna garner more attention. And until you just mentioned Brock and I think I've heard a couple other people mentioned him recently. I didn't know he was, you know, so high and receiving yards. Yeah, yeah, because again he's playing for the Raiders and they're two and ten.
Yeah, he's having it outrageous year. But for Jaden, hey get to go back to Louisiana this week, hopefully put on a showcase against the Saints. Get this team, hopefully the nine to five, which is where we're gonna leave it here for the Booth review, We'll talk to you after the Saints game.