- 2 weeks ago
The Washington Commanders finalized their 53-man roster yesterday, and now everyone is shifting their focus to week one in Philadelphia. What’s your biggest concern now that preseason has come to a close? Is there anything specific that you are really high on with the Commanders?
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00:00Talking about the Commanders, preseason's over.
00:03Training camp's over.
00:05Now you look at the regular season.
00:07Didn't it go by pretty quick?
00:09I thought it did.
00:10Somewhat.
00:10About the same as it always does.
00:13Maybe quicker in that there's only three preseason games now instead of four,
00:16but now you have like two weeks off.
00:18That'll go by quick too.
00:20Hope so.
00:21I will say this.
00:22I checked FanDuel, and we're no longer four and a half point dogs.
00:27We're five and a half point dogs.
00:28All right, so it's ticked up one point.
00:30We're close to six.
00:31All right.
00:31Close to a touchdown.
00:32It might be six at kickoff.
00:34Yeah.
00:34The things that we wanted to tackle here are after preseason, after training camp,
00:39what are the things that worry you the most,
00:42and what are you high on when it comes to the Commanders?
00:45All right.
00:46Can I start?
00:47Sure.
00:48Or should I save it for the listeners?
00:49No, you can start.
00:50I think we should all chime in.
00:51I'm high on our quarterback.
00:52I think we have an elite quarterback.
00:54Now, I'm not high on his durability,
00:56but as long as he's available,
00:59provided he can play a string a few games in a row,
01:02I think he's going to be very, very good.
01:04I didn't think I'd say this three weeks ago.
01:06I'm high in the wideout room after the addition of Diggs.
01:09I think Antonio Williams is going to have a big role in the offense.
01:11I like Chig, obviously.
01:13I think, I mean, if you try to compare the weapons he has in 2026 to 2024
01:19when he broke out, the weapons here are much better.
01:22So, I mean, you have to be optimistic about that.
01:25I'm high on him to combine those.
01:27I'm just high on the passing offense.
01:28Yeah.
01:29Rushing offense, you know, we didn't see a lot this preseason,
01:33so there's still question marks there, but I'm high on the passing offense.
01:36But I think the rushing attack is going to be at least serviceable, if not good.
01:40Should be, and if Jaden's out there doing this.
01:42He's as good as a rookie.
01:43I like Rashad White, the element that he brings.
01:46You know he's going to catch balls coming out of the backfield.
01:48And this is an added bonus.
01:50He's really good in pass pro, which is going to help
01:53if you have a bad offensive line in front of you,
01:55or an offensive line that's struggling to kind of find their way.
01:58So I think he's going to be a pretty key piece to the offense.
02:02And then you throw in Fat Man as a rookie for depth,
02:05and then you get McNichols back at some point.
02:07Now, I say that because.
02:08I like it.
02:09I say that because the name's on the depth chart.
02:11Yeah.
02:12But he just didn't have a lot of protection in the preseason,
02:15even though we didn't see him that much.
02:17But as long as he has protection, I like the passing offense.
02:20I also think defensively, injuries notwithstanding,
02:23that they upgraded speed-wise.
02:25I think we're faster all the way around, by and large, defensively.
02:29Yeah.
02:30And then when you pair that with, presumably,
02:32what Durante's going to do, steal from that floor,
02:35and we're going to bring pressure from all areas,
02:37I'm excited to see the defense and what they can come up with.
02:411-800-636-1067.
02:44What are you most high on after the preseason,
02:47and what worries you the most?
02:49I agree with all you on what you're high on.
02:52You should be.
02:52Diggs is an upgrade.
02:54I don't know if the weapons are that much better.
02:56I'll just put Diggs better.
02:57Because to me, Ertz two years ago,
03:00and we'll see what Chig can produce.
03:01You're higher on Chig.
03:03It's not that I'm down on Chig.
03:05It's just that I think people are kind of discounting
03:07how good of a player Zach Ertz was for this team
03:10the last two seasons.
03:11I think he's going to be a longer, a deeper threat.
03:13You'll see.
03:14He might be.
03:15I think we'll see.
03:16He'll actually break tackles.
03:17Zach Ertz.
03:18But I think there's a lot to worry about.
03:20Six years younger.
03:20I think there's actually a lot to worry about.
03:23And they could come out in the opener
03:26and stun the Eagles,
03:27and then you realize that all of the preseason
03:30and the training camp was meaningless.
03:31But, number one, they do have all these injuries,
03:33and we haven't seen these guys play.
03:35Presumably, most of them are going to be ready for week one,
03:37but it's troublesome that they're not healthy right now.
03:42Number two, the most obvious is the offensive line.
03:45The offense was dubbed inoperable by Nicky Javala
03:48on Wednesday after the joint scrimmage.
03:51That was not encouraging.
03:53Now a couple guys were out.
03:55She didn't mean that to say
03:56that it's going to be inoperable in week one.
03:58Just in that particular scrimmage.
04:00I understand.
04:01Yeah.
04:01Just be clear.
04:02You pair that with kind of a lot of things you're hearing.
04:06The offensive line is worrisome.
04:08And this one might be more for me.
04:10I think a lot of people just discount
04:13how big Bobby Wagner was on the defense.
04:16Was he great covering?
04:17No.
04:18But the guy tackled.
04:22And the guy was valuable in that respect.
04:26And we don't know what Sonny Stiles is going to be.
04:28The hope is Sonny Stiles becomes a star.
04:30When you draft somebody that high,
04:32should become a star.
04:33But there may be a major learning curve for Sonny Stiles.
04:37And I worry that they're going to put him on the field
04:39that it's not going to be close enough
04:41to what Bobby Wagner was last year.
04:44I don't think he's going to have Bobby Wagner's tackle total.
04:48No, I do not think so.
04:49I think he'll be an upgrade in coverage.
04:50And I think it is a big learning curve.
04:52I think you're correct in that assessment.
04:54Hopefully, though, the upgrade of Chennault
04:56and some of these other guys will help,
04:57especially guys up front.
05:00But, yeah, that's a concern.
05:02Who's going to be the guy that you could guarantee
05:05put somebody down?
05:06Because if you remember,
05:07when our first unit was out there,
05:09was it the Lions that went up
05:11and scored on the very first drive?
05:13Or was it the Dolphins?
05:14I can't remember.
05:15It was the Dolphins.
05:15It was like an 11-play drive.
05:1713 plays.
05:17Whatever that was.
05:18They marched on them.
05:18So that wasn't a great thing.
05:20Against the first-team defense, for the most part.
05:22But, again, it's vanilla on vanilla.
05:24And, you know, you should probably do better than that.
05:25But there were elements of the first-team defense out there.
05:28It wasn't the entire team.
05:30Chanel and Stiles definitely played.
05:31I don't know if a lot of the defensive line played in that.
05:34Yeah.
05:351-800-636-1067.
05:38Let's go to the phones.
05:40What are you high on?
05:41And what worries you after this preseason?
05:44Also, Antonio Williams.
05:45I'm super high on him.
05:47Not that he's going to be a 90-catch guy this year.
05:49But I just love his potential.
05:51He's going to be an impactful guy on the offense.
05:53I think he's going to be impactful as a rookie.
05:54I think.
05:54Let's go to Elijah.
05:56Elijah, what's up?
05:57Go with the junks.
05:59What's going on, junks?
06:00Thank you for taking my call.
06:01Sure.
06:02I'm going to start on.
06:03I guess I'll go what I'm not happy with.
06:06So we can end with the happy part.
06:09I think my concern is they haven't necessarily, if they take another injury, there isn't a unit, and we shouldn't
06:16want to, but there isn't a unit that I feel comfortable taking an injury and having the threshold just drop
06:23off.
06:23They haven't shown me, but the commander's weight is 53.
06:28It doesn't matter who steps on the field.
06:31I just need to see a certain type of tenacity regardless, and that's DQ's job.
06:36So I just want to make sure that whoever gets on the field, I want to see that.
06:40So I just think that the injuries, we can't sweep enough under the rug just having Jaden.
06:46So everybody's going to have to be, like, available.
06:49So I just need that to happen.
06:51Now, what I am happy with is I don't think you can double Terry, Diggs, and Antonio Williams.
06:57I'll take Antonio Williams over any team, third, whatever, a corner, safety, if they have to put their assets toward
07:06guarding those two guys, especially early in the season.
07:09What Antonio Williams is going to be is a blessing for this offensive line.
07:13Everything is going to be very quick, early.
07:16I don't need no – and they have the skill position guy, Diggs.
07:21He can get across the field.
07:23Terry, he can get across the field as well.
07:25So within five yards, if this offensive line is having struggles, don't be surprised if Antonio Williams is, like, their
07:32hot receiver because he's just going to get open.
07:35He's going to be looking his way.
07:36Chig, he's going to be looking his way.
07:38Rashard White, another concern.
07:40I don't want to hear what y'all think.
07:42I can't have Bill and Fat Man fumbling this year.
07:47I don't know if we discuss Fat Man fumbling to the degree of concern, which is fine.
07:52He's a rookie.
07:53But if we pair Fat Man fumbling with Bill, we can't have that this year.
07:58It just can't happen.
08:00And Rashard White might even get the nod with his ability out the backfield because if it's early down, Rashard
08:09White is going to catch the ball at the backfield as well to go against some of this pressure.
08:13Instead of getting stonewalled at the line.
08:15So expect a lot of this ball, the ball to be coming out of James' hands fast to protect the
08:20line.
08:20And if they can do that, coupled with the defense, being able to be strong, I would like old way
08:26to play.
08:27So we don't even know what the defense is going to look like getting stronger.
08:30So I think the defense may even help the offense earlier than we expect.
08:35Usually we're like, okay, the offense, we got to protect the defense.
08:37I feel like this year it's a change to be like, man, I don't know how it happened, but this
08:41defense is helping out the offense.
08:43All right.
08:44Thank you, Elijah.
08:46Thank you, buddy.
08:47Appreciate you.
08:49They said a lot there.
08:51Bill definitely had a stretch last year where they were not trusting him because of the fumbling issues, but he
08:55tidied it up.
08:56He's a rookie.
08:57Like, you're going to expect some of that.
08:58Hopefully K-Tron doesn't do the same thing, but I'm looking back at his college fumble record.
09:04As a freshman, he fumbled once and lost one.
09:092023 as a sophomore, zero fumbles with 902 rushing yards.
09:132024 as a junior, zero fumbles.
09:16He had 1,100 rushing yards.
09:18And as a senior, he had one fumble, not lost.
09:20Maybe it's just a little anxiety because he fumbled, then he fumbled a kickoff return just like for no reason.
09:25Maybe it's just a little like jitter.
09:27Did he fumble twice?
09:28In college, he had five total fumbles, one loss.
09:31So hopefully that's not going to be an issue for him in the pros.
09:35All right.
09:36Let's go to Mark in Largo.
09:38800-636-1067.
09:40Come on.
09:40Play the music, K.
09:41Some people could be fired up.
09:42What are you positive about?
09:44And what are you down about?
09:47Hey, let me say this.
09:49It's a great honor to talk to four beautiful brothers born in 1975.
09:57Are you in 1970?
09:59That's what he said.
10:00Of course.
10:001970 is the greatest year of mankind.
10:02The only great thing about 1970 was the Coca-Cola song.
10:06That's the only damn thing I remember about that damn year.
10:09I remember nothing about that year.
10:11How would I remember anything about 1970?
10:14I can totally understand that.
10:17Here's the way I feel.
10:18Eric, follow me on this.
10:20We have the new version of the posse, plus one.
10:22And plus one is Jake.
10:24I agree with you about Antonio Williams.
10:26That boy's a beast.
10:27He's going to get a lot of single coverage.
10:28And he's going to do a lot of different things.
10:30With Diggs and McLaurin, it's just going to be a masterpiece of what they have.
10:34But I think they're going to get everything going offensively.
10:37It would not shock me if they lead this team offensively and they win 38-20 against Philadelphia.
10:42Because Philadelphia's not going to know what hits them.
10:45I don't know, man.
10:45That's a pretty optimistic take.
10:47I know.
10:48I know.
10:48I know.
10:49I know.
10:49But you know what?
10:50You know what I could see, Eric?
10:51Here's here.
10:52They don't have to really run Blouse offense.
10:56They could really go back to doing, I mean, what's-his-face offense?
11:00Kingsbury, it could do hurry up.
11:01I don't think they're going to specialize.
11:04So they're going to hire a new guy and then just go back to Kingsbury's offense?
11:07I don't think they're going to do that, Mark.
11:08What are we doing here?
11:10Well, you have to do a hurry up because it'll put too much stress on the offensive line.
11:15I don't think they have to do a hurry up.
11:16They could do quick game.
11:18But I don't think they have to go no huddle.
11:20They could do that.
11:20They could do that.
11:21They could do that.
11:22But let me say this.
11:23JP, give me the ticket to that thing on Thursday.
11:26Because Adam Peters is the gift that keeps giving.
11:30He has proved to me this weekend that he cares more about Luke McCaffrey than about his old starting quarterback.
11:38And if y'all don't believe me, he's been the entire weekend trying to find a job for Luke McCaffrey.
11:43And the saddest part about Luke being on this team is the pity, pity not cut.
11:50I know y'all haven't talked about it.
11:51So, wait a second.
11:52So, what would you have done if you were Adam Peters, Mark?
11:55You would cut Luke McCaffrey and what does that have to do with the quarterback?
11:59So, who are you keeping?
12:02Well, have they addressed the offensive line?
12:05Hello?
12:06Yes, they went out and got.
12:08Yeah, they did.
12:09Have they addressed the center position?
12:11They think they have their guy that they think is going to be ready for week one.
12:15And then they drafted a center that they think, at least at this point, is going to be the backup.
12:21They didn't address it.
12:24It makes you think.
12:26It really makes you think.
12:28He's waited all weekend trying to find everything for Luke.
12:31And then he keeps him there and then he couldn't do anything with Dave.
12:34But it's okay.
12:35I don't think Adam Peters is obsessed with Luke McCaffrey.
12:39Yeah, where does that come from?
12:40I don't know where you're getting this from.
12:41Where does that come from?
12:42I think that there are a couple guys that were available that other teams traded for.
12:47The names that are out there right now, I mean, they're uninspiring.
12:51Luke McCaffrey is a seventh wideout who has some proficiency in returning kicks.
12:56That's the main reason why he's on the roster at this point.
12:59He's a good kickoff returner.
13:01That's his specialty.
13:02He was the only receiver that made the team that played against the Ravens.
13:07Right.
13:07So he clearly didn't have his roster spot completely solidified.
13:12No, not at all.
13:13Not at all.
13:14I mean, look, he's frustrated that they didn't go out and find another center.
13:18I think a lot of us thought that they would too.
13:20But look at the names of guys that are available currently.
13:23The guys that weren't traded.
13:26Even the guys that were traded, none of them are scary.
13:30I mean, you know, they're pretty limited options.
13:32I think they think what they have is probably as good as what's out there.
13:36That's what I think they think.
13:37Probably.
13:38And it's not over yet.
13:39I mean, they still have two weeks.
13:40And it's not over.
13:41They have time.
13:41They have time to add to the room.
13:42They clearly do.
13:42I would be surprised if they don't sign another.
13:45Don't you?
13:45Wouldn't you?
13:46I would be shocked if they didn't add at least one body to that.
13:48At least one other person.
13:49Offensive lineman.
13:50At least kick the tires on.
13:51And Mark, you can go to the Arlington Draft House on Thursday
13:54and talk to Adam Peters yourself
13:56or win tickets on the show at 945.
13:59You'll have a chance to do that here on The Junkies.
14:01You'll have a chance to do that.
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