- 25 minutes ago
Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to give his postgame analysis from the Commanders’ upset win vs the Seahawks in a must win game. Ben also discusses the signing of Austin Ekeler and lists his biggest takeaways from the win on Sunday.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Ben Standing is with us. Why did they sign Austin Eckler? And you reported that they did this on Saturday.
00:07So it wasn't a reaction to anything yesterday.
00:12Yeah, no, it's a very, very fascinating deal. When the news first happened this morning, I think my general reaction,
00:19like most others was, oh, okay, I guess there must be some urgent need to add a running back.
00:24We saw Rashad White get hurt in the game yesterday with a shoulder. He did come back and, of course,
00:29had a big run there late to help preserve the win.
00:34But, yeah, you're like, well, what's going on here? But, no, I was told, so Eckler, for those who may
00:38have missed it, Eckler last week, it sort of resurfaced for the first time since Terry's Achilles last season in
00:44week two.
00:45He goes to Carolina, has a workout with them. Sounds like it goes well, but Carolina postpones signing him until
00:52this week.
00:53And the plan was for them to put him on the practice squad. I don't know why they delayed, but
00:57that's what happened there.
00:58And then sometime after that, Washington came calling. It was like, hey, we're interested in Austin. What's going on?
01:05And then, you know, it sounded like he also was still going to go to Carolina, except that the Wizards,
01:10the Wizards, the commanders then said, okay, how about this?
01:14Instead of the practice squad, we'll just put you straight to the 53. And he said, all right, let's go.
01:18He obviously was here, you know, had a lot of success in 24. And, you know, he was the lone
01:24running back they had.
01:26It was like a dual threat that other teams had to really didn't know exactly where it was going to
01:31go.
01:31They did get some of that here with Rashad White. But I don't know. It's very fascinating.
01:36It is worth noting that K-Tron Island had zero touches yesterday.
01:40So maybe he's the obvious odd man out no matter what, but maybe it's even more obvious since he didn't
01:45get any work.
01:46But yeah, how this works with Bill and Rashad White and now Eckler is going to be really interesting.
01:51Yeah, really interesting, right? Because the better back through certainly the last two weeks, I think,
01:58or at least the one that they've relied on more in the bigger moments has been Rashad White.
02:04Bill got carries and had the biggest run of the day that was totally not impacted by the illegal formation
02:11that brought the play back.
02:13But yes, I'm interested to see how that will work.
02:16And hopefully Eckler's healthy because, you know, Ben, when you go back to 2024,
02:20this was an elite level offense for pretty much the, you know, 18 of the 20 games, 17 of the
02:2720 games they played.
02:29But I would bet you that their most productive days were when Eckler was healthy and on the field
02:35in terms of how hard they were to defend when he was a part of the, you know, the personnel
02:43offensively.
02:46Yeah, no doubt. I mean, like I said, you know, when they brought Eckler in way back when, you know,
02:51we're like, okay, cool, this guy obviously has had a tremendous career.
02:56But, you know, getting on the older end is the reason the Chargers decided to move on.
03:00And you're like, okay, can he be, you know, a role player piece with Brian Robinson, what have you.
03:05And then it becomes more than that because you realize he is the one guy who has still got enough.
03:10You know, he's not the biggest guy, but he's got a good frame.
03:13He can handle runs between the tackles, but obviously he's the biggest weapon as a playmaker on the perimeter
03:18as a pass catcher. And then he also helped a ton of the kick returner.
03:21He actually was named second-team All-Pro, right?
03:24So all that was pretty impressive.
03:28And like I said, when he was on the field, it gave them the luxury of not showing to the
03:34defense
03:34exactly what they wanted to do. I think that's one reason they moved on from Brian Robinson.
03:37And then last year when Eckler gets hurt, I think there's a huge problem for this offense
03:41beyond Jaden Daniels getting hurt and McLaurin and all that, is that they did not have a running back
03:46who you could put out there and the defense did not know for sure what was going to happen.
03:50I mean, maybe you could say that with Jeremy McNichols, but that's not, you know,
03:53that's not the level they want to be at.
03:55So that's why they went out and made a play to get a Rashad White to give them a version
03:59like that.
04:00Obviously also hoping that Bill could step up enough as a blocker and receiver.
04:04So, yeah, no, without a question, I mean, I also wonder here, you know,
04:08we saw Jalen Lane have some tough times as a kick returner in week two,
04:13kind of kept muffing the ball a bit, right?
04:15McCaffrey was inactive the first two games.
04:17So I kind of wonder also, is this Eckler thing about the return game,
04:21which would seem a little extreme, but hey, maybe that's the case.
04:26Did he have two concussions or three his 24-year?
04:31Whatever it was, one of them was on a kickoff return.
04:34Yeah.
04:36Yeah, yeah, no, and he also, I think he, right,
04:38did he get hurt against the Bengals also on a return?
04:41I want to say maybe it wasn't a concussion, but it was another injury.
04:44Um, yeah.
04:45Hit every game against the Bengals that year, I think.
04:47Yeah, absolutely.
04:48So either way, I guess I'm, I'm, I was surprised then when they used him in the return game.
04:52I would be somewhat surprised now, but it is, if we're just, you know,
04:56putting the players out, if he wants to play and all that stuff, then, okay,
04:59then that would possibly be an area where, you know,
05:01they have kind of lagged a little bit so far.
05:03I mean, McCaffrey was very good last year, but again, inactive the first two games
05:06and, you know, was kind of a non-factor for the most part yesterday.
05:10All right.
05:11Uh, Ben joins us every Monday and Friday.
05:14He is our Washington insider.
05:16Uh, he covers the team on his own sub stack called last man standing.
05:21And he's got a podcast as well by the same name.
05:25You can follow Ben on X at Ben standing.
05:27He also covers the Washington wizards for his, uh, for his sub stack.
05:34Uh, and that's where he is right now at their media day.
05:37Uh, we may ask Ben a wizards question to sort of, uh, exit our time with Ben,
05:43but let's get to yesterday's game.
05:45And as I do every Monday with you, I just want your overall reaction and your big
05:48takeaways.
05:49Go ahead from yesterday.
05:52You know, um, look, we can all X and O this to death.
05:57We can all come up with rationales as to why they'll win a team.
06:00We'll win a game, why they will lose a game, why they are great, why they're
06:03distinct.
06:03And sometimes none of that matters.
06:05Oftentimes, frankly, none of that matters because it really can come down to
06:08whose level of desperation is the highest.
06:11And if they assume that they have enough talent to, to get by, we, we act like,
06:16I don't say we, I don't mean you and me necessarily, but just the collective way.
06:19We all act sometimes like the gap between the best team and the worst team is so
06:22monumental as if it's like Ohio state, uh, against, uh, some, you know, D2, D2 college.
06:28All these guys are pros.
06:29All these guys are talented.
06:31It's just a matter of, you know, at some point is the, is it, are they functioning well as
06:36a team?
06:37Are they missing too many guys with injuries?
06:39Whatever.
06:39Washington yesterday looked like the team that was desperate to win more than Seattle.
06:44I'm not saying Seattle wasn't.
06:45They obviously were very close to winning and, you know, fortunately for Washington
06:48yesterday was a day where they were the team that had the breaks.
06:51They get the three turnovers.
06:53Um, you know, just things went their way more than, than it did, uh, Seattle.
06:58And I think, again, a lot of it comes down to the fight of the players in the two plus
07:03years of Dan Quinn.
07:04I've never thought to myself that these guys are bailing.
07:07Like, you know, even if they're getting blown out, I never thought it was because they
07:10stopped buying into what he was selling.
07:12It was just, it wasn't working.
07:13Uh, and I think yesterday was an example of that, uh, you know, the, the buy-in that
07:17they have, but then also, like I said, they were just, um, going for it.
07:22I mean, everybody, I mean, they were hitting quick early.
07:24They were making plays quickly.
07:25It's not just enough to get the turnovers.
07:27You got to capitalize on them and score.
07:29They did that right up, right away.
07:30And, uh, you know, I don't know what this translates to bigger picture.
07:34I don't know.
07:35We may be talking about an autopsy of this season by the bye week, but for now it is not
07:40only has it saved off the idea that they could be in massive.
07:43Trouble for the year, even at 0 and 3, but it is, they are a wins over a Daniel Jones
07:49team
07:49and a Jameis Winston being the three and two.
07:52And after the way they played yesterday, I can't even say that sounds insane.
07:55That's how quickly things can change.
07:57And at least for one game, they definitely have changed, uh, the narrative around them
08:02for sure.
08:03Uh, real quickly on the reason that Allegretti started the game at guard and Lucas Patrick
08:09at center.
08:10Was it purely a function of Cosme being out and they thought Allegretti at guard would
08:14have been better than the alternative?
08:16Or do you think that's a change that could last even when Cosme is back?
08:24Yeah, I, I haven't had a chance to watch like all 22 or, or, or sort of study.
08:27So I'm not quite exactly sure what Lucas Patrick did, but obviously I think the line as a whole,
08:32all things considered held up, you know, fairly well.
08:35Marriott, I think obviously didn't help with it with some of his decisions out there, uh,
08:38in terms of audibles and just getting rid of the ball quickly.
08:41I think this would be incredibly fascinating.
08:43I mean, I'm already very kind of like sarcastically, like, come on, are you serious?
08:47You guys just spent all this weeks and months telling us that Allegretti is the guy you're
08:52good with all that.
08:52And then the first opportunity where it's like, well, we have to do something.
08:55Let's move him out.
08:57I mean, they list Lucas Patrick as a guard.
08:59Now, granted, he has more experience at center than Allegretti.
09:02He's been, I mean, you know, everybody wanting that veteran center sign.
09:06Well, this is the guy.
09:07And they brought him in a couple weeks ago.
09:08So, so I'm not stunned that he's necessarily playing.
09:11It's just that after all the time, the saying Allegretti was the guy, you're swapping him
09:16to a different position.
09:17So we'll see.
09:17I think if Cosme is able to come back this week, then yes, that will be fascinating if
09:21they decide to go, you know, again, all things being equal.
09:24If you had told me that Lucas Patrick beat Allegretti out, if they had been at start
09:28the training camp again, I wouldn't have been stunned because again, he's the guy with
09:31more experience at that spot.
09:33So we'll have to see, I do, we'll just separately note the idea of guys going to Europe, you
09:38know, some of these players, maybe their types of injuries won't preclude them from flying
09:44overseas, even if they're not sure if they'll play.
09:46But if guys in the concussion protocol, like Cosme kind of think that might be different.
09:50So they may have to make a call on Cosme by tomorrow when they leave to decide whether
09:54or not he's going to play.
09:55And then in which case, you know, then they would presumably go back to Allegretti and
09:59Patrick.
10:00All right.
10:00I'll ask you about another guy that may or may not make that trip.
10:04His name is Jaden Daniels in a moment, but Mikey Sanristill, we've talked about it going
10:10back to the performance against the Eagles prior to the Dallas game, prior to this game,
10:16the snap count was reduced slightly last week and significantly yesterday with Rasul Douglas
10:21in the starting lineup.
10:23So the question is not what prompted this.
10:28The question is, Sanristill still played.
10:31Do you think this is what they're going to do moving forward?
10:35He's going to be more of a reserve corner.
10:40Well, I mean, you know, I would think so.
10:42I mean, again, he didn't play as much, obviously.
10:44And, you know, it's no knock on their secondary to say that Jackson Smith and Jigba still did
10:50plenty of damage and Darnold for nearly 400 yards.
10:54That was a lot about the tight end as well.
10:56My point is just that the secondary, there's still questions in coverage.
10:59But at the same point, yeah, I would imagine they're going to move forward with what they
11:03did here in terms of Rasul Douglas starting, you know, Fabian Moreau went from the zero defensive
11:08snaps the first two weeks to being in on a first down before Sanristill yesterday.
11:14Not to mention being one-on-one in some spots against JSN.
11:19So I won't be surprised if they just stay where they're at.
11:22I mean, there's been no real justifications as to why to give Sanristill more of that work.
11:28And, you know, obviously, you know, Kamik Robertson has been the big, maybe surprised
11:32that we're stating it, but a bit of a surprise here with what he's been able to do.
11:35And so much of what his game is, is what we saw from Sanristill as a rookie.
11:40Super feisty, super aggressive, not afraid to back, to play against the bigger guys, and
11:46just making the scrappy plays.
11:48And we just haven't seen that out of Sanristill.
11:50Forget, like, you know, impressive coverage.
11:52We're just not even seeing the smart plays, the, you know, the savviness, that aggressiveness
11:57for a positive game.
11:59None of that seems to be working.
12:00So I can easily see them staying in this path.
12:03And then the question becomes, if Trey Amos is eligible, he is eligible to come up an hour
12:08after week four, A, does he come back?
12:11You know, when does he come back?
12:12And then also, what does this mean for the rotation?
12:14I could, obviously, you'd think he'd get in there once he is ready to go, but then somebody's
12:19not going to play as much in Sanristill right now.
12:21It feels like he might be that guy.
12:23The other thing, too, and I'm just looking as you're talking, I was just looking to see
12:27how many Sanristill snaps I could see.
12:30I think yesterday, and this is very much sort of back-of-the-envelope audit, quick audit,
12:35is he probably played more, a higher percentage of his snaps in the slot than he did in the
12:43first two games.
12:44That's my guess.
12:45I could be totally wrong, but it certainly looks like it going through a bunch of his
12:49snaps in the game.
12:51And maybe, really, what they are settling in on here is, we don't have to take him off
12:57the field, but when we have him in the game, he is much more of a slot corner than he
13:03is
13:03an outside corner.
13:05That's what's just so confusing because, you know, as we remember, the rookie year, they
13:10started in the slot, but then they, you know, by default had to move outside, work out fine.
13:14Last year, he gets torched in the slot, seems to be better outside.
13:18And that's why the Robertson signing to me, I was like, wait, isn't this a guy who also
13:22is seemingly better in the slot than not?
13:24Now, he has been pretty effective so far, but on the outside, so yeah, it's very odd with
13:29saying, I will also say that, you know, last week I asked Dan Quinn, I was like, hey, last
13:36year, going to week three, you benched both of your starting guards, which is a pretty,
13:39you know, aggressive move to make that early.
13:41Do you feel there's any spot right now where you feel compelled to do something like that?
13:45And obviously, secondary is different than the line because the line is the five guys
13:48play and the secondary is mix and match.
13:51And though he said no, they obviously were ready to make a move here.
13:55So, you know, I'm not saying that what they did is more like Chris Paul, Chris Paul
14:00effectiveness in terms of replacing Coleman last year, but they were willing to stay with
14:05that the whole season.
14:06And I won't be surprised if, you know, at least for the short term, and we'll see what
14:09happens if the AMS comes back, if they just, you know, stay where they're at.
14:12All right.
14:12Albert Breer tweeted out this morning that, that Quinn, hold on, I had it here in front of
14:21me.
14:21That Jaden is likely to go.
14:24They were more than likely to make the trip to London tomorrow night when they leave.
14:29I would assume Quinn's going to tell us that at three o'clock.
14:31Don't you think he has to since there's, I mean, is he going to hide for another 24 hours
14:37whether or not Jaden's going to be on the plane or not?
14:40What are you hearing?
14:41What do you think will happen?
14:44Yeah.
14:45I mean, I, I won't be surprised if we don't hear anything today because he'll lump it into,
14:50well, we have a lot of decisions to make with a bunch of guys and we'll come, we'll
14:53finalize that later, but look, Jaden, to me, and again, I'm happy to be proven wrong.
14:59I've kind of been operating on the assumption that the subterfuge as to when he may be back
15:04is a lot about gamesmanship to a degree.
15:08I would just be surprised based on the timeline from last year where he missed a month, three
15:13games, but over a month before he came back, that he would, having re-injured it, all of
15:18a sudden be back in like a week.
15:20That, that, that to me just seems super odd.
15:23Again, I'm not a doctor, haven't seen it, but they also haven't like been giving us
15:27that, I mean, you know, even the last week, Adam Peters, I kind of walked back a little
15:30bit, the idea of like, well, we're not talking about IR or anything more significant at this
15:36point.
15:37So I'd be, he may go to, he may go, sorry, to, um, to London.
15:41I mean, I wouldn't be stunned at all if the NFL was kind of like, Hey, uh, could you bring
15:46him over for a photo op if it's not going to cause any issues?
15:48Well, I mean, that's a long flight.
15:52There's always the swelling factor on a long flight.
15:56Like if he's not going to play and they know he's not going to play to hell with what the
16:01league wants.
16:02I mean, don't take them.
16:04That's absurd, right?
16:06Well, again, I'm not saying that would be the driving factor.
16:08I'm just saying if, if, you know, I think there's probably benefits for the league if
16:11he shows up.
16:12Yes.
16:12I don't think that would be the driving factor.
16:14I just, again, I'm happy to be wrong.
16:16I just would be stunned if they're like, yeah, he's good to go after one week.
16:20And mind you not saying that that should be different if it was own three versus one
16:24and two, but that is the case.
16:26They did win.
16:27It was a huge win.
16:28Um, you know, it's conceivable that they win one of, if not both of the next two games,
16:32just based on sort of where the level of the opposition is, not dismissing the Colts
16:35or the Giants, but just reality.
16:37And, um, you know, so I don't know why you would rush him back then.
16:42And, you know, again, if you, if he sits out a month as he did last year, then then he
16:45gets the extra week of the bye week.
16:46So, you know, I know, I don't believe that they would do anything to potentially damage
16:52the player and his health or anything like that, but I just would be stunned if he's
16:57going over there because, um, he's going to play by, but if he's going, then you have
17:02to ask, well, why would he go?
17:04Maybe it's to be with the training staff.
17:05Maybe it's to be with the team.
17:06I don't know, but, um, that, that it still would just seem odd to me.
17:10He'd be back after one week when last year he was out a month.
17:13All right.
17:14Uh, quick change of subject.
17:16You're, uh, at Wizards Media Day.
17:19Um, we are less than a month away from the opener.
17:23So what were the big takeaways?
17:25I am curious as to Alex Saar's health and whether or not, you know, they expect him to be ready
17:31for the early part of the season, but you were there.
17:34What, what, uh, what's the vibe?
17:36Because I do think this is the most anticipated season in several years for them.
17:41Yeah, no, for, for sure.
17:43I was there for Trey Young, the Bonson, Anthony Davis.
17:45I didn't hear Brian.
17:46So I don't know if he said anything like, um, if you're not saying anything on social
17:50media, I'm guessing he didn't say much about Saar or anybody else's health.
17:54Um, but yeah, I mean, it's just wild, right?
17:57I mean, you know, we're used to not necessarily number one picks.
18:01I was with John Walls, you know, relatively recently in Bradley Beal, but like they've had
18:05high draft picks.
18:06So the Bonson is very unique, but that's been around to walk in and there's Anthony Davis
18:10and Trey Young, two guys that have been, you know, among the faces of the league for the
18:14past several years.
18:15Davis, uh, you know, Olympian, an NBA champion, all these things for them to be here is pretty,
18:19pretty nuts.
18:20I was watching.
18:21So they're doing media day in which they have like a bunch of different stations where they
18:25go to shoot, uh, photos, you know, that are going to be part of the, you know, whatever
18:29the wizards do all season or NBA media guys or, and then just some fun stuff.
18:34And Anthony Davis is walking around and he looks around and he goes, somebody just told
18:37me this is a bigger crowd than it was a year ago.
18:40And somebody agreed with him and he's like, really, this is nothing compared to what I'm
18:43used to.
18:44Like, it's still the wizards are still trying to like claw their way out of the hole that
18:48they've dug themselves in for the last umpteen years.
18:51And, you know, again, I think, I don't think the driving factor and the decisions here have
18:55been about bringing more fans in necessarily, but at the same point, you know, the, you can't,
19:01it's not just enough to say, be better.
19:03You got to be interesting.
19:04And Davis and younger, the definition of that plus the Bonsa plus all their other kids, this
19:09is definitely the most interesting wizards team since, you know, Pete wall and Beal.
19:13And it's with more uncertainty, possibly in the best of ways, because we don't know how this
19:18is all going to fit.
19:19But, you know, is Anthony Davidson going to want to play all year?
19:22Is he going to want out?
19:23Is he going to stay healthy?
19:24Trae Young, can he change the course of his career?
19:27It's gone downhill a bit.
19:28And then, you know, with the Bonsa, where does he fit in?
19:30Super confident.
19:31He was asked by somebody if he feels pressure coming in as the number one pick.
19:36And he was like, one word answer, nope.
19:40You kind of moved on.
19:42He's a very confident young man who's, you know, lived a big life already and not, does not
19:46seem fazed at all by anything that's happening around him.
19:49All right.
19:50Thanks.
19:51We'll talk soon.
19:52And are you making the trip?
19:54You are, right?
19:56Yes, I will be reporting from London.
19:59I don't have any idea what the exact scene is going to be like.
20:02And I don't think our access is particularly great.
20:05But yeah, I will be there.
20:06Also, I just wanted to mention for those of you that didn't hear me say it earlier, Leo
20:10Chennault is done for the year, correct?
20:13Neck surgery.
20:15I hope that everything's okay.
20:17Have you heard anything about this, the nature of that injury and what the, you know, it
20:22sounded like it was okay with extremities moving, the whole thing.
20:26Uh, but that was obviously a serious injury yesterday.
20:30Yeah, no, for sure.
20:32I mean, Quinn will address it later.
20:34He's not, uh, the team hasn't commented officially, but, um, yeah, he, he apparently has reported
20:38has a neck fracture.
20:40Uh, but yes, like you said, the, the important parts is moving the extremities.
20:44Um, it doesn't sound like this is going to be life altering and hope.
20:48Obviously that's the biggest deal.
20:49Hopefully that's the case.
20:50His brother, who apparently is a priest, a father is his Twitter handle, his father
20:55should all tweeted last night that like, Hey, you know, pray for my brother.
21:00He's going through a lot here.
21:02Uh, so that doesn't sound great, but obviously in terms of that's a relative, but it sounds
21:05like it's, you know, again, to, to the normal sense, like he's doing okay.
21:11Um, but yeah, his season's over and, uh, you know, football part is obviously the minor
21:16part, but now, you know, Jordan, he's on high art.
21:18Frankie Lee was mad the last two weeks.
21:20Um, you know, styles and Medrano obviously stepped up in a big way, but they're getting
21:23thin now all of a sudden in a position that they had beefed up this off season.
21:27Thanks.
21:28Talk to you later.
21:29Always man.
21:30Yeah.
21:31Ben standing, everybody.