- 6 hours ago
David Aldridge joins the show to preview Sunday's Commanders vs. Giants matchup, discuss the injuries piling up for the Commanders, and preview the Wizards season.
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00:00Fired up now to have the Hall of Famer, Mr. David Aldridge from The Athletic, sitting down with us.
00:05Hello, D.A. How do you do?
00:06I'm good, fellas. I'm sorry I couldn't join you in London.
00:09We would have liked to have you.
00:11It was a lot of fun, D.A.
00:12You look great. I love London.
00:13I spent a lot of money there, I can tell you that.
00:15That's a great thing.
00:16I got to get a part-time job to make up what I love.
00:19It's shocking when you're at the bar and you order a cocktail or two and you're like,
00:23all right, it's kind of expensive, and then you remember, oh, it's in pounds.
00:27Right.
00:28Yeah, I had a drink for three days before I realized that $55 for that double shot of Klaus Azul
00:34was actually $70-something.
00:39I had three drinks and gave me a thing that was like $100-something pounds.
00:44I'm like, then I did the calculation.
00:46I'm like, nah, you can't do this every day.
00:48We got to figure something out.
00:50You can get a bottle of wine, drink it in the room.
00:52Oh, yes.
00:53D.A., the commanders come back from that trip at disappointing one and three.
00:57Yeah.
00:58You know, I really liked their chances until Marcus got hurt.
01:03Hard for a team to win with a third-string quarterback coming in mid-game.
01:07But looking ahead here to a Giants team coming to town, riding high, first place in the NFC East,
01:12what does Washington need to do to get back on track?
01:16Well, it would be nice if your starting quarterback would actually be available.
01:20Certainly.
01:21I mean, I get it.
01:22Everybody's, you know, people lose their minds when they lose a game.
01:26But, guys, they've played, I think what I looked it up the other day,
01:30they've played 21 regular season games the last year plus,
01:35and Jaden's played in nine of those games.
01:37Like, you can't win without your starting quarterback.
01:42You just can't.
01:44And so he's got to be on the field for this team to have its best chance.
01:48So if he's going to be on the field, that presents them with their best chance to beat the Giants.
01:54The Giants are, I think, as fair, as nicely as I can say it,
02:00that I don't think you should be, like, afraid to play the Giants.
02:03Yes.
02:04Yeah, yeah.
02:05You know what I mean?
02:06Agree.
02:06I agree with that.
02:07You know, like, they're 3-1, they're well-coached, he knows what he's doing.
02:10But they're on their backup quarterback, too.
02:13And they've lost a lot of guys already to season-ending injuries.
02:18And so, including on the defensive side.
02:21So, you know, this could be, this probably isn't going to be a shootout,
02:26but this defense is now good enough that they should be able to hold a not-great Giants offense
02:32to enough, low enough that the offense should be able,
02:37the challenge is can this offense score enough points.
02:40Yeah, yeah.
02:40You know, against a good but hardly great Giants defense.
02:43Yeah, I think when you look at games, like, when they lose a game, people just, they lose it.
02:48But have you been able to notice that this defense has gotten a lot better?
02:53I think so.
02:53I mean, I think they were third-and-run defense.
02:55Now, last week they gave up a little bit, but they were playing behind the whole game.
02:58You know, I think, or most of the second half, anyway.
03:02But, no, they still need to play better.
03:05But I do think the defense, I think the line really has been quite good, like, by any metric.
03:12They are actually setting the edge defensively now,
03:15which has been a problem for, like, the last 12 years throughout.
03:18Yeah.
03:19As teams just run sweeps around and crack tosses and get 20 yards every time.
03:24These guys are actually setting the edge, always setting the edge.
03:27You know, Chase on setting the edge.
03:29When needed, Sonny's setting the edge.
03:31So, now the run defense is better, and their big guys have been really good so far, I think.
03:37So, the question is, can they create enough turnovers?
03:40Yeah.
03:42The last two weeks they have, and then the offense didn't take advantage of it last week.
03:45You brought up Sonny there.
03:47Just to kind of, one thing I've always circled back to that you said when Washington drafted Jaden Daniels three
03:52years ago.
03:53Show me why we drafted you this high.
03:55That's right.
03:55What have you seen from Sonny?
03:57Because I think he's had some real moments.
03:59Just, I mean, just his physical ability to eat up space in a very quick period of time
04:09and get to the person with the football is really amazing.
04:14They're putting him in lots of different places on the field, like, you know, strong side sometimes.
04:19Sometimes he's leveled up, but he's diagnosing the plays quicker.
04:24He's getting to where it needs to be, and then he's exploding into the ball carrier or the quarterback
04:31or whoever it is, and hitting people with force.
04:34I just think he's, look, if you see, people drive me crazy sometimes.
04:40You know, the preseason, it was like, well, he's not showing anything.
04:42Well, they're not showing.
04:44Yes, no, nobody is showing you anything.
04:46And he's playing about maybe a third of the snaps.
04:49Yeah, right.
04:50The preseason conversation was so stupid.
04:51And in his first game as a professional, he trucksed Saquon Barkley.
04:56That was phenomenal.
04:57You know what I mean?
04:57Like, okay, just stop it.
04:59He's going to be fine.
05:00Leave him alone.
05:01Like, he's going to be fine.
05:02So he's been terrific.
05:03The thing I like about it is the fact I look at it, and I see a guy in a
05:08position for the third time,
05:09third year in his life.
05:11Right.
05:12He doesn't even know the position, per se.
05:14Right, right, right.
05:15He still is – you look at him, yes, he's a big man, but when I look at him,
05:20I say, this dude got another 15 pounds to put on him.
05:22Right.
05:23And he's still going to look like this, but he's going to be a grown man.
05:25Exactly.
05:26And he's playing like that.
05:27For those that were saying, oh, man, we drafted him.
05:31We should have drafted somebody else.
05:33Don't talk to me no more.
05:34You know, this dude is going to be special, man.
05:36Did you see him take the guy on the circle route 30 yards down the field?
05:40Yes, and then just –
05:42The thing I love so much, when the ball started coming, he didn't do what –
05:47what was the guy that was tall cornerback that he's in L.A. now?
05:55Curl?
05:55No, the corner.
05:57Oh, St. Juice.
05:58St. Juice.
05:58Oh, yeah.
05:59He panicked at all times.
06:00Starts grabbing.
06:01All he did was, oh, he's looking.
06:03Yeah, just stick my hand up.
06:04He never panicked.
06:05Talking with our friend David Aldridge from The Athletic.
06:08You can give him a follow at DavidAldridgeDC.
06:11Read all of his work in The Athletic.
06:13In a moment, I want to switch gears to something you just wrote with our friend Josh Robbins.
06:18I look at two things offensively that have been a problem,
06:21and it's the run game and the production from the tight ends offensively.
06:25You're not getting much of either.
06:27Correct.
06:27Which one are you more surprised by, and which one do you think is more fixable?
06:33I'll say the tight end's probably more fixable just because, again,
06:37Chig is the guy that you gave money to, and he's going to be the guy,
06:40and then he got hurt.
06:41Yeah.
06:41And then Jake got hurt.
06:42And so they've played one game together, really?
06:46So, again, they haven't been on the field together.
06:49And so you have to allow for that.
06:52Now, that has to get fixed.
06:53I agree with you.
06:55You brought him in here to be a guy that stretches the field at that position,
07:01and it hadn't happened yet.
07:02Now, you've got to start getting more production out of that.
07:05Now, whether it's this week or the next week, you don't know,
07:07but that's got to be fixed.
07:09The run game, I'm not – I don't know.
07:12Now, Cosme being back is a big thing, and it makes a big difference.
07:16But, you know, I would like to get some clarity starting today from Coach Quinn
07:20about what's the deal with Tunsell.
07:22Is he going to be – is the clock going to start on him at any point soon?
07:28You know, is it another month?
07:29He's eligible, technically.
07:31I know it's not going to be this week or next week, but is it in the next month?
07:34Is it in the next two months?
07:36When is it going to be?
07:37Because you've got to get him back on the field, too.
07:39I have heard whispers on the Tunsell stuff that the rehab's going quite well,
07:42which is what you'd expect from a vet with that kind of track record.
07:45Sure, sure.
07:46But, you know, for Tunsell, from what my understanding was,
07:49if it goes great, you're talking like Thanksgiving.
07:51Yeah.
07:52And depending where this season's going.
07:54Right, exactly, yes.
07:55You all know where that is.
07:56You know, you said something interesting there.
07:58Just – I'm sorry.
07:59Specific to Chig.
08:00Yeah.
08:00Once Aethan came in the game, Aethan wasn't looking in the middle of the field
08:04all that often.
08:05And he wasn't looking intermediate all that often.
08:08It may have been a particularly tough game to evaluate the tight ends.
08:12That's right.
08:13That's right.
08:13Once A.K. came in.
08:14But, like, for me, Patrick, I think, has been very, very serviceable.
08:21Yeah, he's been fine.
08:22Colvin was a turnstile.
08:24Yeah, it wasn't good.
08:25You bring Cosby back with Patrick now.
08:27Right.
08:28I think that run game could pick up.
08:29It could be a little issue.
08:30Ray Brown, I called him after the game before,
08:33and just without me asking a question, he started to praise Colvin.
08:37Yeah.
08:37He's like, that kid could play.
08:39You know, he said, I don't know what happened when they moved him inside,
08:41but that kid could play that tackle position.
08:43So, I think he can be serviceable enough for Tunsil being out.
08:47Yeah.
08:47But it's the interior that's losing in the run game.
08:51Keep in mind, like, and this is another, like, the other, the ripple effect,
08:55Tunsil being out means Coleman has to kick outside.
08:58Right.
08:58The plan was for Coleman to be the left guard.
09:01Yeah, right, yeah.
09:01It was the plan.
09:03Right, yeah.
09:03And it was a good plan.
09:04And then if Cosby goes down, maybe Paul plays right guard.
09:07Right, exactly.
09:08Exactly.
09:08There have been some real contradictions in the Nick Allegretti discourse.
09:12Yeah.
09:12For six months to hype him up as the guy, and then you bench him week four.
09:16That is the one, the center thing is the one that they can rightly be criticized for,
09:21in my view, is that that was not addressed in a way that made sense because we never,
09:30I mean, I know Adam Peters says it, but that doesn't make it so.
09:34We have never gotten an explanation about Beatish being cut, you know, that, that, you know,
09:40stands up to any, well, they've never said, like, why they cut him.
09:44Right.
09:44And if it was for money, fine.
09:46If it was production, fine.
09:47But we never got an answer.
09:49We just, he just got cut one day and he was your starting center.
09:52And you got to have, like, in free agency, there's all, I always, like, I don't care
09:58what your plan A is.
09:59What's your plan B?
10:00Because most of the time you don't get plan A.
10:02Right.
10:03So most of the time, you threw a lot of money at Linderbaum, nothing wrong with that.
10:07You didn't get him because the Raiders went nuts and gave him $27 million a year.
10:10Like, that happens.
10:12So what's your next move?
10:13You know, this is what, this is, this is a Wizards corollary because, because their
10:18plan A in 2016 was Kevin Durant.
10:21And nobody except for them, for some stupid reason, thought they were getting Kevin Durant.
10:25So I was like, what's your plan B?
10:27Your plan B is to give Yami $64 million.
10:30Jesus.
10:31That's plan B.
10:31Well, I can tell you plan A is D.A. just gave us the perfect segue here.
10:37Yeah.
10:37Speaking of centers and free agency and productivity, he is a pro.
10:41There's a reason he's in Springfield.
10:43I did want to switch to something you wrote with Josh Robbins about the Wiz.
10:47Now, the Wiz were, you know, we got the home opener for the Caps.
10:51Somehow the NHL is extending the regular season, which is just incredible.
10:55Yeah, they play 84.
10:55That's nuts.
10:56But we're not far away from regular season NBA basketball.
11:00Right, a couple weeks.
11:00I think we are at a place where there are higher expectations for the Wiz.
11:04Even if maybe management over there wants to limit the expectations.
11:08But it doesn't matter for us as fans.
11:10We want competitive hoops.
11:11That's right.
11:12I want at least the play-in.
11:14Play-in's the floor for me.
11:16I think play-in is fair.
11:17Anthony Davis is a huge part of this.
11:19Yes.
11:20There does remain some questions how locked in Anthony Davis is to his role in the Wizards.
11:25I know you guys tried to explore that.
11:27Where do you think we are a couple weeks out?
11:29I mean, I do expect that they will be more competitive for the simple reason that they are actually going
11:35to try to be competitive this year.
11:37Right.
11:38That's a big change for them over the last three years.
11:44And also, if they get what they're supposed to get from Anthony Davis, who didn't play a minute for them
11:48last year, and Trey Young, who played in five games for them last year, that should raise the floor.
11:54And adding A.J. DeBonceau, who's got a lot of talent, should raise the floor.
12:00And the development of the guys who have already been here, like Saar and Trey Johnson and Keyshawn George and
12:06all those guys, all of that adds up to they better be more competitive.
12:11They better be a better defensive team than they've been the last few years.
12:14But A.D. is a huge part of this thing working.
12:18I think when you look at it, a guy like A.D., he has the mindset, like, I want to
12:24be on a contender.
12:24Yeah.
12:25He said that.
12:25Yeah.
12:26But if he see this team playing better, he'll give you more.
12:30Yes.
12:30You know, and I believe, like, I watched him on a little thing yesterday, and I'm a chemistry guy, and
12:37I'm watching these guys, they seem to have fun together.
12:40I think so.
12:40And when you're having that much fun, you see something in practice.
12:43Sure.
12:44Because if they saw garbage in practice, they would have that much fun.
12:47Garbage in, garbage out.
12:48Yeah.
12:48Sure, sure, sure.
12:49And they have been intentional.
12:52I mean, you know, Trey Young had everybody come out to L.A. during the summer to work out there
12:57and spend time there.
12:58They've been together for weeks now already.
13:01They are serious about trying to make this work.
13:05Now, will it work?
13:05I don't know.
13:06We'll see.
13:07They've still got a lot of holes on this team.
13:09But, to your point, A.D. is a defensive anchor when he's right.
13:16He's a guy that can guard anybody on the floor one through five.
13:19He's a shot blocker.
13:20He's a rebounder.
13:21And then offensively, he can be very efficient when he's right.
13:27And he just solves a lot of problems for a team when he's at his best.
13:31And we'll see how long that lasts.
13:33The injury thing is a real thing with A.D.
13:35He's 33.
13:36He's going to be 34.
13:37I mean, that's a real thing, too.
13:39But, to your point, if you want to be on a contender, the best way you can do that is
13:43to play good for this team.
13:44Yeah, totally.
13:45For the next three months.
13:46And then other teams will be more interested in trading for you.
13:50But, the last time the Wiz, and not even to say the same caliber of player, because A.D. is
13:54a future Hall of Famer, I imagine.
13:56Yeah, yeah.
13:56The last time they had a real defensive presence in the middle.
14:01It's been a long time.
14:02Is it Ben Wallace?
14:03Like, I don't know how far.
14:04Like, was Gortat a defensive presence?
14:07Gortat wasn't like a shot blocker.
14:09Who was the big Brazilian dude?
14:11Well, Nene.
14:11Nene gave you something in the middle.
14:13Well, Nene wasn't a great defensive player, but what Nene was, was a grown-ass man.
14:18Yeah, physically.
14:19Right.
14:21You didn't mess with Nene.
14:22Nobody in the league messed with Nene.
14:25So, that gave you a certain amount of, you know, not intimidation, but people didn't just come down the lane
14:31like they didn't.
14:32Yeah, a little bravado.
14:33Like it was a walk in the park.
14:34You know, you knew you were going to get hit.
14:36And so, that matters to a good team, right?
14:39And so, Nene and Gortat was not a great defensive player, but he rebounded his area fairly well.
14:44And Marchant was, Marchant would give you a little chin music, too.
14:48Sure.
14:48So, they had guys that you had to kind of have your head on a swivel a little bit, you
14:52know?
14:52Now, you can't play that way anymore.
14:54You just can't play that way anymore.
14:55I think Sar is important, too, for them defensively.
14:58Where's his health?
15:00He is starting to practice.
15:02This week was the first week he started to practice.
15:04They have said that they expect him to be ready opening night.
15:07So, we'll see.
15:08We'll see.
15:08That would be huge.
15:09That's huge.
15:10Talking with David Aldridge from The Athletic.
15:12Read all of his work in The Athletic.
15:14Give him a follow on social at DavidAldridgeDC.
15:18A lot was made of the Trey Young contract.
15:20Yeah, it's a big contract.
15:21And I think the whiz were quick to point out, we only paid him what the market would have paid
15:26him.
15:26We didn't pay him the max.
15:27We could have paid him.
15:28Maybe.
15:29Do you think the market was there for him?
15:33You know, in any sport, it only takes one team to set a market, right?
15:37And so, yeah, I don't think the market was huge for him.
15:40Was the market zero?
15:42I don't believe the market was zero.
15:44Does that mean Brooklyn would have given him $50 million a year?
15:47Probably not.
15:48But they would have tried to sign him.
15:49You know, and it only takes a good agent, one other team, to say, to start a bidding war, right?
15:55Right, and so I think they were hedging against a bidding war by throwing money at him.
16:02It's a lot of money.
16:03It's probably too much money, given how he's played the last couple of years.
16:08But I understand it's easy to say that's too much money.
16:12They didn't have a point guard.
16:15Right, yeah.
16:15You need a point guard in the NBA, and he's a point guard.
16:21He's a true point guard, too.
16:22He's a real point guard, and offensively, he's pretty good when he's healthy.
16:26Now, defensively, he's not good at all, but that's why you got Anthony Davis and Saar
16:33and Bilal Kulabali and guys to help protect him.
16:37You know, like, so you live with the bad defense because he unlocks potentially so many things offensively for you.
16:44How much does he unlock for DeBonsa?
16:47Like, we try as much as possible to temper expectations, especially with our Wizards.
16:54My entire lifetime, I've been tempering my expectations.
16:57Right.
16:58But what should they be for DeBonsa?
17:00I mean, this kid looks like the real deal.
17:02Well, they haven't had a guy like A.J. DeBonsa on this roster since Chris Webber was here.
17:12Like, he's that level of offensive potential and talent.
17:17He's not the passer.
17:18C. Webb was one of the best passing big men ever.
17:20But just when you look at the whole offensive package, there's just stuff that A.J. can do that people
17:24his size shouldn't be able to do.
17:27And he does it all the time, right?
17:29And he does it efficiently.
17:30He shot 51% from the floor last year.
17:34And, you know, I know he didn't.
17:36He shot 33 on threes, which isn't great, but it's not 23%.
17:39It's not awful.
17:40He was also their only option the second half of the season.
17:42Yeah, Richie Saunders got hurt.
17:44So, you know, they didn't have a lot, and so they put a lot on this play.
17:47And, again, just like you mentioned Richie Saunders got hurt.
17:51The next game, he almost had a triple-double.
17:54He had 29, 10, and 9 assists.
17:57You know, they played in the tournament.
18:00He had 35 against Texas in the tournament.
18:02That game was electric, too.
18:03Like, when the light went on, he was pretty damn good.
18:07You know, so there's a lot of potential there.
18:11Now, to your point, you asked about Trey.
18:14That's the question I have.
18:16How does Trey – there's a lot of guys to feed.
18:22Now, Sar is easy.
18:23That's just rim rolls and lobs.
18:25Like, that one's easy.
18:26But you got – I mean, Kulibaly's going to play,
18:30and he is streaky at best shooting the ball.
18:35Dude, I just read he changed his shooting motion.
18:37Yeah, he changes it all the time.
18:38Does it work to change your shooting motion, like, five years in?
18:41It's okay to keep tinkering with it until you find something that works, you know.
18:45Find something that works, though.
18:46Yeah, exactly.
18:47You got to find something that works.
18:49And you got – so you got to get him easier shots.
18:51You got to get Trey Johnson open shots,
18:54because if he gets his feet set, it's a wrap.
18:56Yep.
18:57You got to get AD's shots.
18:59Where does he want the ball?
19:00At the elbows.
19:01Where does AJ want the ball?
19:03At the elbows.
19:04You know, so now it's – there's a chess match.
19:08It's like, how do we get everybody going?
19:10That's going to be a challenge.
19:12Yeah.
19:12It will be a challenge for any point guard.
19:13It will be a challenge for Trey.
19:15Is AJ a good enough ball handler to be able to –
19:20like, some – there may be some situations where he's carrying the ball.
19:24He's doing the ball.
19:25They did that – you know, he did that at BYU,
19:27and they did some of – they let him have the ball in summer league.
19:29And it's not that he's bad with the ball.
19:32I just don't know that you want to put playmaking on his plate, too.
19:36Now you have the ball on the wing.
19:38We're in a pick-and-roll for you.
19:41Now you're coming off the pick-and-roll.
19:42You've got to make a decision.
19:43Somebody blitzes you.
19:44Where does the ball go?
19:45I've got to make this decision.
19:46Guys in the corner.
19:47Somebody stunts.
19:48What am I doing?
19:48That's a lot to ask a rookie to do.
19:51I think for now what you want AJ DeBonsa to do is get the ball
19:55and attack the rim because you get fouled out.
19:58He led the nation in free throws as a freshman.
20:02That just doesn't happen.
20:04In fact, the last guy who did it was Trey Young at Oklahoma eight years ago.
20:08Wow.
20:08So it doesn't happen very often.
20:09And just watching him in summer league,
20:11the summer league rules are asinine with the 9,000 player.
20:14But he could get to the rim when he wanted to.
20:16Just show me why they picked you.
20:18And he did immediately.
20:20I was sitting in front of Paul Pierce or behind Paul Pierce.
20:24And Paul Pierce was literally five minutes in, said,
20:27I've seen enough.
20:28See why they took him number one.
20:30And he left.
20:31I love it.
20:35Dan Quinn's getting going here in a moment.
20:37I know you probably want to get in there.
20:38So you're going to ask him about Tunsil, it sounds like?
20:40I would like, if somebody else doesn't, I will.
20:42Sure.
20:44That'll be your question here in about five minutes.
20:46Thank you, David.
20:47Appreciate the time.
20:47My pleasure, guys.
20:48That's our guy.
20:49David Aldridge.
20:50Read his work in The Athletic.
20:52Give him a follow at David Aldridge DC.
20:54You'll hear from Dan Quinn next.