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What is the biggest thing the Washington Commanders need to fix coming out of the bye week
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00:00Bi-week is done.
00:01Let's hope the commanders got themselves rested and healed up.
00:05They have a number of open fires right now that need to be contained
00:10or hopefully tamped out.
00:13Of the fires that are burning that you see,
00:16which one is still the one that concerns you the most?
00:20Because there is a number now that we can point to to go, oh, boy, look out.
00:25I think the running game thing for me is the thing that's concerning me the most.
00:30Bill is on IR.
00:35The other running backs that you have here don't seem like the actual running backs.
00:40The guys are too – they go two-way.
00:43They can run the ball and catch the ball at the backfield,
00:46but when you need somebody to just pin their ears back and run the ball,
00:49you don't seem to have that without Bill being there.
00:52So how are they going to do that?
00:53And Will, you get – when I look at him, Austin does what Austin does.
00:59He's going to always be ready to go.
01:01And then when I look at Rashad, Rashad seems more of the change-up back.
01:09So my – what was – God, can you keep forgetting his name?
01:1226, 26.
01:15Mick Nichols.
01:16Mick Nichols.
01:16Yeah.
01:17I see him as the guy who runs the ball more like a –
01:21I'm just going to get whatever's there.
01:23Okay.
01:24So I think he may need more time.
01:27Yeah.
01:28I think the penalties, the sloppiness of the offensive line –
01:33That's next.
01:34– is a huge issue.
01:37The Chris Paul face mask that wiped out the touchdown was a dagger.
01:43Yeah.
01:43And I get it.
01:44That this is absolute savage combat in the trenches amongst 300 pounders
01:50with violence in their hearts and stuff happens.
01:54Yeah.
01:55But I just don't know from a coaching standpoint whether you can drill that out of guys
01:59to go, look, if your hand gets up there, just let –
02:03don't keep grabbing the face mask where they're going to see it.
02:07Now, maybe that block –
02:08If he didn't pull his hand back or not, that –
02:11he didn't have to grab that face mask where Mick Nichols was.
02:15It didn't help the play.
02:16I was going to say, I don't think that –
02:18Yeah.
02:18I don't think his block was going to make the play anyway.
02:20That's what I'm saying.
02:21And so that's the thing.
02:22And he was already past it.
02:23So if that case, pull it off.
02:26Yeah.
02:27Not pull it down.
02:29Right.
02:30Not grab it even harder and then yank it around so it's easy for the referee to see
02:34because they're definitely going to call that.
02:36I also have to comment, it hurt me when I saw Terry go down
02:41because I am an unapologetic Terry stand,
02:45and I understand the severity of patellar knee injuries,
02:48and I've seen the data on the return rate for this kind of injury,
02:53and knowing his age and everything else,
02:56it's a really, really tough thing to see.
02:59And it's also partly why I was on Team Terry during the holdout
03:05because this is how the league works.
03:07You have to get your money where you have that narrow window to get it
03:11because this is what does happen the longer you play.
03:15Yeah.
03:15And, you know, I just look at Terry as being in far better shape than most,
03:22and he probably can come back from it because you know you're going to put the work in.
03:27But that is a tough one.
03:28Just like last year looking at Wise when he had the rupture with quads,
03:34quadriceps.
03:35Right.
03:35Those things like that are tough, but hell, he's back looking like he never lost anything.
03:39Yeah.
03:39So I wouldn't put it past him, but for a guy whose whole game is explosiveness,
03:45that's super tough to think.
03:46How is he going to be on the other side of it?
03:48But I am going to believe that Terry makes a comeback and root and form, obviously.
03:54In the short term, though, how much does this cripple the weapons that Daniels has to work with
04:02given the fact that, yeah, you know, Diggs has been great.
04:06He's going to get an increased share of targets.
04:08But Diggs was a good complement to what Terry did on the outside.
04:12Yeah, I think it hurts.
04:14No, you can't fake it and act like it doesn't hurt.
04:16But to try to alleviate some of that pain that you're going to take from missing him,
04:22you're starting to see Chig now start to come around.
04:25Yes.
04:25That should take a little bit off of it.
04:27Antonio has already shown what he's capable of, so you can go to him a little bit more.
04:30I think Van Jefferson is a veteran that's been on practice squad that if given opportunity,
04:35I think Van can and Van can scoot, too.
04:38You know, so I think you have that experience there.
04:42People have been hitting me all weekend about where they're going to try to make a trade or something.
04:46I'm like, I don't know.
04:48You know, and then again, who's out there right now that you really want to get?
04:54You know, and what you're going to give up for?
04:55Yeah.
04:56You know, I think all those things, like the questions get, some guy,
04:59one of my buddies hit me and said, man, you think they're going to trade for Jalen Waddle?
05:02I'm like, is he on the market?
05:05Do you think the team is just going to let him go?
05:08You know, they're not letting you go for nothing,
05:09and I think you've got to look at all that stuff.
05:11So having those guys, being able now to have veteran guys on the practice squad,
05:17I think it's a big help.
05:17I'm not wild about the notion of trading to try to get one more guy to plug a hole for
05:24this particular season,
05:25which may, if God forbid they don't win, coming up on Sunday against the Eagles at Northwest Stadium.
05:31It might go south from here.
05:32Like, I'm still a bit stung from the Lattimore trade, which it's like, okay, this was done before, all right?
05:39Like, let's not panic and think we've got to do something to save the season.
05:44I do think, though, that it's just, you know, is Diggs still capable of being a one?
05:51And can you feed him number one targets and still be effective offensively?
05:57I guess we're going to find out.
05:59I think in this game, for sure, and then moving forward,
06:04you've got to have some semblance of a running game to be able to answer those questions.
06:08And I think if you have a running game, Diggs is unbelievable at finding space in the intermediate range.
06:16With a running game that allows him to get even more space,
06:20because the linebackers got to start coming down a little harder, you know, I think, yes, he can be.
06:25You just got to change it to the way you're going to be attacking it.
06:28I think now, De'Ami and Van both have speed.
06:33Those guys may be the ones that you try to do the over-the-top and doing different things,
06:37you know, to help you out.
06:39Van has been down most times, but he can play.
06:43All right.
06:44I did not hear you guys on this, but I need to know,
06:46where did you come down on whether or not Quinn knew it was fourth down or not
06:52after Daniels threw it away?
06:54And he seemed to be mouthing field goal, and then, oh, no.
06:58Because Quinn denied it.
07:00The explanation that he gave, I can see that.
07:03But, like, the thing about reading lips now, I don't know.
07:09So your official stance, you and JP, was that did he or did he not know it was?
07:15Well, JP at first thought exactly what you were saying,
07:19and then when he heard his explanation, he was like, oh, I can see that.
07:22You know, but, like, the person that just sit there and read lips,
07:28do you know exactly what's being said?
07:30Are you reading?
07:31Are you that good of a rip leader?
07:33I mean, a lip reader.
07:35A rip leader or a lip reader.
07:37You know, I just, I don't know.
07:40Like, I would say this, moving forward, I'm covering my mouth when I say everything.
07:44Yeah.
07:45See if you can read through the damn court.
07:46Yeah.
07:47Amen to that.
07:47I want to believe, as bad as the screw-up was two weeks ago,
07:52that he did not not know it was fourth down.
07:56That he had to sign off in the comms for, okay, we're going for it here.
08:03I think he knew it was fourth down,
08:07but was thinking that they were going to have a chance to kick a field goal.
08:10Right.
08:11You know, like, some people, like, move them back.
08:17Based off of how I'll kick them and kick them, I'd have made you kick the ball again.
08:21I might have got five more yards.
08:22I mean, eight more yards.
08:24All right, let's go to the phones.
08:25800-636-1067.
08:26Kyle in Haymarket.
08:28First up this hour.
08:29Good afternoon, Kyle.
08:31Afternoon, fellas.
08:32Thanks for taking the call.
08:33What's up, man?
08:34So, two things.
08:36First off, I wouldn't invest in anything right now.
08:38I mean, we're just far enough in this season.
08:41We're just getting a Band-Aid on a hopefully redeemable thing,
08:44which might not pan out, and it's going to cost us.
08:46Plus, if we don't have a line, because that's been mostly our problem,
08:50we can't run the pro-offense style we wanted,
08:52which is why we have to keep reverting back to the shotgun mostly.
08:55That's where we're finding more success.
08:57And because of that, people are dropping like flies.
09:00So, I don't want to invest in someone if we don't have a line that could even start it off.
09:04Second, I just wanted to reiterate on what you guys talked about,
09:07about him, Scadaboo, that whole thing.
09:10So, basically, he came out and said what he's upset with the NFL
09:13is because they're hypocritical.
09:15So, they're taking highlight reels from his actions
09:19where he's putting his helmet down and hitting people,
09:21and they're using that as promo, the profiting off of it.
09:24Then, they're penalizing him and then profiting off of him.
09:28So, they're kind of viewing it both ways and enjoying when he does it
09:31because they profit twice.
09:33I think it's hypocritical.
09:34It's outrageous.
09:35You know, Kyle, you know what these guys need?
09:38They need a union.
09:39Is it the NFL?
09:40To help represent them.
09:42I asked this question.
09:42Oh, wait a minute.
09:43They do have a union.
09:44Is it the NFL?
09:45Where's your union?
09:46Is it the NFL who's using him to promote stuff?
09:51Or is it the other people?
09:52No, it's the actual NFL.
09:54TV's and...
09:55No, the actual NFL Twitter account with their shield
09:59is using Scadaboo highlights when they want to.
10:03So, in other words, you can use a Scadaboo highlight
10:06when he uses his shoulder, but when he uses his helmet
10:08right in the middle of somebody's chest, is that the one I'm using?
10:11I'm just asking.
10:12I'm not a protect NFL guy.
10:14I know.
10:14I don't think they used the one that got him flagged as a,
10:18hey, look at this.
10:19Yeah, but if it's not an illegal move, they can promote it.
10:24If they promote him leading with his helmet,
10:26then I'm 100% with him.
10:28Because, see, I was the one who came out and said,
10:32all this you got jacked up and the NFL greatest hits
10:35that they were using?
10:36Yeah.
10:36How the hell you use that, but then you're going to say,
10:39then you try to fight the concussion thing.
10:42You were profiting off of what you knew,
10:43what they knew would get you concussions.
10:46Yeah.
10:46And then they didn't try to prop it off.
10:49When it came to it, they want to act like,
10:51oh, we didn't know.
10:51You knew.
10:53So I'm waiting on that.
10:54But if it's him running over somebody with his shoulder pad,
10:57yes, I'll use that.
10:59But if they're letting him use his helmet,
11:00then they're wrong for that.
11:02I love jacked up.
11:03I want them to bring that back.
11:05Let's go to Mitch and Herndon.
11:06You're next up.
11:07Hello, Mitch.
11:08Hey, how you guys doing?
11:10Thanks for taking my call.
11:11Good.
11:11What's happening?
11:12I was just listening to, you know,
11:14my understanding is that we have a pocket collapsing in 1.5 seconds.
11:18And then I looked up the stats for the 2024 season
11:22when Daniels had 3.7 seconds
11:25and the league average right now is 2.5.
11:28All the problems are on the line.
11:30The running backs are serviceable.
11:32The receiving cores are serviceable or better than serviceable.
11:36I love what we have.
11:37Defense is strong in the front.
11:39We need some secondary.
11:40But everything, if we're going to do anything,
11:43we need to put some back in the line.
11:44You've got to give Daniels a minute, right?
11:46You've got to give him a minute to do something, for God's sake.
11:48Just give him a hot minute, please.
11:50Yeah, the elbow is not an issue.
11:53What I see, he's performing.
11:54He's a great quarterback.
11:56Mitch, Mitch, Mitch, Mitch.
11:57I think this team's going to do.
11:58Mitch, I'm curious.
11:59So that number, I saw that number as well,
12:01the 1.5 seconds for the pocket to collapse.
12:05Did you do any digging into what they define as the pocket collapsing?
12:09Because I had this discussion with a friend on a group chat.
12:15No, I did not.
12:16But I did see the stat where it says,
12:18we're the worst in the league.
12:19No, I did see that.
12:21By the way, I do believe that the commanders are the worst in the league.
12:25And I think, generally speaking, it's correct.
12:28I'm just curious as to how they define pocket collapsing.
12:32You said you looked up the 2024 number,
12:36and it was over three?
12:38Yes.
12:39Wow.
12:40For the commanders.
12:42Well, I'll tell you right there.
12:43Is this a pro football focus metric?
12:47Nah, I'm not sure.
12:49Okay, all right.
12:49That's fine.
12:49I don't know that detail.
12:51But let me ask you this.
12:52When is Tunzel?
12:53He's coming back at the end of the year, right?
12:55It's possible.
12:56In theory.
12:57It's possible he could be back.
12:59Yeah, if by chance the commanders go into the playoffs,
13:03we'll have Tunzel there.
13:04But if we acquire some assets on the line still now,
13:08you can use them for depth later if you don't, you know,
13:10or not keep them after the season or whatever.
13:12The problem is anyone good you acquire now, it doesn't exist.
13:17The guys you acquire now are acquirable for a reason.
13:21Either injured or just not good anymore.
13:24Yeah.
13:24Because there's 32 teams out there that could have kept them,
13:26and they didn't.
13:27I mean, the Packers went and signed Kevin Zeitler,
13:30and he's been inactive for three weeks now.
13:33So I don't even know what's going on there.
13:35Joop, you're next up.
13:36What's up, Joop and Joop?
13:38What's going on, fellas?
13:39How y'all feeling?
13:40Pretty good, brother.
13:40What's happening?
13:42Ain't much, ain't much.
13:43Hey, look, I'm confident in what we currently have.
13:47The RP position, listen, it's not great,
13:50but it's good enough for us to do what we need to get done.
13:53We don't have no home run hitters,
13:55but you've seen it in Eckler, McNichols, and White.
13:58They can make something happen.
14:00They're going to get there to what they need to do.
14:02And Beemons, I agree with you.
14:04Make White your chains of back,
14:05and then Eckler and McNichols as the first and down backs,
14:09and then when we got that fourth down conversion,
14:13roll with Eckler.
14:14We've seen it too many times.
14:15He can do both.
14:16He can come out the backfield doing both, catching and running.
14:20I feel like we just got to watch the snap count.
14:23And then offense, I was encouraged with that Kurt Werner video.
14:27Like, we're still operating at a high capacity with Jaden throwing at 1.5 seconds,
14:35and he's still efficient.
14:36He's still moving the ball, and we're still having a chance to win.
14:39These guys just got to figure it out, make it work,
14:42and gel together, and put it on game day.
14:45Stay consistent is the key word for this year.
14:48That's all I got for y'all.
14:49All right, thank you, Drew.
14:49Appreciate the call.