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00:00You see, massive game between the Rams and Commanders on Sunday.
00:05I was just actually asking who the analysts are for Fox.
00:08You guys know?
00:09No.
00:10I have no idea.
00:14Chris, what's his last name?
00:15You're on it.
00:16Chris Myers.
00:17Chris Myers, the former ESPN guy.
00:20And Jonathan Vilma?
00:20No, Mark Shloreth.
00:22I like Mark.
00:22Oh, Mark.
00:23Stink.
00:24I think he's way better than Vilma.
00:27No disrespect to Vilma.
00:28He's had a billion knee surgeries.
00:30But we've been talking about it all week.
00:32Yesterday, Jason said the spread was down to 4.5.
00:34I still see 5, 5.5.
00:37I mean, I guess it depends on...
00:38Total around 47.5, something like that.
00:41Are you on fan duels?
00:42I'm just getting a general consensus.
00:44Yeah, it's probably around there.
00:45I'm on ESPN.
00:46It's got Rams laying 4.5, total 48.5.
00:50Yeah.
00:50So, just in terms of some signings and injury updates for both teams,
00:55they did sign a kicker from their practice squad, Joshua Cardi.
01:00I guess Brandon McManus remains their primary kicker for field goals and PATs.
01:07Cardi, I guess, will handle kickoffs.
01:10Okay.
01:11Kind of unusual, especially when you don't really need to boom them these days.
01:16Let me see here.
01:17They have some issues with injuries like the Commanders.
01:21I guess, especially in their secondary, there's some question whether or not McDuffie will be back.
01:26Their cornerback, Trent McDuffie.
01:27He didn't practice.
01:29I think there is a chance that he could return.
01:31Of course, people have been asking about Myles Garrett.
01:34I still don't think we know there.
01:36You know, there's a Stag that starts for them.
01:38Nickelback, Josh Wallace is a DB for the Rams.
01:42One of their other corners just went on IR, done for the season.
01:45So, that's good for Jaden and the offense.
01:47They do have their share of injuries.
01:50Of course, so does the Commanders.
01:53So do the Commanders.
01:55You know, Kinlaw announced he's done for the season.
01:57Payne done for the season.
01:59Obviously, Tunsell, for the most part, done for the season.
02:02You go on and on.
02:02Terry.
02:03It's really, look, it may not be in the number.
02:06Teams like San Francisco can trounce them in terms of number.
02:09But in terms of, like, starters, I think we have, like, six, maybe seven starters that we're missing.
02:16If you add Jalen Lane, I think you'd...
02:17And, like, star players, too.
02:18Like, our best receiver, our best tackle, you know, our two best interior defensive tackles.
02:26They're real significant.
02:27A linebacker that was playing really well.
02:30And, kind made the point, I was listening to his pod the other day, that, you know,
02:34obviously, last year we had some injury issues.
02:35In 2024, I don't believe any starter was lost or put on long-term IR, right?
02:44So, this year, we got, like, six, seven guys on it.
02:47In 2024, when we had the magical run, they escaped relatively unscathed injury-wise.
02:55So, it's just, you know, these injuries, they are what they are.
02:59You don't want to...
02:59One other injury to note is Traylon Burks, who mispracticed for a second day.
03:05Now, the good news is he had kind of the same routine last week.
03:11They didn't practice him Wednesday, Thursday, but he still played and contributed, had a good week.
03:16So, I think the general consensus is they're hoping, anyway, they'll follow that same blueprint.
03:23Injury report is presented by the Centers for Advanced Orthopedics.
03:27As you mentioned, Traylon Burks dealing with the foot, so that's why he's missed two straight practices.
03:32Meanwhile, Stefan Diggs was back to work after receiving some veteran rest.
03:38That's the injury report brought to you by the Centers for Advanced Orthopedics.
03:41More physicians, more locations, more advanced care centered around one thing you.
03:45Visit cfaortho.com.
03:47Obviously, when you think about the Rams, you think about their high-powered offense.
03:51You think about Matthew Stafford.
03:53He's already passed for 2,100-plus yards, 15 touchdowns.
03:57Does have eight interceptions through eight games.
03:59Nothing terrible there.
04:00But they actually aren't great in the turnover margin.
04:04I think they're minus four, which is kind of a weakness for them.
04:07If you look at statistical categories, it's hard to find, but you can find four or five that do favor
04:12the commanders.
04:14Do you have turnover differential?
04:17They're a lot better in that one.
04:19We're at plus seven.
04:20They're at minus four.
04:22That's a big difference.
04:23So if that can continue on any level, that's obviously part of the blueprint to win.
04:30Rushing yards per game, okay.
04:32We're a little bit better.
04:34126, we're ninth.
04:35They're 14th.
04:37Of course, we all know a lot of that is because of the quarterback, although Jaden hasn't run for a
04:41lot lately.
04:43Of course, Washington does have an elite rate of not turning the ball over.
04:48People are kind of using that on some level as a criticism, but it is a strength.
04:52They don't turn the ball over, certainly with Jaden.
04:55And then we do have the advantage of being at home, and you've got the West Coast team flying in.
05:04How's that going to play out?
05:05Yeah, they've split in the last four matchups.
05:07The last time the Rams played here was, I believe, 20-20, and they won 30-10.
05:12This kind of scares me, these stats right here.
05:16Washington has allowed almost 80% touchdowns in red zones.
05:21Yes.
05:22All right, that's bottom three in the league.
05:23Yeah.
05:25Let's flip that on the offensive side.
05:26They're 31st in the league in red zone touchdowns offensively.
05:30The Rams, meanwhile, rank 6th in touchdown percentage on third down or in the red zone at 4.71%.
05:39I'm sorry, 6th in touchdown percentage at 4.71% and 8th in third down conversion, almost 44%.
05:44So one team is allowing a lot of third down, first downs, and in the red zone, the other team
05:50is taking advantage of that.
05:51That kind of scares me.
05:52Well, that has to be better, right?
05:54They have to figure out that red zone stuff at least for one week.
05:57That has to happen.
05:58They obviously, I think, the only way they're going to, I don't think they can win this game without forcing
06:02turnovers, right, Cakes?
06:04That's going to have to happen.
06:05I don't think they can win this game if they don't get a running game going.
06:08It's funny, I was listening to just sort of a random, like, commander's pod guy that I stumbled onto, and
06:14he was just like, it's a joke, in his opinion.
06:18It's a joke that we act like Rashad White and Austin Eckler are, like, good enough, you know, at running
06:24back.
06:24Like, the running back room has taken such a hit with all the various injuries, and, you know, it's just
06:29kind of a joke.
06:30Austin Eckler's not who he was, even though he has been spry and limited role.
06:33I mean, it's just a joke that we think we can get away with it and be a playoff contender
06:38with that running back room the way it's currently constructed.
06:40And both of those guys are more built for catching balls out of the backfield than they are to carry
06:44the ball 12 or 15 times each per game.
06:47They're kind of redundant pieces back there.
06:50But Rashad White, his second season in the NFL, he ran for 990 yards.
06:56Now, he's never had, like, some great yards per carry, but he essentially was a lead back then.
07:01He's capable.
07:02That's why I think...
07:03So it was Eckler at times, but look at what they do, though.
07:05That's why I think Jaden needs to rush for, like, 50-plus yards.
07:08He needs to augment what they have or what they don't have in the running back room.
07:13Well, what they have to do is they have to, as Jason talked about earlier in the week,
07:16it's kind of always the talking point, but they have to control the clock, control the time of possession, have
07:22extended drives.
07:23And the way you may do that is have Jaden rely on his legs a little bit.
07:27Now, I think we've clearly seen, though, the teams know that, and they're keeping them in the pocket there.
07:32And there's not only...
07:33They have spies and all that.
07:34So they have ways that they could try to minimize that, and I think we've seen that.
07:38So I don't know if they could break out of it.
07:39Maybe they're just going to have to have some more design stuff, roll them out a little bit.
07:42We haven't seen a lot of that.
07:44And then, you know, we've got to pressure Stafford, right?
07:48And the Rams have done a really good job of protecting him and keeping him upright.
07:52In the last five games, he's been sacked once, once, three times against Arizona, once against the Raiders, just once
08:00against the Chargers.
08:01So he's getting rid of the ball.
08:02And the fact that they're running the ball more, you know, he's dropping back less.
08:07That's going to expose him less to sacks and pressure.
08:10So he's tough to get on the ground.
08:12This is going to be a massive opportunity for Settle, Shy Tuttle, and if they can get Johnny Newton back,
08:19he can help.
08:20That would be a huge boost if they can get him in the mix.
08:22You know why?
08:23I know he's good at setting the edge.
08:25That's going to be sort of necessary.
08:29They need to probably win the turnover battle by more than one, too, by the way.
08:34That would be great.
08:34They probably need a couple.
08:35I think they've got to force at least two turnovers.
08:37And they probably are going to have to hold the Rams by some way under, like, 20-some points.
08:44We're averaging about 23.
08:46They're only averaging about 24.
08:47They haven't been super explosive.
08:48But I think all of us think that they're more explosive.
08:52Their potential to be explosive is more so favoring the Rams.
08:56I think you mentioned that the key is just keeping the ball more than the Rams have it.
09:00Because if the Rams have it, especially how good they are in third down in the red zone, it could
09:04be a long day.
09:05But if Washington can control the clock a little bit, get first downs, whether that's Jaden running for a few,
09:11or maybe Rashad White and Eckler have a really good game, they've got to keep Stafford and Puka off the
09:17field.
09:17So some of the individual matchups that will certainly be highlighted will obviously be Sam Cosme versus Aaron Donald.
09:24Now, I don't think anybody thinks that Aaron Donald is necessarily playing at the peak of his powers coming off
09:30the year.
09:31How long was he off?
09:32I think he's retired for two years.
09:33Two years.
09:34The two-year hiatus.
09:35But he has been impactful, even though the statistics aren't overwhelming.
09:39And I think he's been better against the run than necessarily he has been pressuring the quarterback.
09:43But Cosme will have his work cut out for him.
09:46I think it'll be interesting who's going to try to tackle Nakua.
09:51Is it going to be Amos?
09:53I think it would maybe be Amos.
09:54Or is it going to be a smaller guy like Robertson?
09:58I don't know.
09:59Either one is you're going to be on the wrong side of that.
10:01I mean, he's still going to get targeted like a dozen to 15 times in this game.
10:05Yeah, but they use him a lot.
10:07He'll be targeted for sure.
10:08They throw a lot of screen passes to him, too.
10:10And they just block down the field.
10:11They'll sprinkle him in in the running game, too.
10:13Yeah.
10:13They'll run jet sweeps.
10:14Or, you know, like they'll just hand the ball off to him in the backfield.
10:17He will touch the ball, I'm going to guess, 14 or 15 times.
10:22Makes sense.
10:23Maybe a little bit less.
10:24Sounds about right.
10:25He'll definitely get targeted at least that much.
10:26Yeah.
10:26But he'll touch the ball a ton.
10:28Yeah.
10:29The one good thing is I kind of sense that, and I'm just saying this is a sense.
10:34I don't have it statistically.
10:35You could show some stat and shove it in my face that I'm totally wrong.
10:38But I sense that they've been a better tackling team this year.
10:43Not as many just like wide open broken tackles and just kind of.
10:47Especially in the secondary.
10:48Yeah.
10:48I feel like they're tackling better.
10:49I mean, and a big part of that is obviously our guy from DeMatha.
10:54Nick Cross.
10:55Nick Cross.
10:56Yeah, you got stag versus stag.
10:58You got two stags in this game.
10:59Yeah.
11:00By the way, one of the matchups to watch on YahooSports.com, it says Rams-RBs versus
11:07Sonny Stiles.
11:08One of the best rookies this season has been Sonny Stiles.
11:10It wouldn't be surprising to see Sean McVay test Stiles' eye discipline, but his athleticism
11:15has been special to watch.
11:16Stiles has had a Fred Warner-esque effect on the commander's defense and coverage.
11:21Wow.
11:21All right.
11:22And it says the Rams have relied on the RBs in the passing game more often.
11:25I know he's ranking very highly statistically compared to the other rookies,
11:29defensively.
11:30I saw a bunch of grades being given out.
11:32I think Sonny was getting some of the highest grades of the rookies on defense.
11:35I think on CBSSports.com, you got like an A-plus for the half-season grade.
11:39People are high on Sonny.
11:40Pretty good.
11:41A-pluses are pretty good last time I checked.
11:43I have not gotten a lot of those in my academic career.
11:45No.
11:46So I know it's a good grade.
11:48Basically, nothing in my life I've ever gotten an A-plus.
11:50A-plus.
11:50I can't recall getting an A-plus on anything.
11:52Basically, nothing in my life.
11:54Not that I can remember.
11:54So that's what it says.
11:55Not that I can remember.
11:56For matchup to watch.

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