- 2 months ago
The Washington Commanders training camp officially gets underway today! What are some of your expectations that you’d like to see before the regular season starts?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Training camp is finally here.
00:02I mean, it's good, but it still doesn't quench the thirst yet.
00:07I mean, I'm ready for real football.
00:08But it just means that we're getting closer.
00:10I know.
00:11Better than a month ago.
00:13Roughly six weeks to go.
00:15I mean, a month ago, all these players were on vacay.
00:17They were chilling in the islands.
00:18Now they're back to work every day.
00:20Well, we talked about it.
00:23They worked out a bunch of guys yesterday.
00:26They actually worked out nine different guys' cakes.
00:28Four of them were wide receivers, including River Craycraft,
00:32who I believe they had signed at one point last year.
00:34Maybe to the practice squad or something.
00:36I want to say he was on the roster for at least part of last season.
00:39Right.
00:39So there were four receivers that they worked out.
00:42They worked out a quarterback from Memphis, Seth Hennigan.
00:45I don't care about quarterback.
00:46Give me the other three wide-out names besides Craycraft.
00:49Anybody have a note?
00:50No, you won't know them, I don't think.
00:52Dwayne Eskridge from Western Michigan.
00:56Malik Heath from Mississippi.
00:58And from Vanderbilt, Quincy Skinner.
01:01Those are the receivers they had in.
01:03No info on those guys.
01:04Like I said, they brought in another quarterback.
01:06Let's get an arm, see what he looked like.
01:09Who was that?
01:09The only guy they ended up signing is Seth Hennigan from Memphis.
01:12The only guy they did sign, they brought in three punters.
01:14According to his agent, they signed Matt Hack.
01:19The Hawk.
01:20Our Hawk.
01:20His nickname is definitely the Hawk.
01:22Yeah, H-A-A-C-K from Arizona State.
01:25Is he an IG guy?
01:27Is he a social media guy?
01:28That I don't know.
01:29I don't know anything about him.
01:31Other than his nickname is Hawk.
01:32Why did you know that his nickname was the Hawk?
01:35Because I looked it up.
01:36Oh, okay.
01:37He's been with a bunch of different teams.
01:40Forkham, he's a Sun Devil.
01:42He's one of Drabb's guys.
01:43And they brought him in because Tressway hurt his pack.
01:46Pack injury.
01:47Yeah.
01:49They touched on the guys.
01:51You remember they signed or they placed Dorrance Armstrong,
01:56who's coming off his ACL, and Dietrich Wise on the pup list.
02:02They're expected to be there, I guess, for a few more weeks.
02:08Just depends on when they're cleared.
02:13Of course, they signed a bunch of D-linemen.
02:16If you remember, they signed Owey.
02:18They signed Omenahue.
02:19They signed Chason.
02:21They signed a bunch of guys.
02:23So they should be okay.
02:25And I think the expectation is, come the regular season,
02:27those guys will be ready.
02:28They also talked about Trey Amos, who I guess more people,
02:32their eyebrows were raised a little bit.
02:34When he was on the pup list, too,
02:39Peter said it was because he felt some soft tissue soreness.
02:44And they're just being cautious.
02:46But they think overall he's in a good spot.
02:49So, again, I feel like it's more of a...
02:52So he still is on the pup?
02:54Yes.
02:54Still on the pup.
02:55Yes.
02:55But I think it's more of a procedural thing.
02:57And they're just, you know, they're erring on the side of caution.
03:00He did mention, besides Tress, that Cain Medrano is dealing with...
03:06He kind of characterized it as like a minor hamstring injury
03:09that he had, you know, sort of gotten on his own in training.
03:14So, you know, those are kind of like your injury concerns, issues,
03:20just kind of like...
03:22That's not bad.
03:23Transactional things that they're dealing with.
03:25None of those are real serious.
03:27But, of course, today's the first practice.
03:30Yep.
03:31What time does it start?
03:32Do we know?
03:33Oh, geez.
03:33I don't know the answer to that.
03:35Ten.
03:36They talked about the offseason, you know, and the positive energy.
03:42And Quinn, DQ, made a point of saying, first of all,
03:45how good a shape he thought the guys were in,
03:47how serious they took their offseason.
03:50They're very confident in the way they've constructed the roster.
03:57Well, obviously, they're going to have to cut down to 53.
04:00They also...
04:01And they talked about this last year.
04:03It's been a theme with this team.
04:04They kind of consider the team the 70, right?
04:07You have your 53-man active, but then you have your 70,
04:10including your expanded practice squad guys.
04:13And they kind of rotate those guys week to week
04:15based on availability, et cetera.
04:18Of course, they have...
04:19Their first public practice is August 1st.
04:22That's right.
04:23Okay.
04:24Saturday.
04:24I guess they're calling that Back Together Saturday.
04:28And if you've seen any of the images on social media
04:32that a lot of our beat guys have put out there,
04:34you see the stands and everything.
04:35I mean, it looks well done.
04:37It's pretty impressive.
04:38Yeah.
04:38It looks well done.
04:39Brandon Ayuk will be there in the stands.
04:40He might be there.
04:41He might have his cleats.
04:42It's very possible.
04:43They have two joint practices scheduled.
04:46Those are always huge.
04:48You can't even argue they might even be bigger
04:50than the preseason games at this point.
04:52Preseason games are so weird.
04:54They have a joint practice scheduled for August 12th
04:59in Ashburn with the Dolphins.
05:01Okay.
05:02And then they go to the Ravens on August 26th.
05:07Okay.
05:07And if I'm...
05:09The first preseason game is against the Dolphins,
05:11so that makes sense.
05:12They're going to have a joint practice leading up to the Dolphins.
05:14All right, so the Dolphins will be here for a couple nights, yeah.
05:16Yeah.
05:16If I'm remembering correctly,
05:18I feel like they had a joint practice with the Ravens
05:20that was canceled last year,
05:22and that kind of irked DQing the guys, right,
05:25because maybe the way it was canceled so late,
05:27they couldn't replace it.
05:29So let's see.
05:30I guess these things are all in pencil,
05:31but that's the current plan.
05:36Obviously, we talked about, you know, ad nauseum,
05:38the wide receiver issues.
05:41Stefan Diggs still linked potentially as an option.
05:45Keenan Allen, I believe, still available.
05:47None of those guys have signed yet.
05:48And here's the thing.
05:49We touched on it earlier.
05:50If they have $44 million in Diggs and his, you know,
05:55is kind of ready to rock, what are they waiting for?
05:59The price to go down?
06:01I don't know.
06:02I mean...
06:02What are they waiting for?
06:04You see rumors that they would sign Diggs
06:07if they signed him to between $8 million and $12 million per season,
06:11probably on a one-year deal.
06:13Right.
06:13What are they waiting for?
06:14I don't know.
06:15Just like you had said,
06:16wouldn't Iyuk want to start him on day one and be here?
06:19Same thing for Diggs, right?
06:20You would think.
06:21I mean, I know he's a veteran,
06:22and I actually don't doubt it.
06:23Maybe it is just the money.
06:25But even a veteran, like,
06:27isn't always going to know the exact offense
06:29that they're stepping into.
06:30True.
06:30I'm going to guess Diggs,
06:31last year in New England,
06:33isn't running the same offense that Blau's running here in D.C.
06:36so you want to get on the same page.
06:38You would think.
06:39But maybe there's only interest on one side.
06:41Who knows?
06:42We don't know yet.
06:43Are you...
06:44How well do you think...
06:45They alluded to Jaden picking up the offense quickly,
06:51all the workouts that he's done,
06:53showing the leadership,
06:54just putting the extra work in.
06:56He's done that from day one,
06:57but they say just kind of to a next level.
06:59He just keeps doing it,
07:00working on his body,
07:01working on his throws.
07:02They made a point of saying those things.
07:04With the new offense, right,
07:06where they're going to have...
07:07I'll be honest with you,
07:11I liked...
07:11One of the things that I'm going to...
07:13Listen,
07:14David Blau's offense is going to be different
07:16from Cliff Kingsbury's.
07:18And one thing is,
07:20which I like,
07:21there's going to be more motion, right?
07:23There's going to be more of a balance
07:25in terms of under-center stuff, right?
07:27There's going to be less designed RPOs,
07:29that kind of thing.
07:30Presumably.
07:31That's what we all assume.
07:32The one thing I don't know that I love
07:35is there's going to be less no-huddle.
07:38Less of an emphasis on no-huddle.
07:40And, like, quick hurry up.
07:42Depending on the game situation.
07:43I actually like that.
07:44I like that aspect.
07:45You like the no-huddle?
07:46Yeah.
07:48There's going to be more under-center stuff, right?
07:51Versus shotgun stuff.
07:53Are you concerned,
07:54based on any reports that you've heard,
07:56or just sort of in your head
07:57about how Jaden's going to handle that?
07:59No, I'm fully confident
08:01that he's grasping and digesting the offense.
08:04I'm sure he's fine.
08:05He's going to run it
08:05the exact way Blau wants it run.
08:08I mean, is all the wording
08:09going to be completely different,
08:10or is it very similar
08:11to what they used last year?
08:12What do you mean,
08:12just in terms of verbiage?
08:13Yeah.
08:13I don't know.
08:14They say he's picked up the offense great.
08:16Yeah, I mean, smart.
08:16So I'm not worried about that.
08:17I'm just wondering.
08:18Let's wait and see how different it is.
08:20We just don't know.
08:20Well, I think it's going to be different.
08:22Look, last year,
08:23the Commanders led the NFL
08:25in shotgun percentage.
08:26You care to guess?
08:27Does anybody have an idea?
08:29No.
08:30Shotgun percentage?
08:31I'm trying to say 83%.
08:34Very close.
08:3586.9%.
08:36They also led the NFL,
08:39and this is something that I like,
08:41but I guess they want to move on.
08:43And the no huddle rate.
08:44You know what their no huddle rate was
08:46in 2025?
08:4865%.
08:49Close.
08:4960.8%.
08:52They were...
08:53What do you think it drops to?
08:55I don't know.
08:57I think it's going to...
08:5730%?
08:58Maybe.
08:58It might cut in half.
09:00It doesn't sound like that's
09:02a point of emphasis at all.
09:05Obviously, I think it's exciting
09:06that they're going to have
09:08more play action, right?
09:10That's been a big emphasis,
09:12you know,
09:12to give that linebacker
09:13that extra second.
09:14You have to think, right?
09:15The quarterback turns his back to him,
09:17et cetera,
09:17all of the advantages of that.
09:20The pre-snap motion,
09:21oh my God,
09:22that is a welcome change, right?
09:25How many times did we talk about
09:27and did we hear complaints about,
09:28you know,
09:29Terry lining up 87% of the time.
09:31Speaking in the same spot all the time.
09:32It's a lot easier to defend
09:34when you're doing that, right?
09:35So I like that.
09:36I like the more pre-snap motion on paper.
09:39That sounds great to me.
09:41You know,
09:41more personnel variety.
09:43I think there's going to be...
09:44I think they're going to get
09:46the tight ends involved more,
09:49I don't know,
09:50reduced RPOs
09:52and designed quarterback runs
09:55for those of us that are in the camp of,
09:57hey, we love to see Jaden run,
09:58but maybe not so many designed ones per se.
10:01That seems good.
10:03The more play action,
10:04I don't know.
10:05On paper,
10:05it looks like it could be a good fit.
10:09The one thing that I'm concerned about,
10:12maybe I'm the only one,
10:13is I like an offense with tempo.
10:15A quick offense, yeah.
10:17Yeah, I think you catch a defense on guard.
10:19Well, on certain games,
10:20in certain situations,
10:21you're going to have to do it.
10:22I'm sure it'll be more incorporated in at times.
10:23Yeah, you're going to have to do it.
10:24But maybe Blau's just a little more methodical
10:26with his offense.
10:26Now, the defense is probably going to have,
10:28I'm guessing,
10:29seven new starters.
10:31That's what I'm intrigued with,
10:32is the defense.
10:33How different it looks.
10:35New defensive coordinator.
10:38Signed a bunch of new guys.
10:41Drafted a couple guys.
10:42Obviously, Sonny Stiles.
10:43I'm really intrigued by that.
10:45Well, I'm also just intrigued by,
10:47they've upgraded their personnel.
10:48I don't think there's any question.
10:50By the way,
10:50I also think that they might be backing off
10:54to an extent on the idea that,
10:57I think a lot of us thought right away,
10:59Sonny Stiles is going to be the Green Dot guy.
11:01Well, Adam Peters referenced it,
11:03and he said he's very capable.
11:05He's certainly capable of being the Green Dot guy.
11:07But that I think some of the other linebackers
11:11are also very capable.
11:13Lou Vu,
11:15and I think even Leo Chennault,
11:17at one point a few weeks ago,
11:19maybe even kind of slipped up in an interview
11:22and talked about making the call.
11:25Calling the place, yeah.
11:25So I think that that is an unknown,
11:29who's going to be the Green Dot guy.
11:31But I'm excited about, presumably,
11:35more of an attacking-style defense
11:37under Durante, right?
11:39With different pressures,
11:41different looks.
11:42I mean, honestly, something here,
11:43I always say it,
11:44and you can make fun of me,
11:45but I don't remember that
11:47since Greg Williams was here,
11:49like 20 years ago.
11:50Well, anything's going to be an upgrade
11:51over whatever Joe Witt was trotting out there.
11:56So that's an upgrade.
11:58You know, a Durante-Jones-led defense,
12:00presumably, it's his first time at it,
12:02if it's from the florist camp
12:04and the florist tree,
12:05is going to be a big emphasis
12:07on disguise, pre-snap, illusion, etc.,
12:12and then bringing pressures
12:14from different places.
12:16That's super exciting, I think.
12:19Do they have the personnel to pull it off?
12:20We'll find out.
12:21Just think about how much faster they are
12:22at the linebacker position
12:24than they were last year.
12:26Well, they drafted a super-freak linebacker
12:28who scored a 10 on the relative athletic score.
12:31And they brought in two fast guys, too,
12:33in free agency.
12:33And Chanel scored the third highest all-time
12:36on the relative athletic score, too.
12:38So it's not even close.
12:40Yeah.
12:41No, their linebacker core is sick.
12:42They're freaks.
12:43I actually would not like to see them
12:45burden Sonny Stiles with the green dot.
12:47I think that might be asking a lot of a rookie.
12:49Yeah, maybe they won't.
12:50You know, let some of the other guys...
12:52How many times does that happen
12:52where a rookie calls the play?
12:54I'm sure it happens.
12:55I think they think...
12:56I think a guy like...
12:57I think if Caleb Downs came in here,
13:00I think he'd be an instant green dot guy.
13:03Potentially.
13:04I don't know.
13:05He's got that kind of cerebral...
13:06We'll see.
13:07Is he going to be the green dot guy in Dallas?
13:08I don't know.
13:09I wouldn't rule it out.
13:11It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
13:13But maybe let's not burden the rookie
13:17who's still relatively new to the position.
13:20I want to remind people,
13:21he's only played this position for a couple years.
13:23Let's see.
13:24Let's not burden him with the green dot stuff, Cakes.
13:27Let's not burden him with all the calls.
13:29I mean, I feel like if he's ready for it,
13:32you let him do it.
13:33If you feel like he can handle it,
13:35and I think all signs point to them trusting him.
13:39They think he's more than capable.
13:40That's what they've said publicly.
13:42If that's the case,
13:43then I have no problem with them
13:44handing that responsibility to a rookie.
13:46As long as they feel like he can handle it.
13:48Yeah, but why not?
13:48What if also...
13:49Who cares who makes the calls?
13:51They should give it to whoever's best at it.
13:53Correct.
13:54If Sonny Styles is better than all those other guys,
13:56give it to him.
13:57If Luvu is better making the calls,
13:59let him have that responsibility.
14:01It's hard to imagine a rookie would be better
14:03than a four- or five-, six-year vet
14:05at making the calls,
14:07like his first go-around at this level.
14:10It's kind of hard to imagine,
14:11but maybe he would be.
14:12I mean, if he's the best,
14:13I agree with you.
14:14He could be cut from a different cloth.
14:14You should do the best.
14:16Yeah.
14:16He could be cut from a different cloth.
14:17I mean, he might be just as mature
14:20and as smart as all these guys
14:23they brought in at the free agency.
14:24Yeah, totally.
14:24He could be.
14:25But maybe you're right.
14:26Maybe Chennault is the guy.
14:28So, there you go.
14:29Got to get a little overview
14:30of the David Blau offense,
14:32which you can expect to see.
14:34Durante Jones, a defense.
14:35We've been talking about this all offseason,
14:37but as we get closer and closer and closer
14:39to really seeing it,
14:40it is getting exciting.
14:41When we come back,
14:42we'll get into audio of Jerry Jones,
14:45the owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
14:47He feels like the Cowboys can compete
14:49for a Super Bowl in 2026.
14:51We'll get into that next on The Fan.