- 6 weeks ago
The Washington Commanders have a lot to do before their clash with the Eagles in week one. The Commanders had a terrible joint practice with Baltimore yesterday, so everyone is starting to get worried. What’s the biggest change Washington needs to make before the regular season starts?
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00:00All right, boys, I've been talking about it sort of all morning.
00:03The Commanders traveled to Owens Mills, Maryland yesterday
00:06for their padded joint practice with the Ravens
00:09ahead of their preseason finale on Friday.
00:14It was a pretty difficult session for Washington,
00:18especially on offense.
00:20They did finish on a high note.
00:22They were put in, like, end-of-game situation,
00:25both offensively and defensively, 24-20.
00:31Defensively, they get to a fourth-down situation.
00:33Field goals were not an option, and the Ravens, I guess,
00:38were putting, I don't know exactly what it was, fourth and whatever,
00:41and Mikey Sanistro makes an interception, so that was good.
00:44Ended that one on a positive note, and then Jaden threw up a touchdown
00:47kind of off his back foot, kind of a hope and a prayer throw almost,
00:51but throw to Antonio Williams.
00:54So ended the session on a good note.
00:55The guys were jumping around and going crazy.
00:57So, on the whole, though, offensively, the team did not look very good.
01:04It all sort of starts and stems with the offensive line.
01:08That was the biggest problem.
01:09Of course, I don't even think we need to keep mentioning Tunsell.
01:13That's just a dead issue.
01:15But they didn't have Nick Allegretti there, and Sam Cosby missed the game
01:20because of sickness.
01:22So, two-fifths of their offensive line are not there.
01:27Makeshift group.
01:28They had Coleman, who's their starting left tackle, now until proven otherwise.
01:31Chris Paul at left guard.
01:33Rookie Matt Golden making sort of his first kind of appearance with the first unit.
01:38Then they moved Julian Good-Jones over, gave him some reps at guard.
01:42And then an undrafted rookie, Tanoa Togai, rotating at right guard.
01:48And then, of course, Josh Connerly at right tackle.
01:50The results were messy.
01:52The Ravens front consistently generated pressure.
01:56Multiple bad snaps, including one that Jaden recovered before he threw an interception
02:00to Kyle Hamilton.
02:01Passes were batted down.
02:03Runs were stuffed at the line.
02:05Daniels faced frequent pressure that limited him to short and intermediate throws,
02:09plus a few scrambles.
02:10Chig dropped the pass.
02:12Snaps were over the head.
02:15It was just kind of a disaster.
02:17Watching Kyle Hamilton against the Commanders, it definitely triggers me because it just brings
02:22you back to the draft day trade that brought the Commanders, Jahan Dotson, enabled the
02:28Ravens to pick Kyle Hamilton, and also enabled the Saints to pick Chris Alave.
02:33Who got the worst of that deal?
02:35Yeah.
02:36It's not even close.
02:37It's not even close.
02:38We got Brian Robinson, we got Sam Howell, we got these other pieces, and none of those
02:43pieces did anything.
02:44You should mention that the Ravens, for perspective, are expected to be one of the best teams in
02:49the NFL this season.
02:51True.
02:51Yeah.
02:51The over-under on wins is high.
02:55I heard, as I was driving around yesterday, there's a host on 105.7, the fan in Baltimore,
03:03who's predicting 14 wins.
03:04Wow.
03:05I mean, they're optimistic, and maybe they should be.
03:07I mean, that seems aggressive, but...
03:09The number I've seen is like around 10 and a half, something like that.
03:11But you still shouldn't have multiple plays where the snap's going over your quarterback's
03:17head.
03:17I mean, it was a disaster.
03:18Right.
03:19But they had a rookie in there who doesn't have a lot of reps.
03:21I know.
03:21So, you know, if they get the guys back in there, at least who they're projected starters
03:26outside of Tunsil, it should be a lot more serviceable.
03:30But we will see.
03:31Again, amongst the bright spots, beyond just kind of finishing the joint practice that
03:37way, everyone was talking about Antonio Williams.
03:41He beat Hamilton on one play, then he beat Nate Wiggins on one-on-ones.
03:45Those things happened, but it looked good.
03:48Warren Sharp is jockeying him because on the Wiggins play, he just flashed his hands at the
03:53last...
03:53Late hands.
03:54...at the last second to go snag the ball.
03:56Yeah.
03:57Not giving away to the defender.
03:58Where the ball was coming.
03:59Yeah, saw me.
03:59He just looks super polished and looks like...
04:02Hopefully, they got a steal with him in the third round.
04:05They say that we really want to get down to the nitty-gritty.
04:08Menahue and Kinlaw had some good reps.
04:12Sonny Stiles is flashing in coverage, which makes sense.
04:15He's a converted safety.
04:17He's kind of a natural at it.
04:18And he's fast.
04:18And he's super athletic.
04:20Jaden, by the accounts I heard, very, very sharp in the seven-on-seven.
04:26Things started to fall apart when they incorporated the offensive line, though.
04:31That's not great.
04:32Yeah, it's not great.
04:33But again, 40% of their projected starting unit was not there yesterday.
04:37So, I'm going to lean into that until proven otherwise.
04:40Not that I think that they'll be super prolific against the Eagles, but I think it should be better.
04:46Now, the center situation is still dire.
04:49There's no doubt about it.
04:51Allegretti's still nursing the calf injury.
04:53Or they're just protecting him.
04:54And they just...
04:55Who knows what they're doing?
04:56We don't really quite know.
04:58The Cosme thing, you expect that that will resolve itself.
05:02That should be very minor.
05:02A minor illness.
05:03So, question.
05:04So, they had the joint practice yesterday.
05:06Yeah.
05:07Do they have another today?
05:08Or is it an off day?
05:09I think it's an off day, but I'm guessing, Jason.
05:11So, they don't come back here and then go back to Baltimore.
05:14I would assume they're just staying in Baltimore.
05:15They're just staying there.
05:16I would guess.
05:16Oh, I mean, it's just an hour.
05:17Not a big deal.
05:18I'm not sure.
05:20All right.
05:20So, we have two clips I want to play for you.
05:22And as Valdez and I were talking about it during the break, the kind of different takes on it yesterday.
05:27Both obviously acknowledging that yesterday was a struggle.
05:32Jaden, a little bit more of a global approach.
05:35And it's kind of emphasizing it as just one practice.
05:37And then I want to play some extended clips from Jeremy Reeves, who was kind of sounding the alarm a
05:42little more.
05:43But first, let's play Jaden.
05:45This is a team of Baltimore.
05:47Good players.
05:48Well coached.
05:49Back and forth battle.
05:50Not the best day that I thought we could have had.
05:54It's just from all around, from myself to everybody else.
05:57But, you know, these are opportunities that you get to learn from.
06:00What is it that for yourself, what do you take away from?
06:05I would say you just got to play everything true.
06:08Put on this.
06:09Watch the tape.
06:10Take the coaching.
06:11Be coachable to be able to move forward from this.
06:15The good thing about it, man, is August whatever.
06:18I don't know what day it is.
06:19But it's August whatever.
06:20Our first game is September 13th.
06:23So, that's when it really matters.
06:25So, this is an opportunity just to be around each other.
06:27We're out here for a couple days, being in a hotel with each other, bond, connect,
06:33and really just build that camaraderie, chemistry, moving forward to the season.
06:37EB, that's something you have in common with Jaden Daniels.
06:40He doesn't know what day it is either.
06:41Right?
06:42Hey, when you're locked in, Cakes, and you just get grinding, it doesn't matter the day.
06:46I guess that's true.
06:48And here we have a clip of Jeremy Reeves, who a little bit more pissed off, maybe,
06:55kind of frustrated.
06:56He doesn't hold back.
06:57And listen, this is a guy.
06:59Think of the time he puts into this job.
07:01This guy puts everything into it.
07:02He sounds like a future coach, to be honest with you.
07:05I would like that, too.
07:05Watches film all day.
07:07Been cut a million times.
07:08He's worked his way into from a practice squad guy to a team's guy to now a big part of
07:16their defense.
07:17So, he's been around a long time.
07:19He's a real veteran on this team, and this is his perspective.
07:22How we started is how you run five games.
07:25And we got to be way better.
07:28And what are some things that you say we need to clean up here right now?
07:33Communication, man.
07:34Just, like, continue to communicate at a high level.
07:36Play to play.
07:37They say play to play before it happens all the time.
07:39Right?
07:39But, like, see what's happening before.
07:41And that starts with me.
07:43You know, I'm a primary communicator.
07:44I have to be better, too.
07:45If somebody doesn't get something, then that's on me.
07:48It doesn't matter.
07:50So, we all just got to take accountability.
07:53Lick ourselves.
07:53The season is a couple weeks away.
07:56And we start off in the division.
07:58So, like I said, the margin of error is very slim.
08:01And if you're not on top of it now, man, like, you can't wait until you're in the fire to
08:06realize it's hot.
08:07Hmm.
08:08So.
08:08You can hear the urgency in his voice.
08:10Yeah, he was frustrated.
08:11He was very frustrated.
08:12He did acknowledge it.
08:12It ended on a high note.
08:14But on the whole, it's got to be way better.
08:17It's the season.
08:19The season's what?
08:20September.
08:20Our first game's what?
08:21September 13th.
08:22And then he goes, season's two weeks away.
08:25Yeah.
08:25He's like, ooh.
08:26Yeah.
08:27I mean, it's different.
08:28Two different.
08:29Listen, I think if you're Jaden, too.
08:32Look, Jeremy Reeves is a longtime veteran.
08:34I think if you're Jaden and you're, you know, the star, you don't want to give him an explosive quote.
08:39You know, we suck.
08:40You don't want to give him that.
08:42There are more people paying attention to it, honestly, to what Jaden's saying than what Jeremy Reeves is saying.
08:47I think it's his personality.
08:48He's got kind of a laid back.
08:50Low-key.
08:50Low-key personality.
08:52Yep.
08:52I think that's right.
08:54But I don't think he's going to get it.
08:55I don't think Jaden's ever going to give you an RG3 quote.
08:58But we learned from Jeremy Reeves how much he cares.
09:01Totally.
09:02Because it's a guy who told us when we interviewed him during training camp that he's waking up basically when
09:08we're waking up.
09:09He's at the park at 530.
09:10He's getting home at like 8.
09:12He said, no kids.
09:13And he goes right to bed.
09:15This is my life, basically.
09:16He's like, this is what I do.
09:18Yeah.
09:19And he's passionate about it, as he should be.
09:21And by the way, the commanders are still in Baltimore.
09:23Yeah.
09:23Yeah, you can tell by staying in the hotel, et cetera.
09:26Stay in the swanky hotel.
09:27Yeah, they'll stay there at the night.
09:28Do a walkthrough.
09:29Valdez, you could maybe chime in on some of this because I'm going to mention a Ravens player or two.
09:34So I was doing some research trying to find out what centers, what experienced centers could be cut or available.
09:42I'll just read you some of the results that came up.
09:44So Lloyd Cushenberry from the Bills is a very notable name.
09:49He's a former Titans starter.
09:51Signed a cheap one-year deal with Buffalo after being released.
09:55Now, he's working with the first team while the starter, Connor McGovern, has a leg injury.
10:02Looks like the favorite to win the backup job.
10:05But if they keep a smaller offensive line group, Cushenberry could be a name that's on the bubble.
10:09Maybe could be a trade target.
10:10I'm not sure.
10:12Jake Andrews from the Texans started 16 games last season.
10:17But then Houston added first-rounder Keelan Rutledge and Evan Brown.
10:22So they're kind of crowded there.
10:24So he's on the last year of his rookie deal.
10:26He could be squeezed out.
10:28That's a name to watch out for.
10:29Jake Andrews from the Texans.
10:32Okay?
10:33Especially as a potential trade possibility.
10:36Okay?
10:37Maybe you could get him.
10:39It's been suggested you might be able to get him for a late-round pick or something sort of low
10:44-cost.
10:45A guy started 16 games last year, but obviously they didn't love it.
10:49You know, they went out and they got a first-rounder and they got another veteran.
10:54So, you know, I'm sure he's not going to light the world on fire, but at least you got a
10:56guy who's not going to snap it over his head three times.
11:01Another name that's been floated potentially to keep an eye on, they say, is Ethan Pochick.
11:09Is that how you say his name?
11:09That's the guy with 97 starts.
11:11He signed the one-year deal in Baltimore after Linderbaum left.
11:15He's competing with Jonathan Gwynn for a starting job while coming off an Achilles.
11:21So, maybe...
11:22But those were the backups.
11:23I don't know why they would let go of one of those guys.
11:25Because the center that they had in place is out for the season.
11:29That's what I'm saying.
11:30Yeah, they signed Pochick a few months ago, right, to help upgrade that spot.
11:34Like, I'd be surprised if he were a cut.
11:36Well, the other one might be the Gwynn guy who's coming off an Achilles.
11:41If he loses to Pochick, one of those guys might be...
11:45Who knows?
11:45He might be available.
11:46Who's their backup, Matt?
11:48It's between those two.
11:50Right, but I'm saying if they let one of those guys go, who would that backup be?
11:53They wouldn't have a backup.
11:54Maybe they would use their guard.
11:56I don't know.
11:56So, they say Baltimore could keep both.
12:00A cut is less likely, but, you know, who knows?
12:04And the other veterans, Jake Brendel from the 49ers, Ted Karras from the Bengals,
12:09they're more likely to stick as backups or be released later.
12:14So, look, the pickings are slim this late.
12:19But those are some names to maybe watch out for.
12:23The one that seems to be the most often connected to Washington is Jake Andrews from the Texans.
12:29Started 16 games last year.
12:31At least you got a guy who could snap it correctly.
12:35Which is where you kind of are right now.
12:38Correct.
12:38The bar is super low at this point.
12:41I mean, I don't know how many snaps were bad and going over J.D.'s head, but that's high school
12:46football.
12:47Multiple were bad.
12:48Multiple false starts.
12:50It was a cluster F word.
12:53Okay.
12:54A lot to work on the next couple of weeks.
12:56Got to get that addressed.
12:57That's the best thing, though.
12:58And it's never great.
13:00It's just like it's never great that Tunsil got hurt.
13:02But there is still a little bit of time before the real games, right?
13:06So, you could still try to perform a miracle and upgrade things.
13:11I wouldn't be surprised if it happened today.
13:14Yeah.
13:14I would not be surprised.
13:16We'll talk more Commanders with Nikki Javala coming up at 8.20.
13:19She's the Commanders reporter for The Athletic.
13:21And don't forget, Dave Richard joins us at 8.
13:23He's going to prep you for all of your upcoming fantasy football drafts.
13:27We know you got a lot of them.
13:28Dave will join us coming up at 8 o'clock.