00:00They're about five-and-a-half-point dogs at this point.
00:04We'll see if that line holds up.
00:06Injury is still a big story.
00:08We don't need to just keep bringing up Laramie Tunzel and Johnny Newton and those boys.
00:12But a bunch of guys came back yesterday at practice.
00:14Some guys did, but some key guys still haven't.
00:18I mean, Bill was back.
00:19He was back at practice.
00:20He's trending in the right direction.
00:22Allegretti was back at practice.
00:24He seems to be trending in the right direction.
00:26They're very confident about him.
00:28I'm not certain that Rashad White was there.
00:31I don't believe he was confirmed to be there.
00:33He's dealing with a hamstring.
00:34He's still listed as questionable.
00:37But really, the two other big ones that jump out at you are Adafi Owe,
00:42the guy that we gave $100 million to, who was dominating in camp
00:45before he got sidelined with the strained calf,
00:48and Kalevion, however you say it.
00:53Kalevon.
00:53Kalevon Chason, who we're expecting big things from.
00:57Kche.
00:58I'm just going to say Chason.
00:59Just call him Kche.
01:00Let me ask you this.
01:02He is likely.
01:03He's trending more in the positive direction, I think, than Owe.
01:07I think you can basically count Owe out.
01:08Yeah, it's not great.
01:09I don't love that.
01:10If he plays a full season, maybe misses a game or two,
01:14what is a successful season sack total for him?
01:17Because Von Miller gave him nine.
01:18A dozen.
01:19I would say double did.
01:20He's got to get to 12, I think.
01:2212 to 15, if he gives you that in his first year, that's a huge hit.
01:26I don't know.
01:26Because if he gives you 10, it's kind of a dud.
01:2810 is very Brian Arakpo-ish.
01:30What if he gave you eight, but like four forced fumbles?
01:34Eight's not enough.
01:35Well, hold on.
01:35If I give you some other things.
01:36So he had a bunch of hits and hurries.
01:37Other things are nice, but the sexy stat is sacks.
01:41I need him disrupting backfields.
01:44I think he's going to be disruptive.
01:45But first of all, we need him back.
01:46You can disrupt the play without getting a sack.
01:48Exactly.
01:49Understood.
01:49That's what I'm trying to say.
01:52But he's got to be on the field.
01:53When you give him $68 million guaranteed, you're not expecting seven or eight sacks.
01:57And they don't expect that.
01:58They expect 12 plus.
02:00He's got to be significantly better than Von Miller.
02:03Yes.
02:03They expect that.
02:04Yeah, I mean, he should be better than a guy in his last life in the NFL.
02:06But the guy's got to get out there on the field.
02:07Understood.
02:08Right.
02:09And the problem is that with a calf, you just don't rush it.
02:13And a calf, you've got to be real careful.
02:14And maybe they just have to lean more on a guy like Amenahu, who got brought over from Kansas City.
02:18Now, he's never been a prolific sack guy.
02:20I think they're going to rely on Josephs a little bit.
02:23Well, him too.
02:23A little bit more than they want to.
02:25And then in week two, Dorrance Armstrong's eligible play.
02:27That's also a killer that you don't have Dorrance.
02:30You are looking at a scenario where your top three pass rushers aren't there.
02:33It's very possible to chase on.
02:35I mean, we're just hoping that chase on is trending more in the right direction based on the clues that
02:40DQ is giving us.
02:41But they're pretty conservative with their guys.
02:45You know, I was asking my daughter's volleyball coach about the availability of a player this week who's injured.
02:50And is it a pyrrhic victory?
02:53And they're going to sit the player out.
02:54And he goes, I think he referred to it as a, you don't want a pyrrhic victory.
02:58Have you heard that phrase before?
02:59I've heard it.
02:59I'm not sure I know what it means.
03:01It's essentially like you win.
03:02I don't think I would ever use that phrase.
03:03I'd have to look it up.
03:04You don't want to win the battle and lose the war.
03:06Get your player out there.
03:07And then you might win that match.
03:09But then she gets re-injured.
03:10And then you don't have her for the rest of the season.
03:12That's not the word they would ask you the definition for on Jeopardy.
03:15Right.
03:15And I would look at it and be like, I don't know what that word means.
03:17Well, I think today I would get it.
03:18It's named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in defeating the Romans at the Battle of
03:27Heraclea in 280 B.C.
03:29280 years B.C.
03:31I'm sure I know about things that happen.
03:33So you've got to imagine based on –
03:34It's a victory that comes at a great cost.
03:36You've got to imagine based on the way they handle injuries and have been very conservative with them that they're
03:42not going to push it at all.
03:43If there's any doubt, I think those three guys are going to be out.
03:48And you have to think that's smart.
03:50We're in week one.
03:52Week one.
03:52We're in week one.
03:53I mean, not many people believe that the Commanders are going to go into Philly week one with all the
03:59injuries and facing Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter and Zach Vaughn and all those guys and win.
04:05Yeah.
04:05It's – yeah.
04:06No question.
04:07I mean, it's the NFL and it's – you can't predict every game.
04:10So they might be able to go in there and win.
04:12But it doesn't look great on paper.
04:13Yeah.
04:14Right?
04:14It doesn't look great on paper.
04:15So obviously, I mean, you mentioned some of it.
04:17Some of the players Washington has to account for in this game.
04:19Obviously, Jalen Hurts.
04:21You know, he's obviously a dual threat.
04:23Could beat you with his arm or his legs.
04:25Saquon, who, you know, Jason keeps saying and suggesting is going to have a bounce-back season this year.
04:32Of course, it's going to be very challenging.
04:34Washington struggled against the run for many, many years.
04:38And they went out of their way to upgrade the defense.
04:41So it'll be very interesting to see how those guys up front handle that.
04:46Flipping to their offense, I don't know if I love their wide receiver room.
04:50Kind of like the commanders before they added Stephon Diggs.
04:52I mean, they've got Devontae Smith.
04:54A.J. Brown departs.
04:55Dallas Goddard returns.
04:57Right.
04:57The reports are that Eli Stowers, the relatively high tight end draft pick, did little to nothing in training camp
05:03to make an impact.
05:05So he's a Ben-Senate type.
05:06Mekhi Lemon, they drafted high.
05:07But he was dealing with a hamstring through a lot of camp.
05:10He's a speed guy.
05:12He's going to be fine.
05:13I don't know if that offense is going to be clicking on all cylinders.
05:16Which is good.
05:16Which is great.
05:17But we're not going to be at full strength either.
05:19Not only are we not going to have, potentially, and I would probably say maybe likely our top three pass
05:23rushers,
05:24we're definitely not going to have Trey Amos, our top corner.
05:26Yeah.
05:27Definitely hurts the commanders in that respect.
05:29And maybe Philly does some different things offensively.
05:32Yeah, but they're your coordinator for sure.
05:33I'm sure they will.
05:34And look, they had A.J. Brown last year.
05:36And A.J. Brown is a good player and is a big name.
05:39But he didn't have a great year.
05:41And also he was disruptive.
05:42Correct.
05:43The offense didn't have a great year.
05:45And the crazy thing about it is, Jalen Hurts, there's a lot of scrutiny.
05:49Some people think that this could be Jalen Hurts last year starting in Philadelphia.
05:53The guy had 25 touchdown passes with only six interceptions last year.
05:58Right.
05:58So he took care of the football.
05:59But for whatever reason, they don't seem super happy and thrilled with Jalen Hurts.
06:04The criticism of him was he wouldn't make certain throws.
06:07He wouldn't take them.
06:08You know, there was only certain types of plays that he wanted to run.
06:1172 and sunny all the time in offense.
06:13That's not always the way it's going to be.
06:15If I told you right now, I'm going to give you Jaden this year, 25 touchdowns, six interceptions,
06:203,200 passing yards, eight more touchdowns rushing the football.
06:23Wouldn't you say sign me up for that?
06:25That would be 40 total?
06:27No, no.
06:27You said 25?
06:28I'd like a little more passing.
06:29Actually, I'd like a little more than 25, too.
06:32With only six picks?
06:34I mean, you're taking care of the football.
06:353,300 yards in 2026 is nubs passing, by the way.
06:40Absolutely.
06:41And their offense was limping around last year.
06:43Their offense was not good.
06:44I understand his numbers may look good in a vacuum.
06:48That offense was pretty ineffective in long stretches.
06:51That's the reason why Patoola's gone and Mannion is in.
06:54I'm expecting it to be more explosive.
06:56His numbers were probably pretty similar the year before that, too.
07:00But Barkley had 2,000 yards.
07:03The year before that, he actually only had 18 touchdown passes.
07:06Now, he's taking care of the football.
07:07In the last two years combined, he's only had 11 interceptions.
07:10Right.
07:11So, he had five in 2024, six in 2025.
07:15I'm just saying, I was kind of surprised because the narrative was Jalen Hurts, it's almost like he has something
07:21to prove this year.
07:22For a guy who's been to the Super Bowl twice, 1-1.
07:26And there is that perception that he just wasn't making enough plays last year.
07:30But at least he took care of the football.
07:32And he did have 25 touchdown passes.
07:34Well, that's what I'm saying.
07:34So, his passing numbers aren't extraordinary.
07:38And two years ago, when they won the Super Bowl, he had 18.
07:41But that's what Barkley, he carried him.
07:43Barkley had 2,000 rushing yards and a ton of touchdowns.
07:46So, that's why I think Barkley is going to have a bigger year this year.
07:50And maybe Hurts gives you another 23 or 24 touchdowns.
07:53And Hurts also came down in terms of, like, back-to-back years.
07:57I mean, actually, four years in a row, he was double-digit touchdowns rushing the football.
08:02Last year, only eight.
08:03Well, listen, who knows what you're going to get offensively from Philly?
08:07But I think you're pretty sure you know what you're going to get from them defensively.
08:12And that's really, I think, where the game's going to be won or lost,
08:15is Jalen Carter and Zach Braun and all those guys over there.
08:20You know, their secondary, guys like Cooper DeGene and Mitchell.
08:25That's going to be the game where it's won or lost, in my opinion,
08:29especially with the uncertainty with our offensive line.
08:32Now, the guys, you know, they've been holding their press conferences.
08:34And Lance Newmark, you know, he held his yesterday, too.
08:38And then, you know, they're going to be the same.
08:38And then, you know, they're going to be the same.
