WEBVTT - A Rematch in the Meadowlands | The Beatdown Podcast | Washington Commanders | NFL 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.800 What is going on? Commander's Sam. This is another episode 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:19.560 of the beat Down podcast. Welcome in. I am your host, 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:23.880 senior for the Washington Commanders, Zach Selby. I'm still kind 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.560 of riding the high a little bit because it's hard 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:28.920 to even to describe even though we've there's been so 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:32.800 many stories written, so many things shown on social media 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:35.960 about the Hail Mary pass that ended the Chicago Bears 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:39.840 game with Washington coming out on top eighteen to fifteen. 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:43.360 But you know, I will say, you know, it's usually 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:45.400 pretty subdued in the press box, right, I guess as 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:46.960 it should be. You have to be quiet and cheering 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.280 the press box all that other stuff when that play happened. 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.520 You know, there there are some moments where the rules 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:54.480 kind of go out the window a little bit, And 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:56.520 even though it was still a little subdued, there was 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:58.680 still a lot of a lot of buzz in that 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:00.920 press box for what you just because it's a history 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.560 making moment. What's one of the best moments in franchise 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.800 history already and I mean everyone, everyone who was there 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.959 will remember for the rest of their lives. But while 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:12.319 we're all still really excited about the Heil Mary Pass, 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:14.680 the Commanders still have to turn the page. So they 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.760 are moving on to their second Division match of the 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.600 season against the New York Giants, going on the road 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:24.640 to MetLife Stadium. It's you know, you can never count 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.600 out Division matchup, but you know, the Commanders and Giants 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:30.840 have always played to other really tough Disask any Commander's 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.279 fan over the last two years about what that matchup 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.240 has been like. You can never count the Giants out 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:37.160 for anything. You never count the Commanders out for anything, 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:41.200 no matter what their record is. So the Commanders is 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:42.920 trying to go to seven and two for the first time. 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.720 He's nineteen ninety six against the Giants, and how are 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:47.640 they going to do that? Well, that is exactly what 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.400 we're going to be talking about today, and we have 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:52.840 two more guests they were going to be talking about this. 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:54.840 It will be Candy Waller coming back to us from 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:58.400 booy TV Sports and Andrew Pisad, Giants writer a form 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:01.200 for Sports Illustrated. How are we doing, y'all? 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:04.800 I'm with you, Zach, I'm doing I'm still riding high 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.800 from from the raise Hail Mary on Sunday that the 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:12.760 Commander's offense executed. So I'm still kind of riding high 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:12.959 from that. 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.640 Yeah, you know, it's it's it's pretty crazy just to 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:18.720 just to imagine what that's going to be like, you know, 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:20.760 talking about it for years from now. And Andrew, how 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:21.839 are you doing over there? 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:27.000 I appreciate you having me on. You know, it's I'm good, 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:29.800 but you know, obviously my football team is not very good. 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:32.920 So it's it's always a it's always an interesting time 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.400 of year when they barely have any wins heading into November. 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.480 So it is what it is at this point. 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.320 But you know that that is right. But at the 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:45.160 same time, like I was saying earlier, you just know 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.679 how competitive they're going to be. Considering how competitive the 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:50.480 the NFC East is. Anything that happened, it has for 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.560 the last you know, decade or so. I don't think 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:55.600 that there's been a repeat winner in that span. Uh 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:58.079 so really anything it happened because these guys just beat 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.720 up on each other all the time. Uh But you know, 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.320 we'll move on from that now and we'll get into 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:05.120 the match up here. Before we do that, all of 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.160 yours know the spiel, they know the deal. Here. These 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.600 guys are going to be answering questions that I present 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:11.480 on an offense, on a defense, and one more of 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.120 a general question. There will be points that forget that 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.639 will be given out, and there will be a winner, 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:18.800 because I in the post of the podcast, I could 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:20.840 decide who wins and who loses. But at the same time, 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:23.600 you should be more focused on the objective takes that 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:27.840 the that these individuals have because they're they're the insiders, 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:31.400 they know what they're talking about. And all that being said, 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.880 let's go ahead and get into it. Starting with the 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:37.920 Giants defense, which I think is probably you know, their 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.120 biggest strength right now, especially in the front seven. Dexhah 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:43.880 Lawrence is a monster right now leading the team in sacks. 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.640 They're first in the NFL with thirty five sacks, which 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.560 I was kind of surprised that whenever I whenever I 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:51.560 first saw that stat Wednesday when I was making the 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:54.720 preview story. So it's gonna be a big challenge for 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.800 this Washington offensive line. Who is They are playing a 0:03:57.800 --> 0:03:59.280 lot better than I think a lot of people expect 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.800 at the beginning of the year. Their top ten unit 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.560 in Pathlock Win Ray. I mean, they're working really well together, 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:08.760 especially in the interior. You know, with Brandon Coleman, So 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:10.960 you know, maybe coming back as he gets in the 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.560 concussion protocol, they'll be a little bit closer to full strength. 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.800 But iner, since you are the guests here, you're your 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:20.000 first time guests, I will I'll go with the question 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:24.440 to you first. What role is that battle between Washington's 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:26.760 off the line and the giants stephensive line going to 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:28.320 have on Sunday? 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.280 You know, it's it's pretty it's a pretty crucial role. Obviously, 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.480 a lot of like the talking point is that games 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:38.440 are one in the trenches. Looking back at the last matchup, 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:43.160 we had five sacks and seven hits on on Jayden Daniels. 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:47.000 But the thing is like it wasn't from our defensive line, 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:50.440 so we had a lot of safety blitzes and linebackers 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.400 kind of come down. Jason Pinnock, our safety, led the 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.000 team with two sacks. Our edges were shut out. Desha 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.440 Lawrence didn't have a sag either. So, like you said, 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:04.560 I think Commander's offensive line has been playing better than expected. 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:10.159 But now that where our games are, what seven weeks apart, 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:14.160 the Giants have definitely turned it up since then, It's 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.520 gonna look a little bit different this time. Uh, Keavon 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.719 Thibodau is an Ir with a wrist injury, which means 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:21.520 as he's o Ja Lari is gonna be stepping in. 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.839 He stepped in pretty well over the last couple of games. 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.680 He has a sack at least one sack in three 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:30.839 straight games. Brian Burns has a sack and four straight games. 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:34.280 And then obviously Dexter Lawrence is just a monster and 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.159 he kind of wins any matchup presented in front of him. 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.880 So it's gonna be it's gonna be like you said, 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:43.920 it's always a good matchup with the Giants and Commanders, 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.080 and I think this is gonna be where most of 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:50.080 the where most of the fund is gonna be, at 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:52.400 least for my side, because it really isn't much else 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.760 to be excited about. So seeing seeing them get after 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:57.480 Daniel is gonna be a fun matchup for sure. 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:03.040 You know, I cannot you cannot understate the the impact 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.680 that Dexhah Lawrence is really having. I mean, my god, 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.480 he is just a force to be dealt with. And 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.200 I think, you know, telabadis Is is very is very 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.560 real equipped to to to deal with that. You know 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.480 him think he's ninth in in run block, run block, 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:20.360 Win Ray like he's he he has the the ability 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:22.719 for sure, uh you know, to go toe to toe 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.680 with Dexah Lawrence. But Candy, you know, we we've seen 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.640 how this offensive line has has really grown over the 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:31.760 last you know, gosh where we you know, we're in 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:35.480 week nine, and I would say that they've they've really 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:38.000 come on even more because you know, they they looked 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.880 more impressive in week one, for sure, but lately this 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.360 seems like they are churning out and and humming and 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:46.920 in a way that I as a four off the 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.360 line and I'm very pleasantly, you know, surprised and very 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.359 very happy to see. But how have you seen this, 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:55.440 this Washington offensive line, uh grow from from the last 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:57.280 time we played the Giants and we two to now 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:58.240 heading into week nine? 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:06.000 You know during OTAs Zach, I recall uh Tyler uh 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:10.840 Fia saying, you know, the offensive line was really already 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:13.680 and this was in May, you know, learning how to 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.800 operate five as one. And I continue to go back 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:21.120 to kind of his first presser, if you will, with 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.920 us and thinking about all of the things that he 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.160 was saying that they were working on back then that 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:32.240 we're actually seeing now on the field. Now, they are 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:36.840 dealing with some injuries, right, you know Commanders offensive offensive lineman, 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:39.880 you know Brandon Coleman, hopefully he is back this week 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:44.920 from concussion protocol. We know Cornelius Lucas left the game 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:49.000 on Sunday during with injuries. So now it's around that 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:51.760 time where and I know Andrew you mentioned some of 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:54.840 the injuries to the Giants defense as well. Now it's 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:56.760 kind of like around that time where folks are starting 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:58.600 to get injured, so you have to really look through 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.280 the depth chart, you know, to kind of pull and 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:05.920 plug there. But this offensive line, and especially with Jayden 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:10.560 Daniels dealing through his rib injury and pushing through through that, 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:14.000 I think this offensive line is completely and totally brought 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:19.200 in to protecting Jayden Daniels at all costs. And if anything, 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:24.120 I think what Sunday this past Sunday did was continue 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:27.560 to show that improve that the team did a heck 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:32.959 of a job blocking for Jayden to get that ball 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:36.920 off for that long twelve second to him to get 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:39.240 it off, they did a tremendous job. You saw Austin 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.679 Eckler running running back. Austin Eckler get involved there as 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:45.040 well with Trent Scott then at that point in as 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.280 the depth chart person and coming in to help protect 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.480 So I think this offensive line is brought in. I 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:54.679 think every member of the commanders is totally bought in 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:56.520 with protecting Jayden Right. 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.280 Yeah, and you mentioned you mentioned Brennan Coleman. You know, 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:01.680 he talked to us outside of the locker room, uh, 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:05.800 yesterday Wednesday, and it seemed like he he said he 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:07.480 was doing great, you know, he said, he said he 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:09.560 it felt great to be back out there on the field. 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.440 We can never really guess with the concussion protocol stuff, 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:14.880 but you know, the hope is that he's he's back, 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.640 he's back in, you know, suiting up on Sunday and 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:20.080 you know, it's it seemed like he's on the right track. 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.880 But we'll see what the official designation is once we 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:24.920 get further into the week and hopefully by this time, 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:26.560 you know, be announced that he'll be able to go. 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:29.080 But again, we'll we'll never we'll never know here until 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.120 until then. But Andrew you mentioned, uh you know, came 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:35.280 on Phibodeau uh and him being on I R. And 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.360 you know that that seems like that's such a big 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.320 blow because he's so athletic as a as a player. 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.040 What what has that done with the reverberating effects of 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.640 not having Thibodeau and how how the Giant's been able 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:48.319 to adjust to that. 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.439 Yeah, So I just want to give credit to u 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:57.120 Zizo Jalari because he stepped in really well. From pass 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.400 rushing standpoint, he already has six sacks on this season, 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.840 and from just a pure pass rushing standpoint, I think 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:06.920 he has at which is kind of crazy to say. 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:09.280 I think he's a little bit better than Kavon in 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:14.320 that category. But the drawbacks of not having Kavon is 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:16.760 his support in the run game. And now like our 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.440 run defense has never been uh hasn't really been good 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.000 over the last several years. But Kavon has always known 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.120 like how to set the edge and things like that, 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:27.880 and and rack up tackles for losses and things like that. 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.720 Azi doesn't have that at all. He does He's really 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:32.800 a non factor in the run game. So if you 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:35.559 run towards his side, it's pretty much you're going You're 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:38.360 going to get yardage, and that's that's. 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:39.240 Really the main thing. 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.280 But Aziz has stepped in well from a from a 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.760 pass rushing standpoint, and I don't really see much of 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:50.520 a drop off in production. So the run, the run 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.679 defense is really the main concern that I've had with 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:56.840 Thibodeau off off the field for four weeks. 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:01.160 Yeah, and it seems like, you know, see what they've 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:05.880 they've still managed to do okay right in managing their run. 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:08.160 Let's see if I can just look up here exactly 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:11.439 how well they're doing against the run, the Giants are 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:15.320 and I you know this, I mean that they're they're 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.120 near and there near the bottom at one hundred and 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.920 forty one point eight yards per game. But again, like 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:21.800 in the interior, like I said, DESHL Lawrence, with all 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:23.520 of these other depth pieces they have there, they're still 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.880 gonna be really tough to run against. Uh Now, now, Candy, 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.280 you know, he you know, Andrews brings up a good 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.800 point about the run defense. And you know, if there's 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.040 any I've been saying this for weeks, if there's any 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:39.400 big the biggest strength of this Commander's offense, it has 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.640 definitely been, uh the the way they've been able to 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.840 dominate on the ground. I think their third right now, 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.680 and rushing yards per game. I mean, you know, obviously 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:50.440 obviously last week was a little bit of a different 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:52.200 story because of the Bear. The bear defense was just 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:57.240 so good. But do you do you foresee them getting 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.160 back on track against the Giants? And you know, do 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:03.079 you think is the biggest cause of why they're why 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:04.880 they often Line has been able to be so good 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:07.160 in terms of just uh, you know, opening these hold 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:08.720 up of Brian Robinson and Austin Eckler. 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:10.960 You know what, I think one of one of the 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.600 reasons why they've been so successful. It's kind of funny, right, zactly. 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:17.080 I remember last year Sam Cosmi, you know, at the 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:20.320 end of the year was kind of like run the ball, right, 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:23.600 almost like they wanted to run the ball. They want 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:26.520 to get out there and block it, hit and must 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.599 ask and do all of these things. They it's like 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.880 it excited them to just to be able to do that. 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:34.960 So it's kind of like that's one part of it, 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:38.120 which might seem like kind of funny to say, but 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.079 it's almost like, hey, these got this is what these 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:45.520 guys want to do. They're like, we have some dynamic runners, 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.120 get the ball on the ground. Let's let's do what 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.760 we do best and let's and let's roll with it. 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.280 So I think that's a key part of it. We 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:55.720 know that Brian Robinson Junior has been dealing with two injuries. 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.240 I think that maybe have some something to do with 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:00.959 it as well in terms of just why it may 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:02.720 have been up or down, because as we all know, 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:05.760 when Brian Robinson Junior is on, it just elevates the 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:09.400 entire offense in the run game for certain So I 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.440 think this is a game that they would still really 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.480 try to get that going because it has been such 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:18.880 a strength. But I think the guys just love running 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.040 the ball and they love seeing that power and that 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.560 strength at speed from Austin Heckler. Jeremy McNichols has also 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:28.800 flashed in a variety of different spots for the Commanders 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:31.600 this season, so I think that has a lot to 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:32.040 do with it. 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.480 And you know, so the Commanders had two hundred and 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:40.360 fifteen rushing yards and thirty five carries against the Giants, 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.400 and we in week two, I would expect that they'll 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:45.320 have a pretty similar approach or at least try to 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.680 heading head at the start of the game to see 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:49.640 how the Giants ad Just we'll move on to the 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:50.120 next question. 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:50.319 Here. 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.480 Before that, we got a score update. Candy, you are 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:56.200 ahead five to three, So congratulations and winning round one, Andrew, 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:57.960 you staw some time to make up for it. But 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:02.199 we'll go over to the Giants offense here and we'll 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.240 talk about Elite Nighbors because I think he well this 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.520 well the Giants offense, as you know, they've they've had 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.000 some rough patches here and there. I think Milite Neighbors 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.319 has definitely been a star, you know, in a lot 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:16.959 of different ways. In Week two, he was started eighteen 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.440 times for one hundred and twenty seven yards in a touchdown, 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:23.600 got ten catches on the day. You know, they they 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:25.800 just continued to go at him over and over and 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:28.120 over again. And you know it's hard to blame him 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.800 because of how how much of a special talent he is. 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:36.680 But Canny, we'll start with you here and I'll ask you, like, 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:39.120 do you how do you expect the secondary to adapt 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.800 to Milite Neighbors in the second matchup between them, because 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:45.400 I would imagine like the Giants are still gonna target 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.360 him quite a bit, but also the secondary has really 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:49.560 improved a lot as well. 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.680 I was just getting ready to say that we've definitely 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.160 seen some improvements overall in the defense, but definitely in 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:58.320 the secondary as well. We know coming into the season 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.520 there was so many questions and was like, okay, out 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.720 of all of the position groups, which one is the weakest, 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:07.600 And you know, I know for me it was the secondary. 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:09.640 It was like, all right, you know, there's some challenges 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.640 back there. So what I've continued to say throughout the 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.440 season is when the defensive line, when they're able to 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:19.920 get that pressure up front, it helps the secondary tremendously 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:25.200 because Malik Neighbors is just he is just awesome. He's 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:27.080 just great. I mean, it's just one of those receivers 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.880 where it's like you cannot expect the score to just 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:34.080 be zero, right, you cannot expect a shutout completely when 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:39.479 you have a star like Milite Neighbors on your roster offensively, 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:43.360 So it is going to be important for you know, 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.320 the defensive line, the linebackers to get as much pressure 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.120 as they can on Daniel Jones. I believe he is 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:50.200 still starting. I know there were some questions about some 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:52.120 changes that at quarterback, but they're not going to make 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:56.560 a change, sounds like. So it's it's one of the 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:58.680 things that I shared and going into Week two was 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.360 you know, got to get the sack. At that point 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:03.680 in time, the defensive line of defensive world, they weren't. 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:07.360 They will not finishing at all. So they were allowing 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.880 allowing Daniel Jones to do what he does best against 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.720 the Commanders. As you mentioned in the opening, this team 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:19.160 has struggled so much against the New York Giants, and 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:22.560 so this is an opportunity to kind of make up 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:24.960 for that struggle. While they did win in Week two, 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:29.240 they certainly did still struggle against Daniel Jones. So I 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.160 think if the defense is able to get that pressure 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:33.400 up front they're able to finish, that will help the 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.400 secondary out tremendously because once the balls in the area 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:38.400 goes to the Neighbors, he's going to make the play. 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.600 So I think it's not so much while what the 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:45.200 corners can do, because they're gonna do the best that 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:49.120 they can, but I think it to stop the League Neighbors, 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.120 the pressure's got to be upfront with the defensive line 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:53.920 and the linebackers. 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:57.480 You know, I was just out of curiosity, I looked 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.120 at how many targets Millie Labs has got in this year. 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.640 He's had in seventy three, which is the second highest 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:08.840 in the NFL, which is that's just that's just crazy 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.480 to me that they see but they their their offense 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:15.639 really is is driven by him and and Andrew, like 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:17.840 you know, like I just mentioned, like you know, seventy 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:21.240 three targets. You know, they he clearly is, like you know, 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.000 their best weapon. So what are the different ways that 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.720 they've been they've tried to get him involved because obviously, 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:28.680 you know, you can't just use him as a deep threat. 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.800 He's got so much more ability than that. So what 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:33.639 what are all the different ways they tried to you know, 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:36.639 make him, make him at the focal point of the 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.200 office about without you know, the teeth the entire devents 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:40.679 keying on him on every single play. 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:44.280 Yeah, So, like you said, those seventy three targets are 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:47.120 actually insane. And what's crazy about it is he missed 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:51.080 two ins with a concussion. Yeah, so that's it's it's 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.920 really it's cool to see because we haven't had this in. 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:58.040 A very long time. So with the last time these 0:17:58.080 --> 0:17:58.879 two teams met. 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:00.800 Obviously, Neighbors did what he had to do, but a 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:03.479 lot of the route concepts were kind of short. There 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.359 were a lot of shallow crossers. It was just getting 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.520 him the ball in space and letting him get yards 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.680 after the catch. I believe eight percent of his yards 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:14.920 in that game came after the catch. So the deep, honestly, 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:19.280 the deep threat that he was in college, it's obviously 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:22.680 still there, but we haven't really given him the opportunity 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:26.920 to showcase that because of the quarterback play. The offensive 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:30.320 line play hasn't really been great, and like Candy was saying, 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:34.600 it's more of like a trickle down effect. So our 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.040 left tackle, and Andrew Thomas is out for the season 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:40.359 and we've had just the last two to three games. 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:41.960 It's just been awful awful. 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:44.800 Can even can not protect on that side of the line, 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:48.119 so it's been hard to get neighbors the ball. So 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:51.760 coming back from the concussion, he hasn't really. 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.160 Had that big game just yet. 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:57.639 He almost had a touchdown in the Steelers game, but 0:18:57.680 --> 0:18:59.119 his foot was out of bounds, but it was it 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:02.840 would have been a crazy catch. But in this game 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.640 or the last couple of weeks, I should say, it's 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.440 just been more a lot of over the middle type 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:12.680 of stuff. I believe on a on a fourth and 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:15.680 one play against the Steelers, they kind of just did 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:18.640 like a little out route and got them like three yards. 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.640 But they've they've mixed it up for sure. They've even 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:25.120 put him in the backfield on some plays, jet sweeps 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:28.280 things like that. I haven't seen a lot of slants, 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:30.680 to be honest, since that though. The Week three game 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:33.720 in Cleveland he ran like two really good slants and 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:35.520 it was really nice. But I haven't really seen that 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:39.160 much since. But a deep threat hasn't really been there 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.480 too much yet. So if I were the Commanders, I 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:43.840 wouldn't worry about it because we can't really protect for 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:44.600 that long anyway. 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.080 But it's been it's been a it's been a. 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:51.359 Joy to watch because it doesn't really matter who's in 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:53.280 front of him. He's can he can kind of go 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.240 up and just win that matchup regardless. 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:57.200 It's it's been fun. 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.000 I feel like the big moment that we've been weighed 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:03.679