- 2 days ago
Pete Prisco Joins The Sports Junkies to break down the latest Washington Commanders news.
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00:00Pete Prisco, long-time NFL writer for CBS Sports, cbssports.com.
00:05Pete, good to talk to you, man.
00:06How have you been?
00:08Good.
00:08What's up, guys?
00:09How are you?
00:09What's up, Pete?
00:10Doing well.
00:11I have to say, I looked at your power rankings.
00:14I thought we had turned a corner with Pete.
00:16I thought he was kind of pro-commanders.
00:17And there I see us at the bottom of the list.
00:20He got burned last year.
00:21Well, not quite at the bottom.
00:23They're not at the bottom.
00:23They're toward the bottom.
00:25I mean, that's about as close as you can get.
00:26They're not at the bottom.
00:27Yeah.
00:28They're not bottom of the barrel at this point.
00:30Not impressed with any of the offseason moves so far, free agency in the draft, Pete?
00:35No, I like some of the stuff they did.
00:37Don't get me wrong.
00:38But, again, the quarterback has to stay on the field and put playing a flag football game.
00:42I mean, that's – I don't – did everybody make a big deal out of that?
00:45He should have been playing in that game, by the way.
00:47No, no.
00:47Greg Paulson made a big deal about –
00:49People had widely varying opinions on that.
00:51We talked about it for two days.
00:53Pete, at first, I was like, not a big deal.
00:55But then when I saw guys like Joe Burrow twisting his knee and lunging for first downs, I was like,
01:01whoa, this is a little more physical than I thought it would be.
01:03Then I had an epiphany about it.
01:07Is it sort of the secret sauce behind that is the outrageous sums of money they were being paid?
01:12Yeah, they're going to pay tons.
01:13Like, you can't even fathom.
01:15Here's the other thing about that.
01:16Here's the other thing about that is did the team ever say anything about it publicly?
01:19I don't think they have.
01:20I think they held their breath and hoped nothing bad would happen.
01:22They bit their tongue, yeah.
01:24Yeah.
01:25Yeah, I saw them – if you were just playing flag football, the old-day flag football where you go
01:30back and you throw the ball or something,
01:32you don't have to run and cut and jump.
01:33But they're running and cutting and jumping all over the place.
01:35Yeah.
01:36It's a little surprising.
01:37It wasn't great.
01:38It wasn't great.
01:39Yeah, but luckily he got out of there injury-free.
01:42Yeah, knock on wood because he needs to be on the field.
01:45You saw that last year, a much different team without him.
01:48And him being on the field does change the complexion of that team, no question about it.
01:53I just think when you did those rankings, you could take team 14, 15 and switch them with team 26,
02:00and I don't think you'd see much of a complaint.
02:01You know what I mean?
02:02I think there's a lot of middle class in there.
02:05But, no, look, the receiver position is still kind of suspect, right?
02:11You know what I mean?
02:11Yes.
02:11I say on the whole, did you like the Williams pick?
02:15Did you like Anthony Williams?
02:16Yeah.
02:17I love him.
02:17Yeah.
02:17I love Anthony Williams.
02:19I think one of the most underrated guys in the entire draft and will be a productive player.
02:23But, again, he's not juiced down the field.
02:26You know, so where's the juice?
02:28You know, Deami Brown was terrible last year in Jacksonville.
02:31Where is McCorren's not juice?
02:34Burks isn't juice.
02:36McCaffrey's not juice.
02:37Williams isn't.
02:37Where's the juice?
02:38And you need that in this league nowadays.
02:40So that's a concern.
02:42You know, and then you go to the defensive side of the ball.
02:45I think they piece together a bunch of really good guys that, you know, they'll be able to be better
02:50than they were.
02:50I don't know how much better they are.
02:52I love Stiles.
02:53I think Stiles, when it's all said and done, might be the best defensive player in the entire draft.
02:57Wow.
02:58I think they got that.
03:00He is in – look, he wasn't – early on last year at Ohio State, he's kind of still learning
03:06the position.
03:06By the end of the season, the last, you know, five, six, seven games, you could see it.
03:11You know who he is?
03:12He's Fred Warner 2.0.
03:14Well, that's – I mean, if that's the case, then it's a grand slam pick at seven.
03:19All right, so don't you think that makes the defense markedly better?
03:23Yeah, they'll be better.
03:24I mean, again, you've got to hope that the pass rush guys are not just one-hit wonders.
03:31I mean, you know, Adafi Owe, up until he went to the Chargers, didn't do a lot.
03:37Caleb on chase on was essentially a first-round bust before last year.
03:41So you've got to hope that they're not one-hit wonders and they can continue to do that.
03:46If they don't, then no matter what they have on defense, they're going to have problems.
03:49Back to Jaden's health.
03:52You're plugged in.
03:53And what are people saying around the league?
03:55Like, what are their expectations for Jaden Daniels?
04:00Has faith been lost in him staying upright for 17 games?
04:04No, I don't think that's the case.
04:06I think, you know, look, you've got to – sometimes you just have one of those seasons.
04:09And I don't think it's a situation where he's going to be injury-prone.
04:14I mean, you mentioned the other guy that he was playing the flag football game situation with.
04:18I mean, you could look at him and say, okay, is he injury-prone?
04:20He's been hurt his entire career.
04:22Yes.
04:23So, I mean, is the worry that he's going to be like that?
04:27I haven't heard that.
04:29And people I talk to, no, I have not.
04:31So, just one of those years.
04:33And I think he's back to being Jaden Daniels again.
04:35And he's probably going to be better.
04:37And that's the good thing, because you want him better.
04:39I mean, you know, the stuff he did as a rookie was fun to watch.
04:43And he'd leave pockets and run around.
04:45But the more he settles in as a pocket quarterback, the better he's going to be.
04:50And I think that's where he's going this year.
04:52So, no, I'm not concerned about him.
04:54People I've talked to are not concerned about him.
04:56And particularly from an injury standpoint, I think he's going to be back to being who he was plus some.
05:01Because I think he's a really good quarterback.
05:02Pete, I think that you point this out when you're kind of giving your little breakdowns of each team in
05:09the rankings.
05:10But how are you concerned that Washington has two first-year coordinators?
05:17And David Blau and Durante Jones.
05:20I mean, I understand Dan Quinn's a defensive guy, so I'm sure he'll have a lot of input.
05:23But two first-year coordinators with a young quarterback.
05:28What's your thought on that?
05:29Well, anytime you make changes like that, that usually throws up a red flag for panic.
05:37And I'm not saying it's not a bad thing, that they didn't need to make some changes.
05:41But when a coach changes both coordinators and he's left standing, that sometimes reeks of a panic move to me.
05:50And so that's my concern.
05:51And, you know, the obvious next step is, okay, if the coordinators go and things don't change, what happens next?
06:00In other words, is Dan Quinn on the hot seat?
06:03I mean, that's a legitimate question.
06:04When you fire your coordinators and you make changes there, you're next in line.
06:09So I think it's a big year.
06:11And I think he knows that.
06:13I mean, Dan Quinn's been around the league a long time.
06:14He's a smart man.
06:15He's a good man.
06:16He understands what's at stake here.
06:18If they don't win and Jaden Daniels plays the entire season, I think there's going to be problems.
06:24So, yeah, I think when you make a change, it can be really good or really bad.
06:28But when you make two changes like that, that can be a real adjustment for an organization.
06:33Pete, you're expecting big things from the Commanders Division rival, the Cowboys.
06:37You have them ranked eight.
06:39You have them in the top ten.
06:40You have the Eagles outside of the top ten at 13.
06:43Talk about the way you think their seasons could unfold.
06:47Yeah, I think the Eagles, I'm worried about the Eagles.
06:50Not just, you know, because of what we're hearing out of there and, you know, A.J. Brown's situation.
06:57And now you hear, and I had heard a lot of that stuff going into the whole season and during
07:02the season,
07:02that maybe A.J. Brown wasn't as big a problem as you thought he was, and maybe the quarterback was
07:06part of the problem.
07:08And, you know, they don't talk.
07:09I mean, those guys were good friends, and now they're not.
07:12And so it's easy to blame the wide receiver, but now maybe you're starting to get those nuggets out there
07:18where you hear maybe the quarterback had a big problem with it.
07:21You know, the run game coordinator went to New Orleans last year with Kellen Moore,
07:25and the running game wasn't as good.
07:27The offensive line, which has been a strength of that team, had a bunch of injuries,
07:31and guys talk about retiring every offseason.
07:34And now, you know, there's a concern there.
07:36They didn't run the ball very well with Barkley.
07:38They changed the way they played on offense, and defensively, Jalen Carter,
07:42who I thought was going to be a defensive player of the year candidate,
07:45didn't come close to playing to that last year.
07:47So they took steps in the wrong direction, and have they done enough to make it turn around?
07:53And I don't necessarily think they have.
07:54I'm worried about the Eagles.
07:56On the other side, I love the Cowboys.
07:58I think what the Cowboys have done, you know, we've said that a lot over the years,
08:03but when you said that, you've been kind of drawn in by the lure of the offense
08:07and how explosive they can be, and it was no different last year.
08:11But they gave up almost 30 points a game on defense.
08:14They did give up over 30 points a game on defense.
08:17They were terrible.
08:18But what do they do?
08:20You get a new coordinator who, by the way, comes from Vic Fangio's school.
08:24So he's going to play the 3-4.
08:25He's changing everything.
08:26He's going to be – and I don't know him,
08:29but I've heard a lot of really good things from people I do know in the league.
08:32Then you go add guys like Rashawn Gary, Dee Winters, Jalen Thompson, Kobe Durant,
08:39in free agency.
08:40Then you load up in a draft.
08:41You get Caleb Downs.
08:43You get Malachi Lawrence.
08:44You get Ja'Shawn Barham, Devin Moore.
08:47All these guys are going to be big contributors on a defense that needed them.
08:52But more than that, you get guys back healthy too.
08:55I mean, they drafted a corner last year in Ravel who didn't – he was coming off an ACL
09:01and barely played.
09:02And now he's going to be back in the mix as well.
09:04So I think as a group that defense is going to take strides enough that the offensive firepower
09:10is going to really show up this year.
09:12That's interesting.
09:14So could you – getting back to the Eagles, could you see them missing the playoffs this year?
09:19You're very concerned about them.
09:23Yeah.
09:23Because I think the Cowboys win the division, and then I think the rest of the teams there
09:28are going to be better.
09:28The Giants and the Commanders are both going to be better.
09:31So, yeah, I think the Eagles could miss the playoffs.
09:33I mean, yeah, absolutely.
09:35And there's – then what happens with the quarterback situation?
09:39Because everybody was all in on that guy.
09:41And the reality is – I remember I was on – pardon my take with those guys,
09:46arguing with their producer about I didn't think Jalen Hurts was that good.
09:49And the reality is he's kind of played to that last year.
09:53So we'll see what he does this year.
09:55But right now I think there's a lot of questions about him and that team.
09:58You're not worried about Jaden's health overall.
10:01You don't think there's any reason why we should think he's injury-prone.
10:04I love that.
10:05What about Jackson Dart, on the other hand?
10:09Well, I do think that he's got to be smarter the way he runs.
10:13And I think he's learned that.
10:14And I think he will understand that more this year.
10:18I mean, you get in the league and you're wild the way you run
10:21and the way you don't get down because you think it's a college game
10:25and all of a sudden you're getting whacked and you're out of the game.
10:28Then I think you've got to be smarter about it.
10:30And I think he said that in the offseason.
10:32I think he realizes that.
10:34But, you know, and every player who's ever played the game, you know,
10:39it's get down, play safe, play smart, go out of bounds.
10:43It's okay.
10:44You don't have to be a tough guy.
10:45And I think the quarterbacks realize that as they get older.
10:49And I think he'll realize that now more into his second year or so.
10:52But you're right.
10:52Last year he was wild as can be.
10:55And I think ultimately it cost him games.
10:57You've got to be smarter about it.
10:59Pete, here's the other thing.
11:00We were just kind of breaking down the schedule and giving our predictions.
11:03And, look, it's late April.
11:05A lot can happen.
11:06And we'll make probably 10 or 12 different predictions before the season starts.
11:10But in your power rankings, you've got Seattle 1, the Rams 2.
11:16You've got the Jags 5 and the Niners 6.
11:19And then you've got the Cowboys 8.
11:22Okay?
11:24The Commanders play, obviously they play the Cowboys twice.
11:27They play all of those other teams this year.
11:28They play Seattle.
11:30They play the Rams.
11:31They play the Jags.
11:32They play the Niners.
11:33So they're playing four of the top six in your power rankings, not including the division rivals, which are always
11:39difficult.
11:41It's a tough schedule.
11:43I think it is, too.
11:44Yeah, those teams are good.
11:46Look, people are sleeping on Jacksonville.
11:48Jacksonville had beaten Buffalo last year.
11:50They were going to go to Denver.
11:52They had already gone to Denver and beat them early in the season.
11:54In fact, they dominated them early in the season.
11:57Actually, in December, I think it was.
11:59They would have gone there and beat them again.
12:01And I think they would have beat New England.
12:02They weren't beating Seattle.
12:04I don't think any of the AFC teams were going to beat Seattle.
12:06But I think they would have got to the Super Bowl.
12:08So they're a good team.
12:09The 49ers get everybody back healthy.
12:11They're going to be a good team.
12:14Because health is the only thing that held them back last year.
12:16And they were still a good team.
12:17And we know Seattle's good and the Rams are good.
12:19So it's going to be a tough, tough sledding for Washington.
12:22That's a tough, tough schedule to navigate.
12:25And to do it, you're going to have to win two of those games, I think, to possibly be a
12:31playoff team.
12:31And that's not going to be easy to do.
12:33Pete, what do you think Fernando Mendoza's rookie year is going to look like?
12:38Well, if I was the coach of the Raiders, he'd play right away.
12:43And people would say, well, why would you play him right away?
12:46Because get on with it.
12:47And any other quarterback that you've ever talked to, and all of them that I've talked to,
12:51said they learn more in one game playing than they do in standing on the sideline watching for eight games.
12:56So play him.
12:57And everybody goes, well, what happens if you mess with his psyche?
13:00Well, if you mess with his psyche, then you drafted the wrong guy.
13:04And, you know, I think he's capable of playing, not being bothered if things go wrong.
13:11So I'd play him right away.
13:12What do you get by playing Kirk Cousins?
13:14What does that do?
13:16Well, it lets the kid learn and watch.
13:17Well, he's not learning anything.
13:18He's learning if he's playing.
13:20He's learning how to be an NFL quarterback.
13:21I agree with you.
13:23Yeah, I think he plays.
13:24I think they should play him right away.
13:26I think he will play right away.
13:27And I think he's going to have an up-and-down season, but it's next year.
13:31It's about next year and the year after that.
13:33You know, go back to Peyton Manning's rookie year.
13:35He was bad.
13:36There was a lot of inconsistency there.
13:38But he learned how to play the position.
13:40What did you make of McVay?
13:41Was he acting?
13:42Was he genuinely pissed about the whole Ty Simpson thing?
13:45What was going on there?
13:47Well, okay, he should have been pissed about the Ty Simpson thing.
13:50It was a stupid pick.
13:52First off, is the guy worth the 13th overall pick?
13:55Whether you want to take a quarterback in that spot or not, you know,
13:58it's not like you had marquee guys in that, you know, that area.
14:03So you're forced to pick, I thought.
14:06But you're not getting anything from Matt Stafford in his last year.
14:10This is a team ready to push for more.
14:12What happened to him in the playoffs last year?
14:13They couldn't.
14:14The guys couldn't get open.
14:15Right.
14:15You know, and they don't have any – you talk about a team that doesn't have
14:18juice on offense.
14:19You know, we praise them all the time about, well, look at McVay scheming this
14:23open, scheming that open.
14:24And they got – look what he does with Puka and Devonta Adams.
14:26Neither one of those guys runs very well.
14:28Okay?
14:29Neither one of them.
14:30They're good receivers, but they don't run very well.
14:31There's no – there's nothing down the field.
14:34And they had an opportunity to get something down the field.
14:37They get more, you know, juice in the offense.
14:39They didn't get any.
14:40And so if you're Matt Stafford, you're not happy about that.
14:43Then they take a tight end to add to the room of 42 tight ends they already had.
14:49I mean, that made, you know, everybody, oh, we're going to all play 13.
14:52Everybody copies everybody else.
14:53Sean McVay plays three tight ends all the time, so we're all going to do it.
14:57So let's draft 22 of them.
14:58So they drafted Ferguson last year, come back and draft Claire this year.
15:02Makes no sense.
15:03And then in the third round, they draft an offensive lineman who's going to be a
15:07good player, but he didn't play in this year.
15:10He's a backup.
15:12So if you're all in by trading the first-round pick to go get Trent McDuffie
15:17and then you go sign Jalen Watson in free agency to fix a big problem for that
15:21team last year, which was a secondary, shouldn't you have been all in to kind
15:25of help Matt Stafford and go for it this year?
15:27I think they blew that pick.
15:29So, yeah, was he unhappy?
15:31Look, he can say all he wants.
15:32He was acting and everything else.
15:34I don't think he was thrilled with the pick.
15:35Pete, tell Richie we said what's up.
15:37Yep.
15:37Good to hear from you, man.
15:39Hope he's doing all right.
15:40Thanks for the time, Pete.
15:41Take care, buddy.
15:42You got it.
15:43Pete Prisco, long-time NFL writer for CBS Sports.
15:45I was just looking at the Our Lads depth chart for the Rams.
15:48They've got eight guys at tight end right now.
15:50Yeah, they love stockpiling teams.
15:52Yeah, they do.
15:52It's kind of what they do.
15:53That's a good point.
15:53All right, we're the Junkies on an Open Line Thursday.
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