- 1 day ago
Grant & Danny debate how much the defense has improved and how much Jayden Daniels benefits from that.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I saw this stat, and I thought it actually meshed well
00:04with something we talked a lot about late last week,
00:06which was trying to help Jaden Daniels,
00:09and you being hyper-focused on wide receiver,
00:11me feeling like maybe in a less directive way,
00:16indirectly they've done some things that are going to make
00:18Jaden Daniels' life a lot easier.
00:20But how about this stat that was out there from NFL Research?
00:24Daniels' career record by commander's points allowed.
00:26So normal caveat, I don't do win-losses for quarterbacks,
00:30but I think this is instructive of the team's record
00:32during his time as the starter.
00:34When the commanders give up 24 or fewer points,
00:39so meaning 25 wins the football game,
00:43with Jaden Daniels as their starting quarterback,
00:45they are 12-0.
00:47When they have allowed more than 24 points,
00:51so 25 as a starting point wasn't enough,
00:55they are 2-10.
00:57A night and day, antithesis of a difference,
01:0212-0 at 24 or fewer points allowed defensively,
01:06and 2-10 more than 24 points.
01:09Now, what are we talking about when we discuss helping Jaden Daniels?
01:13Is it as simple as the team being able to win or lose,
01:17putting him in positions to thrive?
01:18I think if they're winning, everything else will take care of itself for him.
01:22Are we talking about him having a career year as a passer
01:24or becoming the best version of himself and winning an MVP award,
01:28which is a different thing maybe than their overall record?
01:31You know, statistically, being dominant and prolific enough
01:34to get credit nationally as one of the great quarterbacks in the league.
01:38I'm not really sure what the conversation is, if that makes sense.
01:40Yeah, it's hard to drill down on it because I know what you mean.
01:41But my point is, by being better on defense, check.
01:45You are asking less of him, check.
01:48And just by putting less on his plate,
01:51it allows him, I think, to breathe a little easier
01:55and to play a little more free and without pressure.
01:59And I think that that stat,
02:02which is perfect for the argument I was making the other day
02:05as to why helping the defense is a huge, huge deal for Jaden Daniels,
02:10even if it's not a direct pass catcher
02:12that he's throwing the ball to on third and seven.
02:14Yeah, I mean, I think it's two sides of the same coin.
02:17And is the team better when the defense is better?
02:21Of course it is.
02:21That's intuitive.
02:22Anybody arguing differently is crazy.
02:23If you have a better defense, your team is better.
02:25It affects all areas, right?
02:27That's obvious and intuitive.
02:29I guess the part that I'm hyper-focused on
02:31is that third and seven that you're talking about.
02:33A great cornerback or a good pass rush
02:35does not complete the pass for Jaden Daniels on third and seven.
02:38And that's really what I'm talking about.
02:40I'm talking about him being the best version of himself
02:42to get back to more of what we got his rookie year,
02:45but not forcing him saying,
02:47hey, man, you have to do that for us
02:49because we don't have any other answers on offense.
02:51We got Noah Brown.
02:53Fourth and one, go get it.
02:54You know, go get tackled again.
02:56Go get your hat spun again.
02:57Go get in a collision again.
02:58Go bail us out of a bad play again.
03:01I don't want that.
03:02To me, that has nothing to do with the defense.
03:05That's a...
03:05Now, it may be if they're less...
03:07Well, you need way fewer of those plays if you're leading.
03:09If you have 13 points and the opponent has 10,
03:12I don't need him to run around and make plays.
03:14I don't need to convert to third and seven
03:16because if you punt it back to a defense
03:18that has a sack fumble and gets off the field again,
03:21I think it completely is the same thing.
03:23But to me, there's no way it's the same thing.
03:26And I understand your point, but the offensive side of the ball
03:31is still its own silo.
03:32And I'm talking about maximizing him and making him the best he can be.
03:36Would Joe Burrow's team be better if they had a good defense?
03:38Yeah, that's pretty clear and obvious.
03:40But when Pat Mahomes loses Tyreek Hill,
03:43or Patch Mahomes, as your boy Alex Gold says,
03:45when they don't have Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelsey's old
03:48and all of a sudden their weapons aren't any good,
03:49his production goes down,
03:51that defense is much better and they still go to a Super Bowl.
03:53That's not what I'm talking about.
03:55I'm talking about Patrick Mahomes is worse now
03:58without his weaponry.
04:00I'm talking about that part of it, right?
04:01Their team is better.
04:03Last year's notwithstanding, they're all injured and really bad.
04:05But I'm only talking about...
04:06His numbers are worse, but who cares?
04:08If they win a Super Bowl with a defense and run game
04:12and he is just a different version of Patrick Mahomes,
04:16he's still finished in the top five in the MVP vote
04:19and is one of the Offensive Player of the Year players.
04:21Sure, I love that.
04:22We're still a far cry from that kind of defense here.
04:25They're better in the middle of the pack.
04:26But that's the hypothetical we're having.
04:27A better defense, an improved defense.
04:29Being good on defense is a massive asset to the quarterback.
04:33It helps the football team,
04:35and the quarterback's part of the football team.
04:36So, yes, that's intuitive.
04:38But not the football team.
04:39You keep saying the football team.
04:40Right.
04:41I'm saying the quarterback.
04:42Yeah, and I'm saying that's wrong.
04:43Just the quarterback.
04:44He's not throwing a pass to the defense.
04:46He has to throw it up.
04:47The players in that huddle,
04:48that's where you improve it to help the quarterback.
04:50The analogy is, my house needs improvement,
04:53and you're like, I improved the street.
04:55I improved the park down the street.
04:57Yes, that benefits me and my property value.
04:59You know what it really does is my foundation,
05:01is the addition I'm building.
05:04The players that he is throwing to must be better.
05:07That's how you directly help a quarterback.
05:09A couple things.
05:09A, make them better, which he did in 2024.
05:12Why are we putting that on a kid?
05:14Well, it's because he's the No. 2 overall pick,
05:16and he's fantastic.
05:17Still on a rookie deal.
05:18When he's played, when he has 30 starts,
05:20we can expect maybe a bit more of him.
05:22Putting that on his plate right now is not fair.
05:25I said it then, I'm saying it now.
05:26Yeah, so he did it with four starts.
05:28He's capable of it.
05:29It's not the ask that you should make, necessarily,
05:32but in a world where you don't think
05:33what they've done is good enough,
05:35if they had the D.C. defenders,
05:37starting wide receivers and running backs and tight ends,
05:39I'd agree with you.
05:40They have a $30 million wide receiver,
05:42a third-round wide receiver who was a top-five player
05:44on some GM's boards one year earlier,
05:47and a third- and a fourth-round pick
05:49in the wide receiver room,
05:50and a former first-round pick
05:51that they've decided to keep around
05:53that they think is good,
05:54and they just spent $8 million a year on a tight end.
05:56It was the No. 2 player on the market.
05:57Who I like a lot.
05:58Yeah, so the idea that they haven't done enough,
06:01how much do you need to do?
06:03Is Jacoby Brissett the quarterback or Jaden Daniels?
06:06Now, would I like more?
06:07Of course.
06:07I'd always like more.
06:09The No. 1 defense in the league,
06:10I'd like to add a pass rusher.
06:11You know, the No. 1 defense in the league,
06:13I'd like to add a linebacker.
06:14But where we'll disagree is your analogy on the house.
06:18When you're saying, fix the house,
06:20they're fixing the road.
06:21The defense is the house.
06:22I believe the defense is the house.
06:24It's a room in the house.
06:25It's the kitchen.
06:26It's the walkway.
06:27It's something, but...
06:28Well, that's if the football team's the house.
06:29I'm talking about, like,
06:30to help the quarterback directly.
06:32Right.
06:32The defense helps the quarterback significantly.
06:36The defense helps the football team,
06:37and the quarterback is on the football team.
06:39So you'll win more games with a better defense.
06:41That's obvious.
06:41Which is the whole point.
06:42Sure.
06:42But we're talking about helping the quarterback.
06:44Right.
06:44So these hypotheticals,
06:45what if they only have 13 points?
06:47Or, I'm not going to be able to score
06:48in a league of scoring.
06:49Well, your hypothetical is that
06:50everybody sucks not in Terry McLaurin.
06:52That's your hypothetical.
06:53I don't know if that's hypothetical at all.
06:54I got pretty low production amounts
06:56from everybody else here.
06:56You've never seen Antonio Williams play?
06:57You've never seen Chica Conquo play?
06:59You've never seen your new pass-catching
07:00running back play?
07:00I've seen Chica Conquo play,
07:01and I like him.
07:01I'm thrilled with that signing.
07:02I'm saying in this offense with this team,
07:04they've got a new starting tight end,
07:06a new Z receiver slash slot receiver,
07:07a new pass-catching running back.
07:10That's three-fifths of your skill position.
07:13That is a lot.
07:13Not to mention,
07:14Terry McLaurin in 24 before last year
07:16when he was hurt and not on the field
07:17and whatever else.
07:18Yep.
07:19Him and Jaden Daniels as a tandem
07:20was a top-three tandem in the sport.
07:22Caught 13 touchdowns in the regular season.
07:25Went ham sandwich.
07:26Went 18, I think, if you count the playoffs.
07:28They got all the way to the NFC Championship game
07:29making sweet music.
07:31Didn't feel fluky at all of you?
07:32I mean, it was fun.
07:33Did that feel sustainable?
07:34The NFC Championship game?
07:36Yeah.
07:36Well, that's a different conversation.
07:37Of course not.
07:38Right.
07:38So the offense being that unbelievable
07:40with smoke and mirrors.
07:41I'm talking about the player-wide receiver,
07:42Terry McLaurin.
07:43Fair enough.
07:43I'm talking about the offense as a whole
07:45getting every fourth down,
07:46a normal break of things
07:48where you don't get 90% of the fourth downs.
07:50They lose a couple more games.
07:51You don't get a Hail Mary.
07:52A million things happen
07:53that don't go their way.
07:55You're going,
07:55well, you can do it again.
07:56To me, that's the pathology
07:57that I think is so dangerous.
07:59That's what the team thought last year
08:00and it blew up in their face.
08:02And now it's a,
08:03we tried to do more.
08:05Had they not gone after Alec Pierce,
08:07I'd go,
08:07they think the way you do,
08:09but they know there's a weakness there.
08:10They know they needed more
08:11and they couldn't get it.
08:13And I understand not being able to get it.
08:14Not necessarily.
08:15I mean,
08:16they thought that
08:17and then drafted a wide receiver at 71
08:19to start opposite Terry McLaurin
08:21and signed a tight end.
08:22What they thought at the beginning of free agency
08:24was pre the guy that they drafted at 71
08:26and pre the tight end
08:28that they paid a knot of money to.
08:29And the running back that they brought in here
08:31to probably be your new Jeremy McNichols.
08:33So they're a significantly different offense
08:34than they were before that.
08:36That was pre restructuring Laramie Tunsell
08:38and having him locked in as well.
08:40But no,
08:41I mean,
08:42the,
08:42whether that was an authentic 2024 season,
08:45which is a completely different conversation.
08:47Of course not.
08:48I mean,
08:48that was a fluky run.
08:49I'm saying that they have,
08:52in theory,
08:53a top 15 wide receiver on the roster
08:55in Terry McLaurin.
08:56And when we last saw him healthy
08:57with Jaden Daniels,
08:59the first time he'd ever had a quarterback
09:00of that caliber,
09:01he was a top 10 wide receiver in the NFL.
09:03I don't think he's a top 10 wide receiver,
09:05but that's what he was in 2024,
09:07just two seasons ago.
09:09But I just keep coming back to,
09:13for me,
09:14the argument that you're making
09:15would make more sense
09:16if they hadn't done stuff,
09:19which they did.
09:20But to drill back down
09:21on the point of this exchange,
09:23which is,
09:24can the defense help the quarterback?
09:27You're doing the semantics
09:28of it can help the team.
09:30It's not even a debate.
09:32Like,
09:32of course it makes his life easier.
09:33Of course it helps the quarterback.
09:35And it's just one of many ways
09:36that you can do that.
09:38If you can't do the thing that I want,
09:40which is make your offense great,
09:41the next best thing
09:42is to spend 90% of your cap allocations
09:44this summer on defensive players,
09:46which is what they did.
09:47But the Cowboys,
09:47as an example,
09:48have CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens
09:49at wide receiver for Dak Prescott.
09:51Yes.
09:51And a good offensive line
09:52in Javante Williams.
09:53And their offense was unbelievable.
09:55Incredible.
09:55And they sucked.
09:56Yes.
09:57Their defense was terrible.
09:57As they have continued to suck
09:59throughout the entire time,
10:00Dak Prescott has done nothing
10:01but put up huge numbers
10:02with great talent around him,
10:04and they've never won.
10:05Joe Burrow,
10:06who had 4,500 passing yards
10:08and 45 touchdowns
10:09a couple years ago,
10:09in my opinion,
10:10should have won the MVP award.
10:12Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins
10:14and the best offense in the league,
10:15certainly the best passing game
10:16in the league.
10:17And they didn't win anything.
10:19Because everyone would say,
10:21man,
10:21they do Joe Burrow a solid.
10:23Ask Joe Burrow
10:23how he feels about that.
10:25Ask Dak Prescott
10:26how supported he feels.
10:28He can't,
10:28there's nothing
10:29that those guys can do
10:30that's enough.
10:31Because they're constantly
10:32chasing and chasing and chasing.
10:33Which is where I start
10:34with this stat.
10:35Where when you get to 25 points
10:37with Jaden Daniels
10:38as your quarterback,
10:39you win 100% of the time
10:42over whatever this small
10:43year and a half sample is.
10:44And the other time,
10:45you're 2-10.
10:45It's a matter of,
10:47I would love,
10:48like,
10:49we're saying the same thing,
10:50I think,
10:51in that I would love for him
10:52to not have to be Superman.
10:53This is a way to do that.
10:56He still has to be Superman
10:58if you've got really good players
10:59around him.
11:00Unless you're bringing in
11:01prime Tyreek Hill
11:03or some guy that's not available,
11:04what are we talking about?
11:05We're talking about
11:06Jawan Jennings or who?
11:08Alec Pierce,
11:09who's never caught 50 balls
11:10in a season?
11:10The names we're mentioning
11:11are now in their prime,
11:13you know,
11:14$100 million,
11:14whatever number figure you want,
11:16quarterbacks,
11:16where Daniels is going to get to
11:17in a couple of years.
11:19Asking him to do that
11:20with however much
11:2050-some million dollars
11:22in effective cap space
11:23that the team still has,
11:24and to me,
11:25this isn't about
11:25this offseason specifically,
11:26it's about the last couple
11:27where they should have done more
11:29to try to insulate him
11:30and make it easier for him,
11:31but they just said,
11:32ah, we got it,
11:33we're good to go.
11:33I think they've missed the mark
11:34for three straight years
11:35on this.
11:36They've drafted three wide receivers
11:37in the first three and a half rounds.
11:39Poorly.
11:39They took McCaffrey
11:40two rounds too early.
11:41But the asset is the asset.
11:42I mean,
11:42they have drafted three guys.
11:44They have,
11:45you know,
11:46now brought in a tight end.
11:47Like,
11:47they've done things.
11:48They drafted a tight end
11:49in the top 50.
11:50And it was a giant bust.
11:52Part of this is calling
11:53balls and strikes
11:54that they've swung a nest.
11:55But you're saying
11:55they haven't done enough.
11:57The things they've done
11:58haven't worked.
11:59To me,
12:00the end result's the same.
12:01They've failed in this regard.
12:03And that's my biggest issue.
12:05If they were up against it
12:06like the Cowboys are
12:06when they were paying
12:07Zeke Elliott
12:08and a receiver
12:10and Dak Prescott
12:11and everyone under the sun,
12:12yeah,
12:12you've got to make some sacrifices.
12:13Someone's got to figure something out.
12:14Same thing with Cincinnati.
12:16They chose to pay T. Higgins.
12:17I would have not paid T. Higgins
12:19and maybe drafted somebody else
12:20to try to fill in
12:21opposite Jamar Chase.
12:22But they said,
12:22no, no,
12:22just want to keep the band together.
12:23Well, no wonder your defense stinks
12:24because $90 billion
12:26of your salary cap
12:27are associated with
12:28one side of the ball.
12:29Washington went all in
12:31on defense this year
12:31to fix that defense.
12:32There's still a bunch of
12:33cap space remaining.
12:34So there's nothing else
12:35they really could have done
12:36this offseason.
12:37I don't think realistically
12:38to fix all this.
12:40It's the last couple of years
12:41have led us to this point
12:42where there's not enough for me
12:44to make Jaden Daniels' life
12:45easy as hell on offense.
12:47I would also say you wouldn't
12:47have taken Tyson at 8
12:49or Makai Lemon at 8
12:50or 7 rather
12:51over Sonny Stiles.
12:52Because it's the,
12:53yes, it's bad circumstances
12:54this year to try to fix it.
12:56I guess my point is
12:57I'm looking at the road.
12:58You don't care about the road.
12:59I'm going the road
13:00that they traveled.
13:01They made mistakes.
13:02And I want,
13:03and that's kind of my point here
13:04is this is a bunch
13:05of screw-ups.
13:06It's a philosophical change.
13:07They finally made
13:08this offseason
13:08where they said,
13:09oh crap,
13:09we can't do the
13:10Noah Brown tear anymore.
13:11They went in last year
13:13with the idea
13:14that Noah Brown would be fine
13:15and Zachary should be fine.
13:16I don't disagree with that.
13:16That was a year ago.
13:17I talked about it
13:18for 900 million hours with you.
13:19I know.
13:20I'm over it, Johnny.
13:20And I know you don't care.
13:22I do.
13:22And that's my point
13:23is the end result here is
13:26Jane's going to have to fix it.
13:28I don't want that.
13:29I don't believe that.
13:30That's not how I feel.
13:31It has to be.
13:32If you have
13:34the 15th best defense
13:35in the league
13:36and you have
13:37what I believe to be
13:38is a,
13:39I'll even say
13:40a tick below average
13:42supporting cast.
13:43If Jaden Daniels
13:44is the promised son,
13:45that's plenty.
13:46If they had a zero
13:48on offense,
13:48which is what you're acting like
13:49in my opinion,
13:50but if they had zero
13:51around him on offense,
13:52then it's like this
13:54unbelievable ask
13:54and how dare us.
13:55He's only five years old.
13:56Why are we leaving him home
13:57to take care of his brothers
13:58and his sisters
13:59and he's got to take
13:59his grandma,
14:00her lunch
14:00and the boy's only six.
14:02You have a $30 million
14:03wide receiver for God's sake
14:05that every time
14:05he gets on the field,
14:06everyone chants his name
14:07for an hour and a half.
14:08He'll help you
14:09if he's healthy.
14:11You just drafted
14:12this guy at 71.
14:13Now we'll see if they're right
14:13or not to your point,
14:14but they think
14:15he's a really good
14:16football player
14:17and then we could
14:18rattle off the rest of them.
14:19We've gone round
14:20and around on it.
14:20There are plenty of players
14:21on this offense
14:22that I think are capable
14:23of helping them.
14:25Last year looked
14:26how it did partially
14:27because of all the injuries
14:28that they had.
14:29Like,
14:29I think the conversation
14:30is very different
14:31if Zach Ertz stays healthy
14:33and Terry McLaurin
14:33plays 17 games
14:34or whatever.
14:35Now this year,
14:36if he gets hurt,
14:37they're screwed.
14:37I agree with you.
14:38You take the best player
14:39on any offense
14:39out of the equation.
14:41You take them off,
14:41it's a detriment.
14:42They're worse.
14:43But the disconnect,
14:44the difference is,
14:45to me,
14:47yes,
14:48improving your defense
14:49is absolutely a plan
14:50that with a young quarterback
14:53makes sense to me.
14:54Last year,
14:55the Patriots got
14:55to the Super Bowl
14:56with a quarterback
14:57in Jaden's draft class
14:58whose top receiver
15:00was the ghost
15:00of Stephon Diggs
15:01and Mack Hollins
15:02who doesn't wear shoes
15:03and Kayshawn Booty
15:04catching a deep ball
15:05once every two weeks.
15:06The Bears last year
15:07got to the
15:08NFC Championship game
15:10or maybe on the brink of it.
15:11I think they lost
15:11an overtime to get there
15:12or whatever.
15:13They went on their run.
15:14They had the most takeaways
15:15and did a lot of things
15:16on defense
15:17that were awesome
15:17in their first year
15:18as a group.
15:19That was DJ Moore
15:20who's Terry-ish.
15:22I think he's not even
15:22as good as Terry
15:23was in year 24-24.
15:25They drafted Romo
15:25doing his top 10,
15:26but I think your point
15:27stands for.
15:27He was hurt
15:28for much of the year.
15:28It was a non-factor.
15:29The guy that actually
15:30came on for them
15:31was Luther Burden
15:32who they drafted
15:32in the second round
15:33last year.
15:34But that team
15:36with a kind of
15:37similar group
15:37as the year went on,
15:38like a seventh round
15:39running back
15:39and what they did
15:40that was awesome
15:41was they drafted
15:41a tight end
15:42in the first round
15:42who was a beast
15:43with Ben Johnson.
15:44But it was about scheme
15:45and turning teams over.
15:47That's how they fixed
15:48Caleb Williams basically
15:49is like,
15:49you know what?
15:50We don't need to go
15:51score 40 and win shootouts.
15:52Let's just play closer,
15:54not turn the ball over,
15:55use the couple of weapons
15:56we got for you
15:57and yeah,
15:58they got to be right
15:58on their weapon.
Comments