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Mitch Tischler joins the show to preview Washington's chances of contending for a divisional crown next season.
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00:00Joining us right now on the Rude Guest Hotline is our man, Mr. Mitch Tischler.
00:03Mitchell, how you doing, bud?
00:04What's up, Titch?
00:05I'm doing fantastic. How are you guys doing?
00:07We're good, man.
00:08We could have used you, dog.
00:09We needed some of that flawless tech this morning.
00:12You know my tech is always flawless.
00:15We're back in business, though. We're good.
00:18Let's start.
00:19Something you were, maybe concerns too strong.
00:23I know the way the center position has unfolded this offseason
00:27was something that was on your radar.
00:30How do you feel now that the plan is to go with Allegretti
00:33and they drafted a kid that was a three-year starter,
00:36two years awake, one at Michigan State, to be the backup?
00:39How do you feel about this O-line and this center position?
00:43I feel okay about it.
00:45I think offensively that's probably where I feel the most angsty
00:48at any single position is at center.
00:52I think Mick Allegretti does a fairly good job most of the time he's out there.
00:57I just think that too often he kind of gets beat cleanly,
01:00and when he's at guard, you have a little bit of a buffer between center
01:04and tackle helping you out there.
01:06To me, if a center gets beat cleanly, I think it puts your quarterback
01:10in a really tough position.
01:11And so I hope that Nick's able to step up and take over that role.
01:15I would have liked to have seen them address it a little more aggressively
01:18in free agency, maybe bring in somebody who had a little bit more NFL experience
01:23at center.
01:24But I do appreciate that at least they drafted somebody in the sixth round,
01:29and Matt Golden, who has one year starting at center,
01:31was one of the best centers on that Michigan State team,
01:34one of the best offensive linemen on that Michigan State team.
01:37And hopefully he'll be able to compete with Nick,
01:39and the best guy will come out on top.
01:41Do you feel that they may be having more belief in the guards now,
01:46which allows them to feel like, okay, Nick with his limitations
01:52can still be very, very serviceable?
01:55Certainly.
01:56And I think you look at how much better this offensive line is today
01:59than it was two years ago, three years ago, four years ago.
02:02And I think that can certainly help out Nick a lot.
02:05But to me, I look at how this offense is going to look under David Blau,
02:10a lot more under center, a lot more play action,
02:14and the offensive line having to play some different roles
02:17than maybe they have in the past.
02:19And I'm thinking that this coaching staff thinks that this will play
02:24to Nick Allegretti's strengths.
02:25And certainly Nick's quickness and ability to kind of get to a second level,
02:29maybe pull a little bit,
02:30is certainly something that would be an advantage for him.
02:34But ultimately, you know, he's a veteran.
02:37He's been there, done that.
02:38He's won Super Bowls.
02:39He's caught touchdowns.
02:40You know, he's a guy who's been on the NFL field for a while.
02:42So I like that at least that they're rolling out a question mark-ish.
02:47At least it's a guy who has that veteran NFL experience.
02:51What do you think happens at left guard?
02:53Do you think it's Chris Paul still?
02:54Do you think Brandon Coleman pushes?
02:56What do you think happens there?
02:57I think it's going to be a true competition.
03:00I mean, you know, these guys love talking about having competition.
03:04You know, you look at the type of offense that we think David Blau's going to run
03:08with the zone blocking.
03:10And, you know, maybe that plays into Brandon Coleman's mobility a little bit better
03:14than Chris Paul.
03:16But ultimately, I think that whichever guy ends up starting,
03:20I think they're going to be okay at left guard.
03:23And certainly having Laramie Tunsil out there at left tackle helps out that guard position
03:27a whole lot.
03:30When you look at this team and the improvements that they made,
03:33for me, I feel like the improvements on defense will, in essence,
03:38help out the offense.
03:39I think a lot of times people think only help from offense comes from improving
03:42in offense.
03:43I think when the defense is better and don't allow it,
03:46just look at the little record thing they've been putting out.
03:48When the defense holds a team at 24 or less, they're 12-0.
03:51When they let them score over 24, they're 5-12.
03:55You know, so when you look at that type of thing, I think right there,
03:59that shows you a good defense helps out your offense.
04:03Yeah, absolutely.
04:04And I think, you know, just the total change that we're going to see
04:08with Durante Jones running this defense, not just the players,
04:11but schematically and the different way that I think they're going to disguise
04:15some things is going to be a brand-new game for, I think,
04:18fans watching this team play, watching this defense play.
04:20And then you add in bringing in Kalevan Chason and Adapai Owe and, you know,
04:26Leo Chanel and Sonny Stiles and all the athleticism that we're going to see
04:30along the front seven.
04:32I think it's going to be a big difference.
04:33And ultimately, even if this defense doesn't have to be top 10,
04:38but if they can improve to top 15 or so, you know,
04:41they're going to give themselves a chance.
04:42And ultimately, I think the biggest question is how much pressure can you take
04:47off Jaden Daniels?
04:48I think last year the plan going in was Jaden's great.
04:52They're going to score 30 a game.
04:54The defense just has to, you know, bend but not break.
04:57Obviously, it broke off in last year.
04:58But I think alleviating some of that pressure off Jaden will help the offense a ton,
05:03particularly as, you know, as they start working in all these new weapons.
05:08Brizzoak last year.
05:10Talking with our friend Mitch Tischler.
05:11You can watch him and listen to him on the Beltway Football Podcast.
05:14You can give him a follow at Mitch underscore Tischler.
05:17It's rookie camp this weekend.
05:20We all kind of understand at most we're seeing, what do you think,
05:25eight guys that make the 70?
05:28But what are you looking forward to?
05:30What do you want to try to check out?
05:33Yeah, I mean, to me, the rookie camp is more about just kind of getting a feel
05:37for who these guys are.
05:39I think the most interesting player has to be Antonio Williams.
05:44You know, I think that there's a lot of different ways that you project
05:48or hope that he can impact this team and help out.
05:50Certainly, you talk about the separation numbers from him in college.
05:53And, you know, you see the speed on the field.
05:57I think it's going to be kind of getting a feel for, you know,
06:01how does that speed translate from the college game to the pro game?
06:04How does that quickness translate from the college game to the pro game?
06:07And not that there's going to be a ton to really take away from it at rookie camp.
06:11But, you know, whenever we watch these rookie camps and even, you know,
06:15the mini camps and whatnot, there are players that just kind of stand out on a football field.
06:19And I'm curious whether his speed is going to stand out on the field,
06:23particularly surrounded by, you know, 50 or 40, 50 other guys who, you know,
06:29probably don't have as high of NFL feeling as we hope that Antonio Williams does have.
06:34Yeah, I'm with you there.
06:36I'm also, I mean, Bill popped last year at rookie camp.
06:39Like, you just saw the feet, the quick.
06:43But to me, I think K-Tron, the fat man, needs to be a capable short yardage back
06:50to be on the, you know, the 53 coming out of camp.
06:56What do you try to watch for that with him in a practice session where there's no pads and stuff?
07:06To me, it's about how quickly does he get his shoulders squared and kind of go to the line of
07:11scrimmage
07:11as they run some of these different kind of run concepts.
07:14And obviously, we don't know exactly what these workouts are going to look like.
07:17But, you know, Demich was a running back at one point in his life.
07:21And, you know, you run some of these running back drills where they go through,
07:25whether it's the sled or they go through the, you know, with the pads and whatnot,
07:31see how quickly and what that pad level looks like.
07:33Like, I think you look at the feet, how quickly it, you know, how quickly they move.
07:38But because there's no real contact, you know, we think that K-Tron Allen's going to be able to step
07:43up
07:43and help out in the short yardage game.
07:46But because there's no contact, it's really hard to get a good feel for what it looks like.
07:50But I think, you know, kind of pad level, squareness of line of scrimmage, you know, foot speed,
07:55I think those are things that you can kind of key on for a running back that you think is
07:59going to play that role.
08:00So all the moves they made in free agency, what do you think was the most important one
08:04or the one that will have the most impact on this team?
08:08I think it's Afe Owe.
08:10I really, I mean, JP, we talked about it on the Valley Football Pod a bunch, you know,
08:15leading up to free agency.
08:16There were two guys, one of two guys that I wanted them to go get.
08:20And Afe was one of them.
08:21I just think he adds a dynamic edge rusher for you.
08:27And, you know, you hope that Dorrance Armstrong comes back and picks up where he was last year
08:31because I think he's kind of a forgotten man on this defense.
08:35And you add Kalevon Chase on, I just, I think that getting after the quarterback
08:39is going to be such a big part of what Durante Jones wants to do defensively.
08:43And I think that adding a guy who has gone out and had a double-digit sack season
08:49can help you out so much there.
08:51It's going to be interesting, man.
08:53And I think what's, it's so bizarre in a lot of ways that you have the same head coach.
09:00So we're not approaching this as, you know, if we were going into this offseason
09:06and it was a new head coach, you're like, man, who knows what this is going to look like.
09:09It's all going to be very different.
09:10There's so many questions.
09:12But having two new coordinators that are going to run things very differently
09:18than their predecessors, like, I don't think we know
09:21what we're looking at.
09:22You know what I mean?
09:24I think this whole thing is going to look different, particularly, I mean,
09:28it starts with Dan Quinn as the head coach.
09:30But the way that we saw, you know, the preseason and training camp run last year,
09:35I think is going to look dramatically differently this year
09:39from the head coach position, not to mention, you know,
09:42what we're going to see both the coordinators running.
09:44I think, you know, it's not a brand new team, but it's going to feel like a brand new team,
09:48I think, in the way that they go through things.
09:50And particularly with Dan Quinn talking about wanting to get more particular game situations
09:56in place for these two coordinators to get some work done in that preseason
10:00slash training camp timeframe, I think it's going to look a lot different
10:04and it's going to be, you know, it's going to feel like a new team out there.
10:08Jane Daniels is going to be the one that's going to be running it.
10:10Yeah, but I think all that is needed.
10:13I mean, we watched last year.
10:15It needed to change.
10:16It needs to be better.
10:17I think that change may be for the better.
10:19I mean, that's all I'm looking at.
10:21Like, we got different people calling it, but hell, this might be a blessing.
10:26Yeah, like, especially consider the defense was terrible
10:30and they basically fired the guy around Thanksgiving.
10:34So, like, we knew that overhaul was coming.
10:36You know, offensively, it was a bit more of a surprise.
10:38But I think – I don't want to knock Cliff because they were really good in 2024.
10:45The offense was really good.
10:46But in a copycat league, it always sticks with me that he's the one dude
10:52that runs his system.
10:54Like, nobody else – like, there is no – Cliff obviously has a tree of quarterbacks
11:00and coaches he's close with, and they all always say, like,
11:03yeah, we like to use some of Cliff's stuff.
11:05Some of Cliff's stuff is really interesting.
11:08Nobody else is running that offense.
11:09You know what I mean?
11:12Yeah, I mean, absolutely.
11:13And I think we saw it get stagnant.
11:15And that was one of the criticisms of Cliff on the way in.
11:18I think it's going to be interesting to see with David Blau taking over
11:21how much of some of Cliff's system he keeps versus how much of his own.
11:27But ultimately, I think the number one biggest thing, getting some of these guys
11:31in motion pre-snap, trying to get yourself into good matchups.
11:34I mean, as much as, you know, as much as I kind of questioned at the moment,
11:40in the moment of time, the Antonio Logan's pick, I think getting – I think some of
11:44his motion and ability to get in some weird – some different matchups I think
11:48is going to be super helpful to him.
11:49And ultimately, I think all of that is beneficial for Jaden Daniels, who I think
11:53needs to get back from just straight dropbacks and get into some, you know,
11:58get into some rollouts and some bootlegs and, you know, some play action stuff
12:01that we haven't seen a whole lot the past two seasons.
12:03So, adjustments, I think, is going to be key moving forward.
12:07And that's something we didn't see a lot of.
12:10If you look at most offenses, a lot of stuff that Cliff runs, other offenses run
12:14the same stuff.
12:16They just adjust it from week to week and run different things and different
12:19movements and come out of different formations where they end up doing the
12:24same things, but they make it look different.
12:26That's something he refused to do.
12:28And I think just something simple will make it even better.
12:33Absolutely.
12:34I think the disguise – I think on both sides of the ball, the commanders last
12:38season were poor at disguising what they were doing.
12:41I feel like teams had a pretty good idea.
12:43I mean, heck, J.P., you and I sit in the press box and we see them line up and
12:47say, oh, man, this is going to be this or this is going to be that.
12:49And, you know, if you and I are picking that apart from, you know, 100 yards away
12:54or whatever, you know that, you know, offensive and defensive coordinators on the
12:57other side of the field are doing the same thing.
12:59So, I think that both sides getting into a little bit more disguise, trying to
13:04trick up what the opposing quarterback or the opposing linebackers are seeing on
13:09the other side of the ball, I think will go a long way to helping these guys.
13:14Talking with our friend Mitch Tischler here from Monumental Sports.
13:16Check out the Beltway Football Podcast.
13:18Follow him at Mitch underscore Tischler, T-I-S-C-H-L-E-R.
13:23When you look around the division now, Philly has been the prohibitive favorite for
13:28some time.
13:30Does it feel that way still?
13:32I mean, Dallas has made a lot of additions on the defensive side of the ball.
13:36The Giants got a real head coach running that operation.
13:40Washington maybe has gotten better.
13:42Like, what do you think when you think about the NFC East?
13:46Yeah, I think really the big question in the NFC East is what does Philly look like?
13:51I think we can all agree A.J. Brown's probably not going to be there.
13:54I think he was a big part of that offense, whether he was actually getting the ball or
13:59not.
13:59I think just the threat of him being out there with his size and his ability to make contested
14:06catches and stuff did a whole lot for them.
14:08I question what that looks like.
14:10I think the Eagles O-line, which has been one of the best in football for a long time,
14:15has kind of started to come back to earth and be a little bit closer to average.
14:20I think that as I look at it today on whatever today is, May 6th, that I think the Cowboys
14:27might be the division favorite in my mind.
14:30I think the Eagles are going to take a little bit of a step back.
14:33You look at some of the losses on defense as well.
14:35But ultimately, I think all four teams are about as bunched up as they've been in a couple
14:40seasons since kind of the Eagles started taking the reins there.
14:45So it's going to be a fun season.
14:47I mean, there's no pushovers in the NFC East anymore.
14:51You're not going to be looking at the Giants as kind of two easy wins or two planned wins
14:56anymore.
14:57I think Harbaugh helps them out a lot.
14:59You look at all the additions they've made on defense the past couple seasons, obviously
15:03they get Malik Nabors back.
15:04It's going to be an interesting little fall slash winter here because I think any one of
15:10the NFC East could come out of there as a winner.
15:11Yeah, dude, the Eagles are really an interesting situation.
15:16Vegas, at least I'm looking at DraftKings, they still have the Eagles as the favorite
15:20to win the NFC East at plus 115, then the Cowboys at plus 225, Washington at plus 500,
15:27and the Giants at plus 600.
15:32If when the A.J. Brown trade happens, then you all of a sudden have two smaller guys in
15:41Smith, obviously, and then Makai Lemon, presumably, with the quarterback that just likes to throw
15:48these vertical routes with receivers, at least the top two receivers that seem like more middle
15:53of the field kind of guys.
15:54And I just keep circling back to the hit piece from ESPN that clearly people within the Eagles
16:00organization were in on.
16:02And I wonder, the pressure, as much as there are two teams in New York, the pressure that is on
16:09the
16:09Philadelphia Eagles at all times is so significant.
16:13And you just wonder if at some point the pipes burst, you know?
16:18Or, hell, they win 13 games and go back to the NFC title game because they're loaded.
16:23Yeah, I mean, they can't forget they have Saquon Barkley back there.
16:27And that covers up a whole lot of different, a whole lot of problems.
16:30It sure does.
16:31Yeah.
16:31I think the two kind of fast, quick receivers paired with a quarterback who has seemed hesitant
16:39to throw the ball into tight windows unless it's a bomb downfield.
16:44So it doesn't really mesh that well to me.
16:48Plus, I think you look at the O-line kind of, you know, they still have an elite O-line,
16:54but it's not nearly as great as it was two, three years ago, particularly when Kelsey was
16:59there and whatnot.
17:00But it's going to be interesting because I think we overlook what's happening on defense
17:04with them as well.
17:05You know, you lose a couple of key players the past two seasons, both up front and on
17:11the back end and the secondary.
17:12And I think that the sieve seems to be opening a little bit up in Philly.
17:17And I think there might be an opportunity for Washington or Dallas to jump through and win
17:23the division.
17:24Mitchell, thank you for the time, buddy.
17:26Appreciate you.
17:27Be cool, brother.
17:28Thanks so much, guys.
17:28All right.
17:29That's our guy, Mitch Tischler.
17:30Give him a follow at Mitch underscore Tischler.
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