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Ben Standig was on site in Ashburn. He lets Grant & Danny know who stood out.
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00:00by our buddy Ben Standig. You know him from his sub-stack, Last Man Standing.
00:05That's how he applies his trade, and you can, if you haven't subscribed, go do that now
00:11to get his commander's coverage this football season. He was in Ashburn for rookie minicamp
00:15today. Ben, thanks for a few minutes. Why don't we just start with what was accomplished
00:20and kind of what you got out of the experience. Obviously, you get to watch guys run around,
00:25bring them to life a little bit in front of your eyes after so much reading and highlight
00:29watching. But what was today all about for you?
00:33Well, I mean, look, I don't know what the Super Bowl odds for these guys are right now,
00:37but I say go jump on that immediately based on what we saw today. No, just kidding. You
00:42know, they were out there, and I will just say that, like, the expectations for this type
00:46of practice are pretty low, at least for me. You know, it's just about the fundamentals.
00:51There's no hitting, right? No pads. They did play a fair amount of 11 on 11, which I was
00:56surprised about. But even that, of course, it's a mixture of draft picks like Sonny
01:01Styles and then Randos, who may not even be here for OTAs. And so you just try to take
01:07in what you can, and we're all watching Sonny Styles. And for all the reasons that one should
01:13be excited about him, we're all on display. Just a hulking presence in the middle of the
01:18defense. His ability, you know, it's one thing to be overly athletic, as he is, but it's another
01:24thing to have the instincts to be able to make those, you know, to turn that athleticism
01:30into a true weapon. And he just demonstrated that, whether it was dipping under a blocker
01:37on a run play or sniffing out where a pass was going to go. You know, he looked the part
01:43across the board. So, you know, I think for me, so much of these types of practices, it's
01:49about just making sure that the player passes sort of the basic eye test. Does he look the
01:56part? Does he act the part? Does he seem mature? We talked to him afterwards, and he checked
02:00all those boxes as well. So, you know, in terms of the main guy that we're here to watch,
02:06I think you could, you know, feel pretty good about it. And then the rest of it, you know,
02:11whether it was Antonio Williams or Katron Allen on offense, you know, there were moments
02:15where you're like, okay, I get where the speed is, the quickness, how they may, you know,
02:20how he may fit in with the offense, that type of thing. So I think those were the basic takeaways
02:25for me, along with the fact that I did spend a little bit of time watching Drew Stevens,
02:29who's going to be the kicking competition for Jake Moody. And, you know, it was hard to tell
02:34exactly how many he was making. I think he was pretty accurate from the angle we had, but
02:38the leg is obvious. So I think those are some of my big takeaways.
02:42So how much did you guys get to see? Because usually it's like you guys get to watch them
02:45stretch the players, then you got to go like, you know, into your hobble in the trailer or
02:49whatever. How much did you guys get to watch? Yeah, for this, we get to pretty much watch
02:54everything. It wasn't particularly long. I didn't really time it. Maybe it was like an hour-ish
02:59or so. And we get to watch it all. I mean, even, you know, there doesn't become a point
03:03where they say, okay, no more. Don't take any more video or pictures, which I'm always like,
03:08boy, if you guys are running plays here in May, that might be an impact in week eight.
03:14Okay, fair, but I don't believe it. But anyway, we got to watch pretty much all of it. Like
03:19I said, there was a decent amount of 11s. Other than that, it was a lot of position drills
03:22and, you know, nothing overly dramatic or interesting. I will say that Logan Paulson was
03:30standing there with us as we were watching some of the practice and he was saying, you know,
03:34I'm going to lean on him. Okay, Logan, what's going to happen on this place? Smart guy.
03:37You know, tell us, give us your vision here. And there was times he was like, man, this defense
03:42already feels like they've already installed a lot because watching how some of these guys are
03:47tracking the play or who was taking, you know, which receiver, et cetera, felt he said he thought
03:52that was like, felt pretty advanced. So I think they put in some more than just your basic X's and
03:58O's, but by and large, it was just a feel-out situation. There were tryout players there, of course,
04:03as well. Beyond the UDFA, the guys who were trying to, you know, get the attention of the
04:08staff. So, you know, there was a lot of, it seemed like a lot of good work put in for
04:13what it was.
04:15Did anything that Dan Quinn said today surprise you? I have something I want to drill down on,
04:20but open-ended first.
04:24Boy, let me think here. Not off the top of my head, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something. But,
04:32you know, I mean, you know, I'm just trying to think in terms of style. He just talked about
04:35how he's going to, you know, practice him at, you know, multiple linebacker spots that didn't
04:39commit to the green dot. But obviously, I think we all assume that it's heading in that general
04:44direction. He did say there would be the kicker competition, as I mentioned, with Moody and
04:49Stevens. But tell me, what caught your ear? Well, there's a couple things, but one of them
04:55was he talked about competitions at positions, and he named kicker, which is obvious, and center.
05:01And I think we're going to hear a lot that there's a competition at center, but I'm just
05:05not buying it. Julian Good-Jones, a seventh-round pick, feels to me like it might be one of those
05:11where they're calling it a competition, but Alec Reddy gets the first-team reps every day
05:15and then starts all the preseason games. Do you think I'm off on that?
05:20No, I don't. I even was having, because we were watching, you know, Matt Goldman, one
05:25of their six-round picks was out there. He was playing center. You know, again, no pads
05:30and not, you know, the defensive line wasn't exactly Deron Payne out there, right? So, you
05:37know, at one point in the media, as we were sitting there watching it, I said, hypothetically,
05:44knock on wood, but if something happens where Alec Reddy has to miss a game, let's say he can't
05:48play week one. Like, do they have to go out and get somebody else, or do they have enough
05:54right now? And it was a bit of a mixed bag on that, but to me, I'd be like, oh,
05:59I'm imagining
05:59they have to go out and get somebody else, which is, to your point, I don't really think
06:03there's a competition here. I mean, look, you'd like to think people can get better, so maybe
06:07Julian Good-Jones has improved a lot, but he's been here for three years. He's has one
06:11career game. You know, he's been basically a practice squad guy. It would be hard to believe
06:16that he's real competition, and then Goulburn's a, you know, a six-round pick, versatile guy,
06:20only played center one year. You know, we'll see what he does, or if, you know, if he just
06:24feared to be a backup. So, no, I would think if there's going to be a competition, either
06:28bringing somebody else in, or that's what they're just saying, because obviously it has
06:32been a big topic, right? What's going to happen post-Tyler Biotic? Maybe that was a way
06:37of sort of getting ahead of it to be like, yeah, yeah, don't worry. We're aware. We've
06:40got to have a competition here, but I don't see how that's going to happen based on the
06:45current participants.
06:47And then what about left guard? Do you believe my theory that we could actually see a competition
06:53there? Paul last year was the starter. We were told he was going to get a ton in free
06:57agency. Then he came back kind of for pennies. Coleman was drafted just outside
07:02of the top two rounds, started at the beginning of the year, got benched for Paul. I don't
07:08think we need to write in Sharpie there just yet. Am I overstating that?
07:13You know, I was listening to this, like, random podcast the other day where the two people
07:17who were on the podcast both had the same last name, and one of the two played professional
07:22football, and the other one's a radio announcer of some note, and said that the football player
07:27seemed to be suggesting when this topic came up that Chris Paul, based on what he did
07:32last year, should be the, at least a clear-cut starter, but, like, had a pretty good lead
07:39on the battle. And obviously, Chris Paul was, you know, impressive last year, and Brandon
07:44Coleman was the guy that got benched, right, after they moved him from left tackle to right
07:48tackle to left guard, basically to the bench. But in terms of this new offensive system under
07:54David Blatt, where we think if it's going to emulate what Ben Johnson does, you know,
07:59his former OC with Detroit, that they're going to ask their offensive linemen to be on the
08:04move a bit more, to be able to make plays at the second level, that would, to me, seem
08:09more like Coleman. But just like with everything, you've got to be able to step up and play.
08:15They need to see him play through injuries, show more technique, what have you. So I agree
08:19with you. I don't, to me, it's not a foregone conclusion that it's Chris Paul, but I understand
08:26that Brandon Coleman may need to show them more, you know, for them to really say, okay,
08:31we can justify making this switch, even though just last year we went the other way.
08:35Well, I'm not even saying that it matters that much to them, but it does look a lot better
08:41if Coleman is starting. I mean, if he's a swing tackle, I guess there's value in that,
08:46but as a, basically a late two, early three, if he can't get on the field, that looks a
08:52lot worse as a draft pick. And it's not like it's a different regime here. That's their
08:56guy. I mean, Paul was an inherited seventh round pick by another regime.
09:02Yeah, totally agree. I mean, look, I think it wasn't that long ago when free agency started
09:07that the assumption was they're going to let Chris Paul test the market and he's likely
09:11going to get, they're likely going to get outbid and he'll move on. And they have, therefore,
09:15Coleman, you have Wiley, you have Allegretti, maybe they use a draft pick on somebody and
09:21figure it out from there. And that point, of course, at that point, we also thought
09:25Beattis would still be around. Then Chris Paul doesn't get, his market does not emerge
09:30the way it was expected. He did, even the contract he got to come back here was pretty
09:35low considering, you know, if you thought he might get 10, north of 10 million to just sit
09:40there and say, no, well, we'll give you three. You know, even these guys were not like
09:44it's overly motivated to bring him back, but obviously they like the player and, you
09:50know, they'll see how it plays out. But they've got, they've got options. But like
09:55I said, I mean, it wasn't even that long ago where we thought Brandon Coleman may
09:58be, you know, the leader of the clubhouse. And now, you know, it's back to, I get why
10:04Chris Paul, he first he'd depth start. But yeah, I do think that there should be some
10:09type of battle. And in terms of your notion of the pick, I give them credit for saying,
10:14Hey, just because we drafted this guy and not the other guy that we need to have this
10:18play out a certain way. But at the same point, you know, that 2024 class needs to show more
10:23this year. Cause other than Jaden Daniels, you know, it's been pretty thin to this point.
10:27You must wager the entire standing fortune from now and forever on how the running back
10:33touches. I'm not just talking about, you know, handoffs, but receptions, everything under
10:38the sun, how the running back touches are dispersed. You got to do it today. What are
10:42you betting on?
10:45Well, first, I guess I'm going to check to see, you know, which, whose couch I can sleep
10:51on when I lose this. All right. So I guess I would go, give me like 60% on bill
11:01as like
11:02sort of the early down back, give me 20, 28%, something like that on Rashad White. Maybe
11:13that's a little low, but you know, I think he's going to be the primary pass catcher and
11:17we'll see if I'm just curious if bill can get more involved in the passing game. And
11:20then the rest of it would be, you know, your Kay Tron Allen, your Jeremy McNichols, whoever
11:25is there. They obviously, you know, it's not uncommon. Of course the NFL these days to
11:30have two and three backs touch the ball. So I still look to me, bill would be the main
11:34guy. And the fact that they have not gone out and you know, they didn't make a real
11:38play to bring in other, another lead running back. I know Rashad White has technically done
11:43in the past, but I don't see that happening. So I think bill still the dominant guy. And
11:48then to me, the question is just how much is Rashad White dominating the passing downs or
11:53is bill able to, to push his way into, in there more than he did last year. Ben standing
11:58sub stack standing with us here on G and D. I saw you talk to Ethan Kaliak Manis after
12:03practice. It's not going to matter this year, hopefully fingers crossed or ever for that
12:09matter. But I am really curious about that draft pick. A lot of people were upset. I
12:13wasn't bothered because it's a seventh round pick a flyer. I would have done something
12:16else, but I mean, who really cares that late in the draft. And then we talked to some people
12:20after the draft and they're like, this guy actually could play a little bit. He was on
12:23a not very good team, but you know, in a different situation, maybe he's more well-liked as a
12:27prospect. What did you see from him and what was your experience chatting with him today?
12:33Yeah, I wouldn't take too much away from whatever we saw in the, from him, his play. I mean,
12:39you know, again, he's other than Antonio Williams and a couple of the guys who were on the practice
12:43squad here last year, wasn't exactly working with Clark Monk and Sanders.
12:49That's a good line. I just mean on a practice like that, like I saw three videos of Sonny
12:54Styles and you're blown away by how he moves. Like you can see athleticism and arm strength
12:59and some things like that. Like, did he look like an NFL quarterback to you or like a guy
13:03trying out?
13:05You know, somewhere maybe in between. I mean, it's hard. I mean, I didn't look at him and
13:09think, wow, that, that looks like a prototype dropback quarterback or, or whatever. Now he,
13:14he, we, when we talked to him, he, I enjoyed speaking with him. He's one of those guys that
13:18when we were all done, he, he made a point of introducing himself to each one of us and
13:22learn our names and things like that. We didn't quiz him afterwards, but you know, he seemed
13:26to be taking that information in. He was very, very enthusiastic about the opportunity.
13:31And it seemed to me fairly genuine. Like it wasn't just, Hey, I got to be on my best behavior,
13:36but it seemed like a guy who really, you know, kind of relishes in the team aspect of it all.
13:40And he did also emphasize that one thing he wants to show people is that he used the
13:44term sneaky athletic, that he's got more than maybe people want to assume, uh, you know,
13:51and, and, and, you know, in talking to some people post draft, you know, with sort of a
13:55mixed bag, some people were like, Oh, okay. I didn't really see too much of him. And others,
13:59like you said, Grant were, or like, Oh no, I think there's something there. Again, the goal
14:04here, I would think realistically is, can he be the eventual, uh, Marcus Mariota replacement?
14:10That's why I have no problem with them taking quarterback in the seventh round. That is the
14:13most important position. You've got to have options. And at some point, Mariota is not
14:17going to come back on a one-year deal and you don't want to be caught with your pants down
14:20when that happens. So whether he's the guy, time will tell, but I'm totally fine with them
14:25making that choice. And hopefully, you know, it works out for him. Like you said, if he sees
14:29the field this year, something went terribly, terribly wrong, but hopefully next year or two,
14:34he would be ready to step in when Mariota, uh, moves on.
14:37Ben, what is Joshua Joseph's responsibility role in this defense this year?
14:43Yeah, we don't have to play around with this. Dan Quinn flat out said he is here to rush the
14:47passer, which of course makes perfect sense based on his size. You know, he's got great, uh, arm
14:54length. He's under 250 pounds. The speed, like the 40 speed wasn't there, at least not based
15:00on his combine testing, but there's a lot of, uh, athletic traits, uh, Ben, things like
15:06that, that I think you can get excited about. And I think to me, his role for this year,
15:12his, his goal for this year should just simply be to be ready in 2027 when everybody except
15:17for away is not under contract. If he's able to, at that point, be a guy that you can bring
15:24in. I, I, I, I'm not remotely comparing him to Von Miller because that's insane. But in
15:28terms of the role Von Miller had last year, which was come in for designated pass rush
15:32opportunities and get after the quarterback. Like to me, that is kind of the role I think
15:37they see for him again this year. They probably have enough other guys that he doesn't have
15:41to have a huge impact, but getting him ready for next year would be a big deal. And look,
15:46I mean, he, he was a guy that I think a lot of the public, uh, draft, uh, talkers had
15:51him
15:51going sort of third round or fourth. He fell to the fifth. You gotta, you gotta, it's good
15:58to say, Hey, they got a steal. You also have to ask the question, why did he slip? And
16:01again, the production really wasn't there. Um, you know, he's a guy that matured. It
16:06seems like along his way in school early, got there early on, wasn't maybe as focused
16:10on the homework as needed to be that improved over time. And then now the question is over
16:15more time, can Washington get more out of them? And I think they're hopeful that they
16:19can do that.
16:20Ben, Danny and I were talking earlier about Dan Quinn's presser and his catchphrase. He
16:26brought up Danny's was in that space that Dan Quinn always says in that space. Mine
16:32was to go. I don't know if you've ever noticed that, but he always adds on the phrase to go
16:37all the time. And there are others that we couldn't think of. Are there, give us more.
16:42What are the other Dan Quinn isms that you've noticed?
16:46Oh man, great question. Uh, you should have hit me up on a day where my brain works. Um,
16:52the, the, the space one is definitely one that's, uh, that, that, that stands out for
16:57sure. I feel like some of the ones you had early on, it's kind of, I won't hear them as
17:00much lately. Uh, you know, look, obviously everybody has made, especially at the beginning,
17:04made the comparisons to the guy he replaced because of the way Rivera, you would always have
17:09these pet sayings. And I think Dan Quinn certainly has them not as prevalent as Rivera. Like that's
17:15like, I think like people, like when you hear like position flex, I remember like somebody was
17:19getting on because I was pouting how they were talking about, you know, bringing in line
17:24where they could play multiple positions. And they were saying, Hey, you always like dumped
17:28on Rivera for talking about position flex. You're being a hypocrite. I'm like, no, I'm not being
17:31a hypocrite. The other guy did it too much. He made it like, that was the leading factor
17:35as opposed to a side benefit. Whereas here it's just like, okay, can Matt Goulbin play
17:41guard and center? Cool. Can Sanders still play inside and outside? Yes. That's, you know, that's
17:45the, it's a benefit. It's not the lead. So, uh, things like that sort of stand out to me.
17:50And I guess I should stop probably comparing with you guys, but when you ask that, that's
17:54what kind of came to mind.
17:55Yeah. Defensive minds in the NFC South with some catchphrases. It's not that crazy to compare.
18:00We can't think of the third one. We have the two legs of the pillar or the tripod, but it's
18:04the third one that's escaping us, which is ridiculous because we listen to him talk every
18:08time he talks. To go and in that space. And then there's a third one, but I'll come up
18:12with it tonight sometime. Well, Ben, I never noticed to go. Had you noticed that one that
18:16he just says to go? Like he doesn't want to eat here.
18:20Yeah. I mean, I, I've heard, I've heard that one. Look, I'm going to be super honest.
18:24Like I, it's not that I don't listen to Dan Quinter or whoever else was talking. It's just
18:29that my brain starts running to what am I going to ask? You know, it's a classic. Are you the
18:33person that listens to, are you, are you waiting to, are you listening or are you waiting to
18:37talk? And I'm probably more than waiting to talk. Unfortunately, you got, you're talking
18:41to two guys that literally do that. Like, well, Grant's talk. We have to ask each other.
18:45What did you just ask when we have a guest on 75% of the time? Cause I'm sitting there
18:49formulating my question, what I want to do. I don't want to do it. I want to make sure
18:52it doesn't sound stupid. Do I have any catchphrases I'm going to utter? Am I going to,
18:55you know, the blather for too long, et cetera. We get that a hundred percent.
19:00Yeah. I mean, that's probably a bad trait if you're a reporter whose job is to listen
19:04and then react to what they said. But yeah, that's, that's unfortunately where, where it
19:09goes beyond the fact that combined with the, you know, the memory of a Nat, uh, is not
19:14helping your cause here right now, which one drew millis or came out release or somebody
19:18else. Uh, you know what? I don't even want to mention the, I, I, I, I got a CJ Abrams.
19:28That's about all I got. You don't want to mention which Nat it is. It's from the dark
19:31times. You're not going to Jason Marquis of memories, right? It's Austin Kearns.
19:36So much Tommy Malone for you. I got, I got, I got good thoughts on Jason Marquis. Part
19:41of the tribe. I'm good with him. Ben, thank you, buddy. We appreciate you as always. And
19:46we will send people to last man standing the Washington commanders coverage that you do
19:51over on Substack. Thank you. Thanks buddy. My guys always appreciate it. Thanks.
19:55Be good.
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