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Ben Standig joins the show to preview what the Commanders offense could look like this season.
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00:00Joining us now on the Rude Guest Hotline is our friend, Mr. Ben Standig of the Last Man Standing sub
00:06-stack.
00:07What's up, Benny?
00:09Fellas, happy Friday. Thanks for having me.
00:11Shame of you, brother.
00:13I think I'm going to do this to start, and then we'll get to football.
00:18I wanted to take a minute to honor Howard Fendrich.
00:21Howard's a guy I knew. I didn't know him that well.
00:24But always very affable, funny, a real reporter that knew what journalism was,
00:30and we live in a world where that line gets further blurred every day.
00:35And I know you've known Howard since high school,
00:37so I wanted to just give you a minute to talk about the person left behind a wife and two
00:41kids.
00:43Sad stuff.
00:45Yeah, no, super sad.
00:50Not only did he cover D.C. sports for many years,
00:53it's one of those deals with the AP where you probably read his work,
00:56but you didn't always know it because they don't always have bylines on an AP story.
00:59But he was most known for covering tennis, the big majors, for sure, in his obit.
01:08There was a great obit from the AP.
01:09Roger Federer is quoted in there.
01:11That tells you he's the real deal, dude.
01:13Yeah, Rafa Nadal and Billie Jean King expressed their condolences on social media.
01:18And he was also, I think he covered his 11th Olympics this year.
01:23Unfortunately, when he came home, didn't feel right, went to the doctors,
01:27and things deteriorated, unfortunately, from there.
01:32But, yeah, no, I met him when we were teenagers.
01:37Shockingly, we bonded over sports.
01:42I saw his mother the other day, and she was recounting how we would be, like,
01:46on the phone all the time talking about God knows what about these teams.
01:50So, yeah, it's a tough one on a personal level.
01:53And, like you said, on a professional level, yeah, I mean, he's a guy that was,
01:58like you said, a real reporter, somebody that I would ask questions of, you know,
02:03when I had situations in my own career.
02:06And, yeah, it's going to be a tough one for journalism and for me personally.
02:12What are some of the things that you kind of learned from him in your own journalism?
02:20Well, you know, Howard was very meticulous with his work.
02:26I mean, he, even at games, like we always kind of joked about this,
02:31I would help sometimes when I was freelancing back in the day for the Associated Press.
02:36I would come upstairs from the locker room or something,
02:38and I would have what I thought was the important details,
02:41and I would share that with him to write the story.
02:45But then he would ask me five other questions that would never even have, like,
02:48crossed my mind, you know, well, what was so-and-so looking like?
02:53How did he phrase this?
02:54You know, whatever it meant.
02:55You know, hey, you only transcribed two minutes.
02:57Didn't he talk for eight?
02:58Yes.
02:59Okay, well, what else did he say?
03:00And that, you know, it is the full scope of the story.
03:04It's not just the head, you know, it's not just the headline.
03:07You've got to, you know, flesh it all out.
03:09And, you know, that level of detail, you know,
03:12in this world where you're trying to get things up quickly and all that,
03:15you know, you can lose sight of that.
03:17So I think that was something for sure that stood out.
03:23He asked great questions, too.
03:25I always enjoyed when he – he wasn't in Ashburn all that often.
03:29He wasn't at Commander's Games all that often, but he was there enough,
03:32and he always asks great questions.
03:35Well, I just wanted to take that time,
03:37just show a little respect and honor to the late, great Howard Fendridge.
03:41Turning the page now to OTAs.
03:45A lot of excitement.
03:46I mean, I don't know if you've gotten the same kind of feedback,
03:48but any time B and I open the phones, folks are calling in that they just –
03:53they're so excited to see Jaden Daniels in this David Blau offense.
03:57They've got a great performance in that first OTA.
03:59Yeah.
04:00What was kind of your big takeaway from OTAs?
04:04Yeah, look, I mean, this is, you know,
04:07this is the NFL version of spring training.
04:10I mean, the training camp almost feels like it's like part of the season,
04:13but this is where it's pure optimism, everything's ahead of you, you know,
04:18all the changes look great.
04:20And, yeah, I think there is a lot of intrigue with this offense, you know,
04:23as successful as they were in 2024 with the shotgun-heavy, no-huddle-heavy approach.
04:30You know, it's hard to say last year that, like, it faded because there were so many injuries,
04:34but I do think it, you know, limits what you're able to do.
04:38You're not able to do play action.
04:41You know, because of the no-huddle, you kind of had to have the guys like Terry
04:44always lining up to the left, you know, that type of deal.
04:46This is going to create a lot more opportunities.
04:48And, you know, you could see on the routes being run that they're going to use Terry
04:55and the other guys in a variety of situations.
04:58And, you know, with Jaden, sure, it's not been a staple of his career at all to be under center.
05:05But at the same point, it does not look at all like it's going to be any kind of real
05:10transition.
05:10He's still, sure, I'm sure he's got to learn some of the terminology and things along those lines.
05:15But I don't think it's going to be any issue.
05:17And it's going to create, like I said, more opportunities for him and the offense
05:21to shake things out and to look, you know, to give the defense a lot of different looks.
05:27And, I mean, that's going to be very beneficial.
05:30Did you notice anything different on the first OTA?
05:34You see the team, they walk out.
05:35Did you notice anything different?
05:38In terms of the offense, you mean?
05:41I mean, like I know when I went to Richmond to watch the Patriots come in,
05:47when the Patriots get on the bus, you go, damn, they're big.
05:50Did you notice a size change?
05:52Did you see some speed changes and things like that on the field?
05:56Yeah, I mean, I think on the defensive side, you know, obviously, as you will,
06:02no pads, no contact and all that.
06:04But when you just look and see, even though they were missing a few defensive linemen
06:09because of injuries, but you see Chason and Owe off the edge,
06:13and then you look at the linebacker and they're Chennault, Stiles, Lou Vu,
06:16either all three of them or in some combination.
06:18And just seeing those guys out there, it is such a night and day difference
06:22in terms of the speed and the youth that they have out there.
06:27And that's just those guys.
06:29I mean, there's obviously more, you know, Dorrance Armstrong will be back.
06:31He was obviously having a really good year last year.
06:34You know, we'll see where Jordan McGee and Kane Medrano,
06:37if they're able to step up and, you know, crash the rotation.
06:40I think both of those guys, from an athletic standpoint,
06:43have the tools they're looking for.
06:45So I think those things in particular just really stood out.
06:50I mean, again, we'll see what happens on Sundays.
06:52But the idea of them being a lot more guys who can fly around the field,
06:57which obviously can help, you know, force the quarterback to make bad throws
07:01or hurry throws, create more turnovers, that is the point of everything they did.
07:07And, you know, I really like the way that Peters handled this in that.
07:10Like, we all said that they needed to get younger faster,
07:13and he went and did that with the front seven.
07:15And I think, you know, he understood the assignment for sure.
07:19I agree with that.
07:20It was also noticeable compared to this time last year that Terry McLaurin was on the field.
07:24And he made a couple big catches.
07:26Terry seemed to really, like, be buzzing out there.
07:31Did you notice that?
07:34Yeah, no, he definitely had some pretty good energy for sure.
07:39And, you know, like I said, you know, seeing he was an example of a guy,
07:44probably the most noticeable because he's the one guy on offense that receiver
07:47that we kind of have a feel for.
07:49Everybody else will see.
07:50But, yeah, you know, where they're using him in different spots, I think for him,
07:54I'm sure, like, hey, I got a lot of versatility here.
07:57Let's use it in different ways.
07:59And, you know, I know, JP, you've been talking about this a lot where I guess
08:02Blau said at some point earlier in the offseason about getting Terry, you know,
08:06can you get him 10 targets a game?
08:09And I'm sure that was music to his ears.
08:12And it is such a lot of things.
08:14We always have talked about this.
08:15It's always like, hey, how come the other team gets the ball?
08:17They're getting high all the time and not as much here.
08:20And, you know, no disrespect to the other receivers, but as of now,
08:24it is Terry McLaurin and then a bunch of other guys.
08:27So getting him the ball is paramount, and he looks to be embracing that opportunity.
08:32I like it.
08:34Starting with our friend Ben Standig here.
08:36You can check out the last man Standig sub-stack.
08:38I think Grant's calling you sub-stack Standig.
08:41Do you like that?
08:44Sure.
08:44Whatever gets the message home.
08:46If people like it, let's go.
08:49What do you think of the rest of the receivers?
08:51Because I thought Deami had a pretty good practice, and it's a practice in May,
08:54and I'm not drawing any conclusions, but I got the responses you get when you post
08:59something like that on social media are half, yeah, Deami's going to have the
09:02breakout season, and then half, man, you can pencil him in for 275 yards now.
09:07What are we getting excited about?
09:10Yeah, I would look at it as don't view any of these guys necessarily as the
09:16second receiver.
09:17This isn't Monk and Clark.
09:19This is the one guy, and then you have a lot of other guys who have certain
09:23skill sets that if they're used properly...
09:25So Terry Knight and Pips.
09:28Something like that, yeah.
09:29Yeah, yeah.
09:30But, you know, I mean, it's okay.
09:32I mean, like, I think they're going to probably use more two-tight-end
09:35offenses here as part of, you know, David Blass' system, which, you know,
09:38makes sense, right?
09:39You've got Shiga Conklu, who was really the big receiver addition that they made
09:43this offseason.
09:44John Bates gives you that blocking threat, and I think he can actually catch a little
09:48bit more, and that means if there's another receiver on the field, if you need
09:51a play with some deep ball components, De'Ami Brown makes a ton of sense.
09:57If you have one, maybe sort of the red zone where you want more of a vertical
10:01presence, Traylon Burks could be that guy.
10:04Antonio Williams, obviously, you know, I think he's somewhat like a Terry, can do
10:08kind of, looks like he can kind of do a bit of everything.
10:11He's got good speed, not necessarily the biggest guy, but the route running...
10:15He didn't seem small, though.
10:16Like, seeing him in person, Antonio Williams, a rookie, the size is not a question.
10:21He's probably never, what, 195?
10:24Like, watching him run around, he looked the same size as De'Ami.
10:26Are people worried about De'Ami's size?
10:28He's not small.
10:28Yeah.
10:29Yeah, yeah, no, no, he's definitely not small.
10:31He's not 6'3", you know, that type of deal.
10:33I was more like, after the draft, there was like this Antonio Williams isn't big enough
10:37discussion, and I think it was flawed, and especially now after seeing him, I think it's
10:41flawed.
10:41Yeah, and we'll see, you know, in two receiver sets, if he's on the outside, he can be able
10:46to beat his guys with some of the bigger corners, but yeah, I think he's, you know, people seem
10:51to believe that he can do it.
10:52So, yeah, I don't think they have a room where you're like, hey, we have to rely on our receivers,
10:56we're good, but I do think they have a room of, hey, on this play, we can put this guy
11:01in this spot, and that will give us exactly what we want, and we have other guys that can
11:06move around.
11:06Now, whether all those receivers can ultimately fill the role that they're being asked to,
11:11I mean, that's going to be a big question, and we'll see if some of the younger guys,
11:15like a Jacoby Jones or a Corey Brooks, maybe, you know, one of those guys makes a move, but
11:19that's what they're banking on right now.
11:21I think it's, don't look at it as who's wide receiver two, look at it as how do you take
11:25the skills that they have and turn that into sort of a number two receiver in aggregate.
11:30I know we want to name a guy, everyone wants to have the name of a guy that's number two.
11:36What if guys just come out and start to be able to do certain things on a consistent basis?
11:41You know, you may get two or three guys that step up, then it doesn't make a difference
11:45to those two, right?
11:46Yeah, I mean, that's the thing, like a guy like Traylon Burks, like everybody looks at
11:50him, former first-round pick, from the athletic angle, the physical size angle, you're like,
11:55wow, this guy could be the real deal.
11:57He had a catch, it was a, the ball was ultimately thrown too far out of bounds, but he had
12:01a
12:01really nice diving catch down the field that won't play, but you're like, oh, wow, that's
12:05why this guy is, looks like he could be a lot of fun, and then there was a play where
12:11it's over in the middle, and he sort of just drops a ball that looked like it was in his
12:14hands, and I think that's the thing for him, is like, the play-to-play consistency, I don't
12:19think that's been there in his career, he's obviously had a lot of injuries, so maybe that's
12:23been a factor, but if he can show play-to-play consistency, that changes the game.
12:27Otherwise, yeah, I mean, it's using him in different spots, and you know, same thing
12:32with, you know, De'Ami, we saw him at the end of, you know, the 2024 season in the
12:36playoff, making big plays down the field, but we've also seen the guy over the course
12:40of his career that has not been able to consistently do that, Jacksonville obviously decided to
12:45move on from him, and, you know, they benched him late last year, so, you know, these guys
12:49haven't necessarily shown that play-to-play consistency, but that's going to be the
12:53key, if they can do their skill set over and over and over again, then that does change
12:58how they may be looked at.
12:59I think that's what somebody should try to be building towards, being more consistent,
13:03because, you know, the size thing, I laugh at that, because Santana Moss was no bigger
13:07than any of those guys out there, and all he did was have success over and over again.
13:11So, if you can become consistent and do the same thing over and over again, you know, you're
13:16going to find out that that size thing goes out the window.
13:18But we have come up with this mindset of what we think people are supposed to look
13:23like.
13:24We've had more guys that don't look like what we think and have success in this
13:27league, and guys have got to understand that.
13:29Don't let nobody tell you because you're 5'11", oh, you're not a big receiver.
13:33If you catch 50 balls or 60 balls, you're bigger damn enough, right?
13:37You know, this is a, to connect this with an NBA discussion I was having, you know, Jalen
13:43Brunson obviously had a really good playoff for the Knicks, they made the NBA finals and
13:46all this stuff, and, you know, now people are taking a second look at him, and a buddy
13:51of mine, you know, he's now a good player, but he thinks he's, like, overrated, he's
13:54not a guy who's going to take your team to the title because he doesn't play defense,
13:58he's too small, and I'm like, all that may be true, but when you're so good on the
14:02other end, at some point it does, you know, it outweighs the negatives, and I think
14:08that's what you're sort of talking about, I mean, Antonio Williams, whether he is, you
14:12know, he's not 6'3", but if he's able to, you know, get his, create space with his
14:18route running and his speed and his savviness, that's what matters, it's not, you know, maybe
14:23you don't have everything you want, but who does, and if you excel in certain areas that
14:28can really excel, that overcomes all the limitations, the perceived limitations that
14:33people have.
14:34Tell your friend I said, those are gritty grittiest for that thing they call hater.
14:39I've told him that as well, yeah.
14:422001 NFL Draft, third round, 74th overall pick, 5'9", 195 pound, Steve Smith out of Utah.
14:50Yeah, badass, right?
14:52He wasn't too small, was he?
14:53He played way bigger than 5'9".
14:55Right.
14:56Yeah, man, you can find him anywhere.
14:59What did you think of Stiles the other day?
15:05I'll be super honest, and I saw him out there.
15:07I saw him more doing some of the individual drills than I'd noticed, like, out in the
15:13field, because, you know, typically watching the quarterback and that type of deal.
15:17Especially with the new one.
15:18I think we all are.
15:19Yeah, yeah.
15:19But, you know, look, I mean, they were doing a drill where they had, like, a bunch of trash
15:24cans lined up, and, you know, you had to attack the trash cans to do a swim move to get
15:28between them, things like that, and just his pure size, as we discussed, you know, it's one
15:32thing we saw at working camp, but now you're against a bunch of guys who are, you know,
15:36already NFL professionals, and he definitely more than looks the part out there, and I
15:41really think it's going to be fascinating to see how they work in Lou Vucionale and Stiles
15:47together.
15:49Are all three of them going to be on the field?
15:51If they're really going to go with this, you know, more of a 3-4 look and have three
15:56traditional linemen on the field, then, you know, that means, like, Owe and Chason are
16:01probably coming off the edge.
16:03Now maybe only two linebackers are out there.
16:05If Stiles can, if he is ultimately the green dot guy, he'll be out there the most, and,
16:12you know, I've been so far so good, but I think that's going to be the real test as we
16:16go through,
16:17you know, the camp is, you know, how does he acclimate to that aspect of it, but by and
16:23large, all the things you want, the size, the speed, the versatility, you know, the ability
16:28to drop in the coverage, all that looks to be, you know, as advertised.
16:33Sure does, man.
16:34Benny, we appreciate you making time for us.
16:36Who you got tomorrow night, Spurs Thunder?
16:37One word.
16:40Wemby.
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