- 10 hours ago
Fred Smoot joins The Sports Junkies to break down the latest Washington Commanders news.
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00:00I am here, fellas.
00:01There it is.
00:02The mouth of the south.
00:03Fred Smoot.
00:03There you are.
00:04I was saying, I saw you in the background when they gave Santana,
00:07they announced that it was going to be now known as the Santana Moss Good Guy Award.
00:13Are you a little bit jealous?
00:15I was a little bit jealous because you know what?
00:17Yes, his career in football was better than mine,
00:20but all alone I thought I was the best talker.
00:22He won it, too.
00:23I told him, he's just winning everything right now, brother.
00:27You had a pretty darn good career, too.
00:29You got nothing to be ashamed of.
00:31Nothing to be ashamed of.
00:32No, most definitely, man.
00:33But, you know, don't nobody deserve it like Santana, man.
00:36I've always been just a genuine person, a genuine guy,
00:39and a guy that just brings a lot to the community.
00:41So, man, if anybody deserves it, it's Santana.
00:44Of all the – before we get into the OTAs, kind of evaluate the offseason.
00:50It really seemed like it was dedicated toward the defense.
00:53People question whether they did enough for the offense.
00:55But part of getting the offense better is getting that defense better.
00:58Which of those moves in the offseason did you like the most
01:01and then touch on the draft?
01:04All right.
01:04I'm going to answer that question.
01:05But first of all, guys, I got to say this.
01:07I listen to y'all every morning when I'm waking up and I'm headed to work.
01:10And I'm thinking I'm going to hear some optimism.
01:13And I don't hear any optimism.
01:15After we don't win out here in the offseason, Adolfio,
01:18y'all, we got Edges, K-Sun.
01:21We got – and then people don't forget about the players that we got coming back.
01:26Like, we got a chance to be a top-ten defense.
01:29And everybody's like, well, we need defense.
01:31We need a defensive back.
01:32First of all, when you invest in a defensive front, anybody.
01:36Cakes can play cornerback.
01:37When you have somebody rushing to pass.
01:39I don't know if my back pedal's that good, Smooth.
01:42I don't think my hips are very fluid.
01:44We don't need them to be fluid because you ain't going to go back there.
01:47The one thing about it is, when you have rushers, interior and exterior rushers,
01:52the ball got to come out now.
01:53And if you go look at that Minnesota defense, could you name me their corners?
01:57Name my corners for the Minnesota Vikings.
01:59Right.
01:59No, point well said.
02:02Because it's a scheme-oriented.
02:03It's a scheme-oriented defense.
02:06I'm going to take you back to Greg Williams.
02:08Greg Williams was a scheme-oriented defense.
02:11And we didn't have the best rushers.
02:13We did not have the best defensive front.
02:16But what we did have was defensive backs.
02:18So he weaponized us to unleash the front.
02:21Well, we don't weaponize the front to unleash the back end.
02:25And that's what they're going to do when it comes to this defense this year.
02:27Which guys in the offseason are you most excited?
02:31Before we get to the draft, is it Owe?
02:34I love Chennault.
02:36I think that's going to be an awesome signing.
02:38I was going to say, Chennault is my pick.
02:40Chennault is my pick.
02:41This dude is an animal.
02:43Right.
02:43Listen to me, his athletic metrics was one of the highest ever until Sonny Stiles came
02:49in the league.
02:50Right.
02:50Did you hear what I said?
02:52His athletic metrics was higher than anybody else until Sonny Stiles came in the league
02:57and their teammates.
02:58Right.
02:58So him, Sonny Stiles, Lou Vu.
03:01Like, we got dudes now.
03:03Like, we got dudes beyond dudes now.
03:05So I'm expecting him to, I'm not saying we're going back to the NFC Championship.
03:10I'm expecting him to compete with any and everybody on the defensive side of the ball when it comes
03:15to football this year.
03:16Fred, though, I'm going to challenge you on your listening because you said there's no
03:19optimism.
03:20Cakes, how many wins did you have when we went through the schedule?
03:22Oh, smoothie.
03:22Smoothie.
03:23I think I have him through, like, 11 wins.
03:25Cakes had him at 11 wins, all right?
03:27I had him at nine.
03:28That's not overly optimistic.
03:29I think EB, maybe not.
03:31I think even Bish had him in double-digit wins.
03:33The thing is, though, the schedule scared me.
03:36Like, the way they lined it up.
03:39Why does it scare you?
03:40Because everybody likes to play the schedule thing, and they like to base it on last year's
03:44things.
03:45Right.
03:46This is a new year.
03:47Listen to me.
03:48The most dangerous team to meet in the NFC East is not the Eagles.
03:52It's the Cowboys.
03:54The Cowboys are going to be their team right there.
03:58They did what we did.
03:59They went and made sure the offense and the defense equals each other.
04:03The Cowboys will be a ravenous team.
04:05Everybody, to me, we don't know how hard this schedule is because we don't know who people
04:09are going to be.
04:10We don't know what the team is going to turn into this year.
04:13Like, every year is a different story, a different chapter, and a different book.
04:16You cannot base it off of last year.
04:18Okay, if a team went to the championship last year, nine times ten, this year they're not
04:22going.
04:22So, it's always going to be four or five new playoff teams no matter what happens.
04:26So, stop letting Vegas kill y'all.
04:29I'm for nostalgia.
04:30Listen to me.
04:31The one thing you don't want to get is paralysis by over-analysis.
04:35And that's what we do in the offseason.
04:37We ain't got nothing to talk about.
04:38So, we just, we micro-pick on things.
04:42And I'm telling you right now, I think AP did his job.
04:45Now, it's up to the players.
04:47Smoot, let me ask you this.
04:49So, during your seven years in Washington, all right, you had two years in Minnesota.
04:53Since you were mentioning Chanel's athletic score, give me, and I know you're not afraid
04:58to call somebody out, the best athletically gifted guy you saw that just didn't pan out
05:04to be like a superstar based on athleticism, physique, whatever.
05:08Wow.
05:09Because you know there are a lot of guys who, on paper, right, have all the check marks,
05:15and then it just doesn't happen.
05:17All right, me and Champ used to come home, talk all the time about Taylor Jacobs.
05:23We failed, because Taylor Jacobs used to give us a skill at practice.
05:27Yes.
05:27Yeah.
05:28From Florida.
05:29We could not stop him some days at practice when he got to moving.
05:32But when we got in the game, it would not translate.
05:36And we wondered why, because he would bench 400 pounds.
05:39He runs a 4-3-40.
05:40He's quick.
05:41He's fast.
05:42He can catch soft hands out of the cut.
05:44It ain't nothing he can't do, but when we got in the game,
05:48he would not bless the other cornerbacks like he was blessing us at practice.
05:51And we was kind of mad about that.
05:53Like, when the lights turn on, we need you to be your best, your biggest.
05:57But athletic profile, Taylor Jacobs had one.
06:01And I'm talking about skilled, smart, like everything you need.
06:05Like, there wasn't no weakness there.
06:06So we just could not understand why it would not translate to Sunday.
06:10Second round pick, he ended up with 37 career catches
06:13and two career touchdowns.
06:16So give me the opposite, Fred.
06:18Give me the opposite, Fred.
06:19Somebody that not athletically gifted and just maximized it.
06:22I know Chris Doran comes on our show all the time.
06:26Now, he didn't do that much in the pros.
06:28Yeah.
06:28But somebody that you played with that just overachieved.
06:32Lorenzo Alexander, a.k.a. the one-man game.
06:35I watched him transform his body from a D-tackle, tight end, offensive guard, linebacker, special teams guy.
06:45Whatever we asked Lorenzo to do, he did it.
06:47And we asked him to change his body.
06:49Lose 50 pounds.
06:50No problem, sir.
06:51He loses 50 pounds.
06:52He turns into an outside linebacker and goes to the Pro Bowl.
06:54It's Lorenzo Alexander nine times out of ten.
06:57Because not only is he going to sacrifice everything he got,
07:00he's going to stand up and be a leader.
07:02And he's going to do whatever the team needs him to do.
07:05Hey, Smoot, give us the breakdown on the third-round rookie wideout,
07:09Antonio Williams, out of Clemson.
07:11If you were in your prime and trying to defend him, how would you do that?
07:15And talk about the opportunity he has here, basically stepping in behind Terry McClure.
07:19And he should have a lot of balls thrown his way as a rookie.
07:22My grandma would call him a renaissance man.
07:24That means he's not great at any one thing, but he's good at a lot.
07:28This is a guy that can get play on the inside, can play on the outside,
07:31can run goal routes, can run option routes, can run choice routes.
07:35Like, he's going to be a trained mover.
07:38And that's what you want.
07:38You always want the West Whelkers of the world.
07:41You want the Julian Edmonds of the world.
07:42You want the guys that don't need to be the best athletes.
07:45They need to understand spacing and how to run a route.
07:48And this is what this kid understands how to do.
07:51He's been starring for Clemson for Lord knows how long.
07:54They're depending on him to do everything.
07:56We're going to ask him to be a specialist.
07:58And because we're going to ask him to be a specialist,
08:00I think he's going to have a chance to be special in that role.
08:03We've got something with this kid.
08:05And I hear a lot of people talk about the wide receiver room.
08:07Why?
08:09Give me something, Case.
08:11Why do everybody want to bring up the wide receiver room
08:13when you've got a quarterback that's a force multiplier?
08:16I've never seen anybody nag about Tom Brady's room.
08:19I've never seen anybody nag about...
08:21That's a good point.
08:21I think they just want to see more out of guys like Luke McCaffrey and Jalen Lane.
08:25They want to see steps from them in their third and fourth years
08:31or second and third years in the program.
08:33Here's the elephant in the room.
08:34You know if McCaffrey stays healthy last year,
08:38he goes to the Pro Bowl as a returner, right?
08:40He was really good at that.
08:42He had his best year as a receiver.
08:44He started to really make plays before he got hurt.
08:47Now, Jalen Lane, it needs to be some more nuance in how he runs route.
08:51So his growth is what we're going to really look at.
08:53But usually when you've got an A-plus quarterback,
08:56nobody ever talks about the receivers because the receivers don't matter.
08:59The quarterback dictates the defense when it comes to wide receivers.
09:04I'll never pay a wide receiver $150 million when I've got a $300 million quarterback
09:09because he changes everything.
09:11Did you ask him, like, do you think they're going to sign another one?
09:17I don't know.
09:18But if you ask me, I could go into the season with this room.
09:22Like, I could go into the season with this room,
09:24and I could be totally happy with everything I got going on.
09:27Why not bring back Debo?
09:30I mean, I don't know what to make of the videos,
09:32but it looks like he's working his ass off.
09:33Iyuk, I just see on a plane chilling.
09:35Looks a little chubby.
09:37Debo's working his ass off.
09:38Was productive last year.
09:39Why not bring Debo back?
09:41It's a numbers game, guys.
09:43How many receivers are we going to keep?
09:44Six?
09:45I don't know.
09:46Ish.
09:48Let's say six, all right?
09:49So you got this Terry, Trey Lombergs, this Williams, this Lane,
09:55this McCaffrey, and now the last spot is who?
09:58De'Ami?
09:59De'Ami or Van Jefferson?
10:01Yeah.
10:02And I don't know why people just look over Van Jefferson.
10:04He's the only guy that had more than 800 yards receiving in a season
10:08that's on the team.
10:09I don't know about to talk about him.
10:11I do kind of award him.
10:13Hey, you know what?
10:13I'm not going to lead the witness here, Smoot.
10:16I want your unfettered take on Chig Aconquo.
10:21What do you think he's going to do in this offense?
10:23Oh, I think Chig going to be good in this offense because Chig,
10:26the one thing about him is he's a tight end.
10:29His athletic profile is totally different.
10:32He's got to get out there.
10:32He can run.
10:34And nobody ever talks about his blocking,
10:35but he's a really nasty blocker to get in there and get nasty.
10:39But I'm going to tell you what we're going to love about him.
10:41Him taking a five-yard in route and turning it to 40 yards.
10:45His run after the catch is something special.
10:48If you want me to tell you his superpower, it's yack.
10:51He's going to get yack.
10:53He's one of those guys where he's a little too fast for linebackers
10:56and a little too big for safeties.
10:59So, that makes him a matchup nightmare.
11:02And in this offense, in this offense,
11:05the middle of the field is where they attack when it comes to the passing game.
11:08So, I know we're not used to the tight end being heavy the last two years
11:13because the offense was not based on the tight end.
11:15The last offense wasn't even based on motion.
11:18It wasn't even based on checks.
11:20This offense is based on motions, checks.
11:22Check with me at the line of scrimmage.
11:23We're going to find the best matchup and we're going to exploit it.
11:27And he will be a big reason why we exploit this
11:29because not only is he a tight end that can get yacked,
11:32he's a tight end that can get vertical at any time.
11:35And any time you've got just the remnants of a tight end that can get vertical,
11:40that makes the safety step back three, four yards.
11:42That makes the linebacker, the middle linebacker, step back three, four yards,
11:46and then we're going to run the ball at you.
11:47So, it's a give and a take here.
11:49I think Cheek is going to have a great effect numbers-wise,
11:52and I think he's going to have a great effect presence-wise.
11:55Smoot, always love having you on.
11:57Thanks for the time, pal.
11:58Anytime, fellas.
11:59Thank you, buddy.
12:00Good talking to you, man.
12:01He's so great.
12:02You won your bet, JP.
12:03You would have won.
12:04I didn't bet anybody money, but...
12:05Big winner.
12:06He's so great.
12:07Smoot posted.
12:08If you bet on Smoot, you're going to win half the time.
12:11Yeah, it's true.
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