00:00Last year, even at this time of year, OTAs,
00:03and certainly once we got to training camp,
00:05the Terry McLaurin contract situation was just lingering over everything.
00:09It just was, and it sucked.
00:13It's very different this year.
00:15Terry's there, seems happy.
00:18Everybody's excited about the new offense.
00:21But I thought this was a really compelling answer from Terry
00:27about moving on from the contract drama last year.
00:32Jeff, hit it.
00:34Yeah, no, I don't want to forget it because, I mean,
00:37I grew a lot from that situation.
00:38I learned a lot, and it produced in me like a different,
00:46I wouldn't say even like focus, but it was just something that had to happen.
00:50Like I don't look at things that are adversities that happen in your life
00:54as a negative thing like I used to.
00:56I kind of sometimes would get in my head about why is this happening
01:01or it's not going my way, and I've kind of just taken those opportunities
01:04to see it as a learning and growth experience.
01:07And I have no bitterness about it.
01:09You know what I mean?
01:09I'm able to move forward, and I've been in the league long enough.
01:12Each year is a new year, so I'm just excited to kind of put that aspect
01:15of the business side behind me and just step into this year
01:18like it's a brand new year and being a leader.
01:23So I think he's right.
01:25You don't want to, like you learn stuff, good and bad in this world,
01:30and you grow from it.
01:32What was it like for you when you finally left D.C. to go to Philly?
01:38Did you try to forget about it?
01:39Did you try to embrace it?
01:40Like what is that journey like for an athlete?
01:44I always say don't just read the writing on the wall, understand it.
01:49And I think until you go through it, you look at it like he was looking at it
01:52before, like it won't happen to me.
01:55I saw Art Monk leave here.
01:59I saw Gary Clark leave here.
02:02You know, I saw those guys leaving, and for me, I'm starting to think,
02:07oh, it could happen to me.
02:08But when I went through it at first, it hurts.
02:13And you do see it as something.
02:16But then when you start to reflect and you understand this did happen to other
02:20people before you, and you learn from it, and you begin to not just learn the
02:27sports side, you start learning the business side of it.
02:30You come out of it with a different mindset.
02:33When I got to Philly, I could have been sulking, but those fans up there were
02:39treating me like I was something special.
02:42So I started to focus more on that.
02:45And if I had stayed here, or when I come back here, when I would come back here,
02:50there were fans that would always make you feel a certain way.
02:52So you got to understand, it's two different things.
02:55It's the fan base, and it's what you're dealing with with the team.
02:59How often do you really have to talk to the person you deal with on the team?
03:02Contract time?
03:04You deal with players, coaches, and fans every day.
03:08Right.
03:08So you have to get that into perspective.
03:11And what he's saying is exactly the truth.
03:13You can't let it just eat at you because like anything in life, if it happens to you
03:19bad and you keep worried about it, you are hurting yourself, not nobody else.
03:23Whatever they did is done with.
03:25And you keep bringing it up every day.
03:27So you got to get past that.
03:29Are we poised for a Terry McLaurin huge season?
03:34I think it's kind of the question the fans want to know.
03:37800-636-1067.
03:41Blau got asked about Terry yesterday, and he said he's been fantastic.
03:45He has set the tone for the group.
03:47He's working incredibly hard.
03:49And every time he is out there, he's making plays and showing the energy,
03:53the play style that we want to be all about.
03:55He's been excellent.
03:57That's what he's always been.
03:59Right.
03:59It's who he is.
04:00Yeah.
04:01And then Blau was asked specifically about where Terry can grow.
04:07And he said, this should be music to your ears, people.
04:11We may move him around a little bit more.
04:13We will do the things that he does well to try to put us in advantageous positions.
04:17So he's done an excellent job so far with handling what we've thrown at him.
04:21And then, you know, we're just, we're going to keep asking him to keep pushing the envelope
04:25to build on the great career he's already had, and then try to take another step.
04:32Just put him in motion, dude.
04:34Put everybody else in motion.
04:35Like, just free things up.
04:38Yeah.
04:41Move him around on the field.
04:44Moving him around gives him, gives people a different look.
04:49They have to, they are so accustomed to seeing him in that one position to where I guarantee
04:56every team's approach was damn near similar.
05:01Now, you don't know where he's going to be.
05:03You have to adjust that.
05:06That cornerback that could have been over there, when he lined up on the left that was
05:08over there, can the cornerback on the right, on the other side now, cover him the same
05:12way if he's on that side?
05:15Is that cornerback, is one cornerback a little stronger, another one a little weaker?
05:19Is one of them faster, one of them slower, one of them stronger or not?
05:22You know what I mean?
05:23So I just think that Terry, when I look at Terry, the whole situation, people get stuck on
05:30last year.
05:32I look at the overall, he's been damn good throughout, and I think he's going to be damn
05:37good again.
05:40I'm guessing I know how Mr. Walker's going to feel about this.
05:45Jeffrey, how ready are you?
05:48How much do you believe Terry McLaurin's about to silence any critics that may exist?
05:54Look, man, the Washington Commanders are on a revenge tour.
05:59They're doing it for them.
06:01They're doing it for their contracts, and they're doing it for the fans who they, you
06:05know, hiked up, and then the injury bug hit us.
06:08It's going to be a problem this year.
06:09And just how I told y'all about my man, Jay Otto, the obnoxious Rams fan, I'm going to
06:14be the obnoxious Commanders fans because I was verbally abused the entire season last year.
06:21So, yes, he's coming back with a revenge, and, man, we're going to post that every contested
06:26catch Terry makes in this office.
06:29Everyone around.
06:32The NFL Football Power Index is an ESPN metric.
06:37It was done by Seth Walder.
06:40Just launched their initial preseason rankings.
06:45The FBI preseason predictive rankings are primarily based on win totals from the betting
06:50market in conjunction with the team's schedule, along with factors such as the difference
06:54between a team's starting and backup quarterback and special teams rating that incorporates
06:58specific kickers.
06:59We use these ratings to simulate the season thousands of times, with the results forming
07:05the projection.
07:07In the opening FPI rankings of the year, now this is information based largely on Vegas.
07:15You can argue Vegas doesn't know.
07:17I know there's a dude down the hall that often squawks about that, but there's a reason you
07:21drink for free out there, and they keep building new skyscrapers in the desert.
07:26Where do you think the commanders line up, and we can be general here, top third, middle
07:33third, bottom third?
07:38Bottom third based off of what happened last year.
07:41That's where I was about to go.
07:42I was about to say the same thing.
07:43Based off of last year's results, and the new team we have that we haven't seen play yet,
07:48we got to be bottom third.
07:49You want to guess the number?
07:50It's obviously 32 teams.
07:52I'm going to say we probably like 28.
07:56Alright, 1-12, 13-24, 25-32, right?
08:0126.
08:07Stallion, you want to venture a guess?
08:11I'm going to say we're maybe 24th.
08:15Better than all of your guesses.
08:17They had them at 21st.
08:20And honestly, when you look at the company they're keeping here, until we see them, like
08:27what have we said all along, B?
08:29We believe they've addressed a lot of the deficiencies on the defense.
08:32Their linebackers were slow.
08:34Their linebackers, if nothing else, are now fast.
08:37Yeah.
08:37Their pass rush wasn't deep enough and wasn't good enough.
08:41They've added a really fast, high-end pass rusher and more depth.
08:45We got to see it on the field to know it's fixed, but they've tried to address the significant
08:51problems on defense.
08:52Oh, by the way, they're running a new system because the last system sucked.
08:56Offensively, I think a lot hinges on Jaden's health.
08:59Year one, largely healthy.
09:01They were great.
09:02Year two, missed a lot of time.
09:04They kind of stunk.
09:06Yep.
09:0921st sounds about right.
09:11When you look at, you know who's 22nd?
09:13The Steelers.
09:14You know who's 20th?
09:16The Colts.
09:16The Colts started red hot last year.
09:18I think they were 8-2 before Danny Dimes got hurt.
09:20Yeah, they were balling.
09:22Like, I don't think there's a world where you can put them in the top 10, and I think most
09:28things after the top 10 could go a lot of different ways.
09:32True.
09:33Some of the teams with the highest variance, what's going to be really cool is Seth Walder
09:40is the author of this piece.
09:42He's ESPN's kind of projections, analytics guy for football.
09:46Seth Walder's going to join the program tomorrow at 11 a.m., so we can ask him some of these
09:50questions.
09:51Cool.
09:51But a couple things I find interesting looking league-wide, the Rams have the highest FPI
09:59ranking.
10:00They should at this point, especially after the Garrett trade.
10:02After the Garrett trade, hell yeah.
10:04Then you go Bills.
10:05Listen, the Bills were in the divisional round.
10:07They were always high.
10:08The Bills are in the playoffs every year.
10:11They can't break through, but they're in the playoffs every year.
10:14They have the Ravens third.
10:16Okay.
10:17That team did not make the playoffs last year.
10:19Lamar has missed time in four of the last six seasons.
10:23Yep.
10:24They have the Ravens third.
10:25Then the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
10:28The disrespect for Seattle just continues at all levels.
10:32Well, they lost people.
10:33Did you see Jackson Smith and Jigba got his NFL Offensive Player of the Year trophy?
10:41Well, because they wrote NFL Defensive Player of the Year on it.
10:46People continue to clown Jackson Smith and Jigba in ways that I just can't comprehend.
10:51I think it was just a mistake.
10:53They didn't try to.
10:53I agree, but that dude at NFL Honors legit clowned him.
10:58Jeff, you know what I'm talking about.
11:00He's talking about.
11:01The comedian with the blonde hair.
11:02He's talking about Drewski.
11:04Yeah.
11:04Drewski, he didn't know how to pronounce his damn name.
11:07That's an error then.
11:08You're giving the guy an award.
11:11Yeah, he didn't know how to pronounce his name.
11:13That's an error.
11:14That should not happen to one of the best football players on the planet.
11:18They don't care.
11:19That's what I'm saying.
11:21Seattle exists in its own little bubble that everybody forgets about because it's so damn far away.
11:25Yeah.
11:27The teams I find interesting, if you're that high on the Ravens, who just missed the playoffs,
11:34have a new coach, have a new offensive coordinator, how can you have the Chiefs ninth?
11:43Pat.
11:44They're thinking Pat's going to be healthy.
11:46Sure.
11:47That defense can play.
11:52How about this one, though, B?
11:54The Bears had a great season.
11:56Bears got the divisional round of the playoffs.
11:57Okay, so de repente vamos.
11:57Let's do it.
11:58Let's go.
11:58You know what?
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