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Time to Hit the Skins on the first full Monday of the summer break between minicamp and training camp!
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00:00So, should we start with the takeaways from Commander's Practices so far, or should we
00:05start with Brandon and I, you can get it out of the way?
00:08No, start with the takeaways.
00:08Start with the takeaways.
00:09All right, this is from ESPN.com, our pal John Kime.
00:13They've had, what, three weeks of OTAs?
00:17Mm-hmm.
00:18And what he writes is, number one, the energy was different this spring.
00:24Mm-hmm.
00:25Well, you've got two new coordinators.
00:27You're coming off a season where you were very disappointing, but you brought in all
00:32these new players.
00:33You would hope that there was new energy.
00:35Well, you know, we talked about this last week, that Dan Quinn at one point showed a video
00:44of the guys of OTAs from, like, 2024 and then OTAs of 2025 and the difference.
00:54And, you know, they're trying to get back to that 2024 vibes and intensity and everything
00:59else.
00:59I saw him make a point about if you're just one degree different and it's one degree
01:04different and you keep going down the road and then there ends up being a huge difference.
01:08Mm-hmm.
01:08You know, if it's one degree off.
01:10Mm-hmm.
01:11So, I mean, I think these are good things to hear.
01:13I don't know if it really makes a difference when you hear about vibes because, and I think
01:17maybe John Kime came on this show and said, well, you know, last year you thought everything
01:21was great.
01:22He didn't think anything was bad.
01:23It wasn't like when they were at OTAs last year, like, oh, this team looks off.
01:27No, he noticed the days off, though, which everybody noticed because it was an older
01:31roster and that it wasn't as hard hitting, you know, but you just wrote that off because,
01:36well, you know, this is how you have to manage a somewhat older roster.
01:39Yeah.
01:39Quinn said, last year I felt we weren't as connected.
01:42I was looking at desperation and being hungry.
01:46Jeremy Reeves said, this should all be the motivation.
01:49You need to be urgent.
01:51We won five games last year.
01:52We weren't good.
01:53If that doesn't add enough pep in your step, you're in the wrong field.
01:59Yeah.
01:59He knows the pressure is higher, obviously coming off a five-win campaign.
02:03You can't go through the same motions you did in camp that led you to that horrific record.
02:10Number two, and we knew this just based on personnel, more defensive speed.
02:15We talked about getting younger and faster offseason.
02:19It starts with Sonny Stiles, but pretty much everybody they brought in in the offseason,
02:25whether it's Leo Chanel, linebacker, Owe, all of them are faster than what they had before.
02:36I didn't realize this.
02:38Kime is saying that he run a 4-3-6-40.
02:44No way.
02:45The combine.
02:46That can't be right.
02:46Which player are you talking about?
02:47Chanel?
02:47Owe.
02:48Owe.
02:48Owe.
02:49That's what it says here in the thing.
02:50That can't be right.
02:51Is that right?
02:52That's shocking if that's right.
02:54But yeah, there's no doubt about it.
02:56They added defensive speed everywhere.
02:59And I think the question will just be how much better will they be?
03:03They're definitely going to be better if they stay healthy, presumably.
03:06Yes.
03:07If people live up to their potentials, they should be.
03:10They should be better.
03:11I do think...
03:12And they got better not only at the edge, they got at linebacker, at safety, pretty much everywhere.
03:17They added corners.
03:18And listen, I actually did John's podcast last week, and it's going to air in a couple weeks.
03:27It's super risky to do what DQ did, bringing in first-year coordinators in David Blau and Durante.
03:35But I can speak at least for Durante.
03:37The guy's been around a long, long time.
03:40And obviously mentored by Flores, bringing a lot of Flores influence.
03:45And people are talking about...
03:46You can already see all the different disguises, all the communication that's necessary for it.
03:51I can't wait to see...
03:53When was the last time we had a defense where you could get guys, Blitzen, coming off the edges from
03:58anywhere?
03:58Yeah.
03:59And DQ's basically...
04:00He's admitting, I didn't really get it right when my first coordinator hires.
04:04Yeah.
04:04That's what he's telling everybody by bringing in two new first-year guys.
04:08But Witt said all the right things.
04:10During a critical year.
04:10Witt said all the right things.
04:12I actually feel bad for Witt.
04:13Witt didn't have all these tools.
04:15He didn't have some of these tools.
04:16That's for sure.
04:17But it also became obvious halfway through the year that it just wasn't working with Witt.
04:22Frankie Lubu said, younger, faster, more explosive.
04:25We're just hunting, man.
04:27Yeah.
04:27Very aggressive.
04:29Very downhill.
04:31We're disruptive.
04:32I also just...
04:33I'm super excited to see what they do with Sonny Stiles.
04:37You hear...
04:38They say they're not...
04:39Obviously, they're not going to tell you.
04:40We're going to see it.
04:41But they're going to move him around.
04:43He's not just going to be in the middle of that defense calling plays.
04:47They're going to move his ass around.
04:50You have a guy who has his measurables and his traits.
04:54You don't just plunk him down in the middle and tell him to tackle the guy coming through
04:58the line of scrimmage.
04:59Right.
05:00You're going to move him all over your formation.
05:02DQ...
05:03And Durante Jones is known for that.
05:04Well, DQ also, remember, coached Micah Parsons.
05:07Yeah.
05:07And he's made allusions to how they moved Micah all the way around.
05:11And I think you're going to see a lot of the same things from Sonny Stiles.
05:14It's going to be super, super exciting what they do defensively.
05:16Kime does say, number three questions remain at running back.
05:21The Commanders haven't had a number one running back in a while and are likely to enter the
05:24season with a running back by committee situation.
05:27Right.
05:28Which I don't think is unusual.
05:30I think half the league probably has a running back by committee.
05:32More than half.
05:33Bill looks jacked.
05:35I know that's one thing.
05:36Looks beggar.
05:37I don't know what you can truly take away from OTAs and running backs.
05:41You know, they're not getting hit.
05:44They're just kind of running around.
05:45I agree.
05:46You can't really take a lot from the D-line and O-line, too.
05:49Yeah.
05:49It's very difficult.
05:50But I do think the overall group is slightly better than what they've had.
05:56I wouldn't say massively better, but slightly better when you add Rashad White, Jerome
06:01Ford into the mix.
06:02Also, Katron Allen, a.k.a. Fat Man.
06:05Six-round pick, I have my doubts.
06:07I think he's going to get some opportunities.
06:08Bill was a seventh-round pick.
06:10That's true.
06:11And he found the end zone eight times and was productive.
06:14The biggest thing that Fat Man has going for him, think about all the incredible backs
06:18that have gone through Penn State.
06:21None of them have as many yards as he does.
06:23Yeah.
06:23That's pretty impressive.
06:25None of them.
06:26Number four.
06:27This should probably be number one.
06:31Daniels looks like Daniels again.
06:33If Jaden can play like he did as a rookie, this is a team that should make the playoffs.
06:39I hope.
06:40I'm still scared with the schedule, but I just have to take that out of my head.
06:43I've got to stop thinking about the schedule.
06:45The schedule's throwing me big time.
06:46You've got to go week by week, EB.
06:47It's so front-loaded.
06:48Don't worry about the first nine or ten weeks.
06:50And I have to get out of my head because we all know this.
06:54You never know how teams are actually going to be the next year.
06:57It's all based on last year.
06:58But I do think it's a very difficult schedule.
07:00Now, John swears to me that the commander's coaching staff, they look at it in a different
07:06way instead of, wow, what a daunting task.
07:08They look at it, and I guess you have to, as, wow, what an opportunity.
07:12Get off to a good start, bank some wins, especially early in the division, and you'll be off and
07:20running.
07:20That'll really set the tone.
07:21So the start to the season is going to be very, very important for these boys.
07:24And what's different about the Jaden Daniels situation this year versus last year is you've
07:31got a healthy Terry McLaurin.
07:33Yeah.
07:33And Keim writes about that, that they just never were in sync last year in the offseason.
07:39Fives were off last year.
07:40The whole offseason last year, this year it's been a lot of Brandon Iyuk talk, but he's
07:44not in camp.
07:45He's not disrupting anything.
07:47That's like an off-the-books issue.
07:49He's not there yet.
07:50Right.
07:50But last year, the McLaurin situation persisted throughout the offseason, and then his whole
07:57injury situation lingered in the season.
07:59But this year, hopefully, they are more in sync with Jaden Daniels and Terry McLaurin and
08:07the rest of the receivers.
08:09Now, at number five, he says, still questions at receiver.
08:15Until somebody steps up and fulfills some of these roles.
08:18I mean, I do think that we're kind of realizing that Chig is going to be a massive part of
08:23this offense.
08:24It should be, yeah.
08:24And that might help alleviate some of the concerns that a lot of us have.
08:28I know I'm super excited for Antonio Williams and what he potentially could bring to this
08:33off.
08:33It seems like he and Terry are doing a lot of side work together.
08:38Terry probably taking him under his wing, teaching him all his tricks.
08:40But there's still a question, and that leads us to Brandon Iyuk.
08:44Here's the deal.
08:45Debo Samuels caught 72 catches last year.
08:47Yeah.
08:48All right.
08:48McLaurin had 38 in 10 games.
08:50They had eight other receivers combined to catch 61 passes.
08:53Nobody more than 16.
08:54So, they're looking for a second guy, and that's why Brandon Iyuk's name keeps popping
09:00up.
09:01And here's what he said most recently.
09:03Man, what's up, everybody?
09:05I had a great Father's Day.
09:07And before I lay down and go to bed tonight, I just wanted to say, go, Commanders!
09:11Go, Commanders, man!
09:13Go, Commanders!
09:15Raise hell!
09:17Take him in!
09:18F*** you something up!
09:20I don't know, dude.
09:21It is what it is.
09:23I can't read into it anymore.
09:24He's the opposite of Anthony Davis.
09:26He's telling you where he wants to go.
09:29He's telegraphing exactly where he wants to go.
09:31When they release him, somebody else offers him more money.
09:34Don't you think?
09:35It doesn't matter.
09:35He's telling his agent, get me a deal done with the Commanders.
09:38Right.
09:39That's pretty much it.
09:40I'm pretty convinced.
09:40His agent's like, what are you doing?
09:41You're killing me.
09:42You're killing your negotiating power.
09:44I don't care.
09:44I just want to be in D.C.
09:46I want to play with my boy.
09:47It seems like it's going to happen.
09:49I mean, it seems like a wackadoo.
09:52But does it, the way he's acting, does it tell you that he knows something?
09:57I mean, he's just agitating.
09:58I can't read into that.
09:59He knows something.
10:00He's just agitating for it to happen.
10:02Yes.
10:02I think it's more what Cakeson said.
10:04Then, hey, somebody has told him, hey, dude, just.
10:07This is all I need.
10:08If you're Brandon Iyuk and you land here, just be semi-normal and catch 50 balls.
10:14Catch 50 balls.
10:15I see one video of him working out, maybe catching balls.
10:19So I'm diving in a pool.
10:20Diving in a pool.
10:21That's what you got.
10:21I did not.
10:22That translates to NFL wideout skills.
10:26It was physical activity.
10:27It was good diving.
10:28I mean, anybody.
10:28He didn't look chunky.
10:29I mean.
10:30Didn't look chunky.
10:31I don't think he's look chunky.
10:32I don't think he's.
10:32You missed that.
10:33206.
10:34I did.
10:34Yeah.
10:34206.
10:35He doesn't.
10:36What was his playing weight?
10:37200.
10:38Okay.
10:38Nice.
10:40He doesn't look chunky anymore.
10:42He looks good.
10:43Look, the guy's obviously a weirdo.
10:45I don't get it.
10:46If they sign him, great.
10:47If they don't sign him, great.
10:49Don't care.
10:51I'm actually willing to go with these guys, but I'd like him to sign either Debo, Diggs,
10:58or Iuke just for added insurance.
11:00What about Cheetah?
11:01I saw a video of Cheetah.
11:03I'm scared of him.
11:04Kind of scared.
11:05I don't love that idea.
11:07To be the first one back.
11:09I don't know.
11:10I mean, sure.
11:11Somebody on ESPN, I can't remember who wrote it.
11:14It was like within the last week, had like each team needs to make this move before the season.
11:20And his move for the commanders was sign Tyreek Hill.
11:23I mean, that'd be amazing.
11:24But put it this way.
11:24If they signed Tyreek Hill, I wouldn't stop talking about it for a week.
11:27I wouldn't stop.
11:28I'd be dreaming about it.
11:30But I do think he's damaged goods until proven otherwise.
11:36But yeah.
11:37Are you kidding?
11:38Who's better in a one-on-one situation?
11:41I don't think he's a big Dan Quinn brotherhood type of guy.
11:43He might not be.
11:43Doesn't strike me as that kind of guy.
11:45And is it just me?
11:46Or does it feel like he's wearing like burgundy?
11:49He's got commander's hats.
11:52He's got all gear.
11:53I feel like he's wearing like burgundy Adidas stripes.
11:57Like everything's like got some burgundy in it.
11:59I don't know.
12:00Are you noticing this?
12:01There's like a...
12:01I did see the Adidas shirt he was wearing.
12:03I'll pay attention to it from now on.
12:04I feel like there's a theme of burgundy.
12:06Yeah.
12:07It's like what he's wearing.
12:09Anyway, the saga continues for Brandon IU.
12:12Coming up next, the U.S. takes care of business in their second game against Australia.
12:16And the boys were out and about.
12:18We'll get a little recap next here on the Junkies.
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