00:00Ben Standig is joining us. He is our Washington Commanders team insider on this show at Ben
00:06Standig on X. Subscribe to his sub stack where he covers the team, covers the Wizards as well.
00:15So it's a two for one deal and it's only a couple of bucks a month and it's totally worth
00:20it. So
00:22all right. What I mean, kind of out of the football discussion over the weekend,
00:28we're eight weeks away from having a conversation about a real game. And we are about a week away
00:34from the training camp shenanigans for a month and a half or so. Other than the obvious, Jaden
00:46Daniels and his injury history and what will 2026 produce? What's the next biggest storyline when
00:52we get to a week from what tomorrow or Wednesday?
00:59Well, I mean, you know, there's still, you know, there's some injuries we still need
01:03to know about, you know, Dorrance Armstrong, Tramos and some other guys who, you know,
01:07didn't participate at all. You know, when are they coming back? I have no sense that that's
01:11going to be anything that's going to linger into the season. So it's maybe more just a
01:15matter of are they available day one of camp or, you know, it takes two weeks or not until
01:19after preseason or what have you. So I think that's an obvious one, but, you know, they've
01:25got enough depth that they're not missing other than like Tramos. I think they're, you know,
01:30kind of, oh, they're fortified until these guys get some of these guys get back, especially
01:35on the defensive line. But I think the other, the big story is, and this is unfortunately
01:39something that for our purposes, it's not going to get known until the season starts. And
01:47the new coordinators, because obviously, you know, we can talk about talent, we're all
01:51blue in the face, but it is also about using the players and using, knowing how to use them,
01:57when to use them, what's the best way to maximize their abilities, et cetera. And, you know, until
02:02we see it, you can't, you can't say for sure. We're not going to see anything until the games
02:07turn real for the most part. You know, I mean, in training camp, we'll see a few things here
02:11and there, but not in terms of the full-blown strategic aspect. So I think ultimately that's
02:16going to just, and when we ask the question, you're going to ask me at some point, you
02:19know, down the line, what's going to be their record. And so much of it is going to hinge
02:23beyond the injuries. It's going to hinge on how well do we think that these guys, David
02:28Blount, Durante Jones are going to do with their jobs and not question that they won't
02:32do well, but that's, that's the big unknown. We don't, we don't know.
02:37Yeah. I kind of feel like this time last year, and I, I don't even think it's debatable
02:41that we were entering into the most anticipated season since probably 2013, you know, off of
02:52RG3's 2012 season. Like there was just legitimate excitement and belief that this team had a chance
03:00to go, you know, to win a lot of games and to go deep, et cetera. Obviously it didn't play
03:07out
03:07for obvious reasons. And I think that this year is just a big unknown. And I think we've had a
03:13lot
03:13of years like that, that have been an unknown. Although we really knew deep down, if we were
03:19really honest with ourselves, that as long as Dan Snyder was the owner, the owner of the team,
03:24it was more likely than not going to end poorly. Um, but this one is a big, who the hell
03:30knows
03:31can RG3, can RG3, there I did it again. Can Jaden Daniels be healthy enough and play 17 games? That's
03:38number one. What will the offense look like with David Blau? What will the defense look like with
03:44Durante Jones? All of these new players, how will they come together? Will there be chemistry or will
03:49it be hard to, to, to, to synchronize everything? Maybe it's a year away. It really is a total unknown.
03:56And that's why they're over under sitting there at seven and a half. It's not the worst and it's far
04:01from the best because I don't think anybody really has a good handle on Washington.
04:07Yeah, no, I mean, you know, again, this is part of what you, you know, people tune into you to
04:11get
04:12your view as a, what's going to happen. And they, you know, listen to me or read me for the
04:16same, but
04:18anybody who's going to tell you to me right now that they've got to feel for whatever is going to
04:22happen. I mean, God bless them. I wish they would have told me some of that, uh, some info when
04:27I
04:27was in Vegas, betting on some things, but what was going to happen? Because I, I just hard to know.
04:32Did you make any futures bets when you were out there?
04:35Okay. No, I, I did, I did not. Uh, I didn't, uh, actually somewhat stayed away from the,
04:41from the sports book outside of the world cup. Uh, of what I did and a little bit on the,
04:45uh, the British,
04:47uh, final round. Uh, but you know, I mean, again, like we can point to the defense looks
04:53should be more talented, right? They've got more guys, especially in the front seven with,
04:57with a lot of, uh, potential and a lot of juice and a lot of energy and, and the type
05:02of players
05:03that we, you know, could make for some exciting football, but you know, we'll see even a guy like
05:07a Duff, uh, you know, a Duff Aowe who was, um, you know, obviously they paid him a lot of
05:12money
05:12and he's looked pretty good. You know, it's still, even that is a little bit, you know,
05:15we'll see because it's a different kind of a role. He's being asked to be sort of the main guy.
05:20Whereas, you know, say with the chargers, you know, he had Khalil Mack and, and, you know,
05:24some other guys. So how, how does that play out? And there's also just a different system,
05:28right? For him and, and, and everybody else. So you never know how these things are going to go.
05:32And especially because it is all brand new, it makes it just that much more, uh, complicated.
05:38So yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's really going to be fascinating to see.
05:41I think again, especially, I think defensively, I'm really intrigued to see what happens.
05:45And with David Blau on offense, it's a big swing that Dan, that Dan Quinn took to go down that
05:52route.
05:53There's a lot of reasons to believe that it can work, but you know, we, even, even if we just
05:58say
05:58ultimately it does work, it doesn't mean year one, it's going to be, you know, rocking and rolling.
06:04So, um, we'll see that again, like you said, Jaden's health comes down to so much of it.
06:09We spend so much time discussing the set, the wide receiver to spot or that room in general,
06:14but you know, we go back to the first year, none of us were like, wow, what a great room
06:18that is, but Jaden Daniels made it all work.
06:20And if he can do what he does, then it'll, and to make this room work, then we won't be
06:26worrying about whether they, who they got at that second receiver.
06:29And ultimately, you know, that's going to be key.
06:31If you, how is he going to execute David Blau's plans and so on?
06:34And so, uh, it all starts with Jaden, but then you have the coordinators, I think to
06:38me are next up.
06:39Yeah.
06:40And as it relates to the unknown, I mean, even like, especially when you've added so many
06:46players, they added, you know, top three and money, the number one team in new players
06:52added to their roster during this past off season.
06:56You're just not sure which ones are going to fit and which ones aren't.
07:00I mean, we thought, um, the corner from Cincinnati, uh, Jackson, we thought he was going to be
07:05a good fit, terrible fit.
07:07And, you know, somebody, somebody like Olamide Zaccheaus way under the radar will even make
07:12the team big contributor.
07:14You just aren't sure which one of these, uh, or hopefully, you know, which group of these
07:21is going to perform well and which one or two, uh, won't, but it'll probably surprise.
07:26I still think Nick cross has a chance to be the guy with the biggest free agency, new
07:33edition floor.
07:34Sounds like a question for a show, uh, tomorrow or the next time you're on, but I got to go.
07:39Thanks.
07:40As always.
07:41Always.
07:43That'll do it for today.
07:44Back tomorrow.
07:45Chris is up next.
07:46Is he in?
07:48He is.
07:49All right.
07:50Can't wait to hear what he says about soccer.
07:52That's next.
07:57Watch out.
07:59Oh,
07:59You.
08:00All right.
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