00:00One of the guys that's been sweating it out with us every day at training camp is our friend Barry
00:04Sferluga from The Athletic.
00:06Barry, what's up, dude?
00:06How are you guys? Thanks for having me.
00:08Thank you for joining us, man.
00:10I want to start with, we just had Quan Martin sit down with us maybe about a half hour ago
00:14or so,
00:15and he was talking about Durante Jones, and one of the things I've noticed is he seems like a real
00:21communicator,
00:22and I'm a person, I think the best coaches are those that talk to each player on their level,
00:29and not try to blanket it.
00:32Like, everybody has to understand me.
00:33It's like, no, I'm going to understand each and every one of you.
00:36I know you did kind of a deep dive with Durante.
00:39I'm wondering, tell us what you learned.
00:40What do you think?
00:41Yeah, I mean, I think what you're saying makes a lot of sense.
00:42He is a very, like, worldly guy.
00:46He has a philosophy that he wants to leave the country twice a year.
00:50Wow.
00:52And he's done it for 20 or 30 years because he wants to be exposed to different things,
00:57and I said we spent three or three and a half hours driving around PG County where he grew up
01:02in Maryland
01:03learning about who he is, and I said, Durante, like, I don't want to draw a line between two dots
01:11that shouldn't be connected, but it seems to me the fact that you want to learn things about the world
01:17leaves you open-minded in your football view of things, and he very much thinks that's a real connection.
01:25I talked to Brian Flores, who he obviously worked with at the Vikings and was his boss.
01:29They didn't know each other before they got together in Minnesota, and Flores was adamant, like,
01:35this guy is a sponge.
01:37He meets people where they are.
01:40To your point, JP, he's moved 14 times in a 26-year career, so he's been – I mean, Flores
01:48said,
01:48look, if he's got a player, he's probably been in that player's backyard somewhere.
01:52He coached four different places in Louisiana.
01:56He's been all over the place, and now he's coming back home to bring a defense that he said –
02:04Durante said to me, like, Flores and him would talk about, oh, people talk about thinking outside the box.
02:09We don't have a box.
02:10Like, we just think of stuff and are really creative.
02:13So I'm excited about it.
02:15I think on the margins, like, David Blau is in a way more important because everything revolves around number five.
02:22But I think Durante Jones' philosophy and experience is going to be a really big deal for a defense that
02:29has so many new parts.
02:31And I think when you look at it, like, the offense I know get more play.
02:34But a defense that can make offenses have to think.
02:37For sure.
02:38And be disruptive is as good as that offense being the person dictating.
02:43And it is.
02:44You hear that, Brian, when they talk – when he talks about it, like, we're disguising stuff so that we
02:50can dictate our will onto the offense
02:51and not just read and react.
02:53So I'm really excited to see how that plays out in practice.
02:58I mean, Javon Kinlaw was in there talking to us today.
03:01How many times did he curse?
03:02Only, like, twice, I think.
03:04Yeah, it was a – it's gotten better.
03:05Over-under was four and a half.
03:07So he talked about him just being moved around in a way that he hasn't over the course of his
03:14career.
03:15He was a little bit trepidatious about it at first.
03:18But now it's like, oh, man, I'm out here on the edges where the guys generally aren't as strong as
03:24he is on the inside.
03:25It's just going to be fun and multiple and interesting to see how it develops with all this personnel.
03:31One person that could help?
03:33Sonny Stiles.
03:34Oh, my God.
03:35What are your early impressions?
03:36Well, I thought yesterday was the day where he really flashed, right?
03:39The first play of 11s and pats.
03:41Yes.
03:41And just some of the stuff, it's very clear he can get out in coverage because he's so fast.
03:47But then to see – I look at him and I'm like, don't you look at him and think, how
03:52are you ever a safety in that body?
03:54Yeah, he's so big, right.
03:55He's so big, but you see how he moves.
03:58And Frankie Louvoo was talking about him too.
04:01Like, they've got more weapons on that side of the ball than they have at any point in the Peters
04:07Quinn regime for sure.
04:08He's kind of built like Steve Atwater.
04:11That's a good one.
04:11But bigger now.
04:12Yeah.
04:12You know, and I think guys like – he can move.
04:15And Ryan was talking about – he said, man, you saw the pass that Jalen Lane dropped.
04:20I'm like, yeah.
04:20He said, Sonny Stiles was checking him.
04:22I'm like, he runs 4-4.
04:23Yeah, right.
04:24He can run stride for stride with those guys, and since he's so long, you know, he can affect them
04:29more than the ordinary, for God, was a little smaller would.
04:32And bring the thumb behind it, right?
04:34I mean, we can't see that out here, but is he going to lay out a running back or two
04:39during the season?
04:40I think so.
04:41I mean, I can't wait to even just see him in the joint practices.
04:44Right.
04:45Defensively, they've done a lot, and we are kind of in the camp bubble where everything looks pretty good, right?
04:53How much do you think it'll translate week one in Philly, week two in Dallas?
04:58I mean, these are some offenses with real weapons.
05:01I think Adafi Owe has been in the backfield enough that you've got to believe there's something real there, both
05:08in the athlete and how he's being deployed, right?
05:12I think they're way more athletic and fast than linebacker.
05:15You are talking about – I mean, the first three games is almost cruel, right?
05:21And I think when you go through those games and say they're 1-2 or they have to be 1
05:26-2 or 0-3, it matters that it's not 35-3 at halftime.
05:33That non-competitive Seattle game last year was a damning thing on the whole structure of the organization.
05:40If they lose to Philly 24-21 or something and it's a hard-fought divisional game, I think that matters.
05:46The style matters because they were so non-competitive so many times last year.
05:51Yeah, styles make fights, right?
05:53Talking with our friend Barry Sverluga here.
05:56Check out all Barry's work in the athletic.
05:58You should check out the piece you did with Durante Jones, some real depth to that.
06:02Appreciate that.
06:02It's in the athletic.
06:04You sent it to me free.
06:05Can everybody read that?
06:06I feel like the athletic's doing more of that.
06:07Yeah, so most of the stuff I tweet out, and I don't even know what the metrics are, but if
06:11I tweet it out, I'm gifting it out.
06:13So I'd appreciate the click, but also a subscription wouldn't mind.
06:17I am a subscriber.
06:18I need to cancel that other subscription I still have, but I am a subscriber to the athletic.
06:24What are your questions that we're now, you know, we're in our second calendar week.
06:29It feels like we've been in here a bunch now.
06:31What are your questions?
06:32I mean, I don't want to be cliche or not original, but it's receiver first.
06:36I mean, it really is, because, you know, they have had Trelon Burks lining up with Terry and often with
06:44McCaffrey if it's in a three-receiver set.
06:46And while Burks looks the part, the back of his football card says he had 10 catches last year, and
06:53he's never played more than 11 games in a season.
06:55So at some point, like, that matters.
06:58Availability is a tool, and that's not to say that he's – the injuries aren't legitimate.
07:05I learned long ago, like, don't question the guy who says he's hurt, but he's got to be out there,
07:11and he's got to be productive when he's out there.
07:13I know they're keeping tabs on the Steph Diggs situation.
07:16I think Diggs wants two years.
07:18Everybody wants to give him one.
07:20I'm not sure when that gets resolved, but I think that move changes things in that room because it would
07:26move everybody else down a peg where they're not being pushed up,
07:31but they're more in a role that they're probably better suited to.
07:34But does Luke look different to y'all than me?
07:37Because I've watched him, and he looks a little bit quicker and more fluid.
07:41And today he got open.
07:42He got separation.
07:43And, I mean, one thing – you tell me if I'm wrong, Brian, but, like, I thought Jaden was a
07:49little off the very first day,
07:51and since then he's been, like, nails.
07:53I mean, these things are bullets, and he hit McCaffrey down the seam in a way where Luke had some
08:01separation,
08:01but it didn't have to be that much, and it's right there.
08:05Like, that's – he can throw guys open.
08:07Yeah.
08:08I like the rookie.
08:10I think Williams has looked fluid, certainly.
08:13Yes.
08:14You know, a rookie wide out making a major contribution.
08:20The Diggs thing is interesting because I think he comes in immediately and helps the team,
08:26and that should be the goal, right, is to have your best possible team to win games.
08:30But I also think right now letting all these other dudes get a lot of work has real value.
08:36And that scale, like, that determination is a little trickier than just, yes, this guy will help us win games.
08:44Sure, I get that.
08:45And I think there's benefit to all these – like, McCaffrey getting time to shine,
08:49Burks getting real work, Williams in his first camp getting a chance.
08:54I just think that if and when Diggs gets here, it's not really that important for him to be here
09:01now
09:01because he's played in so many offenses.
09:03He's been with so many quarterbacks.
09:04He knows – he's like – remember how Zach Ertz knew exactly where the soft pocket was?
09:09Yep.
09:10Steph Diggs is the receiver version of that.
09:12He's done it forever.
09:13So I agree with you, JP, that, like, there's value in these reps.
09:18I still – every time I walk out there, I'm like, okay, wait,
09:21they're relying on Traylon Burks effectively to be their number two receiver.
09:26And that's kind of discounting who probably is their number two receiver in Chigakonkwa, right?
09:31Like, that's probably the guy that they're counting on to have the second most targets aside from McLaurin.
09:38But I don't know.
09:39I just look at the receiver group and, like, there should and could be more here.
09:44Yeah.
09:44And, I mean, if you just think about the actions, we know they were in on Alec Pierce,
09:49didn't go to the top of the market, which I'm okay with.
09:51They were in on Dobbs, didn't go to the top of market, which I'm kind of okay with.
09:56It's interesting, maybe not for the long haul because Pierce and Dobbs have some real tools,
10:01but, like, Diggs was better than – maybe not better, but outproduced both last year
10:06and I would argue probably will again this year.
10:09I still think KC's going to make a run at Diggs, especially with Worthy with the shoulder thing.
10:15It's a tricky year because I think there is a lot of pressure on Peters and Quinn,
10:21but at the same time I think this Harris group believes in continuity
10:25and building things the right way and, like, you see ownership walking around
10:29and just – you don't feel a vibe of a coach under pressure, of a leadership under pressure.
10:37I agree with that, but the Bullets aren't firing yet.
10:40Sure.
10:40They are really at this point kind of going all in on, like, we believe in the guys in pick
10:46a room.
10:46The receiver room stands out.
10:49They open to adding, they keep saying, but they give the vibe that they're comfortable
10:54going into the season with that room.
10:56They said the same thing a year ago when they were relying on Noah Brown to be the number two
11:01guy,
11:01another guy with a long injury history, that didn't – it didn't work out very well.
11:06There are – there's some real similarities between the Burks and Brown situation.
11:09Exactly, exactly.
11:10So it just – I don't want to, like, create drama or say that there's no hope.
11:16It's just – there's a team with enough cap space to add players in a year
11:23that I think everybody would admit is a big one for the front office and the coaching staff.
11:30I would be in the camp of leaving no stone unturned when you've got whatever it is
11:33left in cap space, 39 million bucks or something.
11:36I agree with that.
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