- 1 day ago
Ben Standig's main takeaway from training camp so far has been how well Luke McCaffrey and the young Commanders wide receivers have played so far. Will this change the opinion on Washington adding a pass catcher?
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00:00Joining us now is our boy, Mr. Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig, sub-stack.
00:06Benny, what's up, dude?
00:07You already got out of here?
00:08You couldn't even hang out with the boys in the tent?
00:10I appreciate it.
00:12Well, I actually have to go into the studio later,
00:15and I had to realize I got to get home and, like, deal with things, so I left.
00:19Okay.
00:19What are you hosting on 980 this afternoon?
00:21I am 4 to 7.
00:23I'm going to talk about the commanders.
00:25Big shock.
00:26All right.
00:26Well, give everybody a preview of what you're going to talk about from 4 to 7 right now.
00:31I thought today may have been their best practice.
00:34I think offensively it was their best practice.
00:36What would you see today?
00:39Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, the pads, you know,
00:42the whole point of the pads on some level is to raise the level of competitiveness,
00:46energy, guys are going to go after a bit more.
00:48And I would say that the two days with the pads have probably been the two best
00:52overall practices for that reason.
00:57I think the offense, I think, did feel like it was clicking a bit more.
01:04I love the one-on-ones they have, you know, with the receivers and the cornerbacks.
01:07I don't know how telling that is necessarily for, you know, the season or whatever,
01:13but, like, from our perspective, it's a lot of fun to see that level of battle.
01:18So, yeah, I mean, you know, the receiver room has got a lot of options.
01:23I know it doesn't necessarily have the guy who's, like, the obvious number two,
01:27but every day there's a couple of guys who are, you know, making plays, making some noise.
01:32He's, you know, even a guy like Jacoby Jones today had a nice move on the outside to get wide
01:39open.
01:39He got thrown into the end zone.
01:41So, yeah, I mean, the better day for the offense for sure.
01:45Have you seen, like, a difference when you – the guys in the pads and the running backs?
01:50Like, I know what we see when they're in just – with the shells or whatever.
01:54But when they put on the pads, do you see a difference?
01:59You know, Bill runs hard, I would say.
02:02I mean, you know, like, we kind of view him as, like, a guy who can obviously break it, which
02:07is true,
02:07and he's got that, you know, slithery one step, but he's not afraid to be physical.
02:13You know, obviously there's no tackling yet.
02:15It doesn't – but that said, it doesn't feel like the run game has had, like, a ton of success.
02:21Maybe I'm wrong on that one, but I haven't noticed much.
02:23But to your point, though, I mean, Catron Allen certainly is another guy that's, you know, physical by nature.
02:31I'm excited to see these guys, some of these guys at least, you know, get into the preseason
02:36and the joint practices to see being a bit more open.
02:41But, yeah, I think between Bill and –
02:46We lose Ben there?
02:47Can't be physical.
02:48Fat man, yes.
02:49Okay.
02:50Talking with our friend Ben Standig here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
02:54Standig, I'm curious, man.
02:55I used to work at The Athletic.
02:57Mike Sando is a wired-in dude.
02:59He puts out this quarterback tiers piece every offseason, every training camp.
03:05Jaden's now at 13th in the second tier.
03:08I kind of think that's fair.
03:10I'm curious what you think, and how do you think Jaden gets back to what we saw last year
03:15where he was just – or in 24, rather, when he was just a dominant player?
03:20Yeah.
03:20You know how, like, in gambling, when the trend goes too hard one way, it's sort of the smell test,
03:27as Kevin Sheehan might say.
03:29Sure.
03:29It goes too hard one way, then you go the opposite.
03:32I kind of feel like that's where we're at with Jaden.
03:35Like, rankings, you know, it is what it is on all these things.
03:39And, you know, in that general tier, sure, I think that makes sense.
03:43But because of the way things went last year, you know, it's just like 2024 didn't happen.
03:48And, look, there are a lot of questions here, right, especially if you're on the outside.
03:52Like, we've all, you know, heard the gospel of David Blau.
03:55But for the rest of the world, they're like, wait, they've got some guy who's just been a coach
03:58for two years of the O.C.
03:59Oh, that's, you know, that's scary.
04:01They saw what happened with Jaden last year with the injuries.
04:03So it feels like he's getting discounted a bit too much.
04:07But, again, from the outside perspective, who doesn't focus on it every day like we do,
04:11I understand to a degree where they're coming from.
04:15Simultaneously, maybe we're overestimating things because we're here
04:18and this is the team that we pay attention to.
04:20But I still buy that he's got, you know, the eye of the tiger, you know,
04:25and, you know, I think the offense, you know, like you said, it was better today.
04:29It's still a work in progress, obviously.
04:31But, you know, if people want to discount him and put him, you know,
04:34beyond the top ten quarterbacks, I guess we'll see where we're at the end of the year.
04:38Yeah, it's kind of a proceed with caution.
04:41I talked to De'Ami Brown.
04:45No, who was it that said Jaden Daniels with a big chip on his shoulder is pretty darn dangerous?
04:52Quan Martin, maybe.
04:53I don't.
04:53Yeah, Quan, Quan, Quan.
04:54Yeah.
04:55But I totally agree.
04:56And there's so much talk about this receiver.
04:59Or was it Rashad?
05:00No, it was somebody I talked to.
05:03I don't know.
05:03We'll figure that out.
05:05But there is so much talk about the receiver position.
05:07Listen, there is so much talk about Steph Diggs, which I still think it's very possible could happen.
05:14Let's remove the Diggs conversation for a minute.
05:16I have been more encouraged with the receivers that are here than maybe I was a week ago.
05:21And I think a part of that is Luke McCaffrey.
05:24What have you thought of Luke?
05:27Yeah, no, I wrote a bit about him yesterday.
05:32You know, there's no such thing as the MVP of practice.
05:35But I kind of thought yesterday he arguably was out in a day where the offense only found the end
05:39zone one time and didn't really have a ton of plays down the field.
05:42He had the one touchdown.
05:44He had some plays down the field.
05:47I think he looked pretty good.
05:50And he's been consistently out there when they've gone to 11 personnel.
05:53He's been consistently out there with Terry McLaurin and Traylon Burke.
05:56So it doesn't mean that's what will happen week one, but it's something to note for sure.
06:00And just broadly, I mean, the thing that was alarming to me last year about the receiver room, beyond the
06:05fact that Terry McLaurin was holding out and beyond the fact that Noah Brown was already hurt by minicamp,
06:11was the fact that just the depth options just were just guys.
06:14They weren't really people who had specific roles.
06:18Like, you know, again, like we've seen De'Ami Brown, right?
06:20I mean, nobody's suggesting he's going to be some standout number two, but we know what he can do.
06:25He can get deep.
06:26You know, he's got speed, and they know how to take advantage of that, I think.
06:29And, you know, it's situations like that they just didn't have a year ago.
06:33And even like McCaffrey, right?
06:34I mean, he was coming.
06:35He's still a guy who was primarily a quarterback in college, making that transition.
06:39He didn't, you know, get a ton of work as a rookie.
06:42And, you know, I think the issue for last year was people were expecting him to be the number two
06:47receiver kind of deal, right?
06:49At least that's what the hope is.
06:49And it's just not necessarily maybe where his upside is, and we can quibble about that at some point about
06:56where he was picked.
06:57But in terms of what he can do, he can definitely help this group.
07:00And I do think that there's a lot more options here than people want to believe,
07:05except that I can't definitively say that any of them are either going to be better than Diggs
07:10or would be like ultimately like a true number two.
07:12Yeah, I just like when I'm looking at Luke, I just see him looking a lot more fluid.
07:17But, like, last year you could see him running routes and everything, and he was like – he was thinking.
07:23This year I see him just running.
07:25Like, everything is just falling in place for him.
07:28Yeah, I also felt like last year, like, he had a problem separating the first couple years.
07:33And, you know, when you're watching him run down the field, he's not open.
07:36And, you know, it's obviously maybe some of that scheme, but some of that's got to be on the guy.
07:40And this year, you know, again, not making that out like he's Art Monk out there,
07:45but, like, he definitely seems like he's getting open more, like you said, a bit more fluid with the route
07:50running.
07:50I mean, he's got the tool.
07:53If I say he's a playmaker, don't mock me.
07:55But, I mean, you know, the guy scored three touchdowns on, like, you know, 10 catches last year.
07:59He had that one big catch last year against the Chargers, like, over the shoulder, up the middle.
08:04Like, he's a guy that has the capabilities to be a big play guy, even, you know, with the kick
08:10returns, right?
08:11And he's averaging 28 yards a kick or so.
08:13I almost wonder if that gave him a little juice.
08:16Like, he starts to really find some success returning those kicks.
08:20And it's like, I mean, for a guy that's from a small school converted receiver from quarterback,
08:26it's like, all right, man, I'm here.
08:27I belong here.
08:28Like, I found this role, and now it's like you're growing from that.
08:31You know what I mean?
08:33Yeah, totally.
08:34And I think, you know, to some degree, maybe also you can give the coaching staff some confidence about, you
08:39know,
08:39what they're looking at in terms of an athlete, a competitor, all those things,
08:42because he definitely was effective over there.
08:46You know, I think between McCaffrey and Sennett, you know,
08:49we're all waiting for that 2024 class besides the quarterback to go up a notch.
08:53And those are two guys that a lot of people, right, for sure, a lot of Brandon Coleman,
08:58but those two guys in particular, McCaffrey and Sennett,
09:01you feel like a lot of people have just kind of already written them off.
09:03And, you know, my just basic advice is I think it's too early,
09:07and I think that these players are not stuck in whatever status they're in now.
09:12They are on the upswing.
09:14I don't know where the upswing goes, but this is where they get better year in, year out.
09:19You know, so give it time.
09:21I think both of those guys should have bigger roles this year.
09:23I agree with you.
09:24Who on the D-line has impressed you the most, Ben?
09:29I mean, if we're counting O-Way as one of those guys, I mean, certainly he seems like he's in
09:33the backfield quite a bit.
09:36So there's that.
09:38I think Johnny Newton's had some good work.
09:40He's largely worked with the second unit.
09:43He's shown more power than I expected, Newton.
09:47I don't know if you've noticed that.
09:49Yeah, no, it's a good point.
09:50I mean, it is kind of wild, right?
09:52In other years, and I'm not saying that people are cool if he doesn't work out,
09:56but in other years the guy picked 36 overall who can't seem to get high in the rotation going into
10:02his third year.
10:03I think a lot of people would be like screaming, what the hell?
10:05And it feels like this year it's almost like a bonus if it happens, like nobody is freaking out
10:09because they do have just so much more depth in the front seven, on the line, et cetera.
10:15But, yeah, no, I think he's looked interesting.
10:18I still don't quite know where he fits in.
10:20I agree.
10:21It's kind of a question mark.
10:23Yeah, but, yeah, I think he's shown some good things.
10:27And I thought maybe, I didn't so much today, but I thought Javante Jean-Baptiste a couple times on campus
10:32has flashed a bit, kind of a guy you forget a little bit about.
10:36Dude, Benny, I was talking about this.
10:38I'm curious if you agree.
10:39All of a sudden we've got to pay attention to the 40s.
10:43People wearing 40 uniform numbers.
10:46That's kind of no man's land.
10:47But 41, 45, and 48 keep turning my head.
10:51That's Baptiste, Chason, and Joshua Josephs.
10:55I think the rookie out of Tennessee has had a good camp.
10:58Yeah, I mean, personally for me, I think the numbers in the 40s,
11:0240s are just terrible numbers.
11:04Other than maybe 44 because there's a lure with that here.
11:07The rest of them, I don't like the cut of that jib.
11:10Yeah, dude, we were talking about it.
11:11Like the 48, Stephen Davis, and then Cooley and Dunbar wearing 47.
11:16But outside of that, Chris Horton might have been wearing 40s back in the day,
11:20but the 40s don't usually pop.
11:22And should Baptiste, Chason, and Josephs all make the team?
11:26I won't be shocked if there's a number change once we get into August
11:30and more numbers are available.
11:32But it is weird.
11:33It may not be.
11:34People like those weird numbers now.
11:36That's true.
11:36We're seeing D tackles and stuff with number one of them.
11:39Yeah, number zero and stuff.
11:40What have you thought of Josephs, Ben?
11:43Yeah, you know, I mean, he's the definition of a raw prospect.
11:48He's got the length.
11:49He's got the speed.
11:51He's got a good first step, I think.
11:53But, you know, he's definitely raw.
11:55I mean, if he contributes this year, I think that's another bonus.
11:59To me, it's all about getting him ready for next year when, other than O.A.,
12:03all the edge guys are free agents.
12:06But, yeah, no, he looks like a guy that if you want to bring him in as sort of a
12:10designated pass rusher at times, he could help.
12:13Obviously, you know, once Dorrance Armstrong is back, I don't know how much work
12:16they'll be with Armstrong, O.A., and Chase on there.
12:19But, yeah, as a pass rusher, he looks like he could contribute.
12:22But, ultimately, you know, I think he's probably a year away from where he really
12:26gets going.
12:27I agree with that.
12:28Let's circle this back.
12:31Where are you on the Diggs conversation?
12:34You think it happens?
12:35Do you think it needs to happen?
12:36How do you think it all shakes out?
12:39I mean, you know, I've been waiting for, like, last year to me, it just was
12:44like screaming they need to get more help here at receiver, and they just never
12:48really did it, right?
12:51In 2024, they were like, we've got to get help.
12:53Oh, wait, Noah Brown just got cut.
12:55That makes a lot of sense.
12:56I just don't know right now, based on what we've seen in camp, that they would be
13:02screaming, we've got to get more help right now.
13:04Because, again, I mean, not, you know, look, Terry has looked really, really good.
13:08And all the other guys, to some degree, have contributed in ways that you can imagine
13:12them contributing on game day.
13:13So, I'm just sort of of the mind, like, I would right now rather see the Antonio Williams,
13:20Jalen Lanes, McCaffrey, if you want to throw in De'Ambi Brown, or even Traylon Burks, like,
13:25these guys who, like, have something to prove.
13:27I'd rather give them the space to do it than bring in a guy who, obviously, Diggs is good,
13:33but, like, he's going to sort of block their path, and it's not towards anything of the
13:37future, most likely.
13:38So, if they bring it in, I wouldn't say it was terrible, but I think, based on what we've
13:41seen, I don't know that Ada Peters and them should be panicking about having to go get
13:45somebody.
13:46Well, looking at these, they use a lot of multiple tight end formations and things of that nature.
13:53Do you think, when you look at the tight end group, can they be, you know, somebody that's
13:58trying to take that pressure off of having to go out there and get a big name, number two?
14:03Well, I think that's the other part of this, right?
14:05Like, the last few years, it's been, you know, three receivers on the field pretty much all
14:09the time.
14:10This year, they're going to go with 12 and 13 personnel a bit more.
14:13So, now you're taking...
14:14A lot more, dude.
14:15Yeah.
14:16So, you're going to have, you know, maybe only two receivers on the field.
14:19Obviously, we know who one of them is.
14:21And, again, like, depending on the down and distance or the time of the game, I think Traylon
14:27Burks and Brown and all these guys can be the player you need at that spot.
14:31And because Chigakonkwo can play outside, like, they have moved him so much around, I
14:37kind of feel like he...
14:38And he's also, like, not the best blocker, you know, so far in his career.
14:42So, it's not like he's going to be a guy, like, leading the run necessarily.
14:46So, I can see him being essentially the number two receiver, you know, and playing a bit
14:50outside, letting maybe then Antonio Williams or McCaffrey work out of the slot and not...
14:56And, therefore, you don't feel like you have to have more, you know, incredible depth
15:01at receiver because, again, you're maybe only going to be using two guys most of the time.
15:04So, I think the tight ends will be a big deal.
15:06I do think Sinnott is going to be a bigger factor.
15:09And, look, Colson Yankoff has made a ton of plays in camp.
15:12He had a one-handed catch today.
15:14Day after day after day, man.
15:17Yeah.
15:17And, like, I don't know if Lawrence Cager is a room for him.
15:20And he's, you know, going up against, obviously, like, third-string guys.
15:22But he's also made plays.
15:25So, I think they've got to be pretty happy about the tight end room, assuming Bates is
15:28back soon.
15:29And, therefore, I think it does take some pressure off the receivers.
15:33I agree there, man.
15:34One thing that's interesting.
15:35I was having this conversation.
15:37There is obviously pressure on Quinn and Peters to win this year, right?
15:41Sure.
15:43But it doesn't feel like it.
15:45You know what I mean?
15:45Like, this doesn't feel like there's any sort of desperation or concern.
15:50And I think that's a really good way to run things, is without that feeling.
15:56Does that make sense, what I'm saying?
15:59Yeah, no.
16:00Look, I think if Dan Quinn, like, on the one hand, I think if Dan Quinn really, really
16:05thought that his job was in jeopardy and that he needed to have whatever success, however
16:09they're going to define success, some success, I don't know that he goes to two first-time
16:13coordinators, especially one.
16:15And I know they can tell me all they want about Blau and how smart he is and how good
16:20he's going to be, and I'm not doubting it.
16:22But it is an unknown, right?
16:24You know, it feels like in other coaches, it might have gone, like, the Daryl Bevel route.
16:28Somebody who's been around the league, not flashy, but, like, you kind of know what you're
16:31getting because you feel like, you know, I mean, I think the last coach might have done
16:37something along those lines.
16:39And so I think I give Dan Quinn a lot of credit for whether he thinks he's under pressure
16:44or not for going down this route of, you know, two coaches who haven't done this job.
16:49And not to mention, he's allowing somebody else to come in and completely change the defense
16:53that is his defense.
16:54Right.
16:54So it doesn't, yeah, right, it's not acting like they are in that kind of trouble.
17:01I will say I think part of the reason they had to look at the guys who've not been a
17:05coordinator
17:06before is those, maybe like, say, Mike McDaniel, we're looking at this going, well, maybe Quinn's
17:12under some pressure.
17:13Do we want to go someplace and maybe be out of a job in a year?
17:16So I think going that route, the inexperience route, was probably a better way to go because
17:20you can say to those guys, hey, here's the opportunity.
17:23But, yeah, you're right, though.
17:25I don't get a sense of, like, tension in the air that, oh, boy.
17:29But, yeah, we'll see what happens.
17:31Obviously, that can change quickly if the season starts off a bit slow.
17:34Yeah, and the season is going to start with a bang.
17:37That's the tricky part of all the, I'm excited about seeing this defense in real spots.
17:43I'm excited about seeing this offense in real spots.
17:45They better start fast, man.
17:47At Philly, at Dallas, Seattle at home.
17:50Can I ask, can I ask Beamish a quick question?
17:53We're obviously looking at the Philly and Dallas game.
17:56It's like, hey, two division games on the road, that's, you know, tough.
17:59But some people are trying to make the argument that, hey, Philly and Dallas are not going to know squat
18:03about Washington
18:04because of the fact that Blau and Durante Jones are new.
18:07Is that a thing as a football player?
18:09Like, is that a thing that we don't know the plan, therefore it's harder to scheme against?
18:14Or is that not as big of a deal?
18:16Well, it is a thing.
18:17They're not going to know exactly what to attack.
18:19But they're going to look at individuals now.
18:21I think those first few games of the season anyway is more about I think I'm better than the guy
18:27in front of me.
18:27You know what I mean?
18:28The scheming up comes after them three, four weeks of the film out there when you've done something consistently
18:34and then now they can play a game plan for it.
18:37That first game is like a crap shoot anyway.
18:41Right, right, right.
18:42Fair enough.
18:43Ben, appreciate the time, brother.
18:44I think they steal week one in Philly.
18:46I really think they can.
18:48Philly's got so many moving parts.
18:49Those receivers are down.
18:50What is Hurts?
18:52New offense.
18:53Philly's defense is nasty, though.
18:55Standick, thank you for the time, bro.
18:58All right, that's our friend Ben Standick.
19:00Give him a follow at Ben Standick.
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