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Grant & Danny react to the devastating news from yesterday, as Laremy Tunsil could miss the season after tearing his tricep. How can they move on and rebound from losing their LT?
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00:00Yeah, you mentioned the Tunsil news. So I'm sitting at home. I had been at practice on Saturday, and I
00:06got to be honest, this is why I try not to ever speculate on injuries or play doctor. I didn't
00:11think when it happened. I didn't see it in real time, but I saw the video pretty quickly thereafter. I
00:15didn't think torn end of season kind of thing. Now, that could have been the case when you watch it.
00:21Peck, I wasn't thinking triceps, like biceps or something like that.
00:24But I thought what Mike Garofalo originally reported, what Brian Baldinger originally thought he saw from the sideline, which was
00:32stinger. That happens all the time where guys like shake their arms and kind of grab at their shoulder a
00:37little bit. And he went off the field pretty quickly. But as time went on and we didn't hear it
00:42was a stinger, my nervousness grew. Because generally that is very quick that you get that out there and go,
00:48oh, not a big deal. And the team was not saying not a big deal.
00:51And so with every hour that passed, you start to think, did something serious happen? And sure enough, it comes
00:58out over the weekend. Tunsil tore his triceps. And we find out he is going to miss a major portion
01:05of, if not the entirety of the regular season. They don't know the timeline yet, so they're not going to
01:09speculate. The surgery is just taking place today. But this is a four to six month recovery. Generally, this is
01:15a season ender. So I think that's the way you almost have to view it is Tunsil's out for the
01:20year.
01:20And if you get something out of him in December, when you're playing competitive football games, best case scenario, that's
01:25a bonus. That's how I'm viewing it. I'm viewing it as you lost him for the year.
01:29That's how I view it as well. It may be, you know, barring something miraculous, but I don't count on
01:34miraculous because that's the nature of miraculous. It's that it's, you know, it's a miracle.
01:38So I don't necessarily consider that really him impacting this season at all. And what I saw a lot of
01:45is two things. One, I think what's the reaction I have. And you just go, oh, just as you said,
01:50gut punch. That's the word. It's devastating. It's a trap door. The rug gets pulled out. Whatever you want to
01:54use. It is a really big setback.
01:56This is a marquee player. One of the highest paid players at that position in this league, a superstar, one
02:01of the best league has to offer, et cetera, at a position that the league considers pretty damn important.
02:05That's why it's quarterbacks. One, you know, wide receivers and left tackles basically are two in terms of payment.
02:10And you look at defensive ends who disrupt those guys is kind of the top seed for the defense.
02:15And when a lot, I saw that faction, people were going, oh my God, that's devastating.
02:19Faction two is in 2024, NFC championship game, Derek Coleman. Yeah. Okay. Brandon Coleman, by the way, Derek Coleman.
02:26Derek Coleman, good Lord. Yeah. Derek Coleman was a really good basketball player.
02:29Like a bold basketball player from 23 years ago. He played in the NBA. He was terrific, but of course
02:33he didn't help at left tackles.
02:35That is the Ruye. That might've been your worst Ruye in a long time.
02:37That's an all-time reason. Thank you. But there you go. Brandon Coleman, NFC championship game.
02:40And I'm going, yeah. And, you know, Marshall Lattimore and Olamide Zaccheaus and a bunch of other guys that weren't
02:45particularly good.
02:46Stop counting on magic, man. Like there's a reason they went out and saw the need and addressed this.
02:51There's a reason they went really, really hard and give up a lot of things that they didn't have, quite
02:55frankly,
02:56in terms of draft picks and assets to solidify this position because it's critical.
03:01You can get away with things for a while, but not having one of your three best players.
03:06I don't think you said it very well at the beginning. One of their best players. You don't have him
03:09now.
03:09Wow. And that is a setback for anybody. This, this is a blow.
03:12Well, he, he is their best player and this is not meant to shade Jade and Daniels in any way.
03:19I think Daniels has a chance to become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He was in 2024.
03:24And if he has that kind of year again in year three, now we'll go into next year and he's
03:28a top five to seven guy in the league.
03:30And now he's on the Tunsil level. But for the moment, there's one guy on this team that has a
03:34chance to be a first team all pro every year.
03:37His name's Laramie Tunsil. There is one guy on this team that you can put in pen as a top
03:42five player in the league at his position.
03:44Top three even, I'd say, for Tunsil at his position, certainly as a pass blocker.
03:48That's Laramie Tunsil. He is a future Hall of Famer. Stop me when I say something that's wrong.
03:54He is one of the best pass protecting tackles of all time with his length and athleticism and footwork and
04:01the technician and the work that he puts in.
04:03This guy is so meticulous all offseason. He's also great in the room. I worry about that a little bit.
04:09He's super important in the locker room from a leadership standpoint on the O-line.
04:13Hopefully, even if you're hurt, you're around and he can still carry out some of those duties.
04:18But I do want to be very careful today about just moving on and doing a next man up wacky
04:24bit and acting like, it's fine, they got another guy.
04:27We're going to have that conversation. That's the way the league works. It's what you have to do.
04:32Yeah, the games will still be played.
04:33Someone's got to play. And I do think they're positioned to possibly be okay.
04:38Not great like they were. Not elite like they were.
04:41They might be okay at left tackle. We'll talk about that.
04:44But I think we've got to wallow in it just a tad and actually discuss the importance of this player.
04:49How good he is.
04:50This is not losing, you know, probably 14 to 16 of the starters that they could lose and the next
04:57guy gets plugged in and you might be worse.
04:59But your season isn't dramatically changed.
05:02This is not that.
05:04It's the best player on the team.
05:06They paid him, Danny, a record amount of money this offseason.
05:09They didn't do it because they were perfectly content playing games without him, right?
05:12They felt like he was irreplaceable.
05:15So that's where we are with this Laramie Tunsil injury.
05:17I'm with you.
05:18It was a kick to the ribs.
05:20It was painful.
05:21And it was a major blow.
05:23Because for the 72 hours before that, which is like all we were allowed to get as a fan base,
05:27it was the best I felt about this team in a long time.
05:31I was talking to someone on the sideline today that works with the team.
05:33And I'm like, since the Stefan Diggs edition, just hearing it, you're one of the most cynical people I know.
05:38And when you are excited and optimistic, I know that's how even the most negative fans are, if that makes
05:45sense.
05:46And people were jacked up because everything was moving in the right direction where we're talking about the supporting cast
05:51and what they put around Daniels and how good they can possibly be.
05:55And then, boom, the guy that protects his left tackle, your best offensive lineman's gone.
06:00And for the moment, by the way, Danny, your left tackle's out.
06:03You're going to a backup.
06:05Your center's out.
06:06Well, you're going to a backup.
06:08And I think Coleman might have even started at left guard because he might be surpassing Chris Paul.
06:14So I don't know that there's a question at that position, but it's in the discussion as well.
06:17So now all of a sudden, the O-line's very much in focus.
06:21Has to be.
06:22Yeah, and again, this offseason sort of began, their first order of business was to move on from Biotish
06:27and not really get much in turn.
06:28And I know that's not apples to apples because we're talking about a left tackle spot.
06:31But it was something they voluntarily said, well, we'll figure it out.
06:35We'll have some internal competition or something.
06:37I still have never quite gotten their motivation there.
06:39It wasn't as if they were in dire straits with the cap.
06:42So now all of a sudden, you're going, well, who's going to play center?
06:45And if Alec Grady's not quite ready at the start of the season, it looks like he will be.
06:51But even still, it's uncertain now because he's not practicing.
06:53And, of course, then with the Tunsil news.
06:54So you're reshuffling.
06:55It's Coleman.
06:56It's where does Wiley go now?
06:58You know, Trent Scott.
06:59Are we sort of doing a jumbo package pretty much every time there's a drop back pass from under center
07:04because it takes too long and you can't leave that guy on an island now?
07:06It's all different.
07:07I mean, with Kingsbury, everything's out of the shotgun.
07:10Half of it is, you know, with sort of zone read fake.
07:12And sometimes you're just leaving the defensive end alone.
07:15This is everything different.
07:15This is under center.
07:17Not obviously for the most part, but a lot more.
07:19More, and I think more is required a lot of times of athletic bookend tackles in this way.
07:25So stuff's coming out quickly in terms of the run game.
07:28I think there's just a million things that you need, and you can get away with it.
07:32We've seen that here a million times.
07:33If Trent Williams would miss a game or two or, you know, Chris Samuels would miss a game or two.
07:37You could fill in somebody.
07:38You could always have your Ty and Secky or whoever, and you could scheme something up for a week.
07:43But over 17 games with this schedule, it's like having a, you know, it's like going with an opener every
07:50other day for your major league pitching staff.
07:52There's also something to be said, Danny, into the league today, this year, 2026.
07:58Everybody has an edge now that can wreck a game, it feels like.
08:03And they can move that guy around.
08:05It used to be maybe that week, like five, seven years ago, maybe, you know, that guy plays on the
08:09right side against your right tackle or something.
08:12Now, that guy just, where are you worse, right?
08:15So maybe it is that Connerly ends up being off to a fast start and plays at a really high
08:20level,
08:21and now they just want the matchup of that guy with Brandon Coleman.
08:24But it's a blow.
08:26It stinks after last year with all the injuries and everything they had to overcome.
08:30To not even get through a full, clean week of training camp is tough.
08:34And the joint practices now loom in what's a massive week.
08:37You have the Dolphins coming in here on Wednesday, preseason game number one on Friday.
08:42As you start to form this roster.
08:44Now, on Brandon Coleman, I have always liked him more than the average bear.
08:49I thought his 2024 debut campaign was solid, is the word I would use.
08:57Logan went back.
08:57Everyone's turning up, yeah.
08:58Yeah, Logan went back and watched the tape for Take Command, and he's like,
09:01eh, solid might be a little bit of a stretch.
09:03Like, there's a reason that they were looking to upgrade a tackle.
09:06At the time, what I've always said is, they didn't necessarily want to upgrade a tackle.
09:11It just presented itself that a Hall of Famer was available and they could make the trade.
09:14So, they might as well do that.
09:16It's not like they were going out and trying to sign Charles Leno or something.
09:19But, okay, I'll take his word for it if the tape maybe wasn't as good as I remember from 2024.
09:24What I know, though, is last year, Coleman, when he did get limited opportunities to tackle,
09:29did play pretty well.
09:30You and I were in Kansas City.
09:31Remember when Tunsil came out?
09:32He was awesome in that game.
09:34He had a couple of games last year where he stonewalled some good players.
09:37He's had a game where he gave Brian Burns his lunch in this league.
09:40And so, I think he can play.
09:42He's not Laramie Tunsil, but there's a world where you just went from a nine to, like,
09:47a six at left tackle instead of maybe a four.
09:50And I think that's going to be the key to me to keeping their season on track,
09:53to giving them a chance to get where they want to go, to not derailing this whole thing
09:56is if Coleman really struggles and he's a four, okay, now they're screwed.
10:01But if he got better and if he can play at an okay level and if we're eight weeks into
10:05the season and we're not thinking much about Brandon Coleman as a liability and he's like
10:08a six out of ten, ball game's back on, right?
10:11I mean, you're not going to have a strength there, but you just can't allow it to wreck
10:15everything you're doing offensively.
10:17I think that's the right way to put it.
10:19So, again, now even more falls on David Blau because there's no security blanket there.
10:24I mean, that to me is the...
10:26Well, yeah, you're right.
10:27He's got a lot on his plate, doesn't he?
10:28Yeah, well, any OC does that would walk into this situation.
10:30And now, especially with this, this is the added complication, right?
10:33This is the, all right, so you're doing an escape room, but now you're blindfolded
10:38and there's no light and, you know, there's no sense of smell either.
10:42Good luck.
10:43That's kind of what this is.
10:44You now have to...
10:46It influences what you can call.
10:47It influences how you're going to scheme it up.
10:49It influences, you know, again, does he need a helper?
10:52I mean, you play against the Eagles and the Giants and, you know, some of these teams
10:56with great pass rushes.
10:57Does that now mean that it necessarily...
11:00John Bates has to line up to his left anytime you want a pass play that takes longer than
11:04three seconds to formulate?
11:06Well, I was thinking about this.
11:07How much different is this offense in a world without Tunsil now?
11:11Because everything they did in the first several days of camp out here, I don't want to pretend
11:16like it's every play, but I feel like the bulk of their offense would have been having
11:20Chig split out, you know, using this 12 and 13 personnel grouping look where they move
11:25their tight ends and at the last second they, like, shift them out into the slots and things.
11:29You probably now, to your point, have to keep an in-line blocker like Bates in at a much
11:33higher percentage than you would have.
11:35So it kind of changes the entirety of your offense, really.
11:39Totally.
11:39And, you know, does it make you more left-handed, so to speak, right?
11:42If you want to line up on the strong side to the right to allow Jaden Daniels to naturally
11:45bootleg that way, so run action to the left, he kind of bows out to the right, multiple
11:49receiving options in different layers.
11:51Does that mean now you can't do that as often, right?
11:53Does it mean that you now have to almost flip everything and become left-handed in a way,
11:58requiring Daniels to throw from that, you know, incorrect side?
12:01You have to do that sometime anyway to balance things out, but I'm just...
12:04The way this permeates down the roster, it's not just,
12:08Next man up, Brandon Coleman's in there.
12:10Okay, yes, he is.
12:12But, you know, you're not going to remember that when Daniels gets sacked for the seventh
12:18time in the divisional game, right?
12:19Because somebody's just eaten Coleman's lunch who happens to be excellent.
12:23The point is, it influences everything this offense wanted to do, is going to have to do,
12:29and you can't just not play the games now.
12:31You can't just punt on second down, you're going to figure out a way to do it,
12:34and it's that much harder for Blau.
12:36Well, I'm thinking about how this affects the rest of the line, too.
12:41I mentioned the guard position.
12:43So Chris Paul, who we had on the show in the last week, had a really nice year last year.
12:49Most of the people I've talked to out here think Coleman has closed the gap pretty considerably,
12:54and maybe that he even could have overtaken him as the guard.
12:57Now, is that a Coleman endorsement or a Paul indictment?
12:59I don't know.
13:00We're going to find out in the preseason.
13:02But that's kind of the conversation that was being had at left guard.
13:06Center, we already know Nick Allegretti hasn't played in a week and a half
13:10and isn't going to practice again for another week or so,
13:13and a journeyman who's had two snaps in the NFL in his career,
13:16Julian Good-Jones is the projected starter right now.
13:20That ain't it for me, right?
13:22But Allegretti's going to come back.
13:23The question is just can you keep him on the field at that point?
13:26Cosme, Stalwart, Sharpie, nothing to worry about there.
13:30Connerly is also one of these guys we haven't talked much about during camp.
13:33He was up and down big time as a rookie.
13:36I'm hoping that by the end of the year we're ready to say Josh Connerly is the 10-year answer
13:42at right tackle.
13:43But this could go one of two ways in my opinion, right?
13:46I mean, I like the athleticism.
13:48I like everything about him.
13:49He's absolutely a first-round talent.
13:52But he's got to play better this year.
13:53And there is multiple ways this could go.
13:56Think of Spider-Man multiverses.
13:58In a season, we could be talking about Josh Connerly,
14:03and we could be saying that he's one of the better right tackles in the league.
14:06There's also a world where he struggles a little bit, and that's not a strength.
14:10And now you've got Coleman on the left side and this center situation,
14:13and Connerly's still up and down early in the year.
14:16This is now a lot of areas on a line that I felt really good about about six weeks ago,
14:22and that's what injuries will do to you.
14:24But two injuries and kind of an uneven camp for a tackle, and that's where we're at now for me.
14:29So you're two sides of the same coin.
14:31I felt okay about the line coming in.
14:34I didn't think I felt good.
14:35I felt okay.
14:35Okay, and no matter which way you slice it, if you were an 8 out of 10 on the line,
14:41it's now you're down two points.
14:42Maybe it's a 5, maybe it's a 6.
14:43If you were like me, closer to a 6, now you're down significantly lower than that.
14:48Point is, this is not good.
14:52Like, there's no unit in this sport that could afford to lose the guy that's making the highest AAV at
14:58that position
14:58and be fine and not have a reaction.
15:00That's just the way I think of it, right?
15:02When you think about any sport where you go, hey, the highest paid player on the team isn't going to
15:08play for the team.
15:09There's only a couple teams where they'd be fine.
15:10The Dodgers would just find somebody else and give up a prospect that nobody cares about and reinforce it.
15:16Teams that basically don't have to play by the same rules.
15:18But for the rest of us mortals that are trying to build things, nobody can really overcome that easily.
15:22That's a really, really challenging thing, and that's not a Peter's problem.
15:26That's not a design flaw.
15:27That's just the nature of sports.
15:29But I've heard a couple of solutions pitched as to how Washington can go about replacing Laramie Tunsil
15:36that I don't think they're interested in, and we can talk about some of those next.
15:40We'll also open up the phones, 800-636-1067.
15:44That's 800-636-1067.
15:46You want to hop in to talk Tunsil, your reactions to the injury over the weekend,
15:50or just generally discuss the offensive line.
15:53We're live on 106.7, the fan all over the DMV.
15:55You can watch us with a couple hundred of your closest friends on the 106.7, the fan YouTube channel
16:01as well.
16:02Danny's in D.C.
16:03I'm in Ashburn.
16:04It's Grant and Danny on the phone.
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