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John Keim is looking at these Commanders position battles in the first preseason game tonight.
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00:00Fired up to jump on the Rude Guest Hotline and talk to our friend, Mr. John Kime.
00:04Kime, it's always good when all the focus is on a preseason game.
00:08You know what I mean?
00:10Yes, I do.
00:11Yes, I do.
00:13Let's address the nonsense first.
00:16What, if anything, have you thought of with the Jaden Daniels LSU situation?
00:25Well, there's a couple things.
00:27One, what we know is, like, this is a situation that's been going on for a little while, right?
00:33And, like, that letter was sent 10 days ago, just about.
00:36And he's so far had his best camp in Washington.
00:40So there's one, right?
00:41Like, he's, I think we know enough of him to know, like, he's not some, he lets other people handle
00:47outside business and just focus on that.
00:49So will this be a distraction?
00:51I don't know.
00:53But I think so far, for him, it hasn't been.
00:56I think that's one thing.
00:57The other thing is, like, I'd say a little bit of perspective on this.
01:02Like, this is, I understand, like, image stuff and all that, all that stuff.
01:06The Seahawks just signed Terry and Arnold.
01:08Right.
01:09I mean, you know what I mean?
01:10Like, I just, just as a level of keeping the perspective on it, not to, like, minimize anything or, you
01:19know, all the fear over it, whatever.
01:21But it's just more like, okay, here's a little bit of perspective.
01:24Like, we're talking about a cease and desist letter, which, whether or not, you know, people are in debate, whether
01:30or not it's in the Senate, whatever.
01:31But the Seahawks just signed Terry and Arnold, who's got a bunch of charges against him off the field that
01:36aren't very good.
01:37Like, active charges.
01:39Yeah.
01:39Yeah, exactly.
01:40So, and I, like, again, I think from my perspective, it's more, how does this affect him on the field?
01:47Will it affect him on the field?
01:48I doubt it.
01:49So far, it hasn't.
01:49Yeah, so far, it hasn't.
01:51He's a guy that the entire offseason, you've heard how, you know, there's an evolution in his maturity, which he's
01:59always mature, but, like, kind of taking it that next step.
02:02And, like, we've seen all that this summer.
02:05So, I don't know that that's going to change.
02:07I don't, I can't say that it will.
02:08Well, I can't say it won't, but I don't, I'm not expecting that.
02:11I'm with you on that, John.
02:12Yeah, I don't think it's going to impact Jaden at all.
02:15And, frankly, considering the fact that we now know it's been going on for close to two weeks, Jaden's looked
02:21dialed.
02:22You know what I mean?
02:23And that's what his message said yesterday.
02:25I've been dialed in on football.
02:28Yeah, and like I said, I don't, there's other stuff you can debate, you know, what should have done, could
02:33have done, whatever.
02:34Like, there's, you know, it's to the image, whatever it is, right?
02:38Like, but I'm just, I'm going to stay, like, focus more on, like, what does it mean for him on
02:45the field?
02:45Yeah, I'm with you, dude.
02:47I will let you beat your chest a little about the Ohio State University because B&I, I think a
02:54lot of this is an LSU thing, too.
02:55Just the guy that's running it now, how it's been run over the years.
02:59There's a, there's a, college football has become increasingly Wild West all over the place, but, but that program certainly
03:06qualifies.
03:09Oh, it sure does.
03:10And, I mean, I think we know what, who, you know, here's the thing, too.
03:15Like, you're, they're trying to protect a multi-million dollar investment at Corner, and, like, it's kind of hard for
03:22me to wrap around guys deciding at a school based on a jersey number.
03:28I can understand the dollar number, but, you know what I mean?
03:30Like, and I get it, but, you know, it's just, and it's not any just, not demanding it, but getting
03:35it plus the money, and if I don't get this, then I'm going to go somewhere else having already pocketed
03:40this.
03:40So, it's just, there's, it's crazy to think where we are in college football that it's like this.
03:47Yeah, it's crazy.
03:48Man, that money had more to do with it than that damn jersey number.
03:51I promise you that.
03:52You know, they can say what they want to say.
03:54If the number was the in-all be-all, you would have just taken the damn number, and you wouldn't
03:59have asked for no money.
04:00Well, I think if they had put the dollar sign on the other, on the five, he'd have been okay,
04:05I'm sure.
04:06Talking with our friend, John Kine, ESPN Commanders reporter.
04:09Check out the John Kine report.
04:11You can give him a follow, at John underscore Kine, K-E-I-M.
04:15I'm not expecting Jaden, Terry, Stephon.
04:19I don't think anybody, anybody that has a jersey that might get sold on the website, probably not playing tonight.
04:29Probably not, no.
04:30I mean, I'm not anticipating any of the starters playing.
04:33Now, maybe there's a couple guys like who you want to get some work.
04:36I don't know.
04:37So short of that, not anticipating it.
04:39We can go back to last year with the Patriots.
04:42They had the joint practice, whatever it was, Wednesday or Thursday, and then two days later, the game.
04:47None of the starters played.
04:49And most of the other key reserves who did not.
04:51Like Marcus Mariota didn't play in that preseason opener last year either.
04:55So, yeah, I mean, the other thing, too, I mean, and I don't, like I said, I can point to
05:01last year and say this is probably what they're going to do.
05:03They also, Quinn has also kind of made it a point at times in the spring and in the summer
05:08about, like, trying to build that depth.
05:10Right.
05:10Well, they've got a lot of work to do there in some areas.
05:13So this is one way to do that is to give some of these guys a lot of time to
05:16truly see what you have.
05:18Like, there's a veteran like Max Sharpen joined the camp late.
05:21Like, you need to see what he can do that he wore a spot.
05:24Like, other guys like that.
05:26And then some of the young guys, you know, Howard, Joshua Josephs, K. Tron Allen, guys like that.
05:31Antonio Williams, like, does he play?
05:32You know, so I think you want to see some of that.
05:34But, yeah, I'm not expecting the starters to play.
05:36You think we see some field goals from distance tonight?
05:42Geez, I think you better hope so, right?
05:45I mean, yeah, I think that's becoming an interesting one.
05:50And I think what we've seen in camp is that Drew Stevens, outside of one day, has been more consistent.
05:57So far, so far.
05:58Yeah, Stevens has been better so far.
06:00I think if I was DQ tonight, we are not aggressive on fourth down.
06:05We're kicking.
06:06Just get as many shots as you can.
06:09Yeah, I definitely want to see.
06:11Because, you know, it's one thing.
06:13I mean, they're having them kick a lot in practice.
06:15But you also, how do you handle a game operation?
06:18Because now there's a little bit more on the line.
06:20And that's, you know.
06:22Under the lights.
06:23Yeah, exactly.
06:23Because, like, even against the Dolphins, you didn't have a full rush.
06:28Right.
06:28You know, they were just putting their hands up.
06:30But now they're going to be going for it.
06:32And one of the things that I talked to Jake Moody about this in the spring, like, why?
06:36Because we know, like, sometimes it takes kickers a couple years to evolve, develop.
06:40Right?
06:40Like, why is that?
06:41In his mind, it was, in college, you're not kicking with the same kind of pressure you are in the
06:46NFL.
06:47Like, you could, you know, if you're at a top D1 score, you're going to be winning a lot of
06:50games handily.
06:51So, your missed kick or made kick may not make the difference in the game.
06:55You know, and if you miss a few, do they have a guy behind you on scholarship or whatever that
07:00can challenge you for the job?
07:02Probably not.
07:03In the NFL, you're a couple kicks away from being out on the street.
07:06So, the pressure is different.
07:07How do you handle that?
07:09And so far, Stevens has been pretty good with that in practice.
07:11Let's see how it goes in the game.
07:14Kyle, you think Sonny plays tonight?
07:16I think, certainly, Antonio Williams, Catron Allen, Josh Josephs.
07:20I'm really excited to see Allen and Josephs.
07:22But I'm curious with Styles and maybe even a little with Williams.
07:28Yeah, I don't know about Sonny because I wasn't, he's, that's why I say, like, most I would say would
07:32not play.
07:33He's one I wonder about because they're, you know, do you want to get him some more reps in a
07:38game, right?
07:39But he did do a lot the other day.
07:41And so, sometimes, like, that's the determining factor.
07:44Did you see enough?
07:45And I don't know.
07:46But he would be the one I'd wonder about.
07:47And I'd say with Williams, too, you know, I'd want to see a little bit more just going up against
07:53different coverages in a game setting to see how he handles that.
07:57Like, I, because, I mean, I can understand, like, a lot of the other starters, right?
08:02Diggs, Terry, Jaden, whatever.
08:04But some of the young guys, like, they don't have any experience.
08:07And you have a tough schedule to start.
08:08You kind of want to get up to speed.
08:10You want to learn as much about them as possible, in my mind.
08:14So, I don't know if they'll play.
08:15But, you know, if they did, I think there's, it's with good reason.
08:20Yeah, and they seem to have a lot of positions, a lot of different positions where they have a lot
08:24of competition.
08:25Which one you think is going to be the one that's, like, the most prevalent tonight?
08:30Well, I'm really curious to see what the receivers, too.
08:32Because, to me, like, that's a, you're going to, you're going to end up, you're going to cut someone, probably,
08:37that would be, that easily would have made the roster last year.
08:41Easily.
08:41Yeah.
08:41And so, like, how does, you know, who jumps out there?
08:45They have a couple of young guys there, Jalen Bradley.
08:47You know, I think it would be tough for him to win a spot, given the competition there.
08:51But does he start to make some noise at all, right?
08:53And he's had a nice camp.
08:55You know, but I think it's really, like, who are some of those guys?
08:58Van Jefferson, is he, you know, where does he stack up in this?
09:02And I would expect a veteran to look pretty good in the summer in these kind of games.
09:06But still, like, you know, that, to me, is an interesting spot.
09:09Then I also want to see is the, I think, safety rotation, for sure.
09:16I think that's, like, Quan, Percy Butler, Tyler Owens, those guys, like, they're fighting for spots.
09:20And then the offensive line.
09:21Like, more so, less the rotation, then, how is Matt Golden developing?
09:26You know, like, do you have guards that you can trust who are backups at this point?
09:30You know, Julian Good-Jones playing center.
09:32Like, how does he look, assuming he plays, right?
09:36So, to be honest, he should.
09:38He's played two snaps in the NFL in his career.
09:40You need to get him out there, in my mind.
09:43But, you know, we'll see.
09:44Since right now, he's technically the starting center with Allegretti out.
09:48I think Coleman, too, you know, like, all of a sudden, he's your starting left tackle.
09:52But would you like him to get more work at left tackle?
09:55Like, I think there are – I think this is a really telling year for AP's 24 – Adam Peter's
10:022024 draft class, right?
10:04Yeah.
10:04And we all know what Jaden is.
10:05The number two overall pick was a hit.
10:07You nailed that one, sir.
10:09Yeah, yeah.
10:09After that, it's a lot of questions.
10:11Johnny Newton, Ben Sennett, Luke McCaffrey, Coleman.
10:16Like, you – I think we'll see a lot of those guys tonight.
10:19I think we should see a lot of those guys tonight.
10:21And you'd like to see those guys start taking steps.
10:25Well, I think the other thing, too, if Coleman and, you know, if, let's say, good Jones plays because you
10:30kind of –
10:30because you want to get him more experience or whatever, then you put Chris Paul out there, right?
10:35Because, like, that group needs to work together as well, especially Coleman and Paul in those respective spots.
10:41But, yeah, I agree with you with that 24 class is, like, to me, they're as crucial to this team's
10:50development as anything
10:51just because, like, can they elevate their contributions?
10:54I think in a lot of ways, you know, Ben Sennett can do – he can help use a blocker.
10:59Does he develop as a pass catcher at all this year in an offense that he and others feel is
11:04better suited for him?
11:05And Luke McCaffrey, does he take a step up, or is he just a special teamer, you know, fifth or
11:10sixth receiver type, right?
11:11Like, so I think – and Johnny Newton, you know, like, are we going to see –
11:15so I think that is a key, and missing on that is tough.
11:20Now, it's funny because, like, the Patriots, I think, from that same class only have, like, two guys left in
11:26their class, too,
11:27which is – you know, I don't know what's going on with that class, but, like, it's – you know,
11:31these guys need more contributions from that group
11:36to really, I think, elevate their play.
11:38Agreed, man. Agreed.
11:40What do you find is the most intriguing – maybe not position battle, but, like, roster battles as we get
11:47into these preseason games?
11:48The depth at receiver – you mentioned Van Jefferson already.
11:51I think Van's had a really good summer.
11:53Yeah.
11:53He has.
11:54You know –
11:55They're making it tough on these coaches.
11:56Yeah, like, what do you see – we'll start with the receiver position.
12:00Yeah, because, like, that's a hard one because, obviously, Terry Stephon Diggs and Antonio Williams.
12:05You know, Trey Burks has had a good summer.
12:07Jalen Lane is a very good punt returner.
12:10Luke McCaffrey can return kicks, and he's actually had probably his best summer, too, right?
12:16Yeah.
12:16And how much of this is them versus the offense as well?
12:20Like, this offense is creating more openings for certain passes than we saw last summer, right?
12:27So, there's another one.
12:28And then De'Ami Brown, you know, tight with – good chemistry with Jaden, tight with Jaden, but he also
12:34– he can play special teams.
12:35So, you know, you have guys who can do things and also play special teams.
12:40That's the one thing I – like, is there someone – you know, whether it's this group or somewhere else,
12:45do you have trade possibilities?
12:48Or, if not, like, then is special teams a decider?
12:51Because if Van Jefferson hasn't – that's not what he's done.
12:54And De'Ami, again, can play special teams.
12:57Luke McCaffrey, special teams.
12:58Jalen Lane, special teams.
12:59I think that special teams thing is going to tell you a lot on both sides of the football.
13:04It always does, man.
13:05You know, it always does.
13:06And so, that's why I wonder with Van where he stacks up.
13:10And, again, like, I say that, and he'd have been a lock last year.
13:15It's crazy to think the bottom of the receiver room now versus the bottom of the receiver room last year.
13:20It is crazy to think about.
13:22I mean, listen, man, I mean, the top two, but also, like, it was bad.
13:28And it's why it was hard to oftentimes get a read on just exactly where was the secondary last year
13:35because you knew you weren't seeing a group that they were going to face in games.
13:38With Terry out and, obviously, Noah Brown being out also took away another guy who could at least do some
13:44things against you, right,
13:46especially Terry.
13:47And, you know, so you didn't see that.
13:49Like, without McLaurin, like, who's challenging you like that?
13:53Nobody.
13:54And Debo is productive, but he's not your traditional receiver.
13:58So, you didn't get a great read.
14:00You know, it's kind of a false read sometimes.
14:02And, you know, with this group, you're going to get a better read on where everybody's at.
14:06But it's also like they're just better.
14:08It's just better.
14:08And I also think that the offense does contribute to that.
14:11And just the way, you know, they create a lot of movement, some false eyes, you know, get your eye.
14:18So, like, there's a lot that goes into that that helps, but this is better.
14:22How much of a battle do you think this third quarterback position will be?
14:26Or will there be another person come from somewhere else, third QBX?
14:30Oh, I don't know.
14:31And I think, you know, I don't know.
14:34That, to me, is a practice squad battle at this point.
14:38I think it'd be awfully hard.
14:40I think if you want to keep seven receivers, for example, four tight ends, et cetera, four running backs, right?
14:46It'd be really hard to keep three quarterbacks on the 53.
14:50And, you know, unless something, like, in a game, if Kelly Ekmanis has a couple of really good games,
14:56like, you know what, you may have to keep him because he just played well enough to warrant a spot.
15:00But short of that, I would think either Hartman or Kelly Ekmanis.
15:04And, you know, it's, I mean, we've seen Hartman the last couple of years.
15:08I think he's had a better camp this year than he's in his past two.
15:11What that means, I don't know, because let's see it in the games.
15:14Like, that's when you want to see it.
15:15But it just, it has looked, I think the quarterback position overall, just top to bottom, has looked better,
15:22certainly than it did last year for a lot of reasons.
15:24But, you know, I don't know.
15:26So that one is, like, you know, it's fine, but I don't know if they'd add one, a third one.
15:31It depends on which veteran comes available, if any.
15:33Yeah, I'm with you there.
15:35I think, is Jeff Driscoll even in a camp?
15:37They certainly like Jeff Driscoll, and we've seen that now twice.
15:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:44In case of emergency, break glass.
15:46Right, exactly.
15:46Talking about John Kime here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
15:49Give John a follow, at John underscore Kime.
15:52Read all of his work about the commanders at ESPN.com.
15:56You mentioned something that I totally agree with, and that's keeping four tight ends.
16:00I think Yankov has played to a level that forces him on the roster.
16:04I even think the roster squeeze is going to happen if you do have to end up releasing Kager.
16:11I almost think he could get picked up the way he's played, but we've seen him play well now for
16:15a couple camps.
16:17I very much believe Chig is going to be the leading receiver among the tight ends.
16:23But if you look at the way this offense is modeled and the amount of times we see multiple tight
16:28end sets on the field,
16:30I think there's going to be a second tight end that emerges with like 35, 40 catches and 350, 40
16:37yards.
16:38I think that's an interesting battle kind of between Sennett and Yankov.
16:43Yeah, and Yankov's had a really good camp.
16:45And the one advantage for Sennett is that he's more of a blocker, or he's more of a help as
16:51a blocker.
16:51But I don't think that Yankov shies from that.
16:54It's just that Sennett has a bit of an edge there.
16:57But as a receiver, Yankov moves really well.
17:00Very good athletic guy.
17:01One coach told me he's had as good an offensive camp as anybody.
17:04Yeah, former quarterback.
17:06Yeah, I think the quarterbacks trust him.
17:09He's got that, you know, a phrase from the past.
17:13He's got a wide catch radius, baby.
17:16But he does.
17:17And he's made multiple one-handed catches.
17:19And, you know, I think he's athletic.
17:22He can run well, too.
17:23So I don't know, like, you know, how much work can you get him?
17:30I don't know.
17:30I know he's had a really good camp.
17:32That's what I know.
17:33And, you know, so, but, yeah, I think that's a good position.
17:37You're right.
17:38Like, Cager, I think in other years, I didn't say I'd put him on there.
17:43But I think Yankov is always kind of, you know,
17:47he also can play special teams, too.
17:48I had Cager, too.
17:50But, like, I think Yankov does well there as well.
17:53But, yeah, he's had a good camp, man.
17:55He has.
17:56Anybody you're really excited to watch tonight,
17:59kind of get your first look in game action?
18:01I want to see the running backs.
18:02I think just because, like, you see little things here and there,
18:07but it's really hard to tell with them until you get in these games.
18:11And I want to see, like, does that inside run game,
18:14can they start to get something going in there?
18:17You know, so I think he's one for sure.
18:21Joshua Josephs, to me, he's intriguing, right?
18:24As a guy that, like, okay, maybe this year he's not going to be that guy.
18:28You don't need him to be.
18:29But can he develop?
18:30And where is he at?
18:32So guys like that, I'm really – those are two that really kind of jump out,
18:38for sure, because they're younger guys, a little bit more –
18:40I want to see, like, Antonio Williams, does he play?
18:42And if so, what does he do?
18:44Because, like, we see him dust guys at times in those one-on-ones.
18:47You know, how does it translate to 11-on-11 against another team?
18:51Yeah, and so, like, that's – because, you know, sometimes, as you know,
18:54like, there's little nuances of playing receiver that can separate,
18:58especially when you're – you know, depending on the coverage you're facing
19:00and how you sit in a zone, how you do this, how you do that.
19:03Like, those are all the little things that are next step for him.
19:06We see the quickness off the line.
19:08We see the ability.
19:09And so, like, how does it – what does it look for him?
19:12But Allen especially, I really want to see, because, like,
19:14we just haven't gotten a great read on what some of those guys can do
19:18because you just – you don't see enough live tackling in train camps.
19:23Last thing, John, because this is not a young guy,
19:25but a player we would probably see tonight is Jeremy McNichols.
19:29Yeah.
19:29We haven't seen him in a couple days.
19:31I don't expect him tonight just because – do we know what that situation is?
19:35Quad.
19:36Quad.
19:36Okay.
19:37And it's – they're not sure yet as of, like, when was it,
19:41yesterday or Wednesday night or whatever, not sure yet of the timetable.
19:45Okay.
19:45So, that's what we know with him.
19:47And, you know, he – I mean, you know, there's, like,
19:49he's the guy they've always liked.
19:50He can do a number of –
19:51Yeah, he can do everything.
19:52And he does it – he's just a good pro and a good guy to have around.
19:56I mean, I go back to that Bengals game a couple years ago,
19:59the – Jaden's pass to Terry, great pass, great catch.
20:02It doesn't happen without his block.
20:04And, like, those things matter.
20:06Like, he can fill in wherever you need him, special teamer.
20:09But that's – it's a quad, and I don't know when he's coming back.
20:11He is – it's third and 11.
20:13Nobody in the NFL better getting you 12.
20:16Like, his catch-to-first-down numbers are insane.
20:20Yeah.
20:20We got a boogie, Johnny.
20:21All right, Jay.
20:21Appreciate it, brother.
20:23Thanks, guys.
20:23All right, man.
20:24It's our friend John Kime.
20:25Give him a follow at John underscore Kime, K-E-I-M.
20:29Read his work at ESPN.com.
20:31I'm –
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