00:00So I just posted the pictures of Dad with two of his new friends on my Instagram story, Grant H.
00:05Paulson.
00:06We also do have permission, Darius, to post them from the 106.7, the fan Instagram.
00:10Isn't that nice? Isn't that good?
00:11You would go ahead and do the honors for us, please, since you're in control of that kind of thing.
00:16I didn't mention anything. People are going to be like, what is this?
00:19So maybe you could mention from As Heard on the radio show or something like that.
00:22But let's get into the Commanders and the Ravens, Danny.
00:25Game is at 6 o'clock tonight.
00:27Who are the bubble players to watch in this game?
00:30I'm going to start with Luke McCaffrey if he plays.
00:32Don't know if he's going to. I think it's very possible that he doesn't.
00:35But I think there is a chance that Luke McCaffrey ends up having to play Heave and Jefferson, De'Ami
00:40Brown,
00:41some of those receivers at the back of the depth chart.
00:43And whoever's on the field, there's a spot up for grabs, perhaps.
00:46Do they keep six receivers? Do they keep seven?
00:49We know McLaurin is in. Diggs is in. Williams is a lock.
00:52I think Lane, because of the punt returnability, two touchdowns last year, probably in.
00:57After that, the pecking order is, in some order, De'Ami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Van Jefferson.
01:03Those guys are all competing for six or seven spots.
01:05So one of them, at least, is probably getting cut.
01:08And then there are some practice squad hopefuls like Jaden Bradley who are going to have important nights tonight as
01:12well.
01:12So then even beyond that, you're competing within the receiver position, obviously.
01:16But you're also competing within, are you more valuable than, say, that fifth or sixth safety that could be a
01:21special teams guy?
01:22Are you more valuable than an extra linebacker?
01:24Are you more valuable than your extra defensive tackle in a position that all of a sudden is kind of
01:28up in the air,
01:29which we'll talk about here in a second.
01:30Think of the offensive line, how in flux that is, where new guys could be coming in,
01:34especially after cut-down time here on Sunday.
01:37So that receiver spot is all of a sudden deeper because of Stephon Diggs' addition.
01:42You had everybody kind of slide down in the pecking order a bit to the more natural roles.
01:46But, yeah, that five, six, seven-type receivers are hotly contested right now.
01:51Is there a position group or a couple of players you're locking in on tonight?
01:54Yeah.
01:54So I would say the back end of that aforementioned defensive tackle spot, the Johnny Newton injury, significant,
01:59and he's out for some time, that kind of opens the door for maybe a couple of guys to make
02:05the team.
02:05Who knows, maybe these guys were in contention anyway, but Maurice Hirsch, who's been productive,
02:08Byron Coward, who's been productive, and Ricky Barber.
02:11I don't know exactly how many spots they're vying for.
02:13I get the sense they want to do this hockey shift style along that defensive front, that front seven,
02:18because they've got some pieces there now.
02:20It's one of the deeper spots on this roster.
02:22But among those three guys, who's going to stand out?
02:25Yeah, when you look up the commander's projected depth chart right now,
02:30I think the D-tackle spot might actually be more compelling than any other,
02:34to your point, because of the Newton injury and because of how many guys have come in
02:39and played really well in these games.
02:40Like the two games they've played so far, if you're ranking the top ten players in the preseason
02:46for the commanders, I actually think you could have two or three D-tackles on there.
02:50Byron Coward, the veteran, the former Patriot, has been awesome, wears number 55.
02:54Ricky Barber's been outstanding and really helped his cause.
02:57He's been very good as well.
02:59He wears number 50.
03:01And then the other guy last week that flashed like a strobe light was the longtime veteran in this league,
03:05Maurice Hurst, who wears 77.
03:07So between Coward, Hurst, Barber, maybe even Jeffrey Umbau, I don't think he's going to play
03:12because he's been banged up of late.
03:14Like all those guys were fighting for a spot.
03:15But you were mentioning how many did they keep.
03:18I mean, let's look at that number.
03:19On the D-line, you have Kinlaw, Settle, Payne, Amenahu, Shai Tuttle,
03:27and then you've got to count the edges probably for the defensive line as well.
03:31So there's five there.
03:33Owe, Josephs, I think John Baptiste is in.
03:35So that's eight right there.
03:36That's eight.
03:37Then you have Calavon Chason, Dorrance Armstrong.
03:40That's already ten.
03:41That's already ten.
03:42So you either have to cut someone I just said to keep ten,
03:46or you probably have to keep eleven.
03:47And we're talking about the possibility we'll get to quarterback in a second.
03:50But if you keep a third quarterback, like Kali Ekmanis, if he plays well
03:52and you're risking maybe losing him if you try to get him to practice squad,
03:56then you're light somewhere else.
03:58If you have 11 D-linemen and three quarterbacks, like what are we doing?
04:01Indeed.
04:01So as you look at maybe the defensive end slash edge spot is sort of considered
04:07its own animal because there's going to be some guys in there that are versatile,
04:10maybe do a little bit more than one thing.
04:12But among the defensive tackle spots most specifically, settle, pain, tuttle,
04:18then you know there's going to be a fourth in there, whether, you know,
04:21call it a nose, call it a DT, et cetera.
04:23And the question then becomes are you keeping five?
04:25Because I think among the edge rushers there are more likely that there's going
04:28to be more than that five.
04:29That makes any sense, right?
04:30Or at least five of those guys, especially considering Owey's been banged up.
04:33So to me, those three guys, Cowart, Hurst, and Barber, might be going for one spot,
04:39maybe two.
04:40But to me, that's, I think everyone else, especially on the outside,
04:44more solidified maybe than that, you know, fourth or fifth defensive tackle spot.
04:47Going back to quarterback, do you think I'm crazy and I'm overstating this
04:53because I'm going against my own general thoughts?
04:57If I say Kaliak-Manis might be a risk to get onto the practice squad,
05:03let's just say he plays well tonight.
05:05I didn't think the Lions game was this coming-of-age, incredible,
05:09let's cast a movie to talk about Ethan Kaliak-Manis start.
05:13But man, if that didn't get a lot of runway around the league.
05:16And I get it, he's a drafted quarterback, so it's a young guy who put on a show
05:22and put up big numbers.
05:22He threw a couple deep balls well.
05:24I just, maybe I've seen too much at camp to see some of the limitations,
05:28I feel like, but the games matter so much more.
05:32And you balled out.
05:34So if he goes out tonight, I don't know that he's going to play a full half,
05:37but let's say he starts and they split the game in half between him and Sam Hartman.
05:41And in two quarters against the Ravens, he goes 17 of 25 for like 142 yards
05:47and a touchdown.
05:49Do you think I'm overstating it?
05:51To say you probably then would need to keep him on the 53-man
05:54if you definitely need him in the building?
05:56Like, I wouldn't be overly concerned about losing him.
05:58But I don't think they think that way.
06:00They drafted him.
06:01So this is a fascinating case study here.
06:04Again, I open the show with this, and I really do feel this way.
06:07There are a number of things in the NFL that are paradigm, that are normal,
06:11that are commonplace, that when I look at it as an outside observer, I go,
06:14that's silly.
06:15That's outrageous.
06:16I would never do this.
06:18And again, I'm not qualified to be in charge of anything.
06:19But if I was, I would never have this situation.
06:22A seventh-round quarterback that you don't plan on playing is a waste of time.
06:26I think the whole thing is a waste.
06:28It's a waste of a roster spot.
06:29It's a waste of coaching energy and talent and a million different things.
06:33But that's not how it's perceived.
06:35It's basically if you can walk and chew gum at the most difficult
06:38and important position in sports, teams are so desperate to unearth
06:42their next great thing that maybe they will take a chance.
06:45Maybe that's kind of the idea here.
06:47Again, so my perception, just looking at it without any external factors,
06:51is who gives a damn if you lose them?
06:54Get them to the practice squad or don't?
06:56I'll root for the next quarterback that threw for 55% at Rutgers.
07:00Totally irrelevant to me.
07:01The way this league seems to think and continue to think, it is a risk,
07:05which is amazing, but here we are.
07:07Well, the other question is Hartman.
07:09And I just don't get why they keep him around without trying to be mean.
07:15I mean, it's not personal to him.
07:16But if you're keeping Kaliak Manis on the 53, and really it doesn't matter,
07:21even if he's on the P squad, that is the Hartman role.
07:24Then you don't really need Hartman anymore.
07:26So is there a world where they keep both, one as a practice squad
07:30or both on the practice squad, where it doesn't affect the 53?
07:33It would seem crazy, but it would be in line with what they've done
07:36with Hartman here recently.
07:38800-636-1067 is the number.
07:41What burning questions do you have about the roster going into the game tonight
07:44that we could chop up with you?
07:45It's Grant and Danny on the fan.
