- 7 weeks ago
The NFC East is always one of the most unpredictable divisions in the NFL. In this segment, The Sports Junkies break down Washington’s path to winning the division this season. How confident are you that the Commanders will win the NFC East this year?
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00:00So I threw it out there before the break.
00:01How can the Commanders win the division?
00:03There's an article on ESPN sizing up the NFC East.
00:09If you want to chime in, 1-800-636-1067.
00:15John Kime, before we get to your thoughts,
00:17offered his path to the Commanders winning a division.
00:22And it starts with Jaden Daniels topping his rookie season
00:26and then the defense taking a major step forward.
00:30So combination, defense gets better.
00:32Well, I think that's going to happen.
00:33O-Way, Sonny Stiles.
00:35I mean, it's not a given.
00:36I think defense is going to be better.
00:37It should be better.
00:38I'll bet on it.
00:39It can't be.
00:39I'll bet on it.
00:40It's going to be worse than the league.
00:42I know you're not going to have a guy have 190 tackles like Bobby Wagner,
00:46but they're going to be better.
00:47So they gave up 385 yards per game last year,
00:49and they're going to be potentially worse than that?
00:51No.
00:52I mean, it's possible.
00:53I refuse to believe that.
00:54Barring catastrophic injury, we're going to be better defensively.
00:57I don't think it's going to happen.
00:58Simply because the defense shouldn't be better.
01:00They're going to be on the field as long because they're going to be huddling up.
01:03You guys are getting into specifics.
01:06I'll just simplify it.
01:07It starts with the first two weeks.
01:09If they go 0-2, the division title is over.
01:12Well, I was going to say, kind of.
01:13If they go 1-1, it's possible.
01:15Well, three of their first five games are in the division.
01:18So they've got to win.
01:19If they want to win the division, they've got to win probably two of those three.
01:22Yes.
01:22Out of the first five.
01:23I think they're going to beat the Giants at home in week five.
01:26Just my gut.
01:27Well, if you want to win the division, you've got to win that game.
01:29Correct.
01:29That's a must.
01:30But also, you have to split in the first two weeks.
01:33You have to split in the first two.
01:34Right.
01:34So that's what I wrote down.
01:35If you go 0-2 to start the year, 0-2 in the division, you're not winning the division.
01:38You've got to get off to a hot start, so that includes you've got to go at least 2-1
01:42in
01:43those first three division games, which come all in the first five weeks.
01:48Jaden's got to pick up where he left off in 24.
01:51He's got to play at that level.
01:53I don't know if he has to play better.
01:54I don't know if he's going to rush for 900 or 1,000 yards.
01:57But I think maybe more prolific passing is potentially possible.
02:01Bill and Rashad White have to prove as good on paper as we think they are.
02:06They have to be a good complement to one another.
02:08Diggs and McLaurin pan out to be what we think they're going to be.
02:12Trelon has to be big in the red zone.
02:13Chig has to be the revelation.
02:15And I do take it for granted that we're going to be better defensively.
02:18Current odds in the division according to DraftKings.
02:21Eagles are odds on favorites, plus 122.
02:23Cowboys, plus 184.
02:26Commanders and Giants, both plus 600.
02:291-800-636-1067.
02:33I do think it starts with Jaden Daniels.
02:36He's got to stay healthy.
02:38He's got to play as good as he did as a rookie.
02:42He's got to get the completion percentage back up.
02:44What made him special, obviously, was the running.
02:47But he had a ridiculously high completion percentage as a rookie.
02:51It kind of came down in the latter parts.
02:53And then last year, it was down, when he was on the field, 8% or 9%.
02:57Pretty significant.
02:58I'll tell you who's not picking the Commanders to win the NFC East.
03:02It's whoever wrote the power rankings heading into week one on NFL.com.
03:06Yeah.
03:07Care to guess where they have the Commanders ranked?
03:0929th.
03:1029th?
03:11Really?
03:11I'm guessing.
03:13Starts with a three.
03:14No.
03:14That's so dumb.
03:15And ends with a one.
03:16Wow.
03:17Who's blowing?
03:19The Browns?
03:20They only have the Miami Dolphins.
03:21Oh, the Dolphins.
03:22They have the Browns, Raiders, and Jets.
03:25Hold on.
03:25Where was this?
03:26NFL.com.
03:27I mean, that's crazy.
03:29I'm just...
03:29I mean, that's crazy.
03:31That's a lack of respect for Jaden.
03:33I think they should be legitimately in the 20 to 22 range.
03:38I tend to agree.
03:39You okay with that range?
03:4020 to 22?
03:41I mean, based on last year until proven otherwise, sure.
03:43I think this is a very...
03:43Well, based on what's happened in the offseason and the injuries, 20 to 22.
03:47Yeah.
03:47I don't think they should be 13 or 12 or higher than that.
03:51Somewhere in the low 20s.
03:52Probably not in the high teens.
03:53Somewhere in the low 20s.
03:54But not 31.
03:5531.
03:55It's what they have them.
03:56It's right there on NFL.com.
03:58I have to give a shout-out to Bram Weinstein for this.
04:00I heard him mention this on Kimes Pod, and it's true.
04:04People sleep on...
04:06Because Jaden's last year was such a debacle, that if he truly is a transcendent talent,
04:11that unicorn that we think he is, that he's like one of the best quarterbacks in the league
04:16if he's healthy, right?
04:16I think most people think that he's in that conversation.
04:20His rookie season, people were actually throwing him out as an MVP of the league, potentially.
04:24So if he plays like that, all things are possible, obviously.
04:28But like, if Pat Mahomes might have some talent issues around him, you're still going to pick
04:35the Chiefs to win a bunch of games because he's Pat Mahomes.
04:37Josh Allen, if he has...
04:39Oh, you don't know.
04:39Who's his receiver?
04:40You're still going to pick him to win a bunch of games.
04:41Nobody's ever going to say Josh Allen is going to go 4-13.
04:45Exactly.
04:45It's impossible.
04:46But they're saying if Jaden's in that realm, if he's a top 7 or 8 quarterback, why are we
04:52saying that they're like a 4-win team?
04:54They're the 31st...
04:55He should be able to elevate.
04:56They're incompatible.
04:56Because people have doubts.
04:58They're incompatible.
04:59People have doubts because of Jaden?
05:00Yes.
05:01People have doubts about Jaden.
05:02I don't think of his ability.
05:03It's because they've forgotten what he did in year one.
05:05They only have what he did...
05:07They have residue of year two in their brains.
05:09It was scarring.
05:10They can't get past it.
05:11It was a jarring year.
05:12No doubt.
05:14But I have confidence he's going to get back to year one level.
05:17And hopefully, like John Kimes said, he's better than year one level.
05:21And people are panicking about the offensive line.
05:24Losing Tunsil.
05:25Like on NFL.com polls, most of all these national media, they're looking at, hey, your best
05:30offensive lineman's out.
05:31Which is true.
05:32But you've brought this up over and over and over again.
05:34Brandon Coleman played 14 games of tackle during a season where they made it to the
05:38NFC Championship game.
05:39They won 14 total.
05:40You know, including the playoffs.
05:42And so he's capable.
05:44Certainly.
05:44Is he as good as Tunsil?
05:45No.
05:46No.
05:46But he's capable.
05:47He's probably about as good a backup as you could beg for.
05:52Yeah.
05:531-800-636-1067.
05:55Give us the path for the commanders to win the division.
05:58The other part of the equation is, all right, my path for them winning the division obviously
06:02starts with Jaden.
06:03Then guys like O.A. got to live up to the hype, right?
06:07And make the defense better.
06:09But the other part of the equation is, I think the Eagles got to continue to slide down a little
06:13bit.
06:14Yeah.
06:14I mean, as a commanders fan, you hope that Jalen Hurts struggles.
06:18You hope that starts Sunday.
06:18You hope he struggles with the new offense.
06:20Yeah.
06:21And that he's like kind of finding his way in the first month of the season.
06:24Who are we talking about?
06:25Hurts.
06:26Oh.
06:26Well, we're not talking about Dallas.
06:28What if Dallas is much better than they were last year?
06:31Because they added a ton on defense.
06:33And they got the best receivers, receiving tandem anyway, in the East.
06:37And Javante Williams proved a really capable running back last year.
06:39Javante got a legit RB.
06:41They got a good tight end.
06:43I mean, we're not really talking about Dallas.
06:45Yeah, yeah.
06:45But what I'm saying, for the commanders to win the division, you need the Eagles to slide
06:48down.
06:49And you need Dallas to not live up to their potential.
06:51Right.
06:52Because right now, as I mentioned with the odds, Eagles are the pretty favorite.
06:57Dallas too.
06:58Dallas is right there at number two.
06:59And then it's Giants and commanders.
07:00So how do the commanders get up?
07:01They got to play better.
07:02But those other teams, a couple years ago, Eagles, I don't remember how many regular season
07:09wins they had, but they won Super Bowl.
07:11Like, when they were at the peak of their powers with the Tush Push and Saquon running for,
07:15you know, jumping over people backwards, that was like a ridiculous team.
07:222024?
07:23Now they've kind of come back a little bit.
07:242024, they had 14 wins.
07:26Yeah.
07:27I mean, they're not going to win 14.
07:28The commanders aren't going to beat a 14-win team.
07:30So you need the Eagles to slide back.
07:32The Cowboys, you know, Caleb Downs be a bust.
07:35That's not going to happen.
07:36They drafted two guys in the first round, right?
07:38They drafted Malachi Lawrence.
07:40Malachi Lawrence.
07:41Need him to be a bust too.
07:42Need Dak to probably get hurt.
07:43Right.
07:44Yeah.
07:44Just like the other teams need Jaden to get hurt.
07:46Yeah.
07:46All right.
07:47Let's go to Jim in Chesterfield.
07:49Jim, what's up?
07:50You're on with the Junkies.
07:53What's up, guys?
07:53How you doing this morning?
07:54What's up?
07:55What's it going to take for the commanders to win the division, Jim?
07:59Well, I think that, first of all, Chig Okonkwo is a big pickup for the commanders,
08:05and a lot of people aren't talking about him.
08:07I think he could be one of the top.
08:08This show's been talking about him for months, my friend.
08:10This show's been big on Chig for months.
08:12Well, I know you guys have, but I think everybody else is sleeping on him.
08:16You know, if you look at the NFL and stuff, nobody's talking about him.
08:19And I think Jaden's got to feed him.
08:21You know, he can't be running a lot.
08:23He needs to stay in the pocket, and he's got to feed Chig,
08:26especially on third downs.
08:27I think he could be a top 5, 10 tight end in the league.
08:30You know, I think that he's a big guy that we need to target a lot.
08:34I mean, if he turns into Chig Bowers for this offense,
08:36then people are going to be excited.
08:38I think you're right, Jim, and I think they will.
08:40I mean, I think he's going to get targeted a lot more than he was
08:42when he was in Tennessee.
08:44As he should.
08:45He's got to.
08:45Yeah, I think you're right.
08:46And also, also, Stephon Diggs is going to end up being the number one.
08:54And it sounds crazy, but I think that if he's the number one
08:57target in the slot, it opens up a lot more for Terry on the outside,
09:01I think that there's some good things that can happen.
09:03Yeah, I don't think it's that crazy to think that Diggs could
09:06overtake McLaurin for the most targets and most catches.
09:10Just because he's been the number one his whole career.
09:12I don't know.
09:12I would think that he's – McLaurin's still the number one in this offense.
09:16I mean, I still tend to think that too, but I'm not going to be shocked.
09:18Because Jayden's still – I mean, Jayden's been throwing McLaurin
09:20for three years.
09:20Jayden's got a couple-year connection with him.
09:22But if Diggs is running some of the shorter routes, he might be –
09:26Shocker, I got over my skis yesterday when I was with Grant and Danny
09:30on the Blitz, and they asked me for receiving numbers from Terry McLaurin
09:34and Stephon Diggs.
09:36Would you give 846?
09:38No, no, I think I said –
09:39Over 1,000 for both?
09:40I said 103 catches for Terry and like 85 for Stephon Diggs.
09:44I got a little ahead of myself.
09:46Those are like prime numbers.
09:49Yeah.
09:50Now, I would take shave 10 off that projection for Terry,
09:55and if he got 93 catches, that'd be a career high first and foremost,
09:59and that'd be great for the offense.
10:01But I think that their numbers are going to be –
10:03I think they're going to be close to the people thing.
10:05Diggs' player prop yardage is only in the high sixes, maybe low sevens.
10:10And Terry's is like 900s?
10:12Terry's is –
10:12Below 900s?
10:13The tick below –
10:14920?
10:14No, I think it's higher than that.
10:16975-ish.
10:17The tick below 1,000.
10:18Somewhere in there.
10:19All right, let's go to the phones.
10:20800-636-1067.
10:22What's the path to winning the division?
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10:40And it's who's going to win the division.
10:43Patrick!
10:45Give us the pass, buddy.
10:45Hey, morning, y'all.
10:46How you doing?
10:46What's up, Pat?
10:47Doing great.
10:47What's up?
10:48Excited that football is back officially today.
10:51So, I think on offense, this team is built to win now.
10:55I mean, I don't know about defense since we've, I don't know, the last five years since Ron's
10:59been here.
10:59We really haven't had, I guess, that 2020 year we got kind of lucky because we played
11:03all backups.
11:04But what year have we been a top five to ten defense?
11:07There's been times even when we've been bad.
11:09We were a top four rushing offense last year.
11:11So, I think we're built to win on offense now.
11:14The offensive line is going to be a little bit of a struggle.
11:17I know we've been talking about that.
11:18But our path to winning is going to be, we need to score a lot of points.
11:22And I still think that's the case.
11:23I think, you know, we're going to still have, hopefully if we're going to win, we're going
11:27to do a lot of shootouts like we did in 2024 where, you know, against good teams, we have
11:32to beat them 35 to 30 or something like that.
11:34So, it's going to come down to us putting up points and not stalling, you know.
11:40And I think also it's going to come down to, I really think it's going to come down to
11:45up in Dallas.
11:45I don't know if Philly, Philly's getting a little bit old.
11:48I think their window's getting a little bit tighter.
11:50I think A.J. Brown's a big loss.
11:52He always was destroying our corner.
11:54So, I'm not as worried about Devontae Smith personally.
11:58And Lemon, you know, he's a rookie.
11:59So, I want to know your guys' thoughts on, you know, do you feel like we're built to win?
12:03Is this a Super Bowl winning team on offense?
12:05Doesn't mean, maybe that's a little bit far.
12:07But, you know, I think we're at least a playoff team on offense.
12:09You know what I mean?
12:10I don't know about defense, though.
12:11I mean, the offense on paper should be better than it was two years ago when they made it to
12:14an NFC Championship game.
12:15Provided the offensive line holds up.
12:16They've got a better No. 2 receiver in Diggs.
12:19Chig vs. Ertz.
12:20You guys like Chig.
12:21Ertz was really good when they made it to the NFC Championship game.
12:25But let's just call that even.
12:26I think Chig is more explosive.
12:27I think the offense is a tick.
12:29Better.
12:30Because they didn't have Tunsil two years ago.
12:33So, the loss of Tunsil, like if you just compare offensive lines.
12:36And then it was what?
12:37Brian Robinson in the backfield?
12:39B-Rob two years ago?
12:40Yeah.
12:41I mean, Bill, I think, is equal to what B-Rob was giving you.
12:44He's more explosive.
12:45He's more explosive.
12:46So, I think offense ticked better.
12:48And the defense remains to be seen on paper.
12:50Should be better.
12:51Significantly better.
12:52I asked Grock.
12:53What?
12:53Compare the 2026 to the 2024 team.
12:56And it gives the edge to the 2026 team.
12:59Yeah.
12:59Because of the defense.
13:00The defense significantly better.
13:02And the offense ticked better.
13:04Even with the loss of Tunsil.
13:05Hey, and it remains to be seen, you have a kicker that can boom it.
13:09Maybe that'll be a difference.
13:10You get like one or two 60-yarders.
13:14Yeah, but you're going to have to take a bunch.
13:16Hey, let's start with 50 to 55-yarders.
13:18Let's not just throw 60-yarders out like they're easy.
13:21Nail everything inside 50.
13:22That'd be great.
13:23How cool would it be for Drew Stevens for a game-winning three in Philly in week one?
13:29That'd be really cool.
13:30That would be great if it happened.
13:32You know, with three seconds left.
13:34Drill a 47-yarder.
13:35I'd rather be more convincing than squeaking out a field goal at the end.
13:38I'd get it, but you'll take a win.
13:40Win's a win.
13:40We just take a win any way you can get it.
13:42We just can't lay a name.
13:43If you beat Philly in Philly by half a point, it's a big deal.
13:46Sure.
13:47In week one.
13:47Absolutely.
13:48What's crazy is he's three years younger than my daughter.
13:51Yep.
13:52And when you look at him, he looks like he could be in high school.
13:54Baby face.
13:55He's a young'un.
13:56He could be in high school.
13:57He definitely gets carded.
13:58But he's got a magic leg.
14:00He gets carded 100% of the time.
14:02Yes.
14:021-800-636-1067 is the number you want to chime in.
14:06We're the junkies.
14:07Keep it here.
14:08Keep it here.