00:00Grant and Danny on the fan.
00:03We're with you for four more hours.
00:05Thanks for hanging out with us on day two of the NFL season.
00:08Game two of a back-to-back night of kickoffs.
00:1449ers, Rams, 835 local will take you up to the game tonight on the fan.
00:22I want to get into Washington and Philadelphia here, though,
00:25because one of the major storylines for the Commanders is two debuting coordinators.
00:30Durante Jones on defense, David Blau on offense.
00:33It feels like the advantage for the Commanders could be on the defensive side of the ball
00:37because only Flores really runs his defense,
00:40and there's just not as many of them to prepare for.
00:42The problem is that Sean Mannion was in Green Bay the last two years,
00:45so they saw the Flores defense multiple times.
00:48He was also, and this one's a sneaky link, but sneaky link.
00:52That means a whole different thing, actually.
00:54This is a sneaky link between the two, though.
00:56A hidden link, if you will.
00:57Exactly.
00:58There we go.
00:58I don't think it's someone that you're hooking up with that no one's supposed to know about,
01:01but it could be.
01:02It could be.
01:02Here's a sneaky link between those two people.
01:05Sean Mannion was in Minnesota in 2023 when Brian Flores was there as well,
01:09and my point in saying that is there's been a lot of talk about the Flores defense
01:13maybe fooling the Eagles, and I still think that could happen,
01:17but Mannion might have a decent beat on this thing from his days with the Packers
01:21and then being in the building with Brian Flores.
01:24We'll see.
01:24But Durante Jones met with the media today.
01:26He was asked about his feelings as he gets closer and closer to his first-ever game
01:30as a coordinator calling plays in the league.
01:33Well, you know, it's game time.
01:35It's game week is always a different feeling every year, regardless of the role,
01:39but this role in particular, just trying to stay focused on the players
01:42and putting them in the right position to be successful.
01:45I always like the coach that says, not about me, and that's basically what he did there.
01:50Not really about me, guys.
01:51I'm excited.
01:51It's a good opportunity for me, but this is about players.
01:54How long is it going to take the new faces in this new scheme to pull this thing off?
01:59Well, everything's a progression, and, you know, Rome wasn't built in a day,
02:04so we want to just continue to work and try to get better and better each day.
02:07We want to win the day.
02:08You know, that's the theme, and that's our belief system here
02:11and our standards here in the organization.
02:12So just guys working on their technique and footworking, their craft each day,
02:18building that chemistry, you know, is always huge.
02:21And like anything, as time goes on, you want to always see the natural ascending curve
02:27and not a descending curve.
02:28So we haven't heard a lot of Durante Jones yet
02:32because we're not carrying training camp press conferences on the show, obviously.
02:36He is a coach-speed guy, isn't he?
02:38Yeah.
02:38There was a lot of, like, put-it-on-the-chalkboard coaching cliche stuff in there.
02:44I'd imagine in the room he gets after you a little bit,
02:47and they're really getting into the nitty-gritty of the techniques and the fundamentals.
02:50But out in public, it's we're only competing with ourselves one day at a time,
02:54God willing.
02:54I want to help the team win.
02:55I mean, he's going nuclear loose on you, yeah.
02:57One thing I've been very curious about is if Adafi Owe does not play
03:02and if there are some injuries that affect this D-line beyond just Johnny Newton.
03:06Caleb on chase-on status is in question right now as well.
03:10How will that impact play-calling decisions?
03:12He was asked that today.
03:14No, I think, you know, it's part of the business, you know,
03:18and we have a next-man-up mentality.
03:21And so, you know, things can happen whether it's week one or week eight.
03:25And so guys have to be ready to step in and own their role,
03:28and I think guys have responded that well.
03:31What are you anticipating from this defense in this first game?
03:35You know how I feel.
03:36I think they're going to be a lot better.
03:37I certainly think corner is a bit of an issue,
03:39but I don't think the Eagles are the team to take advantage of that necessarily.
03:42Devontae Smith, outstanding player, but otherwise it's not a particularly deep room.
03:46I can see corner getting exposed big time in Dallas
03:49when you're playing CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens.
03:51Dak Prescott's dropping back 40 times.
03:54This week, to me, I'm a little more worried about stopping the run,
03:57which is another of my sneaky concerns.
03:59Can you slow down Saquon Barkley behind this big physical offensive line,
04:04which is now going to be running a lot more power,
04:06a lot less of his own stuff that they were running?
04:07I just don't think there's a lot of points in this game.
04:09I don't see their offense being able to thrive at this point.
04:12Philadelphia, because they're a work in progress.
04:14So if you play them in November,
04:15I think you might have seen the emergence of Makai Lemon,
04:18who didn't have much in the preseason,
04:20or Dontavian Wicks as kind of a deep threat,
04:22and Devontae Smith, the Swiss Army,
04:24and everything else,
04:25and Goddard with some third-down war daddy stuff,
04:28and Barkley's on his way to a great season,
04:29and this offensive line is good,
04:31and Hurts is more comfortable than he was,
04:33say, a couple months ago.
04:34But I just don't see a lot of high-flying,
04:37excellent offense in either direction in this game.
04:40So to me, it's a rock fight.
04:41If you're within a one-score game in a rock fight,
04:44you know, you can take your chances.
04:45You're seeing two teams in the teens,
04:47close football game?
04:48Yeah, like just everything low-scoring,
04:50un-aesthetic, like last night.
04:52You know what I really want, honestly,
04:54is I don't want to hear the word communication
04:57as having to be explained away after the game.
04:59Totally.
05:00I don't need some 72-yard touchdown
05:02on a first and 10 from your own,
05:04you know, 28 or whatever it is.
05:07None of that.
05:07Like, no deep balls, no deep posts.
05:09I'm not giving anything big up.
05:11Make them earn every inch.
05:12If they nickel and dime you with Saquon Barkley
05:15and they just get down the field on 13 plays,
05:17God bless them.
05:18But I need no major explosives.
05:20And this offense specifically,
05:22where there's like one guy
05:23that you really worry about in the passing game,
05:26as a vertical threat,
05:27you can't allow them to beat you in that regard.
05:31What I hope to learn is,
05:32what is Durante Jones as a play caller?
05:35You know, Jay Gruden was on the show
05:36with us a few days ago.
05:37And I asked him about being a first-timer.
05:39Is there a way to prepare for that?
05:41I thought Dan Quinn did everything he could
05:44to get Jones and Blau reps.
05:46Any box you can check, they check.
05:48There's still no substitute for it.
05:49It's a division game on national television.
05:51Legitimately, Quinn overturned every stone in this regard.
05:54They took the 40-second play clock
05:56and they made it like 38
05:57so that they had less time to get plays in.
05:59They had periods in practice,
06:01which you don't typically have,
06:03where he would have his guys
06:04calling plays into walkie-talkies,
06:06non-scripted portions of practice,
06:08to just pretend that they were calling plays.
06:11And maybe Jones is a little bit less
06:12of a concern in this regard
06:13because he did do it at the collegiate level.
06:15But I still think it's different.
06:17Durante Jones was actually asked about
06:19getting experience,
06:21calling plays in the preseason,
06:22how much that's going to help.
06:23Something that Gruden said,
06:24it's a good idea,
06:26but it's like flying a plane.
06:28Until you're up there and no one's helping you,
06:30it's just not the same.
06:31The preseason was always a good experience
06:33just from a different perspective.
06:36Fortunately, when I was at Minnesota,
06:38the last three years,
06:40Flo let me call the preseason games.
06:42So that was very similar in that way.
06:44So I've called all those preseason games
06:46but there, but it's a little different
06:47because it's a different position
06:49and different responsibility
06:50in the big scheme of things
06:51and you're thinking about it
06:52in terms of long-term plan.
06:55But it was good.
06:57It was a lot of experience.
06:59The game management was huge.
07:01The thought process was huge.
07:02It's almost like,
07:03hey, if this was what we have done
07:06in this situation,
07:06if it played out,
07:07if different things like that.
07:08So you're kind of standing ahead of the call,
07:09which was a good experience.
07:11That makes me feel a little bit better
07:13to know that Flores gave him the seat
07:16in the preseason.
07:17And he got to do more games than we thought
07:19in preparing for that,
07:21a la this year.
07:23I'm not saying it's night and day,
07:24but every little bit helps.
07:26You know,
07:26every deposit you can put into the bank
07:28is worthwhile.
07:29And I said this last week,
07:30I don't remember what team,
07:31maybe it was the Packers with Jordan Love.
07:33I think teams should let coordinators
07:36or non-coordinators actually
07:38call plays in preseason games.
07:40You're treating it like you don't care
07:42with who you're playing.
07:43You might as well get the reps
07:44for your secondary coach
07:46who might be a coordinator soon.
07:47I'm glad Flores did that.
07:48Me too.
07:49And it's also, yeah,
07:50you're grooming somebody
07:51to one day maybe take the seat in-house
07:53if one of your coordinators gets promoted
07:55or gets a job elsewhere.
07:56I know you may be, you know,
07:57training someone that he might take with him.
07:59But ultimately, to me,
08:00it's a better understanding of
08:05your, you know,
08:06kind of the totality instead of your silo.
08:08In other words,
08:09a secondary coach calling a defense,
08:11you're not just calling,
08:13hey, what are the safeties doing?
08:13Or what are the corners doing?
08:14Are you guys bumping around?
08:16Are you guys pressing?
08:16Are you guys playing this soft zone?
08:18Are you dropping three?
08:19Are you doing this cloud?
08:20It's what everybody's doing
08:21and now you have the better understanding
08:22of the whole thing.
08:24So maybe as it relates to the why
08:26or kind of, you know,
08:27the thought process for everybody
08:28so you can actually be better
08:30at your own gig
08:31for the time you have it.
08:32My single biggest concern
08:34for Jones and this defense
08:37at the link this weekend
08:39is Saquon Barkley
08:40in a way that it normally isn't.
08:42Like in the past,
08:43it would have been A.J. Brown
08:44or Hurts getting out of the pocket
08:46and running around.
08:47Like the Barkley element of this thing
08:49for a defense that got gashed a little bit.
08:52We didn't see the starters a ton,
08:53but it just,
08:54it would be common sense to me.
08:56I've seen it in Minnesota over the years.
08:58If you're so focused all the time
09:00on pressure and getting guys
09:02to the quarterback,
09:03the part that sometimes you miss out on
09:04is the interior and the run game.
09:06So you really need,
09:07if Ken Law's playing five tech
09:09or Deron Payne,
09:10I think Tim Settle's a sneaky,
09:12super important person
09:13on this team this year,
09:15but they've got to slow down Saquon Barkley
09:18in his career, by the way,
09:20against Washington.
09:21So that's Redskins,
09:22football team,
09:24commanders,
09:24didn't matter what.
09:25He's played everybody.
09:26Been on the helmet.
09:2712 career games against Washington.
09:29He averages over 100 yards per game.
09:311,222 rushing yards
09:33over a touchdown per game.
09:3613 touchdowns in that time.
09:38This is Jones on defending
09:40the former 2,000-yard back.
09:42Saquon is special.
09:43You know,
09:45I don't think,
09:46you know,
09:47it's not a one-man job.
09:49It's a team effort.
09:51And even with that,
09:55I mean,
09:55his explosiveness,
09:56his playmaking ability,
09:59he's very dynamic,
10:00and they've done a great job
10:01of using him in that way
10:02and finding different spaces
10:04to get him touches.
10:05And so you take your hat off
10:07to the organization
10:07and how they utilize
10:08their personnel over there.
10:09A little taste of Durante Jones
10:11with the media
10:12ahead of his first-ever game
10:13as a DC.
10:15We'll check in on David Blau,
10:16who spoke today as well
10:17as we continue.
10:18Next, though,
10:19let's set the table
10:20for tonight's matchup.
10:21The 49ers and the Rams
10:22and the rich
10:22top just
10:23in the
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