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There are several things that the Commanders need to improve upon before their collision with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. Shawn Syed stopped by The Sports Junkies this morning to analyze his biggest problems with Washington during their week one loss to Philly. What changes do you want to see the Commanders make?
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00:00Sean Syed from Sumer Sports will join us shortly.
00:03He breaks down film for Sumer Sports.
00:06Does a great job of that.
00:08You can give him a follow at Syed Schemes on Twitter.
00:12That's at S-Y-E-D Schemes.
00:15Does he pretty much break down every game or just select games?
00:18I think he just breaks down everything.
00:19Probably all of them.
00:20He watches a lot of film.
00:21Imagine how busy he is on a Monday.
00:23So much work.
00:23Sure, he's busy all weekend.
00:25Busy into the early part of the week.
00:28And then he's just getting ready for the following week.
00:30Right.
00:30Late in the week.
00:31The weeks go by quick.
00:32Yep.
00:32It's the way it works.
00:34I mean, he's already got some breakdowns of the Chiefs game, I think.
00:39Yeah, he does.
00:40Oh, I'm sure he does.
00:40Definitely does.
00:41He's watching the Chiefs just give it to the Broncos last night.
00:45Probably up until 2 in the morning.
00:47Right.
00:47Not sure where he lives.
00:51All right, is he trying to track him down?
00:52He's talking to him right now.
00:53He is, yes.
00:55By the way, just a quick reminder.
00:57JP's bobblehead giveaway.
00:58We're just two days away from that.
00:59That is at the D.C. Public Library in downtown D.C.
01:03Thursday night, 5 until 7, 901 G Street.
01:06We'll see you there in a couple of days.
01:09Sean Syed now joins us on the Rude Guest Hotline.
01:13He does film breakdown for Sumer Sports.
01:15Good morning, Sean.
01:16How are you?
01:17I'm doing well.
01:18I'm glad we're going to talk about real games now, even if things don't always result in one.
01:23Sean, we were just kind of talking about it before you came on.
01:26And you break down pretty much every game, correct?
01:30I mean, I like to think I do, but if I'm honest, come on.
01:33Am I going to do a full breakdown of Jets-Titans?
01:37I don't want to lie to you guys.
01:38I don't want to come on here and lie to the good people.
01:40So I try my best.
01:41I'll mark off as many games as possible.
01:43But yeah, I mean, of course, Eagles-Commanders, that's one.
01:45I think there are so many different storylines circled in.
01:48So that was an easy one to knock off the list.
01:49Okay, so let's start with that.
01:51What were your takeaways from Jaden Daniels in that game?
01:55And do you think, looking at what Jackson Dart was able to do to that Dallas defense,
01:59that he's going to come out firing in week two, where it took him a little time to get comfortable
02:03in week one?
02:05Yeah, it's going to be interesting.
02:06Look, my expectations for the Giants were not high going midseason.
02:09They just absolutely weren't.
02:10I think they really undressed the Cowboys defense in a lot of ways.
02:13I would be curious how the Commanders deal with Isaiah Likely in space and just all the different ways that
02:19the Giants are old school in a way
02:21and that they really want to be smash-mouthed and be downhill at you.
02:24But then they can also spread you out in different ways.
02:26So that's interesting.
02:27And then thinking about Jaden Daniels, just how he played against the Eagles,
02:29I thought some of their best plays ended up being kind of those later-in-the-game explosive plays.
02:34So you're hoping to get just a few more of those plays early on in the game.
02:38It was nice to see him be elusive enough in the pocket.
02:41So that was the game going in.
02:43And I felt like, all right, well, yeah, if you're a Commanders fan, you should certainly feel pretty comfortable.
02:46I think now maybe I feel just a little bit less comfortable just kind of seeing things going on from
02:49both those teams in week one.
02:51But also, still playing in the NFC East, that could just show us that, hey, the Cowboys defense actually has,
02:55like, way more steps for us to take.
02:57And that's going into the year.
02:59I was not super high on the Commanders defense.
03:01I did think there was a lot of fun things that Durante Jones ended up showing that got me really
03:05excited and encouraged.
03:06So it could be a situation where now you're looking at, hey, like, everyone's high on the Cowboys.
03:10Like, there can be reason to be optimistic about the other two teams there as well.
03:13Hey, Sean, up until about a month ago, there was a lot of pearl clutching from Commanders fans about how
03:18bad the wide receiver room was outside of Terry McLaurin before they signed Stephon Diggs.
03:23But after watching week one, I know it's just one game, but, you know, Diggs clearly made an impact.
03:28He was targeted nine times, scores a touchdown.
03:31Antonio Williams, as a rookie, burst upon the scene, led the team in receiving yards, catches that nice touchdown where
03:38he prevented it from bouncing off of the turf.
03:40So, like, that wide receiver room now looks like a strength, whereas about a month, month and a half ago,
03:45people were, like, terrified as to what it would look like.
03:47You didn't even mention McLaurin, who's our guy.
03:49Yeah, McLaurin was obviously off to a slow start, didn't really get involved in the game until late.
03:55Look, the Eagles have, they have one of the best secondaries, I think, across the league, flat out.
03:59Cooper DeGene is, I mean, he's one of my favorite players to watch in the league and to watch Stephon
04:03Diggs, even at this point in his career, just, like, punk him multiple times.
04:07Right.
04:07Whatever it was, did you hurt, or whatever, I think if you asked Cooper, you'd say, no, like, I lost
04:11those reps one-on-one.
04:12And so that is a really good sign, because, yes, I was also pretty skeptical about this receiving room.
04:17And I do think the Eagles, Vic Bancher, they had a few different things to say, hey, we're going to
04:21get two bodies over tournament floor and make his life really, really hard.
04:24But to still see our digs getting open, I think you can expect McLaurin to still get to his baseline
04:29level.
04:29And like you mentioned, Antonio Williams there as well.
04:32So, yeah, I think even in a loss, I mean, I hate to say it's being encouraged in a loss,
04:36but certainly, and really specifically, I think, digs there.
04:39Where even if it's not for, I don't know, 15 targets a game, if you have someone that can comfortably
04:45win in that slot,
04:47where you also have someone on the outside where you feel comfortable with, and Tyron McClure in that, I think,
04:50gets me excited.
04:51What about the breakdown?
04:53You know, it was supposed to be a big deal that Jaden could be under center more.
04:56And I think the numbers I saw was really only under center four times, right?
05:01He was shotgun 30 times.
05:04Is that just, look, I mean, is this kind of the way that game played out?
05:08Or, like, how do you see that playing out in the future?
05:11Okay, it's interesting, because across the league, we see under center eights at, like, historic highs,
05:16like 14 percentage points up from, like, across week ones over the last four seasons.
05:20And I think that there are going to be teams where they go into it, and then they look at
05:26it and say,
05:26well, the best offense that we have that we've been most comfortable with over the last two years is from
05:30the shotgun,
05:31where the commanders, of course, have been like that.
05:33The Eagles have, in a lot of ways, been like that.
05:36I'll give it a little bit more time.
05:37I will say of the candidates, like, the Bengals are another example where I thought,
05:41surely these guys are just going to end up in shotgun.
05:43They have, like, 19 snaps or 18 snaps under center or moving one of their kneel downs.
05:47And I thought their concepts were pretty good.
05:49So I'll give it some time.
05:50I think I'm a little bit skeptical.
05:52And I do think there is a little bit of just game flow there where, hey, you're trying to play
05:57catch up.
05:58I think if the commanders were up by 14 instead of, like, down in those situations,
06:01I would certainly kind of see that flip.
06:03And if you're switched to under center, it's just your way to say, well, we need to end this game
06:08on the ground.
06:09We have to be physical, and this is how we're going to do it.
06:11Then, you know, again, you're looking at situations where you're maybe a little bit up.
06:14You think about the other side of the ball, though, where the Eagles got under center
06:17and they're trying to run the ball and just can't do anything at all.
06:19So it's a little bit of a give and take.
06:22It's something I'm going to be monitoring, but that's one where I'm not feeling like, okay,
06:26the commander's going to lead the league under center this season.
06:28How overall do you think Blau fared?
06:31I mean, fans to a person hated the two-point call.
06:35Every coach, every analyst, they all say it was a fine call, you know, just not executed.
06:40I'll accept that.
06:41Fans hated it.
06:42But on the whole, how do you think Blau held up in his first go-around as a play caller?
06:48Yeah, it felt like later in the game, as it went on, I think it got a little bit better.
06:52The, like, third and, I think it was like 13 or 16 or something, ends up as a 33-yard
06:56pass.
06:56I like that kind of concept, that he ends up running.
06:58I like the way that he ends up isoing digs on that touchdown where you have McLaurin in
07:02the slot away, so then the defense wants to shade in that direction just a little bit
07:06with the safety to open up space.
07:07And, I mean, I think Jay Daniel said this, like, yeah, the two-point conversion, like,
07:10I kind of just read it wrong, where it's like, there's a guy open there.
07:13And, like, if, you know, if the play, unfortunately, doesn't end up getting read correctly, it
07:16ends up in a bad situation.
07:18And then, yeah, the touchdown there where you're mixing up the cornerback and the safety,
07:22and they don't know where to go fully because there's a little bit of friction.
07:25So, early on in the game, you know, when I was thinking about coming on here, I was
07:29like, oh, man, like, you know, I don't want to just come on here and rip this guy.
07:32But I'm glad there was enough little snippets where it's like, okay, like, that's an encouraging
07:36sign.
07:36That's a good play.
07:37That's a good play.
07:38And then you're hoping that continues to build into a really just, like, coherent kind of
07:41plan of attack.
07:42So, Sean, what did you notice when you were looking at that Cowboys-Giants film?
07:47You know, the Cowboys defense was just atrocious last year.
07:50So, they went out and they signed about eight or nine free agents on the defensive side.
07:54They drafted Caleb Downs.
07:56They knew they had to correct whatever they were doing wrong last year, and they upgraded
08:01at a bunch of positions.
08:02But, man, they were just bad against the Giants.
08:05Offensively, they weren't good either.
08:06They were held to, I don't know, 213 yards, something like that, 230 yards maybe.
08:13So, they couldn't do anything offensively, and they couldn't stop Jackson Dart.
08:17Yeah, I mean, it felt like a lot of communication issues on the back end, which unfortunately I
08:21know that Commander fans are quite familiar with last year when it feels like, hey, no matter
08:25what we call, there's going to be some sort of breakdown.
08:27It felt like a lot of times just in that kind of short five-yard kind of outside of the
08:31numbers type area, like we're just not able to fully communicate and pass things off in
08:36the ways that we want to.
08:37And, you know, Christian Parker, of course, with the Eagles before, now the defensive
08:40coordinator, when you're trying to run that style of defense, you definitely will need
08:44high-end defensive line play.
08:46You're absolutely going to need just fantastic communication.
08:48I think something that the Eagles do quite well is communicate, where that's where Parker
08:52came from, although actually the commanders have broken down a few times as well.
08:55So, I'm going to hold out on the Cowboys defense overall.
08:59I think coming into the season, it felt like, all right, well, can they get to league
09:03average?
09:04That's really what they're kind of, to me, the real goal is, because you're coming from
09:08like the worst defense in the league.
09:10So, it did feel like, hey, a lot of moving parts, you know, new things coming in.
09:14Can we communicate?
09:15So, I actually, again, I do think that some of the things that I like from Blau specifically
09:20were the ways that he mixed up the ways the Eagles had to communicate with each other.
09:25You're going to go up against a similar type of defense, where I think that they're just
09:29worse off at a player-to-player position in terms of the Cowboys.
09:32So, I want to see Blau continue to do things.
09:34You're sending the receivers over one another.
09:36They're crossing in different directions.
09:37You're forcing the defense to communicate.
09:39And I think that can definitely be an advantage for the commanders.
09:56I think that's just a fancy way of saying, don't expect a lot of offense in this game
10:04between these two teams.
10:06Cooper Rush is really bad as a third-string quarterback.
10:09What did you see out of this game?
10:11And can the Falcons get anything going if Cooper Rush is under center again next week?
10:17Yeah, it was a rough one.
10:18I was looking through our data, and I just kept seeing, like, these flashing red, big
10:22negative signs next to the offense.
10:23And I was like, wait, these two teams played each other.
10:26Like, what is going on here?
10:27So, it was a bummer.
10:29I do think the Steelers' defense played quite well.
10:31That was nice to see.
10:32I would have loved to see a little more from the Steelers' offense.
10:34But on the Cooper Rush side of that, I mean, you do – like, B.J. and Robinson played quite
10:38well, which is – that's why it's like, oh, man.
10:41Like, even with Robinson being productive in that game, you still have all these sorts
10:45of issues.
10:45So, yeah.
10:47I'm not going to hold my breath, I think, for the Falcons to turn around and start lighting
10:50up the scoreboard by any means.
10:51But it feels like they're holding out hope.
10:54Like, all right, well, once Michael Panik Jr. is just feeling a little bit more comfortable
10:58overall, you know, that that can be a better situation.
11:00I mean, it is crazy now to think about that draft class, right?
11:03I was in to twerk for that draft and to see the room just be like, what is going on
11:07when
11:07they draft Michael Panik?
11:08And then you see Bo Nix.
11:09You see how Bo Nix played yesterday as well.
11:11And so, you're hoping that those guys are able to come back and match those three other
11:16quarterbacks drafted in that class.
11:17And, Sean, on the other side of the offensive spectrum, what the Ravens did in Indianapolis
11:22was really impressive.
11:23Declan Doyle's debut as the offensive coordinator.
11:25He had Lamar under center, the highest percentage of his career, under center dropback percentage,
11:32highest of his career.
11:33And King Henry, like, he just keeps going, even though he's about, I think he's about
11:36to turn 33.
11:38He's just an unstoppable force for that offense.
11:41What, I mean, what a privilege, right?
11:43I think we all hope to have that kind of longevity in our careers, no matter what.
11:47And I do think that Declan Doyle deserves a bunch of credit.
11:50I thought that getting your quarterback to be under center, and it's interesting to think
11:53about the parallels to the commanders here, where I think Doyle, his run game was just
11:58super, super detailed.
11:59Really, really small things, whether it's literally just, hey, we're going to have this
12:02player block a guy, one player inside instead, and we're going to change Derek Henry's angle.
12:06He's going to hit a little bit inside.
12:08He's going to be able to get downhill a little bit quicker.
12:10That kind of stuff was really, really nice to see.
12:12They had Zay Flowers in the backfield out of a route that ends up in a touchdown.
12:15Flowers did get injured before the second quarter even ended.
12:18I think he had, like, 150 yards before halftime.
12:20So that's a situation where, I mean, I will say, the Ravens are my preseason Super Bowl
12:24pick.
12:24Now, am I victory lapping after week one?
12:26Absolutely, I'm victory lapping after week one.
12:28You're welcome.
12:30We got to overreact a little bit, right?
12:32I'm just kidding.
12:33I mean, there's a lot of things they need to clean up.
12:34I think the second half, it pulled back a little bit.
12:37But the Ravens are, I think, a super easy team to be excited about.
12:40Really felt like Doyle and Jackson just totally got each other.
12:43But the thing is, Jackson, I mean, he showed so much before this season that he was excellent
12:47at under center.
12:48When I think about Hurts and Daniels, it's not like we saw all over their early season
12:52film last season where it's like, oh, these guys are going under center.
12:55They're killing it.
12:56They're killing it.
12:56So, of course, my expectations for those players are going to be lower.
12:59And then my expectations for Lamar, worst guy, hot.
13:01Because he was able to do this consistently in different seasons.
13:05So, yeah, I would expect you to be able to continue to do that.
13:07So, really, really nice to see.
13:08It felt like a good match.
13:10And maybe a situation where it's like, all right, well, is the Colts defense just a little
13:13bit less than we think it is?
13:14But still, I think a lot of reason to be excited about the Ravens.
13:16Sean, the Saints-Lions game was two different games.
13:21And Tyler Shuck was terrible in the first half.
13:24He threw a couple picks.
13:25The Lions couldn't do much offensively.
13:28I think they scored on maybe their opening possession or the second possession.
13:31But then they couldn't do much in the rest of the first half.
13:33But then the second half was completely different.
13:35The Saints put up 30 points after halftime.
13:37The Lions put up 24.
13:41And Tyler Shuck threw for 4-10 through 56 passes.
13:45Now Detroit has to go to Buffalo on a short week.
13:49And, of course, we saw what Buffalo did on the road against a really good defense.
13:53Your thoughts on that Saints-Lions game?
13:56I mean, I have Saints fans in my life.
13:58I have Lions fans in my life.
13:59And the group chats were pretty wild.
14:01Because after the first few quarters, you're like, yeah, we can move on.
14:06We can shut this one off.
14:07But to see Shuck kind of bounce backwards.
14:09Like, the first half was just rough.
14:11Like, you really don't want to have that from a quarterback office to go into their second year.
14:15So to see him bounce back, hit some of those tight window throws, that was nice.
14:19And then the Lions, to me, they're just a team.
14:21They have so many good players on the offense.
14:23So you're hoping that kind of whoever comes in there, and it seems like Drew Petsing,
14:27when he came in this year as an offensive coordinator,
14:28he kind of learned the system from the players.
14:31And now he's putting, like, his own kind of play calling on it.
14:34Felt like a lot of leaning into Jameer Gibbs,
14:35which, look, if someone handed me a play sheet,
14:37we're giving the ball to that guy over and over and over again.
14:40So I'm interested to see kind of how that Lions offense grows.
14:43Because, yeah, like you mentioned, going into, I mean,
14:45how lucky for us to get to the awesome Thursday night game between the Lions and the Bills.
14:49Oh, that's going to be a fantasy bonanza on Thursday night.
14:52Isn't Buffalo opening up their new stadium?
14:53Yes, their first game at the new Highmark Stadium, I believe.
14:57So it should be fun to watch.
14:59Sean, thanks for the time, man.
15:00We really appreciate it.
15:02Thanks so much.
15:02Appreciate you guys.
15:03Sean Syed, he does great film breakdown for Sumer Sports.
15:07You can give him a follow at Syed Schemes on Twitter.
15:11When we come back, we'll get back into the commanders
15:14and we'll take your calls at 800-636-1067.
15:17Do you have confidence that Mikey Sanrestre will bounce back
15:20after a week, week one performance against the Philadelphia Eagles?
15:25Can he bounce back in week two against the Dallas Cowboys?
15:28800-636-1067.
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