- 17 minutes ago
Commanders Reporter Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to give some injury updates as the Commanders prepare for their Week 2 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Ben assesses secondary tweaks after Mikey Sainristil’s tough Week 1 performance, examines the pass-rush rotation with Dorance Armstrong coming back, and provides insight on OC David Blough’s growth calling plays. Ben finishes up by dropping his final score prediction for the game.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Ben Standig is with us every Monday and Friday on this show as our Commander's Insider.
00:06He's got a sub stack. I urge you to subscribe. It's totally worth it.
00:10You can get access to it from Ben's X account at Ben Standig.
00:15It's called Last Man Standig.
00:17He writes prolifically and very well in covering this team.
00:23All right, let's just get to it.
00:26But who do you think at this point will be ruled in for the game of those key injuries,
00:33Aconquo and, of course, Frankie Luvu, and who will be ruled out, do you think, by the time we get
00:38to Sunday?
00:40Yeah, so they also put Kinlaw, the DNP, yesterday with the back,
00:44but he was out there when we were just out there for a start of practice, practicing, participating.
00:50So it looks like he should be okay.
00:52Aconquo was working with the training staff, kind of not dressed or doing anything like everybody else,
00:59so I'm kind of guessing he's out.
01:00Luvu, I think, is maybe more the 50-50.
01:03He was out there participating in the stretching parts, but he wasn't dressed to play football, so to speak.
01:10So maybe he's the iffy one.
01:12Obviously, they added two linebackers to the practice squad.
01:15That factors in the Jordan McGee part of it all, but that could be a thing.
01:19So I think he's the one, to me, that feels the borderline.
01:22The other two, I think, have a pretty clear idea on.
01:25Yeah, I think you agree with me, right, that defensively there are high expectations in that building
01:34for the fit that is Frankie Luvu with the Durante Jones defense.
01:41Yeah, I mean, you know, if you had to sort of, like, label Luvu's style in any one way, it
01:49would be, like, energetic.
01:50And not that that's not something you're looking for in any defense, but in this one in particular,
01:55the level of aggressiveness that they're looking for up front and sort of the mania, almost,
02:00that they're hoping to cause, it feels like it's a perfect fit for what he is.
02:04And, obviously, you know, we all probably make too big of a deal about the whole Green Dot situation,
02:08but he's got that, you know, football IQ part of it as well to be able to deal with that.
02:14So, yeah, I think he's one of those guys that I thought, okay, this defense should work for him.
02:21And, obviously, just, you know, getting more options coming off the edge so he doesn't have to do that.
02:26Like, last year, I don't think he was having a particularly great year regardless.
02:29But once all the injuries started to happen and they started using him as the edge,
02:33it really kind of changed what he can do.
02:35And now he's back to being, you know, in better situations for his type of game.
02:41Let's go back to Monday because after you appeared on the show, Dan Quinn later on that afternoon spoke.
02:48And he, I mean, disagree with me if you want, but I thought that that was as critical publicly as
02:58he's been of a player since he's been the coach.
03:01He really called out Mikey Sanristill in the performance.
03:05There was much more support on Wednesday.
03:09Durante Jones talked about it.
03:11Sanristill's been a major topic this week in terms of his performance.
03:15So, A, do you agree with me that that's about as negative or as critical, I shouldn't say negative, as
03:22Dan Quinn's been?
03:24And, B, will it end up manifesting itself in fewer snaps on Sunday in Dallas?
03:34Yeah, I mean, so that was my question to him.
03:39And, you know, sometimes I just think you've got to ask, hey, this happened, what, what, you know, just leave
03:44it kind of open-ended.
03:45It was the last question in the press conference.
03:47I don't know why you get the last question, but that's another subject.
03:50Feel free to ask that question out loud as more.
03:54But, no, but the, so, yeah, you know, oftentimes, like you said, you know, Dan Quinn does not often give
04:03public criticism like that.
04:04Even here, he didn't tonally, if you only listen to his tone and not really listen to the words, it
04:10didn't sound anything like it was a real reprimand or anything.
04:14But when he says it's unacceptable, and, you know, then when discussing the 64-yard catch to Wicks, or by
04:20Wicks, in which Sanristill seemed to pull up looking for the ball,
04:24and he was like, come on, you've got to, man, you've got to finish that play.
04:27You know, I think that was a pretty aggressive deal, and I think something to keep in mind here is
04:33that, yes, it's week one,
04:35and I know that people are like, oh, it's only week one, and they're already relaxed.
04:38Yeah, except is that really how they're thinking about it?
04:40Like, this is year three for Dan Quinn.
04:42We can all say he's not on the hot seat.
04:43I don't think he is, but I think they all recognize last year was bad, and they need to do
04:47better.
04:47And that the players who've been here for the duration of that time, like, it's sort of like, hey, we've
04:51given you opportunities.
04:53And obviously, Mikey's had some good moments, no doubt about it, but last year he was a bit of a
04:58wreck from the slot.
05:00And, you know, he's not big enough to really be on the outside consistently, and that's why it's been, like,
05:05kind of curious for all of us, like, what's going to happen?
05:08So in terms of, like, is this going to lead?
05:10And then even with Durante Jones, Durante Jones didn't come in.
05:12You know, he didn't maybe drop.
05:14If we're saying, like, Quinn dropped the hammer, he didn't maybe do that.
05:17But when asked, what's the coaching message to Sanristill this week, and he starts with urgency, you know,
05:22that that's also not a, oh, it's, you know, it's fine, no big deal.
05:26Like, that's a, hey, man, we're going to need more from you.
05:29So then you factor in that Dallas has, you know, not just a pair of really, really good receivers,
05:34but they got guys who are bigger bodies than, say, what Philadelphia was presenting last week.
05:38It just makes too much sense to think that Rasul Douglas, he should be playing more, I would think.
05:44I mean, he's the most experienced of the outside corners they have.
05:49He's the biggest guy.
05:50I mean, like, Sanristill and Robertson are, like, 5'8", 5'9".
05:54Douglas is a legit 6'2".
05:56So it just seems too logical that that's going to be the case.
05:59Now, if that means, you know, Robertson or Sanristill drops to becoming the nickel, maybe.
06:04But I can see that being Sanristill and playing less.
06:07And, you know, oftentimes when a cornerback is out there, that guy plays, like, the whole game.
06:11Like, Robertson played every snap.
06:12I think Sanristill only missed, like, one or two.
06:14Yeah, it was 54 out of the 55, yep.
06:16But, yeah, so, you know, I mean, I'm not saying he would have no role.
06:21It just depends on how often they would go with nickel and things like that.
06:23But, yeah, I could absolutely see Douglas be out there more.
06:26And plus they added a corner to the regular roster yesterday, this 30-year-old corner that's bounced around the
06:33league, Isaac Idiom.
06:35I don't know how you pronounce it.
06:38So that was interesting.
06:40I also thought the addition of this guy, Patrick Lucas, who's been in the league for a while, was interesting
06:46earlier this week.
06:47Did you find both of those ads, you know, at least worth discussing because of the interior offensive line and
06:55the cornerback position?
06:57Yeah.
06:58Well, so on the corner, he's another guy.
07:00He's, like, he's basically been a backup most of his career.
07:02Everybody's played, and he's also got the size 6'1", so perhaps that's a factor there.
07:07As far as it's Luke, Lucas Patrick, he, yeah, I mean, he's a guy who's, you know, been around the
07:16league.
07:16You know, the various people that we've, people said, hey, why don't you go out and sign this guy or
07:20that guy?
07:21You know, a guy who's been around.
07:22Well, he's one of those guys.
07:23He hasn't played as much starting-wise the last couple of years.
07:26But, yeah, a classic guy who can plug and play to a certain degree, not saying be great, but just
07:32can do it.
07:32It is sort of odd, though, to have four backup offensive linemen, as they do, and only one of them
07:37plays tackle.
07:39Like, that's kind of weird.
07:40And Andrew Wiley.
07:41Wiley, right.
07:42Andrew Wiley, right.
07:43And he's not, you know, left tackle's never really been part of his portfolio.
07:48And if somehow, you know, knock on wood, something happened to Brandon Coleman, I guess they would go to Wiley,
07:52but that would be a pretty tough spot, I would think, relative to ideal.
07:57But it's not easy to find left tackle.
07:58So, yeah, I mean, I, you know, we talk when they let D.J. Humphreys go, it's just like, okay,
08:05are they doing this because they don't want to pay the veteran?
08:08If you keep the veteran on the week one roster, you don't want to pay that guy going forward.
08:13Well, essentially, that's what they did here.
08:14They bring in the guy after week one, and, you know, like, he gives them at least experience because the
08:18other two guys are Matt Goulbin and Togia, and they're both rookies.
08:22So, you know, now they at least have two vets who've played in the league more than one game.
08:26So I would think that Patrick could easily be the first guy off the bench if they ever needed one.
08:31You know, I don't know how quickly he takes them to ramp up.
08:34But, yeah, I mean, I think in that regard.
08:36But I still just think it's weird, like, the whole backup line thing, how they've been going at it.
08:41And, again, to have one tackle is abnormal.
08:45I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's not the norm.
08:48Dorrance Armstrong is back this week after serving a one-game suspension Sunday.
08:54Do you think that this is, you know, sort of a rotational thing with Chason, Owey, and Dorrance Armstrong in
09:03terms of their edge players?
09:04Are we going to see a lot of him Sunday?
09:09Yeah, I mean, I think that's going to be a really, really interesting dynamic is to see how they're going
09:14to play this out.
09:15You know, what was surprising to me was not that Owey played last week, but Owey, it was the fifth
09:20most snaps he's played in any game of his career,
09:22despite the fact that he hadn't been out there for, like, you know, two to three weeks.
09:26Right.
09:27Because the injuries, they just threw him out there.
09:29So if they're going to play him that much in a game in which he's just coming back, it's hard
09:33to see him being off the field too long.
09:35You know, they, in order to bring up, open up the spot for the cornerback, they released Ricky Barber.
09:43I presume he'll go back to the practice squad here, or we'll see.
09:46But my point is, like, okay, so if they're doing that, what does that suggest?
09:50And I think what it maybe suggests to me is that, like, especially in passing downs,
09:54they'll use Charlton Manahou and Dorrance Armstrong inside as, like, defensive tackles,
10:01and that's a way to maybe get him on the field a little bit more while keeping Owey and Chase
10:06on.
10:06So, you know, I don't have a sense that he's going to be on any kind of pitch count coming
10:12off that injury.
10:13I mean, he's now been back for a little bit.
10:15But so the question is just, yeah, how do they deploy these guys?
10:18And they could all be on the field at the same time, but it's just, you know,
10:21that would be a little bit outside the box, but so is a lot of what Dorrance is doing here
10:26with this scheme.
10:27So, yeah, I think there's creative ways to find, to get them on the field.
10:30But this is going to be, like, if this defense is going to reach a certain peak of causing havoc,
10:36this is how it is going to happen.
10:38These three guys flying off the edge or wherever they're coming from,
10:41and if Armstrong does anything close to what he was last year,
10:44then that could be a pretty fun group.
10:47Talking, of course, to Ben Standig, and they've got the Cowboys Sunday at 425.
10:55What else just this week did you learn, if anything, from Quinn, from Jaden, from Blau, from Durante Jones?
11:03Did anything stick out that we haven't talked about yet before we get to Dallas?
11:11You know, I mean, you know, I think they're, it's weird, like, you know,
11:17I think because they're all professionals at what they do, and, you know,
11:23sometimes we can act indignant, like, how dare they make a mistake or something.
11:28But in the case of the coordinators, and especially Blau, you know,
11:30this was their first time at the rodeo.
11:32So, you know, not to suggest that, like, this is not about the shovel pass
11:36or anything else that he necessarily did or didn't do,
11:39but it is, you know, going through the process of how it all works in real time.
11:45It's something we've talked about, even I've talked about here over the course of the summer.
11:48I mean, everybody can tell me that David Blau is the next Sean McVay,
11:51but they can't tell me that based on having watched him call plays in the fourth quarter
11:55with the clock kicking down and you need to get a first down, you know, to keep the drive going.
12:00So, you know, I just think that's an important concept of all of this,
12:04and, you know, you learn from mistakes but also just the experience of it all.
12:09So, you know, I just – that was just something that sort of kept sticking in my mind all week,
12:14listening, you know, as we're discussing, again, the two-point call
12:18or, you know, why isn't Terry getting the ball more or whatever it might be.
12:22You know, I think these are things that –
12:25The spacing, I thought that was a very interesting answer.
12:29He immediately said no.
12:30He was not pleased with it.
12:32You know, there was definitely some issues with receivers being covered too easily
12:39in their scheme Sunday against Philadelphia.
12:42Philadelphia is really good, but I thought that was actually an interesting, quick,
12:47like, no, not pleased with the spacing.
12:50Spacing's everything in the pass game,
12:53and it didn't leave a lot of options on several plays through the first two, three quarters.
13:00Yeah, you know, no doubt.
13:01I was looking at – and I'm blanking on which side I was looking at,
13:04but, like, I think, like, Terry McLaurin, like, they had an average separation,
13:07and his separation was, like, significantly higher than his average separation
13:12in the last couple of years.
13:14But that didn't translate, though, to, obviously, production.
13:19So, you know, you've got to take all these information with not maybe grains of salt,
13:24but you've got to look at it all in totality to see –
13:26and I didn't, like, crack necessarily every one of his routes to see what was going on.
13:31But, yeah, obviously they didn't get in the ball,
13:32and then, like you said, Blau made mention of the spacing.
13:35And, you know, look, I mean, Philly's also really good at what they do.
13:39And I think, again, sometimes that you get lost in the conversation with any of us
13:43about it's not just what your team is doing, it's what the other team is doing.
13:46And, you know, hopefully for their sake, for Washington's sake,
13:49that what they were – what was working in the fourth quarter for Jaden
13:52to go 9 of 11 and two touchdowns is essentially, hey,
13:56we just had our preseason through the first three quarters,
13:58and now we're going here in the fourth and we're feeling better.
14:02So, hopefully that's more of what's to come.
14:04And Dallas, the defense obviously looked like, you know, wasn't particularly good.
14:09So, hopefully that's something they can take advantage of.
14:11All right.
14:12Let's talk about Dallas Sunday.
14:14How do you see it going?
14:16What do you think they have to do to win?
14:20Yeah, you know, obviously at a very base level of football, you know,
14:24controlling the clock, moving the chains, i.e., you know,
14:27running the ball the way – doing that is always so huge.
14:30And Dallas gave up, you know, what, 160 yards on the ground against a Giants team
14:35that's not exactly, you know, late at running back.
14:38So, you know, we've seen what Bill can do.
14:40And, you know, last – on Sunday in Philly, I mean, he was, I don't think,
14:45carrying the offense, but he was arguably the most positive part of it
14:48for a good chunk of the game.
14:49Obviously then, of course, has the fumble late.
14:52I don't think they've lost confidence in him.
14:54Jalen Carter made a good play to knock the ball away.
14:56But, you know, I think if Bill – you know, if Bill can do what Bill does,
15:00the one cut and bolt, I think that, you know, he could have a big game
15:04against that defense, and then if that happens, it just makes life much easier
15:08for Jaden and the passing game with play action or what have you
15:11and keeps Dallas' offense off the field, which is, you know, of course,
15:15probably the strongest group – the strongest unit out there is probably
15:18that Dallas offense.
15:19I mean, just Dak Prescott has obviously annihilated Washington in his career.
15:23The two receivers that they've got are, you know,
15:26among the better ones in the league.
15:28This is arguably the best tandem – receiver tandem in the league.
15:31So, the more you can keep the ball – keep them off the field, the better.
15:35And I think that really starts with running it with Bill.
15:39And, you know, again, I think they showed an ability to do that last week
15:42to a degree.
15:44But, you know, this – again, assuming that Dallas is closer to what they showed
15:49last week than they are, you know, a stout run defense,
15:53then I think they should have success.
15:54And I think that's going to be pretty important for Washington
15:57on both sides of the ball.
15:57So, your prediction is?
16:01Oh, man.
16:02I mean, I'll go with the locals and say Washington 27-24.
16:09You know, week one, as we know, can be fool's gold in either direction.
16:13And it's hard to imagine Dallas' defense is that bad.
16:16Their offense was very productive in the short time they had the ball,
16:19but the Giants kept away from them.
16:20So, I'll say that.
16:22And, you know, I think Dallas has got – you know,
16:28there's a group – I mean, that was the best thing I think Washington showed
16:31was the play they can make out of the pass rushers,
16:33but also they just tackles for loss.
16:35And they had ten of those, you know, way more than what Philly had
16:37in both tackles for loss and sacks.
16:39So, with that type of activity, and if the offense does take advantage of Dallas,
16:43then, you know, I think they can, you know, win this game.
16:46And, you know, needless to say, it's a very, very different conversation
16:49if we're talking on Monday at 1-1 versus 0-2.
16:52Yeah, it always is.
16:54These early season games, when you've been a team that, you know,
16:57is fighting to get to Thanksgiving with a chance,
17:00it's important that you get a few early on.
17:05Appreciate it.
17:06Always, man.
17:07See ya.
17:07Ben Standing.
17:08He'll be back with us on Monday at noon, the day after the game.
Comments