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Barry Svrluga joins the show to discuss the ways he believes Washington can move forward after the Jayden Daniels injury.
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00:00We're excited to bring in our friend, Mr. Barry Sferluga, from The Athletic to the program.
00:04Hello, Barry.
00:05What is up, boys?
00:06Good to hear you.
00:06You're on television.
00:07Sounds up to my middle.
00:08Yeah, you're on everything, Barry.
00:09Yeah, I got you streaming over here, too.
00:11You're streaming, you're on television, you're on radio.
00:13That picture looks terrible.
00:14You'll be on a podcast later.
00:17Multi-media right here.
00:18Exactly.
00:19Welcome to 2026.
00:20Yeah.
00:20Not multi-checks.
00:23Barry, through two weeks, this commander's team is what?
00:30I mean, in trouble.
00:32And I think, you know, if we go back to how we thought about it all summer, we knew what
00:38the first three games were, and we knew they would be underdogs in all three of them, and we knew
00:43that it kind of mattered if they were going to go 0-3, how it played out.
00:50How it looked.
00:50And I think out of week one, you were like, had the opportunity to win the game, didn't come through.
00:57Two-point loss in Philly is nothing to be embarrassed about.
01:00It was kind of encouraging.
01:01But then, you know, that happened on Sunday in Dallas, and the only thing that couldn't happen happened.
01:11And it's just very difficult to see a path forward that brings a lot of success.
01:17But when you look at it, though, like, this team is having a lot of injuries, but Jackson Dart, out.
01:24You can see this happening weekly.
01:26Other teams would have injuries as well.
01:28That's why I always, like, when I'm asked questions, I always kind of shy away from giving a direct answer
01:32because I know injuries happen.
01:34And the way that they, the way that the league approaches preseason lets me know that those injuries in the
01:40next, in the first five to six weeks are going to happen.
01:42Yeah, interesting.
01:44I mean, I would say, and I've written this week, like, is Jaden Daniels hurt?
01:49He's hurt.
01:49Is he the only one who's hurt?
01:51He's not.
01:52I mean, and you go back to Lamar Jackson, I think three of the last four years has missed at
01:58least four games.
02:00Joe Burrow has missed 17 games over the last three years.
02:03Like, it's not a Jaden Daniels only issue, but the Jaden Daniels issue affects this team greatly.
02:12And I just, I think everybody just in terms, not even just rooting for the team, but in terms of,
02:19like, the interest and the watchability and the excitement level.
02:22Like, would love for Dan Quinn to walk in tomorrow and say, you know what, Jaden got some really good
02:30reports, we're going to put a brace on that thing, and he's going to be ready to go and pick,
02:34you know, miss two games, miss three games.
02:36Like, just for interest's sake, for excitement's sake, for, like, knowing what this thing is all about, because he's the
02:44most important person in the building, and if he's not under center, it's hard to evaluate everything else.
02:50A lot of people make comments about them not doing enough to help him out.
02:53Is it just not, they're not at the point yet where they can have, like, you talked about Joe Burrow,
02:59you talked about Lamar Jackson, you know, hell, when Pat got hurt.
03:03But those teams have been building, and they have a better core than this team does.
03:08So, I agree with that they have a better core, obviously, and obviously the Bengals seems to have fixed their
03:14defense a little bit with that big Dexter Lawrence trade.
03:16But, I guess, yeah, when I look at that, Brian, like, this team went 12-5 with Terry McLaurin, Zach
03:24Ertz, Olamide Zaccheaus, Noah Brown, Deami Brown.
03:29And Ertz is obviously a special case, because he was such a veteran, and he was such a security blanket
03:34for Jaden.
03:36Since 24, they added Laramie Tunsil, a tremendous left tackle, obviously can't play right now.
03:42Now, they, this year, I mean, if they spent on Chigakonkwo, a tight end, they drafted a receiver in the
03:51third round, they signed Stefan Diggs.
03:53So, if you go McLaurin, Diggs, Antonio Williams, Deami, Chig, like, I'd put that up against the 24 group as,
04:04like, yeah, it probably, and plus, it's skewed because Tunsil's out.
04:09And think about how that thing played out on Sunday, the injury.
04:14No one's faulting Chris Paul, but if Laramie Tunsil doesn't get hurt, Brandon Coleman is probably in that Chris Paul.
04:22Like, how does that, you know, is there a weird...
04:24Yeah, it's a million sliding doors.
04:24Yes, exactly, exactly.
04:26So, Brian, I guess, like, do I think this team has the core that the Ravens have?
04:31No, but I don't think they just have, it's, like, paper thin, like, they got it done two years ago
04:39with a cast that, you know, I could probably put up against this one.
04:42Yeah, it's one of these things where it's so early to feel this late, and just the nature of the
04:50NFL is that typically things kind of swing back.
04:53Like, I would argue Houston was a team that looked so good last year.
04:58Late in the playoffs, C.J. Stroud kind of really cost them in the playoffs, but everybody's like, man, that
05:03Texans defense, those guys are going to be no problem.
05:06Through two games, the Commanders have looked better than the Texans.
05:10They both lost, so it doesn't really matter.
05:12Like, I don't know that this pendulum can swing back, especially with Seattle coming to town.
05:17We all talked about they might be 0-3 through the first three, but it depends how it looks.
05:23For me, it's all about the Jaden injury is now what's most important going forward.
05:29And we're going to talk to a doctor here, Dr. Akshay Garg, in about 45 minutes or so about the
05:34possibility of, like, because the pain management and bracing it up versus surgery.
05:43Without Jaden, I'm not sure what this team is.
05:46And if Jaden is lost for the year, I'm not sure what this team is.
05:49I think Marcus can help them.
05:50I don't know if he helps them this week, but going to London to play the Colts, I think we're
05:54going to get the 2015 NFL draft of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota in three weeks at Northwest Stadium.
06:02Like, I think they might be able to get in some games here, but so much of it hinges on
06:06what you think happens with Jaden.
06:08Yeah, for sure.
06:08But I also think, if we go back to the original point about, like, style points or competitiveness, like, and
06:14what we saw in the Philly game, they were pretty hitting hard.
06:17Like, they were aggressive.
06:18They felt ready.
06:19It didn't feel like that Baltimore last preseason game where you're like, is anybody here prepared?
06:24Like, anybody in the building?
06:25So it felt much different.
06:26I think, regardless of who is that quarterback on Sunday, and obviously it's going to be Marcus, like, you're so
06:33scarred by that first half against Seattle last year, it can't look anything like that.
06:38Like, Darnold 16 for 16, like, and obviously that was the game that Jaden got hurt.
06:44So people focus on that and should he have been in the game, and they focus on it rightly so.
06:49But the non-competitiveness was really the big takeaway from that, and it can't look like that on Sunday.
06:55Yeah, that has to change.
06:56Totally.
06:57And I think, I mean, that Seattle game was so one-sided, and then Jaden gets hurt.
07:02It was the beginning of this elbow stuff, which is just crazy to think about.
07:06Right.
07:07What did you make, if anything, we'll get specifically to Seattle.
07:11What did you make, if anything, of the video circulating around with Jaden?
07:16I mean, you're in this locker room.
07:17You know how his teammates actually feel.
07:19Yeah, and I'll tell you, I wrote about it yesterday.
07:23Yesterday, not because I knew it was a story, I knew it wasn't a story, but when you get
07:29your boss's boss's boss saying, like, hey, this video's being circulated around, it actually
07:37was an easy thing to go in the locker room and say to guys, like, now, this is silly,
07:41right?
07:41Can you just explain the logistics of what happened here?
07:45It is so important that it was the last play of the half, because, and I don't think DQ
07:51did a great job of articulating this yesterday.
07:54Like, the refs were saying, we can't delay the half for an injury.
08:00So, he has Dan tell the guys, you guys got to get out of here.
08:04They go over to the bench a little bit.
08:06But, I mean, Brandon Coleman was like, we're not, we were going to give space to the medical
08:11people, but it felt weird to absolutely leave.
08:14So, then, as your video showed, they go back out there.
08:17Like, they were not abandoning this guy.
08:19And he is not, like, that's not who he is.
08:22Like, he is a tone setter in his work ethic.
08:26And, you know, you see him laughing in there.
08:29Like, that's not a star who wants the star treatment.
08:33So, anyway.
08:33He doesn't want star treatment, and I think he doesn't rub people the wrong way.
08:36No, no, no.
08:37It's not like, you know, we'll bring up the name from the past.
08:40But, like, it's not like that.
08:41And I would say, Brian, like, I ended up being happy to write about it, because those guys
08:47could just say, like, are you kidding me?
08:49Like, just like, and let's move on.
08:51It's two things that you stated.
08:54Boss is boss is boss.
08:56Don't have an understanding of what a locker room is about.
08:58And then I was shocked that a former football player made that comment.
09:03And I think that is the problem with today.
09:05Today is more about, we got to do this.
09:09We got to, you know, instead of, let's tell the true story.
09:11Yeah, and have all perspectives and maybe look at it from a different angle and look at it
09:15from longer.
09:16So, I'm glad.
09:16I ended up, you know, like, talk to Ben Sennett about it.
09:20Talk to Brandon Coleman about it.
09:21Like, Alec Reddy even said something in the locker room on Sunday night.
09:26There's like, I don't know if they held the clock for a little bit, but we needed to be
09:30able to regroup.
09:31You almost didn't want to leave the field.
09:33Terry said he didn't want to leave the field.
09:34Terry was out there.
09:35Like, that's why I posted that video.
09:37I was kind of just ignoring it.
09:38And then I thought the critical mass got to a point where you had to at least, because
09:42you and I were there together in the press box.
09:44And because we were up higher and on the other side of the field, you could see it all play
09:49out.
09:49And it never once looked that way.
09:51I never, until I saw that.
09:54I never saw that.
09:54And then, of course, it's put up with the Jackson dart thing.
09:59Right.
09:59And that's not the last play of the half.
10:02If that was five minutes left in the half, those dudes are kneeling around because they
10:06got another play.
10:07Right.
10:07Instead of being told to go to the locker room.
10:09You show another angle.
10:10It's got Quinn telling them to go.
10:12Yeah, but if you show another angle of the Jackson dart thing, you see Scattaboo losing
10:16his mind.
10:16Right.
10:17And you see nobody else standing there.
10:18Right.
10:18Right.
10:19You know, it's just weird.
10:21I'm glad this is the last day we're going to have to talk about this.
10:23Yeah, I agree with that.
10:23I agree with that.
10:25We do a segment on Thursdays called Call Your Shot, Barry, where you get to call your
10:30shot.
10:31Who needs to have a big game for Washington to come up with what would be a pretty unlikely
10:35upset?
10:36So, I have, can I do two?
10:38Sure.
10:38So, one from each side of the ball.
10:40I mean, Terry McLaurin can't have nine targets and two catches.
10:43He can't have two catches is what he's had each of the first two games.
10:47They've got to figure out a way to, if he's the biggest weapon on offense, like, be a weapon.
10:52And I think that Adafi Owe has to get home.
10:55Like, they've got to, that's like not just a sack.
10:59It might be a strip sack, fumble type of thing.
11:01They've got to create some turnovers.
11:02And the secondary is so frail right now without Nick's cross, who I thought I've been impressed
11:08with for two weeks.
11:11They have to lessen the time that those guys have to cover.
11:15So, they've got to get home.
11:16And I'd say Owe's the one who's being paid to do that.
11:20Yeah.
11:20I've been at that the whole time because, like, you watch him.
11:24Dak was, and I think the way Dak in the Dallas office was, it was really hard for him to
11:29get
11:29home.
11:29Yeah, sure.
11:30Because he didn't have to wait very long.
11:31He was letting that thing fly.
11:33Right.
11:33You know.
11:34And using the tight end.
11:35They've been hurt by tight ends, for sure, through two weeks.
11:39Touchdowns through two games.
11:40And I guess, you know, I mean, CeeDee Lamb and JSN, like, there's probably some similarities
11:45there.
11:46Talking with our friend Barry Sferluga here on the Rude Guest Hotline.
11:49You can give Barry a follow at Barry Sferluga.
11:52Read his work in The Athletic.
11:54It's tough to envision this game going Washington's way.
11:58Let's just be realistic about it.
12:00But you might have Darnold coming back from injury.
12:03You get West Coast to East Coast, a one o'clock kick.
12:06You often see kind of funky, surprising results there.
12:10Like, are you expecting, when Seattle was coming to town last year, was in the stretch of blowout
12:17ass-kicking losses.
12:18Right?
12:18Washington went to Dallas, got smoked.
12:22Then I think...
12:22Detroit.
12:22Was it...
12:23No, I thought it was at Dallas, at Kansas City, home for Seattle, home for Detroit.
12:29That's right.
12:29Right?
12:30Yeah.
12:30It kind of doesn't matter because they were all blowouts.
12:32But, like, by the time we got back from those back-to-back roadies and Seattle was coming
12:36to town, I thought they had no shot of winning the game.
12:40Because the defense was just that bad.
12:42I don't think they have a great shot, but I do feel differently about this game at this
12:47time and this early in the year.
12:48I do, too, for a few reasons.
12:51One, I know it hasn't shown up, but I believe in what Durante Jones is doing defensively a
12:56little bit more than the vanilla stuff that we received.
12:58Certainly saw it against Philly.
12:59Yeah, I mean, there was a lot going on.
13:01And he was interesting in talking about, like, do we need to dial it back from the, like,
13:06400-level course to, like, 200-level?
13:08Like, are we kind of outsmarting ourselves?
13:10Like, we'll see on Sunday.
13:12But I have a little more faith in the potential of the system defensively.
13:17Yeah.
13:18And I also just think I'll go back to the Philly game, too.
13:20Like, the general competitiveness level is just better this year.
13:25Like, I don't think they're going to roll over in the way that they appeared to roll over
13:30in that stretch.
13:32It's so early in the year.
13:34You can, and they shouldn't be doing this, and I'm sure they're not, but, like, if you
13:38survive and stitch it together through the first eight games at 3-5 or something, then
13:42there is a path.
13:44Like, and I don't want to get ahead of anybody, but, like, it's not crazy to think about,
13:48okay, here come these games, like, at Tennessee, at Arizona.
13:53Like, if the schedule was rearranged differently, we might feel different.
13:58I think the whole mindset going into it would be different.
13:59Yeah, I think so, too.
14:00I totally agree.
14:01Like, the Philly game came down to the wire.
14:03They're on the short end of it.
14:05The Dallas game, 37-20 final.
14:07It's one-sided, right?
14:09Going just before halftime, it's 17-10.
14:12They could have kicked a field goal to cut it to four.
14:14They could have executed one of the previous two plays and scored.
14:17They could have scored to tie it at halftime.
14:19I thought Daniel was a touchdown.
14:20I thought Bates was wide open.
14:22Then you had the terrible news with Jaden going down.
14:25Mariota comes in, standing in the press box.
14:28All of us thought De'Ami had scored, and when they challenged it, that would be a touchdown,
14:32which then would have tied it up.
14:34Then you get the turnover.
14:35Dallas scores.
14:36That really opens that up.
14:37It was 30-20 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
14:41Right.
14:41Like, it was never a blowout runaway.
14:43Now, let's hope that's not a precursor to those coming like we saw last year, but it
14:48does seem like the competitiveness is dialed up a notch.
14:52I just wonder about the injuries, even beyond Jaden being too scared.
14:55Well, I mean, to me, and I've already talked about lacrosse being an important injury,
15:01but Cosme being out is just because you have questions about the interior of the offensive
15:07line.
15:07Anyway, he's your best player up front, and I thought he's been playing really well all
15:13through camp.
15:14You know, like, that's just a tough one to cover for.
15:18That's the one thing I think was more consistent in 2024 than now.
15:24Offensive line play.
15:25They largely got through on it.
15:27The offensive line play wasn't a tone tool over there or whatever.
15:31You had Coleman, but they were consistent.
15:34Yeah.
15:34And, like, now it's up and down that you have them in and out.
15:37But, you know, I just look at four plays.
15:39The one Terry in the back of the end zone.
15:41Yes.
15:43Traylon Burks.
15:44Yes.
15:44The one that they missed Terry with Antonio.
15:47With Antonio.
15:47And then De'Ami.
15:48Right.
15:49That was four touchdown possibilities.
15:50That's amazing.
15:51You know, and you really look at that.
15:53I know they lost the game.
15:54I know Jaden got hurt.
15:56But that's the one thing that kind of makes me think you can say what you want
16:00about the offensive line or whatever.
16:03But Blau is drawing up some stuff.
16:05Right.
16:06Because that's four basically deep touchdowns in one game.
16:10And I can't imagine how disappointed they were in that Antonio Williams.
16:14Because, you know, you can't use that play but twice a year, right?
16:18Like, and they only know his history as a quarterback, you know,
16:21throwing the ball, et cetera, et cetera.
16:23So that one really, really, really hurts.
16:26I do think that there's a way, and I'm not trying to sugarcoat anything,
16:30but I think there's a way for them to be 0-3 and we come out of the locker room
16:36and be like, you know what, they're going to go to London and beat the Colts
16:38and then they're going to beat Jameis Winston in week five.
16:42Because, you know, lose 27-24 to the Super Bowl champs with JSN and, like,
16:48I just think you could end up being encouraged.
16:51And that seems backwards, and I don't mean to stand up for them,
16:54but, like, I really think that's true.
16:56B, to your point, I had to look this up because I thought it was interesting
16:59as you were bringing it up.
17:00In 2024, Cosme played 99.9% of the snaps.
17:04Allegretti played 98.97% of the snaps.
17:08And we're talking over 1,100, close to 1,200 snaps here.
17:12Biotish played 81%.
17:14Wiley played 77%.
17:16Coleman played 68%.
17:18And remember, he wasn't the starter until a little ways in.
17:21You had way more continuity on that offensive line.
17:23That's what I'm saying.
17:23Yeah.
17:24I agree with you.
17:25And I think that proves that point where they always say
17:27you don't need one great offensive lineman.
17:29You need five serviceable people.
17:30Yeah, that's what you got.
17:31Cohesion, man.
17:32Cohesion is key.
17:33I'm with you.
17:34Like, it's really hard to see a path to a win this weekend.
17:38And I recognize you're going to be 0-3,
17:40and there's going to be a zillion numbers that suggest you have no chance
17:43of ever climbing back into this thing.
17:45And maybe that's correct, but I think we could fast forward another month,
17:49and it won't feel as desperate and awful as it does right now.
17:53Particularly if you get positive health news about the starting quarterback.
17:56And that doesn't mean it's all hinging on him,
17:58but, like, one thing about that injury is that storyline is going to carry into next year.
18:06If he misses five games, then we're going to spend all summer being like,
18:11well, what are they doing to protect Jaden?
18:13Like, how have they helped him?
18:15Because he'll have played only 12 games.
18:17You know, like, and it'll be two years in a row where it's, like, not available.
18:21So that's frustrating because, you know,
18:24I think we all know how well-respected he is
18:26and how important he is to the entire operation.
18:29Indeed. Thanks for the time, Barry.
18:30Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.