00:00It just, look, I'll say this.
00:02When Adam Peters and this entire group came in, they had an empty fridge.
00:08I mean, there was nothing.
00:08If you go back and look at all the first-round picks before they got there
00:11that didn't hit, that already sets your organization back.
00:14But the thing is, now we're in year three, and we're still sitting here
00:18asking all of these same questions, wondering what is their identity,
00:22what are they in terms of running the football versus where Jaden Daniels is
00:25and his growth, and is he going to stay healthy?
00:27And now Terry McLaurin's out for the year, and he's out most of last year.
00:30And, again, injuries don't define an identity.
00:33But you know what it does, man?
00:34If you don't have these guys on the field, you can't build around what you have
00:41without that level of consistency.
00:42Yeah, but the thing of it, though, is this is professional football, right?
00:46Yeah.
00:47So, like, I know that we have starters, and the starters are the better players,
00:51and this, that, and the other.
00:51But you know what?
00:52The people behind them are professionals who are waiting for an opportunity.
00:56And if you get that opportunity, sometimes you can prove to people that
01:01I should have been drafted higher, or no matter where I was drafted,
01:05I can play now.
01:07And I mentioned James Harrison earlier, and I'll mention him again.
01:10He was undrafted.
01:11Yep.
01:12He was as good as any pass rusher out there.
01:13And worked his ass off, too.
01:14That's what I'm saying.
01:15So, like, when I hear, I'm on the media, I'm on the radio every day,
01:21and I hear people talking.
01:23It's like, we get draft picks, and that's all we want to play.
01:27As if the other guys can't play.
01:29They may not have been drafted.
01:30They could have gone to a smaller school.
01:32They didn't have the greatest opportunity that some other guys had.
01:34But they might be building a damn draft pick.
01:37And the whole narrative is, we got to get the draft picks on the play.
01:42And I always ask the question, why?
01:44If he's not getting on the field, he hasn't proven to anybody
01:46he can get on the damn field.
01:48So, if a guy wasn't drafted, is on the field,
01:52once you're in the NFL, it doesn't make a difference
01:54where you were drafted.
01:56So, if you were an undrafted free agent,
01:58and the other guy was a second-round pick,
02:00and you are performing better than him,
02:02all we care about is making plays.
02:04That's it.
02:04And I think that mindset has to be what it's about.
02:07Not necessarily, oh, I got it.
02:09We got to get the draft picks on the field.
02:11That's the narrative of D.C. media
02:13I've been hearing for too many damn years.
02:16I think what makes this also so frustrating
02:19of where they are now,
02:21and this comes from me as the fan,
02:23not somebody that's been in the media,
02:24not somebody that's talked about this team on all the shows,
02:27like, whatever.
02:28For me as a fan, the group of fans of this team,
02:30I just want to see this team actually be talked about
02:34in a way that is respectable.
02:35I'm not talking even Super Bowl contender,
02:37but seeing a team after 2024,
02:39because we got to taste, man.
02:40We got to taste that year, man.
02:41And it was glorious.
02:43And I think that's why things are like they are.
02:45And I've had very little,
02:47like, as a fan of this team,
02:48I am the generation that does not remember the Super Bowls.
02:50I have been there, like,
02:52I mean, I know you played, man,
02:53but I was really young when you were there, buddy.
02:55And, like, I've told you this before.
02:57Like, I just want to see this team
03:01actually be talked about in a way
03:03that's in the conversation with
03:05just the good, respectable organizations in the NFL.
03:07Do I think they're going in the right direction
03:09still with the people in charge?
03:10I do.
03:10But again, you can't be much worse
03:12than what was there before,
03:13but it's getting that taste in 2024
03:15and seeing it and going,
03:17oh, we got something.
03:18And then even last year,
03:19and it's, well, decimated by injuries,
03:21next man up, only worked so far, whatever.
03:23Maybe that was an outlier.
03:24But you're starting to feel that way
03:26about this team again,
03:27but you have the win over Seattle.
03:28You have the comeback against the 49ers,
03:29where it's two very good teams.
03:31And you see these flashes,
03:33but they just don't put it together.
03:35And it's so damn frustrating
03:37when the narrative around this team nationally
03:39is not kicking the field goal
03:41or getting sacked in the last play
03:43against San Francisco
03:44and what the hell's wrong with them
03:46and Dan Quinn not knowing it's fourth down
03:47or whatever narrative,
03:48whether it's true or not.
03:49That's the narrative around this team.
03:51And it's hard to shake a reputation.
03:52It's really hard to shake.
03:54It's like everybody's got that friend
03:55that spent way too long,
03:56like, still going out
03:57and, like, kind of does the thing
03:58that he did in his 20s
03:59and he just wants to go out and party,
04:00maybe just live that life.
04:01Come on stallion.
04:02Yeah.
04:03And then eventually, though,
04:04no, no, but you've got to be, like,
04:06in your, you've got to be late 30s.
04:08But you get to that point
04:09where then, like, that friend tells you,
04:10like, dude, I met someone,
04:11like, I really want to settle down.
04:12You're like, I hope so.
04:13That's great.
04:13I hope you're happy.
04:14But I need to see it.
04:15You've got to prove
04:16that that's who you are now.
04:17That's where the commanders are.
04:18You've got to still prove to everybody
04:19that you are trying to settle down
04:21and be more consistent.
04:22You have to,
04:22and I think what happened is,
04:24and then this is the part,
04:25I always look at this thing,
04:27we all in this together,
04:28as Coach Hill said,
04:29we all in this together,
04:30fans and everybody.
04:30Yeah.
04:31When they did what they did in 2024,
04:34everybody forgot about
04:35that they were rebuilding.
04:36Mm-hmm.
04:37Everybody wanted them to go for it.
04:39Yes.
04:39I think what they're going to have to do
04:41is stick to the script.
04:44Mm-hmm.
04:44Okay?
04:45People may be pissed off.
04:47What if they had said in 2025,
04:50we were close,
04:51we're still not there,
04:53we're going to keep building.
04:54We're not going to go get
04:55all these veteran players
04:56and try to go for it
04:57because they tried to go for it.
04:58Why?
04:59Everybody wanted them to go for it.
05:00And then they went for it
05:02and all those veteran players got hurt.
05:04Yeah.
05:04So it fell flat on the face.
05:06Yep.
05:06Now you're back this year
05:08where you went back
05:08to try to rebuild again
05:10and you're getting injuries again.
05:12Yeah.
05:12If this had happened 2025,
05:14you might be farther along right now
05:16in 2026.
05:17Mm-hmm.
05:17They have to learn to
05:19not care about the excitement
05:21outside the building.
05:22Mm-hmm.
05:22And stick to what your script is
05:24and try to get there.
05:26And if that goes on
05:27for about two to three years,
05:30four years,
05:31guess what?
05:32You now built a nucleus
05:34where you could do this
05:35for a long haul.
05:35So I'll look at Philadelphia,
05:40basketball, 76ers.
05:41Yep.
05:41They trust the process.
05:43Yeah.
05:44It was awful for a while,
05:45wasn't it?
05:45It was awful.
05:47They got positions
05:48and people in places right now
05:50where they could compete
05:50with anybody.
05:51You could say that about the Wizards.
05:51Yeah.
05:52The Wiz did the exact same thing.
05:54The Wizards followed the Spurs
05:55and Thunder model
05:56and look at where they are now.
05:57And what we did last year.
05:59They weren't winning,
06:00but we knew
06:02why they weren't winning.
06:04You knew what the goals were.
06:05That's what I'm saying.
06:05It was long-term goals.
06:06So I think
06:09I understand
06:11about how people are upset,
06:13but you know what?
06:14This football team,
06:16for some reason,
06:17hadn't been what they were
06:19in the 90s and the 80s
06:21and stuff like that
06:21for a long damn time.
06:23Yeah.
06:24But every time
06:25we win a game
06:26or two,
06:28the mindset,
06:29even people that didn't watch it
06:30go back to the 80s and 90s.
06:32Yep.
06:33Because it's been promoted
06:35as championship,
06:38Super Bowl.
06:39That's been 30 years ago.
06:41Yeah.
06:42Okay?
06:42Yeah.
06:42It's been 30 years.
06:44And I almost got to
06:45the NFC championship in 99.
06:47Mm-hmm.
06:47It was things,
06:48and got to the NFC championship
06:49in 2024.
06:51But look,
06:5199 to 2024,
06:52that's 25 years.
06:53Okay?
06:54But the whole thing is
06:55the people
06:57have to also understand
06:59patience
07:00has to happen
07:01on both sides
07:03because
07:04human beings
07:05run this stuff
07:05and those human beings
07:06got influenced.
07:08But I still think
07:10that they have to find
07:11a way to build
07:12some type of identity.
07:14So,
07:14I'm glad you said that
07:15about the patience
07:16and all that
07:18because that's really
07:18how I've looked
07:19at the Wizards rebuild.
07:20Right?
07:20Like,
07:20the Commanders
07:21have been through their own,
07:22the Wizards
07:22have been through their own,
07:23it's been approached differently.
07:24I still maintain
07:25that had the Commanders
07:26won, let's say,
07:26five games in 2024,
07:27they're not signing
07:28Terry McLaurin
07:29to that extension.
07:29They're completely
07:30looking at a full rebuild,
07:31but they were trying
07:32to operate in that space
07:33of like,
07:34we're a contender
07:35but also rebuilding,
07:36we surprised ourselves
07:36but we can't lose
07:37this momentum
07:38and it completely
07:39fell apart in 2025.
07:40The Wizards
07:41finally decided,
07:43we're not playing this
07:44like,
07:44let's just get to the
07:45play-in tournament
07:46BS anymore.
07:47We're going to gut
07:47this thing down
07:48to the studs,
07:49we're going to collect
07:49as many assets
07:50and as much young talent
07:51as we can,
07:52and then we're going
07:53to see who clicks,
07:54we're going to build
07:55a foundation around that,
07:56and then we're going
07:57to take the next steps.
07:58That's how you rebuild.
07:59And listen,
07:59everybody in D.C.,
08:01everybody in that
08:02Wizards fan base
08:02understands what
08:03they were doing,
08:04respects the process
08:05because you're seeing
08:06now the next steps.
08:0880% of the people knew.
08:09Okay, well, you know what?
08:10We got 20%
08:11to call in here.
08:12Well, listen,
08:12some people are crazy.
08:13We can't make everybody happy.
08:15It's just not going to happen.
08:16But having an understanding,
08:17if you are a team
08:18that is losing,
08:19but you have a plan
08:20and you're seeing
08:21that plan materialize,
08:23fans understand.
08:24Fans in this town,
08:24they understand that,
08:26and it's the same thing
08:27where if the commanders
08:27had completely gutted
08:28that thing,
08:29they hadn't won
08:30all those games in 2024,
08:31but it was about
08:32a true rebuild
08:32and you started to see
08:33the progression
08:34going in the right direction,
08:35people would feel better.
08:36The problem is right now
08:37is you're watching
08:38this thing go backwards
08:39after 2024
08:40while the Wizards
08:41are going forward
08:42and it's two teams
08:43that feels like
08:43kind of going
08:44in the opposite direction
08:44with their rebuilds
08:45right now.
08:47100%.
08:48It's craziness.
08:50What I would love to see
08:52is out of this bye,
08:53this commanders team
08:54looking a lot more aggressive
08:55and looking a lot more like
08:57they just have an understanding
08:58of what they need to do
08:59the rest of the season.
09:00They've got to use this bye week
09:01to figure out some level
09:03of not just an identity
09:04but understanding
09:05what's at stake
09:06the rest of the season
09:06and what you saw
09:07against the 49ers
09:08in the second half
09:09or what you saw
09:09against Seattle,
09:10seeing that level of urgency
09:11for an entire game
09:13against the Eagles,
09:14against a Rams team
09:15that's struggling right now.
09:16We talked about
09:17this tough start
09:17to the schedule
09:18but in reality
09:19the Eagles now
09:19were a mess.
09:20This is probably a mail-in
09:21and they might be
09:21sellers at the deadline.
09:23The Rams are struggling
09:25right now.
09:25Good time.
09:26This schedule now
09:27still gives them
09:27an opportunity
09:28in a wide open division.
09:29Give me fight
09:30for four quarters
09:31the rest of the season.
09:33That's all I want
09:34is fight in every game
09:36for four quarters
09:37and let the schedule
09:39fall in.
