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Preview: Commanders Face Saints in NFC Clash

Preview: Commanders Face Saints in NFC Clash

Released Thursday, 12th December 2024
Good episode? Give it some love!
Preview: Commanders Face Saints in NFC Clash

Preview: Commanders Face Saints in NFC Clash

Preview: Commanders Face Saints in NFC Clash

Preview: Commanders Face Saints in NFC Clash

Thursday, 12th December 2024
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Episode Transcript

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to your game day dishes this football

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season. It's time to take

2:01

time to with with

2:04

former NFL Logan Paulson and

2:06

and former commanders beat reporter Craig

2:08

Hoffman. What's up? What's happening? Welcome in. Take

2:10

command there Craig Hoffman

2:12

here and it is

2:15

time to preview the And

2:17

it New Orleans the commanders and

2:19

New Orleans Saints. And this is is

2:21

gonna be interesting Logan

2:23

because I it does

2:25

feel like the commanders

2:27

should win this game

2:30

this game. by a whole lot, which they've

2:32

done at times this year against some other opponents.

2:34

Some of these of that we've gone in and

2:36

been like, I don't know. The way this thing

2:38

like, I up on paper, way this like the commanders

2:40

should win by a whole bunch. Obviously, the Cowboys

2:42

game felt that way to an extent. It

2:44

was a division game an it went but it different

2:46

direction. game But coming off the it was a division game at

2:48

this game it general, to there is a lot

2:51

to get to and I don't know how much

2:53

of it is gonna be good if you're

2:55

a Saints to trying to listen in and find

2:57

some hope on a commander's podcast. Yeah,

2:59

I I mean. me, me I think

3:01

the thing in watching the film and kind

3:03

of you know, know just thinking about this

3:05

game this reminds me a lot of of like

3:07

the the Dallas game know, know in terms

3:09

of like what the it feels like when

3:11

you're watching the film like I think the

3:13

defense is pretty good I think it's

3:15

better than people pretty better than people want

3:18

to give it credit for Saints they've got

3:20

some good athletes on the defensive line that

3:22

maybe aren't playing up to snuff but

3:24

they can create pressure they can create the defensive

3:26

those different things aren't playing.

3:28

and then on offense they've got the quarterback issue,

3:30

right? Who's gonna play quarterback, all their receivers

3:32

are hurt. their It just seems like it's kind

3:34

of built for the commanders to, for the you

3:36

know, to put the ball on the ball knock

3:38

this thing out of the park. thing out of the

3:40

I think that's the thing about this about this

3:43

maybe in terms of watching film kind of reviewing

3:45

that I think is maybe my biggest my it's.

3:47

takeaway are the are the going to

3:49

do? to do Are they going are they going to be themselves?

3:51

or are Are they going to be the be the saw

3:53

versus the versus the And I think I is coming out

3:55

of the of the like. like we haven't haven't really talked

3:57

about this a ton, but it can be can be really,

3:59

really challenging. I think coming out of the

4:01

buy as a player and as a coach and

4:03

as a team team, especially a late buy, on what

4:05

you do on what you do. kind of inner rhythm

4:07

You've got the thing going a got the momentum

4:09

you just got that momentum, you just got it

4:11

can kind of break that up, know break

4:13

that up, you kind of break that momentum up

4:16

So I think that's something that again the

4:18

think is maybe the most compelling story

4:20

about the game up. So I we're gonna talk

4:22

we're gonna preview the Saints more is maybe it's

4:24

really what the commanders are and who

4:26

they and who we think they are and

4:28

can they be? team that can team that

4:30

can handle. of being a favorite and know, kind

4:33

of being a a coming in and beating a team.

4:35

And again, to don't want to talk about this, but

4:37

but heading down New is a tough trip. So there's

4:39

a lot of things here that are kind of

4:41

like sneaky of like that could could you up, but

4:43

good teams don't get tripped up in these situations

4:45

and they win these games. games. So let's talk

4:47

about that before we dive into the into

4:49

on either side of this. either side of this because

4:51

me, me in 10 years of of years of covering

4:53

the NFL, think I've think the come to the

4:55

conclusion that of out of the is is on

4:57

some level a skill. Now there's always

5:00

going to be other factors, to be Like, who

5:02

you play coming out of the buy

5:04

is really important. coming out How good you are

5:06

is really important. and some of

5:08

the guys I'm about to mention,

5:10

his coaches have typically had really good

5:12

teams. So that's helpful. But But like Mike

5:14

I think is undefeated or has some ridiculous like 14

5:16

and 2 kind of record or something like

5:18

that coming off the coming off the buy. Andy

5:20

Reed is forever one one of the best in

5:22

the off the off the buy. So you you have some

5:24

of these great coaches that have figured out how

5:26

to get their teams to get their teams just continue

5:28

rolling if they are good teams good keep playing

5:30

well, coming out of the out of When you think

5:32

back to your career. your career. what

5:34

are some things that you think that coaches did

5:36

or that you did that worked after that that week

5:39

off? Like how you treated the the buy then then you

5:41

came out of it and then it are some

5:43

things that you're like, some that wasn't a good idea.

5:45

that wasn't a good I think that's a

5:47

really good question and I don't know if

5:49

I have a good answer know if I have a good answer

5:51

because you know you have 10 games seasons it's 10 by It's kind

5:53

of a small sample size. So I don't

5:55

know if there's anything that definitively stuck out

5:57

I will say stuck out I will

5:59

say felt like there is is gonna

6:01

sound crazy. crazy. I like there were

6:04

teams that that during the during the buy back

6:06

and were flat. were And I felt like

6:08

I were teams that there were teams that the

6:10

buy and then came out flat. So I

6:12

do think there is a out of sweet

6:14

spot there is a on the team, depending on the

6:16

organization, depending on the coach from a work

6:18

standpoint. on some people say, oh, they should

6:20

work the whole buy week. coach But mentally it's

6:23

pretty fatiguing, right? Also, I think there's another

6:25

element here the whole buy of But off that point

6:27

is there were teams that would install a

6:29

lot during the buy, I think back to

6:31

Kyle Shanahan a couple of times like in

6:33

San Francisco and when I I was here with him.

6:35

I think it was 2011 2011, have a big

6:37

install in the and then you'd then you'd come into

6:39

the game And it would just be a little

6:41

bit too much like you couldn't own it

6:43

well enough to really take advantage of it And

6:46

so I think there's like this I is an

6:48

art like this, there is kind of

6:50

threading that needle and saying needle and to

6:52

be want to be you know, evolving as an offense

6:54

as a defense, but we don't want to

6:56

have a a too much a too a too significant departure

6:58

from what we were before. We want to

7:00

work, but we don't want to overwork. don't

7:02

want to underwork. So there is kind of

7:04

a there is kind of And I do think, I

7:06

you know, I was talking to Fred talking to Fred

7:09

and the command center on the And one of

7:11

the things that they said was like, of the things

7:13

coach kind of sets the kind of sets the

7:15

tempo going into the buy. Hey, take care

7:17

of yourself, care take care of the team, care

7:19

be smart. be smart you know, Uber, all all those different

7:21

kind of checklist things coming out out of

7:23

the it's It's really the team leadership. like So,

7:25

you know, like for us in I was

7:27

here in Washington, it was like like London

7:29

And then also also sure you have the

7:31

right guys on the team, you know, to

7:34

something we've talked about quite a bit,

7:36

like making sure that, you know, you know, everyone's

7:38

a self -starter, everyone's self everyone's they're going

7:40

to handle the buy in the way they

7:42

need to in order to make sure

7:44

they're ready to come out. And I feel

7:46

like those need to, and Tana made this

7:48

point, but those were the best teams that

7:50

I was a part of, We're were teams

7:52

that were kind of made up of the

7:54

right composition. I'm not saying everyone was perfect,

7:56

but there was enough good leadership to

7:58

be like, to be like, hey, know, Fred David. coming out

8:00

of the of let's make sure he's ready

8:02

to go, or to that person is. person is because

8:04

there was enough kind of of the

8:06

right people that were ready to were ready of

8:08

attack the last half of the season or

8:10

the last four games or whatever it was.

8:12

games So or me, in terms of in terms of like

8:15

winning it's... it's a coach coach who understands how to

8:17

prep the the buy. the leadership coming out

8:19

of the of the buy making sure the

8:21

roster is where it needs to

8:23

be from a individual standpoint. to handle a handle

8:25

Yeah and so Dan I think Yeah, this the guys

8:27

I think like hey get away and much like, hey,

8:29

get away. And like it was funny, multiple

8:32

guys walking off the podium after that

8:34

Titans game, we're like, man, I'm gonna enjoy

8:36

this this by and the way, one of those

8:38

people was Dan was Dan Quinn he was just

8:40

like, I'm I'm not see you guys for

8:42

a couple of weeks a for a week.

8:44

or for a week Because you you've been doing been It's

8:46

not just since September. Like they've been

8:49

going been going basically since late July July and training

8:51

camp. You have that little bit of time

8:53

by the end of camp camp a week

8:55

one, but you're just rearing to go

8:57

for week one. to go for have the one. And you

8:59

whatever, but it's just not the same but

9:01

it's we're fully disengaged, we're out of it

9:03

for a couple it Now let's dive back

9:06

in. And I love that in. And I love that

9:08

the the day on Monday, because Wednesday is kind

9:10

of your regular rhythm. rhythm. chance

9:12

to knock off the rust is great. that

9:14

just makes sense to me, so I like

9:16

that. that. The other thing that I think

9:18

is interesting, and I wanted to pick

9:20

your brain on real quick before we dive

9:22

in, on real bore to the we dive in full

9:25

is bore to the Abraham asked a question of

9:27

Dan, of and Dan gave him a little

9:29

bit of gruff for it, about, about, you know, hey,

9:31

you got the playoffs, you control your

9:33

own destiny, and Dan was basically like like Scott,

9:35

Did you just log log on? Like what, that's

9:37

not not how we do things around here.

9:39

here? And it's funny funny because it certainly is

9:42

how Dan operates. It's like one practice at

9:44

a time, one thing at a time.

9:46

But if you watch, for instance, the NFC

9:48

for of Hard the NFC out now. of Hard Knox that's

9:50

think I think Mike I think actually all

9:52

four coaches, but. four coaches, but

9:54

definitely Mike Tomlin and Taylor and you

9:57

know, coaches that have had

9:59

have Harbaugh. have had a ton of

10:01

success, like, they'll put the path on the board. Like,

10:03

this is our schedule for the rest of the

10:05

season. So, the idea that NFL coaches don't do this

10:07

is not correct. It's just that it's not how

10:09

Dan chooses to do it. I'm not saying either one

10:11

is right or wrong, do it. but I do think one

10:13

got a human psychology level. I've got a

10:15

out of psychology games to go. out

10:17

of this that you've got everything you want

10:20

in front of you. everything you want

10:22

in be invigorating got to

10:24

invigorating. Have you came off a late buy buy

10:26

already eliminated from the playoffs? You don't the you

10:28

don't want to come back to work. And come

10:30

what, what do you think about about of the,

10:32

the way that different coaches handle this and, and

10:34

you've obviously played for Dan. So So the idea

10:36

that we're Hey, we're just very focused one practice

10:38

at a time versus, you you know, when he gets

10:40

into that meeting room on Monday, coming off

10:43

the off the buy, guys, welcome back. back. This is what's

10:45

in front of us. of us. Yeah, And I I

10:47

only speak on what happened in 17, 17, which

10:49

was a little unique, right? Like, I remember he

10:51

was. the time, he was At the time, he was

10:53

still kind of like be where your feet

10:55

are. part was a big part of what he

10:57

did, but I do remember him very early in

10:59

the season kind of talking about, about, hey, these are the,

11:01

because we didn't didn't start the season well. like we kind of

11:03

of struggled coming out the gate. the And so

11:05

he up on the board like, these are our

11:08

remaining divisional games. games. these are

11:10

the remaining games are non -conference games. and we're gonna

11:12

we're gonna have to it out it out

11:14

it turn it on here if we

11:16

wanna make a push for the playoffs the

11:18

is what we all wanna do. So

11:20

we all situation was a little bit different

11:22

and I've had coaches that have done

11:25

that and I've had But I also think

11:27

that this model this model is of of of where

11:29

your feet are is maybe the most

11:31

important one, one. right Cause we just talked

11:33

about talked you know, obviously you know kind

11:35

of maybe look past Dallas, past know, the

11:37

first Dallas game, Dallas game like that as much as

11:40

people want to talk about to four games left

11:42

you control your own destiny left those kind

11:44

of things your own will say kind of things

11:46

is the most important game you've ever

11:48

had in your life, and it's against

11:50

the life and it's And say what you want

11:52

about them, like and is the mindset.

11:54

And so I do think there is

11:56

something very, I so I do think there is something

11:58

very clarifying a coach does

12:01

a coach does that. care about I don't

12:03

care about about I don't care about Dallas. I

12:05

don't care about, I don't know who's the

12:07

other game, game, whatever it is. I don't care about those

12:09

games. I This is the one. Cause if we

12:11

don't take care of this one, then there's

12:13

this crazy don't stress. And I've been a part

12:15

of teams that have done this if we Where you

12:17

say, the four, we gotta win three of

12:19

these. And you lose the first one and all

12:22

of a sudden you're like, been a part of teams

12:24

that have in here, we too. rival in

12:26

Dallas, we got Atlanta who's doing their

12:28

thing. thing. And and then there's this this pressure.

12:30

pressure on those those games, which you kind of

12:32

which you kind of right? It's this

12:34

right? right now, It's this one right

12:36

now. this one, and New Orleans, got the win

12:38

this one. and then we got the next one.

12:40

And then that's the most important one. I do

12:42

think, the the guys are aware, they know, watch

12:44

they watch enough, they're on their they're they're on Talk,

12:47

they're on Twitter enough they they watch enough TV

12:49

to know that we are in control, the teams

12:51

in control their own destiny. their And so as

12:53

a leader, so as a you don't need to inform

12:55

them of that, he might, but I don't

12:57

think you need to. And just say, to like say

12:59

hey if we take care of this one, of

13:01

this at we're at nine we need then he knows they

13:03

need one more. but if But treat you treat

13:06

every one like it's a playoff game, this

13:08

is the one opportunity, I I think that's

13:10

the way to go about it, right?

13:12

And so it, do think that there's something

13:14

really. that there's from a

13:16

player's perspective, very perspective, very

13:18

like about it. It's like, hey, don't

13:20

worry about that. That's tomorrow. Today is

13:22

right now, it's New Orleans. Let's get

13:25

this thing done and get this win.

13:27

so I do think now, it's New comparing the

13:29

two styles, for me personally, I like

13:31

this one a little bit better. think

13:33

not in comparing the two games left. This is their personally,

13:35

this is the one boom Let's get it

13:37

off the schedule bit on to the next I

13:39

I feel like about seconds ago, you ago,

13:41

a little bit of do a little bit of Coach Logan

13:43

mode. I was like, I coming. ready to go. I was ready

13:45

to go. I ready ready to go. I'm hit somebody. somebody.

13:47

Michael Phillips said that that when he joined me

13:49

on Monday and I was like, I

13:51

in particular? in like, He's like, no, no, just kind of

13:53

of generally speaking, ready to hit somebody. I

13:56

was like, okay, was like, okay, we can deal

13:58

with that later. later. Last thing I'll just say

14:00

kind of wrap up. up. point is. I I

14:02

also think either approach can can work. to switch up

14:04

now, were to switch up now, that would

14:06

be bad. the entire year is who he's been the

14:08

entire year and part of the consistency of

14:10

the team the of the Dallas game, again, they're

14:12

again, they're human, it's the NFL, it's hard

14:14

to get with no slip -ups is tremendously difficult.

14:16

But the consistency of his messaging all year

14:18

has been a part of their success. So

14:20

if were to come back from the buy,

14:22

he's like, all right, guys, like, all let's let's the

14:24

lens a little bit now that we're here

14:26

at the end of the road. the end of the

14:28

road, that would not make a lot of sense.

14:30

so to continue just, hey, we've been good, been

14:32

keep doing what we're doing. what we're

14:34

the process process, like, Let's go with

14:37

me. me. I also think think your point there,

14:39

it depends on the team. Like if

14:41

the team's a little bit older, a little

14:43

bit more mature and they can lock

14:45

in each week kind of can this week kind of

14:47

about the next four games, the that's its

14:49

own thing. And I think one of

14:51

the great things about great things and good leaders

14:53

is they can identify what this group

14:55

needs. And I do look at it as

14:57

kind of a of a young group young group

14:59

at certain spots. You know, you're playing a

15:01

lot of rookies, you got a young quarterback,

15:03

And I and I I assume it's just

15:05

kind of nice of nice the for the quarterback

15:07

be like, hey. to be like, worry

15:10

about that. about that. This is it. it. And, you

15:12

know, it was funny. I was, again, was

15:14

talking to Ted I was yesterday. and And one of

15:16

the things they kept saying, it's like, of the football

15:18

kept saying, And so playoff go home type of stuff.

15:20

And I think, again, that type of players I think again,

15:22

that for kind of is, it kind of of tightens

15:24

you up a little bit but it's also

15:26

kind of paradoxically very liberating cause it's

15:29

like, like win this one. There's no tomorrow and

15:31

i and we can just kind of pour

15:33

all of our focus into this. And I

15:35

think this what i think that's feels like to

15:37

me. when Dan me stuff like that, you know, kind of.

15:39

that you know cheek a little bit cheek a

15:41

little bit to scot it's like. that that's

15:43

good good, like you said, it's it's on It's

15:45

right for this team. It's consistent for the

15:47

season, for the so season think it it's uh it

15:49

like the right thing for this group. group

15:52

No doubt about it. I think it's it's

15:54

great we'll we'll see how the mentality plays

15:56

out on Sunday. I was gonna laugh

15:58

at the term like like win. I I

16:00

was rejected. it. And I'm I'm just like,

16:02

or what? what do you must win

16:04

or what? But it does feel like

16:06

this. I'll phrase it this way. way,

16:08

This would be a tremendous missed

16:10

opportunity if they do not win this

16:12

game. win And so with that, let's

16:14

dive into this game. game. The

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18:34

Take command Craig Hoffman, Logan Let's talk

18:36

about the Saints offense we got to

18:38

do it it some point in

18:40

this podcast And I'd rather just

18:42

get it out of the

18:44

way get it out of are gonna face

18:46

a very banged face a very banged up

18:48

by by question mark. Transparenly, we

18:50

are recording this Wednesday morning, which is

18:52

a day earlier than we usually do

18:54

our earlier than which for injury our purposes

18:57

is not great. So we do

18:59

not know who the Saints are

19:01

gonna start at quarterback. the What

19:03

we do know is they have

19:05

three less what we options. they have Option

19:07

one is option one who Carr who is going

19:09

to have a broken hand on his non -throwing

19:11

hand, ball handling, you know, catching know, catching that kind all

19:13

that kind of stuff, not just not just it was just

19:15

was just throwing handy, obviously couldn't play at

19:17

all. But that is, that is something that

19:19

can absolutely affect a quarterback. He's also battling a

19:21

concussion, so he's probably not going to practice

19:23

all week. So you get that version of

19:25

that version of Derek car. or Spencer Radler who's

19:27

coming off injury and potentially could

19:29

be available this weekend. this

19:32

weekend, or Jay Kainer, or they signed

19:34

Ben Danucci, so that's your options.

19:36

None options. are very of them are

19:38

very good. way, And the way, Hill,

19:40

Hill for for the year. Lave, out, like they

19:43

are just Like they are just supremely

19:45

offense in a way that on offense the a

19:47

way that feels like the able defense should

19:49

be able to have where they performance where

19:51

they hold a team under 20 points,

19:53

if not frankly, Logan better. than that. Yeah,

19:56

and I and I think that's a really

19:58

good, good way to start the podcast because when

20:00

you look at what they did early in

20:02

the season, the Saints, they were able to

20:05

kind of find these explosive opportunities, you know,

20:07

whether it was to Chris Alave or number

20:09

22, she and, she and, yeah, she, and

20:11

then, and they were very successful, like kind

20:14

of off play action, kind of traditional, Kyle

20:16

Shanahan stuff, and. all those guys that I

20:18

just mentioned a lot of a sheheen like

20:20

they're all hurt right and so then they

20:23

kind of go back to the drawing board

20:25

reevaluate they got Cedric Wilson Jr. who was

20:27

the three in Miami last year they got

20:29

Kevin Austin Jr. I've never heard of before

20:32

and they got Marcus Valdis scanning as they're

20:34

kind of like number one exposed to play

20:36

threat ends wouldn't like MBS has entered the

20:39

lineup, they've been able to find some explosive

20:41

opportunities. So even though they're a little banked

20:43

up, they've kind of been able to like

20:45

rigmarole it together and find some things to

20:48

do. However, their quarterbacks banged

20:50

up. And say what you want to

20:52

back there at Carr, I do think

20:54

he's played on the whole pretty well

20:56

this year for him. You know what

20:58

I mean? I think he's kind of

21:00

done a good job of finding these

21:02

explosive opportunities, anticipating throws, building connection and

21:04

relationship. But again, he's hurt, right? So,

21:06

excuse me. So I think that that

21:08

is something that like really is paints

21:10

the picture in the backdrop of this

21:12

team. like early in the season they

21:14

were able to kind of find again

21:16

these explosive plays down the field run

21:19

first to set up the past type

21:21

deal now the set up the past

21:23

stuff is not doesn't have the teeth

21:25

that it had earlier in the season

21:27

so then you look at there how

21:29

they run the ball and I do

21:31

think that they are good up front

21:33

like their offensive line is maybe not

21:35

the best in the NFL but they're

21:37

definitely above average right they've kind of

21:39

jelled together well they're relatively healthy they're

21:41

relatively healthy they're big they're physical they're

21:43

physical He's leading the team in targets.

21:45

He's leading the team in carries. He's

21:48

been very effective. He's kind of in

21:50

this Christian McCaffrey type mold. But when

21:52

you watch the Giants game, for example,

21:54

they can't really run the football super

21:56

effectively because there's not this threat. kind

21:58

of getting behind the defense that we

22:00

saw earlier in the season and I

22:02

think you see a less effective Alvin

22:04

Kamara and I think if he's not

22:06

effective this offense really has nobody to

22:08

to make it go if that makes

22:10

sense like certain like sometimes when you

22:12

watch a team you're like oh They

22:14

can get it done with Quick Game,

22:16

they can get it done with screens,

22:19

they can get it done with RPOs.

22:21

And he was really the driving force,

22:23

Kamara, for a long time, but now

22:25

it just seems like he's a little

22:27

out of gas. And he's still an

22:29

effective weapon, no doubt about it, but

22:31

just not with the same efficiency we

22:33

saw early in the season. Yeah, or

22:35

earlier in his career this season, Kamera

22:37

has forced to miss tackle on just

22:39

19.9% of his touches. That is his

22:41

lowest miss tackle rate since 2018 per

22:43

next-gen stats from NFL Pro. So it

22:45

is, it is a. a

22:48

struggle, just like both of us talking

22:50

today on this podcast. By the way,

22:52

also Rashid Shaheed, that's my bad on

22:55

the name of it. So sorry Rashid,

22:57

you're very fast and very talented and

22:59

the Saints miss you very much. They

23:01

will chuck it. That is the thing

23:03

that like scared, if you tell me

23:05

what scares me, what scares me about

23:07

this team. And especially when Carr is

23:09

in there. I just, I don't have

23:12

a file on Jake Hainer. Sorry Jake.

23:14

But like, they will be aggressive with

23:16

their play calls. They will check it.

23:18

They also do some, like, they had

23:20

a third and five where they ran

23:22

it with Khmera for a first down

23:24

to get the giant. So like, they'll

23:27

do some stuff that's, I guess, surprising,

23:29

you know, from a play calling standpoint.

23:31

But I do think that that variability,

23:33

and especially if they're playing against a

23:35

team where they know, like, God, offensively,

23:37

they're gonna put up some points, either

23:39

way Washington's played. That's the

23:41

one thing that scares me is that they

23:44

might take a ton of shots and just

23:46

hope that they draw some PIs or you

23:48

know, which they did by the way end

23:50

of the half against the Giants. They just

23:52

like started chucking it deep and they got

23:54

a PI and wound up having a field

23:56

goal attempt that got blocked. But you know,

23:58

that that variability is really the only thing

24:00

that scares me. the Saints offense? No, I

24:03

think that's right. I think, and again, like,

24:05

the rushing efficiency just hasn't been there. And

24:07

again, I think the Giants did a good

24:09

job of basically like, hey, you're not gonna

24:11

run the football. And again, like, when you

24:13

look at teams that, again, this guy, their

24:15

offensive coordinator is a Kyle Shanahan disciple, it

24:17

feels like that when you watch it. I

24:20

will say for the first like four or

24:22

five games, it felt like that it was

24:24

like watching a carbon copy. you know, Kyle

24:26

Shanahan's perspective turned up to a million. They've

24:28

gotten out of that a little bad, a

24:30

little bit more dropback, a little bit more

24:32

spread out, kind of a little bit more

24:34

opportunities like that. But again, they don't have

24:37

the weapons outside to really scare. I will

24:39

say the two guys that I think are

24:41

maybe kind of sleeper, kind of weapons for

24:43

them are Fosh Somero, the Titan, and Joanne

24:45

Johnson. And Joanne Johnson is a converted wide

24:47

receiver who's playing tight end and you see

24:49

them use him in ways that are interesting

24:51

to find explosive plays. Like for example, I

24:53

think it was in the Giants game, I've

24:56

watched a lot of film, I don't remember

24:58

exactly, but they're running a dig on the

25:00

outside and he runs like an out, which

25:02

is like a normal like what I would

25:04

call bow concept. This guy's gonna run a

25:06

sit, this guy's gonna, the defender's gonna attach

25:08

to the sit, the dig's gonna come behind,

25:10

you throw the dig. But as he's kind

25:13

of running out of the sit, he runs

25:15

a go. And basically in this cover two

25:17

structure, the safety attacks the dig and the

25:19

cover two players, and the cover two players

25:21

stays low because he thinks he's running it

25:23

out and out and go, and there's nobody

25:25

around and they can do that with him

25:27

because he can actually like. run a little

25:30

bit and like kind of attack you down

25:32

field. So even though they don't have the

25:34

receiving threats outside and they don't have like

25:36

that vertical horsepower that they had earlier in

25:38

the season, like Mark was involved in scanning

25:40

is dangerous and Joanne Johnson is dangerous as

25:42

a vertical scene player. You had a nice

25:44

catch in the scene versus the Giants also.

25:46

So they do have teeth. Again, they're offensive

25:49

lines playing well. I'm going to give them

25:51

well, like not amazing, not bad kind of

25:53

like that C plus B minus range and

25:55

and they just haven't so they can they

25:57

can't hit you the explosive pass, they haven't

25:59

been supervision. And I think maybe the most

26:01

significant injury for them is Tastem Hill in

26:03

terms of what he was doing running the

26:06

football. Because when they got into binds, when

26:08

they couldn't kind of find that rushing efficiency,

26:10

he could give them five to eight to

26:12

10 explosive run opportunities, third and short situations,

26:14

even in the field, like with some quarterback

26:16

kind of RPO, zone stuff, they bring their

26:18

heavy personnel out. He could run it for

26:20

an explosive gain. He's out, he's hurt. So

26:23

that is a feature of their offense that

26:25

again, it kind of gave you, it gave

26:27

them a change up to the Camara and

26:29

now they don't even have that. So I

26:31

think kind of how you supplement his production

26:33

is going to be really challenging because they

26:35

don't seem to be able to do it

26:37

kind of with your running back and the

26:39

full back the way they were earlier in

26:42

the season. Yeah, they do use their full

26:44

back quite a bit, which is interesting. It's

26:46

something that obviously the commanders are going to

26:48

need to prep for. And you mentioned the

26:50

tight ends. They've got like three C plus

26:52

tight ends that are all fine. They're not

26:54

very different players, which I think is kind

26:56

of an interesting thing. It's not like they

26:59

have a blocking guy and a speed guy.

27:01

No, it's just like three of the same

27:03

guy that they rotate in. But as you

27:05

mentioned, Jennings, a little bit more, a little

27:07

bit more explosive more explosive as the former

27:09

converted wide receiver. That brings us to Hayner

27:11

because like Derek Carr would throw with anticipation

27:13

to those guys up the seams and like,

27:16

you know, Bobby Wagner's played very well this

27:18

year for in a lot of respects, you

27:20

can get a ball over his head. You

27:22

know, Lou Voo, same thing, like he's an

27:24

animal as a pass rush her, but if

27:26

you can just get him out there in

27:28

coverage, like you can get a ball up

27:30

the seam over his head. So if Jake

27:32

Hayner is playing, like, like, like, does he

27:35

make him make those same throws with that

27:37

same anticipation, with that same anticipation as a

27:39

guy, as a guy, as a guy, as

27:41

a guy, like, like, like, like, like, like,

27:43

like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like,

27:45

like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like,

27:47

like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like,

27:49

like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like,

27:52

like, like, like Yeah, you know turn on

27:54

the film with Jay Kainer. I was really

27:56

surprised actually with with kind of the confidence

27:58

that he threw the football Obviously, he's not

28:00

as physically gifted as as dare car You

28:02

know, he doesn't have like the the arm

28:04

talent the quick release But he is kind

28:06

of he's confident man. He gets back there.

28:09

He's making window throws, he knows where the

28:11

ball should go. Like sometimes when you watch

28:13

a backup quarterback, it's like a little bit

28:15

off. You're like, he's a little bit late

28:17

or he's a little bit early or he's

28:19

kind of running away from pressure. And the

28:21

one thing about Hainer that I was kind

28:23

of, and again, it's only like 35 throws,

28:25

maybe 40 throws. on the season, but the

28:28

one thing I was impressed about is he

28:30

stuck in there, he threw with anticipation. And

28:32

so I do think like this is one

28:34

of those games and they're not like I'm

28:36

throwing a hitch with anticipation. It's like I've

28:38

got an I've got like a return route

28:40

by number two and a corner by number

28:42

one off an inside stem. and it looks

28:45

like it's covered but the corner attaches to

28:47

the return and I'm gonna just layer this

28:49

thing right over it's so kind of like

28:51

I'm gonna say like big time throws you

28:53

know like but kind of challenging throw difficulties

28:55

so again he's not you know Peyton Manning

28:57

or anything like that but he does he

28:59

seems like a guy that can hurt you

29:02

and so again he's not there a car

29:04

he's not that talented but I do think

29:06

he could be a guy that if you

29:08

were to come in not ready for him

29:10

he could punch in the mouth and you

29:12

could, again, like some of these explosive plays

29:14

that we're worried about in terms of like,

29:16

oh, like Marcus Valdes scanning or Joanne Johnson

29:18

down the field, like, those could pop up

29:21

and all of a sudden you're like, oh

29:23

shoot, that's 14 points, like what happened? Because

29:25

he does have a little bit, I am

29:27

going to say that moxie word to him,

29:29

which I was kind of surprised about honestly.

29:31

So if you're Joe Witt, you're trying to

29:33

heat him up, just trying to get him

29:35

off his spot, trying to do all the

29:38

things you try to do to ruffle a

29:40

rookie quarterback, and by the way, I feel

29:42

like we should now at this point in

29:44

the commander's defense part of the podcast, mention,

29:46

we are expecting Marsha and Latamore to make

29:48

his debut on very familiar turf, his old

29:50

turf down in New Orleans. Yeah, I think

29:52

the thing is, I would probably follow something

29:55

similar to what the run. We're going to

29:57

stop the run. We're going to take Alvin

29:59

Kumar out the game. And they were very

30:01

comfortable with saying Derek Carr beat us. We're

30:03

going to play some kind of aggressive, not

30:05

really aggressive, their zone, but more aggressive. than

30:07

they've done earlier in the season, a little

30:09

bit more man, a little tighter coverage. It's

30:11

basically like, you're going to be in second

30:14

and ten way more than you want to

30:16

be. You're going to be in third and

30:18

ten way more than you want to be.

30:20

We're going to beat you in those in

30:22

those second and ten, third and long situations.

30:24

And they did. And that was really that

30:26

was really the formula for that game, the

30:28

New Orleans Saints. So Can you stop them?

30:31

And I will say they've got some guys

30:33

that are big hosses up front, like Felice

30:35

Fuonga is the kid from Oregon State. He's

30:37

six, six, like 335. Trevor Penning is the

30:39

kind of reclamation project for them at Wright-Tackel.

30:41

He's a first round pick a couple years

30:43

ago. I think he's six seven, like 330.

30:45

They've got some big dudes. Their center Eric

30:47

McCoy's done a great job this year. They've

30:50

got some pieces that you're like, oh, like

30:52

on the offensive line, like we got to

30:54

come in, put our mouthpieces in, stop the

30:56

run. If we can get that done, if

30:58

we can stop Alvin Camaro, that's in the

31:00

screen game, that's in the outside zone, that's

31:02

in the mid zone. They don't run a

31:04

lot of like gap scheme stuff, which has

31:07

hurt us real bad this year, you know,

31:09

traps and whams. So let's put our mouthpiece

31:11

in, let's stop the run, and then let's

31:13

be ready to play some coverage in those

31:15

second and 10, third and long situations with

31:17

a quarterback who has some ability, but definitely

31:19

is not a starting NFL quarterback. I think

31:21

that feels like the formula to me going

31:24

into this game. Yeah, and obviously if you

31:26

can get up on them and just make

31:28

them into a dropback team, like that's not

31:30

going to work. So this is the formula

31:32

trademark, if you will, for how the commanders

31:34

have won in blowouts this year. You think

31:36

the offense has to do it? Talk about

31:38

the offense in a second. What do you

31:40

expect? Like this is a guess. We don't

31:43

know. And maybe by the time some of

31:45

you guys listen to this, if you save

31:47

it for Friday Saturday, Joe it Junior and

31:49

or Dan or Dan Quinn has addressed it.

31:51

Do you think it's same or still on

31:53

the outside and ignogany in the slot? Do

31:55

you think that there's a mix and match

31:57

based off match up? Do you think St.

32:00

Juice's out there and St. There's still goes

32:02

back inside? Like those are kind of the

32:04

options. do you anticipate this weekend and beyond?

32:06

Honestly, I don't know, but I guess based

32:08

on the last couple of games, I would

32:10

say based on the fact that they were

32:12

rotating Davis in with St. Juice, it's, and

32:14

not that St. Juice played badly, just seems

32:17

like that they view him as kind of

32:19

maybe the weaker of the two in terms

32:21

of consistency and playmaking abilities. So I would.

32:23

probably assume that San Russell stays outside. I

32:25

think no, he may not, no, he, but

32:27

not going to, excuse me, has done a

32:29

really good job. So let's keep him in

32:31

there and let those guys play ball and

32:33

maybe you do have like a kind of

32:36

rotational situation where maybe you're in a little

32:38

bit more kind of dime with four corners.

32:40

I don't know. I don't know if there's

32:42

a lot of opportunity for that this game,

32:44

given the receiving kind of lack of talent

32:46

for the Saints, but maybe that's what you

32:48

do. But I do think Sanders still is,

32:50

I would assume, and again, I have no

32:53

inside information on this, that he would be

32:55

the guy that stays and then keep no

32:57

ignogany in that role, not because of what

32:59

he's done, but on that role, not because

33:01

of what he's done as a coverage player,

33:03

but also how he's played the run. I

33:05

think that people sleep on with him in

33:07

terms of his physicality, so that would also

33:10

be very effective. Yeah, I don't know because

33:12

they've been, like they've all had their moments

33:14

of really good ball this year, they've all

33:16

had their moments of yikes. Like no, it's

33:18

had some scares. I mean, Mikey's coming off

33:20

a game where he gave up over 100

33:22

yards receiving and we obviously know St. Jude's

33:24

been well documented. So I don't know what

33:26

they do. I tend to think they'll probably

33:29

change it up a little bit by match

33:31

up if there's a particular match up where

33:33

they either because of the coverages they're going

33:35

to man situation. Stylistically where they like St.

33:37

Juice over St. Russell they couldn't bump Mikey

33:39

inside They also might not want to move

33:41

him around so I think that's another thing

33:43

too is like how comfortable He's been playing

33:46

outside for so long like yeah, he was

33:48

inside in camp and the first couple weeks

33:50

But like at this point he's been playing

33:52

outside for so long like yeah, he was

33:54

inside in camp and the first couple weeks

33:56

But like at this point he's been outside

33:58

if you want to move him back inside

34:00

think you probably just keep him outside. I

34:03

think that's what will happen, but we'll find

34:05

out on Sunday because it looks like March

34:07

on Latimore barring any last-minute setback is gonna

34:09

make his debut. This

34:15

episode is brought to you by Amazon

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and a musician. Now this is progress.

35:14

Take commands, Logan Paulson there, Craig Hoffman here,

35:16

and it is time to look at the

35:18

commander's offense against a saint's defense that made

35:20

some plays this year, has a couple of

35:23

interesting pieces on it, including one very familiar

35:25

one, but the commander's offense coming off that

35:27

42-point performance against the Titans where they ran

35:29

the absolute mess out of the ball, and

35:31

it would seem Logan on paper that opportunity

35:34

exists again to have a really good day

35:36

on the ground against New Orleans. Yeah, that's

35:38

kind of what it feels like to me.

35:40

And I think when you watch the Saints,

35:42

I think like you said, they do have

35:45

some interesting pieces, specifically on the edge. You

35:47

know, Carl Granerson is a guy that maybe

35:49

isn't a household name, but I think he

35:51

just plays super hard. He's a big guy.

35:53

He's kind of a heavy handed, heavy helmet

35:56

type of that is going to set nice

35:58

vertical edges. I think you look at Chase

36:00

Young on the other side and kind of

36:02

feels and plays the same way, probably not

36:04

as discipline, probably not the same motor, but

36:07

kind of that big edge. And like when

36:09

you go down the list, like Peyton Turner

36:11

is a giant. Cameron Jordan is a giant.

36:13

Like so they've got kind of some big

36:15

edge pieces that that's kind of the style

36:18

that they've wanted to play there for a

36:20

long time that can set a nice edge,

36:22

can stretch or run out. However, and I

36:24

think that those guys are playing well. Kim

36:27

Jordan's not playing the same way that he

36:29

was a couple years ago, kind of you

36:31

can tell he's definitely on the decline, he's

36:33

not rushing from the end spot anymore, he's

36:35

more rushing from that kind of that three

36:38

technique on third down situations where I think

36:40

speaks to kind of the transition of his

36:42

career, kind of moving away from you know,

36:44

one of the more dominant players in the

36:46

kind of more of a role player player

36:49

now. And then I think, but I do

36:51

think the thing about their defense is on

36:53

the interior, specifically a defense to tackle spot.

36:55

You're looking at guys that I think are

36:57

actually decent athletes, but have been struggling to

37:00

stop the run, at least to my eye.

37:02

So Sanders and Shepherds are the two guys

37:04

that started inside, obviously John Ridgeway, and Brian

37:06

Berzi are the other guys that kind of

37:08

rotate in with them. and everyone's gonna recognize

37:11

Brian Berzi as a former first round pick.

37:13

But those dudes have a really hard time

37:15

sitting double teams. And when you watch the

37:17

New York Giants game, like they're getting moved

37:19

off the spot on like Wanda. So you

37:22

know, open side run away from the tight

37:24

end, double teams on the interior, those dudes

37:26

are getting kind of pushed out of the

37:28

club. And I think you talk about Pete

37:30

Werner at the linebacker spot, both those guys

37:33

are doing an excellent job. But sometimes it's

37:35

hard for them to fit runs when the

37:37

offensive lines in your lap. And I think

37:39

when you watch the the LA Rams game,

37:41

for example, like they kind of know that

37:44

they're struggling inside a little bit. So they

37:46

kind of bring a couple of lines stunts

37:48

to try to scrape the linebackers over the

37:50

top. And LA did a great job of

37:52

like catching them in those stunts and hitting

37:55

them for explosive runs. So I think like

37:57

to me, just looking at and maybe you

37:59

have some. metrics Craig that

38:01

could support this when I watched them.

38:03

I'm like, the interior is not playing

38:05

great. They're having a hard time stopping

38:07

the run. And when I look at

38:09

the efficiency that they brought, and they

38:11

also, the other thing, they've struggled, the

38:13

commanders have struggled with penetrating three techniques.

38:15

These guys aren't really like penetrators. The

38:17

technique they're playing. and kind of the

38:19

lack of consistency from this group, it

38:21

feels like the commanders should it should

38:23

be right in the commanders real house,

38:25

they should be able to run the

38:27

ball. I don't say at will because

38:29

that's an NFL defense, but they should

38:31

have some success running the ball. Yeah,

38:34

the numbers back that up. But just

38:36

also I think back to what Nick

38:38

Alagretti talked about post Tennessee is like

38:40

we really just wanted to focus on

38:42

firing off the ball, like running off

38:44

the ball. a team that penetrates at

38:46

you, obviously, they're also trying to fire

38:48

off the ball. And so that's gonna

38:50

play very differently versus a read and

38:52

sit where it's like, go strike that

38:54

guy. Like, he's not coming at you

38:56

quite as much. And so that should

38:58

play into what they want to do.

39:00

And yeah. The insights page and the

39:02

key advantages page on NFL Pro, it

39:04

is a bloodbath in Washington's favor when

39:06

you talk about rushing efficiency. Running inside

39:08

the tackles, commanders offense, three saints defense,

39:10

29th, overall rushing efficiency, commanders offense, third,

39:12

saints defense, 29th, rushing in the red

39:14

zone, commanders, third, saints defense, 30th, design

39:16

runs, third, 29th. rushing out a shotgun,

39:18

third 28th, rushing outside the tackles. This

39:20

one's a little better for the Saints.

39:22

The commanders are still third. The Saints

39:24

are 22nd. Cubies scrambles, which is something

39:26

I want to talk about as well.

39:28

Washington's 7th, Saints 27th, rushing under center,

39:30

8th, 26th, 9th and 16th for rushing

39:32

versus light boxes, and 12th and 12th

39:34

for stack boxes. So maybe the Saints

39:36

wind up trying to stack the box,

39:38

but if they're going to play. of

39:40

men on the outside and like Terry's

39:42

out there, then Terry could have 200

39:44

yards on Sunday. So we'll get to

39:46

that. But I do think the the

39:48

scrambling element, which has been kind of

39:50

go back to a term we used

39:52

a ton a couple years ago, canary

39:54

and a coal mine. If Jayden's scrambling,

39:56

things have typically gone pretty well for

39:58

Washington's offense, his ability to. You wouldn't

40:00

think that would be a good metric.

40:03

You know what I mean. You wouldn't

40:05

think that would be the problem. So

40:07

I actually had this conversation in the

40:09

off season. We did a at the

40:11

combine. We did a reporter roundtable and

40:13

it was me, Ben Solak, who at

40:15

the time is with the ringer and

40:17

is now at ESPN and Brooke Pryor.

40:19

And I was like, just bring the

40:21

topic to the table. We're going to

40:23

chop it up. And Solak was like,

40:25

I think in the next five years,

40:27

like we are going to understand at

40:29

a much more extreme level how valuable

40:31

scrambling is. And the reason is because

40:33

so often scrambles come in situations that

40:35

are high leverage, like third down, because

40:37

teams man up and try to bring

40:39

pressure, a quarterback gets out, and they

40:41

result in first outs. And so because

40:43

of that, the EPA per play. estimated

40:45

points added is EPA on scrambles is

40:47

higher than basically any other type of

40:49

play. So it's not that quarterback should

40:51

then all of a sudden be looking

40:53

to scramble at all times. Obviously winning

40:55

within structure is nice. You can often

40:57

get big chunks. But because of when

40:59

those plays tend to happen and the

41:01

results of them. Like it actually makes

41:03

a ton of sense that like if

41:05

Jayden scrambles and the offense stays thus

41:07

on the field and on track, then

41:09

the offense would be performing at a

41:11

significantly higher level. And if you watch

41:13

that Giants game, like Drew Locke was

41:15

able to scramble all over the place.

41:17

There's one play that was incredibly frustrating

41:19

because he got a first down and

41:21

he tried to loop back outside and

41:23

you're like. dude just go straight towards

41:25

the first down marker but like Jayden

41:27

is taking that straight and possibly for

41:29

another three yards and there's a bunch

41:32

of plays like that where locks able

41:34

to get out the past rush lanes

41:36

aren't clean and so on top of

41:38

the passing game stuff that we'll talk

41:40

about in a second. And the fact

41:42

that they should be able to design

41:44

or run the ball at will, how's

41:46

the play, Mrs. Lincoln, if you're the

41:48

Saints' defense, because Jane's ability is a

41:50

scrambler, should be pretty high in this

41:52

game when they do manage to shut

41:54

other things down. Yeah, and it'll be

41:56

interesting. And this is more of a

41:58

coverage thing, but you know, I think

42:00

we were talking through when I was

42:02

watching the hurries cut up for the

42:04

Saints. They play like way more man

42:06

than I thought they would play. And

42:08

again, if you are a scrambling quarterback

42:10

and there's no vision on you because

42:12

everyone's either they're playing two man, you

42:14

know, where they're kind of in trail

42:16

pushing things to the two high safeties.

42:18

or a single high man and they're

42:20

in trail or they do like a

42:22

little bracket man and they throw cover

42:24

three and it's not like they're only

42:26

playing man but they play way more

42:28

man but in those looks we just

42:30

described there's nobody watching the quarterback and

42:32

the way they play their man coverage

42:34

predominantly at least in the stuff that

42:36

I was watching is the hook, they

42:38

kind of run it with like a

42:40

lurk player, so it's one of the

42:42

safeties as opposed to a plug player

42:44

who's the linebacker right in the middle

42:46

of the field. So that guy's coming

42:48

from depth and if the quarterback were

42:50

to scramble there, like it just feels

42:52

like there's a lot of space in

42:54

the defense for the quarterback to run.

42:56

So again, it'll be interesting to see

42:59

what the defensive coordinator for the Saints

43:01

wants to do and how he wants

43:03

to approach this, because for me, I'd

43:05

probably kick in a little bit more

43:07

a zone just because I'm aware of

43:09

him. But you've seen teams that have

43:11

had maybe the most success against the

43:13

commanders have played more man. So do

43:15

you just say, hey, teams have had

43:17

success? We do this a lot. We'll

43:19

figure the scramble thing out in terms

43:21

of how we handle it from a

43:23

rush standpoint. I don't know because the

43:25

other thing you alluded to there is

43:27

you know when you watch the Pittsburgh

43:29

Steelers for example I think they have

43:31

the highest efficiency in the NFL versus

43:33

scrambling quarterbacks like they're able to keep

43:35

them in the pocket at a really

43:37

high rate. You can tell that is

43:39

something that they they bleed. They really

43:41

are disciplined in terms of their rush

43:43

integrity. With the Saints for example you

43:45

don't really see that same discipline on

43:47

the interior on the exterior in terms

43:49

how they blitz people there's a little

43:51

bit kind of like go win and

43:53

it does create big creases so do

43:55

they have to change something do they

43:57

change their coverage structure which doesn't seem

43:59

like that's what they want to do

44:01

or do they change how they rush

44:03

which probably seems more effective and are

44:05

they able to do that on a

44:07

week of prep I don't know but

44:09

those are the two things you look

44:11

at they're not great in terms of

44:13

rush integrity and they're definitely play more

44:15

man than you would think is appropriate

44:17

scrambling quarterbackag Yeah, I mean that's the

44:19

thing with Jayden is he has been

44:21

so much more like he's just destroyed

44:23

basically zone coverage is all year. And

44:25

so if you're gonna play zone like

44:28

he'll beat you with his arm if

44:30

you're gonna play man chances are he'll

44:32

beat you with his legs. The other

44:34

thing is are he'll beat you with

44:36

his legs. The other thing is if

44:38

Cliff is gonna be like he'll beat

44:40

you with his arm if you're gonna

44:42

play man chances are he'll beat you

44:44

with his legs. The other thing is

44:46

if Cliff. I think the version that

44:48

we saw against Tennessee happened for a

44:50

lot of reasons, including some stuff that

44:52

Tennessee was doing, but that is the

44:54

version of the commanders offense that I'm

44:56

hoping to see for the final four

44:58

games and however many playoff games they

45:00

get, because it just, it prevents some

45:02

of the log jams that some teams

45:04

have been able to get for Washington.

45:06

It's like, okay, if we're gonna play

45:08

man. We know that they don't have

45:10

outside of McLaren, a ton of guys

45:12

that are just gonna beat us one

45:14

on one. We know where McLaren is

45:16

going to be, so it's easy to

45:18

shade coverage that way and put our

45:20

best corner over there and or safety

45:22

help. Now if Terry's moving around a

45:24

little bit more, you can't do any

45:26

of those things. And so I'm very

45:28

curious to see kind of what the

45:30

plan is and whether that was a

45:32

Tennessee thing or whether that is kind

45:34

of an evolution of the offense thing.

45:36

Not to mention coming out of the

45:38

buy, is there any other new things

45:40

that Cliff unloads in this final month

45:42

of the season? Yeah, I think that's

45:44

a great point. I think the other

45:46

thing that is gonna be really interesting

45:48

to watch is Zach Ertz. his ability

45:50

to win versus man to make coverage

45:52

because a lot of people will play

45:54

Zach with a safety or a nickel

45:57

but I like I remember I mentioned

45:59

this before they like to bring that

46:01

lurk player from the safety level to

46:03

kind of be that zone ish player

46:05

read the quarterback eyes so the tight

46:07

end at least in the stuff that

46:09

we've seen that I've seen this year

46:11

is a matchup versus tomorrow Davis and

46:13

I think tomorrow Davis is a very

46:15

special football player he's excellent but in

46:17

terms of like receiving and coverage like

46:19

I would probably favor Zacher it's there

46:21

So that's a match up that I

46:23

would probably just circle in red this

46:25

week and be like, Ken the commanders,

46:27

again, Terry is obviously one you're looking

46:29

for, especially given the, I'm gonna say

46:31

the inconsistency in the saint's secondary. They've

46:33

got some talented pieces, but they're not,

46:35

you know, playing at a super high

46:37

level at the moment. So obviously Terry,

46:39

but then that's a match up that

46:41

Zach has won and can win. And

46:43

in a man, with a man coverage

46:45

team, like that's super easy. who's got

46:47

Zach, to Mario Davis, let's see if

46:49

we can get a win here for

46:51

our guy. And I think if you

46:53

can find little wrinkles, little advantages like

46:55

that in a game like this, that's

46:57

gonna be all the difference. Because again,

46:59

I think you're gonna be able to

47:01

run the football, but semi-effectively, let's say

47:03

you get to a third and four,

47:05

man situation, have Zach run a 10

47:07

yard out. And then we should be

47:09

okay, especially if we're getting man coverage.

47:11

So. I think those maybe not on

47:13

the outside, maybe on the perimeter, they

47:15

don't have someone that really scares you,

47:17

but I do think that's a match

47:19

up that Zach can consistently win. Anything

47:21

else that we want to hit on

47:23

before we get out here? I think

47:26

that's it. I expect them to run

47:28

the ball a ton. I expect them

47:30

to run the ball effectively. I expect

47:32

them to be physical. I think this

47:34

is always the fun thing about game

47:36

planning, you know, whether it's at high

47:38

school, it's in pop Warner, you know,

47:40

whether it's for your your your rec

47:42

basketball team, whatever, is I think the

47:44

Saints know that we know that they're

47:46

bad at stopping the run. And so

47:48

teams we've played this year have changed

47:50

their approach versus the commanders because they

47:52

know that this team is despite kind

47:54

of the raid background of Cliff, you

47:56

know, like they want to run the

47:58

football. So do they change what they

48:00

want to do? Are they in a

48:02

little bit more cover three? Are they

48:04

in a little bit more eight-man box

48:06

structure like you already alluded to? And

48:08

then if they do do that, then

48:10

what's the counterpunch for Cliff off of

48:12

that? And so I think that's always

48:14

the fun. To me, one of the

48:16

fun things about entering these games is

48:18

you know, like, like for example, that

48:20

we are going to want to stop

48:22

the run. So they come out and

48:24

just go bombs over Baghdad on the

48:26

first play to kind of get us

48:28

to back up. And again, those are

48:30

the cool moments that you're kind of

48:32

like, oh, this could this could change

48:34

the narrative of a game on four

48:36

or five plays. And then how does

48:38

our coaching staff respond? And I always

48:40

think that's just important to point out.

48:42

No doubt. One last next gen stat

48:44

comparison. The commanders actually have not been

48:46

an amazing passing team off of play

48:48

action this year for as well as

48:50

they've run it. But the Saints are

48:53

26th in defending the pass against play

48:55

action. So if they do try to

48:57

sell out, getting some play action stuff

48:59

on them seems like a very getable

49:01

thing. So we'll see if Jayden and

49:03

Cliff and the receivers can scheme that

49:05

up on Sunday. Yeah, I'm really glad

49:07

you brought that up because when you

49:09

play a lot of man coverage, you

49:11

have a man, but you also have

49:13

a run fit. And so that was

49:15

something that people talked about. Oh, you

49:17

know, when Marshall and Latimore comes back

49:19

and they can get more guys in

49:21

the box, that's going to be advantageous

49:23

for them. But if you're still playing

49:25

man coverage, which is what Dan and

49:27

Joe Whit Jr. And that staff did

49:29

when they were in Dallas, it becomes

49:31

really hard to fit run still because

49:33

you're of two minds. my eyes go

49:35

to my run fit and the tie-in

49:37

leaks out to the flat or runs

49:39

a corner or whatever he's going to

49:41

do. And so I do think that

49:43

if you can kind of get some

49:45

of those misdirects and you know doing

49:47

like my biweek kind of commander scouting

49:49

I think Cliff's done a great job

49:51

in third and short situations of using

49:53

those play actions those heavy play actions

49:55

to kind of create open runners on

49:57

corners and goes and little post to

49:59

Zacherts and things like that's definitely going

50:01

be on the table, but I think

50:03

to your point, do they utilize that

50:05

more in the field, you know, on

50:07

first down? Because again, like, if you're

50:09

going to get all this man coverage,

50:11

like, let's take advantage of it and

50:13

find some easy throws for Jayden. Find

50:15

out on Sunday, Commander Saints to 1

50:17

o'clock kick here on the East Coast,

50:19

12 o'clock down at the Superdome. Logan

50:22

will be there. So we will have

50:24

our post game coverage 730 on Sunday

50:26

night. So kind of after the afternoon

50:28

window, we'll pop on here, a TVD

50:30

on who the mystery guest co-host and

50:32

Logan's box will be as he'll be

50:34

traveling back with the team from New

50:36

Orleans. Then we'll be back on Tuesday

50:38

with a film review. Thanks again for

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And by the way, happy year and

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