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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
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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
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it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.com/Prime to get
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more out of whatever you're into. Hey,
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it's Austin James. If you're like me,
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trying to live your best life while
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living with diabetes, you can relate to
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worrying if you're doing a good job
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and see the impact of every meal
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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
50:40
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51:00
And by the way, happy year and
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