Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Are the Commanders a low key tough matchup for the Vikings?

Episode Date: November 3, 2022

Washington football analyst Mark Bullock joins Matthew Coller to talk about whether Washington's three game win streak is something the Vikings should notice or a fluke. Why do the Commanders play better behind Taylor Heinicke? Is their defensive line a good matchup for Kirk Cousins and the Vikings' O-line?  -- For more of Matthew's Vikings coverage, head to purpleinsider.substack.com For bonus discussions, interview clips, and more videos, check out our YouTube channel! Interact with us on Twitter! @Purple_Insider Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Purple Insider presented by Liquid Death. Go to liquiddeath.com slash insider and learn about the Tallboy can, which actually has water. Find out where you can get it near you at liquiddeath.com slash insider. Hello, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here and joining me, a return guest. Sometimes we just brought him on for the heck of it just to talk ball,

but now we actually have a vikings and washington commanders game mark bullock at mark bullock nfl on twitter writes bullock.substack.com formerly the athletic washington post contributor what is up mark great to have you back buddy uh it's a good to be back here especially on a day where we had some some relatively exciting news from a was Washington's fans perspective. So, yeah, good to be back. Thanks for having me. Okay, I really do want to get into the X's and O's of this game,

but, I mean, parades are being thrown in D.C. at the idea of Daniel Snyder being gone. And I've seen this on Twitter, and I have to ask you about it, your opinion, because a lot of people are saying that they would rather have Snyder gone than win a Super Bowl. Now, put this under things franchises with Super Bowl rings in their history say, because I think that the Vikings and Vikings fans might view it differently. But I think that there's actually truth to that,

that a lot of fans would rather see that man gone from owning their team than they would winning the Super Bowl this year. Yeah, 100%. I don't doubt that a large majority of this fan base would much prefer Snyder to be out than to win the Super Bowl. I think just going on 30 years now or something like that, that Snyder's been owning this team or 25 years, whatever it is, just the amount of controversy and the terrible product he's put on the field and the intervening and forcing quarterbacks on coaches and different free agent busts and all the,

not to mention all the obviously the misconduct stuff that's gone on behind the scenes, um, all of that stuff is just, it's built up this huge toll on the, on the fan base. And, and, you know, this was once a great franchise and it still somehow manages to be one of the most valuable sports franchises in the States and in the world um and the fact that it still is with all of that stuff going on tells you how big this fan base is and it also tells you just you know how bad snyder's been and then to be able to possibly get rid of him i think would i think all fans would accept that that's going to lead to a better chance of long-term success than just a a one-off super bowl would so how is it worth five billion when they're named the commanders

that was right there to dunk yeah the um i do wonder whether a new owner might contemplate trying to change the name again and whether they there's any kind of rules that that suggest they can't change the name for a certain period of time or what. I guess that's all to come in the coming months. I will remain steadfast that Washington football team was actually kind of awesome and they should have just stuck with it. And look, if, if somebody else buys the team comes in and says commanders, the hell does that mean? Let's just go back to football team. That was super cool.

In fact, even just like the jerseys that were kind of, they didn't really have like a logo on them, but they were just the colors, which Washington has some of the great colors in all of sports on their jerseys. Like just, just roll with that.

That would be my new suggestion to the owner. Don't draft people for your GMs. Let them do that. And don't use the cheerleaders as strippers and then change the name back. You do that and you're a huge upgrade over Daniel Snyder. It's amazing. I mean, to be like in a, in a group of owners that

have all sorts of, uh, characters and that do all sorts of crazy stuff in general, mostly, if not all billionaires to stand out like this really takes exceptional, exceptional, deplorable activity. I mean, that's the best way I can put it. It's almost impressive if it wasn't so dreadful what he's put people through. And yeah, it's it feels like it's been a long time coming. And it feels like for the last at least 10 years, it feels like every story that comes out is like like is this finally the one that gets him out is this finally the one and it there's been so many kind of almost i don't want to say false dawns but because like every one of those stories has contributed to it

and every one of those stories that comes with the serious allegations they come with is meaningful um and matters but until now until this sort of last year or two it's always been you know Snyder and the league kind of just brush it off and say nothing matters and we're fine and don't worry about it and and he's been so steadfast two weeks ago they had that statement after Jim came out publicly against him they had that statement that they put out saying that the Sniders have no reason to sell the franchise and they won't. And they put that kind of as a big statement at the end of it. And that was just two weeks ago.

So some things probably happened behind the scenes. Either the pressure is mounted and he realizes that he's in a bad spot or whatever's happened. There's reports today that tanya snyder who was kind of filling in for dan snyder um was got booed during the the last home game when when she was put on the jumbotron and i can't imagine that she wouldn't have expected that but i guess maybe she was blind to it and um apparently that was the final straw for her to supporting it and all sorts of stuff like that. So hopefully this is the end of the Dan Snyder reign and someone new will come in and we'll get a change in fortunes.

You mean that him trying to put it out there that he had dirt on all the other owners was not the last straw. It was his wife being booed. I mean, what a time to be alive. So I feel like I could talk about this all day because I'll just keep roasting them and Dan Snyder. And I remember it wasn't even that long ago. I was watching an old Brad Johnson game as a Washington football quarterback. And whoever the broadcasters were on the game, this is from like 96, are like, this new owner dan snyder he wants to

win he's gonna do everything to win this guy he's gonna take this franchise back to the greatest like old takes exposed on that one that didn't exactly work out now i will say though that uh as i pour over all the analytics and my uh newsletters which i get in my email all the time from you uh here's what i think of the Washington football team. I don't think they're that bad. I think that there's some bad things, but there's also some good things. And I think that if the Vikings are looking at this game like, hey, we're just going to cruise into D.C., Kirk's going to get his revenge.

I mean, kind of got his revenge by Daniel Snyder having to sell the team, but that's neither here nor there. But Kirk's going to get his revenge game, and we're 6-1. They're not that good. They're playing a backup quarterback. I think if the Vikings think that, we just made a big trade. We're a real contender. They can lose this game because of the way Washington has been playing

on the defensive side recently. Agree or disagree? Yeah, I would tentatively agree. I still think the Vikings should be favorites. And if they show up and take it as it's another NFL game and we need to play our best, they should win and probably comfortably. But there is no comfortable. Have you looked at their scores but there's no comfortable have you looked at their scores there's no comfortably it does not happen it does not matter who they're playing

comfortably does not happen not for years in in theory at least um but there's certainly enough players enough talent on washington's roster that can hurt any team and and that defensive line that they have and i think we've spoken about. And that defensive line that they have, and I think we've spoken about it before, the defensive line didn't necessarily play up to their talent last year. This year, even with Chase Young sidelined and he's only just coming back from his ACL now, Montez Sweat, Deron Payne, and John Allen have been superb.

And their defensive line have been really stout and the linebackers behind them have been superb and their defensive line have been really stout and the linebackers behind them have been improving. And that defensive front has really seen a nice improvement and they're not just individuals that are talented but not working together. Now they're starting to mesh together. Now they're starting to run stunts where one player will open things up for another and they're starting to maximize what they that they can be and that's encouraging for them on defense but um they still have a very shaky couple of

parts of their team that the secondary the safeties are really good but the corners are quite bad uh and they lack depth and they just traded william jackson uh to the steelers so um they're even thinner at cornerback than they were. And the guys that are there have been struggling. And obviously there's the offense problem with, you know, Carson Wentz being Carson Wentz and then getting hurt and Taylor Heineke being the Taylor Heineke experience of seems to be terrible for three quarters.

And then in the fourth quarter turns himself into Tom Brady. So, yeah, it's been an interesting rollercoaster and if the commanders can keep it close going into that fourth quarter, then maybe that Taylor Heineken magic kind of keeps it interesting. But I think if the Vikings play to their potential and take it as a serious game and aren't like, oh, we'll take the foot off the gas a little bit. It's only Washington. I think as long as they don't do that, they should be able to win the game.

I mean, I think so, too. And I agree with you. There's a part of me that wants to pick Washington. Now, I have listened to this. You'll never believe it. You'll never believe it. You'll never believe it. I've picked every game correctly this year for the Vikings. Every game.

I've never done this before. This is my longest streak ever. And – but this one I'm nervous because I'm like, I should be picking them to win because of what you just said. Look, you're a better team, right? Like you've got a real quarterback, not just a backup who's kind of running around doing crazy things like Taylor Heineke. And you have Justin Jefferson against a poor cornerback group that that just screams 200 yard game or whatever.

Zedarius Smith is just playing at a super high level. You've injected some energy into your team by going all in trading for a tight end and TJ Hawkinson, who can be a game changer. Everything says you should go to DC and win this game. But there's one thing that keeps holding me back. One player who keeps holding me back, Jonathan Allen. And in the past, in the past, the Akeem Hicks, the Kenny Clark and JJ Watt almost did this last week to them. I mean, Kirk was pressured repeatedly, had a strip sack late in the game. Like,

you know, this as Washington observer that there is a, there is a kryptonite to him that I think is a big concern going against this team because that defensive line is very violent and the Vikings interior offensive line is very weak still. Yeah. I think that would be where Washington is hoping that if they can pull something off, it's going to be because of that defensive line. And that group can really mask a lot of things,

and it has done really well for this win streak that Washington are on. The way the defensive line has been able to generate pressure, as I say, as a unit where they are working together and running stunts and creating opportunities for each other rather than just it being four guys and just rush and hope that one of them wins a matchup. They're actually scheming things up and maximizing their talents. And that is really impacting quarterbacks and their ability to throw.

And I think we saw with Aaron Rodgers with the Packers a few weeks ago, it was the fastest he had in terms of time to delivery. It was the fastest all season for him. So they're able to generate pressure. Their sack numbers aren't necessarily top of the league, but the amount of pressure they can get, especially from the interior with, as you say, Jonathan Allen is something else.

And he really took a step forward over the last few years. And this year he's sort of taking almost another step forward and he's adding some more moves to his game. And that is really hard to deal with for most guards and centers. So he's someone that definitely has game-wrecking potential. Folks, you've heard me talk about Liquid Death, and I'm glad to see that some of you are getting on board. I got a great tweet from a listener the other day

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That's liquiddeath.com slash insider. And as far as we know, I don't know if the vikings will make a change there's a good case to make a change at right garb they probably won't uh they have one of the lowest pff graded guards and highest allowed pressure guards in the league and ed ingram and this just seems like an absolute nightmare matchup um now i i always fear when I talk to somebody who covers the team that the Vikings are playing of being like the guy where I'll go on an opposing team radio station, they'll be like, how's the offense? How's the defense? So I don't want to be like that, but I do have to ask the run defense for Washington. How's it doing? Because this is

going to matter a lot. This is going to matter a lot because last week against, against Arizona, they were destroying the interior of the Vikings offensive line. Cousins was under pressure aside from that one crazy touchdown run. He wasn't like escaping as usual or anything like that. I'm just kind of staying in his one spot, but the counter was, they just ran all over Arizona. If the Vikings can run, they can win pretty much any game. Is that an option for them against this? Because they have a good run-blocking offensive line. It's very much legit going up against this Washington team. Yeah, the run defense has been a bit up and down.

What's kind of come to fruition over the last few weeks is the interior guys are very good and you know jonathan allen and ron payne it's very hard to run inside toward those guys and so defenses sorry offenses opposing washington that have basically taken the approach of we're not going to even try running inside we'll run to the edge we'll try things like jet sweeps we'll do the the crack toss things where they bring a receiver tight end and crack down on the end and and let the toss the ball outside and run to the edge and washington's been a bit susceptible to that and the packers did that a few times i think they had something like four or five

plays like that where they picked they averaged something like eight yards to carry on those kind of plays um so um there are some chances to attack this run defense but if you just try to run standard things between the tackles pain and alan and and a couple of their other guys on that defense flying rotation kind of eat that up and um it's hard to it's hard to run on the inside um but if you can get to the edge um there there definitely are have been some opportunities and we've seen um the the tale of this defense is typically most runs go for less than three yards. But if they hit a run to the edge, it could well be a 40 or 50-yard explosive play. And there's been, as I say, some jet sweeps, some crack tosses to the edge,

a few outside zones where they didn't quite contain the edge. But it's more been the kind of misdirection stuff where the defense gets pinned inside and the offense gets to the edge. So there are some opportunities, but I think if you're just kind of run a standard run game and try to work between tackles, it will be a tough one for them to move the ball that way. I just, it will be a tough one for them to move the ball that way. It just hit me. I just realized that we're this deep in the season, and for the first time since I started doing Purple Insider,

we're talking about how a team plays against the run as opposed to like, who are they trading next offseason? And for even Washington being competitive as well, we get a hardcore breakdown here. This is actually great. I need to not take this for granted because the last few seasons have been, who's getting fired at this point? Taylor Heineke, though.

We've got to talk more Taylor Heineke. We've talked Taylor Heineke before. What was he, an Omaha Nighthawk or something of the XFL? Not even the starter. And he has come in and won football games for them and made them competitive in a playoff game against Tom Brady at one point. And there's no evidence to really suggest Taylor Heineke is a good quarterback, but he is a could-do-enough-against-you quarterback,

a classic if this guy has a good enough team, he could probably win half the games type of guy. And he's a barrel of fun. And for whatever reason, when somebody gives 110, if they dive for the first down, if they kind of get excited and pumped up, their teammates seem to come along with them. And your teammates do not care how you won. They'll get behind any pumped up things. Their teammates seem to come along with them and your teammates do not care how you won. They'll get behind any quarterback who wins.

It seems like from watching them, there's belief in Taylor Heineke, maybe like body language wise that there was not with Carson Wentz. And it's almost like, and maybe it's a hot take to say, but it's almost like you, if you're the Vikings, you would have rather faced Carson Wentz because it just seems so miserable with him, even if he's more talented, that there's something about the way Heineke plays, his athleticism, his willingness to run, his willingness to heave a ball up down the field, that you have to be a little concerned that he's going to have one of those kind of games where it's ugly and he throws like two picks but sort of finds a way to get it done yeah and the the thing with Heineke is I think you're absolutely right the team loves

him and there is no doubt that he I don't think anyone has a problem with Carson Wentz in the locker room but the moment Taylor Heineke comes on the field, there's a different sort of feel in the atmosphere, and then the team absolutely rallies around him. And that doesn't mean that Taylor Heineke is suddenly a multiple Super Bowl winning quarterback, but it certainly means something to a team, and it might give them an extra 5% in a game. And he's going to give his all, and he's going to, as you say,

he's going to do those gr and he's going to as you say he's going to do those you know those gritty runs for the diving for the pylon to get the first down and take some hits and show some heart and that definitely goes a long way with the rest of the team um and and they absolutely love him and they've really rallied around him these last few weeks and and i have no doubt that that's played a significant part in their ability to win the last few games. I would also point out that the first three quarters of both of those two games, they could quite easily have lost those games

way before they had a chance to come back into them. The Packers game that he started two weeks ago, he probably, I had it as something like five of his first 11 throws could have been intercepted. And one of them was a pick six, but the rest could have been as well. And if the Packers hold on to like one or two or more of those interceptions, they probably put that game out of sight before Washington has a chance to come back. And that's why this is kind of one of those dangerous teams where you don't take them seriously. You don't take full advantage of the opportunities

that someone like Heineke will give you with possible turnovers, and you don't get yourself out to an early lead where you can be comfortable. Then if the defense can hold Washington in the game, then Heineke gets to the fourth quarter and turns into a different guy where it's like, okay, this is Heineke time. And I'll scramble around and I'll throw the ball to Terry McLaurin 70 yards down the field and my arm can only carry it 40 yards.

And McLaurin's going to have to come back and make some amazing play. But Terry McLaurin's good enough to do that. And so they have enough of a threat with, as I say, Terry McLaurin. Curtis Samuels had a really good year. Antonio Gibson seems to be revitalized in a little bit of a different role where he's catching more passes. So they've got enough weapons to be a threat that if the game is kept close for long enough and the fourth quarter Heineken turns up, then the Vikings might be in a bit of trouble. But

there should still also be opportunities for the Vikings to put the game to bed before it gets to that stage. Yeah. And this is where the Vikings do have a strength, which is they catch the ball when you throw it to them. Well, I mean, we're talking about like Harrison Smith, Patrick Peterson, like these guys pick off passes when mistakes are made. And that's part of the reason they're two great players, even in their older age. So if you give them opportunities, they can make plays and they, I would call them an opportunistic defense that gets sacks and gets interceptions and they have to play that way. But I also look at Terry McLaurin and think if you threw every pass to him, the Vikings will not stop you. He could get 300 yards. I mean, because the last couple of weeks, it took Arizona half the game to be like, oh yeah, DeAndre Hopkins isn't suspended anymore. He didn't even do anything for the first, maybe 20 minutes of the game. And then the rest of the

game puts up well over a hundred yards. Going back to Tyreek Hill, he had a third string quarterback, then a second string quarterback, and he went for 150 yards. Like this defense really has no capability to shut down a top notch number one receiver. And I think McLaurin, like no one is underrated in the NFL because it's the NFL, but McLaurin goes under least appreciated because of who his quarterbacks have been. And if there's more comfort there with Heineke and McLaurin after a couple of weeks, that could be something that ends up playing a role for them because I just don't think the Vikings have much of an answer for elite top receivers. Yeah, and Terry McLaurin is very much an elite top receiver in my eyes.

And yeah, I agree with you. The kind of relationship he seems to have with heineke and mclaurin held out this offseason to get his contract and so he didn't have the kind of offseason reps they normally would have with a quarterback and so him and carson wentz weren't quite on the same page and and wentz had developed more of a trust with the the rookie john dotson and um and some trust with Curtis Samuel who'd been around and healthy. So Wentz was kind of leaning more on those two. And he still had a couple of shots to McLaurin and hit on one or two.

But Honeykey's come in and definitely kind of given them an emphasis of, well, if we get a one-on-one matchup, I'm going to Terry McLaurin and he's not afraid to just give him a chance. And we saw that in, as I said, the Packers game a few weeks ago in that fourth quarter. Heineken and McLaurin took over, and then last week, I think everyone's seen that outrageous catch that he had over Stephon Gilmore on the goal line to basically win them the game.

So, yeah, McLaurin is, in my eyes, he's a top, top elite NFL wide receiver. And he's starting to play with that kind of mentality of get me the ball. I'm going to go make a play. And that is a threat to, I think, any defense that's a threat to, but especially one that, you know, they've struggled over this season to lock down top receivers. I think McLaurin's definitely a threat. Okay, as far as the Carson Wentz conversation goes,

what a wild ride, what a journey. So Russell Wilson doesn't want to go to Washington. Can't blame him for that. Anybody who says, I didn't want to go to that team, you're like, yeah, of course not. But that doesn't look so great in Denver at this moment with the way that Russell Wilson has performed. The Jimmy Garoppolo thing was out there as a possibility. He had the shoulder problem. Now he looks okay. And they instead go with Carson Wentz for a reasonable amount

of Trey, but not like anything that ruins the franchise, like the Russell Wilson deal. If that one goes sideways, but if they keep winning with Heineke, even to be a 500 team, they got to stay with them, right? Like they're not so locked into this thing. Like, Oh, we made this trade, but it wasn't, Oh, we made this trade for nine draft picks. So we have to really live or die with Carson Wentz. This to me is a thing that just didn't really work and the backup's playing okay and you probably just stay with Taylor Heineke if the dudes like him better, right? I don't think they have any obligation to go back to Carson Wentz. No, I don't think they will if they keep winning. I think realistically there's two ways about it and it's if they keep winning then you can't not keep

playing taylor heineke and if they start losing and the playoffs are out of out of reach especially the way the rest of the division is playing what the eagles are 7-0 and the cowboys and the giants are both what six and two or something like that so they're they're still behind in the division even though they're four and four or whatever it is now they're still behind in the division, even though they're 4-4 or whatever it is now. They're still behind significantly. So if they lose the next couple games, then when Wentz comes back from his injury, it's a case of do we want to go back to Wentz and be a middling team and not make the playoffs? Or do we want to maybe give the young guy Sam Howell a chance

and see what he can do? So I think it's hard to find a path back for Wentz unless they win games, but Heineke is a detriment to the team or he gets hurt himself. If he's throwing five picks and their defense is somehow managing to win them games, then maybe they make the decision to go back to Wentz. But the other factor involved in that is the Wentz trade um was a second round pick this year and then a third round pick next year and the third round pick next year can become a second if he plays 70% of the snaps so um that equates to roughly about six games and he's going to miss

guaranteed four being on IR um and so you kind of would imagine if if they kind of are thinking he's not a long-term guy you probably want him to miss an extra two and not have to raise that draft pick so I would think they would probably end up sticking with Heineke especially if they're playing the Vikings this week and then they've got the Eagles next week if they win one of those games and heineke is even remotely decent i think they then go right he's our guy and and they'll roll with him folks i know you've heard me talk about soda stick for a long time now but i'm telling you you have to start following them on social media for new fresh gear they are releasing all the time of course they have the classics like the moss moon design and the metrodome shirts and hoodies but as the local teams go along in their

seasons soda stick is constantly putting out new stuff whether it's the new horn state gear or the vikadantis rex shirts lots and lots more from all the minnesota, go to sodastick.com and follow them at sodastick on Twitter. That is S O T A S T I C K.com on Twitter and use the code purple insider to get 15% off your purchase. So I think they have a lot of talent on the team overall, like not a good team, but a lot of talented players to work with going forward. And you've got this kind of awkward quarterback situation with, with Wentz, but you can move on from it, which was always a big bonus. Like he'll get you competitive, but you know, you're not locked in long-term, but when you look at the league at large, Mark, there's a lot of people who are drafting quarterbacks next year. I mean a lot. So what are drafting quarterbacks next year i mean a lot

so what's the what's the plan i mean like let's say they're a 500 team and they missed the playoffs they go eight and nine and boy adding that extra game really screwed that up didn't it like nine and eight we're right there eight nine oh dang we're terrible um but uh but you know that kind of team which is kind of where they're at you can't really draft a quarterback though unless you're giving up a ton of draft capital because i mean i don't have to go through all the teams but uh there's more than five teams or six teams in the first 15 that are going to draft quarterbacks so i guess i just wonder what you think that they will do like are they going to go back to the well of trying to find another team's quarterback? What are they going to do with that situation long term?

Because clearly you're not going to win a Super Bowl with Taylor Heineke, but all these guys give you flexibility. You're not locked into Howell as a high pick. You're not locked into Wentz. So what should be their approach? Yeah, it's a tough one to know. And especially if there is a change in ownership, then a change in ownership might tend to a change in GM and head coach. And then you're in an entirely new organization and regime and who knows what's going to happen. I think the

thing that they did when they traded for Wentz, they didn't adjust his contract deliberately because the contract, basically they can get out of it without any dead cap next summer or next offseason. And if they were really fully committed on Wentz, they could have adjusted that contract, gave themselves a little bit more cap room to spend on maybe the offensive line or find another cornerback in free agency this year and they didn't do that so clearly they had a few reservations about what wentz is um so yeah if they

if they end up in that scenario where they're kind of a 500 team and they miss the playoffs then and that is a an incredibly likely scenario um i think wentz ends up being cut um and unless there's some kind of free agent quarterback that has i don't know played with scott turner or played under rivera before that they they like um i think they'd probably end up trying to draft someone um maybe a big trade up uh and try to go make a play for whoever one of the top five quarterbacks is and try to go that way. Or maybe they give it to Heineke and let him be the guy until Sam Howell develops behind him and they judge Sam Howell to be ready.

And that might be kind of a kick the can down the road till the year after where they might have a higher draft pick and a new organization and be able to find that quarterback then um but yeah certainly it kind of it did kind of kick the can down the road to this year to if they end up missing out in the playoffs then what good did that went trade do and um yeah i think they would end up moving on from him yeah i think that they're like in a good and bad position, like probably a little too good to get that great draft pick, but also good in that they have flexibility. And when you're not locked in and, you know, Sam Howell,

I'm sure that people who watch preseason football are like, oh yeah, Sam, like, come on now. And this is, this is my, I was Sam Howell defender guy coming out in the draft. I was like, oh, maybe, but you dropped to the fifth round like yeah okay check in with me like five years from now when you're talking about a guy in the fifth round um so okay let's end on this because i think i know i don't have to ask like who you're picking for this game like you think the vikings will win yes yeah trying to decide whether to go out on the limb and say washington just because you might do it i might do it just for Jonathan Allen alone.

It's been a good model for me for picking games. Does the other team have some freak show defensive tackle? I might do it. We'll see. But here's what I want to ask you. Of all the touchdown scorers through the air receiving touchdowns of Washington's football team, Washington bad name, Washington commanders. Five of the top 15 in team history have come since 2000,

started playing since 2000. Can you name the players that are in the top 15 in Washington football history of catching touchdown passes since 2000? I would guess Santana Moss would probably be up there. That is correct. He is seventh in squadron history, just behind Bobby Mitchell and Gary Clark. So good career for Santana Moss.

Yeah, Moss was a good player. I want to say Pierre Garçon because he was there for a while. I don't know if he caught that many touchdowns, though. He did? He did. Yes, he did. But, I mean, you get into the top five with 21 touchdowns. Or top 15, sorry, top 15.

He is 14th in team history. Good player. D3, Pierre Garçon. Yeah, very good player. Would tight end Chris Cooley be? Are we talking wide receivers only? Chris Cooley's there. Yeah, I was counting tight ends.

Sorry, I said wide. Well, no, I said receiving touchdowns. So, yes, Chris Cooley's there. Yeah, I was counting tight ends. Sorry, I said wide. Well, no, I said receiving touchdowns. So, yes, Chris Cooley is there. He is ninth in history from 2004 to 2012. And isn't Chris Cooley's claim to fame that he was dating a cheerleader on the team and they fired her? As if he was the one that did something wrong with cheerleaders. Yeah.

No, he's kind of got an interesting history and uh he actually they had the at the packers game they had the alumni there and he declined the invitation to go and be part of the alumni day um which is an interesting one but uh yeah he uh he has some history there um but he was a good player uh caught a lot of touchdowns tight ends typically do. There's two more. One you will absolutely get, and the other one if you get. Man, I'll Venmo you $10 if you get the other one. Since 2000.

Since 2000. The one that comes to my mind right now is Jordan Reed, another tight end. Yep. I'd imagine he's in there. Yep, that's correct. And then another receipt. Would it be another tight end or would it be a receiver give me it is another wide receiver yep okay um he's all for you you you have gotten so far santana moss chris cooley jordan reed pierre garcon you've done excellently for yourself. And there's one more receiver that absolutely no one remembers.

No one. The name that came to mind was Antoine Randall, but I don't think he'd be on there. He is not. It's a good guess. He's honestly nowhere close, but it's a good guess. I am struck. I'm going to have to look at this guy's page to even give you a hint for this.

The hint takes away the $10 Venmo, though. Sorry. That's fine. Early 2000 first-round pick. Early 2000 first-round pick. This was, I mean, the flash-in-the-pan-iest flash-in-the-pan receiver. Had a great start to his career and then never did anything again?

My mind's drawn a blank. I can't remember this one. Maybe if you were like a Madden 03 player or something, you would remember Rod Gardner. Rod Gardner? Oh, okay. Yeah, I wouldn't have got that one. How about Rod Gardner had 71 catches for 1,000 yards

and eight touchdowns in 2002, and then by 2005, dude is done. I mean, just done, like almost never played again. He played for Carolina, Green Bay, Kansas City, and caught a total of 13 passes and was out of the league by 06. There's got to be a 30 for 30 about what happened to Rod Gardner. Must have been everybody thrilled they listened. Terry McLaurin's not far away, by the way. He's 21st. No, he'll be catching up. I imagine he soars up that list in the next few years.

Tell all your friends, Mark. I tell you what, Jahan Dotson is going to be up that list. He had four touchdowns in the first few games before he got hurt. It gets you a fifth of the way there. So anyway, well, congratulations at least on the news for Daniel Snyder potentially moving on from this team. And Bank of America, this is a total internet joke, but like, just go with BOA, not BOFA because that's something else anyway. So, um,

you have to be online way too much to get the joke. And I apologize for everybody who is not, but, uh, um, at Mark Bullock, which is with a U B U L L O C K like the old, um, Keith Bullock, you're slightly different in stature. Uh, but, uh is with a U, B-U-L-L-O-C-K, like the old Keith Bullock. You're slightly different in stature. But, no, honestly, like everything you write that pops up in my email, I read. So check out your sub stack and your Twitter. You do terrific X's and O's analysis of this Washington football team. And just the commitment to the bit to keep doing it.

I mean, you've got got a big heart Mark. I want to say that as well. Cause that's just a struggle. Yeah. Yeah. It can be at times, you know, when it's,

you know, fourth quarter and, and what would be for me in the UK, a 1am start and it's, you know, sort of four in the morning and they're, they're down what 30 to two or something like that. And you're kind of thinking,

why the hell are you staying up this late for this? But, yeah, hopefully there's some light at the end of the tunnel with this Snyder news. Love of the game, Mark. Love of the game. So, again, follow him on Twitter, Mark Bullock NFL, one of my favorite follows. And I'm really glad that we could get together and do this.

I just sent you a message that was like, you know what time it is. It's time for us to talk about this game. So I am very interested to see how this plays out. And maybe this will be my first miss of the year in picking Washington to upset the Vikings. We'll see. But thanks for all your time and thanks for all your great work and great insight on this. We'll be gone franchise. Great stuff.

Thank you very much for having me.