The Kevin Sheehan Show - 53- Watch + Harris On Name

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Kevin solo today with plenty on last night's preseason finale against the Patriots and the looming cut-down to the 53-man roster. Commanders' Owner/Managing Partner Josh Harris spoke prior to last night's game and weighed in on the "name" issue and a lot more including the plan to dismantle the current Sean Taylor Memorial mannequin and replace with something first-class. Lots from Harris on the stadium as well as some Dan Quinn on Jamin Davis. Want to win a $500 gift card? Fill out this survey! bluewirepods.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. What's your process now to figure out, you know, here is the final 53? Yeah, it's honestly one that's been ongoing, you know, for a long time. And Adam and I spent a lot of time together going through the roster,

digging in and finding it. And in fact, he was, you know, watching a whole bunch today, you know, a film. And that's this time of year what goes on for the initial 53. what does that look like, who's there? It's a puzzle to put together, but we'll spend a bunch more time here over the next couple days and just make sure we can find the right fit for the team.

Dan Quinn last night following the preseason game against New England, the final preseason game of the summer of 2024. Thankfully, a win 20 to 10, if you care. They finish the preseason 1 and 2, and those cuts down to 53. have to be completed by tomorrow at 4 p.m. Dan Quinn wasn't the only one to talk last night. Josh Harris, the owner, the managing partner of your Washington football franchise,

spoke before the game 23 minutes of Josh last night before the game, and he gave an answer to a question about the team name. I will talk about everything that Josh Harris said last night in the next. segment. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, is Wind Donation. Give them a call. 86690 Nation or head to windonation.com. Mention my name for a free, no obligation in-home estimate and a chance to get an extra $250 credit on your purchase. More on their offer coming up. This from Andrew to start the show, Andrew sent me an email. Kevin, I was wondering when you think we all first started to understand how meaningless exhibition football is.

And also, when did it become popular to spend so much time talking about back-roster cuts? Good question, or questions, Andrew. So I think it's been a while for most NFL fans, realizing the preseason is pretty much meaningless to us. You know, it's not meaningless to the players, to the coaches, to the general manager, but meaningless in terms of what we're watching. It's been a long time for me, man. I mean, I can remember when I was a kid and they played six preseason games. I can remember being excited to watch football on TV for a long time, but in terms of being jacked for one of those

games, I don't think even as a kid I remember being that excited. I'm sure as a super young kid, I probably sat down and watched the George Allen Redskins in the preseason and got excited and wanted them to win the game. But for much of my life, these games have been meaningless. I can certainly remember referencing over and over again, like many fans did, that in 1982, you know, their first Super Bowl championship season, they were winless in the preseason. 0 and 4 in the preseason and won the Super Bowl. And then in 1991, their best team ever, they went 1 and 3 and did not look good in the preseason and then demolished everybody on their way to a 14 and 2 mark and their third Lombardi trophies. So it's been a long time that NFL preseason games have been recognized for what they really are. I think people for

every bit of the last decade and a half, or last two decades, have really understood what these things have meant, if not longer than that. Again, 82, 91, plenty of times, you know, have we referenced as fans those seasons in which they won Super Bowls and did not look good in the preseason. Jay Gruden told me on this podcast two weeks ago that he thinks Sean McVeigh started a lot of this, that Sean was the first to just sit starters throughout the preseason. There is some truth in that. There have been stories written about Sean McVey as the trendsetter of not playing starters in the preseason.

And I went back and I looked at 2016. Okay, so that was the last season here with Sean McVay. He was the offensive coordinator. Kirk Cousins and a lot of the Washington starters played in the preseason. opener against Atlanta and then the next two weeks as well. Two years later, okay, Sean goes to L.A. in 2017. Two years later, Jay Gruden's still coaching the team here. Alex Smith and a lot of the offensive starters don't play at all in the preseason opener. They played the Patriots that year. And two years previous to that, before Sean started

sitting players in the preseason in L.A., Washington was playing at starters in that opening preseason games. So starters playing in the preseason is definitely diminished league-wide. Most of the credit or blame, depending on how you want to put it, lies at the feet of Sean McVeigh. So I would personally say that I think understanding the preseason doesn't mean much and doesn't really translate that much to the regular season, has been around for a while, but that it's really accelerated in the last seven or eight years when basically a lot of teams just stopped playing starters, period,

in any of the games. Then we're down to three of them as well. You know, as recently as 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, there were teams that would send their starters out there in the first preseason game, and even in the last preseason game. As far as the question asked by Andrew about when did it become popular to spend so much time talking about back roster cuts?

Oh, I think, you know, the cut down to 53 has been a conversation among hardcore fans forever. You know, I remember, I don't know, 10 years ago, maybe it was like for two or three years in a row, I did the 53 man projection. I don't really have the passion for it anymore. It was more, I think, about the competitive part of how many you could get right before the final countdown, before the final cut, excuse me. But, you know, I don't know, maybe there just wasn't enough of a rush in it for me, I guess.

And to be fair, you know, most of you listening are not following the background. end of the roster, you know, the cut down to 53, the training camp battles, the preseason performances. It's become competitive for many on the beat. You know, Ben and John, and, you know, they want to get the most right. Ben's a mock draft champion multiple times. I think he'd probably put that ahead of the 53-man projection results. But mock drafts are much more interesting. much harder too. But I don't know, the back end of the roster is, you know, an end of the roster that usually turns over significantly year to year. I mean, that's part of it, right, is that if you're paying attention to this, you realize that, yeah, every once in a while, you'll get a player that will stick or a player who got cut that ends up having a great career.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. but more times than not, the emphasis and the attention paid to the cut to 53 over, you know, this period of time of the summer is the same the next year and the same the year after, but when you look back, it's not like the players that just made it or just missed it turned out to be significant contributors, you know? Depth is important. We all understand that. This is a league of attrition. You know, so you pay attention to a roster and who you have backing up. But, you know, I went and looked at a couple of years. In 2021, all right, the last few spots on the roster, Ricky Seals Jones, Daryl Roberts, Jared Patterson, they all made it. Jimmy Morland and Antonio Gandy Golden were cut. Those were the big, you know, are these guys going to make it? Are they going to, you know, these were the bubble guys.

All but Patterson are gone from the league three years later. Patterson hanging on in L.A. with the Chargers currently. By the way, when I was looking some of this stuff up, I did not know that Ricky Seals Jones was Eric Dickerson's cousin. Did not know that. Last few spots in 2022, Dax Milne, Curtis Hodges, Milo Eifler, and Jonathan Williams, the running back, were among the last players kept. Cut, corn elder, Jared Patterson,

who was a make-the-year before, and yeah, Kalee Kudson, who they would bring back. Some of these players are still in the league, but barely hanging on. And that's just two years later. Last year, Mitch Tinsley made it as one of the last in. Curtis Hodges made it as one of the last ones in, and they cut a guy like Mason Brooks. I mean, we're not talking about significant names year and year out. Now, again, there are some examples of significant keeps or cuts, keeping Jeremy Reeves finally,

but that was after getting cut over and over again, getting signed to practice squads over and over again, But finally, they kept him in 2022 on the final 53, and that worked, you know, became a Pro Bowl special teamer. But for the most part, we're not in major needle-moving territory. You know, this is not a big, you know, important and very influential part of the NFL calendar. And I know you can say, yeah, but 53, you need them all, you need depth. Yeah, they got to get it right. I'm not saying that it's not important for them to get these things. things right. I'm just saying that, you know, the guys that you kept this year probably won't be

on the team next year and more likely than not will have, at best, journeyman careers. But that's the nature of the back end of any roster in any sport. The players that didn't play last night, but will against Tampa Bay in the opener, they matter a lot more, clearly. But yeah, some of are into this and you're probably paying close attention to Ben and John and Nikki. Ben has his final 53 man up right now at the athletic. I like reading all of Ben's stuff when he gets into the weeds on some of this stuff. I think he does a really good job. Anyway, on the big cut down to 53, I do want for information purposes to just share with you some of the things

because I think they're very, very important for this team. You know, first of all, let me just say by the time you listen to this, some of the cuts may have happened. So anyway, but number one, this cutdown, more than most cutdowns in recent years for this team, has a much higher chance of being very temporary. Washington, and I've mentioned this for a few months now, they've got the number two spot in order of claiming players off waivers. Hundreds of players will hit the waiver.

wire starting today. And Washington will have second dibs after Carolina on each one. You know, the benefits of being horrible last year, high draft choices, high waiver wire positioning. Number two, veteran players on week one rosters have their salaries guaranteed. That's not a new thing. We've talked about that in recent years. But sometimes the roster in week one looks less veteran because teams do.

didn't want to guarantee a full year of salary. Week two, things change as well. Ron Rivera has talked about, Ron Rivera, Dan Quinn has talked about a fluid roster situation and the reasons why include being second in line in terms of claim position on waiver wire eligibles. And then the veteran week one roster salary guarantee. This is going to be, you know, a fluid situation. They've already changed, you know, a significant part of the roster, but more changes to come. So when you see the final 53 tomorrow, it could literally be changed in a major way by two or three players, four players, by the middle of the week. And then again, after the Tampa game on September 8th. The cut down to 53 this year with this team is not really that crucial right now.

With that said, while I have no desire to do a 53-man roster, I do have three predictions. And again, some of these may be moot by the time you listen to this podcast. I've got three just kind of roster hunches, and that's it. Number one is I think Castro Fields, number 26, is going to make the team. And I'm not sure. I don't think a lot of people have him making the team. I'm looking to see Ben's corner list right now. He does not have Castro Fields making the team.

But Tariq Castro Fields, I think, has played in these preseason games. I'm going to assume that he's played that way in practice and the joint practices as well. He has played with that competitive urgency that has been a theme to everything that Dan Quinn and Adam Peters have discussed since taking the job in terms of the player traits they're going to be looking for. So that's hunch number one. Castro Fields makes the team. hunch number two, they don't keep Kaz Allen. Ben kind of suggested this on radio today.

He actually had Kaz Allen making his final 53 but said, I think this is the first one that I'm going to be wrong about. I think Crowder sticks as a punt returner, even though he's a veteran. and the old guarantee is your long salary. It's not that significant. And then I think Pringle, who I think is going to make the team regardless as one of the two back on kickoff returns, Kaz Allen has had so many opportunities to break a big play,

to make a big play. And he hasn't done it. They clearly like him. They clearly think this guy could be something, but he hasn't shown it to him with the so-called lights being, at least turned on. I wouldn't call them bright in the preseason. I mean, again, last night, really nada to show for the night. And then lastly, don't rule out another trade between now and tomorrow at 4 p.m. You know, we suggested two weeks ago they might trade for a kicker. And some of you

are like, they're not going to trade a draft choice for a kicker. I'm like, I'm not talking about a real draft choice. I'm talking about some sort of conditional late rounder. And they did that with Cade York. I don't think it becomes a true trading of the seventh rounder unless he makes the roster. They traded Dotson for a net third. Ben Standing, Ben reported in the athletic that Washington had, quote,

informed other teams about possible redundancies at defensive tackle, safety, and tight end. So, you know, somebody like a Derek Forrest could bring back a late round pick if they don't think he's going to make the team. I doubt Phil Mathis brings a lot back, but I think he's played pretty well. He's got some decent tape this summer. So don't sleep on another trade as a possibility between now and tomorrow at 4 p.m.

All right. I do have a very quick game take from last night's preseason finale, so let's get to it. Pay attention. Here's Kevin's Game Take. 17 consecutive points. Three drives, three scores, Washington rallies from a 10-3 deficit to beat New England in the preseason finale, 20 to 10, to avoid what would have been a winless preseason for Dan Quinn in his first preseason. Good job by Trace McSorley for sure in the fourth quarter. he will lead the list of things that I liked from last night.

A few things that I didn't like as well. And I'm going to start with my one observation, and that is this. Mike Tariko is the best. Right now, in terms of play-by-play NFL, Mike Tarrico is the best. He's better than Joe Buck. He's better than Al Michaels. And I think he's better than Jim Nance. I think Tariko is the most prepared.

He's the guy that really knows. the game, and I'm not talking about the true intricacies of position, play, or scheme. I'm really talking more about, you know, the rules, the score, the time, the strategies associated with both, not that you really need it in a preseason game, but, you know, if you want to watch a pro's pro, preseason games are the hardest to prepare for because the rosters are so large. He is hyper-prepared, so many stories, so prepared to go off the game for a little while to talk about a storyline with either team. Just a pleasure to watch Mike Tariko every single time he calls a game, and they were on the national NBC call last night on the final preseason game

of the summer. Their first game will be. Thursday night football on NBC to kick off the season, Ravens and Chiefs. And then their first Sunday night game is a good one as well, the Rams and the Lions. Two pretty good games for those two NBC national spotlights. Ravens Chiefs and then Rams Lions on Sunday night. The Monday night game, Jets 49ers for Torrico's old network. ESPN. So Washington finishes one and two. If you're wondering, there were five undefeated preseason teams, and only one of those undefeateds went four-and-o. The Chicago Bears who won the

Hall of Fame game, they won all four of their preseason games, with Caleb Williams playing in what, two of them, I think two of them. And then in the AFC, the Jets went undefeated at 3-0. Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Denver also were 3-0. The winless teams included the Kansas City Chiefs. Do you think that'll translate to the regular season? Also, winless were Arizona and the Steelers and Browns. The Raiders tied a game. They tied a game against the 49ers the other night on a crazy last play, too, which almost broke the tie. One of those toss it around plays at the end of a preseason game. It was actually at least, I think, seven laterals that were legal before there was an illegal one, and they got tackled at the one-yard

line anyway. Speaking of preseason football, did you see the Trey Lance performance for the Cowboys the other night against the Chargers? So they lost the Chargers in their preseason finale, 26 to 19. Trey Lance, who is the third string quarterback, behind Cooper Rush in Dak Prescott. He played the entire game. He threw the ball 49 times in a preseason game. By the way, if you're trying to learn something about a player, do that. 33 of 49 for 323 yards passing.

11 carries for 90 yards rushing. He accounted for 413 yards of offense. He had a rushing TD. He had a passing TD. He also had five interceptions, fumbled twice, didn't lose either one of them, but still put it on the ground twice, and was sacked three times. That is a full day's work in a preseason game. 33 of 49 for 323 yards, a touchdown, five picks throwing the ball, 11 rushes for 90 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Wow.

Dallas lost that game, 26 to 19. All right, from the game last night. A couple of things that I liked, a couple of things that I did not like. Trace McSorley looked good. Jeff Driscoll looked good. I mean, the quarterback play, I say this every time we do this during the preseason, they're not playing anybody of note, they're not playing starters. You know, I don't know what New England had out there,

but if they had a starter or two out there, they didn't have them out there for very, long. McSorley is just a tough, badass, competitive kid, and he's been that way in every spot that he's been. And he's not going to make this team, but he did a really nice job. In addition to throwing for 125 yards and to touchdown, he rushed four times for 40 yards in the game as well, and led three-fourth quarter scoring drives. Good for him. So I was going to mention real quickly, and I'll come back to Washington's players. I actually thought the most impressive player that will play in the regular season out there last night was Antonio Gibson. He plays for New England. Three carries, 17 yards, thought he really looked good in that role. I just like

Antonio Gibson. I'm going to root for Antonio Gibson. Yes, Kirk Cousins is not a player that is by himself in terms of players that used to play here that I root for. There are a lot of players that leave here that were players that I liked that I continue to hope and root for. Hope for good things and root for. And Antonio Gibson is one of those guys. I thought he looked good last night. He's going to play a lot and be a factor for New England this year. I thought Drake May, you know, made some plays last night.

Jacoby Brousset started the game, got banged up a little bit. Apparently it's not serious. It'll be interesting to see what New England does in the opener against Cincinnati, where they are a nine-point underdog on the road. I wonder who it will be. I don't know. I think they'll start Brissette. I do. But Drake May, if this year is a lost cause year, like they're one of those teams that truly goes into this season, probably understanding that they're not going to compete for anything. Why not start the clock on Drake May, get him some experience, or, you know, wait a few games. I don't know what they're going to do.

Back to Washington. So I thought Driscoll looked good. McSorily played well. Let me just say this about those of you that think Marcus Mario da is going somewhere unless he's put on injured reserve, and I don't have any reason to believe that'll happen. Jeff Driscoll has been a guy that's had opportunities in the regular season. He has started 11 games. He's one for 10. His best QBR season was 49.9. He's playing against guys that are not going to be in the league primarily. Is he athletic? Is he fearless? Does he put the ball down the field? Take chances? Yeah. All that looks good in the preseason. He's not done it in the regular season.

Do I think he's going to make the team? I think there's a good chance he will, and that Sam Hartman may be on some sort of injured list or probably brought back to the practice squad, 17 deep on the practice squad. Now, that's a big part of what they do with the roster as well. I thought Michael Wiley looked good again to me. That's the third straight game. I don't know if he's going to make this team or not. I think a lot of it has to do with the Kaz Allen situation and whether or not they keep him for kickoff and punt returns, which I think they would do so with him being the third running back. I like Wiley. I like him more than Jeremy McNichols, and it seems like McNichols has a decent chance to make the team. I like him as much as Chris Rodriguez. I just

have this feeling Rodriguez isn't going to make the team, although I think he's got talent. But I've liked Wiley all along. He runs with really good feel. and vision and burst. He stood out to me again last night. Martavis Bryant, good for him. I mean, three big catches also drew a PI, had the touchdown that iced the game at the end. I hope this gives him an opportunity.

I doubt he's on this final roster. I mean, he's got size, man. He is a big target. Yeah, I mean, he clearly started. it out with his performance in the fourth quarter. The kicker didn't miss either kick. 34 and 33 yards, Cade York. You know, he had to make those.

I know that they were trying to get more field goal attempts in the first half, one of the reasons they went for a fourth down or two. The guy that I think has shown me a lot in these preseason games, and if he has been on the bubble and he was on the bubble, I think he's going to be on the right side of the bubble come tomorrow at 4 p.m. and that's Tariq Castro Fields. I think he plays with great energy motor. As a cover guy, he looks to be always right there in coverage.

Again, who is he playing against? Understood. He played last year for this team. And I remember pointing out in a couple of games, and he only played in a couple of games last year, that he played and looked the part. 26 to Tariq Castro Fields, a Penn State draft choice by the 49ers, by Adam Peters. Don't forget that.

Back in 2022, John Lynch and Adam Peters took Tariq Castro Fields in the sixth round in San Francisco. I thought he stood out. K.J. Henry, you know, stood out to me last year, quick burst, quick twitch. Look, the sack he had last night was unblocked. But 55 has stood out to me. I thought Phil Mathis put some stuff on tape in this preseason, including last night. And then, yeah, the punter tress away was outstanding.

How many times have we said that? By the way, their kicking battle, Chad Ryl and Joey Sly. Sly missed on attempts from 60 and 64. Chad Rylin made his one kick from 38. One of those two kickers is going to be available tomorrow. On the list of things that I didn't love, just the opportunity that Kaz Allen was given again last night, and he didn't really take advantage of it. I don't want to put it all on him.

They clearly like him, and it's very possible that the players that are out there with them on offense and on special teams in the return game aren't even close to the cast of characters that would be out there with him against Tampa. But, you know, really all he needed at some point was just a near big play, you know, a 42-yard kickoff return where he, you know, was just tripped up at the last second, or even a run out of the backfield, which, you know, went for 17 yards and he just barely, you know, stepped out of bounds on the sideline as he started to turn the corner, something like that. You know, something that said, this is what. we believe he can do. This is what we've seen in practice. This is what we've seen in joint

practices, but he didn't produce that moment. But if they really believe in him, and the last staff had some belief in Kaz Allen, and they think that, you know, they can do something with this new kickoff return rule, and he could be a factor, he could be a Brandon Banks type, you keep him. And you give him that opportunity in the regular season with, you know, a front line special teams unit blocking for them. And by the way, game planned for the opponent. That's it for the game take. Let's get to some of the stuff Josh Harris said right after these words from a few of our sponsors.

Hey guys, the slightest of edges make a huge difference in the games that we love to watch. In shaving, Harry's gives you the sharpest edge with their razors. Harry's edge comes courtesy of a combination of two things. The incredible shave their razors provide and the fact that they do it for a price way lower than the big brands. In an industry of overpriced and underperforming products, Harry's is your MVP. I've been a Harry's customer for a few years now, going back to when Harry's first started to be a part of the podcast. They sent me product prior to asking me to endorse it, and I've been a customer ever since. since. I've been using their Truman razor for the last year or so. It's got a two-tone handle with an

ergonomic no-slip grip designed for optimal control. It includes a German-engineered blade. It provides a super close smooth shave, and it looks great. They've got bold and sophisticated color pairing options, which bring personality to your bathroom, orange, blue, and green handle options. They deliver in a sleek, good-looking package that comes with a blue travel cover to protect your blades when you're on the move. They've got customizable delivery options for scheduled refills for as low as $2, half of what you pay for other big brands. You get a five-blade razor, weighted handle, foaming shave gel, and a travel cover for just three bucks at harries.com slash sheen. Harry's offers other self-care products that meet the same quality standards as their razors. They've got extra strength, high-quality, amazing-smelling deodorant for just $5.

Plus hair and other grooming products that fit your unique look and needs. Using Harry's is a total no-brainer. Highest customer satisfaction in the shaving industry. No risk trial. Don't like your shave. No worries. It's on them. Convenient subscription.

option that you can cancel at any time. Get the edge on your shave with Harry's. Get started with a $13 trial set for just $3 at harries.com slash Sheehan. That's harries.com slash S-H-E-E-H-A-N for a $3 trial set. This segment of the show brought you by Window Nation. Wind Donation's got a sale going on right now until the end of the month. That would be five days from now. on August 31st. It's your chance to get two free windows with every two you purchase with no money down, no payments, and no interest charged for two full years. No matter how many windows you need, you're going to pay for half of those windows and half of them you're going to get for free. And if you schedule this appointment and get this done by the end of the month, you'll get an extra $250 credit

on your purchase. Wind Donations, one of the top window retailers in America. They've got a 96% satisfaction rating. They've got over 33,000 five-star reviews on Google. I promise you it'll work out for you if you move forward with Wind Donation. But all I'm asking is that if you've been thinking about new windows, give them a call. 86690 Nation. Go towindonation.com. Mention my name. And just allow them to come out and give you a free in-home estimate. No obligations, no pressure. You'll find out which windows actually need to be replaced versus those that don't. But Wind Donation's been the best for me, for relatives, for friends, for listeners of this podcast. It just always seems to work out. Give them a call at 86690 Nation or head towindonation.com. All right.

So last night before the game started, Josh Harris held a press conference, sort of a state of the union. This would be, I would imagine, the only time Josh Harris is going to speak, unless there's some big development, I would think, with the stadium sometime during the season. He talked a lot about that. I remember when the search for the new owner or the sale process was going on, and I came up with my top 10 things that I wanted in an owner. And one of the things was, I want my owner to speak once before the season starts and then I never want to hear from him again unless he's on the stage at the Super Bowl accepting the Lombardi Trophy. truth is that Dan Snyder became incredibly reclusive. I mean, he didn't talk at all over those last six, seven years. But Josh Harris had several things to say last night.

It was asked about a lot of things. But by far and away, a lot of the follow-up to his questions and answers focused on a question that was asked late. in the press conference. Grant Paulson from 1067 the fan, Grant's a good friend, asked the owner about the team name. Here's the question. Here's the answer. And you've made it pretty clear throughout that the name's not a priority right now. Is there any research that you have being done to see if the name is resonating with fans more than it was initially, or is that something that matters to you at all if it is growing in popularity? It does matter. I just think that, and certainly, like we've been very clear,

we can't, for obvious reasons, the old name can't come back. But right now, we're focused on things that unify the team around our football team, right? And unify the city around our football team. And so, you know, the first objective is we got to start winning football games. And we need everyone supporting the team and not things that might, you know, drive people apart. Secondly, obviously, you know, we're trying to find a new home. And again, unifying the city around that is important. And so, and, you know, the name is one of those things like a lot of opinions.

But, I mean, I can't say, I've certainly not forgotten. I mean, like I said, I grew up here. Okay, so I understand it. And, you know, we brought back, we're going to start to do things that bring us back to our heritage, honoring our past. the gold, you saw the gold pants. Those are easy things to do. So we are doing research and we're thinking about it. But like right now, we're prioritizing the things that we've talked about.

And that's kind of the rationale for it. So I think Josh did shed some light, you know, not new light necessarily on the subject. But there weren't specifics. And as I've been saying for six months now, you're not going to get. specifics on this subject. I mean, other than the old names not coming back, which he said again last night. Now, personally, I don't think I would have said for obvious reasons without articulating some of those reasons. But that aside, it's not coming back and you're not going to get specifics on where they are on the potential change of what they have now, the commanders in the associated branding,

until that path to a new stadium has been cleared of anybody that can influence or affect that path to a new stadium in any of the three jurisdictions. I don't think Virginia is really a possibility, but you have three, I guess, potential jurisdictions. Until the politicians have been cleared off of the road, we're not getting anything specific. I think they're smart right now not to do anything or give anything out specifically. Anybody that has the information or the authority to speak on this subject is not giving out specifics. I had Mark Eind on the show a couple of months ago, right? Nothing really specific.

Now, what you got from him is you got, we are doing research, we're thinking about it, it does matter. I understand those that would say hearing for a year now, we are focused on other things. It's gotten a bit stale. I would agree with you. But again, it's because of they're not going to get specific until he did tell you they're doing research. We're thinking about it. It does matter. And that's because, of course, they're doing research.

Of course they're thinking about it. And of course, it matters in a massive way. Trust me. The people that have pushed back on they're not doing anything about this. They're not thinking about it. They're not doing anything about it. They are focused on and then the priority list, which is always just, I want to, you know, I want to tear my hair out when I hear the priority list.

Like we can't walk and chew gum at the same time. I'm not even talking about them. I'm talking about us. You know, the people that this is important to, the majority of the fan base, which we've seen through many different polling and surveys in Twitter polls over the last couple of years. A significant percentage of the fan base, past, present, and pending care about this issue, which is, of course, why it matters to them.

And they're doing research and they're thinking about it. It's just so ridiculously embarrassing to those people who try to tell you that this doesn't matter to anybody and they're not thinking about it. I mean, look, I don't want to, these are people typically who are not fans of the team never have been. They don't feel what we feel or they're not from here or if they are from here, they're not, they don't root for the team or they're not paying attention or maybe they just want to be contrarian. I don't know. But, yeah, I mean, you know, he says we're focused on the things that unify the team around our football team and unify the city around. our football team. Look, nothing would unify the city around this football team more than going

back to the old name. But that's not possible. And what they are finding, as I have told you previously, and I have talked to people in the know about where they are on this, they tell you, it's not easy. There's no easy answer. I get that. I do. You know, I can want this change. as much as I do and also understand that the answer, the solution isn't easy. Now, I'll come back to what I've said over and over again. I think doing nothing is worse than doing something. So I think they will ultimately come to that conclusion, that they've got to do something. And as I've said in recent months, I think going back to a uniform and branding that makes us feel like we're watching the team that we used to root.

for, I think that's a given. I think that'll happen eventually. I also think there will be a change in the name. I don't think commanders will stay. And again, I, you know, I'd put that at a minus 140 kind of a favorite, you know, I think that that's the favorite here right now. We're going to have to wait. We're going to have to wait for the stadium thing. But, yeah, I don't know what else to say. I'm glad the question was asked. Every single time there's an opportunity with anybody in that group. It should be asked to see if there's anything new that they can shed light on. Now, I do envision at some point in the future after the big stadium press conference to announce, hopefully,

hey, we're moving back to RFK, that there will be something else to say we've spent a lot of time, thinking about this and we appreciate how patient you have been and this is what we've decided to do. I don't know what the right answer is though. I can't provide the the silver bullet solution because I don't think there is one. You guys know my view. I'd go back to the old uniforms. I'd bring back the old logo and I'd go to Washington football team or Washington FCFC Washington that drives some of you drives some of you nuts because it's so soccer tinged. and then let everybody have their own nickname, you know, the burgundy and gold, the hogs, the skins. That's what I would do.

I don't know where they are on a lien on where they go. I just know this, that, you know, as he said, he said, it's one of those things where there's a lot of opinions. And that he said, but I've certainly not forgotten. Like I said, I grew up here. I understand it. So we'll see. We're just going to have to be patient on this. In the meantime, yes, we can also want them to be really good at football and win at football.

And understand that that should be top priority. That should be top priority. And for them, because they paid $6 billion for the team and a new stadium is desperately needed, they got to focus on getting that done. I understand that too. None of this is, you know, excluding something else by focusing on the other. All right. There were other things that he said.

I wanted you to hear this answer before we get to the stadium stuff. He was asked about his expectations for the team this year and what a successful season would look like. Paraphrasing the question, but you'll hear the question and the answer. And there's a part of this answer that I think it's the first time we've heard this from him. Here it is. With a new coach, new GM, new quarterback this season, going into 2024, what are your expectations and what does a successful season look like? Yeah, so I'm focused on our long-term goals, which is I want to be elite and playing deep

into the playoffs or competing for Super Bowl's season and season out. and, you know, I'm focused on building, and I think this will be a better season than last year across the board. I think we're going to be, you know, obviously the identity that Dan and Adam have been talking about, you know, of, you know, the team is front and center in terms of us being competitive, of being, you know, punishing, of competing at the end. And obviously, you know, obviously, the record was dismal last year, and we better do better. better than that. But like really, I think this is going to be a way better season for all of those things. And a lot of the intangibles, Jaden continuing developing, hopefully into what we think and all hope that and know that he can be. And so, a lot of intangibles, and then you should see improvement across the board on everything. Whether that, I've learned a long time ago in sports

not to make, like, bold predictions, so I will not. This is sports. and I'll leave that to the betters in Vegas and other things, people who are better at making predictions than I am. But for sure, we're all going to have a much funer time. So this was an interesting answer for one specific part for me anyway, which I will get to in a moment. But, you know, he starts off by saying we're focused on long-term goals. We want to be elite.

We want to play deep into the playoffs or compete for Super Bowl, season in and season out. And they're focused on building that. And then he gets into, I think this will be a better season than last year across the board. Obviously, the identity that Dan and Adam have been talking about of the team is front and center in terms of us being competitive, of being punishing, of competing at the end. And obviously the record was dismal last year. And then he said, and we better be better than that. that's the first time, right, that we've heard him kind of give out a bit of an ultimatum in terms of this year.

Look, the record was dismal last year. It was a terrible season. And it was 4 and 13. And the whole season was really garbage for a lot of different reasons. And we better be better than that. Well, what does that mean? Does that mean five wins? Because that's better than that.

or does it mean a lot better than that? He says, I think this is going to be a way better season for all of those things. And a lot of the intangibles, Jaden continuing to develop hopefully into what we think and all hope that and know that he can be. And a lot of intangibles, then you should see improvement across the board on everything. And then he gets into, I've learned a long time ago in sports not to make bold predictions. You know, leave that up to the betters in Vegas, yada, yada, yada. but ends with, but for sure we're all going to have a much more fun time. I think he said funner.

I don't think that's a word. But whatever. Yeah. And we better be better than that. I'm telling you, there's nobody in that building right now that doesn't think they're one of those teams that has a shot if everything breaks their way. there's no we're rebuilding this year. They're doing both, right?

You know, Adam Peters has, you know, filled a roster with a lot of one-year contracts, kept a lot of flexibility moving forward with respect to the cap and draft choices, etc. There is that. There's a long-term view, but they're not, you know, focused on a rebuild. The long-term view does not eliminate the possible.

of a good season, a playoff season. It happens in the NFL all the time. These people know this. Dan Quinn and Joe Witt Jr. are looking at the defensive players that they brought in, along with some that were left over and saying, there's no way we're going to be a terrible defense like the team last year was. We're going to be pretty good defensively. We've got to figure out a few things a corner. We're going to have to scheme up some pass rush, but we're going to be majorly improved. And then on the offensive side of the ball, we got our guy. This guy's going to be pretty good right from the start. Look, he may have some ups and downs, but he's going to be much better than what they had last year. And we got a guy scheming it up that people believe in. I have not talked to anybody specific to this, and I made a note after

hearing this particular sound bite that the next conversation I have with somebody that I talk to occasionally, I'm just going to say, what are the expectations inside that building for this year? Do you guys just kind of look at it as, hey, let's just, let's improve and let's find out who's going to be a part of the team in 2025 and let's make sure that we got it right with Jaden? I think the answer would be, I think we got a shot to surprise a lot of people. I think we do. All right. A couple of other things real quickly. Number one, he spoke to the possibility of the draft coming back to D.C. It's Green Bay next year, Pittsburgh the year after that. 2027 is open. He said, I think we're going to get that done. We're talking to the league about it. It's a question of timing. It's going to be a few years off. They plan in advance. He said, I'm not breaking news here because it's not done yet. But think about a draft. on the mall and how exciting that would be for the city of Washington.

And then he said, there is some complexity. And we've read about the complexity with the Park Service and the different permits that have to be well in advance. Anyway, there's a lot of stuff with the Park Service that doesn't really match up to what the NFL would need in the time that it would need it. I hope they can get through some of those things. So for those of you that missed it over the weekend,

the Sean Taylor Dick's sporting goods mannequin is down, and they are going to replace that with a new statue. They have gotten together with the Taylor family, and he talked about essentially doing something that was more first class in nature. You know, this is the stuff where I just, I'm just happy that there are people in the organization that have power, meaning ownership, who have a grasp on personal and professional decency, you know, that lead to making better decisions on things like this.

the hurried 11th hour, you know, Jersey retirement decision and ceremony that followed. It was just so Bush League the entire thing. The mannequin debacle embarrassment. I mean, these are top 10 Snyder-era blunders. When you put together your list of the top 25, top 50 Snyder-era blunders, these are top-tenthish, you know? They're not top-five, but they're top-tennish. It's just nice to know that you have ownership and lead ownership in Josh Harris and Mitchell Rails, Magic Johnson, that have a clue on how to treat people professionally and personally.

Now, I will tell you that when I first saw this on social media over the weekend, I was like, oh, my God, here we go again with Sean Taylor. But then I realized what they were doing. I'm all for it. I can't wait to see what they put together. But, you know, the Sean Taylor stuff, I'm fine with his jersey being retired. I've said that from the jump. It was owner prerogative. This is a special circumstance.

But I don't think that his jersey should have been retired before number 9, number 28, number 42, number 44, or number 81. Those jerseys after Sammy Baws, which had been the only jersey officially retired, and then Bobby Mitchell's, who was the first to be retired after they decided to start retiring jerseys, Sean should not have been next in line. I think most of you that have a long history of the team and understand the history of the team would agree. Not that he should have been excluded from having his jersey retired. I've never said that. I never would.

I always said owner prerogative, special case, great player, terrible tragedy that would. that we as a fan base felt. And it was awful. But yeah, look, I'm very much looking forward to Daryl Green's jersey being retired this fall. And my personal preference would be for Rigo to go next. If they wanted to do Charlie Taylor next, that's fine. But I'd like to see Rigo and then Charlie and Art. And that's the list.

9, 28, 33, 43, 42, 44, 49, and 81. And then 21. You know, the debatable, we've talked about these before, 7, you know, The Isman, Kenny Houston, 27, Larry Brown, 43, Chris Amberger, 55, Jake 66, Grim 68, Sam Huff, 70, you know, Doug 17, Brian 30, Pat Fisher 37, Monty Coleman 51, Dave Butts 65, Gary Clark, 84, Dexter Manly, 72, Jerry Smith, 87. That's the list that you have a conversation around. But the no debaters are Sonny, Daryl, Sammy Ball, Charlie Taylor, John Reggans, Bobby Mitchell, Art Monk. Those are the no debaters. Sean's in, and that's fine.

All right, let's get to the stadium stuff. All right, so let me read to you, because I don't want to play all of these sound bites, it will take a while and I can kind of give you the important parts of the sound bites. But I am going to play one answer to a question that Sam 48 asked. But he was asked initially on updates on the RFK bill and relocating the stadium. And he said, we're working super hard. It's taking up a lot of my own mind space to find her next home. We've got conversations with multiple jurisdictions.

But he said, when you peel the onion, it gets more detailed. and more advanced. You're aware of some of the things going on in D.C. and the congressional support required. We're hoping to get the Senate to buy into that. Also probably after the election, you know, he says after the election, meaning nothing's going to happen between now and the first Tuesday in November. And he said, I'll leave it to all of you other pundits to predict political action. And then he was asked on why his focus is waiting till after the election for the RFK Bill and he explains that basically nothing's going to happen between now and the election, and then there's going to be a lame duck session between the election and when everybody

comes into office in January. And you can't predict what's going to happen in the election, meaning you can't predict who the people are that are going to be coming into Washington in the middle of January. And he said it's hard to predict what that looks like. So ideally, since we have a lot of stuff lined up right now, we would want it to happen in the lame duck session, meaning they want to get this bill in the Senate passed between the election in November and January, when everybody moves in.

They call that the lame duck session. So, you know, now we're getting pushed back. And I think Kime asked him on, is 2030 the date to open the new stadium? he said, yeah, it's a target. I think it's a realistic target. But there's a lot. There's political things that need to occur. There's land zoning and a whole lot of other things. A lot that's not within our control. So there's no way to predict a specific date, but I think that's a reasonable target. You know, one of the things that I am not sure of is whether or not that answer was

specific to D.C. I wonder if it's an earlier date if it's landover. I don't know. But then he was asked the question about whether or not he would be willing to kind of look at other options. You're going to hear Sam's question in the event that this doesn't happen during the lame duck session as it relates to the RFK site bill getting through the Senate. Here's the question. Here's what he said. If the RFK bill fails, would you commit to another legislative effort to get DC on the table or would you be open to making a decision before that?

Yeah, I think I'm hoping that we can get some action before the change to the next Senate and Congress and administration, because I think that's when, you know, all bets are, I don't know, the answer is it's very hard to predict what that looks like. So ideally, since we have a lot of stuff lined up right now, what happened in the lame duck session. But again, now you're really predicting the inner workings of Washington. So I want to make sure that everybody understands that question and answer. You know, basically Sam Forty asked, would you commit to other legislative efforts, you know, should the RFK bill fail? Meaning, you know, would you then try to get the new Congress to initiate a bill for the RFK site?

And he tells you that he wants this to happen in the lame duck session, you know, and it's too hard. hard to predict what that new Congress will look like in January and whether or not it would even be a topic or be a bill that they would take up. And so this needs to happen between the second Tuesday and November and whatever date in January, inauguration date, the date where new Congress, Senate and House take over. It better happen then. Because even he's also kind of telling us, you that if it doesn't happen then, then it's like starting all over again. And now what are we talking about in terms of the date that you would finally open up in D.C. with R.F.K. So the key period is

November through January. If that RFK site bill doesn't get passed during that lame duck session, then D.C. is probably not going to happen. And getting that site bill through doesn't guarantee a stadium in Washington because you still have a lot of things that have to happen in D.C. Once they get control over the land. But without that RFK site plan passing in the Senate, there is no discussion, no negotiation for D.C. All right, more show left, including what Dan Quinn said after the game about Jamin Davis that was pretty telling. We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show is brought to you by bookie, go to my bookie.ag right now for all of your college football and NFL betting needs.

And if you do it now and you use my promo code, Kevin D.C., you'll claim a bonus up to $1,000 on your initial deposit. You must use my promo code, Kevin D.C. Football, real football is underway. We had week zero in college football on Saturday. I am sick to my stomach that I didn't give Georgia Tech out. I love Georgia Tech. I talked about it a couple of times on the show last week with Tim Murray in particular. I thought about it as a smell test selection. I didn't give it out because week zero just tends to be a little bit weird.

So I steered clear of it. I bet Georgia Tech plus the 11 at my bookie winner. I did not play them on the money line. Hell of a game, just as an aside. Three penalties, I think, total. Zero turnovers. It was a well-played football game in Dublin Saturday for the first game of the year. I thought the referees actually struggled more than anybody else.

They botched it at the end. Georgia Tech was clearly out of bounds on that play before the walk-off field goal. It would have left Florida State with 38, 39 seconds, something like that to go down and try to tie the game. Kind of a tough defeat. Most years, it would have been a devastating. defeat, not this year with a 12-team playoff. The Knowles can still rebound. But look, my bookie for college football, for NFL betting, this is where you want to go. Fair point spreads, fair totals, fair pricing, even if you're betting somewhere else, take the free money. You're

going to get a bonus of up to $1,000 on that first deposit and have a second place to comparison shop on all these numbers. Get the best point spread. on the game that you like. Get the best total. Get the best odds. Don't settle for, you know, a half point not in your favor because you don't have a second place to wager on football. Lock in all your NFL futures right now at MyBooky, where you're waiting for the NFL

season to begin. Again, use my promo code, Kevin D.C., when you go to mybooky.orgie. to claim a bonus of up to $1,000 on that first deposit. That's Kevin D.C. to start off the college football season and the NFL season with house money. Don't miss out on the action, bet anything anywhere, anytime, only with my bookie. This was Dan Quinn last night after the preseason game, being asked about Jamon Davis, a guy that I think most of you,

have thought all along. I thought it going into camp. I don't think I felt this way for the last two weeks anyway. I thought Jamie Davis, you know, starting about two weeks ago, was going to make the team. But listen to Quinn, talk about Jamie Davis, and listen very carefully to the end of this answer. You're doing a new position. It takes some time to grow into it. But, man, have I been impressed by his work ethic?

He's covering kicks, doing everything the team's asked to him. So I thought he had a really good offseason, even with some changing of positions. We'll flex him some at backer as well, but he's really starting to come on as a de-end. That last line will flex him some at backer as well. That's future tense, people. You're not speaking in future tense for a player that's not going to be here in the future. Even with some changing of positions, we'll flex him. We will flex him, some at backer as well.

But he's really starting to come on as a defensive end. By the way, he did cover kicks last night. and he has been coming on as a defensive end, and I'd like to see that. He's such an athlete. He's got such great speed. Look, if it turns out he doesn't have any moves and he can't be coached to develop big-time pass rushing moves, and he just doesn't cut it. So be it. But he is athletic.

He can really run. I'd love to see a James Davis turn in to a guy that they can use as a pass rusher. And remember, with Jordan McGee probably starting the year in some sort of injured list, They need the flexibility of a Jamie Davis who can be a pass rusher and play or be flexed at some backer as well. Lastly, we are nearing the end of list season, you know, rankings season as we now approach real football. But I wanted to mention this. ESPN put together their top 100 player list entering 2024. Washington was one of five teams without a player on it.

Arizona, Carolina, New England, and New Orleans were the others. There were 19 receivers on this list. That was the most at any position. And Terry wasn't on this list. I feel like he's been dissed a lot in this offseason on some of these lists and some of these rankings. Look, I get part of it. They were terrible last year. Terrible team.

And in 2022, they were actually vying for a playoff spot late into this season. but 19 receivers on this list and Terry's not one of them. Michael Pittman's on this list. Devante Smith is on this list. I think he's right there with those guys. You know, I think we've, we had another list, wasn't it the CBS Sports list, that essentially had him as the 23rd best receiver in the league? He's got an opportunity with a quarterback and a coordinator to have,

I know it's crazy to say this, but in many ways, Terry McClure needs like a breakout season. Is that crazy to say? You know, he hasn't had one of those truly great seasons. He's had really good seasons, and a lot of it's been in the context of not having a legitimate quarterback, you know, and he hasn't had that. But he's never had in a season more than 87 receptions. He's never, and by the way, the last three seasons, he's been under 80. receptions for the year. He's never had a season where he's had 1,200 plus yards. He hasn't had a season

since his rookie year of more than five touchdowns in a season. Hopefully he benefits from scheme, play calling, and quarterback. And next year, Terry McLaurin is much higher on one of these lists. By the way, how about the Nats getting a chance to play Aaron Judge, who hit two more runs to get to 51 on the season. He's on pace to hit 63, which would be the most. It would break his own record in American League history. Some people would say in the history of baseball, because all of the records in front of him are national leaguers, you know, obviously Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire, steroid-era guys. But you get a chance to see the Yankees in town the next three nights and a chance to see Aaron Judge. Also, Dylan Cruz, making his debut,

big league debut for the Nats. All right, done for the day. Sorry for getting this out so late. I will be doing shows the rest of the week, even though I am going to be traveling a little bit and off of radio. But I will be here tomorrow, you know, post-4 p.m. deadline to document everything that happens. Tommy will be on the show with me as well. Have a good rest of the day, evening, good night. Take care.