The Kevin Sheehan Show - A No-Lose Sunday Situation?

Episode Date: September 22, 2022

Kevin and Thom today began with some baseball, Kevin's dream involving Bradley Beal, Thom waving his finger at the Queen's grave, and plenty of additional nonsense. They eventually got to whether or not Sunday's game against the Eagles is a "no-lose" situation for Washington. Plenty of Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts discussion as well. Then Kevin had Steve Suter (Maryland's Football Radio Analyst) jump on the show to preview undefeated Maryland at #4 Michigan on Saturday.  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 Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Tommy's here with me today. The podcast is brought to you by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.com or MyBooky.orgie.

ag and use my promo code, Kevin, D.C., and they'll match your first deposit. Dollar for dollar all the way up to a thousand bucks. They still have plenty of prop bets. And for tonight's game, lines dropping. a little bit. And it's down to three and a half four. In most spots, at my bookie, it's at four right now. Cleveland's a four-point favorite, Tommy. I've got an early smell test selection on tonight's game. The public's all over Pittsburgh for some reason. And the early sharp money was on Cleveland, and now the late sharp money is coming back. But I gave out Cleveland on the radio show

this morning, so I'm going to give them out right here. Cleveland minus four for tonight's Thursday night game is a smell test selection. There you go. Cleveland minus 4. Go to mybooky.com and mybooky.orgie.orgie.orgie. Use my promo code, Kevin D.C. Fair lines, fair pricing, fair spot. You'll get paid if you win, and they'll double your first deposit on your initial deposit. By the way, I know you don't care as much about this stuff as I do, but do you have your

class tonight? Are you teaching a class tonight? Yes. So all of those, you know, all those degenerate gamblers that you've got in your class that when I was on last year, I could see them, you know, with their phones looking up numbers and stuff. I could tell what they were doing. They're putting together parlayers right in your class as you were teaching it. Ask them what they think of this Saturday night's Iowa Rutgers game. And the reason I'm asking, and you can you can bring this up if you want, not that you will, I don't think I've ever seen a lower. over under total for a college football game than for the Iowa Rutgers game on Saturday night. It is 33 and a half.

That is so low for a college game. I bet it's been 30 years. 20 anyway since I've seen a total that low. And last week I gave out Iowa as one of my winners. They were laying 23 and a half last week against Nevada after scoring 7. two times. And by the way, seven in their opener was with two safeties. It was two safeties in a field goal. And they won the game 27 to nothing last week and covered. I actually pretty much remember myself, I could be wrong. I think I predicted a 27 to nothing or 27 to three final. But I've never

seen a 33 and a half total. You rarely see anything like that in the NFL, let alone college football. The NFL, you know, occasionally you'll see a 35 or a 36. And late in the season, with bad weather, you might see a 34 or a 35, not college. Crazy. So ask your class what they think of that whether they like the over or the under on that. I bet a lot of people will bet the over. We are not in the gambling phase yet of the class. Okay. That comes later on. But I will keep that information in mind, Professor. Well, more than that, professor, you may not be in the gambling portion of your curriculum yet. The syllabus may not have in it for September 26th, the gambling conversation.

But based on the class that I sat in last year or the year before via Zoom, a lot of the fellas in your class, they don't care what it says on your syllabus. They are in gambling mode because it's Thursday night football. So just that's that's the college sports fan gambling mindset on a Thursday in class. Who am I going to have tonight? Hey, I want to start off the show by telling you that I had this weird dream. A very weird dream. I have to wake up every morning and hear about dreams.

Why? Okay. Why? Because not my dreams. My wife's dreams. Oh, really? Okay. You've never told you, but does she have weird dreams?

Yes. Give me a weird one recently. Did it involve you? Well, I don't remember, because I don't remember my dreams. So I don't remember her dreams, but this is a morning ritual. All right, so I, um... So I got to listen to your dreams now, too. Well, the only reason I'm sharing this dream is it was just weird.

And it's sports-related, kind of. And I don't remember... Am I in it? No, you're not. I don't. Then I'm really not interested, but go ahead. I don't remember a lot of it, but it was a dream about Bradley Beale and I being together. When I say together, don't get the wrong idea. We were in this studio, my podcast studio, and we were hanging out, and we were debating, like, just a lot of different sports issues and arguing about different sports issues.

And I can't even remember, to be honest with you, what those debates were. I know one of them had to do with, you know, the football team and, you know, whether or not they were good or bad and, you know, kind of the history of the team. And he was like, you know, I think he, I think off of the conversations you and I have had about some of the people that are saying, you know, hey, you know, you either get on board with the hometown team or just get out. And I think he was kind of of that mindset. And I was essentially trying to lecture him about, hey, you've been here for eight years or nine years. Don't tell me how to be a fan of the team. You know, I won't tell you, I will correct your shooting form at the free throw line every once in a while. But other than that, don't tell me and lecture me on how to be a fan.

But it was a good, healthy back and forth. And then the conversation turned to Francis Tiafo. This is the part that I really remember. And I said to him, hey, is there any way you can help me get Francis Tiafo on the show? And he looked at me and he was like, really? And he just walked out of the studio and that was it. That was the end of the dream. But remember, he was at all of the Francis Tiafo matches at the U.S. Open.

Yes, he was. And so that's interesting that he walked out and ignored you He ignored me, walked out and said, really? Like I was really asking for like a favor way overboard. And I maybe what I was at, I don't remember. I just remember saying, well, that ended kind of weirdly. And then, oh, and then I remember thinking to myself in my dream, why didn't I ask him to just sit down and record an interview?

I totally forgot. Like, why wasn't I recording our debate about a lot of different things? Well, maybe he wouldn't have wanted to do it. Do you know that I don't think since his early, early portion of his career, and it would have been you and the two of us, I have asked for Brad two dozen times, three dozen times, never ever get him. and Scott, who I like very much,

and I know you have issues with, but we're not going to get into Scott, who is the PR person. I like him a lot, has helped me out a lot. It's just, it's always something else. And I've asked him before, like, does, and I know that he's been paid at different times, maybe by the other station.

I think at one point he was getting paid so he couldn't do it for a couple of years. I think that's true. But I don't think since he was a very young player and maybe you and I had him on the show that I've ever interviewed him. And I actually think that every time I watch him get interviewed, you know, it's usually a national thing,

he's really good. So far, this podcast is about you being ignored by Bradley Beale in your dream and real life. Yes. Am I right? So far, you've nailed it. Okay. Yeah.

Okay. You know, I can't believe that you can't. get him on the show. I can't either. With your close friendship with that weasel over it with the Wither. Okay, you're going to have to stop that. That's, you know, that that is, that's a cheap shot, and I like Scott a lot, and I'm going to have to now delete that this portion of the podcast, because then he's going to be upset that I even allowed this to be aired. And you, you can live with that? Yes, I can live with that because because we need those people to help us out, occasion.

I don't mind criticizing professionally, you know, PR departments or groups, but he's been really good to me and you just took a pot shot at him. You call them a weaser. What is wrong with you these days? I mean, the,

what are you talking about? The sales girl at the commanders, for Washington doing a great job of being upbeat, enthusiastic after the home game and you're going after her. You're going after you. I mean, you're on a role here. What have I missed on social media the last two days?

I'm sure I missed something else. I went after the queen. You went after the what? The queen. About what? The queen that just, Queen Elizabeth, that just passed away? Yes. Yeah, the whole royal family, the whole royal family infatuation, I think, is really insulting and absurd.

But what did you do? Oh, God. Well, I tweeted out. I gave her the proper time for respect until she was in the tomb. So I didn't do it right away. Okay. But I tweeted an excerpt from the Irish Times. So pretty much says it all about this, you know, this, oh, infatuation with the royal family.

Quote, having a monarchy next door is a little like having a neighbor who's really in clowns and has dabbed their house with clown murals, display clown dolls in each window, and has an insatiable desire to hear about and discuss clown-related news stories. More specifically for the Irish, it's like having a neighbor who's really in the clowns, and also your grandfather was murdered by a clown. Well, there is, and you said the Irish Times, right? Yes. Well, there certainly is a rather...

It's the stuff of children's stories. Having a queen as a head of state is like having a pirate or a mermaid or an e-wok as a head of state. It is. It's like a Disney exhibit. It's absurd. So there you go. It's not the only one. I mean, what made you...

I'm looking at your tweet right now. What made you tweet this? Because I think the whole infatuation... and obsession with the world found, particularly by Americans, is ridiculous. It is literally like a Disney exhibit. It's a meaningless exercise. And the fact that you would worship the idea that there be a king and a queen, a powerless king and queen at this point, is delusional. Well, I don't know that I would argue that with you, and you weren't saying the fact that you as in me,

you're just saying, you know, the people that do. Because I don't. I don't. I've never understood the fascination with the royal family, especially by Americans, but we have really, you know, been incredibly interested in this for a long time. There is a very, very, you know, difficult history, obviously, between the royal history, the royal family and the Irish in particular. So I'm reading this quote, and then it's from Patrick Afrani.

So clearly an Irish rife. writer for the Irish Times. I just don't know what is going through your mind these days, where you would attack a young girl on Twitter that works for the commanders that's just trying to do her job. And within days of the Queen of England for all of our lifetimes, I mean, there are very few people on earth at this point that remember the king before Queen Elizabeth. why you would even, you know, indulge this? Like, who cares what you think about the monarchy? Well, what's the point of being on social media then?

Well, you know what? What is the point? I'm serious. It's a total... It's a have a voice. It's a total... I had something to say... Oh, God.

I had something to say about this obsession, which dominated the news. I mean, didn't we didn't... network show her funeral wives? I did not watch one second of it. I swear to you, I didn't watch any of it over the last week and a half. And I mean, to be honest with you, I'm surprised. I mean, my wife, who actually is one of those people, and she watches all of the shows, the Crown and all of these different British, you know, shows. She wasn't that much into it either, which actually kind of surprised me. Were they showing this a lot over the last couple of weeks? I didn't watch any of it. I swear on my children, I don't think I watched more than 30 seconds of any of this, and it was

the initial 30 seconds after her passing. I believe they showed her funeral possession on network TV. Okay. By the way, I just had had enough. What's this tweet circling back to the conversation about the Wizards. Lorraine Powell Jobs, I'm assuming, okay, Steve Jobs's late wife, wife would be very disappointed with today, says that Steve Jobs would be very disappointed with today's political climate. And you write, what she think about the Wizards? See, now that's funny.

He's part owner. Oh, that's right. That's right. Okay, I forgot about that. I forgot about that time. Yes. I thought that was just a random, which actually would have been. That would have been funny.

Completely random from left field. What would she think about the Wizards? Oh, I forgot. No, no. She's a part owner. In fact, I think she's the second biggest investor after Ted. Really? I think she owns 20% of Monumental.

Yeah. Monumental has a lot of shareholders, doesn't it? I mean, like I remember a few months ago, I was like looking at everybody. on in their ownership group and it's a lot of different people. Yes. Are you in it? You're not in it. No. Managing partner Ted Leonis and then partners. I'm assuming that these are all equity holders to a certain degree. I mean, there are a bunch of them. David Blair, who's run for political office, Scott Brickman, Neil Cohen, I know Neil,

Jack Davies, Richard Roel Fernandez from, you know, for many years, Mark Lerner, Sheila Johnson, John Kim I'm just giving you Dick Patrick George Stamis man he's covering George Davis Yeah and then he's covering the

and then he's got the management team too Dick Patrick is still a part of their management team after all these years How many years has he been a part of Abe and now Ted's organizations? Are you the capitals? I don't know long enough to finally win a

Stanley Cup. Long time. You know, do you know him? I've heard really good things about him. No, I don't know Dick Patrick. Yeah. Oh, and here's the guy, by the way, who I, Jim Van Stone.

I, after one of those Jason Wright, you know, situations where I said to you and to everybody listening on the podcast, and I essentially told him as well, you really need to be anonymous. You're the team president and the head of business operations. Nobody knows who these people are, and they shouldn't, and they don't care.

And I asked you, I think on this show, I think I asked you, I said, do you know who Jim Van Stone is? And you said, I have no idea. And I said, he's the president of the Wizards and the Capitals. Nobody's ever heard of Jim Van Stone. No offense, Jim. Nobody knows you, nor should anybody know you. they know the owner, they know the general manager, they know the coaches and the players. That's the group of people that sports fans know of.

But not in this town with the football team. We know the head of PR for the last several years. I mean, it's incredible. Whatever. Any more dream sequences? This is like the soprano. This is the one thing I didn't like about the sopranos. obsessed with dream sequences and there were a lot of them right and the Sopranos and most of

them bored me I'm with you on that I'm with you on that yeah um well you just shared yours with us I I did because it was it was weird and I um I didn't say anything about it on radio because I wanted to talk to you about it to see what your reaction would be but I I don't I don't really have do I have a lot I don't know if I dream a lot or not. I think I dream a lot, but I don't think I ever remember him. I think when I was younger, I remembered a lot of dreams. Did you wake up

right away after this stream, do you know? Or do you know if you, like, woke up from this stream? I think I did wake up. I think I did. I think because he just kind of walked out of the studio after I asked him to help me get Francis Tio on the show.

And I just thought, oh, I guess that was, you know, not the right thing to ask. But, I mean, look, we both, everybody in this business, when you're trying to get somebody on a show, you'll use any contact. And by the way, people ask me all the time to help. And if I can help them, I help them. And if not, it's no big deal. But he, you know.

Yes, and you will. You're right. And Brad, but Brad apparently in my dream didn't really. That ended the conversation. You know what? I bet this conversation, Land, you Bradley Beal some time this season on the show. I bet it doesn't.

It depends on what kind of editing I do. I'm pretty sure it won't. And here's the thing. Like, so many times when we've done this podcast, which we record, I will say to you at some point, fuck, do I have to go back and edit that out? And I would say occasionally I do, for whatever the reason, but more times than not, I don't. just let it go because it's it's what we've been doing. I mean, we did it. We certainly couldn't edit it out on radio, on live radio. And we've kind of always approached this like we were doing

our live radio show. And, you know, things come out that you say, that you regret saying, but, you know, everybody gets over. Nobody died. Everybody's still breathing. I'll probably leave all that in, even though I will tell you he's one of my favorite by far PR people that of any of the teams that I've ever dealt with in town. And the biggest issue you've had is that you didn't get parking for crying out loud. I mean, you're just, you know, you're impossible. You know there's more to that, and that's not fair. What?

How much more was there to it? I don't remember. Okay. I'll go over the story again. Well, look, you know what? I'll just assume that you're telling the truth. Let's not go over the story. How about that Joey Minesis?

We talked about him the other day. I mean, in all seriousness, this is really a story that is amazing to me. 30 years old, never been in the bigs, and you take his numbers and extrapolate it out to a full season. He'd be in the MVP conversation. He wouldn't win it, but he'd be in the conversation.

It is a hell of a story. And it is one curiosity about how he would fare over the course of a full season. I know. I mean, everyone's waiting for him to fall down back to Earth, and he hasn't done it yet. No. He hasn't done it yet. He is not. He just keeps, I mean, we talked about it the other day, the inside-the-park home run,

the four-for-four-four day the other day. He was two-for-four-four last night with, two RBIs, including the two-run jack that gave them the lead and a win and a big win over Atlanta. I mean, that's a spoiler kind of a win. I think they've got three more against Atlanta and three more against the Mets. And that race is really so important to both of those teams. And they play each other next weekend, Atlanta and New York. Since, by the way, our Tuesday show, you know, Judge hit number 60.

which was part of that ninth inning rally against the pirates the other night. They scored 14 runs last night and he didn't have one homer last night. But I do have this sense since our conversation the other day. Maybe it's because I'm just paying attention to it more. All of a sudden there is a lot of attention on this. All of a sudden, you know, as he's won away from Maris, because last night ESPN, I think it was ESPN or ESPN2, broke in to every one of his at-bats.

Yeah. I mean, it's gained a lot more attention now. You know, there wasn't a lead-up to it because there was no competition. The McGuire Sosa thing, I mean, I started covering that on the road when McGuire was at 55 home run. Really at 55? Yeah, to break the marriage record at the time. Yeah. You know?

So there was a much big, and that was because of the Sosa thing, too. I mean, the whole competition is what gave that legs. You know, Aaron Judge isn't competing with anybody, not even joining Menna's. Or Meneses. Manessus. No, I understand that. I understand that. And it was a different time, too.

And we, you know, nobody had really threatened that. And it really looked like one of the two of them, and McGuire in particular was going to do it. And let's not forget that, you know, a couple of years early with the, you know, shutdown of the season, baseball really needed something to kind of, you know, regain and recapture some excitement in their sport. And that did it in 98. Well, that's kind of overblown, but. Well, okay. If you want to believe that, okay.

Well, I can tell you, for me personally, I was totally engaged and baseball had disappointed a few years earlier. And, you know, it had become, look, Tommy, we've been heading towards this baseball not mattering as much as it used to for multiple decades. And the shutdown was horrible for the sport. As it's been for other sports that have done it. I mean, only the NFL can survive and come back stronger immediately after a shutdown or a lockout. Every other league pales in comparison. I did want to just say to you real quick.

Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. Okay, for one thing, I mean, what the old, ultimate act that saved baseball coming back from the baseball strike. It wasn't a lockdown. It was a strike. The player struck. That's right. They weren't shut out. Was Cal Ripkin's streak the following year. In the year of 1998, the McGuire Sosa year, baseball attendance league-wide was the same as it had been in 1997. What about TV ratings? TV ratings were probably higher. But people showing up to the ballpark, which is for baseball, much more important measurement than it is for football, it was the same.

I know I asked you this last week, but we're a week later because I thought about it and have read more about sort of Judge and Otani right now. I just don't think that it's even a question as to who the MVP is. It has to be Aaron Judge in the American League. If you were an American League voter right now and you were told you've got to vote right now on the MVP, Judge or Otani, who would you vote for? It is, I think it is a debatable question. And before, a few weeks ago, I would have been definitely on Otani's, would have been on my ballot. But I'm with you now. I think it's Judge.

Particularly, you could the Yankees, you know, are going to be in the playoffs. and I don't necessarily disqualify a guy who's having an outstanding season with a losing team and the whole word, work valuable is so subjective. I pretty much just chalk it up to who's having the best season, not necessarily who's the most valuable player, but Judge may win the triple crown,

and that doesn't happen very often. I know. So I would be with you and vote for Aaron Judge, although I think it's debatable. I think that it like... I think Aaron Judge will win. I hope he does. I hope he does.

And I understand that, you know, you can vote for the best player on a team that's 20 games under 500 and 33 and a half games out of first place and is going nowhere. When it's close and when there's no clear cut other candidate where there's it's jumbled up, that's fine to me. But if Aaron Judge hits 66 home runs and wins the triple crown and leads his team to, you know, 97 wins or 99 wins and a postseason birth, and by the way, has led that team. You know, they don't have a lot after him offensively or as much as some of these other teams do. Well, then that's stupid because he's not only the best player. He's the most valuable player to his team of any player, you know, in baseball. to his team. Now, unless somebody said, well, without Otani, the Angels would be 40 games under 500 and, you know, 60 games out of first, which might be true. But, you know, at some point, it's like, look, they really suck. And the other guys having an all-time historic year, as unique as Otani is. And here's the other thing, too, not that this should enter into the conversation. I don't think it should.

This is going to be Judge's chance. Like, Otani's going to do this kind of stuff for a while. don't you think? Judge is 31 years old. He's never, he's not going to hit 65 home runs again and win the triple crown. No, he's 30. He might, he might. See, that's the thing with Judge. He's a free agent after that. I know. He bet on himself. Yeah, well, how much money are we talking about this guy making? Everyone talks about Juan Soto and Juan Soto is obviously much younger than Aaron Judge.

but Aaron Judge, you know, I mean, either the Yankees are going to have to pay him or somebody else is going to have to pay him a lot of money. Hey, how would you like it if there was a new owner of the Washington National owner willing to pay for Aaron Judge? How cool would that be? I know, but aren't there a lot of people that would tell you you can't pay a player like that, you know, $500 million entering his 30s? I know that. But you know, but you're a new owner. You just got here. You want to play.

Yeah. You know? You're sick of the queen getting more than attention. Yeah. That would be a bad move because, you know, that would lock up a lot of them. But somebody's going to buy them. I don't know. There's more teams now spending over the luxury tax than ever before.

Well, and they're just plowing through it and ignoring it. I would think that Steve Cohen in New York is going to make a big run at Judge. But to me, like I was thinking about, you know, he bet on himself, right? He turned down the big offer and it's totally paid off for him. And now I don't know that the Yankees have any other choice but to give him what he wants. How are you going to go into next year without Aaron Judge on your team? After, you know, he has the all-time American League and team record for home runs, if not the record, you know, for purists like you.

and he hit for the triple crown. But to your point, there are a lot of teams that will be in the bidding, including one right next door. Because the Mets are willing to spend with their owners now. Okay. I think that's enough baseball conversation for today. Can we get to some... God save the queen.

Can we get to one of my favorite international anthems? Can we get to some football next? Please? Yeah. All right, we'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. You know, the draft is what it is. Like I think, I mean, even the commanders, they got a guy before me over there. Believe his name is Diami Brown.

I don't know how many catches he had. You guys can probably tell me that or how many yards he had, but I don't forget things like that. You know, I see him across the sideline from where I'm standing during the game. And every team that, I'm going to give every team hell. I mean, honestly, we're watching Miami a little bit. I don't, I didn't see him in the game much. The gentleman you just heard was Amon Ross St. Brown, the wide receiver from Detroit, who torched Washington on Sunday and went after Diami Brown in his press conference yesterday.

I mean, I don't have any problem, Tommy, with players, you know, using slights to motivate themselves. They all do it. I really thought that that was a major cheap shot to go public with that for a guy who got one snap in the game. And by the way, it was taken in the third round and Amon Ross St. Brown was taken in the fourth. It's not like, you know, there was this massive difference where Diami was like the number one receiver picked. And Amon Ross St. Brown was a free agent, you know, undrafted free agent. I just thought I heard that and I'm like, why would you do that? You guys won the game.

I mean, anyway. It was petty. It was petty bullshit. And if you're a coach on that team, you're going to say, shut up. I mean, we won one game. We beat the Washington commanders, you know? I mean, you didn't earn the right to dump on anybody. I'll tell you what.

He's going to be, and already is, a very, very good one. wide receiver. But, you know, you just added the most important thing. It's one game, and by the way, we beat Washington. I mean, come on. Okay? I mean, stop it already. We were, we were the second worst team in the NFL last year. You know, and he's picking on Diami Brown for crying out loud. Anyway, so yesterday, Carson Went spoke. By the way, Jaylen Hertz spoke as well. And I don't know, before we play some of the sound from both of them, I kind of feel like here in D.C. that the Carson Wentz versus Philadelphia Eagles' storyline isn't that big of one. I think in Philadelphia, because I've already talked to two

different Philadelphia people, had a guy on this morning from Philadelphia Eagles.com. He was excellent, by the way. And then I recorded. it's something with one of our favorites, Merrill Reese, the longtime voice of the Philadelphia Eagles, it is a big deal in Philadelphia, especially for that fan base. What do you think? Do you think this is a big deal here or not? No, I don't think it's a big deal because in order for it to be a big deal, Washington fans would have to actually acknowledge that he was run out of Philadelphia. and they don't really want to do that. That's not ground that they want to walk on.

You know, they'd like to think that they got a quarterback, you know, who's ready for a new start, and they don't care what he did anyplace else because what he did every place else wasn't good. So they don't even want to harp on that. In Philly, they're buying billboards about Carson Wentz. Yeah, it's a big deal there. I mean, because there's nothing like a grudge for Eagles fans. Well, and here, you know, here's the thing that both Merrill Reese and Dave Spirado, who was on with me this morning on radio, both said, they said, you know, that the fan base is still, to this day, at least Merrill said this, kind of split on Carson.

A lot of people think it was a big mistake not to continue down the Carson Went's path. And others were like, see ya. But at the end of the day, what really happened was, you know, things fell apart. and then Carson won it out. And that's the part where, you know, they're playing it up in Philadelphia is that Carson actually wanted to leave. And they're not going to handle that very well. The Philadelphia fans, it'll be in Landover on Sunday.

And then in the rematch, you know, on Monday night in November, it could get ugly for Carson in Philadelphia. I mean, not that he's, you know, anywhere comparable in terms of the feelings that Philadelphia fans have, but did you see what they did to Jay and Rager on Monday night every single time you went back for a punt return. And that's Philadelphia. It's what it makes that fan base unique and special. It is incredibly tough, especially on somebody that they feel slighted them to a certain

degree. I just, to me, the game on Sunday, and I had this thought, and this is a thought that, you know, I'm not ascribing, for those of you listening, that the team should be having. well, you think the team's feeling this way she ain't? Stop. I mean, no, this is a fan thing. I think this is a no-lose game for Washington. Again, the players won't view that. The coaches would laugh at it and say, oh, you've never been in the arena.

There's no such thing as a no-lose game. No, no. Don't, as I said in my dream to Bradley Beal, don't tell me and us how to be talk show hosts and fans. All right? I view this season, like we talked about the other day, as a season that's kind of, you know, you're going to have a couple good weeks, a couple bad weeks, and it's going to end up somewhere in that eight to nine win range. And nothing about the first two weeks has me off of that. And I look at these next two games against their first two division opponents, Philadelphia and Dallas,

and I'm like, one and one, come out of this thing one and one. Yes, and that would. You're spot on. You were spot on about this. I mean, this is, this was a, when you're playing the schedule game, this was a loss already. Okay. So if you lose. Not for a lot of fans.

Not for a lot of fans. A lot of fans did not believe when some of us said Philadelphia has a chance to be a really good team. And by the way, only two weeks in, it could be fake. I think what I saw Monday night was what I was expecting to see. And that is a 12-plus win team if they remain healthy and the division winner. But go ahead. What were you going to say? I mean, it's conceivable that you could have seen this team being two and two after four games,

except you would have thought the two wins would have been against Jacksonville and Detroit. And I think before the season started, you would have thought, well, they're going to lose to Philly and Dallas. Now Dallas looks like a winnable game. Right, although you know without that, without Dak Prescott. Although they looked much better last week, when you take into account they weren't playing Tampa Bay defense. Cooper Rush looked pretty good. But it's a winnable game still.

It's still a winnable game. I'm not sure anyone thought it was a winnable game, or at least I didn't, before the season started. I mean, I figured they'd be two and two, and they could wind up two and two, just not the same way I thought. And I just think that's the best you can hope for if you're a Washington fan. Jerry Jones did say there's a chance that Dak Prescott could be back for the Washington game. game. We'll see. The other thing, too, the Cowboys, I think, are one of the better defensive teams in the league. It's something that we should watch as fans. Look, they were decent last year. They're very well coached defensively. They're much better coached on defense with Dan Quinn than they

are on offense with Kellynne Moore and Mike McCarthy. I think McCarthy, you know, here in Dallas, the real story of just how average a coach he is, is really starting to reveal itself. And Kellyn Moore, my God, cowboy fans, you know, had him raised to a level where, you know, you had to bow when you walked by him. I mean, he's, he's average. But back to the Eagles in the next two games. I think it's not necessarily because the one-in-one thing is part of it. But the other part of it is, is that right now Philadelphia actually

looks like a top three or four team in the NFL. Like if you allowed me to do the NFL power ranking segment with you every week on Thursdays, which you absolutely don't want to do so we're not going to do it this year, I would have Philadelphia third in the league right now behind Buffalo and Kansas City. I think Philadelphia has got a chance to be the number one seed in the NFC. And I think that's part of why I think I view this game as kind of a no lose. Now, if they get run out of the building and it's 42 to 10, then it's going to feel like, you know, the one thing that you'll take away from it is, well, they've got, if you thought Washington could win the division, well, now you know that's not going to happen as long as Philadelphia stays healthy. But if they were to play a competitive game against the Eagles, I think that the reaction from fans and maybe even from those who are looking at Washington saying,

intriguing team offensively. You know, they're not going to be an easy out because they can really move the football. So let's say they lose a 31 to 28 thriller. And then they come back and beat Dallas. First of all, if that happens, we'll think they're going to come back and beat Dallas the following week. Or a lot of people will. I just view this week, thankfully, because of the Jacksonville win, because that

that averted all catastrophic scenarios here early in the season. But I think after, you know, a one-in-one start and what the Eagles look like and the Cowboys situation, it's just, you know, do I think they can win the game? I think anything can happen in the NFL.

And the Eagles are in a short work week and they may be a little bit overconfident because the entire football world is stroking them big. time this week because they saw on Monday night just how lethal they can be. So, you know, it's possible Washington could win the game on Sunday, but if they don't, I just don't think there's going to be a big outcry about it. Unless the defense gets so torched, and then the Jack Del Rio stuff will come up again, of course. Yeah. I mean, if they rush for 200 yards or something like that,

that's possible. In a win, I know it's possible. I know. I mean, you know, with their running game plus Jaylen Hertz running the ball, it's certainly possible. But I just got a feeling it's going to be a closer game than that. It may not be a closer game until the end, but I think it'll be a closer game than what people think. I tell you why, not that I would do it, but I think it's possible that what's the point spread? Four points? Six and a half, if you were listening earlier in the show. Six and a half?

Yeah. Okay, well, I wasn't listening. I was dreaming. know. Six and a half. Earl Eric. In the show. I think that Washington can cover that. Would I bet it?

No. But I think they can. Did Queen Elizabeth enter your dreams at all? So I actually, I want to get your pick before the end of this segment on the game because you won't be on tomorrow's show. But I actually wrote down something that I don't think I mentioned on the podcast with Cooley yesterday. and if you miss that, Cooley was great in talking about the Detroit film. I talked about this on radio yesterday. I know we talked about Jack Del Rio's job security right now on Tuesday.

And I did talk to somebody who said, look, there's no legitimate feeling in the building that Jack's in trouble. You know, the players like them, the coaches like them, Ron likes him. there's a belief in him, you know. But, you know, that could change with, you know, if they lose to the Eagles, Cowboys, and Titans, and they give up 35 points a game, and they keep giving up these chunk plays and all of these other plays, it could be a problem.

But my theory on this, hear me out, is barring an absolute massive collapse where the defense is costing them every single week a chance to win. And they're two and nine, or one in six. and they're giving up 34, 30 a game or something like that. If Ron were to fire him right now, Tommy, then it's on Ron if the defense doesn't improve. I think the much more realistic scenario for Del Rio

if there is an exit is at the end of the year. I just don't see it happening now where then... See, right now, Jack Del Rio is kind of a shield for Ron. And so if he's... Yeah, because Rivera always says, you know, always puts it on Jack. Yeah. It always press conferences. You know, it's not we.

It's Jack. I may look stupid saying this because if they lose two in a row and the defense looks like they did against Detroit, he may be left with no choice. But once Ron pulls that trigger, because there's not an obvious report. replacement for Del Rio as a defensive coordinator. Nobody with defensive coordinator experience. I mean, I know what people think of Chris Harris. They love him and they think he's going to be a really, really good coach in this league. But Ron is the de facto defensive coordinator. And so if he were to fire him, say, after the Titans game, if they are on a three game losing skid

and they're one in four, five at that point, or one in four or whatever at that point, and the defenses looked horrible, well, you got 12. games left. And then the pressure is on Ron to have the defense take a major step from where it is at that point. I don't think that's going to happen. I think Del Rio is going to last this year. Do I think he'll be the defensive coordinator next year? Right now, I would say the odds are probably against him being the defensive coordinator next year. But he does have

15 games left to turn it around. But don't you think the potential is greater? for a defensive collapse than a defensive shore up, shoring up? Collapse from where they are right now. Where they are right now is pretty bad through two games. So I don't know. I mean, they're 28th in the league, DBOA. Okay.

So if the defensive collapse continues for two or three weeks, don't you think that's more feasible than that the defense shores up in the next two or three weeks? Do you see anything to give you any indication other than the great communication that they worked on in the off-season for finally clicking in? That this defense is going to be any different moving forward? Well, you know, the easy answer is, well, why would it be? Because basically who they have is who they have. With two exceptions.

With two exceptions. They get Cameron Curl back this week, and I think they believe he can really make a difference, you know, especially in the, box against the run. And we haven't seen him in the first two games. And then, of course, Chase Young, whenever he comes back and whatever shape he's in and whatever capabilities physical-wise, you know, he brings to the table. Those are two key players for this defense. And two difference makers, you know, certainly the possibility exists that they're two,

you know, difference makers, one of them a major difference maker. So that's the only hope you have because I mean all we heard was the communication totally different this summer. You know, they didn't show up last year for OTIAs. And what have we seen? We've seen communication breakdowns. You know, gap integrity, play the scheme. What have we seen?

No gap integrity. So, yeah. And I think you have to wonder whether or not what I just described, the return of Cam Curl and Chase Young, you know, Chase Young coming, the next game he'll play will be the first game since the injury, didn't have any preseason, didn't have any off season. I think as we talked about during the summer, we have to dial back the expectations on Chase Young. I do think that Cameron Curl has been missed. Or let me just say this. I think they really feel like he's been missed. So we'll see this Sunday because he's going to play. Yeah, we will. Yeah. But it is a totally legitimate question as we sit here and the most disappointing part of the team. By the way, the special teams shouldn't be given a break. They've been awful.

They were awful on Sunday. You think they're going to need a kicker? I don't know. He has not attempted one field goal yet. Not one in two games. But I think that this team, another big part of this too is if the whole team, sucked like it has, you know, in recent years, it would be one thing. But the offense is showing big time life. And so if the defense week in and week out is just disappointing everybody.

And look, the offense didn't do their part in the first half against the Lions. I understand that. And they gave the ball away twice against Jacksonville before, you know, Carson Wentz had two incredible drives and then had an incredible half, I think, against Detroit. But anyway, I did want to play these two sound bites. This rather lengthy Carson Wentz soundbite, and you'll hear some back and forth, I think, with John Kime. And then you'll hear what Jalen Hertz said. But both of them are being asked, obviously, about Wentz versus Philadelphia, and Jalen Hertz is being asked about, you know, what his relationship was with Carson Wentz.

So I'll play those back-to-back for you right now. I think anytime in life you get thrown a curveball like that. that things change when you, you know, you think you know, anytime you think you know what's what life's going to look like, you know, sometimes I always think God's up there saying, I'm in control. And for me, as a man of faith, I think that's where my faith kicks in and just saying, okay, God, what do you have next for me? You know, I definitely cherish my time that I had up there. It was definitely a wild ride in many, many ways. You know, I grew a lot as a man, you know, got married, had a child, a lot of things. And so I'm very grateful for me.

my time there, but it definitely, it does catch you off guard. Things change and you got to learn to grow up and change and adapt. And at the end of the day, I'm thankful for it. I'm thankful for the changes that life has brought, and I've grown a lot from it. And because of what you've gone through, are there certain things that you appreciate now, even like what you've experienced here that maybe you may have taken for granted before? Is there anything in particular? I don't know anything in particular, but I think, you know, things, your perspective changes when, A, you grow up, You know, you get married, have a kid. You know, I think your perspective on life changes on your job, on work, on everything.

And just, you know, I think there are, there's always things I look back on that, man, I could have been better here. I could have been better as a person, as a teammate, you know, lots of things that you do take for granted. And so I think, I definitely thank God for the experiences I've had, even though sometimes they're dark or sometimes they're, you know, not how I envision them to be. But I think it's allowed me to grow as a person. And I'm thankful for that. I guess what's it been like for you here? Does it has it, you know, what's it been? It's been fun.

It's been a lot of fun, you know, coming in with it, like I said, I think I said it right when I got here in the spring. But it's a younger team, a younger team with a lot of, a lot of guys that are hungry, hungry to win, hungry to find success and to sustain that success. And so it's been fun being a part of it, you know, kind of having a different leadership role being one of the older guys in the locker room. And so it's been fun to be a part of it. And, you know, we're just, we're just starting, just getting started here.

but hopefully we can find a level of play that's consistent as we get going here. Well, I just saw, you know, he has a great arm, has a great arm. He's a big guy, hard to tackle. And he just makes kind of crazy plays in the pocket. So I definitely took notice of that when I was a rookie, and he still does it now, kind of ducking and dodging and weaving and doing those things. So, yeah. He has an such a situation for both of you.

Did you build any sort of relationship with him? Do you ever like text with him or anything like that? There's definitely a mutual respect between the two of us when he went to Indy and now here. Definitely a mutual respect and I wish him nothing but the best. Obviously Carson was disappointed the way that that year played out. How was it in the room with you guys after that? Was he still helpful on the sideline during games? I'm just going to say, you know, I think we're, we're,

focus on it now. I'm focused on it now. I'm focused on the now. Tommy, one thing real quickly, I like Jalen Hertz. I'm just telling you, I like him, and I think he's the answer for Philadelphia. And every time you talk to somebody from Philadelphia, Merrill Reese said he is revered in that locker room.

He is one of their hardest workers. He is one of the most self-critical, and he's just really highly respected and beloved by that organization. There's something about Hertz I've always liked, and I just think that he's going to be a good quarterback for them. And then on Wentz, every single time Wentz gets interviewed with this organization since he's been here,

he just continues to do and say the right things. There has not been one shred of anything other than positive since Carson Wentz got to D.C. I don't think it'd be fair to describe it any other way. I would give Carson Wentz an A for the way he's handled the media so far. I absolutely agree with you. Even a whole dust-up to use Jack Del Rio terms with Scott at Channel 7. And Carson Wentz never lost his cool. He got through it.

Oh, yeah. You know, it was Jason Wright, who made it a bigger deal than it needed to be. Carson Wentz just handled it and handled it professionally. So I think he gets a day. I think you're right. I think he's done a good job, and I think he prepared himself for this, you know, before the C. He looked. If he's got any sense, he had to know what the narrative was out there for him, and you could go two ways. You can say, screw them, or you can say, well, I'm going to, I'm going to do my best to change it.

Right. And, you know, if you go that way, like I think he does, I think he's done an excellent. job of that. I do too. But it's early. It is very early and they haven't had a losing streak and they really haven't faced any kind of adversity. And the offense, by the way, so far has been the bright light of the football team in two weeks. But, you know, people do grow up. They do mature. And, you know, if he did kind of recognize this opportunity as maybe being his last one and he has, you know, changed to any sort of degree, which, by the way, as he's mentioned, you know, everybody does when you get married and you have a kid. Good for him. What I'm focused on more,

even though we always talk about the way these players communicate, and I'd give him an A-plus so far. And the Scott interview, the reason he handled it so well is he was expecting that kind of a question. He's already been asked that question a million times. But on the field, he's been good. I mean, you know, there have been a couple of those Carson Wentz moments, the two interceptions in the Jacksonville game, which Cooley, you know, via film breakdown,

said he was just a little bit late and then really, you know, in many ways, Antonio Gibson screwed it up for Wence on the Trayvon Walker pick. He had a pick there trying to fit one into Logan Thomas, but he is a gunslinger. This is who he is. He's going to take some chances. He's going to feel himself like he did,

on that second drive of the third quarter against Detroit and try to fit one in there instead of, you know, throwing it to Dobson on the checkdown. But to me, it's not even close so far through two games this offense and the offense we've watched for the last few years. And yes, a lot of it has to do with Curtis Samuel being healthy and the addition of Jahan Dotson, but a lot of it has to do with Carson Wentz, too? I'm not so sure. That's true. I mean, he's played well. And, you know, he's been able to come back from the mistakes that he's made

and bring them back in these games and win the game, literally against Jacksonville. But I'm not so sure the outcome would be any different or even better with a more mobile quarterback out back there. Well, we'll agree to disagree on that one, vehemently. from my side. All right. What's your prediction on Sunday's game? I've got the Eagles winning by a very close 31 to 29 score.

31-29. Okay. Yes. All right. We'll talk on Tuesday. I appreciate this. I think the Eagles will have a big league going into the fourth quarter, and a lot of those points will come in combat.

But they'll make it close. It'll be at the end. It will be competitive. Well, do they have a chance? No, I'm not garbage point. Do they have a chance with a two-point conversion to tie the game? Was it 31-23 and they scored late and they missed a two-pointer? No, I haven't figured that one out yet.

Okay. So I don't know. Okay. I don't know. So what about the Jaylen hurt stuff? I just, I guess, to me, Jalen just avoided anything controversial. I mean, I think at the end he was just trying to move on. from the conversation.

But it is interesting. He was asked the key question that quarterbacks get asked, and it's almost like a litmus test. He was asked what the quarterback room was like. Right. I know. I know, but I think he was just, I think when he was asked that, he just was ready to move on from the Carson Wentz questions.

Okay. But no, no, no, hold on. But to your point, I did briefly think, is he just not trying to answer? answer a question which would, if he were being honest, would look poorly on Carson when Carson was there. It's possible, but, you know, he didn't go there. And he moved on. No, he didn't. And I think, you know, it was like the third or fourth, you know, consecutive question about Carson Wentz. And I think he was just ready to move on. All right. Thank you. Have a good weekend.

And we will be back together on Tuesday. Okay, boss. Pleasant dreams. All right. See you. Bye. All right. All right. 31.29 is Tommy's prediction for Sunday. One more segment on the show today.

Steve Suter, who calls the Maryland games with Johnny Holliday on the Maryland Radio Football Network. We'll jump on with me for a few minutes to preview Maryland and Michigan Saturday at the Big House. Both teams are 3 and 0. Michigan ranked fourth in the country. We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our. sponsors. Don't forget to rate us and review us, especially on Apple and Spotify. Five stars, if you don't mind on Apple with a quick one to two sentence review saying and writing how much you like the podcast. It's huge for us, especially this time of year. Joining me right now is Steve Souter. Steve will be on the call, the radio call on the team 980 with Johnny Holiday when

Maryland travels on Saturday to the big house to face fourth ranked Michigan. Both teams are undefeated. Steve is the all-time leading ACC punt returner and one of the great punt returners in the history of college football. And he's doing a great job on the broadcast with Johnny. So, you know, you and I have talked, especially prior to these kinds of games in recent years, where the team, you know, has a decent record in the non-conference and then has to play in Ohio state or in Michigan. And, you know, it's not gone well in recent years. So let me start. with where I usually finish. Do you think they have any chance to go into the Big House Saturday and beat Michigan?

Oh, man, that's a good question. I mean, I'm a fan, obviously. I'm trying to be optimistic, but they didn't fare well last year against them, obviously. And I had this conversation yesterday, actually. Are we better than we were last year? In Maryland specifically, I'm not sure. Okay, they're better at running back. I think the running back room is better.

I think they're better at receiver with the addition of Copeland and Rakeem Jared is Rakeem Jared. Now, I know we don't have DEMIS. He's not the same player, but they're still better at receiver than they were when they played them last year. But I'm probably a long-winning here, and the short answer is probably, I don't know, man. You're putting me on the spot.

Well, I mean, you know. They're going to play a perfect game. Yeah. I mean, it's like I want to believe it too, But, you know, when we've been in these situations in the last couple of years after fast starts, these have been one-sided beatdowns. And Michigan's really good. Now, the one thing that I've thought, Steve, and I'm curious as to what you think about this,

is Michigan really has had, and not by their doing, because these schedules are done years in advance. But the three teams they've played are three of the worst teams in college football, Colorado, State, Hawaii, and Yukon. And Maryland is going to be easily the best test they've had. far. And, you know, when you, in that first game against a kind of a legitimate Power 5 team when you've been playing three of the worst teams in college football, is that a bit of a, or maybe better put, could it be an advantage for Maryland? Correct. The recipe you're drawn up is 100% accurate. And that could be the narrative. Let's say Maryland goes up there and pulls off

the upset. That's exactly what they're going to say, right? They weren't prepared because they played three cupcakes, and they weren't challenged. And the second they got challenged, they weren't ready, or they weren't up for the game, or they were looking past Maryland thinking it was another easy win. And then, you know, all hell breaks loose. So you keep it close into the third quarter, you make it a game, then Michigan might be thinking, oh, oh, oh, we're not ready, we're not prepared, and then that's how Maryland squeaks it out. But that's exactly how a win for Maryland would be dialed up, just like you laid out.

And obviously, and I had Loxley last week on the radio show, and he said, look, you can't, you know, it's hard to get stops, so you can't beat yourself with turnovers, you can't give up the explosive plays. Eventually, eventually in college football in a lot of these games, Steve, right? It's like if the other team doesn't penalize themselves into a punt or turn it over, it's hard to get stops when you're not a really dominant defense. team. And that's what concerns to me tomorrow is the defense. Is that your biggest concern? 100%. I would agree. And you can't take points off the board. Last week against SMU, Maryland's offense probably cost them

17 points and really a blowout. I think Maryland could have gone away with that game had they not just kept shooting themselves in a foot with penalties and penalties in the red zone specifically on offense, which really hurt them. You can't go to Michigan and do that. Michigan is like top three or tied for the third for the fewest penalties so far in college football. I think they have four penalties through three games. It's something ridiculous.

Well, on the other end of that is Maryland is tied for almost dead last with 31 penalties. It's like Houston, Maryland, and another team dead last for 31 penalties through three games. You can't, you just cannot do that. And I've tried to just figure out, you know Loxie's yelling at the kids, you know Loxley's penalizing the kids in practice for the penalties, whatever the punishment may be. But you can say it until you're blue in the face, and I'm wondering why if I can correct it, and the answer I came up with this week is it has to be internal.

It has to be a player. There has to be a guy on defense or a guy on offense that is just going to hold the players accountable, whether that's in the locker room, behind closed doors, and, hey, we're putting our fists up. I mean, it could get to that, but somebody needs to be the guy that as a player, you almost fear him as a teammate.

If I commit some foolish penalty, I'm going to have to deal with, you know, whoever is, I'm going to deal with Jay John Jones in the locker. I'm going to have to deal with Jay Sean, Barham, Blackburn, or Ruben Hiffelay. Somebody's got to step up as a player because clearly, whatever the coaches are doing, it's not working from the penalty standpoint.

It really hasn't. I mean, it's been, and it's been a, it's not just a trend this year. It's been a trend here the last couple of years. And, you know, Loxley said to me, last week. He said there are penalties of aggression and then there are those that you can really kind of control and they got to do a better job on both ends for sure. We're talking to Steve Souter about Maryland and Michigan. So the offense, you know, the Buffalo game, you know,

a little bit less impressive than I thought it would be, to be honest with you. I was hoping that they'd come out and hang 56 on them. Charlotte much better. Last week, you're right. They shot themselves on the foot because they were more explosive than maybe the final numbers indicated, at least point totals. Where do you think this offense is right now? How good is it compared to what you thought it would be and where can it get to? So I'd say maybe a step behind where I wanted to be and I'm going to say that's probably offensive line related. Starting five came back. So you would assume that you're just automatically better. You got the same offensive line. You got good cohesion. you should be able to run the ball and pass protect.

And last week, I was a little bit concerned second quarter. SMU just started running some simple stunts and simple games on the D-line. It's not blitzing anybody, right? Just the standard four-man rush, but we're running crosses and run stunts, and Maryland had struggled to pick it up late in the second quarter and into the third, and that's why they relied heavily on the run. So, yes, credit the offensive line for being able to run the ball. They ran the ball very effectively, but they were not as impressive.

as I thought or wanted them to be in just regular past protection. So from last year, great offense, obviously, lostante de-miss in that game against Iowa kind of chippedowed all the way to the finish. I will say they're better at receiver, they're better at running back. I'm a little disappointed in the offensive line because they should be dominating these first three games and they haven't. Tung of ILO is Tunga Bailoa. I don't see any drop off.

and I don't, he's not at a different level, or he's on a higher level. I think he's the same kick as he was really good last year, and he's still very good through three games. So hopefully, you know, I don't know, it's the same team. What I see, except from running back, Roman Hemby is a star. That kid can play. He's got all the tools, and his blitz pickup last week at SMU was special. We didn't get a chance to talk about on the air,

and it's not something that you really highlight all the time. When I rewatch the game, the kid's good without the ball. He's very good with it, and he's even better without it. So they got a star in Roman Hemby. By the way, it's a lot to say about the running back room because they did have Tay on Fleet Davis last year in that room as well. But I tend to agree with you. Offensive line-wise, thank God they won't face Aidan Hutchinson on Sunday

because he was an absolute monster against Washington for the Lions on Sunday. You know, it's funny, as you talked about Leah, I see, you know, I've seen the Leah that was great last year, and I've seen the Leah that sometimes I'm like, where were you throwing that to? Or why was that decision made? And, you know, one of the things, and I'm curious as to what you think about this, I think he should run more. And not only do I think he should run more, I think he should run more aggressively. Like there are times in which he looks like, you know, I don't want him to take big hits. That's not what I'm advocating for.

but it looks like many times he'll go into a slide far too early. I think there are more yards out there for him as a runner. What do you think? That's a tricky one. And this question and comments get brought up on a lot of quarterbacks right through the ages. It's so tricky to be a quarterback and decide when to run, when not to run, when to get down, when not to get down. I mean, you could go on and on about quarterbacks that's been plagued by that decision, right? Because he's athletic, he is.

He could run. He can manufacture yards on the ground 100%. But he's also very smart, and he has a good arm, so he can make plays with his arm, and does he need to use his feet? Last year, he probably led the country in yards for intentional grounding. That was his Achilles heel. Right, right. He held the ball too long.

He held the ball too long. Then he tried to scramble. Then he realized it wasn't going to work, and he threw it away. and he got intentional grounding. So he needed to correct that. Through three games, he hasn't done that, and that's a positive. Now, if that means he's limiting his attempts in rushing,

I'm all for it because that intentional grounding is a killer loss of down and the penalty yard. He had to eliminate that. So I can't answer the question as far as trying to get into his mind and tell him when to do it and when to not do it. It's just a field thing, and it's very tough for a quarterback to know when to do it, when not to do it. All right. Last one. What will tell you early in the game, if anything,

that they've got a chance to hang in there and battle Michigan until the end? Is there something that you're going to be looking for early in the game on Saturday that'll tell you they've got a chance? It'll be defensively and up front. They're just been underwhelming on defense. Maryland has, and their D-line specifically. They have zero pass rush. You could tell Brian Williams last week was in such a conundrum. He had a good quarterback and a great receiver on the other side in Tanner and then Wright. And he couldn't decide what to do.

Did he manufacture a pass rush by bringing extra people, or did he drop eight and let just three men rush and try to help get a coverage stack? He just couldn't figure it out. And he ended up keep going, Ben, but don't break. Rush and three mostly, rush and three mostly. but just, you know, Nisili Kite, Amis Fee now, and Dorel and Chami, couldn't win a one-on-one pass rush to help the defensive corner out. So right away, I'm going to watch the D-line.

Are we winning one-on-one blocks? If we're not and they're able to run the ball, it's going to be a long day for Maryland. If they're able to win one-on-one match-up, get a pressure on just a four-man rush, then Maryland has a shot. Yeah, that's so true. I was thinking the same thing, really, on both sides of the ball. But defensively, if they're getting gashed by quorum and it's easy for McCarthy, and, you know, we've seen teams have easy times with Maryland's defense, you know,

at times here over the years, especially, you know, the Michigan's and the Ohio states, it's going to be a long day unless they can match them. And that's the flip side to it, right? I mean, watching, you know, can Maryland, you know, get some of those big explosive plays that they've gotten over the last, you know, seven or eight regular season games, five or six regular season games, including the bowl game against Michigan on Saturday. Because if they can match them, then maybe we just get into an old-fashioned big 12 shootout on Saturday.

That would be fun. But, yeah, we'll see. Nobody's challenged them, right? Nobody's challenged them. Nobody's even, like, let's let McCarthy show us you're good. You're not just good by default, right? He's 30 for 34 in the season. I mean, and he hasn't yet to make any difficult passes.

So it's just pitch and catch because they're running the ball like crazy. So it's easy play action. Guys are wide open. And I'm just going to, you know, pretend like it's seven on seven. You got to let McCarthy show you he's good. Do it under pressure. Make tight throws, have Maryland show some good coverage and mix it up. And if he can pick you apart, good.

My hat's off to you. But you got to show us something, right? If Quarms is running around and having a day and they're getting four or five yards, first down every series. It's just going to be a problem when there's third and short, and Maryland's just not going to be able to get off the field. By the way, for those of you that are going to be watching Maryland for the first time, because it's, you know, Michigan, you know, it's against Michigan. They've got one of the best kickers in the country this year. Maryland does. I hope he doesn't kick a lot of field goals because I don't think that'll do it on Saturday.

But this is one of the best college kickers they've had in many years. This dude's really good. really good and last you know it's funny you said Johnny brought it up holiday at the post game and he mentioned Chad Rylin and I almost I apologize to here because I've taken him for granted already through three games if he comes out I'm assuming the kick is good every time and that's a luxury that you know college usually has this guy is almost automatic so you can't take him for granted even though he is such a good kicker and he's a very vital a weapon for them. He's really good. Each kick for him is just, you know, filling his resume to try to go to the next level.

Of course, we probably just jinxed him. Let's hope not. Steve, thanks. Thanks, as always. Really appreciate it. Take care. Hope you're well. No problem, man. Thanks a lot. All right. That is it for the show today. Back tomorrow, I think with Cooley, who will help preview the game against Philadelphia.