The Kevin Sheehan Show - "Best D-Lineman I've Watched This Year"

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

Kevin with a Christmas Eve show that starts with Washington's history playing on Christmas Eve. Kevin with a few keys to a win over the Cowboys on Christmas Day along with a prediction. Steve Suter jumped on with his "film" analysis of the Eagles game. There was a player in the game he described as the "best d-lineman I've watched all year". For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match 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 Sheehan Show, here's Kevin. Happy Christmas Eve to all of you. I hope your day is going well and your travels are safe. Steve Souter will be on the show with me today. We actually recorded it yesterday, but he's got a film breakdown of the Eagles game. And he said about one player in this game, he's the best at that picture. position I have watched all season long in my film breakdowns.

So that's coming up starting in the next segment. The show's presenting sponsor is always, Window Nation, 86690 Nation, windownation.com if you need new windows. I thank Window Nation for all of their support over the years and wish everybody there. A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I will have a brief keys to a win tomorrow over day.

Alice coming up. I mean, for what it's worth. And I will repeat my prediction on the game, which I had on yesterday's show with Tommy. Washington has never played on Christmas Day. I think most of you know that. This will be their first ever Christmas Day game. But they've played a lot on Christmas Eve. Today's date, December 24th, in the Super Bowl era. And I don't think they played prior to the Super Bowl era on Christmas Eve, but 11 times they have played on December 24th. Their overall record on December 24th, 7 and 4, and without question, the most notable Christmas Eve game was the first Christmas Eve game during the Super Bowl era. It came in 1972, Washington's first season in which they advanced to the Super Bowl, lost Super Bowl 7 to the

undefeated 72 dolphins. But in the divisional round, after winning the division with an 11 and three record, they hosted on Christmas Eve the Green Bay Packers. Now, these were not the Lombardi Packers. These Packers were the Dan Devine Packers, and they were kind of resurgent in 1972 after having a few tough years since Lombardi had left. And the Packers still had that man back then. They still were the Green Bay Packers, and they're playing in a playoff game at RFK Stadium on Christmas Eve. Kickoff time was 12 o'clock. It was 39 degrees at kickoff. It was cloudy. It was damp. The field, you know, all the grass had died. They had basically painted the field green. Washington was the best team in the NFC during the

regular season, and they had the best defense in the NFC, if not the entirety of the NFL. Washington was a five-point favorite in that game, and they won the game 16 to 3, three Curtin-night field goals, and a 32-yard touchdown pass from Billy Kilmer to Roy Jefferson accounted for Washington's points. But the part of the game that most remember is that George Allen installed a five-man defensive line for the first time. Alan was an innovator, man, always. I mean, the nickel defense, special teams coach. Most of you know the history and the pioneering and innovativeness of one George Allen.

But in that game against the Packers, the Packers had trouble throwing the football, but they had John Brockington and MacArthur Lane in the backfield, and they were two really good. running backs. In fact, earlier in the season, they had played in the regular season. They had played in late November at RFK, and Washington won that game 21 to 16. In that game, MacArthur Lane and John Brockington combined for 113 rushing yards. But the quarterbacks in that game for Green Bay, listen to this, 7 of 21 for 85 yards. So George Allen essentially said, yeah, you can't throw the football. I'm going to put Manny Sistrunk in the game. Mani Sistrunk was the fifth defensive lineman and Washington completely shut down the Green Bay attack. Lane and Brockington,

Brockington, who was their leading rusher, 13 carries nine yards. The two of them combined 27 for 66 in that game. Washington won at 16.3. You know, it's interesting in looking through the box scores from games back then. The play count was very low in a lot of those games, in part because teams ran the ball more than they threw it. So the clock was always running. I mean, Billy Kilmer in that playoff game was 7 of 14. By the way, that's exactly what Marcus Mariotta was last week before leaving the game in the third quarter. But Kilmer was 7 to 14 for 100 yards, one touchdown in the game. Larry Brown, 25 carries the League MVP in 1972 for 101 yards. Washington rushed it 35 times for 135 yards. There was not

any doubt about what they were offensively. Run first. 35 runs from the running backs in just 14 throws. But what's interesting is Washington, if you include one Billy Kilmer, three-yard scramble, they ran total 50 place, 50 offensive plays. The Packers ran total. 53 place. I mean, low play count back in the day. But that's, without question, I think, the most memorable Redskins slash Washington football team slash commanders Christmas Eve win. The very first one, 16 to 3 over the Packers. There were a couple of others during the years of Joe Gibbs Version 2-0. They beat the Giants 35 to 20 on Christmas Eve. Mark Brunel actually in that game. game got hurt, if you recall, and Washington had to turn to the guy that they thought would

end up being the quarterback when 2005 started, and he was the quarterback when 2005 started, Patrick Ramsey. But Brunel eventually replaced him. I think Gibbs always had a plan for Brunel to replace Patrick Ramsey. But in that game, Brunel got hurt and Patrick Ramsey came in and threw for 104 yards and helped Washington beat the Giants 35 to 20. That was part of their five-game winning streak to end the 2005 season that led to a playoff berth and an eventual win over Tampa Bay before they lost to Seattle in the divisional round. So that was a bit of a memorable Christmas Eve game.

2011, Adrian Peterson tours ACL at RFK in the final game of the season and a Minnesota 33 to 26 win. Washington, if you recall, in 2023, played the Jets on the road. That was Jacoby Berset trying to win the game. Washington needed to lose the game. And fortunately, Greg Zerlind kicked a 50-plus yard field goal at the gun to lift the jets to a 30 to 28 win. That ensured that Washington would have the number two pick overall

and enabled them to select Jaden Daniels. But 7 and 4 overall on Christmas Eve, Of course, they're not playing on Christmas Eve. They're playing tomorrow on Christmas Day, Washington's first ever Christmas Day game, a game that really looks like a dog. Not what Netflix was hoping to get when they paid $150 million for two games on Christmas Day. They actually paid $150 million times three years, a $450 million dollar investment into the NFL on Christmas Day. They had a double header last year.

They'll have a double header this year, the Lions, Minnesota. the second part of the doubleheader following Washington and Dallas in the next year as well. I don't know that it matters ratings-wise. It's football on a holiday. People are going to watch. But it's not what they were hoping for. You know, a Jaden Daniels versus Dak Prescott playoff stakes game. No, that's not what we have tomorrow.

Dallas at my bookie right now is a seven-point favorite in the game. And, you know, keys to a Washington win. I mean, you've got to tell me who's going to be out there. If it's Josh Johnson and company, this is going to be a really tough ask of them offensively. They're not playing a great defensive team, that's for sure. But after what we saw last week, can Josh Johnson actually put something together that looks like NFL quarterbacks look when they play? Maybe, you know, he had a couple of good games for them all the way back in 2018 at the end of the season for Jay Gruden. That's a long time ago.

He was 32 then. he's 39 now. I think, look, the key to the game, if you are hoping that Washington wins it, there's no real spoiler opportunity here. There could have been a few weeks ago had Dallas continued to win, but of course they didn't losing three in a row to the Lions, Vikings, and Chargers, and really being punked three weeks in a row. I mean, they just had it handed to them.

The defense that looked like it was resuscitated there for a few weeks with the signing of Quinn and Williams, etc. Logan Wilson has not really played well at all. But they're also not playing Detroit or the Chargers tomorrow. So maybe their defense will stand up a bit. I think the key to the game, number one, is Dallas somehow completely self-destructs. Turnovers, penalties, drop passes. George Pickens is disinterested. Remember what they did to Washington in the first game. Washington was a mess defensively, you know, in that moment. They couldn't cover. They couldn't communicate.

And even though offensively, Washington was trying to keep pace, you know, the halftime score was 27 to 15. It was 20 to 15 late in the half. Washington was on the move when Jaden got hurt early in the third quarter down 2715. You know, in just over a half, he threw for 156 yards, rushed for 35 yards in a touchdown. So they offensively could do what. they wanted to do, you know, after, you know, a few rough drives early, but they couldn't get

off the field. I mean, in that game, C.D. Lamb, 110 receiving yards. Pickens, 82 receiving yards. They combined pickens and lamb for 192 receiving yards and a touchdown. It was one big explosive after another. Giovante Williams rushed for 116. I just don't see Washington stopping Dallas, certainly between the 20s. So Dallas has to self-destruct. They've got to, you know, help out like Philadelphia tried to last week with three missed field goals and a fumbled kickoff return. And then number two is if they don't help out a lot, Washington somehow got to get, you know, tough in the red zone and have the Cowboys go one for four in the red zone or two for five in the red zone rather than something like four or four or five or worse. I don't know how they do that. They don't have a pass rush and they make up for that with not covering very well.

and then top it off with not being a very good run-stopping team. I don't know. That's kind of all I got. I just can't see Washington having a chance to win this game without Dallas helping out. With that said, what does Dallas have to play for? I mean, they may be going through the motions as well. They may sub-out. We may see some of their key starters, you know, leave the game at some point with mysterious injuries. But, you know, at its basic, how are they going to stop Giovante Williams from, you know,

going for six plus yards of carry. You know, who's going to cover lamb and pickings if Prescott is out there dealing to them? So I don't see much of a shot without Dallas helping out. I would say offensively, you've got a shot if you can run the football, and Dallas will allow you to run the football. So let's see Cliff give, you know, Chris Rodriguez and Bill a heavy dose of carries. You know, you've got to see 30 plus carries in this game from the running backs. you know, Rodriguez at 20, Bill at 10, 30 for, you know, 150, you know, and then you're controlling

the clock, you're keeping their offense off the field and you don't have to worry as much about your defense. So that's one way to get it done, but even that way doesn't seem, you know, like the way that it'll play out because Cliff tends to, you know, steer away. He's committed to it for a while and then ends up not being as committed to it. We'll see tomorrow with Josh Johnson, a quarterback, if that's the case. if he gives Rodriguez and Bill a heavy dose of footballs. Maybe that's the model here. Trent Scott, six linemen, let's go, you know, four down team.

Let's try to run it at four, you know, per pop, three and a half per pop and stay on the field and run the clock and get out of Dodge with, you know, something in the teens for both teams or low 20s. I like Dallas to win big, 27 to 6. I don't know how you pick this game legitimately when you get to this point in the season and you've got two teams where you cannot identify clearly what the motivations are not only for the players in the game if they're veteran players but for the organizations based on what they're going to put out there but I'll go Dallas 27 to 6 there you go

All right, let's get to Steve Souter next after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey, guys, how many times do you get your credit card statement and you go through it and you see a monthly subscription fee for something you don't even use anymore? Well, I've got something that I think can help you. Rocket money. Rocket money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions. It also helps monitor your spending and helps lower your bills so you can grow your overall savings. Rocket Money shows you all your expenses in one place, including subscriptions you forgot about. If you see a subscription you no longer want, Rocket Money will help you cancel it. This time of year in particular, a holiday gift giving can spiral out of control. It's hard to know how much is too much, and it's easy to forget somebody on your list.

Well, Rocket Money helps you set limits. and track every purchase so no one gets left out of your budget. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Rocket Money has saved users over $2.5 billion, including over $880 million in canceled subscriptions alone. Their 10 million members save up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium. features. Cancel your unwanted

subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com slash Kevin D.C. today. That's rocketmoney.com slash Kevin D.C. Rocketmoney.com slash Kevin D.C. It's Bill Breakdown time with Steve

Suter. Steve's been doing this for us all season long. He's incredible. For those of you may be listening for the first time, because you've got extra time over the holidays here. Steve was one of the greatest punt returners in NCAA history, playing for Ralph Regions Maryland teams in the early to mid-2000s, 4-340 lightning speed, and was not only a take-it-to-the-house punt returner,

but was also a pretty lethal receiver. When he got those opportunities, he's been so good with us all year-long breaking down film. And I think one of the things that many of you like is that, he isn't necessarily rooting for Washington. He used to be a Washington fan, isn't so much anymore. And in some cases, he's not even watching these games live. He's just going straight to the All-22.

But as many of you have told me, including many coaches in the area, Steve really knows ball. And these things have been very instructive. And I think overall, you know, kind of the takeaways are finding out about some of the players that you could clearly see the team fall in love with at the same time that Steve, sometimes after Steve, had fallen in love with the players, like Chris Paul, like Jacob Martin, as examples. What we usually do with Steve, he gives us kind of an overview of the game,

and then we go quarterback review, and then we go top three, bottom three offense defense in terms of his grades. So with that, we welcome Steve onto the show. And let's just start with your overall reaction to Washington's 29 to 18 loss to the Eagles. Yes, I'm not shattering any news here, but you just ran into a better team. Eagles are a really good football team, especially on defense. That's where I was probably most impressed watching them on film and not just from, I know I texted you maybe yesterday. I think Jordan Davis is probably the best lineman that I've watched on film all year,

and that's including Chris Jones from Kansas City. He was dominant up front, and he took his turn with each one of Washington's linemen, and maybe Connerley was the only one that got away from him and didn't feel his wrath. But throughout the game, especially in the first half, he was controlling the line of scrimmage by himself. And he was really affecting the run game from Washington. So I don't think they could get it started like they wanted to or wish they could have just because of his sole impact. So he was that impactful. I thought in the beginning of the game, into, excuse me, through all the first half and then in the fourth quarter.

But then the secondary, the Eagles were really organized. I think that was my main note, really organized and understand their defense, how they play it. And so they're never out of position. They're not blowing coverages, and it just made it that much harder for Washington to really try to get anything down the field because you're not getting those guys that should just pop open on zones. They did a lot of match. The Eagles did, so it looked like a cover three would turn into man. They did some good stuff with backside safeties coming across and taking over routes, really just organized.

that's the best word I can describe it in the back end, and that goes without them being very athletic, right? So they got really good guys that are athletic and can make plays with their talent physically, but they just compound that mentally, too. They're just a really sound secondary. So it was going to be hard for Washington to move the ball and score points. I think you saw that throughout the game, just not able to catch it in and keep it a ball game,

although it was kind of that blueprint for the Washington for the last half of the season is keep it close in the first half like they did, and then they just can't handle it in the second half, whether it's a depth issue that usually wears them down, or they just maybe get out coached from a scheme standpoint. When they come out of halftime, I see that a little bit. So they just couldn't, you know, sustain water. Marriar goes down, and, you know, Josh Johnson just can't handle the reins there.

A quarterback, he was never going to bring them back, I don't think. So that was really offensive defensively matchup, then defensively, more the same, right? Eagles, no concern for Washington's pass rush. that was real evident in the second quarter for me they ran empty on their second possession the Eagles did four or five plays in a row and it was just easy from them to move the ball that way

because Washington was only going to bring four and that four-man rush wasn't going to get home they tried to counter by stunning both the linemen Washington did on those empty possessions but when they stunted then they lost contained to then Hertz got a couple scramles for big yardage I thought that was going to move

I thought that was going to see a lot more of that going into the second half. The Eagles going empty, but they didn't. I think it's just they didn't have to. They came out there. We can control this game any way we want. If we want to go empty, we can. If we want to run the ball, we can. And so they probably wanted to work on their run game because I've heard all the rumblings about how bad it's been this year, as opposed the last year. So they probably thought it was a time to get healthy in the run game against Washington the second half. So you saw more of that offensively from the Eagles and just defensively, Washington just don't have anybody that can make any plays out there.

it's hard to watch. You're just watching, and I think I've said this last several weeks, you're just watching the slow death of them on defense. It just don't have the playmakers that can make a play and turn the tide of any possession really. At least it seems that way that they can't get off the field

without the opposing team being in field and the range. That was just more the same against the Eagles. You know, I want to start with Jordan Davis. You realize that Jalen Carter's been out for a little bit. Like the two of them together, this is, I mean, that's why they won the Super Bowl last year. I mean, it was one of the great defensive performances

in Super Bowl history. It's unfair to have Carter and Davis. And then have Vic Fangio coaching him, he's just one of the absolute best and has been as a D coordinator. I mean, you talked about how well organized they were. And they've got players, too, on the back end with Mitchell and Dijin. I mean, this is why... They're all three levels really good. And I didn't even get... I wish Carter was here, so I got to watch it and analyze it. his play too. Yeah. But when I text you that and you told him about Carter, I said, oh, man, I forgot about Carter.

Yeah. Yeah. It's all the Georgia guys. It's Carter. It's Davis. It's Dean. It's, you know, Nolan Smith is just, you know, they basically drafted just Georgia defensive players over the last few years.

But this is why I think if people give up on Philly because they seem to be a little bit scattered and, you know, disconnected on offense in particular, I mean, I think, I think, I just wouldn't bet against their defense shutting teams down. It's so good, and it's just, you didn't even get the healthy version on Saturday. Yeah. They remind me of those Seahawks game I was watching in the secondary, especially. I thought the Seahawks were really organized and knew what they were doing, really understand that they could tell that they've played along in that system or at least know it really well.

That's what it looked like for the Eagle Secretary too, just really organized, knew what they were doing, knew how to switch, when they were going to switch, when they weren't going to switch. Washington would try to motion guys across the formation to see what they were going to do if they were changed. A lot of times they just passed them off. Either like Cooper DeGine rolled down in the box, and then the other outside safety would just bump out, and he'd become the slot guy there,

and it was just really organized, and Washington couldn't do anything offensively to try to confuse them. I didn't try to run bunches. They didn't see them do that. I would have done more bunches probably to see if I could get guys to bump into each other, maybe some rubbts because while it looked like a lot of cover three,

did end up most to become a man. So you've got to try to help yourself, I think, from a standpoint, getting some rubs in there, and Washington wasn't able to do that. And the path protection, I thought, was decent for Washington. I didn't really find any flaws there. Most of the negative grades I have for the linemen

this week are in the run game. So I think there was opportunities to throw. They just didn't, again, don't have the stuff dynamic down the field that can create match-up problems for a defense like the Eagles. Did you feel like when Marioita left the game, especially given how Josh Johnson played when he came in.

Did you feel like that they had a shot of winning, had he stayed in the game? Oh, Mario, I think it would have probably been, man, it would have been closer. I don't think in the end you're going to be able to get that win. I mean, there was some wild stuff right. I think I saw three missed field goals right at one point or in a row or something crazy, right? So if the Eagles were helping them out in that standpoint, but that happened to the football game, So they would have been in it, but I'm not going to say they would have pulled it out. But as soon as he went down, I was like, all right, ballgame.

That's the ball game. Yeah, for sure. What did you make of, you know, they recover the kickoff, fumbled. They're running pretty effectively with Rodriguez. I thought about you. I thought about you on this. It was back-to-back weeks, right? Well, two weeks ago in the Minnesota game, yeah.

Sorry, two weeks ago. Yeah. Didn't he come out and say, like, he messed up. Yeah. And then here you go. Chance to rectify yourself and you throw the ball again on second and third down. I was, I mean, I circled it. Obviously, I knew you would bring it up, and I thought about you watching him.

Like, geez, here we go. He had a chance to run the football here and decide not to do it. Now maybe, I mean, it's hard to say you got Jordan Davis in there and you think that it's not going to work, but you did move the ball down the field. You're on the two-yard line. Yeah, after the... I would die on that hill. We said it two weeks ago.

That's our best chance of scoring, I think, is using our front five guys, and we have decent running backs. I'd like him to at least just try it. I'd like to see him try it. You know? Yes, absolutely. The Minnesota game was a super long drive where they were converting, and they had been on the field for a while.

And, you know, they got the first and goal at the four, then it's second and goal at the two, and then they tried to tackle eligible. And then the third and fourth down, the fourth down Debo actually dropped. in this particular case, by the way, didn't you think Berks was open and it was just a bad throw by Mario? I think it would have been a tough

contested catch, but it was a bad ball by her. He didn't give him a chance to catch it. It was going to be, but what Berks has shown clearly that he's got the ability to make a contested catch. He's got at least put it on his body and give him a shot and he didn't do that. I just would like to see Cliff feel

it a little bit like, you know what, maybe we should try 36 Rodriguez given that he's a bit of a bulldozer. And even if he gets, hit at the line of scrimmage, he might get a yard or two, and, you know, we can, it's third and inches, you know, gold to go. I just, I didn't, I didn't get that, especially after the Minnesota. I would be at, prove me wrong, right? Prove, or prove us wrong, or prove the media wrong, right? Try it. Let it see that it doesn't work, because it should work. Everything's

pointing to it working. There have been a good running football team. They've been good on short yardage on other areas of the field. Yeah. Well, you can use Marcus Mariotta, too, and zone read. If you want a shotgun, if you want to spread it, let's do that. I mean, I don't need him to do it through. The guy down with the running quarterback, too, on the goal line. I like this option. Not many guys do it, but I think it's effective on the goal line because most people don't expect it. You can pull that off. Well, you just reminded me in the Minnesota game, he did not have the option of using Jaden because they weren't running him on zone reads or designed runs. And we know they like to do that. With Marioota, he had that option to use the

quarterback in the run game. And by the way, I'm forgetting what the second down play was, I mean, it's possible that one of those plays was an RPO. I'd have to look at it again. Maybe you already identified that. But the bottom line is, you know, take it out of Marioita's hands as a thrower and give it to Rodriguez. He doesn't have to do that for the fans or the media. He should just do it for himself because Rodriguez is clearly one of their better players behind the strength of their offense, which is their own line. Pick your favorite side, left or right, behind the line, and let's go.

I'm looking at that second down play here. It's a play action. They run a bunch formation, and they just play action, and you would think he wanted them to bite. He was going to hit Debo in the flat, but they don't bite. Eagle's real discipline here.

They're in-man coverage. Everybody guards their guy. So you got nothing here. Nothing. And then the third and goal, I'm looking at that right now. I'm going to assume that's not an RPO either. Yeah, no.

No, it's not. And he's got to put the ball here. You've got to give Berks a chance here. Yeah. And he just overthrows him a little bit. All right. Any other big takeaways from the game? Oh, man, big takeaways.

Well, honestly, I was disappointed with the offensive lineup, but this is probably the worst collective scoring at the end of the ballgame for those five guys that I've had all season. So every play, maybe not every play. That's an exaggeration. more often than not, I was downgrading a lineman on a play particular that I had not done

I think all season. So, humiliably the worst. They've played offensively, I guess you can credit some of that to the Eagles defense enforcing those. Everybody, I've already mentioned, everybody came up that Davis got beat at one point or another during the day. So he took his turns there.

But collectively, that was a disappointment that I watched as a theme offensively. The strength of their team kind of let them down in this big all right let's talk quarterbacks um plural and we'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors i'm over the whole new year new me thing short-term fads don't deliver long-term results science does especially when it comes to skin care that's why i recommend one skin their formulas are powered by the os one peptide a patented peptide built on longevity science proven to target

aging at the cellular level it's not about adding extra steps to your skin care routine. It's about swapping in smarter ones. All of One Skin's products are designed to layer effortlessly and even replace multiple steps in your routine, making long-term skin health simpler and smarter at any age. Customers consistently rave about how their skin is smoother, firmer, and healthier looking with results that get better over time, improving both the appearance and the overall health of their skin. No wonder One Skin's products have over 10,000 five-star reviews. Born from over 10 years of longevity research,

OneSkin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the cells that cause the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. And for a limited time, One Skin's making it even easier to stay consistent with up to 30% off your first three subscription orders when you use code Sheen at OneSkin.com. slash Sheehan.

That's up to 30% off with code Sheen. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support this show and tell them that I sent you. This segment of the show brought you by Window Nation,

seven days left in the month for their end of year sale. 50% off everything, all windows and all Windows styles. Plus, if you choose to finance the purchase, zero percent interest for five years. You won't pay any interest until the year 2030. The product is great. The deal's phenomenal, and their customer service

the best. They get reviews all the time. How about 45,000 five-star reviews? Forbes Magazine ranked them the number one window-in installation company in America. 96% of their installs go off without a hitch, meaning there is no follow-up needed after they've installed the windows. and they guarantee that they'll install them in a day or less. That's part of the offer as well. All I ask is if you've been thinking about new windows, just let Windonation come out and give you a free estimate. It's free of charge.

They do it when it's convenient for you, and they're in and out of your home in an hour or less. Call them at 86690 Nation or go to Windonation.com to schedule your free in-home estimate. We continue with Steve. the quarterback, Marcus Mariotta, and then Josh Johnson at 39 years old with like his 9th or 10th team in the NFL. Let's start with Marioada.

How did he do? Mario da was average at best for me this game. Most of my, well, all of my critiqued plays or plays that I graded him under were all physical plays. If that makes sense, all throwing. Just off a little bit with his accuracy. We mentioned the Burke's play. He was off on that pass.

You've got to give him a shot. You've got to hit B. He scrambled. I think his next possession. He scrambled and he overthrows in a deep comeback on a scramble drill. He's got to be able to hit that throw in a run. And it was wide open.

That's the first down to move to chains. He just throws it out of bounds. He can make that ball on the run. So I got him on that one. He had another ball to Debo on a deep cross. That was in the third quarter. He threw that behind him, too. So those were all of his

mental, excuse me, his physical mistakes for me, mentally. Don't really have much to critique him. Didn't have a whole lot of time to be in the game. Maybe I put a maybe down here at 731 in the first quarter. He's got Debo, but he doesn't take him. He hits

McNichols on the swing. But Debo runs a good route on Cooper. Little man coverage in breaking out route. And he's, Debo's real physical at the top of the route throws Cooper and he's open. And it's going to be a first down. And he's looking in the facility. I don't have to play him.

7.31. He's looking there, but he just looked like he made his mind up at the top of the route. He didn't want Debo. Or he was just always going to come to McNichols and he just used his eyes to hold that flat defender as long as he can. But if he pulls the trigger here, they Debo.

It's an easy first down. So mentally, that would be probably the only mistake I saw in coverage where he didn't throw the ball where it should have gone or where he could have taken a chance to get a bigger play there. That's second and seven. I get it. You get three yards. but you could have had the first down, and they ended up punning in that drive,

so who knows if that played a factor or not. But other than that, as typical Marriota, not deal with much outside, had to scramble just a little bit, not as much as you used to. And again, he only got the two quarters before he got hurt. But he, I mean, at the end, I'll give it away because he's not in my top three or my bottom three, but he was just barely above a positive grade for me. Right. What did you think of the deep ball to Terry, the 40-yarder?

I mean, if you want to be critical, you can knock them for the ball. It's a little underthrown. If he leaves them a little bit more, it could be a touchdown. But I just left it plank. I mean, it's a good recognition of Terry went on the route. Terry doesn't make a good route. It's better probably catch on Terry than it is a ball of a Marriota. But it's got some good touch.

It's there, beats the defender. But Terry doesn't get to use his speed to kind of go get it to. extend that gap between him and the defender. So I'd say, I'd say an average ball from an NFL quarterback there. Yeah, I had a bunch of people say it was underthrown. I don't see it as underthrown. He certainly

didn't lead him enough. Right. But it's, I mean, you're playing the Philadelphia Eagles. You'd take a 40-yard explosive every day of the week. I mean... Oh, 100%. Yeah. It's the average, though. Maybe you can say a little bit above average, but it's not a dime. I'm not going to say he dropped in the bucket.

I think I've asked you about this before. You know, Terry's very much a chest catcher, not a hands catcher. What's your opinion on that as a former whiteout? I think we talked about that. Yeah. Week one, and I think we talked about body catchers, and it was Debo. I think we've brought it up because of Debo. Look, it works when it works, and it doesn't work when it doesn't work.

And I don't like body catchers personally. I think it gets you into trouble more often than not. And I think when you have the chance to have to make a great catch with, on the sideline where you need to use your hands or extend, it's just unnatural for those type of players, and it makes it harder for him to do it. I mean, and Terry's done it a couple times, but he's made it harder for himself.

I forget the game where he caught the one, like Marietta floated all the way back across the field. It's a touchdown, and he toe taps in the side of the end of him, but he still trying to catch it with his body there, which was amazing to me. I think he just gets you in trouble, but if you can do it, you can do it. There's been some good wins that are really good at it,

and don't drop passes. But, I mean, take DBA, for example, I've watched them all season. It's gotten him into trouble. He's a body catcher. He's made some good catches with his hands when he had to because the ball forced him to use his hand. Right. Where he had to extend on a fourth down or something to keep the driver on. But he's, I don't know, what he's got, six drops on the season maybe.

And those are probably a reflection because he is a body catcher. But Terry does a good job, and he's always done a good job in his career doing it. Yeah. It just comes up to bite you at one point in another. Yeah, he's never had that be an issue. for him. So I guess whatever it works for him. You know, the one issue is you do get more

extension and you limit the closing ability for the defender if you're a hands catcher and your hands are out trying to snag it, you know, a foot before it hits your chest. Absolutely. Yeah. I'm on board. Always use your hands in my opinion when you can. Now

exceptions would be when you know you're about to kick contact. Sometimes a body catcher holds onto that ball versus a hands catcher. And it's just about the timing and how it happens and where you catch in your body. Can you catch it already in a, you know, a ball-tuck area? Right. And that benefits you if you're about to take contact.

Where the hands catcher, it's extended from your body. You take the hit. You probably have a better chance of dropping that. But that's why if you could be, you know, the best one can do both. And they know when they can use their hands. And they know when they should try to body it to try to protect from holding onto it. And there's very few of them out there. All right.

Marcus Marriota, an average day. What about Josh Johnson? Yeah, I mean, he's, that's rough. I mean, he seals a deal right with that pick. Just what are you thinking? I mean, what are you thinking? Back foot off your back foot, side arm, across your body, across the field, do a receiver who's got three guys around him?

I mean, what are you thinking? Best thing I could say is one of the offensive linemen were probably blocking the defender that he didn't see and thought, oh, okay, he's. He's open, and that happens, but, I mean, he just called him. He's 39 on his 38th team. You should know he shouldn't do that credit to him for finding himself on a roster for all these years. He apparently, Jay Gruden has told me before, one of the smartest players he's ever coached. That would make sense.

That's how you stay on roster. Right. Even if you're a third string and the coach doesn't ever expect you to get on the field, if you know the offense, he can put you in practice in any situation. and so the practice can run smoothly, which helps everybody else on the team. Practice, they're supposed to practice. You can go down the scout team,

and you can rep the other team's offense because you can learn it in three days so you should be given the defense better looks. So those guys will stay on rosters just for that for practice play and making the game smoother during the week for the team in a learning capacity. But I don't think any of them ever expect them

to come out and win a ball game. Right. All right, let's get to top three, bottom three. we'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. If you want to bet on sports, my recommendation is to do it at my bookie. They're giving all of my listeners a 50% cash bonus. Why turn free money down? So if you deposit $500, they're going to put another $250 into your account,

so you'll have $750 to wager with. Whatever your deposit amount is, divide it by $2. and they'll add that to your account. Very rare this time of year, especially for existing customers to get that kind of incentive offer, but My Bookie's offering my listeners that as a holiday gift.

50% cash bonus. You have to use my promo code, D-C-R-E-L-O-A-D, D-C-R-E-L-O-A-D when you get there as a new customer or when you return as an existing customer and you make the new deposit. it. MyBooky.ag, my bookie.com promo code, DC reload. Washington, a seven-point underdog on Christmas Day against the Cowboys right now. And yeah, not a lot of action one way or the other on this one. But there will be, because there will be a ton of people betting football on Christmas Day.

I promise you that. And if you want to bet it, do it at MyBooky. Again, mybooky.orgy.com. promo code, D.C. Reload. All right, top three, bottom three. Let's start an offense, your top three. Top three, an offense go to Biotic, Debo, and Rodriguez, in that order. Finally, Rodriguez makes the top three. I mean, you're positive about him all the time, but I feel like he hasn't been in the top three nearly enough.

Yeah, maybe. I'd have to go back and check, but maybe he hasn't. Cracked the list this week, made some good runs, breaking tackles. He's been really solid. I agree. I don't think I've ever had him as a negative grade. He just hasn't cracked the top three on a positive grade. So it's been a really steady player ever since he's taken over.

They're the starting role. And it was solid this week, making plays when he tried when they presented himself. Got extra yards that some backs wouldn't get. So gave him those points and cracked the top three. what did you think Akrosky Merritt and that touchdown run that second effort

touchdown run yeah I gave him big points for that again I like him north south when he's in the game I want to call

north south run I don't want to do any of those stretches or outside zones with him even though he scored the touch on

the Giants on the outside zone but he had to cut back because Chris Ball missed his block so he forced him to cut and make that thing go downhill

I just think he's a downhill guy he looks good going downhill and he does run hard. He's back-to-back pretty good weeks. He can't put the ball in the ground like he did last week, but he didn't do that this week.

And he's a solid back for a rookie, and I got a good, I mean, I like what he gives him and him. He just, all off-season, he needs to get in his playbook and make sure he's not a liability in the past blocking scheme so that they have no reason to keep him off the field as much as they do. Bottom three offensively. Bottom three, Johnson leaves the way that pick is just ends the game. so you get crushed on that, and then didn't make really any good plays after that.

Threw in a cover two, two, another mistake. You can't do that. So he leaves away, bottom, and then it goes, McNichols, actually, and then Chris Paul and Connerly were tied for the third. McNichols for the second straight week in your bottom three. Yeah, he's had, what, his penalties really now that's got, I think he's at back-to-back weeks with penalties. He had a hold-and-call here at a false start.

I didn't really love the holding call, so I didn't give him a full deduction like I normally do. I think he's stoned the guy on the blitz pickup and kind of got hosed on that hoda call. But penalties, and then he's just not really a factor at the last couple weeks and making plays offensively. So when you make those small mistakes, we have two penalties. You don't have plays that counter that in Excel that I can grade you above what you're supposed to do. And that's how you find yourself in the bottom. What did you think of Ben Sennett? Because got a lot of reaction last week to you really like Sennett and the way he played against.

the Giants, and maybe even, you know, the future potential. How did Senate play? I think he's got a positive grade for me again this week, and he graded out better than Bates for a second straight week. And I was just going to mention, I think he should, I think you should start him next week and just see how it goes. And part of the offensive, overall offensive outlook that I had watching this game is I think Kingsbury thinks he can't call to plays that he could call with urch is in there.

and I would be one to say why don't you find out don't just assume you can't call some of these plays in the passing game because he's not out there see if Cinnett can handle it, see if Bates can handle it, but I don't think he's calling the same type of plays where the tight ends are even an option as they were when Erch was on the field, but I'm a Cinnick guy right now

just from the last two games. He's created out better than Bates from both games, so I think if I was a tight-end coach or I'm the office coordinator, I'm starting to see what happens. I like him better than base. I'll say that. All right. Defensively, let's go top three. Defensively, top three go to none other than Kidlaw, Martin, and then Bobby Wagner. Yeah. I thought you'd have Wagner way up there, and I thought you'd have Martin way up there.

So, I mean... Yeah, so sorry, so it's Martin Wagner, Kinlaw in that order. Martin... Wagner really came on... Yeah, Martin was your top rated. Yeah, Martin, my top, then Wagner, then Kenlo. Sorry, I said done that. right order. Okay. So tell me. Bobby gave a lie. That first play of the power that he did, like Bobby was on the field for the first half, but not really impactful. And then early in the

second, excuse me, early in the third quarter, he stopped at Jalen Hertz. QB power, which is a really good job of avoiding the blocker. And that kind of sparked him. And then for the rest of the second half, he was a factor. What would you, what would you do with him? He's an unrestricted free agent. They obviously rely on him. I mean, they don't take him off the field. He's 35 years old. He's not 38 or 39. He's 35.

He'll be 36 next year. We, you know, as fans, jump on his inability to cover, but, you know, you can't ignore how good he is. I mean, he's one of the elite-level tacklers of his generation. I mean, he's going to go to the Hall of Fame. And he's been an unbelievable tackler. So what would you do? If he wanted to play another year, would you bring him back? I will

I man now we're getting into the dollars and make sense of the salary cap everything I would probably only have a one of one year deal if you wanted to come back and that would be

negotiating his price but man I don't know who you're going to put in there let you get somebody phrasing or you draft somebody that you like a lot better what about Jordan McGee is he ready

I don't think McGee's the answer I don't think he's ready I think it's a mental not ready he's physically ready but I don't know if he's mentally ready and he might be too aggressive getting himself out of position and that's got to be the reason

why they haven't tried it at all like Bobby has like taking no break he's played every rep all season that's crazy that's crazy yeah I mean

Jacob Martin I know my first call Jacob Martin you were on the first time you watched them on film he had that strip which Hertz picked up you know recovered

but yeah man the one thing each week, as I've watched since you pointed out just his motor. I mean, there is no doubt that you'd be hard-pressed to find a player on this team at any position that has a higher motor and tries harder than Jacob Martin. 100% agree. That's why he's usually, I mean, he's consistent. If one thing you can be consistent in his effort, he's consistent in effort, and that's what makes him a good football player.

and he's a I'm not saying he should be your starter guy he shouldn't be your number one in the end but he should be a reliever he should be coming in you know that seventh inning guy if you want to use the parallel like you come in on a third down after your other defense fans been in there for six plays you give them two breather and Jacobs goes hard as shit for two plays and maybe has a pressure maybe sets an edge and has a TFL and then you bring your other guy back in if you think he's better but he's just a he's a good football player

I mean look let's go to let me just show you one play the difference between these two guys. Go to three minutes and 40 seconds in the third quarter. Okay, so this is a double, well, that's not a double. Okay, this is a holding penalty. That Jacob Martin forces, this is a callback

touchdown. Right. I want you to go to the end zone of you. All right, I'm there. Go to the end of you. Are you going to compare and contrast with pain? Yes, I am. Of course you are. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I'm watching.

So watch Martin. All right, watch Martin's rush and he gets held right great rush he forces the hold and then he sees the flag but does he give up no because you don't know what's going to happen oh yeah so he goes and pressures hurts he forces this throw out now it's a touchdown but martin is causing all of this okay now rewind the play i'm watching pain gives up now watch pain yeah now pain he thinks the holding is on him watch this so he thinks he's getting held he sees the flag throws his hand up it was like yep that's me, I cause the holding and just quit and then throws his hands on.

You don't know what's going. I think I have a different opinion of this. It lands in the same spot. I think he sees the flag and knows that it's holding because he doesn't even rush. He doesn't force anything

resembling a hold. I know. I know. But that's the point. Martin knows it too, though. Martin sees the flag too. No, I'm with you. Lans the same spot pain quits on the play because he thinks it's coming back yes what if what if martin goes and sacks him and he fumbles right and pains nowhere near to pick it up and go to the house you decline that holding penalty and it's a touchdown it's just this is a stark contrast in effort by

this particular player 94 and most of the other guys on the field look i i'm going into this offseason fully believing based on your weekly film breakdowns that pain is gone. They'll try to trade him if anybody's willing, and if not, they'll cut him and they'll take a huge salary cap benefit by releasing him. All right, bottom three defensively,

I'm assuming Duran was in it. Duran's in it. He leaves the way. Number one, it's all effort. It doesn't look like he wants to play out there. And then goes to Will Harris and Kwan Martin. They are tied in the secondary. This tackles not in the right

position, getting beat man coverage. just, you know, we're being a dead horse here. You've not been a big Will Harris fan before injury or after injury all season long, and they felt like they were missing a ton when he was out. Yeah, I don't see it, man. I don't see it. I would take Reeves over Will Harris seven days a week. I mean, Reeves, you know, still plays a lot, right? I'm looking at what his snap.

He didn't play a lot. I don't think he played a lot. this. I don't think he played a lot this game. Yeah, you're right. 18 snaps, 70, all 70 for Will Harris in the game. Yeah, that's just that's not right. That's not the game I'm watching. All right.

So one last thing, and that is, did you watch the game live or did you just do the All-22? I did some of the game. No, I was watching the game because the college playoff was a blowout, so I was more focused on the Washington, yeah.

So, are you familiar with what caused that brawl after the two-point conversion late in the game? Oh, vaguely, vaguely. Oh, wait, can we talk about real quick the, I'm sure you've talked about this, but they give an explanation of why they challenge the assisted replay. Yeah, so believe it or not, we've seen a couple of replay assists be overturned on challenges this year. Okay, all right. That's why I'm taking Quinn off the. hook because everybody wants to slam them for, you know, challenging a replay assist. But we've seen a couple of them actually get overturned.

So replay assist isn't necessarily the gospel. But the situation with Philly up 2710 after the Bigsby touchdown run where he just ran through everybody. They were up 17 and with 426 left in the game 100% over with just. Josh Johnson. They went for two. And so that's what sparked the brawl afterwards is Washington felt like Siriani and the Eagles were trying to rub it in. The chart says kick, you know, in that spot. It doesn't say go for two. But even if the chart said go for two, I mean, what were the chances at four minutes and 26 seconds with Josh, you know, with Josh Johnson? You're going to

score three times. And by the way, in the process, need to recover two on sides kicks. But anyway, So if you're not watching in context, it's hard for you to have an opinion on it. But do you remember, like, are there any examples from your playing career where, you know, a team was clearly trying to run it up on you guys? I mean, you didn't have a lot of those games. No, no, we fortunately, blessed that we were usually winning most of them. I would say in the moment, I can understand the player on the field, have any emotions toward it

and I probably I mean I probably would too maybe a little bit but as a fan staying in the background now like who cares man

go for two we don't care as a fan I would say I don't really care that they did it or didn't do it but as a player I can understand the bra

sure yeah yeah I mean I I said and have said for the last couple of days I'd have a bigger problem if they didn't respond

to that okay yeah You know, I mean, like, if you're going to lay down, no matter how bad you are, no matter how much you're getting your ass kicked. And look, the bottom line is stop them, right? That's the, you know, that's the line in those situations. If you don't like that they're running it up on, you stop them. Well, we understand that.

But you also don't have to take it in the moment. Like, to roll over and submit or to tap out in that spot, I would have had a bigger problem with that than them actually swinging back. Yeah. Well, I would say, as a, you know, if you're a fan of. the team. As bad as the defense is, I think they got some heart within them. I'll say that. They do try. It seems like most of them are trying and all these games. So that is what it is. But you need some roster adjustments for sure. For sure. All right. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thanks so much for doing this all year. It's been great. And we've got just two

games left. You'll get to watch Jordan Davis again in the season finale. So there's always Have a great one. Really appreciate it. All right. You bet. Steve Souter, everybody. What a find he was this year. Thank you, Matt Swope, the baseball coach at Maryland. Matt suggested Steve to me early in the season and said, if Cooley's not going to do film breakdown, I have an idea. It was an incredible idea.

Steve's been so good. And so many of you that really love ball and even know it, because some of you are coaches, think that's a good. Steve is exceptional at doing this. I really enjoyed it all year with him. And we're going to do more together in the offseason, free agency, draft, and then we've got some things that we've been talking about for next year. And I would love to have had Cooley back.

Cooley's got priorities that are much higher on his list than film breakdown for the Kevin Sheehan Show. He's got kids, young, he's got wrestling that he's coaching, he's building homes. He's just into other things, but you know, you never say never with Cooley because he's always changing. So maybe we'll get him back at some point. Real quickly, no smell test picks as of today for tomorrow's games. What I want you to do is follow me on Twitter at Kevin Sheen, D.C. I will tweet out any picks that I have for Christmas Day.

And then on Friday, and I will do a show on Friday, not Christmas Day, not tomorrow. following the Dallas-Washington game, but I will do a show on Friday, and I'll have a full-fledged weekend smell test on Friday show. But as of now, nothing for tomorrow. If I put something out, I'll do it on Twitter, probably Christmas morning, you know, late Christmas morning before Washington kicks off at 1 o'clock.

So follow me on Twitter at Kevin Sheehan, D.C. Merry Christmas to all of you. Happy holidays to all of you. tell you how much, uh, I appreciate, uh, how much you listen and how much, uh, you support this show. It means a lot. And, um, it's what I love doing, man. I love doing this podcast so much. So, uh, have a great one, uh, with your family and friends. And I'll be back on Friday.