The Kevin Sheehan Show - Cosmi Extended + Santana Moss

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

Kevin opened with an emailer suggesting that last year's Commanders' roster was better than this year's. He talked Sam Cosmi contract extension and also addressed the story that broke regarding an employee of the team who trashed players, fans, Jerry Jones, and Roger Goodell. Santana Moss jumped on to preview the upcoming season and long-time local sports television producer Joe Yasharoff called in to talk about Francis Tiafoe's quarterfinal win at the US Open last night. Want a chance to win $500? Fill out this survey:bluewirepods.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. Two guests on the show today. Santana Moss will be with me in the next segment. Remember, Santana was on that 2012 team that saw Robert Griffin III start his NFL career as a rookie in week one on the road at New Orleans. What advice would Santana have for Jaden Daniels as he gets.

gets ready to play his first NFL game on the road Sunday in Tampa. Lots of Washington commanders talk with Santana Moss in the next segment. And then in the final segment, we're going to talk tennis. Why? Well, I stayed up last night and I watched Francis Tiafo advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open. Joe Yashiroff, my good friend, he's been a longtime sports TV producer in, town is a huge tennis guy. He's been up at the open a little bit over the last week and a half. He knows Tiafo's game. He knows the matchup with Taylor Fritz on Friday. So we're going to do

a little bit of tennis. Look, Francis Tiafo advancing to the men's semifinal. Second time for him in his career. And let me just remind everybody, Francis Tiafo is local. You know, grew up in College Park. Hyattesville was a big part of that. College Park tennis facility out there. But his matchup with Taylor Fritz on Friday is an all-American semi-final, which guarantees an American man in a Grand Slam tennis final for the first time since 2009. It's been 15 years since an American male was in a grand slam tennis final. Andy Rodick lost a rock.

Roger Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon. It was a classic Wimbledon final. Fed won at 1614 in the fifth set. That's the last time an American men's tennis player played in a Grand Slam final. So the matchup between Tiafo and Fritz guarantees that we have an American male in the U.S. Open final on Sunday. and an American man hasn't won a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddock won the U.S. Open 21 years ago in 2003.

It's amazing how far American men's tennis has fallen over the last two decades. But Francis Tiafo and Taylor Fritz Friday with a chance to go to the final and end the drought on Sunday. By the way, when Joe jumps on with me, he's a big football fan as well. We'll get a commander's season prediction. Window Nation is the presenting sponsor of this show, as always. Call them at 86690 Nation or head towindonation.com if you need new windows. This from Jesse to kick off the show today.

Jesse writes, Kevin, why are you so optimistic about the changed roster? Not one of the free agents they signed was really in demand. Most are just Jags. That's just another guy, plural. I actually think the roster last year with Curtis Samuel, Antonio Gibson on offense, and Montez Sweat and Kendall Fuller on defense was better than this one. This is a long haul. I'm happy about a lot that they've done,

but your optimism for a quick fix is misguided. So let me begin with this, because I actually think part of this email is really interesting, because I'd start by saying to Jesse, the four players you mentioned, I agree with you. They are either just as good or better than the players they have right now in those positions. I mean, Montez Sweat for sure. Kendall Fuller, based on what they have at corner, that's true too. I was always a Gibson fan, so in some ways having him at his age is like a wash with Austin Echler. And Curtis Samuel certainly could have played a big role in this new offense.

So it's not unreasonable for you to lay it out that way in comparing the two rosters. I would say a couple of things. Number one, the optimism about this year isn't about a quick fix. I'm not into a quick fix. I'm into the long haul. I'm into the most important thing this year is finding out that the young players that they drafted, specifically Jaden Daniels, can play. But I just have a hunch that it could be a quick turnaround

and that this season upcoming could be a good one. And a lot of it is based on what you wrote me about. And I talked to Tommy about this yesterday, that it's a completely different roster. It's a completely different coaching staff. It's a completely different organization. So I would say you're spot on about those four players, and you may even have a case about the rosters being, you know, closer in sort of talent and ability. But the situations are different.

You know, it's not just the roster that has me optimistic. It's the combination of the front office, the normal, traditional NFL, you know, general manager head coach structure. You've got a veteran head coach, not a rookie head coach or a first-time head coach with a very experienced staff. You know, the non-roster changes are upgrades from what they had last year specifically, because of the, you know, lame duck nature of Ron and his staff and the vibe that surrounded it. It was not an atmosphere last year conducive to winning. Specific to the roster, yeah, Montez-Swed alone would be worth exchanging with probably two to three or four of the players they signed a one-year deals.

But I wouldn't concede that on defense, you know, Wagner, Lou Vu and Chin, you know, aren't major upgrades to what they had and the potential of a guy like Sanra still, along with the veteran players that they still have, Alan Payne, a guy like Juan Martin, I think the defensive personnel altogether is better if, you know, even if it's just slightly better. But I think the defensive coaching staff is the biggest difference maker on that side of the ball. On offense, it starts with the quarterback, Jesse. Sam Howell wasn't very good. You know, it wasn't all on him. I think there's a place for Sam Hal in the league as a, you know, high-end backup for years to come. But they've got a legit chance at quarterback for the first time in years. They have a revamped offensive line. If Brandon Coleman starts or ends up starting, three-fifths of the offensive line is different and better.

They're much better at center with Biotish. And you've got a chance to be better at left guard and left tackle. And they replaced Gibson, let's not forget, with a player who's older, true, 29 years old Austin Echler. But Echler is two years removed from the best year of his career. In 2022, Austin Echler rushed for 915 yards and caught off. 107 passes totaling 1,600 plus yards and 18 touchdowns. He's just two years removed from that. And again, on that side of the ball, not as dysfunctional as last year.

It's a good, I understand where you're coming from because with Tommy yesterday on the show, you know, Tommy said, you know, when you have so much change, it doesn't usually happen right away. and I made the case that the change is a lot of veteran change, but it's also the coaching staff. But, you know, look, the overarching theme on why I have a positive hunch for the first time is the quarterback. All the other stuff is important, but it's not as important as the quarterback. And my belief that he could be ready to play and ready to play at a high enough level that combined with all the other stuff and the better,

environment that they could be one of the surprise teams. We'll see. So today, there is a good story about the team, and there is a story that isn't so good, actually a story that is reminiscent of ugly days gone by. What do you want first? The good story or the bad one? I'll start with the good one. The good news is this. They signed Sam Cosmi to a contract. extension. Something we've been talking about all summer long. There was kind of an expectation that this could happen, but it should happen before the season started. Four years, $74 million contract extension with $45 million guaranteed per source. That was reported by Ben Standig a little while ago. That's $18.5 million AAV, average annual. That would put him,

with the third highest contract for a guard on an average annual in the league behind Robert Hunt with Carolina and Chris Lindstrom with the Falcons. The guaranteed money of $74 of $45 million, the guaranteed money of $45 million would put that in the neighborhood of like the fourth best deal out there among, the guards in the league that have recent contracts. So it's a really good deal for Sam Cosmy. It's a smart thing to do. You did not want this player to get to unrestricted free agency. Remember, he's in the fourth year of a four-year rookie deal. He was not a first-round pick. So therefore, there was no fifth-year option opportunity. He's a player that has played at a high

level and played at a significantly higher level last year than even before. PFF had him as the second highest rated guard over the final seven weeks of the season, and they had him as the fourth rated guard for the year last year. Sam Cosme is a good player at the very least, an excellent player at best, but even more than that, he is the right guy for the culture. trying to create. He is smart. He is a great teammate. Sam Cosmy getting locked up for a four-year contract extension and not allowing him to get to free agency or even approach it was smart. I also think just it's an indication because it's our first contract extension with this ownership group, with this front office with Adam Peters. It's an indication that they're willing to pay,

to make him the third highest paid guard based on average annual in the league. They're willing to pay. They're willing to lock up their own and lock up their own early. You know, this was kind of their first opportunity to do this. You know, deadlines make deals, not that there was an actual deadline, but I think the start of the season in many ways was a deadline. This was just smart, and it was a good first sign on the first player that really, I think, of us would agree needed to be signed before the season began, needed to be locked up for the future.

It's an important position, more important than it's been over the last five to seven years, as interior pass rush has really become the emphasis, detackles, the growth in the game of outstanding defensive tackles. So that interior is, I don't think it's more important than left tackle if you've got a right-handed quarterback or right tackle if you've got a left-handed quarterback, but it is crucial. And Sam Cosme, certainly you could argue, is the best offensive lineman on the team. You did not want to see him walk or enter free agency next January. So I liked that move. Now, for the story that wasn't so good today. This came out of nowhere. I'm going to read from John Kime's story. I'm sure you've

heard about it by now. It's all over the place. It is, again, a story kind of reminiscent of, you know, recent Dan Snyder-owned Washington football franchise vintage. So I'll read from Kime's story, just picking out the parts that are most pertinent to this story. I'll read his first paragraph verbatim. The Washington commanders suspended an employee who made comments about the team's players being anti-gay, accused Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of being racist and anti-gay, and called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a $50 million puppet, closed quote. That's the opening paragraph from Kimes story. Now let me read and kind of give you the pertinent details of this story.

The employee is Rayel and Teen. I don't know if I pronounced his first name correctly. It's spelled R-A-E-L. He's been the vice president of content with the organization for the last four years, and he made the comments to an undercover reporter for the O'Keefe, Media Group. According to a social media video from the media group, and teen met the reporter on the dating app, Hinge, and met with her twice at local restaurants. According to James O'Keefe, the CEO of the O'Keefe Media Group, the interviews took place at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., in June. So, what are some

of the quotes. Let me pick out some of the beauties here. The first one, quote, over 50% of our roster is white religious and God says, F, the gays. Another big chunk is low-income African-Americans that come from a community that is inherently very homophobic, closed quote. He also said some players are, quote, dumb as hell, close quote, and said some who were smart, don't stay that way after getting hit in the head too many times. He also said that those who get their heads knocked around a few times are more susceptible to conspiracy theories. He also said, and this ropes in the commissioner and Jerry Jones,

and Jerry Jones, excuse me, quote, I don't think the commissioner of the NFL hates gay people, hates black people. Jerry Jones, who really runs the NFL, I think he hates gay people, black people, closed quote. And teen was with the Jets for two years before coming to Washington four years ago. He called the league's social justice initiatives, quote, performative, closed quote. He said it's not done out of the goodness of their heart. It's done because, quote, George Floyd changed the game.

It's to make as much money as possible. The NFL cares about the bottom line, like any corporation above all else. They can faux-prioritize DEI for the sake of good publicity, closed quote. He also said about fans, quote, most of the fans, and I think he's referring to Washington's fan base, most of the fans are high school-educated alcoholics and mouth breathers, closed quote. He also told the reporter whose name was not revealed that his job has been to sell hope and he talked about an incident three years ago. Remember when the pipes leaked at FedEx Field and fans said it smelled like sewage? He said that he tweeted out that it was just water,

but that was, quote, state-run media, closed quote. So, uh, the team put out a statement. Let me read the team statement. Quote, the language used in the video runs counter to our values at the commander's organization. We have suspended the employees. pending an investigation and will reserve further comment at this time, closed quote. Well, here we go again. Seems like a bit of a dose of yesteryear a few days before the opener. Although I think some of you would say she and it's not so much yesteryear. They haven't been perfect since they took over the team, meaning Josh Harrison Company.

They did have the Brandon McManus situation. They signed a kicker who was accused of sexual harassment. By the way, there's an update to that story. It was out early this morning. Brandon McManus, if you recall, Washington signed him as a kicker in free agency that he was supposed to be their answer kicker this year. And Brandon McManus was sued for sexual harassment by two women who were flight attendants last year on a Jacksonville Jaguars overseas flight to London for a game.

And Washington initially said, we're going to investigate this and then cut him a few days later. And the idea was they investigated it, researched it on their own, didn't wait for the court system to come to a conclusion, and, you know, found that there was enough smoke there that they ended up releasing him. But the charges were dropped. However, the charges were dropped, but the judge in the case essentially said the charges were dropped because the two women that made the allegations used names Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. And the judge said that the case did not warrant anonymity and gave them a chance to amend and refile their complaint against McManus using their real names.

I think he gave him like two weeks. Look, I'm not a lawyer. I don't know if there's a lot more to this story and if they're going to, you know, redo their complaint. Remember, they were using the guy Tony Busby as their attorney. And I guess there's, you know, he had a comment that they look forward to continuing to pursue this case. so it may not be over.

And I'm getting sidetracked. Although actually Brandon McManus is germane to what we talk about as Washington football fans because he was signed as the kicker and then released. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked from the story here about our guy, Rael and teen. So a quick thought on this, and I mean really quick, and I will explain why. I don't have any definitive reaction to this. I mean, the easier reaction would be, I mean, what an idiot for disclosing this on a second date. I mean, how good could the first date have been, right?

For him to be that provocative and that hurtful in calling out people that work for his organization, that work for the league in which his organization resides, who are fans of the team that he, you know, according to this video, called mouth-breaters in high school. educated alcoholics. I mean, how stupid, you know, is that on a second date? How good could the first date have been? I mean, that's a reaction you could have. You could have the reaction that, you know, this guy was privately recorded by an undercover

reporter and he didn't know it. And he wasn't representing himself to be homophobic. He wasn't representing himself to be racist. but, you know, there for the grace of God go I, right? If all of our conversations were recorded, we've probably said some pretty stupid stuff. But here's the overarching reaction to this, and it's just based on a little bit of reading after this story came out. So the team's, you know, statement, we've suspended the employee pending an investigation, and will reserve further comment at this time. bottom line is, is if they absolutely believed 100% that he said these things,

whether it was done in a private setting or not, I think he would have been fired. But I think part of the hesitation is maybe it's just their MO to wait until all the information comes out, which, by the way, is not a bad strategy at times. But it's because the O'Keeffe Media Group, is not the associated press, all right? The O'Keefe Media Group run by James O'Keefe is a group founded by a guy who founded Project Veritas and other politically active groups.

Project Veritas, for those of you who don't know, kind of a right-wing activist group. And there have been accusations in the past about deceptively edited videos. I have no idea if that's true or not. I have no idea if it even pertains to this video. I just think that it probably makes sense to wait a little bit before being super definitive.

I mean, it certainly seems like if he said anything resembling these comments, pretty stupid on a second date. Pretty stupid overall. You don't throw under the bus people that you work with or work for. But I think I'd just rather wait and see how this story plays out. Look, it sucks that here we are with another one of these about our football organization a few days before the season opener begins. But it's also a guy.

that if he said all these things exactly the way that the video, you know, suggests he said these things, this is a guy who was an employee in their organization, probably hired by Dan Snyder, Tanya Snyder, or Jason Wright, considering he's been in the organization for four years, and he certainly wouldn't have been hired by anybody on the football side, I don't think. This seems like an other side of the building higher. and, you know, they're still, I'm sure, trying to, you know, weed out every last remnant of what was, you know, bad in the previous regime. Let's just wait and see. Santana Moss, after these words from a few of our sponsors.

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That's also on YouTube. He does the YouTube shows with Logan, with Fred, Command Center, Players Club with all of the guys. So check it out. If you just go to Washington Commanders on YouTube, you're going to find everything that Santana's involved in. So finally we're here. You know, I'm not a big fan of the summer of training camp for free. season because it just doesn't tell us much. And I was going to start by asking you, you know, how much different is the season opener in every sense of the word? Like, is it a big

mystery when you go into a season opener even for the players? It was always a mystery for me as a player because you understood that, okay, I do have the playbook. I knew everything about what we're going to be running. But every week, it's something different. So, first of all, going into that first game, everything you're running that week is like almost new all over again because you learned so much. And now we're saying, okay, we're only sticking to these plays here.

So you know everything you learned, you kind of scratching that and saying, this is the game plan. So it's truly a mystery. And then you get out there Sunday, you don't know what they expect from the defense. All you can do is go off of what you saw last year or if they showed you something, you know, in the preseason. But everything is basically something, you know, for both sides, guys are trying to basically going to wonder what's going on and try to by half time, you know,

be able to adjust off whatever you're doing. When you got to become an older player and you became a veteran player, like let's just go back to 2012. Did you give advice to RG3 and Alfred Morris and, you know, or at any point during your career, you know, what was your advice to rookie players before their first game? don't press let the game come to you that's what that I would get at to any and everybody that's something I told myself daily you know what I mean whether it was practice whether it was game whether it was you know whatever I was doing when I was in the track meet let let the game come to you don't press don't overdo it don't overthink it and and I remember myself telling my young

receivers and Robert and when I had times where me and have a little dapp off and getting ready for the game let's go and I'm like let the game come to you you know because when you allow it to come to you, like, let me give you an existence. I mean, like, far as, you know, being a receiver for existence, like, if I'm a guy, if I'm a wide-out and I'm out there pressing, like, throw me the ball, throw me the ball, throw me, and I'm not allowing things to open up

in the timely fashion, now I get a quarterback that's rattled a little bit that's trying to force the ball to me, and it might be a time when I'm not ready, but it might be a time when I'm covered. So I just allow things to happen. I think everything that's going to happen is meant to happen, so that's what I tell. folks there. You know, don't overdo it. Don't overthink. Let the game flow to you.

I mean, you were a part of what I would refer to as the most memorable season opener in franchise history, Santana. That 2012 opener in New Orleans where, look, as fans, we had no idea what was coming. We didn't know you guys are lining up in Pistol and you're running a bunch of read option plays. And I'm just curious what you're memorand. of that week leading into that season opener was you guys knew you were going to unveil something that was pretty new and unique. What are your memories of 2012 going into New Orleans? Well, it's crazy because I remember we had been with that staff for two years already. So this is actually our third year with this staff. So the staff had been there since 2010.

So if you look at what we did the first two years, it was nowhere near. what we was going to be, you know, presenting people in 2012, but I also knew that we had the firepower to go out there with it. And I was ecstatic, man. My position on the team, you know, as a player, was a lot different. Now I was coming in, you know, primarily on third down, playing the slot position. But even with that, you know, new role, I felt, you know,

I was so optimistic about what I can do in the offense because everybody was going to get a chance to eat. And long as you go out there and do what you say, supposed to do, you're going to have your opportunity. So it was one of those moments where you knew what we had, but you still had to go out there where the live bullets was flying to see how it's going to work because, you know, you can easily say we're going to do something and it looks flat. You look nice in practice and it looks okay when you kind of, you know, you know, do a play or two

of it in the preseason. But until you're in a live game where you're playing against a real defense and these guys have been in this league and some of these guys are, you know, the best of the best, all pros, you name it, you won't really know what it's going to be until you out there doing it against that kind of competition. Yeah, that was a crazy day. And, you know, one of the things that happened to the receiver core that day is that Pierre got hurt on that long touchdown pass.

And then he was out for a big chunk of the season. And, you know, it's crazy you bring that up because you got to think, y'all might not know this because this is behind closed doors. But leading into that season, that training camp, when we came in for training camp, I sat down with Mike, and he was telling me, hey, I'm going to change the position, I'm going to put you inside. I think, you know, at this age, I believe I was 33 at the time. He was like, man, I think at this age, I remember having McCaffrey, Ed McCaffrey, and he was like, what I didn't do with him, I'm trying to do with you. And I'm like, what is that, coach? You know, because as any player, I don't want to be told that they're having, you know, have less of a road.

And he was like, well, you got to understand. Man, like I turned a film on, and you're separating still at 33 years old. So if I can get you to still run this, you know, have that youth in your legs and have this spring in your legs by taking a lot off of you, then I feel like I can get more years out of it. So I'm like, I still want to try to hear it, but he say, look, listen. And so, you know, being the team player than I am, I say, coach, if you feel like this is best for the team, then I'm all for,

but this is something I don't want to do. You know, I'm not really sure about this. and lo and behold, man, I would not then led the team in touchdown that year, but getting back to the point that you just made about Pierre getting hurt. Everyone thought immediately when Pierre got hurt, okay, we're going to move Tanner back to one of the starting positions, either X or Z, because we have that luxury. And Mike told me no. He said, no, Tanner.

Now you're going to be a vocal point why Pierre is not there. We will lean on you more, but we're going to keep your role the same. And I think the world, that's why I always speak so highly of Mike Sandenhan and, Kyle Shannanahan and those guys, man, because they knew how to, you know, use the guys that they had to the best of their ability and get the most out of them, man. And it's crazy, you know, as I'll sit back and think about all the things that transpired through that season for us to have the season that we had with knowing you,

you got one of your top guys down, we still was able to go out there and be productive in the passing game, even with a young quarterback. Who did they move into his spot? Was it Hankerson? It was Hankerson moved up. Yeah, Angerson moved up to the X. And at the time, I don't know if it was Josh already at D, starring at Z, or was it? I know it wasn't Al, but all of this was kind of trading in, coming in and out,

stubborn for each other. So it really was never, the only person I could say who had the primary spot was Pierre. He was starring X. Yeah. And when that told kind of, you know, started bothering him, we just told the other young guys, it's their time to step up. you know, you had a thing. Hankerson, that was his second year, I believe, at the time. Yeah.

He stepped up and had a huge game and started having to, he had a huge year that year, him and Al Robinson. So all of this contributor, man, we all, and then Pierre ended up getting healthy later on that year. And I believe everybody had a little more than 500 yards that year. And it was one of those seasons, man. It was magical, man. It was magical. I wish Arjew would have never went down in the playoffs because we could have truly beat, you know, Seattle. That was our time to beat those guys. I mean, I've always, I've said this for many years, that you beat Seattle, you're up 14, nothing.

And then the next game would have been the Falcons on the road, and they were beatable. Now, San Francisco was really good. You would have had to play them in candlestick out in San Francisco. But that was probably the closest, this franchise has been since it's Super Bowl in 1991. The last year it won the Super Bowl to the NFC championship game anyway. although there was a team in 99 that had a shot. I was going to ask you one other question about that game. Did you guys realize the benefit that the way the approach went with Robert as a run option

and presented as a run option that like Alfred Morris would end up having the kind of year he had? Did you see that coming, that part of it? I mean, if you know football the way we know it, you, you, you instantly understand that when you have a dude thread in the backfield as a quarterback, the run game is that much more potent because now you don't know what to expect. You don't know who's going to be running with the ball. And so you understand that part of it clear. Now, when it comes to what the numbers might be from any one of those guys,

who would ever know that? You know, I mean, it's all dictated around how well that guy, you know, follow the plans and is able to go out there and play football at his position. I think Alper Morris, you got to give him a little credit for it, man. You know, even without Robert being a run threat at times, the second year, Alper Morris still went out there and put up a thousand yards. So I think, man, Alper Morris just surprised a lot of people with the opportunity. But I think the offense as a whole, our run scheme as a whole,

was really more to credit to Alfa Morris success than just having Robert back there as a due threat. All right. That leads me into this because I think one of the biggest mysteries, one of the more intriguing things heading into Sunday is what will Cliff Kingsbury's offense look like with Jaden Daniels or quarterback? You've been out there for a few months now. You're close to it. What's your guess? What are we, what kind of offense? What are we going to see Sunday in Tampa? Your guess is good as mine, man. I mean, I'm out here, but you know, as media, you know,

you don't get to watch. Yeah. Yeah, we don't watch it. So we see glimpses of it like when everybody else sees it, man. And, you know, I'm just ready to see some of the things that I saw that he ran in Arizona. But I think also what people fail to realize is much people want to talk about, you know, the spread attack and how he does things passing-wise in his thing. You look at all those years of him, you know, whatever his back was,

whoever his back was, he had a great running game behind that passing attack. So that's what I'm looking forward to the most, man. You know, we just had a chance to have B. Rob on our, you know, our players club show that's going to be airing this Saturday. And that's one of the things you talked to him about, like, Be Rob, like, how thrilled are you to be a part of an offense that's going to really allow you to be the running back that you are? And, man, you can just see it in them. Like, before we even said a word to B. Rob, his energy alone showed us, man, what kind of year he's trying to have. So I'm intrigued, man. I'm looking forward to seeing this offense flourish and, you know, have good out of it.

You know, I can't sit here and be on that side of saying how many. wins they're going to win and how good they're going to look. So I think that's up to them. And I think it's going to be a weekly thing that, you know, we see these guys progress and, you know, improve with what they got, especially out of learning who they are together as a team. But I am thrilled about just knowing that at least we want to have the kind of back field play that we've been missing for the last year because last year was,

man, it was hideous, man, sometimes, you know, seeing those outlooks and seeing the numbers of what B. Rob was going to see at halftime, sometimes touching the ball only but five times, you know? Yeah. I'm with you. I mean, you go back to that Cardinal team of 2021. James Connor, you know, he had 202 carries. Chase Edmonds had 116 carries. So out of the tailback position, they had 318 carries. I think Brian Robinson Jr. is in for a big year.

I'm hoping that's part of it. And Santana, one of the reasons I think that's true is, or maybe I'm hoping it's true. and I want your opinion on this. I hope that Kingsbury is protective of a rookie quarterback. I think we all know that Jaden's got phenomenal talent, playmaking ability, but a run game, quick game in the past game, some plays to get him out on the edge. I hope we see a lot of that,

and I hope it's more, for the lack of a better description, responsible than maybe it was last year. with Sam Hal, different quarterback, I understand that. But what do you think? Yeah, I mean, I think when I look at it, man, and I'm not going to say and say I know Cliff and I know how he's going to run things, but just kind of watching a little bit of what, you know, Kyle did over there in Arizona, which I believe both of these guys

that have quarterback, Kyle, and Dayton are two totally different quarterbacks. You have a quarterback in Dayton that has the height that he can see in the pocket, So you don't probably have to run a lot of the stuff that Calla did to get outside the pocket so he can be efficient. But then I also believe, too, man, it's going to be times when, you know, I don't think they necessarily have to, you know, rely on Dayton to be that guy. But he has that dynamic ability to be a threat at all time. So you have to use that threat. I mean, that makes the court. That makes these defenses, you know, you know, play the way you want to play.

Because if you don't have that threat, you're not using it like we did in 2013 with Robert, then they don't have to play, you know, to where. what, you know, they don't have to have their, you know, their play with their, you know, on their heels, like how you want the defense to be. You don't want them pin their ears back feeling like they can attack you. So I think he's going to use that to his advantage. But I think also at the same time, he's going to allow what he has as weapons, man, to really, you know, be up in showcase. Because when you have the weapons that we have, the weaponry is there.

You have the backers, you have a terrorist, you have Terry McCarn. You have B-Rob and you have Echler in the back field. You have so much other talent out there on the field, why I put so much pressure on your young quarterback. But knowing that he has the effect that he has of being that playmaker, that's all you need to scare defenses. Because you know every game, defense is going to try to pin their ears back and say,

this young guy is not going to beat us. But at the same time, just as much as those defenses want to pin their ears back and get out to them, they have that scared factor knowing that this guy can take off on us and get missing and take it a distance for 80 plus. So that's what we have one in our favor, knowing that this guy can run and throw the football. Who leads the team in receptions this year? Oh, that's easy, man.

That's scary, Terry. I mean, if he's not, if we got a question who should be getting a heavy volume of opportunities, if we still questioning that this year with Terry, then we have a problem. You know what I mean? I think this kid has showed us more than we need to see, man. And he's done it with a slew of quarterback. You know what I mean? He's almost past my number that I had in 10 years.

So it's crazy to see what he's done with every quarterback that he has to play with and just not even having those attempts, you know, weekly like he should have. Man, I think this year, this offense is going to really allow Terry to be Terry and be that vital point for us in the passing game. All right. That was a dumb question. Who's second on the team in receptions? I'm saying, Zach, I'm going to say we're probably lean on our tight ends a lot.

I think you have no choice but to, you know, use what you have. I think Earth still have that ability, and he's not here for no reason. So I'm going to limb and say him. In their first official depth chart that they put out this week, Luke McCaffrey was listed as a starter. Is there anything to read into that? Do you think Luke McCaffrey is going to be on the field as much, if not more, than Diami Brown or Noah Brown?

I have no clue. If I had to believe, if he's on that, list, I would assume that he's in the setup of being a part of the three-wire receivers. So he might be the guy that comes in and play the slot out of the gate. But I also believe, too, man, that, you know, most teams have so many packages, man. These guys are going to be coming in and off the field. So who's ever dressed going to get their fair share of play? So this has got to be ready for their package.

You've had Jaden on your show, I think, a couple of times at this point. You've seen them up close. You've gotten a chance to talk to them. Give me your overall gut feel on the kind of kid he is in the kind of season he's going to have as a rookie. Well, out the gate, man, when you get a chance to talk to him, he well-mannered. He's humbled. I think when you've been around a lot of guys with this kind of, I guess you think, you could say exposure from what round he was picked, from the highest being a high in the trophy,

you get a lot, you see a lot of characters, you know what I mean? And I have to say no names. But when I out the date, man, you just talk to a guy that feel like it almost seemed like he'd been here before. You know what I mean? I don't know if you can take that from his parenting, you know, who raised them. But then you hear about, you know, what football is to him. And it's one thing to speak well about football. And another thing to say, you know, this guy actually studies.

And he knows the game inside out. And that's what you've been hearing around the building with the guy. When it comes to what he can do this season, man, the sky's the limit. But I think it's all going to be around, you know, basically relying on the team how well they play together. I think that's what people feel to realize. This is a new team. You know, it's a lot of veterans around the team,

but all these guys are playing together for the first time. A lot of these guys are playing together for the first time. I think we have seven starters on both sides of the ball, new stars on both sides of the ball. So I'm hoping that these guys could come out here week one and be, you know, ticking like a well or a machine. But being a player in this game, I know it takes time.

And so if they can come out there and be competitive about the gate, that's all I ask for, because I think being competitive gives you an opportunity to be your last standing, you know, when that clock stays zero. Give me a player beyond, you know, the obvious, Terry, Jaden, you know, a few others, that you're really excited about, that you really have a feeling is going to have even a bigger year than most people are expecting. That's a good one. I like that.

I think he kind of fits in the obvious, but I'm going to still go out there and say because he's a defensive guy. Mike Sandister. I really believe, like, you know, and it's hard to say that he fits in the obvious because, no, he doesn't fit in the obvious. I think he just one of those guys that we talked about a lot this preseason. But to be a young guy, man, I haven't seen a lot of guys with the kind of, I'm trying to see what I can use as a word for him.

determination that he's shown weekend and week out of the preseason. Like, I've seen plays come this guy away, and he's stopping it for a loss as a little guy at corner in the NFL. You know what I'm saying? Fearless. Fearless. I mean, he played that way at Michigan.

Bingo. So, you know, when I see that, you know, I've been on teams. I've been on teams where, you know, us veterans, man, we sit around and look for that guy who just got the it. here. Like, it's just something about him, man. This football thing is slowed down to the fullest, and he don't, and

he's not scared of nothing. That's Mike Sandisfill when I see him, man. He just have a different swag about itself. He's like a business guy that comes to work every day. I watched him get out of his car other day at the preseason game, and I say, yeah, this guy is ready. He's ready for the NFL. He's ready for his league.

So, you know, I've been in those shoes, man. I was wide-eyed, and I ain't know what to expect from nothing. Every day was a different day, and it was something new. But this guy, has this whole demeanor about himself, man, that he's been here before and he's ready for business. So I think he's one of those guys that I can say he fits in that

one of those guys that's not the obvious, but to me it is obvious. Two more. What's your biggest concern? Offense, defense, special teams, doesn't matter. My biggest concern, it's not really a concern. I just really want

to see a different style of play from the cornerback position as a whole. You know, I know we have a new staff in, and I knew how they put things over in Dallas, but we have a lot of the same players playing from last year that we're going to depend on at the cornerback position. Can they play that style of football that I saw Dallas play in as, you know, as D.B. This corner, man, I'm a receiver, and I played corner as a kid growing up, and that was one of my true love, first love when it came to playing football. I wanted to play on that side of the

ball, but when I got in high school, I made a business decision saying, hey, Tanny, you might not be no taller than five, five, nine, five, ten. So I think you can go out here and score touchdowns easier than tackling guys. That's almost 300 pounds playing a runnerback. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, uh, and as a corner, man, I was always taught to be aggressive to, you know, when you plan against a guy like Santana Moss and use myself against it, you, you press him.

You make sure you get him off of his game. You know where he's good at. He's agile. He's fast. He's quick. You know, the way you, you know, defend a guy like that, you don't try to, you run with him. You tried to disrupt him. And it's too many times that I see these

big guys that we have that's not being as disruptive or they're not using that tool, not using what God gave them. And that reach to put their hands on somebody every now and then when they had the line of scrimm. So I'm looking forward to seeing these guys play different. I'm wondering, can they play

different? And I'm looking forward to seeing them do so because I think that, you know, just listening to the way the decontator came in from day one. He basically said that this is the type of balled that they're going to be playing. And if they're not playing at that level, they're not going to be here. So everybody that's here, I'm expecting them to rise to the talent.

Who's the punt returner going to be? I'm going to say Jameson. Damison. Damien Crowder, man. I think he, I think, I think Crowder has that position on lock still if you had to ask me. I don't think, you know, with all the receivers that they have, that's going to be probably, you know, sharing time or getting, you know, PT as a receiver.

They just kept him around for nothing. I think he's a primary punt returner that can also come in there and be that veteran on the field on the officer side when he beat. You said that you're not going to give me a predicted record, but over or under six and a half wins, that's the number in Vegas. That's a tough one, man. Listen, I've done a lot of shows and stuff with you over the years where we were talking about terrible teams.

I'm the most optimistic I've been since Cousins was here. I think they could win 10 games this year. That's what I predicted. I think they're going to be the surprise team in the NFC. It sounds like you're not headed in that direction. I just don't want to give you guys a banana-in-the-tail-fight type of outcome. I'm not trying to be him. I don't want to blow smoke just to be blowing it.

But I would say this. If they can show me that they're playing the style of football that this team has been preaching from day one that they want to be, anything could happen. I've been on teams where even the games that was, you know, a team tech us off as losing was not that way. It wasn't that outcome when we played it because of the style of the way we played the game. So I'm looking to see them play as a team as a unit. I think if they do that, then I can easily say over six and a half, but probably right on the cusp of seven wins. You see what I'm saying?

Yep, I got you. Thanks for doing this as always. Again, catch Santana. He's going to be doing pre-and-post game on WUSA Channel 9 with Brian Mitchell and Brian Colbert, Jr. He does all this stuff on the Commander's YouTube channel. Thanks. Enjoy the season.

I'm sure I'll talk to you at some point during it. I always appreciate the time. As always, buddy, you got me. Appreciate you. Santana Moss, everybody. Up next, we're going to talk tennis. My good friend Joe Yashiroff will be on with me. He will also have a Commander's Season prediction.

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We'll fight for a spot in the U.S. Open finally against his good buddy and fellow American Taylor Fritz here on Friday. That'll be something to see. Francis Tiafo last night, local college park, that big successful tennis academy, tennis facility for I don't know how many years now. We've had people on the show before that have been affiliated with it and have been a part of Francis Tiafo's development. But last night, quarterfinals, U.S. Open. He advanced over Grigor Dmitrov in four sets after Dmitrov defaulted with an injury. in the fourth set. Joining me to talk a little tennis,

which we don't do that much on this show. But this person knows that I used to be a big tennis fan, and he still is, is my good friend Joe Yashiroff, at J. Yash on X on Twitter. Joe's a legendary producer, sports producer, for television in this time. Why are you laughing? It's true.

I mean, come on. Come on. You sent me your resume for like introduction purposes. Like I don't know what you've done before. He's currently the news director at Montgomery County, Montgomery Community Media. But Joe, everybody in sports TV, sports radio, sports journalism in town,

all of us have known Joe for well, it's more than 30 years. It's probably coming up on close to 40 years. You and I interned together at Channel 5, 1987, 1988? Yeah, yeah. Late 80s? Yeah, mid to late 80s with a guy named Scott Van Pelt, yeah. Yeah, well, Scott, we came on after you and I had already been hired. Remember, you and I, Joe and I, our first jobs out of college, we're working at Channel 5. as interns, and we got hired pretty quickly. I mean, you got hired pretty quickly. I came after you, and I came after you just as Larry Duvall was leaving to go to work for Glenn Brenner at Channel 9,

and I got a job. And I'm like, I mean, I was thrilled to get paid. And we were there with our good friend Paul Farnsworth and eventually guys like Dave Baker. and Frank Chrysopholi. But Scott was an intern there during that period. That's when Scott and I became the best of friends, really there, much more so than at Maryland. And we were all working for Steve Buckehantz,

who loves to claim like this media tree, like a coaching tree. You know, Gus Johnson. I mean, Gus Johnson and Scott Van Pelt are the true, you know, coaching tree stars. Everybody else, we just got jobs. I'm going to put you in there. You're dominating radio and podcasts.

Oh, stop. I'm putting you in there. Yeah. If I'm legendary, I'm going to give you compliments too. I mean it. I mean it. So go ahead. Joe really was an incredible producer.

He's been a lifelong friend. And Joe's a massive tennis fan. And he goes, you got a flushing meadow every year, right? Don't you and Nancy basically go every year? How long have you been going? 25 years, me and my brother-in-law. I've been with Nancy a couple times, but it's typically my brother-in-law, Ben and I, who go. And we love it.

It's amazing. It's such a great event to go to. I went several years in a row. Karen and I went probably five, six years in a row, but this was 90s, early 2000s. I think the last, it was a weekend in which Agassi and Sample, we're both playing and I remember that. But it's been a long time since I've been. But it's a fun event.

You know how much I used to love tennis. I don't love it as much anymore. I don't follow it as much anymore. With that said, I've watched a lot of the Open and I watched last night. So before we get to Tiafo, when were you up in Flushing Meadow? You weren't there last night? No, I was there Thursday and Friday, so I got to see the Tiafo show. Shelton match. I'm close and personal, so that was great.

Great match. Oh, yes. Four hours, five sets. It was a battle. And, you know, the significance not lost on anyone, two African-American males playing at Arthur Ashe Stadium. So that was a rematch of last year, but still, it was great. It was a great atmosphere, as always. Incredible atmosphere. Although, you know, last night before the Tiafo match, I'm watching some of the build-up to it. and it's Fowler and the two McEnroe's on the call, but, you know, is Chris McKendry and Mary Jo Fernandez, and I'm forgetting who else was sitting with them.

I can't remember. They've got the new guy, Chris Eubanks, doing a lot of the work. Yeah. But he, but they tried to, they tried to build, Curios has been a part of the broadcast as well, loved watching Curios play.

But they built it up last night prior to it as this incredible, electric quarterfinal, you know, second week crowd. I can tell you, I mean, from watching some of the biggest nights in the history of that tournament, you know, going back to Connors Harhus during Connors' run when he beat Harhus in the quarterfinals, you know, some of the big McEnroe matches, some of the big, Agassiz-Sampras played a quarter-final match on like a Thursday night. That was just, I mean, I don't think any of this, honestly, I wasn't there, and I haven't been there for all of them, but I've watched a lot of them. It didn't feel like that last night.

No, I would agree with that. And I'm going to add James Blake. James Blake became kind of one of the guys that would play the night matches and it was great atmosphere back in the day. But no, last night was not quite the Shelton-Tiafo atmosphere, but still pretty good. But the problem is it's such a big stadium. It's not a problem, but it's 24,000. but it didn't have the same weight as the two Americans going at it.

All right. So for those that are not following this, Francis Tiafo is going to play Taylor Fritz. They are both Americans. They're going to play in a semi-final match on Friday. And it will guarantee a male U.S. participant in a Men's Grand Slam final for the first time since Andy Rodder. played in a semi-final match in 2009 at Wimbledon. That was the last time we had an American in a semi-final match. So that's 15 years ago.

We have not had an American in the semifinals at the U.S. Open since Rodick was in it in 2006 and lost the Federer in four sets. And we haven't had a U.S. male Grand Slam champion. Many of you probably know this since Andy Roddock won the U.S. Open in 2003. So my first question to you is, I mean, we know that Alcarez and Djokovic, you know, got upset in this tournament. But is this an indication of a resurgence of male American tennis? 100%. I mean, and it's a resurgence because the big three are allowing. them allowing the resurgence to happen because they're getting old and beat up.

So Federer's obviously gone. Nadal is beat up. You know, Djokovic has even heard after winning the gold medal. And two of the guys Al-Karazan Djokovic, who lost, I think it's not a coincidence and add Cocoa Gough to that that they played in Paris. Tiafo decided not to play, which I thought was really smart for a lot of reasons. But I absolutely think this is a resurgence of American tennis that will go on for a few years. see, but I think it is. So are Taylor, Fritz, and Francis Tiafo at the forefront of that?

Yeah. I mean, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Corta, you know, Brian Shelton, it's hard to say who's going to be the one, but I will say if you're picking the U.S. Open, Francis Tiafo is built for the U.S. Open. He loves it. He eats it up. He likes the big city, the big lights. He just plays his best tennis there. So if it's U.S. Open it's Tiafo, if it's the other one, you know, I might pick one of the other guys, maybe Fritz, but all of them have improved and gone up. Shelton

is so young that I think he's got the biggest, what do you call it? What's the word I'm looking for? Upside. Upside, thank you, the sports cliche. But no, I think they're all legitimately good, and we'll see which ones are better than good and can be

top five or better in the next couple years. Before we get to the matchup with Taylor Fritz on Friday, last night, you know, Grigor Dimitrov, is he the one that dated Maria Sharapova for many years? Yeah. Okay. Yes, sir. He's 33 years old.

He's been around forever. He's been as ranked as number three in the world. I actually thought before that match started, I actually thought he had a good chance to win. I was rooting for Tiafo. But really, he's been playing with. well. I mean, I only know this because I've just been following this tournament. I really didn't follow the summer circuit Cincinnati, you know, a D.C. or any of the other stuff or even the Olympics, to be honest with you. And I thought he had a chance. And before he got injured,

you tell me, I thought that second set from the time that he was down 4-1 came back, forced the tiebreaker, won the tiebreaker, except for the three double faults in succession that ended the tiebreaker. That was high-level tennis, man. Very high-level. Demitrov, you mentioned, is 33. He's playing some of, if not the best tennis he's ever played. I know this is not as highest ranking. I think he's ninth, but he's playing some great tennis at the age of 33.

Definitely very high level. So the thing about the three double faults that I was impressed, and I think it's a different Francis Tiapho that we're watching here, more mature, more calm, better figuring things out, and that's all sports and life. is figuring it out. So he gets the three double fault. Well, some guys, it might have been over at that point,

but he came back strong in the third set. So that's, I'm seeing things in him that I haven't seen before. Two years ago, he made that run where he obviously beaten the doll in the quarters, and then he gave Alcaroza a great match in the semis. But this is a different Tiafa we're watching right now in my estimation. So I had no idea, but I asked my producer on radio this morning, and I'm like, I'm assuming Tiafo is the favorite, like the crowd's behind him, he's playing at a high level. Not only is he not the favorite, he's a massive underdog head-to-head against Fritz. Fritz is minus 260 to win the semi-final match.

He is six-and-one against Tiafo. So should Fritz going into this match in that venue be that big of a favorite? I think based on all the things you said, yes. So he's beat him six in a row. He's maybe a little better. He's got a little bigger serve. Tiafah's got a big serve. High 120s, low 1-30s.

So I would say based on all that stuff, yes. But if you watch tennis, if you watch Tiafo, I would say not as big. I would still make him a slight favorite. But obviously I'm rooting. We're all rooting for Tiafos. He's from Hyattville. He's an honorary university's Maryland guy, you know, trained at JTCC, which you mentioned earlier. just half a mile from the Maryland campus.

But I'd make Fritz a slight favor, but I would pick, putting my rooting aside, I would pick Tiafo because of what I've seen, his maturity, and what I've seen from him. So I'm picking Tiafo, but Fritz should be a slight favorite, in my opinion. For those of the listeners that don't know the Tiafo story, tell it to everybody. So parents, immigrants, and he grew up at the JTCC, you know, his father was, I forget the title, but he Tell everybody what the JTCC is. You and I know about this incredible facility in College Park, but tell everybody, you know, how important it's been to the sport.

It's been phenomenal. The Junior Tennis Champions Center, and it's developed many, many players, and Tiafo was a little kid basically chasing balls around helping his dad. And Francis has a twin brother. They both were doing that. And then they both were playing tennis. And Francis just, you know, just climbed the charts in tennis and became who he is today. But, you know, the fact that he's there playing tennis based on the background of the parents and the immigrants and all that, it shouldn't happen.

But it's a great American story. It's a great sports story. It's a 30 for 30. I know Mary Carrillo has done many stories on him, I think, for real sports. If you don't root for Francis Tiafo, you should, not just because he's from Hyattville, but because of where he came from and what he's become and where he's going, I think. It's just he's a phenomenal dude. Sierra Leone is where the family emigrated from.

The father was hired initially to be on the... construction crew that built this facility in 1999. Then he became a custodian at the facility, and they gave them a spare office to live in at the JTCC. And the Tiafo brothers were super young, and they would be with their father when they weren't in school, helping and working, and they just picked up tennis rackets and started banging balls around. And the next thing you know, Francis is playing in the juniors at like nine, ten years old and climbing the, you know, pro prospect charts. And then eventually, I don't know, did he, how, you know, Liz was all over this Tiafo story when he first. Yeah, Liz Clark.

When he first turned pro, I remember she wrote a spectacular story about it. but I want to say that he may have made his debut at like 17 years old, something like that, 16 years old? I think that's right. I think that's right. He's a veteran. He's been basically playing for 10 years, you know, and he's an old man at 26 right now. Yeah. It's amazing.

So tell me why he isn't ranked higher than 20th in the world. Well, he peaked at 10, two years ago when he made that run where he lost Alcaraz and the semis. He dropped to 30, and now he's back to 20, and he will go up now, obviously, because he's in the semis of the U.S. Open. You know, from what I've heard and what I think, I think he's in love with the celebrity part, and this is not a criticism. This is just things that I've heard.

He likes the entertainment aspect of tennis, the celebrity part of tennis. We know he's got friends in the game, but also outside the game. You know, Bradley Beale was at his matches two years ago. go when he was still with the wizards. So he likes all that stuff, which is great. He likes to put on a show, which is great. But maybe, maybe, and I'm not claiming to be an expert here, maybe that got in the way, because if you want to be top three, and we know Tom Brady's story and how he got to be

who he is, you've got to be so focused, so disciplined from your diet to everything. So maybe he got a little away from that. I don't know. But that decision to not play in Paris to me showed a maturity that I think was really huge for preparing for the U.S. Open. So that's kind of my take on it. And, you know, if your top 30 in the world, you're still incredible. You're the best 30 people in the world to do something. Well, that's still pretty good.

But when you get to 10, you don't want to drop the 30. But, again, at 20 now, he'll be back up close to 10 after this U.S. Open, whether he wins it or not. Right. So, by the way, he's a huge Terp fan. I actually sat next to him when I was with Scott at a game last year, I think, and he couldn't have been nicer. Big Terp fan. So the winner of that match guarantees a U.S. participant in a Grand Slam final, as I said, for the first time since 2009 when Roddock lost a Federer. I mean, that's amazing, considering what this sport was when you and I grew up and when you. and I got to know each other. I mean, you know, in the 80s, 90s, and the U.S. was still dominant. I mean, it really has become a sport that's much more popular internationally than it is here. I was a massive Serena fan, and so I've even lost interest since she retired.

But as you look at this, first of all, do you think Sinner should still be in the draw or not? That's a tough call. I mean, you know, probably not. and if he wasn't the number one ranked player in the world with the access to the lawyers and whatever, probably not. You're talking about that, correct? Yeah, I'm talking about the performance enhancing, you know, positive test. It doesn't feel like it should be, that he should be playing, that he should have been suspended.

You know, Maria Sharpovo was suspended. That was basically the end of her career. So I don't think he should be in there, but he's in there. So what are you going to do, you know? Do you think the winner of that quarterfinal tonight Medvedev and Center wins the open? Yeah, but I also thought Djokov would go further, and I thought Alcaraz would go further. But, I mean, on paper 100%, those two guys are clear. I mean, Medvedev also loves the U.S. Open.

He's an interesting dude being Russian and how popular he's become, he was the villain, and then he turned it around somehow. But yes, I do think that the winner of Sinner Medvedev will be in the final. against, you know, hopefully Tiafo, but Tiafo or Fritz, 100%. Real quickly, I mean, two American women, they could meet in the final. They won't be favored to meet in the final, but this Emma Navarro won yesterday, been watching her a little bit, and then Pagula goes tonight. I kind of like her.

You know, there's been a lot written about both of these women. They both come from billionaire father families. Pagula's family owns the Buffalo Bills, for those of you who don't know. But I actually kind of like her. There's something that's very likable. I hope she wins when she's playing the number one player in the world. I mean, for a lot of money, I bet you 80% of the people listening to this right now could not name the number one female player in the world.

And she's been that for, what, two years? Yeah, Ego Shventec from Poland. Yeah, no, she's clearly the best player. but she has some strange performances sometimes in the finals. So I don't think it's a no-brainer that she's going to win at all. I do like Pagula. And, I mean, think about, for both of them, but especially Pagula, when your dad owns the Bills, and I think the Sabres,

or maybe you formerly own the Sabres, you know, all the stuff that you hear, but she still, she's overcome. On the one hand, she's had a silver spoon. On the other hand, she's had to hear stuff her whole life. Like, oh, yeah, I wonder how you got into tennis and all that. But no, I like her. She's not had success once she gets to the quarters. She's probably the best player in the world to never have won a major or to never.

I don't even think she's been to a final. So I'm rooting for Pagula. I think this might be her time. Navarro is tough as nails. She is fun to watch. So I like all of them. And I'm going to pick one of the Americans. I'm picking Pagula to win at this point.

How about that? I would love to see her win. I think she comes off as considering, you know, her upbringing as pretty down to earth, actually. Yes. All right. What else haven't I asked you about the sport of tennis before I ask you to tell me what you think about the football team this year? So just the one thing about Tiafa, the other decision he made, which was huge, was changing his coach. David Witt is now his coach.

They hooked up in Atlanta. And Tiafa's 14 and 4 since then. think, you know, you're not going to give all the credit to the coach, but coaches make a difference. And so for Atlanta, you know, we saw Tiafo make the semis in D.C. losing the quarter, Cincinnati got to the final. So he's been to some finals, and when he loses, it's usually to the eventual winner. So, you know, if you're going to lose, you might as well lose to the eventual winner. So I think the coaching change and not going to Paris were huge for Tiafo, and that's why I like his chances Friday night. Although, Kevin, I'm not a betting man.

So please, as Letterman would say, no wagering based on my assessment. I hope it's Friday afternoon. And it probably won't be. It'll be the Friday night match. But, you know, we have an NFL game from Brazil Friday night. And so I'll want to watch, Fritz Tiatho. I hope it's during the day. We'll see what happens.

I do, too. The Friday match that I went to, everyone in the tennis world and outside, assume that was going to be the night match and they put it in the day session, which is the only reason I got to see it because I had to leave at night. And I heard that the reason they moved it was because Djokovic asked to play at night. And I believe that. He probably knew he was injured. Well, obviously, he knew he was injured or not 100% and wanted a few extra hours to prep, I guess.

So, no, I would think this was going to be a night, but I don't know. I have no idea. Yeah. All right. We'll see what happens. All right. I haven't talked to you in a while. So, you know, what's your gut on the 2024 football season for our Washington team?

Oh, the Washington commanders. You know what? You say it much easier than I do, but go ahead. I know you like the old name, but... Well, I love the old name. It's not that I think the old name's going to come back. I'm not one of those people. No, it's definitely not going to back.

But I think commanders will ultimately change. Oh, I totally agree. Once they get the stadium deal done, I totally agree with it. So what do you think of the team? So I just feel much better. How do you not feel better? Snyder is gone. That was the biggest thing ever.

He had to go. He went. He's gone. See you later. Okay. Now you have a new owner. He seems to be a good owner, a smart owner based on, you know, the other teams that he owns.

You got the new GM Peters. I trust what he does, even though I don't understand what he's doing, especially at wide receiver. I know from his resume that he's good, he's smart, everything I've heard and read about him. So I trust what he's doing, trust the process, the old trust the process. So I like the GM. I like the coach. Is Dan Quinn?

Was he the first choice? No. But he's shown he's a good NFL coach. Can he be a successful head coach is the question? Don't know. But I like him. And, of course, Jaden Daniels, he has not shown, this is going to be a double negative. he has not shown anything that would lead you to believe that he is not going to be a good player.

Everything that he's been asked to do, he's done. He looks the part. So I feel good. Does that translate to 10 wins? Not a chance in my book. They're going to be under 500, I think, but that's okay. Because it's not about this year. It's about the year after and the year after that.

So I'm feeling good about the franchise and the team. Do you have a predicted record for the upcoming season? I would say, you know, 7 and 10, and I think that would be fine. NFCE is not good. Dallas, you would think is coming back. Giants are not good. Eagles, hard to say. So, I mean, if they finish 7 and 10, that might even be second place in the NFCEs

that may be contending for a wild card at that record. But I would say 7. If you're thinking more than 7 wins, I think it's unrealistic. Well, I've been thinking a lot more than 7 wins. I've got them at 10 wins. It's the most optimistic I've been in years. And first time I've picked him to have a winning record since you know who was here. That would be when Kirk Cousins.

And I mean, everything's got to break right, but I like everything you said about the organization and the direction it's headed in. You know, one of the things I said to Tommy yesterday, and I kind of emphasized it in the open to the show, is just that this, Houston was definitely. an aberration last year. We don't see that happen. But you're getting an established head coach, not a brand new head coach, a staff that is, you know, stacked with head coaching experience and big time assistant experience. And you've completely changed the team. I mean, 17 of the top 25 players that are on the field Sunday playing positions are brand new. And then so, and by the way, our president. probably better than what they had last year.

The environment's certainly going to be better than what they had last year. But, you know, ultimately it comes down to whether or not Jaden is good now versus hopefully being good for a long time, but just how quickly he becomes a good quarterback. I'm thinking it'll happen sooner rather than later. So it's also a lot of hope in there, too. Yeah, I think you've got some hope in there. I just don't think the receiving core is good enough, you know, to help them out. I don't think the offensive line is good enough for a 10-win season.

I don't know that the defense, you know, cornerbacks and a couple other positions. So I like your 10-win prediction. It sounds great, but I'm going more realistic, Kevin. I'm going 7. Going 7. How are the girls? The girls are great. Thank you for asking all my Terp girls.

And I know how are your family? Everybody's well. Everybody's doing well. We'll talk soon. Say hello to everybody. Thanks for doing this. I will. Thank you very much, Kevin.

Appreciate it. Keep up the great work you're doing here. Tennis Talk, everybody. Francis Tiafo is a good reason to talk tennis. What a story. Hope he gets to the final. That would be fun. Of course, the final is Sunday afternoon at Flushing Meadow.

It's on ESPN. I think it's like a 4 o'clock start on Sunday, just a few minutes before Washington kicks off. against Tampa. So can't imagine that I would be watching that live on Sunday, but I probably record it and watch it later if Tiafo is in it. All right, we are done for the day. Back tomorrow, Tommy and I with all of our NFL predictions and our season predictions for Washington.