The Kevin Sheehan Show - One Big Move Left?

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

Kevin opened with Washington's week of roughly 25 players being traded for or signed by the team. Is there another big move coming? Kevin talked about what the right price for Bengals' DE Trey Hendrickson would be. Nick Akridge/PFF jumped on to talk Commanders' off-season. Kevin finished with thoughts on Maryland at the Big 10 Tournament this weekend and John Feinstein's passing.  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. One guest on the show with me today. Nick Ackridge from Pro Football Focus will jump on in the next segment. We'll talk about Washington's week.

It's been a busy week. By my count, eight players in total have been traded for or signed off of other teams. They have kept 17 players. players who were on the roster last year. So that's 25 players this week that have officially become part of the 2025 Washington roster. The show's presenting sponsor as always, Windonation, 86690 Nation or WindowNation.com if you need new windows. Mention my name, they'll come out and give you a free in-home estimate, no risk, no pressure. you do what you want to do after they leave you with the quote.

Big college basketball day and weekend coming up next show that we do on Monday, we will have brackets in hand. And as many, I think the count would be three true locals could be a part of it. A.U is already in. Congrats to Dwayne Simpkins and the job he did at American University. They trounced Navy on Wednesday night to win the United. the Patriot League. They'll be in a 16 versus 16 game on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. By the way, next week, I will have smell test picks for the NCAA tournament. I've done that the last

three or four years, and I think for the most part successfully. But look, Dwayne Simpkins has done a really good job at AU. This is his second year. He's been such a significant part of the basketball landscape in this town for so long. You know, played at Dematha was a part of Gary Williams' first three tournament teams at Maryland. The first two went to the Sweet 16. The very last Duane Simpkins led team, Dwayne was Gary's starting point guard on those three tournament teams in 94, 95, and 96. The last year, they faced Steve Nash in Santa Clara. It's one of my favorite Gary's stories. He said, yeah, we tried to convince our players that Steve Nash was really good, but they watched him warming up and they didn't buy it. I guess, you know, Nash was slight,

he was small, had kind of the sluffy socks and the baggy shorts, and they weren't buying it. But Steve Nash went for 28 and 12 in Santa Clara's first round upset of the Terps back in March of 1996. Dwayne Simpkins and A.U. are in. George Mason still has a shot. They play GW in the A-10 quarterfinals this evening at Capital One. If Mason can win two games, they'll be in a title game Sunday at 1, nationally televised by CBS, for a spot in a tournament. I mean, Tony Skin did an incredible job this year. He was the A-10 coach of the year. VCU is the favorite, and they just won their first round or their quarterfinal game. But they only played once. Mason lost that VCU a few weeks ago.

They were in first place in the 8-10 and ended up finishing second. But that would be nice to see Mason or GW. But I'm kind of rooting for Mason and Tony Skin. They probably have the best shot at knocking off VCU in that league. And then, of course, there's Maryland. Maryland's in the field. but before we know where they're going and what their bracket looks like, they've got a Big Ten tournament to play.

And it starts tonight in Indianapolis against Illinois. I'll have some thoughts on that in the final segment of the show, along with some thoughts on the very sad passing of John Feinstein yesterday. I'll get to that in the final segment of the show as well. Let's start with football. I'm going to read this from Jake in Springfield. Jake writes, Kevin, going all-in can take many forms. Washington's all-in is taking the experienced form, which is fine if it pays off immediately.

Washington had one of the oldest rosters in the league last year, and this year's will likely be older based on the players they have signed or traded for. Are you concerned about the age of the roster, and what that can bring injuries, career performance drop-off, etc. Thank you for that, Jake. Yeah, I went back and looked this up. Based on opening day rosters last year, so this was in September of last year, Washington had the eighth oldest team in the league, average age 26.6. I don't know where it ended up after, you know, different ads and deletes during the course of the season, but you're probably right that the roster will be older this year based on the 25 players that they've added or retained so far this week. Twelve of those players are 30 or older.

Six of those players are 29 years of age, and some of those players turn 30 before or during the season. Add to that, just five draft picks left, so it's not like the draft picks are going to make them much younger in mass. So yeah, they'll probably have an older roster in 2025 than they had in 2024. The Eagles, if you are wondering, had a much younger roster last year. They had the sixth youngest roster in the league. And the Chiefs who Philly beat in the Super Bowl, they had the fourth youngest roster in the league.

Those were, again, based on opening day rosters before the season started. I don't have the date on where any of these rosters were at the end of the year. for whatever reason that's not available. But yeah, the key additions or the retains, the players that they've kept, are older players, no doubt. I mean, Ertz, Wagner, Tunsell. You know, bringing back Ertz, bringing back Wagner and trading for Tunsel, you know, these guys are all over the age of 30 years old,

or in Tunsell's case, 30, about to turn 31. Then you look at guys like Jonathan Jones and Eddie Goldman and Trent Scott and Marcus Mariotta, They re-signed Nick Ballore, who was a hell of a special teams player for them. Last year, he's 35. They're bringing him back. Yeah, I get it. I mean, Ken Law is the youngest player so far. They're new players at 27.

He'll turn 28 in October, and he's the one everybody is questioning the most. But I would look at it this way, Jake. Four things that I would, I agree with you, it's going to be an older roster on average. more likely than not at this point. But there are four things that I think are important to mention. Number one is this. First of all, I like Win Now versus All In. I think it's a better description of the mindset of the franchise right now.

The difference for me is that All In implies you're just going all in regardless of whether or not All In makes sense with players and spending. win now is the frame of mind, but it doesn't mean that the players you need to win now will be available, or even if they are available, will be available to you. But I do think that there's no doubt that they have a win now mindset, and it started with the trade for Marshawn Latimore at the deadline. Secondly, I'm sure that they'd love it if the players they were acquiring were younger players, you know, but it wasn't a great or particularly young and really good free agency class.

We talked about this before free agency began. It's not the win now mindset did not sync up with a great free agency class. Thirdly, you know, the positions that some of these older players that they have acquired or retained, that the positions they play are, I think for the most part, positions that we would all agree, are longer duration positions, left tackle, tight end, middle linebacker to a certain degree, backup quarterback. Lastly, there just isn't a huge commitment to much of anything beyond this year, because this is a win now situation, as in this up.

upcoming season, 2025. The two deals that are longer term in nature, Tunsels, he's got two years left on the deal, but they're going to extend it to be a longer term deal. And Kinlaws, you know, he's 27 and he signed a three-year deal. There's, you know, very much a similar approach to last year just with a different mindset. Last year it was a recalibration mindset doing a lot of one-year deals. This year, they are in win-now mode. wouldn't have seen the trades for Latimore, maybe for Tunsell, because Tunsell really is an investment also in the protection of your prized quarterback.

But there's not, you know, a long-term commitment to these older players, with the exception of Tunsell, because they're going to more likely than not give him a contract extension. I mean, Ertz and Wagner are back on one-year deals, Mariotta on a one-year deal, Tress Way on a one-year deal. Nick Ballore, actually, at 35 years old, just signed a two-year deal, at least based on the reports. I think the way to look at this off-season right now, and in the coming weeks and months ahead, before the bulk of the roster is in place, the roster that they'll have when, you know, they go to camp, is did they get better as a team by addressing their weaknesses? and is the improvement in those areas enough to push Philadelphia and the other teams in the NFC that look like on paper, teams that can win three plus playoff games next winter? That's the goal.

They have the most important piece figured out. They have, I think, the best starting quarterback in the NFC. So it's about addressing the areas that prevented them from going one game further, that's defense. We know at this point they've added a big time important piece on offense that will make the offensive line better than it was. And it's an investment in protecting Jaden, the guy that's going to lead them into position to win multiple playoff games next winter. They've added another weapon offensively in Debo Samuel. But on defense, the area in which they needed the most improvement to make up the most ground on the team that's, that's

they couldn't get passed. At this point, I think it's an incomplete. They may say, well, the addition of Kinlan Goldman and, you know, bringing back Wagner, along with a lot of these guys, you know, Will Harris, Jonathan Jones, a lot of these guys also being in the second year of the system, defense is variable year to year. Things change and ours is going to change for the better. They may be right about that. But I think, you know, as we look at it from the outside, side looking in. Have they gotten better on defense where they needed to get better? It doesn't look like it. But again, like I said the other day, fit, scheme, all of that stuff matters. Coaching matters. Defense is high variance year to year. Which leads me to this. Are they done yet

on defense? Are they done yet overall? And when I say are they done yet on a big move or moves, there are still roster spots to fill, and there are more one-year deals coming. You know, I think on Wednesday's show, I said, get ready for lots of one-year deals. They're coming, and a lot of them will be their own guys that are free agents. 11 one-year deals on players since we last spoke, both in the added category and the kept-slash-retained category. But is there a big deal? left. I think there could be a big deal left. I know we've talked about this before, but there's been more information that's come out on Trey Hendrickson. Trey Hendrickson, the Cincinnati Bengals

edge pass rusher, who's led the league in sacks the last two years, 17 and a half sacks in 2023, 17 and a half in 2024, 35 sacks in two years, was told to go seek a tree, and trade. Now, they haven't found a trade. The Bengals are, according to multiple sources, and I'll just read you one of them, Diana Rusini, from the athletic, quote, teams are willing to pay Trey Hendrickson's contract that he desires, but have found Cincinnati's current asking price to be, quote, ridiculous, as one GM told me. The Bengals can adjust as the offseason progresses, but right now, teams aren't willing to meet their terms. Now, Diana did not mention Washington.

Others have, Dan Graziano from ESPN, has said that Washington is one of those teams that is hovering around Trey Hendrickson, but the price, the asking price, is too high. You know, keep in mind that when you've got a player that wants a new contract, he does have one year left on his deal, and he wants a very big contract, and that would mean probably 30,

$30 million or more a year on average for, say, minimum of three years, maybe four, which would make him at that moment a top three, top four edge rusher in the league. And maybe he wants more than that. Maybe he wants the highest number, 33, 34, 35 million. But once you have a contract that you've got to pay for that player, the compensation that the team gets is less. If the guy comes with multiple years left on a contract and isn't seeking a new deal, well, the compensation is more. From what it seems based on some of the reporting out there and some of the speculation,

is that Cincinnati wants a first rounder or more. I think it's a first plus something like a third rounder, or they're not moving off Trey Hendrickson, as of now. You know, they don't have to do anything now. Now, you would think they'd want the benefit of the picks before the draft at the end of next month. But he's under contract for another year. It's very possible that they sent him out there looking for a deal and asking for a lot and hoping that they wouldn't get it and they'd be able to play Trey Hendrickson one more year or that he'd accept their offer, whatever their offer is.

Cincinnati is always a strange group, you know, in the first. way they approach things. This may be a big plan to bring Trey Hendrickson back, but he wants out, and I can't imagine they want him back disgruntled in 2025. But let's just for the moment assume, and I think it's safe to assume, that Washington is interested in Trey Hendrickson, just not at the current price, a first and a third, let's just say. What if that price dropped to say a second and a fourth rounder. And by the way, you've got to pay him. You're going to have to pay him a three to four year deal at 30 plus million a year. Make him one of the top paid edge rushers in the game. Would you do it? You know, we talked about this on radio. We took calls from a

lot of people. I think the majority of callers said absolutely for a second and a fourth. Remember a couple of things. Number one, this draft is deep in edge pass rushers. And number two, Trey Hendrickson doesn't necessarily solve your run defense problem. He's an outstanding pass rusher. He is not a great run stopper. Now, he's not just a one-trick pony player. He can stop the run, but he's an exceptional pass rusher. He's not Miles Garrett. For me, the Miles Garrett conversations totally different than this Trey Hendrickson conversation. I would not give up a first and say next year's third. They don't have a third this year. Remember, they gave up that third as part of the Tunsell deal. They do have a second

rounder next year, and they've got two first rounders this year and next. I wouldn't give up a first rounder for Trey Hendrickson. I would have given up a first rounder and perhaps two first rounders for Miles Garrett. But in Win Now mode, Trey Hendrickson makes you a different team defensively. Imagine Hendrickson on one end. Hell, they may draft a rookie pass rusher at 29 or at 61. This is a deep pass rusher, edge pass rusher group. I think Dorrance, Armstrong actually was a pretty effective pass rusher for them last year. And you're scheming up Louvre and Wagner is part of that rush. They would have a formidable pass rush.

Their pass rush wasn't terrible last year. Add Hendrickson to it and third and seven or longer becomes a problem for the opposition. Now, do you get them into third and longer enough is the question by being able to stop the run? I mean, we've gone through this so many times. you know, it's like, I think I've always thought really hard to win the Super Bowl if you can't stop the run. Well, they got to within one game, and I know that the first play of the game was a 60-yard touchdown run, but they got within one play of getting to the one game of getting to the Super Bowl without stopping the run at any point during the season or even during the postseason.

But I still think, you know, overall, it's a good idea to focus on stopping the run. And look, a lot their signings have indicated they want to get bigger. They want to become a better run-stopping team. I mean, two of the three biggest players on defense were just added in the form of Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman. And since we last talked, they added Dietrich Wise, Jacoby Martin, to the defensive front. They also added Jonathan Jones. Jonathan Jones can really run. Actually, that broke during our last podcast. That news broke. So they do know that they have an issue in stopping the run. And they also know that they could use a dominant edge pass rusher. I would not trade a first plus, say, next year's third for Trey Hendrickson and then have to pay him 30 million at 30 years old.

If he were 27, I think it'd be a different story. But at 27, I think even the Bengals would have Hardy signed him at this point. But a second and a fourth, you know, or some kind of deal where it's a second and a fourth and maybe you get back a later round pick, I think I would do that. He's an exceptional pass rusher. He is disruptive as a pass rusher. Him and just the idea of Louvo and Wagner continuing to be the pass rushers they were at times last year with that guy. much he will demand the attention of offensive coordinators and how it would open it up for everybody else. I still think they've got to get better against the run, much better. But for a second and a fourth, maybe get back another pick, a fifth rounder or, you know, something next year, I would do that for

Trey Hendrickson. Miles Garrett was the dream. That would have totally transformed your defense because he's great against the run and he's obviously unstoppable as a pass rusher. But he's not available. I think they were interested in Khalil Mack, but he was not available. He stayed in L.A. with the Chargers. Yeah, count me in for less than what Cincinnati's asking for. And maybe teams like Washington, if they weighted out, the price will drop before the draft, one never knows. but they still, I think, have more work to do,

especially on the defensive side of the ball. If you get a chance and you can rate and review this show on Apple and Spotify, it would be much appreciated. It's really big for us. Also following us on Apple and Spotify is a big deal. So just hit the plus button or the follow button. That takes five seconds to do. Up next, Nick Ackridge from Pro Football Focus,

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but he's a huge Washington fan, and even when he's not grading Washington's team or game, he's paying attention to it. at PFF underscore Ackridge on X on Twitter. So in the open, I talked about, you know, as of the recording of this podcast, they have added eight new players. They've retained 16 new players. So it's been a busy, you know, week for sure.

Let's start with kind of your big picture macro view. How do you think they've done so far? Yeah, I would kind of look at it as a, so far I would look at it as kind of like a B plus a minus sort of grade is what I would give them. They've done a lot of what I wanted to them to do, and that's retaining some of the players that were really important last year, specifically Bobby Wagner, Zachers. I thought that was really big to get them back. And then obviously the Laramie-Tunzel trade just kind of boosted up a lot.

It's all a massive problem, and it just fixes a lot of the things for this offensive line, not just left tackle position. I'm a little bit farther down on the Kim Law deal, but overall I think it's a really solid return so far. I think they're just really just raising the floor of this team, and that's what they've kind of been doing over the past two years since Peter's got here. How would you describe the overall approach? Yeah, I think it's a, like I said, it's raising the floor a little bit, but they're making sure that they can still compete. They've got the guys that can still compete for a title that brought up. them to that point last year.

So I think it is, yes, they are going kind of all in right now, which I understand that they're doing. They've got a rookie quarterback contract. They just made it to the NFC championship game. You can make the argument that maybe some of it was a little fluky with all the one possession games and all the last minute wins. But this was a really, really good offense last year. And it was a defense that kind of struggled a bit.

Maybe that's the side that you look at. And it could have been, hey, we need to put a little bit more, maybe some more youth there, not as much veterans, but for me right now, I'm a fan of it. I like kind of this all-in approach, and for me, I love the move to get Laramie Tunsell. All right. Let's talk about that one first, then. Give me how you've broken Laramie Tunsel down, and by the way, the deal itself. Yeah, so the deal is, it's fine with me. It's a perfectly, I think a perfectly fair trade for someone who's a little bit up there in age, but is also going to need to contract in a couple years. So for me, I think the trade comp is

perfect for both teams. But in terms of the player himself, I mean, he's one of the best past blocking left tackles in the entire NFL, and he's been that for the past three years. It's just, it's such a big, you know, it's such a big thing to have for your offensive line to have somebody like that, you can just leave on an island against anybody, and you can trust him. That's kind of the big thing there. It then allows you to kind of move Brandon Coleman to where you think he's better. Maybe that's guard. Maybe that's right tackle.

Maybe they're going to have to do some kind of tinkering on the office of line while Cosme's out. But he just elevates everything on that offensive line. It doesn't, they don't have to, they were one of the highest teams of when it came to chipping defensive ends. They did that almost on almost every single major passing down. They would always have their tight ends, halfbacks. Right. Inside wide receivers chip that end because of, you know, what they perceived weakness in having

Coleman or Wiley. there. So you have tons full, he's not going to get a chip. You're not chipping anybody there. You can get him one-on-one, allow him to hold up on that left side, while maybe you then slide the whole line to the right side to kind of give Wiley a little bit more help. But again, it just elevates everything on this offensive line, and that was the one weakness I thought from last year's offense was the offensive line, and he's a perfect fit.

What about as a run blocker? he's more than he's right around average to above average for a tackle that that's kind of what I'm looking for you just really can't be a liability there last year was in terms of our grade he had the highest run blocking grade that we've given him in his career so I think he's a perfectly respectable run blocker which is what I'm looking for will it make a difference that Washington's run game scheme which includes by the way a lot of read options It includes more gap stuff, more a lot of counter stuff, so much more, so much different than, you know, the Shanahan-style zone run scheme that Houston employed at least under Bobby Sloick. Do you see that mattering? And is it possible that they think in a different run scheme that he can be a better run blocker?

I mean, it's really good. I think I have to go back and look at what. the Texans, and even the dolphins did kind of before Slowick got there last year, but like you said, they were kind of that Shannahan's own style scheme. He's going to get out and move. In this offense, your tackles and your guards are both going to be kind of getting out on the move with that power and counter game.

So I think he's still athletic enough to get out on the move. I'm really interested to see how well he plays there. I think right now it is a bit of an unknown. Maybe they've got a really good plan for him. They've seen some stuff that they really like. For me right now, it is a bit of an unknown in terms of how he's going to fit into this run game. But I think he's still a very athletic tackle, very strong, very powerful, and that's just a good foundation to start with.

Do you agree that they've got to pay him sooner rather than later? You don't make this kind of trade and only have a guy under contract for two years? Yeah, I would think so. I think this is definitely where you're looking to kind of extend him and get him under contract for a while. You mentioned Brandon Coleman, so you think he goes inside and Wiley stays at right tackle. Yeah, I think that's what I would do. They're obviously going to know better, but I liked what I saw from Coleman as a guard when he played there at TCU last year. And a lot of people, a lot of some well-respected guys people in the industry really think he was better suited to play guard.

So I think that they kind of seamless fit there, and left guard was kind of a weak spot on the team last year. so you can just slide him over to left guard. Plus he's going to be playing right next to Laramie Tunsell. You've got a lot of advice there, a lot of help there. So if it was me, I put him to left guard, but again, they have options. You could put him at right tackle slide Wiley to right guard while Cosme's recovering, or maybe he plays right guard while Cosby's recovering. So they've got a lot of options.

I would put him at left guard, but I'm pretty excited to see what they do with it. What did you think of the Debo-Samuel acquisition? Yeah, I thought it was good. I think he's definitely lost a bit of a step from where he was a couple years ago, but I think, again, he is a player that I think Kingsbury is going to have a ton of fun with him. I think you can see him similar to what they were kind of doing with Austin Echo last year. You'll see him in the backfield a lot. That pony person that we've heard about with their two running backs.

You can put him there. You can put him in the slot. He can still win outside. Basically all of those kind of manufactured touches you saw Diami Brown getting. last year in the playoffs and towards the end of the season, that's going to be Debo Samuel now. And so that is quite the upgrade, in my opinion, just in terms of yards after the catchability. So I was a fan of the trade. I like it. Yeah, you mentioned something that I talked about a little bit.

And I just wonder how it impacts Brian Robinson, Jr. They've tendered Chris Rodriguez, they've brought back McNichols, Echler's under contract. I can see him and Echler together a lot in that two-back. set, which, by the way, they didn't run a lot of it when Echler was out or when Robinson was out. I just suggested, not that it's a massive cap savings, $3.5 million, but I just suggested that it's not impossible to envision a roster next year without Brian Robinson, Jr., especially given the depth at running back in the upcoming draft. What do you think? Yeah, I kind of tend to agree. I think that running back room needs to get

a lot quicker and a lot younger. And like you said, this draft is perfect to kind of fill that need. I think specifically kind of in that second round, and even with their fourth round pick, if they can't end up getting a third round. But I think you're looking there, and I think you have a lot of options there. So I wouldn't be surprised if Robinson kind of finds himself

on the out of this running back room. I liked what I saw from Rodriguez in a limited role. Echler provides something different. So yeah, I could definitely see it. All right. One more, as we've started on the offense before we get to the defense, what else would you like to see them do offensively? I think younger receiver is kind of what I'm looking for. Again, I like all the guys they brought back.

I like having Noah Burrown back. He was big for them last year. For me, it's kind of that number two outside wide receiver. I would like for them to kind of go younger there in the draft. I don't really kind of want to add a vet at that position because you're just getting really old there. So I think, again, maybe that late first or that second round pick, you could find a guy there. If you get someone that slides in the late first, like Mika Buka, I think Matthew Golden is kind of going up in the draft. So I don't think he's going to be available there.

But there are some guys that I think you could kind of get in that late first that would kind of be a good fit for them. Yeah, I mean, is it possible that they believe that Luke McCaffrey ends up making a big jump? They had him on the field enough, Nick, last year that they believed in him because he played a hell of a lot of snaps. The production wasn't there. Jaden, for whatever reason, didn't find his way to McCaffrey enough. Is it possible that their number two is on the roster and it's Luke McCaffrey? Yeah, anybody who follows me on Twitter this past season has known that. I felt the same way. I'm a big McCaffrey fan. I think he got really unlucky this past year in terms of that every single time he would win on a route, it's just something didn't work.

There was some sort of that got to Jaden. He didn't see if someone else was open before that. I think he's a very, very good route runner, and he was constantly getting open against man coverage. So I would not be surprised at all about that. Again, I really like Luke McCaffrey. I just think he got really unlucky in terms of production. All right. Let's flip it to the side of the football in which they were flawed, you know, very flawed in spots.

And let's talk about what they've done. I'm totally with you on Wagner. I wonder whether or not they would have been in on Zach Bond had he made it to free agency. We'll never know. but Wagner is back on a one-year deal. I think that was critical. And, you know, they've also brought, they brought back Noah I yesterday.

They re-signed him. But, you know, the new defenders have come via free agency. So let's start with the one that they paid the most money for, Javon Kinlaw, three years, $45 million, $30 million guaranteed. So go ahead. Give me your thoughts on Kinlaw and the deal. Yeah, I kind of touched on it a little bit earlier. This is probably my least favorite move of the entire free agency.

It just happened to be the first one. Kim Law is someone, especially in our grading system, he's been one of the worst run defending defensive tackles that we've graded. That comes back from his time at San Francisco. He was a little bit better this past year. He definitely, I mean, he kind of elevated himself from one of the worst to kind of just middle ground. So maybe that's something that they saw. for me, I've just seen so much of Kim Law these past couple years,

and it doesn't make a lot of sense for me, considering they wanted to kind of, or I think they want to get better against the run. That's not really what you're looking for when it comes to Kinlau. He's got some flashes as a pass rusher. He can win pretty quickly. He just gets moved around a little bit too easily for someone his size. A lot of people have talked about he's just so tall

that it's tough for him to get low and kind of keep that leverage. but production-wise he looks very similar to what you saw from John out on these past couple years where you've got a decent pass rush he can make some flash plays as a pass rusher but in the run game it's just not it's not what you're looking for again maybe they've got some better plans for him they want to move him more to kind of a bigger end against the during rundown but for me it's not something that I would have done I just don't think that that really still so neat. Yeah, I mean,

it's got to be more than I mean, their plan, they've got a plan, they've got a vision for him, they know the player, obviously. It's got to be more than being a part of a Duran Payne Johnny Newton rotation at tackle. They've got to,

I would think that they're thinking about playing him at end and think that he can hold up better than you know, Fowler Jr. for sure. and you don't think that that's necessarily something that anybody should be optimistic about. Yeah, I just, with these types of guys, it happens a lot with these former first-round picks where they've got all this talent. I mean, he's 6'5-3-20.

Like, he's a massive, massive human being, and he's got some really good get-off. So you see it all the time, you see these splash, and you're like, okay, we can be the ones that can fix it. And it just happened for four or five years now and just hasn't really clicked for him. So yeah, maybe they really do have a plan and they really like what they see if he's playing more of a 4-I where he's over the tackle or just slightly outside of the tackle. He hasn't really done that in his career. So again, 30 million guaranteed for someone that might be playing a different position is, again, something I wouldn't do. But again, I'm not in the building. I don't know what their plans are.

Yeah, the other thing I thought of, Nick, is, you know, in their five-man front, which, you know, often looked like a 3-4 with Louvue, you know, of up on one end and maybe, you know, Armstrong on the other or Fowler Jr. on the other. You know, I could see him at his size potentially playing some nose in those sets. By the way, I'm not saying I can see him playing in that spot. I'm saying that maybe that could be part of the plan too. Versatility as a tackle, as a, you know, five-man front knows also having the ability to kind of go outside and try to, you know, attempt to set an edge so that they can be a better run-stopping team. Yeah, I mean, maybe that is their plan because, again, he is very, very athletic.

Yeah. He just, he doesn't, he doesn't really have any snaps of him playing a true nose tackle, doesn't really have any snap with him playing lined up over the tackle outside of the tackle. Almost 95% of his snaps have come in that A or B gap, where he's just kind of been that three-tech to try to tackle, similar to what he saw with John Allen. So maybe they got a plan, and he's athletic enough to kind of, you know, be a factor. I'll tell you what, it's going to have to be a big rebound season for 94 for Duran and a big, you know, step up season for Johnny Newton.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are hoping, if not counting on both of those things happening. What do you think? Yeah, I was a big fan of Johnny Newton last year. I love that pick. I thought he was really, really good at Illinois. Didn't see as many flashes as I would have hoped for this past year. But again, he was coming back from an injury. So kind of taking that season as a little bit of a wash.

I really like what he brings as a pass rusher. Again, you got a lot of guys that have flash as a pass rusher, but not enough really against the run. So that's why I was a little bit shocked about the Kinlaw move because I thought they would want to go for someone who is much better against the run. But I think, again, I think Johnny Newton is the big. one for me, I think, hoping he takes a big step up because I really liked what I saw in college. Real quickly, because I mentioned this the other day. I actually, I remember Eddie Goldman

very much in Chicago. In fact, I remember watching games in which I'm like, he's good. Like, he's got some talent and some ability. Then he opted out during the COVID year, retired, came back last year, played on a team that was not good defensively for three quarters of the season. They got better at the end in Atlanta. Do you have a. any concrete thoughts on Eddie Goldman's acquisition? I'll be honest with you. I had no idea he even came back last year. That one was pretty shocking to me. Again, if he still got some juice, six-four, three-hundred-thirty pounds, that's your run stopper right there.

He was good against the run when he was with Chicago. But yeah, that's kind of just a, you know, it's just a dark throw, see if you get a little bit lucky with Eddie Goldman because he hasn't really played since 2021. He played 330 snaps last year. So it's just a bit of a dart throw. Well, look, I thought when I saw Javon Kinlaw, I thought it was Javon Hargrave at first. I thought that that was actually who it was because they, you know, Adam Peters was there when they drafted him. All right. What about Jonathan Jones? Can he still play or not? Yeah, he's got some flashes as well. I liked what I saw. And man, I just looked at his man coverage snap.

I liked what I thought. He still got that top end speed where he can run stride for stride with guys. I think the part that's really kind of dip from his previous best seasons is kind of that change of direction. When he flips his hips, it's a bit stiff. He can't really kind of get back up to top speed when he does that. So change of direction is a little bit tough for him right now, but straight line speed is great. I would put him, I would keep him outside because you don't really want him. in the slot where he's going to have to play two-way goes a lot.

So I would keep him outside. But again, I think it's a nice, it definitely elevates what you had last year in terms of that second outside cornerback. Now you can have Lattimore on one side. Santer's still in the slot now maybe for him back outside. Jones outside and Noah Ignatigmanagity coming back again in the slot. So I think it's just a nice, it's a good depth piece. And it's just, again, raising the floor. Forget about the difference in money, which is about half.

Did they gain, lose, or is it a net even on Will Harris for Jeremy Chin? I think it's a gain. I didn't really know a lot about Will Harris. I watched a lot of Saints games last year. But watching his film, I'm a pretty big fan of what he's able to do. He plays a lot of man coverage against tight ends, and I think that's what they're going to kind of use him for. I think he's just going to fill right into that, Jeremy

chin roll. He's aggressive. He likes to play a long line of scrimmage. If he gets a step and knows what's coming, he's a really good player, really physical player. I think he's a pretty smart player. I didn't see a lot of plays where he's kind of wrong in what he's supposed to be doing. And he's just violent. He's a physical player and pretty solid in man coverage. Of any of the players that have left Diami, well, you just talked about Chin, Zekees, on Lucas, anybody that you feel like it would have made better sense had they retained that player? I've always been a Cornelius Lucas fan. I think every time he stepped in, he's just been a really, really solid pass blocking tackle. So not having that swing tackle in case someone goes, God forbid, Laramie Tumple goes down, or Andrew Wiley goes down, or Coleman goes down.

I think having someone like Lucas is great because you can kind of expect the same thing from him. You're not going to get much from him in the run game, but he was a fantastic path blocking tackle. So losing someone like that is probably, he's one I would have tried to resign. DJ Reed. Now, apparently there may not be a lot of truth to this, but DJ Reed said that the decision came down to Detroit and Washington. He got, I think, 48 million three years to 16. I don't know how much of it was guaranteed. There was talk that Killeel Mack was certainly somebody, Washington,

was interested. Ronnie Stanley before the trade for Tunsel was somebody that they were interested. I'll hold off here because I want to end with Trey Hendrickson. But anybody out there that either was reportedly a player Washington was interested in or you wish they had been interested in that, you know, you would have been fine had they been aggressive and gone and gotten? Yeah, the DJ Reed one was one for me that I was kind of bummed when I saw that he was He was between Washington and Detroit. He's just been a really, really solid corner his entire career.

The only time he's ever graded under a 70 overall grade was his rookie year. He's just been really, really solid. You know exactly what you're going to get from him from a corner. So that would have been one that I was prioritizing and maybe sounds like they possibly were. So that was one that kind of feels like we let him get away a little bit. All right. I want to end with this because there's just a lot out there on Trey Hendrickson, who certainly, and I talked about this in the open, Cincinnati allowed to go seek a trade.

There's been a lot with respect to Washington, perhaps being one of the teams that's been hovering, but that Cincinnati's asking price is just too high, especially when you're going to have to pay the player. You know, 30 million plus on average is a 30-year-old if you trade for him. So, you know, let's just say that the asking price is a first and a third, but that it dropped at some point down the road to say a second and a fourth. How interested are you? I've gone back and forth on this one. I was all in on them possibly getting Miles Garrett. Me too. That was obviously a much bigger package. But I think he's that much of a better player. Hendrickson, again, I've gone back and forth on this. I think he's one of the best pass rushing

edge rushers in the NFL. Struggles against the run a little bit. for me, I think second and fourth I'd be okay with it. Honestly, it's paying him that $30 million per year. That kind of scares me a little bit for someone who's about to be $30. It's just, I think for me, it's a lot to give up. I think, again, he's one of the best edge rushers in the NFL, but I think there is a noticeable bit between, you know, guys like Miles Garrett, Hutchinson, T.J. Watt,

Michael Parsons, and then you've got that kind of second group of where Trey Hendrickson lies. So for me, I would stay away from it. I don't think that you want to be given up draft capital and then also having to pay him a lot. I would kind of like to keep building up, you know, through the draft and get younger there. I'm curious. Were you in on sweat? Were you in on Harold Landry? just a couple of guys here recently that have moved on.

Yeah, Landry I was out on. I think injuries? Well, he's been one of those guys that get some sacks, but a lot of those sacks are kind of like clean up, unblocked pressures that he's just kind of, you know, getting lucky with. His pass rush rate is 49.6. So he's not winning a lot.

He's just been getting some sacks, which just kind of happened to fall to him. So he was one guy that I was having to have. happy they didn't really go after. Sweat is one that I would have been a fan of, but that contract seems pretty large. So I'm kind of okay with where they, that they haven't really gone after someone. Again, I think if you don't go wide receiver, like I talked about earlier in the late first, I think there's some edge rushers that could slip to you down there in the 20s that I think

that they could go after that I think would be a nice kind of young edge rusher. I mean, does somebody like Von Miller at 35, 36 years old or, you know, much younger player, I always liked O'Gillari. I know he's been hurt a bunch in New York, but he's out there. Is there anybody else out there that you've thought about in terms of edge? No, I think the bigger name guys, the ones that are really going to be a difference maker in terms of rushing the pastor, I think they're all gone right now. I would have been a fan of Cleomack.

I know, again, it's one of those older guys, probably getting for me. one year or whatever. But again, I think that it's a really nice piece to have on one of the positions that I was kind of low on last year. So for me, I don't really see anybody out there right now that I would be a huge fan of. I think at this point, you've got to start getting young there. By the way, I don't think I've talked about this. Maybe I have. Were you surprised at all on the deal that Chase Young got? For those that didn't see it, he re-signed in New Orleans, three years, $51 million. I've not seen the guaranteed money on that, but Chase Young was, he clearly had a market. Yeah, I was a fan of what I saw from the Saints. Again,

I just watched a lot of Saints tape for Will Harris. He still has some flashes as a pass rusher. Consistency-wise, it's not really there. So I was kind of shocked at the number a little bit. But there's some flashes there. I would have honestly been intrigued to kind of bring him back at a lower number. But yeah, there's still there's still some juice there as a pass rusher. It's just consistency-wise, it wasn't really there. Right. Great job, as always. Good to catch up. Thanks. Hope you're well. Let's do it again soon. Maybe after a few more weeks and a few more additions, because more is coming, I'm sure. Yeah, definitely. Sounds good. Nick Ackridge, everybody, from Pro Football Focus.

We'll finish up with a Terps preview of hopefully beyond just tonight. And a few thoughts on the passing of John Feinstein, right after these words from a few of our sponsors. So most of us wear underwear every day. But when was the last time you changed the type of underwear that you wear? I had someone tell me recently that they hadn't changed the brand of their underwear since shortly after college until they heard me talk about skims for men. Yeah, for those that haven't heard, skims now offers men's underwear, and I'm here to tell you it's worth the hype.

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They're not trying to recover, you know, new startup costs. They've been around for a while. MyBooky.ag promo code, Kevin, D.C. All right, believe it or not, this is year 11 for Maryland in the Big Ten. I mean, it flies by. 11 years is enough to start feeling a little bit like your team is part of that league. I mean, memories of the ACC are fading, in part because the ACC is fading. but I feel as a lifelong terp much more a part of Big Ten basketball than I did over the first several years.

In 11 years, by the way, in the Big Ten, Maryland's finished in the top five regular season-wise, seven out of the 11 years. They've finished in the top three, five times. They've finished, including this year, in the top two, three times, and they finished first. in 2020. Not that bad. I think most fans' memories skew much more negatively than that. I mean, you talk to some Maryland fans, and they think we have stunk the entire time being in the Big Ten. That's not true. Maryland's got a 121 and 85 record in Big Ten regular season games since entering the league. Mark Turgeon won the third most games during his tenure in the Big Ten behind the Big Ten, behind just Tom Izzo and Matt Painter.

And Kevin Willard is four games over 500 in his three seasons at Maryland in the Big Ten. The problem hasn't been the regular season, although, you know, the results could have been better for sure. By the way, the Big Ten determines its champion in the regular season, unlike the ACC did. The ACC tournament champion was the champion. But the problem for the Terps since joining the Big Ten has been the conference tournament. Five and nine overall in 14 Big Ten tournament games. So in 11 years, they've only played 14 Big Ten tournament games. That tells you they've been ousted too early, too often.

Just two trips to the semifinals, two. And those were the first two seasons. They had back-to-back close losses to Michigan State after winning quarterfinal games. in their first two years in the Big Ten tournament. No trips to the championship games, so no titles either. Of course, their best team until this year was the 2020 team that didn't get a chance to play in the Big Ten tournament because of COVID. Maybe things would have been different, but, you know,

they haven't had much success in the Big Ten tournament. They haven't had much success in a long time in the NCAA tournament. even though they've been in a bunch of them. Look, the ACC tournament was a much bigger deal in terms of, you know, post-conference, post-season conference tournaments. It was the crown jewel of conference tournaments. It was a big deal. The Big Ten was, I think, the last major conference to even have to initiate a post-season conference tournament. They just didn't believe in it for years.

That's why they still determine their champion based on the regular season. which actually is a better measurement of who the best team is, but they finally introduced a tournament in 1998. I mean, it took them forever. There was, I guess, just too much money to be made from it. The ACC tournament for Maryland fans was a huge spot on the calendar, even as the NCAA tournament grew over the years and became easier to reach without needing to play well in the conference tournament.

but the ACC tournament, man, was special for so long. I hated those first five, six, seven years after leaving the ACC, watching the ACC tournament without Maryland in it. I mean, I went to seven or eight of those things over the years. Always was best when it was in Greensboro, but it was a special event for ACC basketball fans every year. The Big Ten tournament really never felt that way, and still doesn't, but it feels different now.

You know, I'm not at the point where it's like I wanted to go. I've not been to a Big Ten tournament, have not been to one. But this week, for whatever reason, is the first week it's felt important to me. And in part it's because of all of the new additions to the league. In the Big Ten tournament history, only seven schools have won it, and they're all traditional Big Ten schools. Michigan State has won like six of them. Ohio states won, I think, four of them. Illinois's won four. Michigan's won two. Wisconsin and Iowa have won three each and Purdue's won two of them.

I mean, seven schools have won big ten tournaments. And they're all, you know, big ten schools. Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Purdue. You know, Penn State, which was a late add to the Big Ten's never won at. Rutgers has never come close to winning it. And it would be nice for Maryland now to be kind of the first non-traditional Big Ten team. I don't want UCLA or Oregon or Washington or Rutgers or USC to win one before Maryland does. So I don't know. I'm into this Big Ten tournament. I want them to do well. I want them to do better next week. Next week's much more important the next few weeks, hopefully. But there's something about, you know, getting over the hump in the Big Ten tournament that would be

nice. And Maryland's team this year is good enough to do it. Now, they play a red-hot Illinois team tonight. This will not be an easy basketball game. When Maryland beat Illinois, which really started a run for the Terps, the Terps were a little bit questionable when they got to the point in the schedule where they were on the road for back-to-back games against Illinois and Indiana. They had at that point in the Big Ten, they had, I think, a 500 record or maybe one game below 500, and that started a big run. They beat Illinois 91 to 70, but Illinois was injured and sick. They were missing their big center.

They had players that were ill, that were playing, but not well. But that really jump started Maryland. You know, that night they went to Illinois. They won that game, then they won at Indiana, and they had two back-to-back road wins. Then they came home and beat Wisconsin, and they've been a really good team. ever since. Now, here's what I'm concerned about. Illinois playing at a very high level right now. Now that they're healthy, they have won four in a row. They beat Iowa last night, 106 to 94. They can really run, they can really shoot. Their big guy can shoot it. He can step out and

stretch it, which means you've got to go out and guard it. They rebound well. And Maryland's offense has in the last few games, after being nearly unstoppable and having a team that was unguardable, it's been a little bit rocky the last couple games. Now, they've won three of the last four. The game they lost to Michigan State, they only scored 55 and obviously lost on the 60-footer at the buzzer. But then they beat Penn State 68, 64. This was a team averaging 83 points a game. They beat Michigan on the road, 71, 65, and they beat Northwestern 74 to 61. but it is not looked as smooth offensively. Now, they've played some good defensive teams in Michigan and Northwestern.

They turn the ball over 18 times against Northwestern. Sloppy turnovers, a lot of them. I feel like the Illinois game, Illinois defensively, is not exceptional, and they want to run, and I think there will be opportunities for Maryland to sort of open up offensively and get some of the looks that they weren't getting against Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State. But one of the reasons I was really bullish on Maryland recently, as recently as two or three weeks ago,

is that I just didn't think they were a team that could get guarded by most teams. I think Maryland's an exceptional defensive team, too. So there's that part of it, too. Their starting five is great on both sides of the floor. But I would just feel better if I saw them tonight. put up, you know, 80 plus in a win. Not that I wouldn't take 59, 58. I would take that right now and run with it. But in terms of getting back to feeling like they are a dynamic offensive team, their break, I mean, they got out on the break. I mean, if they turned you over, it was a dunk or an

open three. If they took it out of the net, they were pushing it back at you and they were getting open shots. And they've turned it over a lot on the fast break in recent games. So got to get stronger with the ball, not turn it over, get more shots up, and get some of those open looks that they were getting in transition. I'd love to see that. I think, you know, tonight and tomorrow and Sunday if they get there, I mean, it's looking like Illinois, and if they can get by Illinois, Purdue or Michigan, I would guess that it's Purdue. I think Michigan's been playing poorly. And then probably a Michigan state in the final. I'd love to see that.

These are high-profile games this weekend. You know, the CBS has the semifinals on Saturday, the final on Sunday, and that final is the last conference tournament final before the pairing show. Tonight, to me, the key is keep turnovers down to a minimum, and you've got to rebound against Illinois. And if they can do that, you know, and they can shoot at a normal, you know, Maryland level when they had it going well, I think they can win. but this will not be an easy game. And Illinois's got payback on their mind because Maryland destroyed them in Champaign. They didn't have their big guy,

and they were not well, but Maryland beat them by 21, and it was never close in that game. It was interesting. They just kept going inside that night. You know, it was a game in which they didn't take many threes at all. They were at the paint and at the rim the entire night. It was Julian Reese's, you could argue,

the best game of his career. He had 27 and 17. Queen had 25 and 6. They combined for 52 points and 23 rebounds, but Illinois is a different team that they will get tonight. But looking forward to this, I hope they can get to at least tomorrow because I'd love a payback game against Purdue opportunity and a payback game opportunity against Michigan State. You know, payback, words that you only use when you have some feeling about the other teams. And I kind of now feel like Marilyn's a part of the Big Ten. All right. I want to finish up the show with just a few thoughts on John Feinstein,

who passed away yesterday suddenly at the age of 69. Very sad. Condolences, sympathies out to his family. I was a big fan of John Feinstein's books. I mean, I was one of those that read all of them. in the early years. I confess, I've not read, you know, one of his books in the last decade or so, but in those early years, long before I got into this business, you know, starting with, you know, a season on the brink, which was a game changer for him. And as I've been reading about John

the last 12 hours or so, the access that he had, I guess was very unique at the time. And in addition to him being a talent as a storyteller, the access that he got was amazing. immersing himself with teams, with tours, with leagues, and just getting, you know, so much behind-the-scenes stuff that just became incredible to read. You know, interestingly, a season on the brink was not my favorite. I mean, I'm guessing it's not only his top-selling book, but one of the top-selling books, sports books of all time. But I have some of his books in here in my studio and have had him in here for years.

And my favorite is the book I'm holding in my hand, but I've got another one next to me. I loved the book on tennis called Hard Quartz. One of the reasons I loved Feinstein is that the things that he was writing about, I loved. I loved college basketball. I loved ACC basketball. I loved tennis back then. I loved golf. The book he wrote about tennis during the McEnroe, Navratilova, Chrissy Everett,

the beginning of Agassi and Groff. That book was incredible, the behind-the-scenes access that he had, and he took you from the Australian Open through the U.S. Open. It was an incredible book. But my favorite, and I'm holding it in my hands right now, was a book called A March to Madness. It was a book on ACC basketball. And that was obviously a passion for me. And on radio this morning, I was just sort of riffing.

a line from that book that I had remembered, but I didn't have the book in front of me. It was sitting behind me with a lot of other books. But I now have it opened to the section that I was trying to remember because it's always stuck in my mind this conversation that Lefty Dresel had with at the time NC State coach Norm Sloan. John was describing how Dean Smith was, you know, the coach. He was the dean of all ACC coaches. Shosheshefsky would eventually replace Dean Smith as that guy that everybody shot at. And he writes in this section, there had always been an unseen

barrier between Smith and the other ACC coaches. Part of it came from Smith being the target in the league for so many years. Part of it came from his shyness, which some coaches saw as aloofness. Years before, when Smith had been the same age, as most of the other top coaches in the league, they constantly sniped at him, convinced that he was always sniping at them. When Lefty Drizell was the coach at Maryland, he often said that he was convinced that the name of the coach at North Carolina

was that goddamn dean. And the reason for that, John writes, is because North Carolina state coach Norm Sloan would call him Lefty almost every morning screaming, do you know what that goddamn Dean just did? That always stuck with me. A lot in this book stuck with me over the years because I loved the ACC,

especially from the eras that John wrote about, which was the 90s at that point, but he had so many stories from the early days of the ACC and the days that I first remember, which were the 70s. And what's so amazing about that, you know, discussion every morning between Norm Sloan and Lefty Drusel, you know, like two school girls, you know, babbling behind Dean's back, is that they were rivals. Lefty and Norm Sloan,

NC State, Maryland had an incredible rivalry in the 70s. In fact, you know, they played what still some would say was the greatest college basketball game of all time, the 1974 ACC tournament final, which NC State won, 103 to 100, and overtime. They went on to win the national championship, and back then only one ACC team got to go to the NCAA tournament, and after that, they changed the rule. They called it the Maryland rule, and more than one team could go, but Maryland went home. And State and Maryland had this incredible thing going in the 70s. I mean, Super Bowl Sunday started for five straight years with Maryland playing NC State,

on national television as a prelude to the Super Bowl. It was that big of a rivalry, but Dean was the guy still. And even though he had not yet won a national championship, you know, he wouldn't win his first until 1982 when he beat Georgetown in the Superdome. But just this idea that, you know, Norm Sloan and Lefty would get on the phone and Norm would say, do you know what that goddamn Dean just did? that just always stuck with me over the years. And so many things from John's books, I remember.

Maybe not verbatim, because I did not get it right on radio this morning. But, you know, John was an incredible storyteller. And that made him an incredible guest on radio. I mean, honestly, anybody that's done what I've done now for 20 years, sports talk radio, that had John as a guest on the show would definitely put him in the top three to five guests that you have. Now, I did not have John on the show in recent years. It's been a long time, actually, since John's been on the show. I don't think he's ever been on the podcast.

I haven't asked him for several years. You're probably reading a lot about him where people say that he was a complicated guy. People had ups and downs. Look, I wasn't even really in his. orbit. But he did come on a lot of the shows that I did for many years. With Tommy in particular, he came on all the time whenever we would ask. He would call in sometimes unsolicited, usually to correct something that I had said. Not always was he right, but whatever. But he was an incredible guest on radio. And yeah, I mean, you know, he had a

a contract with JFK and he's been on the junkies. I don't know how long he's been on it. But even when he was doing that, I would certainly invite him occasionally on the podcast. But yeah, I mean, ups and downs, I think a lot of people had with him, but it does not change the fact that he was a brilliant sports author. I loved the books. And he was an incredible guest on radio because the best guests usually are great at telling stories and they have great memories. and he had a phenomenal memory. Oh, there was something, as I was reading through this book in the back of it, his acknowledgments in the book.

It was pretty interesting the way it ended in writing the acknowledgments for this ACC book. He wrote, this book involved a lot of travel and a lot of work. There were some long nights on the highway and in airports and hotels. But there were also some remarkable nights, a lot of superb games, and many moments I will never forget. One stands out. Late in the North Carolina Duke game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, there was a time out.

Duke led by one. As I stood at the edge of the Duke huddle listening to Mike Shoshchevsky calmly described the play he wanted his players to run. I looked around the building. Everyone was standing, even the fans upstairs. The students were chanting and cheering all at once. The place was absolutely.

electric. I felt a chill run through me. There wasn't going to be a better college basketball game played this season in a better atmosphere than this one. And I was smack in the middle of it, as inside as anyone not playing or coaching could possibly hope to be. Right then and there, I realized how lucky I am to be inside the ACC for an entire season, to get the view from the floor and the locker room night after night and get paid to do it. What more could someone who loves basketball possibly ask for. Mike Shosheskysk likes to describe every basketball season as a journey. This was my journey.

I can say without hesitation, it was one hell of a ride. Rest in peace, John. All right, that'll do it for the day. Enjoy the basketball this weekend. Go Terps. Go Whitman. My high school alma mater is in the Maryland. Maryland 4A state finals.

Once again, Chris Lund, just flat out, one of the best coaches in the DMV, has our Vikes back in the state title game. Tomorrow night, Xfinity Center, 6 o'clock against Laurel. Good luck, Vikings. All right, done. Back on Monday.