The Kevin Sheehan Show - Rodgers Reaction + More Commanders-Cards

Episode Date: September 12, 2023

Kevin and Thom today react to Aaron Rodgers' season ending injury after 4 offensive snaps last night. Plenty on why it happened and what's next including RG3 throwing his name into the mix. Thom weighed in for the first time on the Commanders' win Sunday against the Cardinals. Kevin had a few thoughts "upon further review" of the game. Kevin also shared the strange way Washington's next opponent (Denver) lost to the Raiders in their season opener.  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. Protection breaks down and time runs out. Down goes Rogers in the sack for Leonard Floyd. So now Rogers sits down.

A loss of 10 on the play. And hopefully the Jets are thinking that's the only loss on that play. See what happened at the end of it. Take a look here at the very end. and hard to see. Of course, he had the calf issue in training camp, but here's a little better look as far as what might have happened for him to go back down to the ground.

He's coming out of the game. What a moment last night. Four snaps into the first Jets offensive drive of the season, and Aaron Rogers tore his Achilles. He's done for the year. His career could be over. Tommy is with me the show today presented by our good friends at Window Nation.

Call them at 86690 Nation or go to Window Nation.com. Mention my name. You'll get a free estimate. They'll take great care of you. They've got a phenomenal deal going on right now. I'll tell you about that a little bit later on in the show. So, were you watching last night?

Yes, I was. And? I watched my Super Bowl pick, go right down the drain. I had him as an AFC championship team. That was a moment. I was watching the game with my son Corbyn, who is a massive Aaron Rogers fan. See, what's happened, Tommy, during the Dan Snyder years. And I know a lot of you out there have dealt with the same thing,

is that as much as we tried, you know, our kids, just didn't fall in love with the home team here. And, you know, it also coincided with things like fantasy football and your fantasy football team being more important and stars of teams being more important. You know, whatever the reasons, you know, been, I've got three boys. My oldest just doesn't really care much, you know, anyway about it, although he's a big TCU football fan because he went there. And my middle son and my younger son are huge sports.

fans. And, you know, my youngest son is probably the one that likes the skins the most. My middle son over the last, I mean, every bit of the last six, seven years, Aaron Rogers is just his guy. So he is rooted for the Packers. He has rooted in the, you know, he could not wait for last night. I mean, last night was bigger for him than, you know, the opener against Arizona on Sunday. And it's so funny because, Last year, when they lost to the Lions in the season finale to miss out on the playoff spot, I was watching that game with him. And he was just devastated.

And then last night, he looks at me, and this is my true immediate reaction. I just said, uh-oh, and he said, what do you mean? And I said, it just looks like non-contact. And non-contact usually is a bad thing. It can be an Achilles, it can be, you know, a knee injury. But, you know, that was not a big hit. That was, look, the ankle doesn't twist. There's no, there's no Alex Smith, you know, where you've got to look away.

There's no Joe Thaisman where you've got to look away. And sure enough, I mean, the first reports that came out that it was an ankle injury and x-rays were negative. I was like, okay, well, maybe that's, maybe it's a high ankle sprain and it just didn't twist in the way it normally does. And he goes, well, what if it's that? And I said, you know, that's four weeks minimum, but at least he's going to play again. And then, you know, he's sitting, he's not even watching the game. He's on his phone following every report. And then the news came out that more likely than not, it was an Achilles.

And I just thought it was an incredibly shot. One of those moments, Tommy, as sports fans, you know, it just was stunning. It stopped you in your trap. because if you were watching the build-up to this thing, on 9-11 and him coming out with the flag, and it was the atmosphere at that stadium, you could feel it. And this is six months of waiting for this,

waiting for this night, and it's over in four snaps, maybe for good. Yeah. Yeah, it was, and are you kidding me kind of moment? I mean, it was literally, you can't be serious. You cannot be serious.

Johnny Mac was there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and you could tell, I think, that he knew he was done. Because of the way he just sat down there on the field. Yeah. Yeah, no doubt. You know, they played the Vinnie Testiverty from 1999 season opener against the Patriots. He did the same thing. And he was in aggregate. agony and Aaron Rogers was, you know, typical cool Aaron Rogers. I mean, he knew, but there was no, there was no dramatic reaction, but you could tell he knew something wasn't right. Yeah. The hush over that crowd. Well, there's no dramatic reaction from all those psychedelic drugs he's

taken over here. And all of those dark periods he's gone into. It really was, I mean, I'm going to the rest of the game because the whole night was just surreal in so many ways because everybody, the whole sports world is thinking about and following the latest on social media about this injury and a game is going on and Josh Allen's throwing three interceptions and fumbling in a game and the jet to the same player. To the same player Jordan White had had three interceptions in the game. Apparently, you know, with the two interceptions, he already qualified for one of his big incentive bonuses in one game. And the jet, let me just, we'll get back to Aaron Rogers.

As the game was going on, I just said, look, the opener, week one, you just don't know, but I watched this team last year, and this is one of the reasons I liked the Jets this year, is I just thought they had a really good roster minus the quarterback. And I'm watching this game. I'm like, oh, my God, their defense is just so talented. And then on offense with Brees Hallback and Garrett Wilson, I mean, he is the next big thing at wide receiver here in the next few years. And I'm like, all they need is decent quarterback play. And they are a legit, legit deep into the postseason.

contender. You know, that's one of the takeaways from last night's game is, wow, the Jets really are as talented, you know, as a roster goes as, you know, I think a lot of people thought they were. Quinn and Williams is just dominant, and his brother was great last night. And then, you know, so that was one of the things, and the game was crazy. And Josh Allen was, good God, is he a reckless player? He's been that since he's coming to the league, and it pays off so much. much for him. But it's just, to me, like last night, it was unnecessary. Like, if he didn't play as recklessly as he did, they would not have lost the game. Exactly. All they had to do at that point was control the ball. You know, the Jets were not going to

put up many points. We're not going to generate much offense. All they had to do was possess the ball and move the ball down the field. However slowly it took. They just didn't need to give it away. I think at 13 to 3, the game was over if they don't turn it over four times. And then you get a punt return to win it in overtime. It's only the third time that's ever happened in the history of the NFL. Patrick Peterson had one for Arizona in 2011, and Timerick Vanover did it for the Chiefs.

He was a hell of a returner back in 1995. And that came after the field goal that tied it, hit the upright but went in from 50 yards out. The game was insane. It was one of those nights. Like, when that happened, the hush over that crowd, like I was Tommy, I was in the stadium in November of 1985 for the Monday night game between L.T. and the Giants and the Redskins quarterback by Joe Thaisman and the infamous, you know,

L.T. Breaking Joe T.'s leg. But it's 1985. There's no social media. You know, there are people holding those handheld televisions in the crowd, and I remember I never had one of those. I was one of those guys that actually had a transistor radio and would listen to Frank Sam and Sunny, you know, for updates. But, you know, the people that had the handheld, you know, TVs, or maybe it was a watchman back then, remember those? Oh, yeah. And you heard, you know, people going, oh. And then, you know, people would hover around and see the replay again. And you knew.

And you could tell when LT jumped up and started waving everybody out. But that was in the middle of a game that didn't have six months of buildup to it. And the pre, I mean, it was a big game. Don't get me wrong. And, you know, the Dermar. Hamlin thing last year. But again, the build-up for the game. But that was, you know, an unbelievable hush that came over.

Last night was just, we went from electricity, a buzz like you read about, to 10 minutes later, everybody in complete and utter shock. And part of it, part of the shock, I think, is because of the terrible history of the franchise. it was part of the shock, I think, was like, for New Yorkers, yes, for jet fans. That can happen to the jets. Of all franchises, this could happen to. I think that was part of the disbelief.

I mean, you know, I remember in 1971, I was watching the game. It was a preseason game, and Joe Namich threw an interception that, against the Lions, that linebacker Mike Lucci, caught. And Davis tried to tackle and busted up his shoulder and wound up missing 10 games that year. I remember how I felt that year as a Jets fan. But that was only two years removed from the Super Bowl, not like 54 years since they went to the Super Bowl.

Right. So I think part of it was the hapless Jets. That was also part of the story. I do remember how I felt about Thysman, but we weren't hapless. We were coming off a Super Bowl win and a Super Bowl visit. And then, you know, a first round playoff exit in 84. But, you know, Washington had become one of the best teams in the NFL. You know, the funny thing about that night, Jay Schrader came in. And on the first snap from center, he threw a bomb to Art Monk for like 50 yards. and the place was alive.

It was crazy, and then Schrader obviously took over. No, you're right. The Jet fans have just had, they just have had nothing legitimately for a long time. I mean, they've had moments here and there. You know, they were in an AFC title game against the Dolphins, the year that the Dolphins lost to Washington in Super Bowl 17 with Richard Todd. You remember that team. They were in an AFC title.

game against Denver with Vinny Testaverty. And they weren't they with Mark Sanchez? Mark Sanchez. Yeah, they were in an AFC title game. I think against the Colts, if I'm not mistaken. I think you're right. Yeah. Or was it the Patriots?

They beat the Patriots that year. Right. Yeah. I mean, look, they've had more, they've had better playoff history in this century and going back to Washington's last Super Bowl. than Washington's had. That's for sure. So the Jets lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC title game in 2010.

That was, and to Indianapolis the year before, they went to back-to-back conference championship games. You're right. There you go. And the one before that was the Richard Todd mud bowl in the Orange Bowl against Miami when they didn't put the tarp on the field because the jets were more of an explosive team than Miami was, and they couldn't score in the mud. against the Dolphins.

And it could have been Jets, Washington, and Super Bowl 17, but it was Dolphins Redskins in Super Bowl 17. Yeah, if you're one of those long, you know, time, long suffering to a certain extent, Jet fans, and you knew the kind of team you had and all you were missing was a quarterback, last night just has to be devastating. Like, it would have been,

I do think it would have been so much better had it happened in week three or even, I mean, probably at any point last night was going to be bad. But on the fourth snap, I mean, you got you got to be kidding me. You're shitting me that this dude is done for the year after four snaps. Did you read Diana Rusini's story? She said that Aaron Rogers was not thrilled with the cut block techniques that allowed for some, some early pressures that he didn't think needed to happen. You know, we'll see how much he really... I can't wait to hear him speak for the first time.

Now, this is a nine to 12-month recovery in Achilles. Nine to 12 months. And he's 39 years old. Do you think he plays again? I think he does. There's a lot of... I think he does. Yeah, a lot of dollar reasons.

He's stubborn enough to want to play again. Yeah. You know, the turf, especially the Meadowlands turf has been blamed by some of the players. You know, players I think want regular grass. These non-contact injuries, I guess, happen a little bit more on this kind of turf. I had my friend and my orthopedic surgeon who did my back surgeries, Dr. Michael Goldsmith, and he's one of the, he's one of the first. I'm a friend. I'm a friend. I'm a friend, my orthopedic surgeon, who did my back surgeries, Dr. Michael Goldsmith, and he's one of the the best orthopedics in town for spine and back. I had him on the radio show this morning, and he did say, look, 40 is like the time where this becomes a higher probability injury. So for those of you who said about the Aaron Rogers trade, you would have never done it, because I said I would have done it in a heartbeat had I been Washington, and that was never going to happen with the ownership situation. I don't think it was ever going to happen because I don't think Aaron Rogers would have come here. But for those of you who said, I would have never made

that trade because he's going to be 40 years old and he wasn't that good last year. And, you know, he's in decline. You look smart today, especially if you predicted that he wouldn't be able to play 17 games because he was hurt last year. It's one of the reasons he didn't have a great year. That and the fact that, you know, Devante Adams wasn't there anymore. I agree with you, I think he will play again. I think he will rehab and come back and give it one more go. You know, as far as regret on the trade, when you have a chance to get Aaron Rogers with that roster, the draft picks you gave up are meaningless. They really don't mean anything.

They only have to give up a second round of now. The Jets have had draft picks for 54 years. and what good has it done them? Good point. Draft choices are complete, you know, coin flips a lot of the time, and it's less than a coin flip in terms of the odds. You know, they only have to give up a second round pick now. They don't have, they had to play 65% of the snaps for them to get a first rounder.

So the Packers are only going to get a second rounder from the Jets. You know, there were a couple of other things, Tommy, from last night. First of all, I was not watching the Peyton. Eli broadcast when everything happened. But then I was turning back and forth. Peyton was just apparently absolutely disgusted with Zach Wilson. Yes, he was. He's like, he doesn't think they have a chance with this guy, Zach Wilson.

And so I didn't think he was that terrible. It wasn't good. He threw a terrible pick. There's clearly an issue with Zach Wilson. And, you know, he was only the second. picking the draft. And then this morning on Greenberg's Get Up, which I tuned in for because Greenberg, you know, has basically, has basically outfitted himself Aaron Rogers' gear head to toe since the trade. RG3 was in this morning.

Oh, so you know what he did, don't you? I was watching it when it happened. So I'm going to play it for everybody right now. now. When you talk about free agent quarterbacks, there's a reason that certain guys aren't in the league, it's because they're uninspired. But Foxy knows this. Some of these guys like Carson Wentz, Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, myself,

it's not that we can't play the game anymore, it's that we're a big distraction if you bring us in. I had a GM telling me this off season, hey man, I know you can still play. You look like you can still play. But if we bring you in, it's going to be a distraction for our starting quarterback. So now that your starter and Aaron Rogers is out, you can

potentially go and grab of those guys and bring them in. So, yeah. I mean, he's so shameless. He's so devoid of any shame. It's just stunning. He's devoid of any, like, true awareness of himself and what people and how people view him.

The look on Dominic Foxworth's face and some of the other guys, I mean, the eye rolling on the set. By the way, he kept going throughout the show. He mentioned it multiple times about him being a possibility for the Jets. You know, the idea that some guy said, man, I know you can still play. Well, what's somebody supposed to say when they run into somebody like him? There's a reason he's not playing for anybody. He can't play.

Did you see him the last time he tried to play for the Steelers? Like he can't do it. You know, man, it just goes to show you that intelligence doesn't, you know, mean that you can't be completely devoid of self-awareness. Because I do think he's an intelligent person. Like, I think he, like, if you watch him, I've said this before, he does a really good job calling games. excellent calling games. He's entertaining. He's, you know, analytical. He's, he did the Utah Baylor game from over the weekend, and I happen to have been watching some of that game. When he's on these sets, he actually has great personality. He's a phenomenal communicator.

I think he's a quick thinker, whether you agree with him or not. He graduated, remember, from Baylor in three years. This is a highly intelligent dude, but he has, He has no, well, he's a narcissist, clearly. But then I guess, you know, lack of self-awareness kind of coincides and goes hand in hand with narcissism. But I just, trust me on this. The Jets are not calling RG3. You better be careful there, Kevin, because you're treading on a Washington football icon. Okay?

So be a little bit careful there. Don't be so critical of one of the legends brought back to the game on Sunday. Didn't I tell you, though, last week, I forget if we talked about this on Thursday or if we talked about it in person when we were together Sunday. I predicted a response that would be, you know, warm, more warm than not. Because here's the thing, Tommy. RG3 is not despised by this fan base. He's polarizing.

I mean, I guess that's the best way to describe him. That's the most complimentary way to describe him is that he's polarizing with this fan base. I personally would not have had him back as part of this day. You know, for people like me, I don't need to see RG3 there with Rigo and with Sonny and Billy, even Champ Bailey, Clinton Portis. He just, he's not beloved. He's, he's divisive.

He's polarizing to this fan base. But you, I think, sometimes miss out on something. Younger people who don't have any, any attachment to a winning franchise or a normal. and a normal functioning franchise, 2012 is a year they'll never forget. By the way, I know that. By the way, for me, it was

an exciting year. Shock and all. It was. Shock and all! Yes. I look, I was, nobody was on board more than me. I know. The shock and all guy. But, you know, I mean, you keep saying for young people, that, that, you know, that's their

important error. That's their important year. And I get that. But to be honest with you, you know, what I know about the business of marketing these days, particularly in the NFL, I mean, they may give lip service to it, but you can't count on young people. They don't really give a shit about young people. You know, they can't count on them coming to the game. They have no money, for one thing.

They don't watch the games, the whole thing, you know. They come when they feel like that. like it. The fan base they have to bring back. Are you guys? You keep saying this. That's the fan base they have to bring back. Tommy, that's just bad strategy. That's bad long-term thinking. My shelf life, my lifetime revenue possibility for them is a fraction of what it is for somebody who's 22 or 23 years old, whether they have money now or not.

That's a long-term sports problem right now, period, is the generation of fans who don't care as much as we did about going the games. Well, they care about the games, though. They care about the games, though, because they're betting on them and their fantasy playing with them. and the NFL's is as popular as it's ever been. I know that, but they care about the highlights. That's what they care about.

Yeah. So, I mean, by the way, you know, yes, he got a warm reception. He brought his kids out at cover. True, true. I didn't say anything about that. I didn't want to. But that was pretty, he's smart. He is not a dummy.

He's not. Yes. Um, anyway, uh... But the fact that I would love for the Jets to sign here. That would be so hilarious. Oh my God, me too. Me too. You know what? There's, there's probably some people that he works with that wouldn't mind if the Jets signed him either. Um, but I'm not, by the way, I'm not referring to my very good friend, uh, who works with him on the Monday night thing. I haven't even

heard from him about what his opinion is on the group. I actually think they did a good job. all together last night with Scott hosting the show with your buddy yeah your buddy yeah is the best thing that happened to Monday night football in years yeah and I I um I didn't watch all of the pregame but I certainly watched the post game with him uh in that stadium uh he's he does a great job with everything um but uh yeah uh they won't sign him actually you know who I think they should try to sign your son, Colt McCoy? I would... That's not bad. I mean, look, the immediate conversation, of course, was about Brady. Okay, let's just assume Brady's not coming out of retirement, but can you imagine if Brady?

Because that team is ready to win a Super Bowl with a really good quarterback. By the way, I don't even need... Look, you almost have to have a really good quarterback, but the quarterback has to just be good to have a chance to compete for a Super Bowl this year. They've got absolute studs on that team. They really do. But assuming it's not going to be Brady, I thought about... Wait, stop for a second. Stop for a second.

Doesn't Brady own a piece of the Raiders? I don't know that that is official yet, though, Tommy, right? I thought he did. Would it preclude him from playing for another team? I think you can't play and own a piece of an NFL team. I could be wrong, but go ahead. If it's not Brady and it probably won't be. Yeah, and look, by the time some of you listen to this,

they may have already signed another quarterback, but assuming that they're not going to trade, like another name that came to my mind very quickly was like Matt Stafford, but after the way he played on Sunday, if I'm Sean, you know, you've got Aaron Donald, Matt Stafford Cooper Cup, although he's, you know, injured for a while. And a couple of really interesting young players, like they, they destroyed Seattle. It's week one.

We talked about week one. Total head fake most years. You can't come to any conclusions after the first several weeks of the season, really. Definitely not week one. But he's not trading Stafford, I don't think. And, you know, somebody like there's, that would be the one guy that, you know, on a bad, on a team that may be bad this year, or at least going into the season, was predicted to be pretty awful. I went to, okay, who are the, you know, back-ups? You know, Flacco's been there two

out of the last three years. He's beloved in every locker room he goes into. He's a total team player. And he has made it vocal that he wants to play still. Oh, I didn't even know that. but they probably would love to have a veteran presence like that. And by the way, if you're thinking about a Flacco or a Colt McCoy, it's not going to be Carson Wentz. They can't have Carson Wentz and Zach Wilson in that locker room. They have to bring in a veteran presence, although maybe Aaron Rogers will be around.

I don't know. But I was thinking Flacco when I thought of Colt McCoy. Like, to me, like we've always said, Look, Colt McCoy, on a really good team, I always said, can go 8 and 8. But on most teams, he's a 6 and 10 full-time starter. But he's one hell of a backup, and he's a willing backup, and he's a great locker room guy. Everybody loves Colt McCoy. He's beloved everywhere he goes.

My coaches and teammates. Everybody loves Colt. And Zach Wilson, you know, they need a possibility of somebody else. Yeah, those are names that came to mind. By the time you listen to this, perhaps they've already made a decision. But it can't be Carson Wentz. You can't take Carson Wentz in such a volatile situation as that. You can't do it.

I mean, you know, it would just, it would just, it would be New York backpage tabloid everyday chaos. Yeah, I mean, the fact that Carson Wentz hasn't been given any chance, you know, tells you all you need to know about what the league thinks of Carson Wentz. It's the same thing Indianapolis and Philadelphia thought of them, but for whatever reason, you know, Ron ignored, Ron and Dan at the time ignored. Although Ron wants to tell you, that was his call. That wasn't Dan's call during it. But, yeah, that was unfortunate.

I'm disappointed because, look, the NFL survives all of this. Remember when Brady went down in week one that year, and Matt Castle came in. The league, you know, it's not like people stopped watching because Brady was hurting out. It's not like people stopped watching when Brett Farr retired or Peyton Manning. This league is bulletproof. But man, you talk about a clear cut, number one storyline that was not only going to be a storyline all season long, you know, from people just following the Jets. and from afar, they were going to see it because they were going to be on national TV six times, you know, and highlighted so many times, including that first ever Black Friday game on the day after Thanksgiving.

And so we're going to see a lot of jets this year, unless they get flexed out of some of these Sunday night games. I think I looked this up earlier. They have two Sunday night games scheduled, so potentially they could get full. flexed out. Oh, well, you can get flexed out of Monday night games too this year. And they have another Monday night game scheduled against the Chargers in November. So maybe you don't end up seeing the Jets as much as... They're the hard knocks team. I know. And by the way, that guy, I watched the first two episodes of Hard Knocks. And I thought that there was just too much gushing over Aaron Rogers. It was actually kind of embarrassing, I thought. So I stopped watching it. But the kid that had the punt return in overtime was apparently a big part of the hard knocks. He was undrafted out of Stephen F. Austin. We're talking about the kid Gibson for getting his first name now. It's been all of 12 hours or 18 hours.

Jordan, Xavier Gibson, excuse me. So that was a big story during hard knocks. So we'll see. Look, you know, great defense has always in the history of the NFL. even with bad quarterbacking, it gives you a chance to be a competitive team and be in a lot of games. Like it did last year with the Jets,

they were 7 and 4 at one point. I think the best example of really good defensive teams that have advanced to the playoffs, you know, and won 9 games or 10 games. Those Bill O'Brien Houston Texans teams with J.J.J. Watt, Jadavian Clowney, they were so dominant defensively. They just didn't have a quarterback until they got to Sean Watson.

And, you know, I don't, I'm not talking about this because it's going to lead me into saying that's what Washington is this year, potentially a great defensive team, but without a quarterback, because I don't think we know that yet. But there is a lot of quarterback of Washington's team to discuss because we haven't heard Tom's take on Sunday's game. I also did a borderline, you know, a slim-down version of a rewerewerew. watch. So I have kind of in a pond further review of a couple of things that I want to get to. And we will do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey, Washington, D.C. are you looking for the ultimate outdoor destination to watch upcoming games in groove to live music? Look no further than the bullpen, Tommy, located right in the heart

of Navy Yard. The bullpen's your go-to spot for an unforgettable time with friends. And guess what? admission absolutely free. While they're famous for being the spot for baseball fans, they've got big news. This season, they're bringing you all the NFL and college football action you can handle. So rally your squad, wear your team colors, head on over to the bullpen. They've got the games, the drinks, and the energy to make every moment unforgettable. Visit them today at the bullpen, DC.com to see the game schedule. the bullpen's always been one of our favorite spots for Nats games,

but I've told everybody, and I wish you had been there for this, that Burgundy and Sold party that the bullpen hosted for us at the radio station was just incredible the day that the team's sale was official. But the bullpen's awesome, and head down there to watch college and NFL games. Great spot to hang out easy and very accessible via the Metro. So, Tommy, what did you think of the game Sunday? First of all, should we talk about hanging out with, we didn't get to all of the tailgate parties that we were invited to.

So all of you that invited us to your tailgate party when I put out that tweet on Saturday, thank you so much. Tommy was very, very busy, as he usually is. And the weather wasn't necessarily accommodating for him. He actually sent me a text at about 10.15, and he said, I don't know about this. I've got to work today, and I can't be all wet working in the press box. I thought for sure you were going to bail on me. But you sucked it up, and the weather got better, too. Yes, I did. Yes, I did. I had to limit my alcohol intake. I did have a story I'd have to write. I know, I know. And I was there more as a fan, although I did have to make a couple of stops.

up on the club and the sweet level before kickoff for radio station purposes. And that's why, by the way, I saw a lot of you saying, actually, that's not why. I saw a lot of you saying, nice gear, Sheehan, nice gear, Levera. Would it hurt you to put a commanders or a Redskins jersey on? Well, Tommy's working. He can't do that. And I actually had to do a couple of things pregame where I, look, I'm not a gear guy. I don't have gear. I don't. I'm not one of those grown-ups that wear jerseys.

I don't hold it against you that you do. I just don't. And the gear that I have, I have some Maryland gear. That's what I have. That's it. Now, there are Redskins jerseys in my home, but they were the jerseys that my kids wore when they were kids. But anyway, Now, let me speak up for those jersey guys. If I was still a fan, like of the Jets or something like that, I'd be a Jersey guy. I'd be an old-school jersey guy. I wouldn't be like, if I was a Washington fan, I'd have a Jurgerson jersey, you know, or I'd have a Rigo jersey. That's what I'd be wearing.

Yeah. I mean, I can't tell you. you that I've ever owned a jersey since I was a kid when you used to get, some of you will remember this, you used to get the NFL plastic helmet, plastic shoulder pads, and a jersey, I think starter may have been the brand. Yes, I think you're right. And I had, I'm going to tell you right now, the ones I had, I had a 43, I had a 55, I had a Larry Brown, I had a Chris Hamburger, and I had a Sunny Jersey.

Jurgensen, Jersey. But 43, Larry Brown, and you and I got a chance to meet Larry Brown. We did that, you know, lunch with a legend with Larry Brown years ago down at Morton's downtown. Larry Brown, for many years, was kind of my guy as a kid. I mean, he was an NFL MVP. And I loved all the players. I mean, there were a lot of players that were really favorites. I mean, I was in a house where my father was a big, you know, my uncle was a big sunny guy. And, you know, he was a big, sunny guy. he came to the games with us. So that made me really love Sunny. But I loved Billy too.

But man, did I love me some Larry Brown as a kid? But that's the last time I think I actually had a jersey. You know what? I used to have those ski, you know, the wool caps, winter caps, Redskins caps. I had several of those. I probably had the knee-high tube socks with the burgundy and gold. probably had a couple of those. I do have a...

Wait a minute. I have a couple of long-sleeve teas black with redskins, with the Redskins logo on it. I have a couple of those bees. I wore one. I think I told this story. Like, it was six, eight months ago into a Starbucks early in the morning, and some woman gave me shit for wearing it.

She said she thought that that was inappropriate. Let's just say... You don't have any commander's jersey. Oh, no. No, no. No. No. No. No. I'm not going to have commanders gear. I didn't think so. You know what? I have actually, now that I'm thinking about it, a WFT ski cap. It was sent to me with a bunch of other stuff.

But it was the one thing that I took out of the pile of the other stuff that was sent to me. So anyway, enough about that. We had a good time. It was great meeting a lot of you. Sorry for. for those of you that we didn't get around to see. So what did you think of the game? Well, I mean, in the game, you know, and I wrote this in my column, it's nice that they won. It's a nice bow on what was a great package of a day. But the whole day felt, and I don't mean to diminish people who are held hostage

and then set free, but that's what it felt like. it felt like people tasting freedom for the first time. I mean, in the parking lot, in the stands at the game, you know, there's a scene and the movie Brewbaker, you ever see Brewbaker? Yeah, is that, is that Bert Reynolds? No, Robert Redford is the movie. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I know the movie. And actually, Morgan Freeman's in it, Yoffa Koto did it.

And there's a scene where they're about to let the, inmate to have been in solitary confinement for years and never being let outside. Outside. And Robert Redford makes sure that they all have sunglasses. But this will be the first time they've seen the sun in years. So maybe that's why it was rainy on Sunday because the sun, it would have been too bright for these group of people who have been held hostage for years to be exposed to that much light. It was white enough just to be there at the game knowing that something you never thought would happen.

Happened. I mean, forcing an owner out of the league is like a supernova. It just doesn't happen. I think the better. Most people thought this would net this day would never come. And that's the way it felt to me from everybody I dealt with on Sunday. So, I mean, you couldn't go wrong on Sunday, really. But winning the game was a nice blow on the package.

The whole atmosphere. I think personally, Tommy, a man feels more like a man if he's got a bottle of suds. Because that line from Andy Dufrein, when they're tarring the roof and they're out there, you know, outside working, that is, that's kind of what you're describing. You know, you're out and you're the sun and man, how about, how about I do your taxes and you give every one of these guys a bottle of suds? Even old cap, you know, Hadley or Hadley, whatever the guy's name was, you know, the toughest dude in the joint, the toughest guy in the joint. The toughest guy in the joint. Even he just said, all right, get these guys some beers. What a great scene that was.

or when Andy Dufrein comes through the mile-long, you know, sewer of S-H-I-T, and he ends up in that water and he takes his shirt off and he looks up at the sky and the rain's falling. Well, that's what Sunday was like. As far as the game itself, it was a commander's game, wasn't it? What do you mean by that? Typical commanders game. What do you mean by that? I mean, they didn't score any points.

They made some mistakes, but they had a good enough defense to win the game for them. Right. It's something we've seen throughout the whole Ron Rivera era. Yeah, we haven't seen it enough, but yes. Yeah, I hear you. I mean, what did you? Yeah, I guess I don't have any follow-up questions to kind of the atmosphere. I mean, it was, look, I tell you what,

I don't want to be negative, but they were lucky they were playing the Cardinals. What do you mean? In terms of getting a win. If they were playing any other team? Right. Okay, I know what you're saying. They probably wouldn't have won. Maybe.

Yeah, so I went back and did a very scaled-down version of a re-watch because after I got home on Sunday, I went back and watched the game. Look, I've said this a million times. and I'm not going to games is great and you know big games I love being in a big game atmosphere but I'm telling you what for football you just don't see the game like you do when you're watching it on TV and there are just so many little things that you miss when you're at the game like I didn't realize at the game that the referee had gotten hurt on the play that Sam got hurt on when he got hit. That's the only reason Jacoby Berset didn't take a snap in the game is the referee was being

checked on the sideline, and that gave time for Washington to check Sam Hal out real quickly for any sort of concussion symptoms, because Jacoby Berset was coming into the game. So if the ref hadn't, you know, if they weren't checking on the ref, I just, I don't know what I thought was going on at that point. We probably would have seen a snap from Jacoby Brissette. But there are a couple of things that I picked up on after kind of going back and watching the game. First of all, with respect to the six sacks, and I think on the show yesterday, I said they all happened in the first half. Actually, they didn't.

Two of them happened in the second half because a couple of them that I thought were sacks on kind of scrambles that I thought were negative yardage, were actually zero yardage, so they didn't count as sacks. But I think what Ron Rivera said, and I heard this, and I think I tagged it to the podcast yesterday. By the way, just real quickly, I don't want to forget this thought. I meant to say it at the beginning of the show. There have been some issues with Apple and Spotify with this podcast where some of you are getting just ads, like four minutes worth of ads, and you're not getting the show. We are trying to figure out what the hell's going on. It's the publisher and the platform, which we use a company called Megaphone, which is actually the platform for a lot of podcasts.

But I just wanted to make sure that all of you who listen on Apple, and I listen to the show on Apple, and I listen to it the show on Spotify, when I'm going back to listen to it to check for, you know, sort of quality control, I guess. It's available at Kevin Sheehan Show.com, The Kevin Sheeanshow.com, two different URLs, but, you know, the Kevin Sheeonshow.com has it right there. There's a big button. You push the button. You can listen to it. And it's always there. And you're not going to get the four minutes of ads. But for whatever reason, over the last week, we've had some of those issues, especially on Apple and Spotify. So I just wanted to remind some of the, of some of you, well, first of all, apologize. We are working on it, and we're trying to figure out why that has happened. But just to remind you that if, for whatever reason that happens, listening to it on Apple, just go to the website, the kevin-sheanshow.com, and you'll get the show right there. Listen, Kevin has some of the best tech supports to people on his staff. Okay?

I know that they're working night and day. to get this done. That's not true because this one's actually completely, we actually had a technical issue in the studio where I did have somebody come in yesterday to help out with that. But that's, that's the, you know, that's, that's very rare. This is really not to, you know, pass the buck here, but it's kind of out of our control other than potentially using a different platform, but we've never had issues. So we're there, it's not a lot of you, but it's enough of you that, um, I, I, I, I, I, I, this because I saw the numbers of the show yesterday and on Friday, and they were much lower than they typically are. And so that's frustrating for me too. But again, you always have,

if that's an issue, the kevin-sheanshow.com, which is right there. Anyway, the six sacks from Sam Howell. Ron Rivera said it best. Like if you go through each and every one of them, It really is a combination of O-line, O-line communication, and Sam How. I personally think that the biggest play of the first half, the sack fumble, that that was not on him. You know, Wiley gets beat, gets beat fairly quickly by Gardek. He's got to do a much better job of protecting the football in that spot. That's for sure. but that was an unfortunate play.

And then there was a play in the third quarter on a sack where Ron had actually referred to some miscommunication and you could tell that there was some miscommunication between Gates and Leno. So it's a mix. The offensive line is not great. The quarterback holds on to the ball too long on occasion. can he be coached out of that because that was a big issue at North Carolina.

This is one of the reasons he probably dropped to the fifth round. Decision making holds on to it too long and takes too many sacks. And by the way, he's six feet tall. That you can't coach up. But the other part, you can. And this is the kind of thing that hopefully a year from now will say, remember when he was holding onto the ball and he took all those sacks, he's only taken two sacks in the last seven games, you know?

with good coaching and good coachability on his end, hopefully they can coach him out of that. I am more concerned, actually, by the offensive line, and that leads me to this. A lot of you sent me the PFF grades from the game. And Pro Football Focus had the top five offensive performers for Washington, had three of them being offensive linemen. Look, the guys at PFF that I have on the show, I like those guys.

Nick Ackridge comes on with us, you know, came on with us a lot last year, maybe a little bit the year before, Sam Monson, Eric Eager, who's gone. A lot of those guys, I actually like them. They're excellent guests, by the way, excellent guests. I don't know how Andrew Wiley ended up being the fourth best offensive player per PFF. Now, the grade wasn't exceptional. It was barely above average. It was like a C plus.

and none of the grades offensively were great grades. Charles Leno graded out the highest, followed by Cole Turner, Sam Cosme. And when I get to the rest of my kind of rewatch and upon further review, I'll mention Cosmy. And then Wiley was fourth and Curtis Samuel was fifth. I don't get that at all. I think Andrew Wiley looks like he struggles. I don't think that anybody other than maybe. I think the issue are the tackles, not the interior.

I think Cosmy had a great game. And the only reason I know this, I've got to give a friend of mine who was a college football player and is a coach now. And he sent me this long text. He goes, you got to go back when you do your rewatch and watch Cosmy. The dude was flawless during the game. Now, he missed three plays. And again, with offensive line play, we don't always know the responsibilities. We don't know what's communicated.

Cosmy is their best offensive line. lineman. I don't even think it's that close. And Guard is his position. Like he's got a chance to be a star at Guard in this league. I'm concerned, I also like Nick Gates. I think Gates is going to be a player. I'm concerned about the tackles. I'm concerned less about Leno, a lot more about Wiley. And I'm wondering if they have similar concerns. Now Wiley is Eric B. Enemy's guy. That was Eric Bionemy's guy that he brought him from Kansas City, you know, along with Kemp and Pringle and I'm forgetting maybe one other player. But I wonder whether or not Cosmi can go back to playing right tackle, even though Guard is his position, if they continue to have issues with Wiley. I didn't

think Wiley had a great game at all. Now, again, PFF's grading, he had a 69.9.60s a C. So he was at a C plus range. It's not like he had a great game. Nobody on offense had a great game. Defensively, John Allen was their highest rated player. I thought John was phenomenal. And I thought sweat and pain were right there. Sweat was third. Pain was not in their top five.

It's funny, for whatever reason, PFF just doesn't love pain. And I remember asking Nick Ackridge from PFF last year. He goes, I love pain too. I watch him. And his best plays are better than anybody else's best plays. but every play gets graded and sometimes he'll have a play where he's not a factor, and so that sometimes hurts the overall grade. I think when Duran Payne is at his best on a play, he's their best defensive lineman followed by sweat.

And Allen's great too. I also noticed that Sweat and Allen were double-teamed a lot. I'm sorry, Payne and Allen were double-teamed a lot. pains the guy that's going to get double-teamed more, though, which was the case, I think, last year as well. Also, a couple of other quick things. That Diami Brown play on the first drive of the game, that's a touchdown, people.

I mean, the All-22 shows it even more than just the game tape. My God, Diami Brown comes in motion. This is a second and 10 play where Sam looks at Diami Brown, and doesn't throw it. It's a 60, it's a 66-yard touchdown pass on the first drive. Can you imagine that crowd had he thrown the ball to Diami Brown 64 yards for a touchdown on the first drive? I don't know why he didn't throw it.

I have no idea. But when Ron talked about him coming off his first read too much, that may have been an example of it. I don't know if it was his first read. He had a 12-yard completion to Jahan Dotson. who will be open, I think, on every play. He's not coverable by one guy. They're going to have to bracket him if they're going to stop him.

So that was 100% true. The offensive pass interference on John Bates was a horrible call, horrible call. There's barely even contact or even a rub, and it's him running a route. There's no real pick there. Also, I wanted to mention that I think I did mention this yesterday. I don't know how replay didn't overturn the Gibson screen. That was a first down. I thought Casey Two Hill, and he wasn't ranked in the top five of defensive players,

I thought Casey Two Hill was outstanding in the game. And I think that all of their defensive linemen played well, including the new guy, Abdullah Anderson. He had some really good plays. but their defensive line, James Smith Williams, I think, really held up. You know, Alan Payne and Sweat were the stars of the game. Two Hill, Ridgeway, they've got some really good players. And we're not even mentioning Chase Young or Phil Mathis.

We don't even know what Phil Mathis can play. Andre Jones, by the way, the guy that Doc loved during the preseason, got in for a couple of snaps as well, number 50. And one last thing, Cameron Cheeseman, if they don't figure this thing out soon, he's going to cost him a game, people. You cannot dribble snaps back to field goal holders. Tress Way is an incredible holder. He's got great hands. And Sly made the kick because Way never made it appear as if there was anything wrong.

But that thing bounced back, and that's a few now since preseason started. They drafted this guy, Cameron Cheeseman. Remember, they traded up in the sixth round to draft Cameron Cheesman. So they better address that because this is a team that is probably going to play some close games because their defense is going to keep them into games, I think, and their offense is a work in progress. And, you know, last year you had a lot of close games. and he's going to cost you a game with a bad snap here in a big spot. I was reading somebody, I guess, had talked to Ron Rivera off the record, and I'm forgetting who it was,

that said that Cameron Cheesman had changed his grip. He preferred something else. Well, it ain't working, cheese. Try something else. Also, just one last thing on Sam Hal. he can make some really good plays. He is really, really good off schedule. So is Taylor Heineke, too, you know, just as a, you know,

and he's competitive as hell like Heineke. He's just got the arm strength, but he is really good off schedule. The one thing that just worries me with him is he does not fear taking big hits. The big hit that he took, you know, at the start of the game, by White, by Kaiser White, he should have dumped that ball and he actually had a receiver open, but if not, he's got to throw that ball out of bounds and avoid the hit. He doesn't seem to be a guy that fears the hits.

When you go back and you watch him as a runner at Carolina that last year where he rushed for over 1,100 yards and then took 300 and something plus yards worth of sacks, which is why the net number was 828. That's the way they do it in college. I mean, he sought out contact, sought it out. You're not going to last in this league if you can't avoid some of the hits. And that would concern me as well. But he made some plays, man.

He made some plays and he's got an arm. And when he sees it and he doesn't hold it, there are going to be people open and they're going to have some big chunk plays. I really believe that. But we'll see. Denver coming up. has Denver as a three and a half point favorite right now. Once again, Tommy, Washington is the lowest over under total on the board. This week, a little bit higher than where it was last week where it went off at 37 and a half, 38. This week it is 39. There are a lot of totals that are

super low. Last week one was a very low scoring week, and the unders, by the way, were four and 12. But go to my bookie.ag. Use my promo code. Kevin D.C. A deposit of $50 or more, you'll get a $200 bonus into your account instantly.

MyBooky.ag. My promo code Kevin, D.C. And you can get that money out too. You know, you deposit, you make your deposit, you get the $200 in cash, if your deposit is 50 or more. And you can withdraw it any

time once you bet your deposit amount one time. A lot of places make you bet that deposit amount multiple times before having access to a withdrawal, not at my bookie. Sorry, I just wanted to go through some of the things that I noticed after watching the game again. What else do you have on the game? Well, you know, I mean, it really doesn't matter if it's the offensive line or the quarterback. I mean, it's the same thing. I mean, neither has been fixable in the entire time Ron Rivera has been here. The offensive line pass protection blocking has always been an issue. Okay, and the quarterback position has always been an issue.

So I don't see either one of them surviving without the other being fixed, and I don't think it'll be fixed. The Cardinals, it's clear that their game plan, was to come after Sam Hal to make them uncomfortable. And I think this is what you're going to be facing in the future. Now, the Broncos, they don't bring a lot of pressure for what I've read. They're not a big pressure team. But I don't think you have to be a big pressure team to decide,

well, if we can shake this guy up, you know, they're not going to score many points against it. So I think that that's going to be the game plan moving forward for most of their opponents. they're going to come after Sam Howe and this team can't protect them very well. That's going to be a problem. I mean, he's not going to be able to develop into the quarterback that the Kulay gang thinks he's going to be behind this offensive line. You know, the offensive line in 2021, because remember Ron when he was after that season trying to pitch basically, you know, the Russell Wilson's of the world, that Washington was a great spot to come to,

and he kept referencing that the offensive line was the sixth rated, sixth rated offensive line per PFF in the league, which it was in 2021. But there was a player on that offensive line that wasn't coming back the next year, and his name was Brandon Sheriff. So there was a bit of a difference there, for sure.

Yeah, you know, back to your first comment. It really doesn't matter. Well, of course, it really doesn't matter. But you don't want your quarterback to be the kind of quarterback that holds onto the ball and takes sacks. You want your quarterback to be the kind of quarterback that even with protection that is shaky is able to see it quickly and get it out quickly. Now, that opportunity doesn't exist everywhere. But I think it exists. here because they've got receivers that win immediately. He's got options early. Now, on some of that dropback stuff, and I was critical of that yesterday, I thought that

they, for basically two and a half quarters, you know, two and a half quarters, they dropped them back too much, and it was deadly at times. They didn't move them around enough. But, you know, Bianami adjusted. They started to run the football, in part because the. context of the game was, if we don't turn it over, if we don't, you know, make it terrible field position-wise by taking these sacks, that dude on the other side, Josh Dobbs can't possibly drive the length of the field, which they were right about. Which is, by the way,

one of the reasons when they had the second fumble and they ran Robinson Jr. three times and kicked the field goal, I didn't have a problem with that. Many of you did. I didn't. In most cases, I would have said that is just way too conservative. No, no, no. Their best chance to win was for the Cardinals to have the ball. A hundred percent. And the field goal would make it a four-point lead. And the chances that that dude was going to drive them 75 yards in the final two and a half minutes of the game for a touchdown to win it was like near zero. So I did not. And for the Cardinals, their best chance to win was for Washington to have the ball.

force a turnover. Yeah. So I didn't have a problem with that strategy, but back to it doesn't really matter. It does a little bit. You know, I need to see the growth from Hal on processing, on getting it out quickly, and not taking the big back-breaking sacks. And by the way, protecting the football as well. because there are quarterbacks with a lot of weapons that if they're quick and they've got a quick release and the offense is designed the way theirs is, which is very west coast in nature, you don't have to protect for as long. I mean, Carson Wentz was a ball holder. He held the ball too long.

They also had issues with the offensive line. This offensive line may have some issues as well. Sam Hal holds onto the ball occasionally too long. I want to see that part fixed because that'll make the guys up front look a little bit better. Look, when it's a complete jail break on every play like it was last night for Buffalo and for New York on the other side, there's a lot of times not much you can do with it. But, you know, Washington's got guys that are open literally when the ball snapped. So I think there are options.

And he's also, you know, he had that ball tipped and picked off at six. feet, you know, are barely above that, he's going to have to figure out those passing lanes. You know, you heard Carlos Watt... They were lucky they didn't get more passes picked off in that game. Well, the one at the end of the half would have been a backbreaker and probably a game ender, given their inability to really, you know, move the ball consistently without, you know, Arizona helping out. But the Carlos Watkins for Arizona, he had a couple of interesting quotes.

Number one, we knew coming in. He held onto the ball too long. And number two, he's a shorter quarterback, and we had a game plan to get hands up and get some balls tipped. And that's going to be a lot of what people will come. That's always the case with shorter quarterbacks. And the quarterbacks that succeed at that height are the ones that really have an understanding of those throwing lanes and getting to them and delivering the ball through those throwing windows. And he'll learn.

Watkins also said it's our job to get to him and make him uncomfortable. I think that's job number one for everybody facing this team until he proved them otherwise. Tommy, he had some really good plays in the game, though, too. I mean, I gave him a C for the game. That's fair. And I thought that, you know, there's a lot to improve upon. and Arizona is not supposedly one of the real difficult teams on either side of the ball this year. He's going to face, you know, coming up against Buffalo in particular in Philadelphia, better defenses.

Dallas, he gets twice this year. That could be, you know, a dominant defense this year. And, you know, Washington on people's schedules this year, they're going to say this is a hell of a defensive line because it is. Yes, they will. When Donation's offering you just a phenomenal deal right now, all right? You pay nothing for two full years, and you get up to 50% off all style windows. You don't have to put any money down, no payments, no interest for two years. Bowes, Bays, double hung, any style window.

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two full years, no interest, up to 50. 50% off all-style windows. 86690 Nation, windownation.com. Something I learned by looking into the Denver Oakland game. Actually, they're not Oakland anymore. They're Vegas. Denver's Washington's opponent that I will share with you when we come back right after these words

from a few of our sponsors. Look at all the space outside on the left of something. On second and goal, Wilson, looking to the back of the end zone, dancing around. Pointing, throwing back in the end zone. Touchdown Broncos. Cortland Sutton. That was a touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Cortland Sutton.

Late in the first half, gave Denver a 13 to 10 lead. They lost to the Raiders in their opener, 17 to 16. They get to open with two home games. Their second home game is Washington this Sunday. More on what I discovered, into that game a little bit more here in a moment. But Tommy, this segment brought to you by our good friends at Shelly's. Shelly's back room.

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So Shelly's Backroom, you go to shelley's backroom. You go to shelley's backroom.com to learn more, 1331 F Street, Northwest, in the district. So what did you said something in the last segment about Denver? What did you say something about their pass rush? I mean, I read briefly that they are not a high-pressure defensive team. so far. All right. Well, it's one game.

I know. So Denver, you know, this is Sean Payton's Denver, you know, team. He took over. By the way, Sean Payton, who the new owners tried to make a call to, made a call to, to see if he'd be interested in coaching this team. Well, we don't know for sure that the new owners were the ones. We know that Sean Payton said. Sean Payton said, and I've played this audio before from Adam Shine show, I think that's his name, Adam Shine, on XM's on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Channel, that someone, you know, and we both talked about this because we thought it was, you know, not, we thought it was a little bit, you know, inappropriate for him to throw Ron under the bus that way.

But he said that one of the bidders for the Washington team had reached out to him. So that's what he said. And then he went on to talk about the great days at RFK and how much he loved Washington. But anyway, so, yeah, I mean, I wonder if that's a motivating factor for Ron this week. I hope it is. This game on Sunday that they played against the Raiders in Denver, Sean Payton's first game as a coach. You know, this was one of those games that people were paying attention to. Will Russell Wilson look like Russell Wilson again?

I'll get to that in a moment. But the game was a 17 to 16 final. The Raiders beat the Broncos by a point. Denver's kicker Will Lutz, who Sean Payton brought in from New Orleans. He was his kicker in New Orleans, missed an extra point and a field goal in the game. Rather important points missed in the game. But here is the thing that I discovered about this game. It is one of the oddest games you will ever see.

there were only six possessions by each team in the game, the entire game. They only had the ball six times each team, all right, 12 total possessions in the game. How does that happen? Well, you end up driving the ball for a long period of time with a lot of plays in bounds, without a lot of incompletions, so the clock is just rolling. You know, you don't have a lot of balls hitting the ground, clock stopped, you know, not a lot of timeouts being called, et cetera. And, you know, if you go through this game, it's like the Raiders started off with a five and a half minute drive. The Broncos answered with a near nine minute drive.

The Raiders then had the ball for 10 plays. The Broncos had it for eight. The Raiders had it for five. The Broncos had it for nine. And then it was the end of the half, which I didn't count that as an actual possession because it was just one. playing a kneel down for the Raiders. Each team, three possessions in the first half. What's normal for a game?

I think the average is 11.5 possessions per game per team. So this was basically half the number of possessions that most teams have in a game. And then in the second half, the Broncos, you know, six minute, five and a half minute drive. The Raiders, seven and a half minute drive. The Broncos eight minute drive. The Raiders then had a quick touchdown drive that was two minutes and 20. seconds. And then in a game that featured just three punts in the 12 drives, the only three and out, it was a Bronco three and out late when they were down 17, 16. They punted it with five minutes

to go in the game, and the Raiders ran out the clock. The game was literally played with six opportunities per team. So when you hear, well, the Broncos only scored 16, they didn't generate that much yardage. They only had the ball six times. They averaged four and a half yards per play. That's not great, but it's a lot better than what Washington averaged on Sunday. Russell Wilson completed 27 of 34 balls, not for a lot of yards, 177 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions.

He had a 74.7 QBR in the game. Jimmy Garoppolo, I think at some point this year, I'm not a big fan of the Raiders going into this year, but if the Raiders win games this year and they're in contention, at some point people are going to have to say, you know what that Jimmy Garapolo? You know what he does? He just wins.

That seems to be what he does. He just seems to win. He was 20 of 26 for 200 yards, two touchdowns, had an interception into the end zone in that game. As far as Denver, look, defensively, they've been a good team at times here in recent years. It's a different team than they've had, but they still have, well, they've got Pat Sartan as one of their corners,

one of the best in the game. They still have Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons. They still have the linebacker Josie Jewel. They got Frank Clark on that team. Randy Gregory, I think, is still on that team. So, I don't know, it's just a weird game to kind of look at and evaluate. You know, if you want to say, oh, It's same old Russell Wilson, same old offense.

Well, Denver had in the game six possessions, and they scored on three of them, and they missed a field goal on a fourth, and then they punted twice. That's a pretty good ratio of generating scoring opportunities, four of six drives they had a chance to score on. Most teams would take that ratio of two-thirds of your possessions having a chance. at points. So they move the football. I love their backs. Javante Williams, I just thought since he came out of Carolina, and he was one of the two backs in the backfield with Sam Hal, along with Michael Carter, who plays for the Jets. And then Samaji Piron, man, he's had a pretty good career since he left

Washington. Yes, he had. He did. And he played well for Cincinnati. He played well for Denver on Sunday. He had eight carries for 41 yards. That's over five yards per carry. He had four catches in the game as well. They lost Tim Patrick before the season started. That hurts some a little bit, but they do have Sutton who should, if he can ever stay healthy at 6'4 and 230 or whatever he is, you know, being able to run 4-4. He should be so much better than he is. But look, they'll be desperate because they lost their opener. They don't want to start off the Sean Payton error. 2, 0-and-2

with two home losses. But I also think that Washington defensively is going to be a much tougher test for Denver than Vegas was. Vegas has good defensive players. Yeah. So we'll see.

Do you think these points spread is fair? Yeah, the three and a half, like I would have preferred to see three. Three and a half, whenever you see that it's like the odds makers are encouraging you to bet the underdog. Like they're like, look, you're getting more than a field goal, you know. When it's at three or two and a half, they're encouraging you to take the favorite more. Or at three, it's, you know, kind of a push.

But when you see two and a halves and three and a halves, it's an indication of, you know, what they kind of like to a certain degree or what their thinking is and where the action will be, we'll see, who the hell knows? dogs on Sunday, or for the first week in the NFL, were 10 and 6 underdogs were. And the unders were 12 and 4. It was not a high-scoring week one. It actually wasn't, there were close games, but I went back and looked at this. You know, the Detroit, Kansas City game, Washington game, the Minnesota-Tampa game,

the Tennessee, New Orleans game was tight. The Denver Raiders game was tight. the Eagles Patriots game was tight. The game of the weekend, obviously, was the Dolphins and the Chargers, and then last night's game was tight. But other than last night's game, no other game came down to, like, the last possession where there was a walk-off touchdown or a walk-off field goal. Everybody was taking knees at the end of a lot of these games to end them.

So, you know, at this point in the season, like I was reading something very early this morning that the low-scoring week one can definitely be attributed to three preseason games versus four. And I'm like, eh, it's not that. It's that coaches are playing starters less and less and less. And they're relying on practice and the joint practices as the real prep. And, you know, now Joe Burrow didn't even get practice time because he hurt. So that explains a little bit why he threw for 82 yards. It's not because he didn't play in the preseason.

It's because he didn't practice in the preseason at all. But we'll start to see the offenses catch up here soon enough. Did you see the video of Miles Garrett swaying back and forth on the defensive line? Yeah. He's so good. That was pretty wild. He is so good. Man.

Yeah. There are some. There's some pass rushers in this league. That is for sure. Last thing. Let me just ask you. Any update on the Nat situation, the Strasbourg thing, the Rizzo thing? Do you have any new news on that?

You know what? I'm working on a column about it. There's a darkness that's fallen over the baseball operation there. I mean, in terms of anybody. knowing what's going on. They're people who work on the baseball side are nervous, upset,

and clueless about what's going on with the team. It's really amazing. What does that mean? Is Mike Rizzo going to be here or not? Yeah, they don't know. Nobody knows. A Mike has assured everybody he'll be back,

but they just fired ten scouts. Mike didn't do that. Mike would never fire 10 scouts. He's like the patron saint of scouts. You know, the whole Strasbourg debacle. Somebody who works for the team said it's Bode-Nest right now. So these are dark days. Remarkably, it doesn't affect the team the way they play.

No, C.J. Abrams, two homers last night. Yeah. Has done a good job. but it's also a locker room of young players and spare parts, not veterans. Okay? If there was a locker room full of veterans, they'd be up in arms over what's going on. But most of these guys are fighting for jobs or just starting their careers. So they can't get caught up in all the outside business stuff.

So with all the shit that's going on, and it's an absolute mess, it's not affecting the locker room. One last thing, because I know I mentioned this before the show started to you, because I asked you if you saw it. I asked you, did you see what Bryce Harper did in the first game of the double header yesterday against the Braves? You said, my God, I can't keep up with all of the Bryce Harper social media highlights. He hit a bottom of the ninth two run homer to tie the game at eight against the Phillies. This is like his thing.

You know, he hits, he's got, he's just a clutch, clutch player. And I saw WIP Radio, which is the Sports Talk Radio station in Philadelphia. They sent out the highlight and they tweeted, Bryce Harper does it again, has to be one of Philly's most clutch athletes ever. I mean, that's really saying something because they don't throw that around. This is a tough sports town. And I actually wondered when Bryce Harper got traded to Philadelphia that if he didn't get it done, my God, he was going to be despised.

But it's the other way around because you know what? They love people that deliver. And this dude delivered in the postseason last year, and he's been delivering for the last month and a half. These playoffs, Tommy, are going to be a lot of fun to watch. They lost that game, by the way, in extra innings, and then they won the second half of the double header. Right now, I don't know how closely you're following it.

By the way, you mentioned Bowden. Bowden is an excellent guest. I hear him all the time on Mad Dog Radio. But he's an idiot, Kevin. Is he? He has no credibility. Really? Okay.

What he says is bullshit. Well, I'll tell you what. He's a good guest. By the way, good guests aren't always right. But they tend to be entertaining and good communicators. Oh, he's a clown. He's a clown. clown.

Who, after the Braves, do you agree the Braves are the best team in baseball? Yes. After the Braves, who's the best team in baseball? I think it's the Orioles. Really? More than the Dodgers? Yeah. Yeah, I think it's the Orioles. You know, when I got back from Spain, my editor said to me something I'd never occurred to me. He said, are you going to go up and cover the postseason in Baltimore?

And I just hadn't thought of it because, like, in 2014, 2015, when the Orioles were making the playoffs during that stretch of runs they had, you know, in the middle of the decade. Right. The nationals were making a playoff the same year. Right. So I covered the nationals. I never went up to Baltimore to cover any of those games because I was covering Washington playoff baseball. So I'm going to be going up to Baltimore to cover postseason baseball. It's kind of exciting to go back to camping yards to do that.

Yeah, that's – I mean, the only thing that team is missing is postseason experience. And maybe a closer, you know, because their closer got hurt, and they're going to try to bring them back, but nobody knows how that's going to go. But they may be young and innocent enough to just not care about the pressure of the situation. So I'm going to go to a playoff game in Baltimore. I've been to playoff games in Baltimore way back when, and it's such. In the atmosphere for those things, if you're a sports fan, just so great. I was looking at what their likely first round matchup would be.

The AL West winner and the Orioles, the Orioles will be the one seed, assuming they hold on to the division and the AL West winner will be the two seed and then the... It could be Dusty. Yes, it could be Houston as the two seed. Imagine Dusty against the Orioles

in an AL championship series. That would be fun. So then the central winner which right now it's going to be Minnesota they're going to be the three seed and then you get into the wild cards which will be Tampa Bay will be the four, Toronto would be the five, and I think it's Texas or Seattle right now,

would be the six. Well, the Orioles are going to play the four, five winner. So it's going to be a Tampa Bay Orioles, you know, divisional, you know, series after that first, you know, round of the, of the Seeds 4 through 6. And that really could be the American League Championship series. On the other side, like, I understand, and you follow this much more closely than I, but I've been paying attention a little bit. The Braves are like they're all-time good right now, and the Dodgers are great too. But I think after that, the Phillies might be the most dangerous team going into the postseason.

They are so explosive offensively. They don't have the start and pitching. They may not. For the postseason. You know who's red hot, Tommy? And I mean red hot is Trey Turner. Trey Turner is on fire. He's a great player.

He's a great player. He wants to go to play like that the whole year. He's a great player. Yeah. So, yeah, the playoffs should be great. You know, we're only basically three weeks away from that. Yeah. You got anything else?

Nothing else for you, boss. Back tomorrow.