The Kevin Sheehan Show - Rush Defense Mystery Solved

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

Kevin opened by attempting to solve the mystery of why Washington's rush defense problems this year. Commanders' WR/PR Jamison Crowder was a guest on the show. Taylor Kelly, Jayden Daniels' QB Trainer/Coach joined Kevin as did Reuben Frank/NBC Sports Philly to talk about Sunday's NFC Championship Game from an Eagles perspective.  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 Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. It's Wednesday, January 22nd, during championship week around these parts, as we build towards Sunday's showdown in Philadelphia. Three guests on the show today. I'll get to them and through them pretty quickly for you.

But Jameson Crowder will lead it off in just a few minutes here in this opening segment. Next segment, Taylor Kelly, Jaden Daniels' personal quarterback guru. Remember him? We had him on back in October. He'll join me in the next segment, and then we'll go to Philadelphia and speak with Ruben Frank from NBC Sports Philly and get the Eagles perspective on the showdown Sunday at the link. The show's presenting sponsor is always, Windonation.

Call them at 86690 Nation or head to Windonation.com if you need new windows. First injury reports out for the game. Washington had Bobby Wagner listed as a DNPer with the ankle. Remember last week he didn't practice until Friday. Duran Payne also out today with a knee and that finger that he injured in the Tampa game. The other DNPs were all for rest. Zach Ertz, Cleland Farrell, and Dante Fowler, Jr. meantime, the big injury that we are all waiting for, and we now have news on, Jalen Hertz limited today with a knee injury.

He said after practice, quote, it's just been progressing, taking it a day at a time. I was able to participate today and be involved in stuff, so just taking it a day at a time, closed quote. They had a walkthrough in Philly today. That is the big one leading up to the championship game. If Jalen Hertz plays but isn't 100% and they take them out of the run game, that's a big deal. Speaking of the run game, this was Dan Quinn earlier today when asked about facing Sequin Barclay again on Sunday. Hey, Dan, obviously Saquan Barkley having been an absolutely incredible season. Seems like he's just getting better and better into the playoffs now too.

I know you guys have faced some explosive running backs. There's been some guys that have been able to break out for big runs. How much of an emphasis is he this week? And how do you guys, for a third time this season, prepare to face him? Yeah. Every single time that I've coached against him, he's been the emphasis. And he's a remarkable player. We have faced some excellent running backs, you know, through this season.

And for him, another one that is the explosive plays that he can create. You know, there's some running backs. It's four, it's five. It's the long ones with that type of speed and the explosive plays. And that's what's most difficult when you're good, you're good, not so good. And so you have to be able to do right over and over again and not get bored with just being in the right spot over and over again and the tackling in games like this.

It's just a premium. That's why we do work so hard at those things to make sure our fundamentals are staying, like if other teams are deteriorating at that, I want it just the opposite. we're tackling at a higher level today than we were months ago. And so we work really hard at that specific skill. So the reason I played that sound for you is because when I heard it, something struck me as interesting.

It was the part of the answer where Dan Quinn says, and it's partly tone too, where he says, quote, we have faced some excellent running backs this season, closed quote. When he said that, I thought to myself, yeah, they're about to face Barclay for the third time this year. Oh, yeah, they also just faced Jemir Gibbs in the divisional round. He's an elite back. And then it was like, wait a minute, they faced Derek Henry at one point during the season. Those are three of the top four backs.

McCaffrey would probably be the other one in the league. And I went through the list of all of their opponents. Look, they've been a bad rush defense all season long. We've talked about this. They're 30th in the NFL in yards allowed. They're 28th in yards per carry. They're 26th in DVOA. By every statistical measure, this has been a bad run defense for Washington in 2024.

But listen to this, all right? They have played, or after Sunday, they will have played 17 games this year against the league's top 20 rushers. three games against Barkley, he's number one. They played Derek Henry, he's number two. Bejohn Robinson, number three. Jemir Gibbs, the number five rusher in the NFL. Chuba Hubbard, number eight in the NFL.

They played twice against Bucky Irving. Now, in the opener, he pretty much played the second half, but he was the 10th leading rusher in the NFL. James Connor, Arizona, the 11th leading rusher in the NFL. Rico Dowdell, Dallas. He finished 12th in rushing in the NFL. They faced him twice. Najee Harris was 14th from Pittsburgh. Chase Brown from Cincinnati was 17th. By the way, Chase Brown averaged 8.9 yards per carry against Washington in that September Monday night game.

D'Andre Swift, Chicago, 18th in the league. He had a big touchdown run, remember, in the Hail Mary game. Alvin Kamara 19th. Lamar Jackson 20th. 17 of their 20 games after Sunday were played against teams with top 20 rushers. Hell, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 games out of their 20 against top 10 rushers. By the way, you want to hear this? Two of their other three games were against the Giants, and Tyrone Tracy finished 20. fifth in the league in rushing. He had a pretty decent day, I think, against Washington. So,

you know, if you're looking for reasons why the rush defense wasn't good this year, one of the reasons is they faced a slew of really good backs. And in fact, I mean, they faced four of the top five or six elite backs in the NFL when you're talking Barclay, Henry, Gibbs, and Bijon Robinson. I thought that was interesting. I had not thought about that. I knew that they had played good backs. We had talked about it week in and week out.

They're facing a really good back this week. Jamir Gibbs, guys, if you haven't seen him, he's elite. If you haven't watched Bijon Robinson, he is an elite running back. I mean, most of you knew Sequin Barclay and Derek Henry, obviously. Anyway, I thought that was interesting. By the way, Sequin Barclays over under in rushing yardage for this game on Sunday is an all-time prop bet high of 1.30 and a half. 1.30 and a half is his rushing over under number for Sunday. As a comparison, his number

against the Rams was 112 and his number against the Packers was 103. The highest prop bet rushing yards for a game total for an individual player ever. Rate us and review us, if you get a chance, especially on Apple and Spotify, follow us as well. Hit the plus button or the follow button. That is big for us. Second and goal, 10 seconds. Daniels fires into. Emerson Crowder, preposterous. That was the game winner. A month ago to the day, December 22nd, Jaden Dan, to Jameson Crowder on second and goal from the nine, with just six seconds left in the game.

Washington roared back to beat the Eagles 36 to 33. They meet again Sunday in Philly for a trip to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans. Joining me right now is Jameson Crowder. Jameson, in his 10th year in the league already, I can't believe it, because I actually remember Jameson, and I'm not asking you to remember, but 10 years ago in Richmond sitting down with you as a rookie and having a conversation with you. It has flown by. This is Jameson's second stint in D.C., and he's been a factor for sure here late in the year and into the playoffs.

Let's start by just going back to that Philly game, and I'll ask you, how big was beating that team that day? You guys had not beaten a team going into that game with a winning record. you know, did that game prove something to you guys? Oh, I mean, it was definitely a huge win. You know, in this league, anytime you go out there and get a win, it's huge. You know, it's not easy to win at all. But I mean, that was a big win, you know, a division win. And then, you know, for us to have played in the first half probably as bad as we did,

you know what I'm saying, I thought it kind of spoke a lot about our team. I was able to bounce back, you know, with things going on. weight. Like I said, man, it was bad. Now, obviously, we had, like, a lot of turnovers, four or five turnovers, something like that. Yeah. So, yeah, but getting that win, it was definitely big. It definitely, you know, gave us a confidence boost, but we still knew at the same time.

Coming out of that game, we didn't play as well as we should have. So we knew we had a lot to fix. But, you know, without that being said, yeah, it definitely was a huge win for us, for sure. I mean, you've been in the league for a long time. You had two touchdowns in that game, not just the game winner. it's really hard to turn the ball over five times and score 36 points in a game. It sort of speaks to just how explosive you guys are offensively, right? Yeah, for sure.

Like I say, man, you know, that was just one of those rare, you know, rare instances where you turn the ball over that much and you still able to, you know, have a lot of explosive plays and things like that. Because, like you say, if you turn the ball over five times in his league, a lot of times you, you know, you're getting blown out. You're at least losing by two touchdown at the least. So, you know, that game was definitely, it was a different game. You know, it's kind of hard to explain, turn the ball over five times and still winning against, you know, a great Philly team like that.

So, you know, like I said, man, that was in the past. We got that dove. So, like I said, I thought that was a confidence boost for us, you know, going down the stretch those last few games. Speaking of five turnovers and not surviving at Detroit, turn the ball over five times Saturday night. Tell me about this one play because I've talked about it a few times and I don't have an answer to it. Didn't you pick up that first down on the opening drive on 3rd and 14 when Jaden threw you the checkdown and you stretched it out on the sideline? Yeah, I thought I did for sure. Excuse me.

But yeah, I thought I did for sure, man. That was one of those tough plays where, you know, I thought maybe, you know, we could have took a look at it or I didn't. I'm not sure if the, you know, upstairs, whatever, saw the replay and, you know, the replay didn't come. I'm not sure. But I thought for sure I had the first down. I didn't think I went out of bound prior to diving for the yard marker. So I thought, you know, I thought I had it, and I thought we probably should take no look at it. But, you know, they said I didn't, and, you know, I didn't agree with the spot.

But, you know, we had to keep playing next play. And, but I for sure thought I had the first down. Well, you did have the first down. I mean, I watched it on the all-22. Your foot never went out. And when you reached the ball, it was beyond the first down marker. I'm assuming they didn't challenge it because they got word from New York that it wouldn't be overturned. Oh, okay.

Well, I'm asking you, do you know why they didn't challenge it? Why Dan didn't challenge it? No, I don't know. Okay. I mean, obviously, I think that, you know, putting us, you know, making that play, you know, at least having us in fourth and short, you know, I feel like we felt like we had a great chance of, you know, converting the fourth down. So, you know, that's my only explanation I could think of that, you know, we're still in fourth and short. Obviously, you know, we like to go forward on fourth down, so, you know, we want to try to see, you know, what we could do on that fourth down.

Yeah. What was that fourth down supposed to be? Oh, I mean, I think it was a little miscommunication, but it would be like, you know, quarterback's sneak. Like, Bill, man, you know, obviously Detroit did a really good job of stopping it. And, you know, that's basically how, you know, how they're having it kind of hurt that, you know, their drive, kind of. installed, but, you know, we had to keep playing, and, you know, we were able to, you know, prevail later on. Have you ever played on a team at any level that is rolling offensively the way this one is?

Um, no, I don't think I have. I don't think I have. I mean, I think back to some of my, you know, college days, my junior, we had our best year. We had, you know, pretty good offense, but I don't think that we were rolling like this, obviously, you know, scoring. I mean, you look at, look at the You know, I scoring this year, man, we put up, I don't know, 30, 40, you know, a couple games now. Yeah. You know, that's tough to do in this league. You don't see that a lot. You know, a lot of times you see final scores in this league 24, 21, you know, like that.

You know, score, you know, 30 multiple times and, you know, high 20s and a couple 40 point games, man, you know, that's tough to do. Yeah, you know, Jameson and just thinking about it, you played on some really good offensive teams here to start your. career with Deshawn and with Jordan and with Pierre and with Kirk. And you had some big games in 2015 and 2016. But it's just different with Jaden Daniels and the kind of season he's put together. You know, an historic rookie year, one of the greatest rookie seasons in the history of the sport at any position, let alone quarterback. So in your words, what's it been like to play with him? Yeah, well, I think, you know, obviously the first thing, the obvious is it's just his poise and his composure, you know what I'm saying, throughout the game. You know, from start to finish, it never really changes.

You know, and obviously you don't see that, you don't see that much with a lot of rookie quarterbacks. You don't really say it with a lot of veteran quarterbacks either, you know what I'm saying? A lot of times some guys get rattled. But his poise throughout the whole game is the first thing that stands out. And then just his, you know, just his field, you know, his pocket present. You know, being able to avoid blisters, you know, been able to escape. Obviously, being able to make throws on the run. You know, he's very unique.

And, you know, obviously, with him being young, man, he's only going to get better. So it's been a great, you know, it's been great, you know, playing alongside and then watching the guys make plays. You know, when I've got my opportunity, I've been able to help make plays. But he's definitely unique, man. He's going to get better, for sure. Tell me about Diami Brown's emergence here late in the year. What do you attribute that to? I just think that, you know, he's put in the work.

I've seen him since OTAs coming in early, going to indoor catch jugs. You know, and I just think that the work that he's put in is paying off at the right time. You know, obviously he made some plays during the year, but now, you know, the work that he's put in is really coming to, you know, the work that he's put in is really coming in light, and it's coming in light at the right time. And I think that, you know, guys have, you know, kept, you know, kept encouraging him the whole year, you know, stay in it, to make plays.

Like I say, I see him coming in, you know, daily, early coming in, going into the indoor catching jubs and stuff like that. And, you know, it's, you know, it's paying off for him. And I'm extremely happy for him. You know, all season long, you know, whether it's been Dan Quinn or even some of the players, they've talked about this brotherhood and this belief in one another. You've been in a lot of NFL locker rooms. What's different about this one? Yeah, I mean, I think that I think here, the brotherhood, man,

just like the closeness of the team, you know what I'm saying? The chemistry of the team, just, you know, coming in day to day, you know, I think Dan, he does a really good job of allowing guys to be themselves, you know, expressing their, you know, who they truly are, you know, guys. And we have a good group of guys, too, to say that. a really good group of guys. I don't really have guys that, you know, too crazy, too wild, and locker room, everybody gets along really well.

You know, I think that on game day, man, we all just kind of feed off each other's energy, you know. Every since the OTAs, you kind of built this chemistry, kind of built this bond. And obviously, on Sundays, excuse me, it kind of shows out there on the field, you know. I just think that it's a genuine, a genuine care for each other. And you don't find that a lot of times, you know, across the league.

Seems like you've been close. a couple of times on punt returns this year. You had a good one in the Tampa game. Do you feel like you guys have a chance to break one that you've been close? Yeah, I mean, you know, anytime to go back there, man, I'm just trying to, you know, obviously pick up, you know, the first 10. That's kind of like the standard rule of throwing. Just pick up the first 10.

And, you know, anytime, you know, I get back there, I'm just trying to do what I can. Obviously, you know, play good, complimenting football. You know, obviously, we're hoping all ways to break in. but at the very least, you know, I want to, you know, get that first 10 yards to advance the ball more and, you know, and have a good drive starter. But at least put us in good position, you know, as far as the field position. But, you know, if we get one, you know, that would be great. I've seen a game like this.

It can be a definite momentum shifter. But, you know, if we don't, I'm just going to make sure that, you know, I'm going to do my part, feel the ball and, you know, at least try to get that first 10. Is the only – you've had some real big. big ones. You had one I remember last year against the Falcons, and you had that one against Baltimore in 2016 on the road for a touchdown. Is that your only touchdown on a punt return, or have you had others? Yeah, that's the only one. But when I left here, I went to the jet until I had. So I hadn't done punt return in three, four years before I got back here.

So yeah, man, you know, it feels good to get back out there and, you know, be able to be a spark. if I could say that would be a spark in the special team stage of the game but yeah man like I say my job a lot of times to get back there I went to that first 10 like I said just play good common in the football make sure I can start the offense

in good field position and like I say if we you know if we can get one like I said obviously that would be huge man it'd be a huge momentum shift but you know I ain't going to force each time to go back there to do my job and see what happens you healthy the hamstring okay

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, feeling good, feeling good, body feeling good at the right time. So, you know, just going to keep preparing this week and obviously get ready for Sunday. All right. What are the keys against that Philadelphia defense? I mean, obviously, I think, you know, man, they're a great defense. You know, it really can get after you. I just think we have to have, you know, positive plays early in the down. Can't get in, you know, second and long, third and long.

You've got to stay on schedule. and obviously prepare preparation, but yeah, I think that we can't have any negative plays early in the down. Jameson Crowder, everybody. Thanks so much for the time. Wish you the best of luck. Hopefully we have another conversation before the Super Bowl. For sure.

I appreciate it. Thank you. Up next, the guy that's been training Jaden Daniels for several years, Taylor Kelly will be my guest. We'll get to him right after these words from a few. of our sponsors. So guys, if you're like me and you've basically been buying and wearing the same type of underwear for years, in my case, boxer briefs, same brand, same type for a long time, well, not anymore for me. I want to tell you about skims for men, something I've discovered

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you a thing. 86690 Nation, windownation.com. All right. Jumping on with me right now, as promised, is Taylor Kelly. Taylor, former college quarterback himself. Taylor is part of the 3DQB quarterback training facility out in Huntington, California. He's been working along with guys like John Beck with Jaden Daniels for years. We had Taylor on the show back in October. It was after the fourth game of the season.

in the Arizona game. And at that point, Jaden had a completion percentage of 82.1%, which was the highest through four games in NFL history, not for a rookie, but for any quarterback. And I remember asking Taylor if he was surprised with anything, and he said, not much, but I didn't expect the completion percentage to be that high. Well, Taylor was insightful that day, and we've got him back now, with a full season to look back on 17 regular season games and two playoff games. And he is on the verge 60 minutes away of potentially going to a Super Bowl and being the first rookie quarterback to ever start in his Super Bowl. So I'll just start off by asking you to describe his rookie season. It's unbelievable what he's been able to do this year with the team, a new head coach, a new GM,

a new offensive corner. I mean, just everything. And it's been amazing to see how fast they've made this transition and such a fast impact across the league. Have you watched every single game live, or do you just go back and watch the All-22 at the end? I try to catch every game live. And then I also go back and watch the All-22 later in that week, where, you know, say they play Sunday, go back and watch on Monday, Tuesday.

And then you provide him with thoughts, right, based on what you've watched? Yep, after each game, I'll send them video notes, just like little mechanical things that I'm seeing. You know, asking him questions, you know, hey, where are your eyes in this with the concept and what are you being taught by Cliff and those guys and their staff? And that just gives me a good idea of where he's putting his body in those positions and then just give him those mechanical notes from what I see, whether it's a great ball. And we love this, keep remembering and doing that, or, hey, we've got to change this a little bit. Is there a game this year, and there are probably a lot of choices to the question that I'm going to ask,

but is there a game this year that stands out more than any other as his best, as a game in which you were totally blown away by? I mean, there's been a lot this year. I mean just even I'll go to the most recent one against Detroit I mean the dude he didn't miss a throw

you know the one miss that he did miss that I saw that's just a little on character it was just you know that little diagonal route to bait to the left right you know he just missed it a little bit but everything was clean I just think you know he probably hasn't had

usually if that's uh earth's running that he's got a better feel for that and um he's probably the main guy that's running that route. And so, you know, those little things. But, I mean, the dude is just playing out of his mind. He's, you know, running the offense the way it should be taking.

He knows exactly what the defense is getting lined up to in a pre-snap. He gets into the right play, different checks, and he gets the ball where it needs to go. And he doesn't get locked in on Terry and, you know, those veteran guys, you know, he's putting trust in young players. And it's been kind of a cycle through with some of these guys with, you know, some injuries to him and, you know, next guy stepped up. And, you know, he has full trust in all those guys that are out on the field. And that speaks a lot on him as a quarterback and his trust and his teammates.

Something that I'm just curious about that you would have the answer to. And it's a very small kind of constructive critique. And it may not even be accurate, but you would know the answer to this. They've actually struggled at times down the stretch with their run game, especially with their running backs in the yardage. Their backs have been gaining. in some of these games. And some of it, I'm wondering, do you think, is attributable to Jaden occasionally not making the right

decision in the zone read game? You know, keeping it when he should have given it, given it when he should have kept it. I thought there were at least a couple of examples in the Tampa game where it was kind of obvious that the edge player was waiting for him and instead of giving it, he kept it. And it, you know, it still resulted in a, you know, probably a positive one or two yards. gain, but it could have been a bigger play for the back. Is that something you've noticed? Yeah, you know, it's hard and, you know, defensive guys, they're, you know, those guys get paid. They got a good group up front and, you know, they're good players as well. And so, you know,

just getting a good feel on, especially in the zone, regame, every defensive end or a linebacker that's on the edge play there is going to play a little bit different. And, you know, in one week, as you're watching them throughout the week, you know, you're going to get a feel like how he plays that. you know, the next week they may change it up completely. So, you know, that could have been an issue where, you know, they're showing a look and we're expecting this. And, you know, they played a different way.

So just trying to adjust that on the, you know, on the fly is really hard in his own regame because it happened so fast. And again, maybe he tried to feel like he had to, you know, make a play more often than he needed to versus, you know, just trusting what he saw. And those things happen as a young player and you're playing well at a high level and you feel kind of invincible out there versus just, you know, trust in what you see. And it doesn't have to be you trying to make the, you know, the 100% correct read.

Sometimes it's just, you know, let your other players do it. So those things do happen for sure with young players and even veterans. Yeah, that makes sense. That's actually really insightful. So every game this year, or most of the games this year, it's like it's almost impossible to identify anything that he did not do at a super high level. You know everything that he does at a high level, and maybe you know a couple of things that he doesn't do yet at a very, very high level.

I can't imagine there's anything he doesn't do at least a very good level, but tell me something that you guys talk about in terms of him needing to improve upon. You know, I honestly don't know. You know, some of the nuances of that is hard because, you know, of what they're trying to do from a conceptual standpoint and where his eyes are supposed to go. You know, maybe as he hanging on too long at times in certain things, I don't know those things and what they're taught. But what he does a great job is, is if he gets in that situation, he finds an outlet. Say he stays on Terry too long and, you know, he misses the crosser that's open. well, he either breaks out of the play and extends it with his legs and goes and gets it,

or he, you know, dump it down to the checkdown. You know, there might be sometimes where he throws it out to the swing route and like a little RPO now route versus when he could have just gave it because of, you know, the look that they had out there and it would have been a better play. So maybe some of those like smaller and like nitpicking type of plays, but from an overall just watching him progress through concepts, I don't see many that he's, you know, missed or hung on too much. He goes to the right spot every single time.

And what I love about him is the ability to just go through his progression so fast. Like if a defender takes a couple steps this way, he's off of it versus like, oh, let me hang on to this to see if Terry wins on this. He's just, he's playing the game and trusting what he sees. And, you know, he's playing at a very high level from a mental standpoint in that area. in the biggest, a biggest moment in games. How much of the VR do you think has helped him, has accelerated, you know, that processing? Oh, huge, massive.

You know, back at LSU, when they first introduced it there, I was actually there with them. And Verena and their company, they do a tremendous job with it. And I met them. And, you know, the way he uses that, he uses it daily. and it's just cheat code reps of just him just getting so many mental reps and speed of how people are dropping and going through his eyes and his brain is just processing so fast and you build thousands of reps in the week and at my time Sunday hits you it slows down for you tremendously and you don't get hung up on things and so his ability of using that daily and trusting his process

that stuff has really helped him a lot. And I love the tool, and they do a really good job with it. How do you describe or measure the processing you've already said is off the charts? And then you get into the compact, super quick release that he has. Like comparatively to other guys that you've watched or that you've worked with, how high of a level is just the throwing motion and the release? It's elite. I mean, it's top three in the NFL, you know. It's very, very elite, and how quick he can get the ball out.

And so when you have a brain that's operating that fast and you have that twitchiness and athletic ability to drive a football, layer it over, and that split of a second, throw it to grass, I mean, the throw that he had to Brown on that back pylon, you know, filled post and a little bit left and just threw it to an area of only his guy could go get it with the right to get. I mean, the dude was in the middle of the field when he threw that, and it caught outside the numbers. And, you know, it was about 50 yards down the field. So those things are just him and his ability that he has just such great awareness of where people need to be on the field and put the ball where it needs to go. Have you had a favorite play from him this year?

You know, a play where in your notes, you're like, dude, that was insane. Like, we were going nuts watching that play. Man, there's a lot. I mean, the one that stuck out to me, obviously just recently was the play I was just talking about. And, you know, even some of the ones, you know, when, you know, they played against, you know, Philly the second time at home, I was actually at that game and him just gripping the, you know, that back end line. to Crout Jason was just awesome. And the anticipation on that,

and just it was amazing. And just being down in the game with 10 seconds left and pulling the trigger on that and throwing a strike is just big time. And, you know, those things, he's just, he's out on the field, he's smiling after he gets hit. He's running around, laughing, and we just have him fun. And that's how the game is supposed to play.

And, you know, the reason why he can do that is because of the work he puts in every week. Like the preparation, and once game happens, it's like nothing you can do about it, but just have fun and touch what you see and go win some ball games. You know, in that game, I think my favorite play

was that fourth and 11 when basically the game, you know, his end of the third quarter, they're down 13. They have to have it. He seems to be hemmed in seven different ways, and then all of a sudden it's a 30-yard, you know, run down the field. Yeah, those are the things that hurts defenses and hurts, like, kills defensive coordinators.

We had everything dialed up, and he makes a play and goes gets 30 yards, like you said. And, you know, those are the intangibles that he brings to the game that's really, really hard to stop. You know, you mentioned, you know, back in October that you talked about his work ethic. You talked about how prepared he is, how much he loves it. and you really gave Cliff Kingsbury a ton of credit for, you know, getting him into, you know, a comfort level early in this season, giving him things that he was comfortable doing. Have they progressed from that, or is it still essentially the same scheme? You know, I would say it's the same, and they, you know, they just have, you know, added a lot more to his plate, you know.

So you kind of have those different transitions of, you know, how much can this kid handle at the beginning? of the year and training camp, and then you slowly keep progressing once the quarterback feels comfortable with it. You keep adding more to his plate and more responsibilities with different checks, more things at the line of scrimmage, giving him a roll of a deck of, you know, either cover zero beaters or a quarter beaters that he can get into or certain runs. So all those things, you know, start to ramp up during the year once that quarterback gets a lot more comfortable with the players, how he's digesting the defense, and then also, you know, just understanding how Cliff is as a coach. And, you know, Jaden puts that work in.

And, you know, he had a quote, I think it was last week or the week before. It's like, you don't cheat the game. You know, he puts the preparation in. And that's him through and through the way he just handles his business with everything he does. I mean, I'm not going to ask you to name names here. But do you think that there are situations that he could have gone to that would not have resulted in this in his rookie season? Yeah, for sure. could have been some other, you know, situations that, you know, had that.

And, you know, it actually, it's been, this is probably the perfect situation that he could have ever gone to. And, you know, Adam Peters has done a great job of getting the right guys and the right people and Dan Quinn, the same thing with the staff and, you know, the quarterback room with Pritchard and all those guys. Like, they just, they're great people. And when you have that type of environment around you, you can trust them. and have the success that they're having. And it's been amazing to see the fast track on it, to be honest. I've heard many people that I've talked to both on the air and off the year,

and then we've heard Quinn say this and Cliff and Jaden, that Marcus Marriota's been a big deal for Jaden this year. Have you heard the same thing? I have. Marcus is a great person, man. We worked with him back when he was in Tennessee. So I've had a chance to be around him. He's an awesome, awesome person.

He understands his role. He just got that laid back. I'm here to help and, you know, help this team win in anything possible. And I think it's a perfect fit with Jaden and Marcus and just how their personalities are. And, you know, it's been a really good thing to have a veteran like that in the room for him, you know, just to see those things throughout the whole season and give him little pointers and things that he gone through because, you know,

they're similar players. You know, when Marcus has come out of college and how he plays, and so giving him little things of inside of knowledge of how the league is and what you need to be alert for, it's helped him a lot. Nobody could have predicted this season, Taylor, an all-time great rookie season, not just for the position, but for almost any player that's ever come into the league as a young player. It's historic in so many different ways,

and it might be on the verge of getting even more historic. But I had a sense from you when we talked in October that you knew he was ready for this. And you knew that he had a chance to have a big rookie season. Now, he had already gotten off to a good start, but you were emphasizing how ready he was physically and mentally. You knew that he was ready for this, didn't you? Yeah, I knew there was going to, like, for him himself,

he was going to, you know, have a really good year. Just what he brings to the table and, you know, how he trains and processes and his preparation. Like, it was going to come down to the pieces around him, the players, you know, the coaches, and those things play a lot of, like, you know, have a lot of factors into it. And, you know, it's actually, it's been a perfect mesh

with, you know, Cliff and his explosiveness and how he calls plays and the rhythm. Like, Jayden knows exactly what he's about to call. He's basically in, you know, and Cliff Head is with just like the calls that he's about to make and the reason behind it. And, you know, they've had an extremely fast track on that. Sometimes it takes a year and a half, two years, you know, to get that. And, you know, they've done a great job of building that relationship.

And, you know, the supporting cast with the offensive line play and the receivers, like, it's been, it's been awesome to watch. You're a California guy. He's a California guy. You both went to Arizona State. So you're warm weather guys, clearly. What's he been saying about an East Coast winter? Yeah, he's doing great. I think he's been there long enough to kind of get a custom to it.

You know, it is cold. Like, it's cold for everybody. And, you know, that doesn't affect him. He knows how to prepare and not let those things that you can't control get in the way of the things you can control. All right. Let's finish it up with this. What are the keys to success Sunday in Philadelphia?

for Jaden and this offense? Keep doing what they're doing. You know, play clean football, keep the tempo going, trusting what he's seeing from the defense. They're going to throw a bunch of different looks at him. You know, Vicks a long time, you know, veteran coach, and, you know, he throws some exotic things at you.

And, you know, I know Jaden's going to be prepared for it. And, you know, there's not been moments. They're never really too big for the kid. and that's how he plays the game and he puts the work in, and he's going to just keep trusting that. And if he keeps doing what he's doing, I mean, they have a good shot at achieving where they want to go. You think Fangio's good.

It sounds like it, and everybody has mentioned the same thing, and I've been kind of a fan from afar for a while. What do you think he'll throw at Washington on Sunday? He's going to throw everything at him. Just different looks, trying to get him confused with, you know, whether it's protection things or, you know, potentially thrown cover zero looks at them and then either dropping out into coverage or whatever that is. You know, just try to confuse them.

And you try to do that with, you know, rookie quarterback and guys that haven't played a lot. So the thing is, is just, you know, Jaden having the ability to process that really quick and see what they're actually in and get, try not to force things and try to make a big play. Just keep trusting what he's seeing. And if you need to go to the checkdown immediately, then get it down there. And those are the things. plays that way. They'll have a good night. Taylor, thanks so much. Great job. Really insightful stuff. Hopefully we get a chance to do it again before the Super Bowl. Take care, enjoy the game.

That'd be great. Thanks for having me. Taylor Kelly, everybody, from 3DQB, the quarterback training academy out in California. He probably communicates with Jaden as much as anybody does outside the organization when it comes to Jaden's field performance. If you want to learn more about 3DQB, the players that they work with, and it's a who's who list, and the guys that are training these quarterbacks, guys like Taylor and John Beck, go to train3dQB.com. All right, we'll finish up by going up to Philadelphia and talking to Ruben Frank from NBC Sports Philadelphia right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, being healthy is a big part of my life, but I'm not hardcore about it.

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They're giving away free money. Take it. Right now, Washington remains a six-point underdog against Philly. The totals at 48. Kansas City is still a one-and-a-half-point favorite over Buffalo. Washington plus 660 to win the Super Bowl. Philadelphia is a slight favorite over Kansas City. Phillies at plus 150.

KC's at plus 187. Buffalo's at plus 212. But if you think Washington has a chance to win, the Super Bowl, $10 bucks pays $66, $600,000 pays $1,660. That's what plus $660 means, and you can get that number right now on Washington to win the whole thing. Go to my bookie.orgie.ag and use my promo code, Kevin, D.C. Joining me right now is Ruben Frank. Ruben's been covering the Eagles for years for NBC FIPS Sports Radio. We've had Rubin on the show many times in the past, whether it be radio

or the podcast, but always Rubin before regular season matchups between the skins and the Eagles, never before an NFC championship game. You've been covering your team for a long time, which has meant many a conference championship game in the last century, of course. We've been 33 years without one. And did you ever think Washington would be an opponent for the Eagles on NFC Championship Sunday? Yeah, you know, with all the injuries that the Lions were having on defense, I really thought that there was a chance that they were going to lose to whoever they ended up playing. And the way Washington is hot, and they have a hot quarterback, a confident quarterback, a confident team, I was surprised but not shocked that Washington won that game.

But I'm not even saying it from that perspective last week where they're within 60 minutes of playing. I'm just saying over the years, especially recent years, I mean, I never thought, you know, until Dan sold the team, that we would have an opportunity here in Washington to be 60 minutes away from the Super Bowl. Yeah, it's incredible how much changing owners can change the entire direction of a franchise. It happened here with Jeff Lurie when he bought the team, and anytime you can subtract the Dan Snyder from the equation, it's a net game. So what is the perspective from reasonable Philadelphia pundits and fans about the Washington team that is coming in to play these Eagles Sunday?

I don't know if there is such a thing. Yeah, I mean, people are concerned, and they see how that team has been playing and how that quarterback has been playing, and their ability to come back in the final seconds and minutes and win games. And just, I guess, the kinship that Jane Daniels and Terry McClure are developing, which is kind of you can just see it growing as the year goes on. I think people feel like it's a really dangerous game.

And anybody who watched Jane Daniels throw five touchdowns against the top-ranked defense and the past defense and defense in the league, is going to be concerned about it. So it's going to be a nicer day that certainly the Eagles played on Sunday. I think there's a sense that it's going to be a pretty high-scoring game, and maybe whoever has a ball last is going to win, and that's something Washington's been really good at lately. Who are you expecting to be a quarterback Sunday for Philadelphia?

Well, Randall Cunningham was seen nearby. No, I mean, Jalen's going to play. It's going to take his knee sore. it might change the way he plays, it might change the way they call the game, and certainly the threat of him running is a big part of their offense. But yeah, he's going to be out there. He'll be the quarterback, and Kenny Pickett will be number two. Without him involved in the running game, what does it mean?

Yeah, it's tough. It's, you know, everything they do on offense revolves around that threat. And, you know, it opens things up for the passing game. It opens things up for Sequin. you know, he's a guy that, you know, he's in a 44-yard touchdown run Sunday before he got hurt, before the weather got bad, and the conditions deteriorated. So he had 70 yards in that game, and when he can run, it just changes the way defenses have to play this team, and you have to respect it.

You have to be prepared for it, and if it's not a factor, and I don't know exactly how mobile it will be. I mean, maybe he'll be fine, but certainly at the end of that game Sunday, he wasn't. So it makes them a lot easier to defend, honestly. From afar, not that far away, but from afar, it seems to be at times in watching Philadelphia that we're watching a one-dimensional football team. Is that true or not? Well, on offense, they have been at times. Certainly they don't throw all that much, but certainly A.J. Brown and Dowell's Goddard and Tvante

Smith are really good past catchers, and they've all had good years. They've all been hurt at times, but Eagles are, what, 5 and 0 now when they have all three of those guys, there have been times where they've thrown it a lot, and I think a lot of teams that crowd the box, you know, they're going to end up making plays in the air, but I think the Eagles coaching staff would like to have a little more explosion in the passing game, but the formula is working. You have the best running-backer. in the world, the top defense in the NFL, you don't commit turnovers, you don't take any chances, you don't play risky football, keep things close to the vest, and eventually Sequin's going to

bust one, and the defense is going to go out and do its job. So it's a formula that works. It's not the most riveting to watch, but it's got them, what, 16 wins so far. I understand that, and that formula's worked forever, but I just think back to, you know, the Super Bowl game that Jaylen had, the two games against Washington, last year that I'm most familiar with, where he had massive games, threw for over 300 twice. And have we seen that Jaden recent, Jaden, have we seen that Jalen Hertz recently? And if not, why? Well, you know, the Steelers game a few weeks ago, he threw for $2.90 and a couple touchdowns.

I think Sequot is 20 for 64 in that game. That was one of the teams that shut down Sequan Barkley. So it's been there when they've needed it. I think he struggled at times with his pocket awareness, which has affected the passing game. He struggled holding on to the ball too long, which has affected their passing game. But certainly, Jalen Hertz, when you look at his body of work this year, they haven't lost a game that he's played since before the bus. It's week before. He's thrown one interception in his last 335 passes.

So he's doing a lot of really good things. He doesn't turn a ball over. He's being efficient. He's winning games, and they're not asking them to throw it 50 times because that's not the formula that's worked for him. Yeah, and I point out the last game that he was in that they lost. There was no A.J. Brown. There was no Devante Smith in Tampa back in September. He was down a bunch of weapons in that game.

I hear what you're saying, but I guess, you know, you just said he holds it sometimes too long, et cetera. has anything changed in Jalen Hertz as a passing quarterback over the last year? Well, he just doesn't do it as much. I think, you know, I don't know if this is a long-term thing. If he's regressed as a player, I don't know if there's enough of a body of work to make that decision. Certainly there's times where he hasn't played well, and he hasn't had a super consistent year from that standpoint. The guy from 2022, you know, we've seen at times this year, but certainly not consistently.

But again, they didn't have Sequin Barclay in 2022. And when you have a guy that's running for a buck 50 every week and is a threat to break a 60 order every snap, I think it just changes the way you call a game and call plays. I mean, Barclay for you guys, I mean, he's got to go down this one season is one of the most, if not the most explosive player. I mean, you've had T.O., I mean, Wilbert Montgomery in terms of backs going way back in the day. Randall, obviously, you've had some incredible players, but where does he rank in terms of the season that he's had in the history of Philadelphia offensive football? Yeah, don't forget Steve Van Buren's 1948 season.

I forgot about that one. Yeah, sorry about that. But, yeah, I think this is probably, I don't think I've ever seen one player make such an impact on this team. and really on very few teams. T.O. in 04, had a great year, but he missed the first two playoff games, and they won them without them, and then, you know, the conference semi and the NFC championship game, and then they lost the Super Bowl, and he had a good game, but, you know, Randall, 1990, when he, you know, he was the MVP through, like, 36 touchdown that had 985 rushing yards.

So there have been, there have been some, but, no, I've never seen a guy. make this kind of impact. You know, maybe Reggie White for a couple of those years when he was at his peak. But, yeah, you just don't see one player have this kind of impact. They'd be lost without him. This is a 500 team without Sequin Barclay. Well, this team here is a sub-500 team without Jaden Daniels in talking about one player making the kind of impact. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen one player elevate a roster like he has.

Rookie or otherwise, really, Rubin. So from Philadelphia's perspective, as you've thought about this game, what's the defensive plan to slow down a very high-octane and borderline at times unstoppable Washington offense? Yeah, it's a great question. That's kind of the question of the day down here. I mean, the guy just, you know, three touchdowns in the last 12 and a half minutes the last time they played. I think all you can do is try to, you know, you have a veteran defensive coordinator and Vic Fangio and a rookie quarterback. back and try to confuse him, but the other doesn't look confusible. You know, maybe mush rush him and try to contain him that way, but then you end up having

them stand in the pocket for, you know, as long as he wants without pressure and can pick you apart doing that. Change things up. Blitz and sometimes fake things, change coverages. Look, nothing's worked. Honestly, nothing has worked against them. Eagles have a really, really good secondary. They played at a high level.

I mean, that was that fourth quarter, that... that game is really the only bad stretch they've had since the buy week since Cooper DeGine started playing in the slot. And they held them down for, I think, you look at Jayden Daniels' numbers in the first three quarters of that game. You know, you have like 140 passing yards. And then he got really hot. So you just got to hope that the things that worked early in that game can work for 60

minutes. But honestly, look, you've seen him. I've seen him. He's playing as well as any quarterback in the league right now. that includes Mahomes and Josh Allen and, you name it, Jared Goff. So Lamar Jackson, I mean, he's as good as anybody right now. So I don't think there's any one thing you do to stop him. You just hope to force the mistakes and, you know,

and score more points than he puts up. Yeah, I mean, I thought the Thursday night game was a short turnaround, and I think Vic Fangio and that defense just got the better of him. It's the only time he's legitimately looked confused this year, but it was a short turnaround game. And look, Philadelphia was dominating that game, and there was a fourth and 11 in the fourth quarter, late third quarter, and he runs for 30 yards, and it completely turns the game around.

You know, I've watched you guys. I mean, we've seen a lot of Eagles games because there have been a ton of standalone games. And I think this has been the best defense in the NFL start to finish. I'm sure the 91 defense is probably the best. you've ever seen in terms of Philadelphia defenses. But how good is this defense and how well coached is it, Rubin? Yeah, it's funny. Eric Allen was just at the game last week, and we were talking about that.

That's the last number one defense the Eagles had. So it's the first time since 91. The difference to me, like that team, and I was talking to Eric about that, that team, I mean, Reggie White, Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, West Hopkins, Andre Walters, you were, you know, these were all guys in their fifth, six, seventh year. And, you know, Bud Carson came in as D-coordinator, and it was an incredible

group. They just didn't give up anything, except in that one Washington game at the end. But this is the youngest defense in the league that the Eagles have this year. They have seven new starters. They have guys who've never been starters in the league before. You know, Zach Bond is an all-pro.

He's never played off ball linebacker. He's never been a starter. Two rookie defensive backs who are starting in place. So it's The surprise to me is that it's come together so quickly for such a young group. You know, the 91 defense is the best I've seen, but this is the best since then. And, you know, 2003 was really, really good. I think they finished number two in the league.

But for the youngest group in the league and a bunch of new starters and a bunch of rookies, Vic Van Gogh has done just a remarkable job, getting him to play together, getting them to play as a unit. And I really think the strange of his defense isn't any one person, Although Jaylon Carter and Zach Bought have been incredible, they're both all pros. But the strength of the defense is the group and the unit and the cohesiveness and the chemistry and the togetherness they play with. That's what really makes them dangerous.

So it's a fun matchup. Look, I mean, I think you have the hottest quarterback in the league going up against the defense that's playing at a really high level, and it's going to be a fun one to watch. Is the loss of Nacobie Dean? Has that mattered? I mean, it's only been a game and a half. How much will that matter Sunday? Yeah, it's a huge loss.

You know, they have a guy, Owen Berks who's out there. You play well Sunday. But NCOB Dean was having, I think he was having a Pro Bowl season, just all over the field, such a playmaker, so good in coverage, fills the stat sheet every week. It's a bad injury, and, you know, it could go into next year, so they have some things to figure out in the long term. But, yeah, they miss them a lot.

They miss Brandon Graham a lot, who we just ran into outside the the locker room. And those are two of their better defensive players. So they're definitely not 100%. They miss those guys. But so far, they've had guys step in and played pretty well in their place. Last one, special teams-wise, this has been a rough year for a guy that's been a very good kicker, Jake Elliott. How much confidence is there in him on Sunday? Well, you know what's weird is he's never missed a postseason field goal. So he's 22 for 22.

And I think Robbie Gold is the only guy who's attempted more in history and made them all. So he's the most accurate kicker in NFL postseason history, but he's missed five extra points. And he's actually the least accurate point after kicker in NFL postseason

history. So it's kind of a mystery. I mean, he's still got the leg strength because when he's missing, he's missing wide right and wide left. He's not missing short. So, you know, he's at the same holder and snapper for, what, six years now. So it's kind of surprising to see. It's been so good for so long. But yeah, it's a concern because tell you what, if the game comes down to a big field goal on the fourth quarter, this entire city is going to be holding their breath. Well, this city would be too. We're on our fourth kicker

at this point. All right. What do you think happens Sunday? You know, I haven't made my prediction. I'm kind of torn. I think Washington is hot. They're confident. They're probably all around. I mean, you know, their defense is in an elite, but they haven't had to be because they score so many points. I think it should be a really close game. I'm not, what's today? Wednesday. He's going to make my prediction until Friday, so I'm not going to give you one, but I think it's going to be a game that in the last four minutes is going to be very close and up for grabs, and whoever makes plays at the end of the game is going to win it. Ruben, thanks. Always enjoy this with you.

Anytime. Enjoy the game Sunday. All right, that'll do it for the show today. Thanks to Ruben Frank. Thanks to Taylor Kelly. And thanks to Jameson Crowder. Busy day back tomorrow with Tommy's championship week continues.