The Kevin Sheehan Show - The Sainristil Situation

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

Kevin opened with thoughts on the Mikey Sainristil situation. Dan Quinn was asked multiple questions today about his performance against the Eagles and how he intends to deal with it. Sainristil himself spoke about his play Sunday in Philly as well and Kevin played and reacted to that. Nicki Jhabvala/The Athletic jumped on to talk about the Commanders including her thoughts on whether or not the team should be interested in Joey Porter Jr. who appears to be on the trade block in Pittsburgh. Mickey Spagnola/DallasCowboys.com joined Kevin to talk about the Skins-Cowboys matchup on Sunday. Kevin finished up with Sam Cosmi's shot at fans/media and an interesting data point or two about Jayden Daniels "under-center" against the Eagles. Exclusive High Roller bonus designed for bettors who want more firepower for this season. Double your money all the way up to $5000. Minimum deposit $1500. Use my promo code “DCVIP” at https://www.mybookie.ag/signup/?affid=3910. Download the app today and use code SHEEHAN to get $150 instantly in Lineups if you win your first $5 Lineup! “PrizePicks. Run Your Game.” Join Thrive Market today during their 25% off Healthy Reset Sale now through September 19th! PLUSget $30 off your first 2 orders when you use my link ThriveMarket.com/sheehan. Join the millions who are already banking fee free with America’s #1 Choice forBanking. Head to Chime.com/sheehan. If you want to try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine, head to livemomentous.com and use codeSHEEHAN for up to 35% off your entire first order. 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. Two guests on the show today. Nikki Jabala from the Athletic will jump on next segment. And then longtime Dallas columnist Mickey Spagnola.

He's been covering the Cowboys for 40-plus years. We've had Mickey on the show so many times over the years. With Washington getting ready to face Dallas on Sunday, Nikki will be a guest on today's show. So Nikki and Mickey on the show today. The show is presenting sponsor, as always, Window Nation, 86690 Nation, windownation.com if you need new windows. This from Brendan to open up today's show.

Brendan writes, Kevin, I really hope Souter is back this year to do his film stuff. He was almost as good as Cooley, can't wait to hear what he thought of the defense. against the Eagles. This from Matt, Matt writes, is Steve Suter going to do the film breakdowns this year? He did a great job and was right on so many players last year. So I'm working on it. Steve is not going to do the film breakdown today of the Eagles game.

The film breakdown guys is major league effort. You know, when guys like Steve and kids, coolly do it. They're not just watching highlights. They're on the all 22 and they're literally breaking down on every play, all 11 players for Washington on the field. It's a lot of work, a lot of time. I mean, it can be seven, eight hours worth of work to put together an hours worth of content. And I have appreciated it so much. And yes, you know, I did not have Steve do it for free at all last year. Steve, though, has a full-time job. He also, on the weekends, calls Maryland games with Johnny Holiday. It's got a big game this Saturday night to call in College Park, Maryland,

Virginia Tech. He wants to do it, but I'm not sure he's going to be able to do it every week. When he took on the assignment last year, he had no idea how much time it was going to take. it's just a big commitment. He really puts the time into it, you know, and he wants to be able to do it right if he does it. But we'll see. I am working on it. As of now, he's likely not going to do an Eagles game breakdown unless we can find some time maybe late in the week or over the weekend. But just to be clear, I want him to do it. I loved him doing it last year. This was a fine. I've always liked Steve as a guest doing, you know, hits on Maryland football on my shows, whether it's the radio show or the podcast. But he was exceptional doing it. And I didn't think I'd ever find somebody to do it where it was, A, as good as Cooley.

B, his delivery, the way he communicated it, I thought was really good. To your point, Matt, also, God, he was right about so much. You know, early on, I remember him saying Chris Paul, when he replaced Brandon Coleman at guard, he's like, Chris Paul is not coming out of the lineup when Brandon Coleman gets back. And sure enough, when Brandon Coleman was healthy, Chris Paul stayed in the starting lineup. Early on, he said about Jacob Martin, he said, that guy's getting a contract. There's no way you can put what he's putting on tape and not get a contract as a free agent. year, meaning in early 2026, Jacob Martin got a contract. He said throughout this season,

this I think was his favorite player on the team, Jeremy Reeves. He kept saying over and over again, I don't know how they keep him off the field. If I were the coach, he'd be a starting safety and he'd play as much as anybody plays on defense. And sure enough, new defensive coordinator, he is a starting safety in the lineup. Remember, Will Harris, was a guy that the team actually talked about really that they really missed him when he was out and injured. And Steve kept just saying, yeah, I don't see what they're really missing with Will Harris being out. And Will Harris got released before this season began. Yeah, I thought he did a phenomenal job.

And by the way, comparing him to the goat, Chris Cooley doing film breakdown is a major, major compliment. I am working on it. I'll leave it at that. Hopefully we'll have some good news soon. So today the team had a couple of transactions. Number one, they put Jordan McGee on the injured reserve list. Man, that guy just has not been able to stay healthy since he entered the league. They signed Lucas Patrick. Lucas Patrick has played nine years in the NFL with four different teams. He played at Duke, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Packers in 2017. He has started 65 games in the league, most of them at guard, but 15 to 20 of those starts were at center. So that, I thought, was an interesting development today.

The rookie, Gulbin, has been the backup center or was last week. you know, Patrick, they signed to the regular roster. So he's not on the practice squad. He's on the regular roster. So we'll see what happens Sunday in Dallas, whether or not he's active. And I don't know if that's for, you know, insurance on Allegrety or maybe insurance on Chris Paul, who remember as good as he was in relief of Coleman. And, you know, Suter pointed that out last year that there's no way you're taking him out of the lineup for Coleman.

and they didn't, but they weren't, you know, in a hurry to sign him when he became a free agent. And he went out there, tested the market, did not get a deal to his liking, and came back. And then was in a battle with Coleman for the starting guard position before Tunsel got hurt and Coleman replaced Tunsell, as you know. Anyway, I think the Lucas Patrick signing is just one to keep an eye on. to bring in a veteran 33 years old, nine seasons in the league, 65 starts, several of them at center. It's interesting. Quinn also said that Chigacanquo and Frankie Louvo were not cleared to practice, and they were the two did not practices today in the first prep for Dallas on Sunday.

As far as their availability for the Dallas game, he wouldn't say anything today. won't say anything until the end of the week. Chig has the hamstring injury, and it's a groin injury with Louvue. My early guess is that both are going to miss the game. I would certainly say groin and hamstring, you've got to be careful, right, with those injuries bringing somebody back too early. So I'm guessing today that by Friday we're going to hear that both of them are ruled out. I hope not, but I think that's the way it's head.

Tyler Owens did practice in full today and looks like a go for Sunday. But not having a con quo is a big deal. Not having Louvre is a big blow. You know, I think Frankie Louvo has a chance to have a big year. And I believe that they believe he's going to have a big year, you know, assuming health. There's been a lot of Louvue confidence coming from Ashburn in real. recent weeks. And I think we saw it early in the game on Sunday. And look, Akonkwo is a big part of their offseason and needs to be a healthy option at

tight end. Dallas, by the way, has got some injuries on defense. Malik Hooker got injured, overshone, the linebacker got injured. I'll ask Mickey Spagnola about them, but they might be entering Sunday's game with a couple of key players out as well. So today, spoke before practice. And Mikey Sanristil was a bit of a topic. You know, Quinn in his press conference today was asked, I think, two questions, maybe even three about Sanristil. And I'm going to tell you what he said here in a moment.

Sanristel himself actually spoke with Scott Abraham from Channel 7 during locker room availability after practice today. I'm going to play that for you in a few minutes as. well, look, Sandra still struggled big time in the opener, and he struggled last year at times. This was not the same player that we saw in 2024. And the game was so, you know, so bad in terms of the individual performance on Sunday. Certainly high-profile plays that did not go well for him. So the perception is it was a pretty bad performance, but even if you got into the nitty-gritty,

it wasn't very good. You know, it wasn't like it was a lot better on plays that we didn't see because they weren't high-profile spots. He didn't play well. And it was Dan Quinn who really didn't need to bring it to everybody's attention as to how much of a poor outing it was for San Restill. But he did on Monday. I mean, we talked about this, you know, Monday and yesterday,

I don't think he's ever been as critical publicly of a player before. He said on Monday about the performance, specifically about the touchdown that he gave up to Wix. He gave up the 64-yarder and then the touchdown. But the touchdown, he said, quote, the touchdown play definitely felt like as the motion got over, man, like you've got to go get set. And those are the things that we have to get corrected. We've definitely identified a few things that, hey, man, these are the things that we have to get corrected.

Mike's a very good competitor. I'm certain that we will. But to have that type of play, just not having the right focus at the right time, completely not acceptable, closed quote. We've all listened to Dan Quinn now for, what, two and a half years coming up on three years. that was as direct as he gets with the media about a player. Now, today, when the subject came up about his confidence level in Sanristill, he said, quote, I've got a lot of confidence in Mike. I really do.

I love him. And I'm certain that he'll be the one leveling up his play, that he knows he can control. Somebody beat you on a good play, man, we tip our hat. But that's the spot we want to see just. staying in constant things that he can control, the call, the technique, and that. But I've got a lot of confidence in him. I'm certain that he'll get it done, closed quote. So publicly today, a little hint of what he talked about on Monday,

but doing his best to express confidence in his third year corner. I'm emphasizing the San Ristel situation here in the open to the show because I think it's a real situation. You know, I think that they've got an issue with San Ristill, certainly as a man corner, certainly as an outside man corner. They played a lot of zone on Sunday. You know, I think without Trey Amos, it's going to be hard for them to play a lot of man-to-man. And Durante Jones is going to play a lot of zone anyway.

But they, I think there's some concern there. Enough that the public sort of backing today of Sanristil is nice, but what else are you going to say on Wednesday? You're not going to tell Dallas that Mike Sanristel's not going to start, or Mike Sanristel's snaps are going to be reduced. He was on the field for 54 or the 55 snaps the other day. Douglas was on the field for 17. Fabian Moreau didn't play at all defensively.

he played on special teams. So they have a couple of options here. Meek Robertson played most of the snaps in the game as well. So Robertson actually looked pretty good and had a pretty good debut performance. But they got some issues at Corner. Now, maybe they don't feel good about Moreau, even though Moreau's played for Durante Jones, played in Minnesota last year. I thought Douglas was okay in the game, and he's more of a veteran corner.

I am very interested to see. In fact, I'm going to predict that Mikey Sanristil's snaps against C.D. Lamb and George Pickens on Sunday are going to be a much lower percentage than the snaps he took against Philadelphia. He was in on 54 of the 55 defensive snaps. Robertson played all 55 of those snaps. And then Douglas was 17, as I mentioned, and that was it. Those were the corners. Now, the safeties that were out there, Reeves and Cross 55 and 54 snaps each. And then Juan Martin was out there for 21 snaps as well.

So at times when they were nickel, it wasn't necessarily all three corners. But you're not going to say what you're going to do on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. You're just not going to do that. But this is a Dallas team that is super explosive. And last year against Washington in week seven, the Christmas Day game, both teams are out of it. You know, at that point, nobody's left for Washington, even though they did play well in that game. But the week seven game in Dallas, Dallas had, just like Philadelphia did on Sunday, six. explosive plays.

Pickens himself had a 24-yard completion, 44-yard completion, and a 37-yard defensive pass interference penalty drawn. Lamb went 74 for a touchdown, and Giovante Williams had a 33-yard run and an 18-yard run in the game. There were other chunk plays from Williams and Lamb and Pickens that were double-digit yardage plays, not necessarily qualifying for explosives. You know, explosives more in the 20 plus on the pass, 10 plus on the run. But given what they gave up on Sunday, and given, Quinn actually said something,

we've got to limit explosives. He said that today. Of course you do. I just have this hunch that Sanra Stills snap count is going to be. reduced on Sunday. And we're going to see Moreau or Douglas take up those snaps. I don't think he's going to be benched. No, I think he's going to play. I just don't think he's going to be out there as much. And if he is out there and it doesn't go well early, you've got to have a backup plan. And I don't know where Fabian Moreau is in the system. He's familiar with it, but right now,

physically, you know, talent-wise ability. Maybe they think Sanristil's better. You know, I'm going to play for you what Sanra still said to Scott Abraham in a moment. But Joey Porter Jr. is available right now. I had Brian Diardo from CBS Sports on radio today. And Brian is kind of a Western PA, Ohio guy. And he believes that the Steelers are going to trade Joey Porter, Jr. who wants, you know, near top of the market money for a corner.

And the Steelers and his agent have not come to an agreement on anything. He has been an outstanding corner in the league. He was part of the Emmanuel Forbes class, Christian Gonzalez class, Devin Witherspoon class. And he went in the second round, and he's been an outstanding corner. Man, they got completely shut out with. the corners in that draft, didn't they? I mean, that was not their best, the 2023 draft. Now, they had no shot at Witherspoon because he went number five, I think, overall. And then,

as we know, they took the next corner, and that was Forbes at 16. Gonzalez went 17. Deontay Banks went to the Giants, remember, in the later first round. I'm going to pull up exactly when it was. He went 24 overall. Witherspoon was five. Witherspoon was five. Forbes was 16. Gonzalez was 17.

Banks was 24. And then when we got to the second round, Joey Porter, Jr. was the first pick of the second round. I know that they stubbed their foot big time and they may be a bit gun shy

after the Marshawn Latimore move, but they should not hesitate on Joey Porter Jr. if they think the price is right. Now, I think the price is going to be a first round pick. Brian Diardo said, essentially, they're looking for a premium package, which would include seconds and thirds, plural. But you're going to have to give up the equivalent of a first round pick to get Joey Porter, Jr. I would not worry about misstepping with Latimore. I thought it was the right move at the time. And I thought it made sense at the time. Joey Porter Jr. is a younger player than Latimore was and hasn't had the injury history that Latimore has had. Now, they have kept him, they kept him out of the game Sunday

against Atlanta, and they said that he was injured, but that may be kind of a silent way of not, you know, calling him a holdout while they still try to work out a deal, but apparently they're going to gear him up to play this weekend. And that may be for the teams that are interested, hey, he's healthy. There have been reports that a team's already made an offer to Pittsburgh. I don't think it's Washington at this point, but right now, Corner, who do you have that's a legitimate starting outside corner in the NFL? Trey Amos, but Amos, Quinn said today, is essentially out the first four weeks, and there's no guarantee that Amos is going to be back for week five. And if he is back for week five, will he actually be ready to go as a starter for, you know, every single

snap? He hasn't played football in nearly a year. So, and when he did play football, he was a rookie. Joey Porter Jr. would be interesting to me. Is he worth a first round pick? I'm not sure. I think that's a bit too rich for Joey Porter Jr. I like Joey Porter Jr. I don't like, I don't like him as much as Christian Gonzalez right now in the NFL or Devin Witherspoon from his draft. But he's certainly better than Emmanuel Forbes. That is for sure. All right. I want to end this opening segment letting you hear from Mikey Sanristil.

This was him in the locker room just a little while ago with Channel 7's Scott Abraham. How do you think you played against yourself personally? how do you think you played against Philly? Not to my standard, but as week one, I have 16 more opportunities to play how I want to play, play the way I'm supposed to play, play how this team needs me to play. Obviously, you have confidence in yourself. What type of confidence has your coaches, your teammates shown you over the last couple of days? They still believe in me.

What does that mean to you when they kind of show that? They have my back, and they know the type of player I am. I know the type of player I am. A few bad plays doesn't define the things that I've done, the things that I know I can, do so my confidence is still what it should be. One game does not define a player. That is for sure. And 16 other opportunities exist, but he needs to play well sooner rather than later to ensure that he gets 16 more chances. But, you know, he's on a team right now that actually needs him. It's not like they've got a lot of options. That is for sure. But yes, I think, you know, a Dan Quinn

coach team with a player who played the way he played in 2024, a player, let's not forget, who Nick Sabin said on draft night 2024, that he might be the best pound for pound player in that draft. They're going to give him some opportunities to get out of whatever funk he is in. But man, what a test on Sunday. Pickens and Lamb. All right, Nikki Gibvala next after these words. from a few of our sponsors.

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Over 45,000 five-star reviews. I'll add to that on social media. 86690 Nation, Windonation. com. Joining me right now is Nikki Javala, of course. She covers the team for the athletic at Nikki Javala on X. You and I did not have a chance to connect last week, which we were trying to do. I wanted you on the show before the season began, because I wanted to get your prediction on the season because you were the one last year who was less optimistic than most were, you know, a year ago. and it turned out you were right.

So what was your prediction for this year? You're not going to change it. Whatever it was last week, what was it? It was, I want to say it was 7 and 10. I want to say that's what it was. You don't remember? It was a long time ago. I know.

Yeah, honestly, I've been, yeah. This is my honest view of this team, and it was this case, going into camp at the drought camp and going into the season is that I would not be surprised if it goes either way. And that's such a vague, like, hedging sort of thing to say. But it's true. I felt the same way in 2024. Like, I just don't know what they are.

I didn't know what they were coming out of camp because, you know, there was someone to talk about the offensive line and with or without Aligretti, but we didn't really know what Aligretti was at Center. So it's like, I could see this thing going either way, you know, going into the Philly game. I said, all right, I could see this being a blowout loss. I could see them winning. I could see it being like a 2.3 point game.

None of that would surprise me. And that's just, that's sort of kind of where this team is right now because you don't know exactly what you have with the new system, a lot of the new faces. It's still like working itself out. Were there glaring issues or concerns that I had? Absolutely.

There was also a lot of positives I felt about the team. I thought Jaden had one of the best camps I've seen. And, like, he looked exceptional. Just took a massive leap, I thought, just in terms of, this is, I mean, of the offense, his leadership, just, he just looked on it, you know? I thought the receiving court looked stronger. It didn't last on Sunday, but I thought throughout Cape,

it looked much stronger. But yet, the O-line, the secondary, I'm sure, absolutely concerns. I mean, that's far too reasonable in answer. The only, because, I mean, I talk about this all the time. Nobody knows anything. For 25 to 28 teams, it's between 7 and 10 and 10 and 7. And the things that determine it, you can't really predict it.

I'm surprised you just didn't split the middle and go 8, 8 and 1. I did that a few years ago, and it worked out, actually. It's the only time I think I've actually gotten a preseason prediction rate. Yeah, that is completely reasonable. There's just so much mystery around this team. So 7 and 10, it was your prediction. What were your big takeaways from the two-point loss against the Eagles? It's not really good.

I thought their defense is farther along than maybe I expected at first. I really like what Durante Jones has done. I know a lot of players talked about his methods of teaching and getting through to them and helping them understand the broader concepts. And that felt like it really came through. so I feel like they have a really good foundation there. The not so great part on the outside of the ball is obviously the explosives. I mean, these are issues that have come up repeatedly in the past,

you know, the mistackles to that lead to the explosives. These are things that they just have to clean up. And I believe they can. If they can't, then you start to wonder about, okay, do they have the right personnel for this? And I'm thinking mostly about the secondary at this point, because there was concerned about the depth going in, especially at a corner while train losses out. You know, did they have the pieces they need there?

But on offense, I was hoping to see more out of that group, but they seemed pretty flat across the board. I thought Bill had a really good game to see the number of rushing first downs that he got. I really liked that Antonio Williams was able to show. I think he could be a really good player. And sort of like, I don't want to compare him to Terry, but he sort of gives that vibe of like hardworking, smart, really good route runner type.

Coming in that people may underestimate a little at first, but really shows what he can do. But if you can get your top two guys going earlier and more often, then you got real issues. And I just think they struggled to get any sort of rhythm until it was too late. But I think that will come. I do feel like this is a group that is really just starting. to play together since they didn't have most of the camp with, you know, most of the line. So it's like,

you know, I still just think they're going to need time and you just hope they don't take up too much time to where they're in too deep of a hole that they can climb out of it. You know, something that I don't think any of you guys have asked this week, not that it was like a must ask at all, but

would Chigga Conquo, I know they don't play the same position, but do you think he would have been in John Bates' role on the two-point play, had he been available? Possibly. Yeah, that's a good question. Possibly. It wouldn't have made a difference, but I'm just curious if they

practiced that play with Chig more than they did with Bates. No, and it's a fair question because it's not that it was a bad play. You know, we've seen so many teams use that play and it's generally pretty successful. You know, when people bring up, oh, the chiefs from this with Travis Kelsey quite a bit. Well, I'm like, okay, well, yeah, with Mahomes and Travis Kelsey, a lot of things work. So, like, I don't know that that's, like, an ask comparison, but, you know, it is a play that theoretically should work. I just feel like when you're in that situation, you know, that must have a situation, with all due respect to John Bates, he's not the player to go to.

And maybe they wanted sort of that mystery of, like, he's a guy everybody's least expect, maybe. I don't know. But I just feel like, you know, Jayton's been running the ball well. well, you don't want them to run every single play, but in that instance, you might want them to run it. You know, like, finding dairy, finding stuff, you have playmakers on that for the ball. Finding them the ball is just imperative, I think.

You asked Quinn a little while ago today, Wednesday, about Mikey Sanristil. I think it was the second question about Sanry Still. And he expressed confidence in Sanry Still, but he also talked about how important, you know, limiting the explosive plays would be on Sunday against the Cowboys, who, by the way, I went back and looked at that week seven game. They had six big time explosive plays in that game against our defense last year.

So it's in his memory. I was wondering if you think what I think, which is, even though he expressed confidence, it's not going to surprise me if San Ristill's snap count is reduced significantly on Sunday. What do you think? It would not surprise me. Do I know if that's going to happen?

No, I don't know. But it would not surprise me based on his history. I mean, look, last week or last season, they bench Brannick-Bulman and Nick Allegretti after two starts. Right. They bench Cole Martin late in the season twice, I think. They're not afraid to bench their starters if they're not playing up to their standard.

And I think they're smart to do. so because it affects the rest of the team. I think in some ways that's sort of the trouble Ron got into with Wayne Haskins at a time. Just how long do you let him go before he becomes a detriment to the team while also trying to develop this kid and keep him, you know, you don't want to wreck the guy's confidence if you know you'll need him throughout. And you will with Mikey. I mean, they don't have the depth there at corner.

So it's sort of a balancing act there of making sure he's. he's good, but also protecting the team at large. So, no, it would not surprise me. It would not surprise me if, after another poor showing, we see Baby and Moreau out there or something of Trey and which isn't back yet. Like, none of that would surprise me. And I think it's the right thing to do if it comes to that. But that's why I ask, because Mikey has made some really great plays for them.

He's made some really bad mistakes for them. It's not always consistent. How much do you gauge one? game. That's why they paid Dan the big bucks and not me. And I also thought it was pretty telling the way he answered the Mikey Sandor still question on Monday. I mean, that's his critical, you know, in terms of a public statement from Quinn about a player that you're going to get from him. Absolutely. And it's always intentional with him. You know, he's not, somebody's just going

to throw stuff out there. Like, he is, he's intentional with what he says. And sometimes it's too motivated players, sometimes it's to warn a player, sometimes it's to pump up guys that, you know, or less blind sometimes just to deflect our attention, hello Van Jefferson. You know, there have been times, and you just got to know, you've got to listen more closely than just the words themselves, I'd say, and I think that's the case with every coach, but especially Dan Quinn. And he even admitted, like, he dropped breadcrumbs and, you know, the week prior that we should have picked up on, but with this one, it's rare that. he is so strong and comes down on a player publicly.

That means something. So, yeah. When he talked the other day, and I played the soundbite and talked about it a little bit, the breadcrumbs line about Sunny Stiles, I mean, I really, really like Dan Quinn, and he's such an accommodating head coach for you guys, those that truly cover the team. but he is like, is he the most accommodating coach media-wise you've ever dealt with? It depends on what you mean by accommodating.

Like, he is genuinely a good man. I believe that. Like, he's, if we have a question outside of that, I mean, I try to, I try to not bombard these guys outside of their breast time. I mean, they have jobs to do. They have lives, so I try not to bombard him. But he's always been incredibly responsive. always gives me, you know, real answers.

Doesn't, you know, he's always the same way with us, which I appreciate, you know. And I think he does respect it that we do. Does he give us a whole lot of information? Does he give us a whole lot of information? Not all the time, but I think once you kind of figure out the ways he likes to do it, I guess the word I used actually on the air yesterday on the radio show is he's, there's very much a pleaser aspect to him. And, I mean, it's very unusual for a coach to come with like an introductory theme to every press, you know, get together.

Yes. He writes notes for us. I know. Time and thought into what he says to us. I know. I genuinely appreciate because, you know, I, you're not going to believe this, but not everybody likes this in media. Well, I mean. I mean, he got some media training.

He got some media training when he was not a head coach. And I think part of it was if you are, you know, if you're doing your best to make their job easier, then when you get in trouble, they may have your back. I think that's part of the media training. It is. And that's sort of the argument I've kind of posed to players over the years is, I know you don't love the media attendant.

get it. You know, we're in their personal space, blah, blah, blah, I get it. But, you know, we also have jobs to do. And I've sort of friend to them, like, listen, the way this is, like, you've got to find ways to use media to help you, not manipulate us. I don't think, like, we're not going to be manipulated, but a guy that who's shown up every day who has talked to us whenever we've asked, who has talked to us in good times and bad times, that means something. I think it means something to the fans, too. They're not stupid. see this stuff too. Like the guys that have been real the whole time. I point the guys

like Perry. You know, there's a reason he's like a fan, he talks in the good and the bad times. That means a lot. You know, there's accountability there. So yeah. Yeah. No, I think it's an interesting approach.

I mean, you know, I think I have watched every single, you know, press avail. You know, I'm not on the beat like you guys are, but I do look for things to take out of it and you know you get to after a while kind of be able to read the tells but what really it comes through more than anything else is just this aspect of he really wants people to really

embrace and like him in this setting and most coaches treat it like an annoyance and like an inconvenience um but anyway back to back to football real quickly would it surprise you if they had interest in went after Joey Porter, Jr.? What is the surprise? No. I think they should. I mean, listen, their quarterback room, it needs depth. I would argue it needs starter help at this point. Especially until Tray Amos is back,

and once he does come back, we don't know how far along he'll be since he hasn't played football. And since November, when he got hurt, he had one training camp practice. And that's all we've seen of him. I feel terrible for him, by the way. That's a really bad injury lot there. But he is sort of your staple outside, and he's still pretty new. And he's starting over, by the way, with a new system.

So, yeah, I think they need to get another corner. I think if you're always going to run into, not always, but in this case you're going to run into, is, you know, what does it cost? What are you giving up, you know, and is how does the next draft class look at that position? Because they're going to have to add talent there some way somehow, the coming year. That sort of things that you have to weigh is GM

and is he worth the cost for what it'll take to get him? Because it's not just a contract, it's if you trade for him, like, what are you giving up? Because I think they're still sort of hurting from that Marsha-Mladivor trade. And I understood why they did it in the moment.

It obviously didn't pan out and it cost them dearly, but this one I do wonder if they've had a little bit more pause after that experience. Yeah, I was wondering the same. Yeah, but they shouldn't because each one of these are one-offs, and you have to view them in the context of, like, what you just said,

you know, I didn't even give it the thought about Amos when and if he comes back, right? Because it looks like four weeks may be just the beginning. This may not be a week five return, correct? Maybe not. It could be, but maybe not. I mean, you want to get them on the field and, like, you don't want to rush them back and have him get re-injured. But the point you made is he is starting over.

I mean, he barely played, you know, played enough last year to sort of give everybody this idea that, look, he appears to look the part. But he was part of a wretched defense, which didn't have a lot of the pieces. And it wasn't like he was the massive difference maker. And now you've got a whole new scheme, whole new play caller. And he is starting over physically, too, at this point, not just mentally. So I'm not writing them off this year. it's way too early, but I'd be shocked if he's a major factor before, at the very least, the midway point, which should put pressure on them to go out and try to find something,

and Joey Porter, Jr. is available. What do you believe is their current thinking after just one game, understood, on the offensive line overall, and Nick Allegretti in particular? Yeah, I mean, I think they feel overall that, you know, he's a decent center. he going to, you know, win all pro? No. And they knew that going in, I think, you know, is you want somebody who's going to mentally make the right calls and the checks and do what he needs to up there. Because my concern is more physical and not because of the injury, it's more of play strength at that position. That would be my concern. I think we saw a little bit of it in that game. I actually thought Brandon Coleman gave up more than Allegretti. I think the good thing

but Aligretti is having Sam Cosmy to the right of him. I think Sam is acceptable. I think he's had an exceptional all season, and he looks better than he has before. I think he's more underrated, but that's part of the course of the guard, maybe. But I, yeah, the interior is just the concern, you know, and it's not to say that Tyler Beiotish would have been better. I don't disagree with their decision to move on from him.

I've kind of questioned their plan. thereafter, okay, you move on, then what? But I have a better understanding of why they did it, and it makes sense. It's just, do you have enough there now to keep Jaden upright? And that's ultimately what the season will be about, is whether he will be available. All right.

Give me your thoughts on Dallas to finish up. What do they have to do to win? Ball security, always. They need to get his offense going. I think the Cowboys Opener showed that that defense can be exploited, and I think Washington's offense has the talent to do that. If they can get their playmakers involved early and often, maybe actually get an early lead, that would help.

But I think that will be the big thing, and then not give up the explosives. I mean, pretty basic stuff, or the mickeys are used to get a piece to the game, but, you know, those explosives kill them. and if, you know, you can get the offense going, I think they're a good team if they can put it together. Yeah. It's so true when you think about, like, when asking somebody that is, especially in week two when we don't know really much about these teams, it's like, don't turn it over. Try not to make too many mistakes.

And let's score a little bit. And maybe you'll have a chance to win. Yeah. That's the key to the game. All right. Thanks for doing this as always. Hope you're well. Yeah, thanks. I appreciate it.

Nikki Javala from The Athletic. We'll go down to Dallas next and talk with Mickey Spagnola. Always great to have Mickey on the show before Washington plays Dallas every year. That's next after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey, guys, creatine is one of the most researched and effective supplements available. But as the category has exploded, most brands have focused on things like flavors, formats, and marketing instead of actually making the creatine itself better. That's why Momentus created signature spec creatine,

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minutes. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Bank. Banking services and chime card provided by Chim's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for details. Sunday 425 in Dallas. Skins and Cowboys were new their rivalry is 0-1 football teams desperate for a win here early in the season because both of them have opened up with two consecutive

division games. Joining me right now is a guy that I have really enjoyed having on the show for a long time now. Usually at least once a year if not twice. Long time, Cowboys reporter columnist

at Dallas Cowboys.com Mickey Spagnola at Spagnola. bags 52 on X. So, I guess we can start with Sunday night. Bad game or bad sign? I think a bad game. I give the Giants credit for sort of figuring out what to do against this Cowboys defense. And I know it's unscouted looks. You have to kind of figure out what they were going to tried to do defensively without any prime examples. And I think they did a good job.

You know, and it was pretty predictable to me, knowing John Harbaugh's history and how his teams played in Baltimore that they were going to come in with their big boy pants on, play a lot of two-tide-ins, sometimes three tight ends, two tight ends and a 300 pound fullback and try to bully the cowboys right off the field. And they sort of did it. And the weird thing was, you know, if it wasn't for a late first half interception when Dak was trying to throw the ball away and it turned into an ensuing touchdown,

as badly as the Cowboys were playing in that first half, it would have been 7-7. and the weird thing about the second half is they couldn't get the giants off the field. They only had two possessions, and they scored on both possessions, right? Yeah. So it was a strange game, and it was, to me, I think the first word in my column afterwards was shocking because what we saw from this defense in training camp, and in scrimmages against the Rams and the Saints was this defense was playing well. This defense seemed to be more kind of in sync than they were last year.

The communication was better. There was fewer busted coverages, missed assignments, and then all that stuff returned in the first game. And it was quite confusing, at least to me, after what I thought I saw and I was thinking, well, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Well, you've been around

going on. You've been around even, I think, longer than I've been around. Summer football is definitely a head fake more times than not, because it's not real football. And I think everybody discovers that over the years when you get into the first part of the season

and you see real games and players playing for long periods of time, You've got, you know, one new coordinator. We've got two here. It sounds like you had a lot of optimism about Christian Parker going into the opener. I'll ask you, what's the reaction been to Christian Parker's first game as a defensive coordinator? Well, the season's over with, right? Yeah, of course.

Yeah. Oh, it's amazing, you know, and nothing against talk radio. but some guys on there shouldn't be talking, right? And so, yeah, the hysteria is pretty high in the area. I don't think within the team or within the organization. And, you know, this kind of dawned on me the week of the game. It was like they're going to have eight new starters on defense. And it was good because they needed personnel upgrade.

But this defense had never played one game of passers. tackle football. And I mean tackle football. I'm not talking about thumping up in training camp, not putting guys on the ground or even in those scrimmages, right? And it occurred to me, and I said to myself, I wonder how long it takes for them to kind of get coordinated and get in rhythm with each other. And it turned out that it might have been right because there was just guys missing assignments, doing things that they weren't doing. doing in training camp. But again, they had never played together in a real football game. So we'll see going forward if this improved. You know, I kind of looked at it as, you know,

Indiana played a entire season with so many new guys from the transfer portal, and they seem to play okay. And I was thinking, well, maybe you can come together. Well, they didn't come together very well coordinated in that game against the Giants. Yeah, it was a strange game. I mean, and I pointed this out, and you just pointed it out. Dallas and the Giants, they had seven possessions. And really, the end of the first half possession was really kind of a run-out-the-clock possession. So the Cowboys really had six real possessions, and only two of them in the second half. That is an odd circumstance in a game, but it speaks to what you said, the cowboy defense couldn't get off the field.

They gave up 9 of 11 on 3rd down, and the Giants defense couldn't get off the field. They gave up 8 of 11 on 3rd down. So real quickly, before I moved to the offense, there was an injury or too defensively, right? And I'm curious as to what Malik Hooker and Overshoun's possibilities are for Sunday. Yeah, I think both of them are out for sure, probably a couple weeks. uh... and so they're gonna have to not with the hooker thing you know they were kind of rotating at that safety position so while he started uh... he didn't play

all that many snaps before he got hurt and and the injury occurred oh i'm trying to remember maybe middle of the second quarter something like that it could have been the third he only had 11 snaps so they were rotating that position and uh you know afterwards, somebody said, were there any bright spots? I go, yeah, the Cowboys need two Caleb Downs, one to play in the slot, and one to play deep safety now that Malik Hooker is out, and I would assume they're going to do a combination of both. But the Hooker thing doesn't bother me as much as DeMarvie and overshone. And again, here's a guy that's been injured. He's got a hamstring now, and he's probably out a couple weeks.

But they had him playing in a position that he had not previous played. When the Cowboys were in a four-three and he was on the field, he was an outside, weak-side linebacker, not in the middle. And so when they went to this three-four, they needed two inside linebackers. Well, one of them was going to be DeMarvian overshone, and the other one was D-Winters, who really only played one. full season in Denver, and it was at outside linebacker. Now they're in the middle, and it's a whole different story, as we know in there.

And I think they did have some problems there with the running game. And, you know, the Giants said we're coming at you, and they didn't fool around. There were times they had three tight ends in the fullback on the field. So I don't know if it was personnel or how well they were prepared for what the giants were going to try to pull off. And then you know what happens when you're sitting there and you're struggling and you're going, okay, I'm going to play with my hair on fire. And then Jackson Dart pulled the ball down and run. And no one was there because everybody was such in a hurry to go up the middle to stop the run.

So it was a combination of, you know, errors for sure. And I'm interested to see what happens the second time around. How did the two rookies do, the two rookie first rounders, Caleb Downs, you've already said that you would have preferred him to be out there even more. And then Malachi Lawrence, the linebacker from UCF. How did they do in their first games? Yeah, I think Lawrence was okay. I don't think he was a detriment.

Now, he got more snaps than I thought he would get. on the outside, but see, it's weird because, you know, you're sitting there saying, well, my base defenses is a 3-4. Well, okay, fine. But then when they go nickel, what is that outside defensive end? You know, is he a defensive end now in a 4-3, a 4-2 alignment? I think he was fine. I think Barham was pretty darn good against the run.

I think he gave him some support in the middle. but I think he missed a few assignments in past coverage, which is to be expected. I mean, he hasn't played that position, and you've got to remember, you've got to know your assignments. And, you know, there was a point there in the fourth quarter on their last touchdown drive where they basically ran the same play four times in a row, not in succession, but the same play where they tossed the ball to the running back on a swing pass to the left, And nobody covered them.

And after three of them, and they were like near the goal line, yeah, Singletary, I said to myself, well, why don't they just throw a swing past to the running back again? And by God they did. Now, I thought that somebody on the field must have thought, better keep an eye on that running back, right? So, but it was things like that. I think there were some young mistakes being made, guys playing for the first time, tackle football in the NFL. Yeah, and look, I mean, what you guys had as a major issue last year and, you know, some optimism about a major improvement this year, the defense, Washington had the same thing. I think Washington was even worse than Dallas was defensively last year over the second half of the season.

And they went out and hired a new coordinator and brought in a lot of new players. And so I can imagine the first game seeing something that was similar to last year or the year before. may have been a bit alarming. Let's flip it to the other side of the ball, where again, they didn't run many snaps in the game overall with just six real possessions, but it looks like the Dallas offense that we're used to, right?

Yeah, I mean, after the first two possessions, when they went punt, punt, then all of a sudden, you know, it's touchdown, interception, end of the half, touchdown, touchdown. They just didn't get enough possessions because they finally got it, you know, got it going. And, you know, and that possession that I spoke of earlier about the interception. Yeah.

A couple of plays before that, George Pickens dropped a touchdown. Drops a touchdown pass. Just dropped it. Yep. That should have been the end of that possession. I guarantee you the two drops he had in the game were two more than they had all during training camp. in every practice, if I counted them, right? And it was just so weird that that happened.

But it happened last year in the opener with C.D. Lamb drop in passes in the opener. And, you know, it was another night game. And when they got back on Monday, you know, early in the morning by afternoon, he was outside on the practice field by himself with a jugs machine catching passers. Yeah. And so that was weird. And then, Dax, you know, the offensive line took a little while to get going, and he was having to use his leg to prevent. He never got sacked, but he got moved off his spot far too many times.

And so he's running to his right. I think he saw a receiver, and I think he was in between throwing it away and trying to get it there. And it ended up a sliding interception, and they turned that possession into a touchdown. So, you know, then they come back in the second half and they double-diff. The first possession that the Giants got, they drove down and scored. The Cowboys couldn't stop them. And then the offense scored and then they, you know, finally stopped them. And then they scored again, but they ran out of possession.

So, yeah, it was weird, but unfortunately it made me think, oh, man, is this the same thing last year? Can't stop the run. They ended up running. It says 165 yards, but they lost six yards on kneel downs at the end to run the clock out. So it was really 171. And it was like, oh, here we go again, because I kept harping on stopping the run. Twelve of the 17 opponents last year rushed for more than 100 yards, and five of them rushed for more than 150 yards.

And it was like, okay, here we go again. Nothing's changed. So anyway, not to be knee-jerk and say, okay, it doesn't matter who's in charge or how many guys on the field. They can't stop the run. Well, we'll see. I think this is a proving game. And, you know, for both teams, right, no one wants to start O and 2, and they certainly don't want to start O and 2 in the division. Yeah.

You know, you just highlighted something that's just so true about most NFL games. and that is there's just a fine line between winning and losing. And on that drive, you know, when Pickens drops the touchdown pass with less than two minutes to go in the first half, you're looking at Dallas going in 14-7, worst case probably 14 to 10. And instead they're down 14-7. The Giants get the ball to start the second half. They're down two scores. And now you're chasing the game the rest of the way and only had two more opportunities to do it on offense.

It's crazy the way some of these games go. They come down to just a play or two. Yes. You know, Kevin, and the weird thing was even if they hadn't scored on that possession and not turned the ball over with, I think it was 59 seconds to go in the first half, I was sitting there going, you know what, as well as the giants have been playing, this is a miracle that this game's going to be 7-7 at halftime. you know, and I figured that's the way it was going to finish because they were running all over the Cowboys.

The Cowboys couldn't stop them. They struggled. Did finally score a touchdown. And I was like, how could it be 7-7? Well, it wasn't because of the interception led to the extra possession. Yeah. You're right, but neither team wants to start 0 and 2 with two division losses. So from the Dallas perspective, how do they beat Washington Sunday?

Well, number one, they got to do a much better job defensively playing the run, because if you can't stop the run, then you start chasing, and you've got problems. And the problem starts, you know, in that game, with Jackson Dart pulling the ball down and running, and now who's coming up next, Jaden Daniels, right? What does he do well? He can improvise. He can get outside the pocket. He can run with the ball and make you pay. And they've got to figure out, okay, now, how do we contain him? You know, I've always said about him, and I watched him in college. My wife's a big LSU fan. And it's like you're better off keeping him in the pocket and making him run the play that's called and not improvised. Because when he's doing that, you're in trouble.

And they saw it as rookie year, right? So I think that's one got to be the number one priorities. Stopping the run and making sure he's in the pocket and you know where he's at. Offensively, they just got to get going quicker. The offensive line didn't seem instinct that first half, and then they kind of got it together. They ran the ball better the second half, and Dak had a little bit more time to throw the ball. But the first half, it was pretty hairy. I mean, it really was, and it was like this offense is better than that.

You know, and it started with the first possession, because they had a third down, I think it was third nine, and he throws a slant path to Pickens, and they marked it as a first down, and then they reviewed upstairs, and it's like, no, you're about six inches short. And then they decided to punt around the 37, 38-yard line, and then, okay, there goes the second-guessing already, first position. Should you have gone for it? Right.

You know, it's just an amazing game. It really is. Well, and thank God we're here at the real ones, finally. But how much was Tyler Smith missed? I mean, you were talking about the offensive line. He's one of the best guards in the game. They have to miss him as Washington's going to miss Tunsell. Yeah.

And they missed them, but I don't think, They missed them to the point where T.J. Bass was hurting them. I thought he played as well as the backup can come in and play. And they valued him, Kevin, because he was a restricted free agent. And they tendered him at, and remember, he came into the league as an undrafted rookie and made the team and has been their backup at center and guard. and so they tendered him at the second round level, meaning he was going to get paid $5.7 million as a backup, right? But that's how much they valued him. And so, you know, that he came in and played, I thought he held his own.

They had a little problems on the outside, and that was, you know, we're sitting there going, okay, these tackles. But as I say that, and I thought back to last year, well, it was the same tackles last year for the majority, majority of the games, and they ended up with the second most yards in the league, and they were scoring points at a high level. And so somehow they were able to handle that. I thought one of the they struggled with is when they used their tight ends trying to help on the

outside, the tight ends didn't block very well, and not as well as what the giant's tight ends we're doing. So yeah, I thought though the second half, the offensive line kind of settled down and they were more in sync and I think that made a difference. But the first half, they did have some problems. And then Dax got to improvise in the pocket. He's got to run out twice and he ran out well, but you don't want that, right? Because as we know, the more quarterbacks run, the more trouble they're going to get into. Last one for you. You and I've talked a lot about this over the years, but are you feeling the rivalry or not? I don't know that, you know, you used to feel it because the players felt it.

There's so many new guys on this team. I don't know if they're aware that there was a rivalry. Somebody asked me about it. Maybe it was yesterday. I was doing a radio deal spot with somebody, and they asked me, how it began. And so I was kind of telling the stories, and I'm going,

well, my God, that was 60 years ago. And it's like, yeah, these guys aren't aware. You know, that's like when they were doing all,

and it was great what the NFL did with the remembrance for 9 and 11. And I'm looking at the Cowboys roster, and I'm going, half these guys weren't even born yet. And how well do they know the history of it? Now, maybe they got educated.

right? And even the guys that were born, they were probably two, three years old. So, yeah, I don't know if they're aware of what took place in the 80s, in the 90s, in the 70s. And you know, guys, if it's not on social media, they probably didn't read it. So, yeah, I don't know that there's that burning hatred that the two teams had for each other 30, 40 years. Yeah, I don't even think it's with the fans as much as it was. I think it's, and I've said this for several years now, it's just, you know, it's barely simmering. Philadelphia has been a much bigger rival for Philadelphia for, you know, 25 plus years now. And Washington during those years had Dan Snyder as an owner and was a wretched franchise.

And so there weren't many big games between the two teams. I mean, memorable games, yes, but not necessarily consistent, you know, important games. and that's what you need to keep it alive, is consistent, important games. And hopefully some of those are coming this year. There is a rather important early season game Sunday in Dallas. Mickey, thanks, as always. It's always good to catch up with you. Yeah, absolutely.

Any time, I enjoy joining you on the show. So it's been great. So let's see what happens on Sunday afternoon. Mickey Spagnola, everybody, from Dallas Cowboys.com. We'll finish up with two interesting soundbites today, one from a player on our team, and one from a starting quarterback, at least for now, on another. That's next after these words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show brought you by my good friends at My Bookie.

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tomorrow night's Thursday night matchup between Buffalo and Detroit, a hell of a week two first Thursday night game on Amazon anyway. Buffalo is a five-point favorite. That totals up to 55 and a half. The largest total

on the board. The second largest total is in Dallas on Sunday where right now the Cowboys at My Bookie are four point favorites and the total is at 50 and a half. All right, there are a couple of sound bites that I wanted to play for you. The first one came from Sam Cosmi. This was another Scott Abraham get in the locker room. I want you to listen to Sam Cosmi talk about his offensive line, which has been criticized in doom and gloom surrounding it going back, you know, a month, at least, certainly back to the tonsil injury. This was, I think right now, their best offensive lineman that is healthy and playing,

Sam Cosme, responding to a lot of the discussion about his offensive line. We're going to have to prove the whole world wrong. Like I said, I like being underdog. So, you know, I really don't care what other people believe about us. I know what we have in our group and how hard we put and, you know, how hard we work and the work we put in. So I don't really care about what people don't. People don't know, like, the ins and outs about what's in the game plan. You know, they see things and they're like, oh, my gosh, this, that another.

It's the most annoying thing. People just need to shut up sometimes and just, they don't know game. They really don't. So just watch the tapes and shut your mouth. Sam Cosmi, just a bit miffed over fan and perhaps even some media reaction to the offensive line. People just need to shut up sometimes. They don't know the game. Just watch the tape and shut your mouth.

It is true, man. When it comes to offensive line play, the mass, mass majority of sophisticated fans, sophisticated, you know, media people, they don't really know. We don't really know. It is one of those areas that it's very difficult to know exactly what the responsibility is on a given play. Sure, we can identify, you know, one-on-one in pass protection, or we can identify the guy that's absolutely a road grader in the run game.

But for the most part, we don't have much of a clue. because in addition to whatever the play calls for, then there are pre-snap adjustments, you know, either called out by the center or called out by the quarterback. And many times, many times, I know I have aired when I have said, wow, that guy gave up a sack. And the truth was the guy that got the sack

wasn't that guy's responsibility. But I will say this about the offensive line, doom and gloom from over the summer. It really was a bit much. Even the Nick Allegretti conversation. Nicky said it. How do we know what Nick Allegretti is as a center? He's never really played the position,

and he didn't play the position in any meaningful way over the summer. Sure, he may not have been plan A, but I definitely think he was plan B. They moved on from Tyler Biotish because they thought, you know, worst case, if they didn't get Tyler Linderbaum, that Allegrety was every bit of what Beiotish was. I can tell you that guys like Sam Cosmi have great belief in Nick Allegretti. And the other thing that is 100% true because it's almost impossible for it not to be true, is the offensive line isn't going to be what it could have been with Laramie Tunsell.

Now, maybe Brandon Coleman turns into an all-pro, down. dominant left tackle because that's what Laramie Tunsell has been. So that is a big void to fill. But I actually think they had a good day on Sunday. I really thought it was a pretty decent day for the offensive line against, you know, an opponent that has been very good on defense, has most of those players on their roster that have made them very good on defense in recent years. and obviously they've got the same coordinator. And Sunday they're going to face a defense. Christian Parker is the defensive coordinator.

Talked to Mickey Spagnola about him. They're going to do a lot of what Vic Fangio does. And what the Giants did on Sunday night is they ran the football. And they ran it very effectively. Against too high, you know, safeties, you've got to be able to run the football. and Cam Scadaboo, say what you want about his running style and how it's not sustainable, etc. You don't need it to be sustainable, you know, right now week by week. He was really good Sunday night.

Devin Singletary was really good. The short passing game, the running the football, you know, the two high safeties, just understand this. We talked about this in the post game of the Philly game. it's not going to give you these obvious and consistent down-the-field opportunities. That's what they're trying to take away. You've got to be able to run the football. You've got to be able to use the short passing game to move the football. Cam Scadaboo, 18 carries 81 yards.

You know, the Giants rushed for 165 yards in the game at four and a half yards per carry, and they didn't have to go down the field a lot. lot. A lot of their big pass plays were actually catch and runs. You know, after the catch, they had a couple of them, but their longest completion of the day was 19 yards. Jackson Dart to Isaiah likely, 19 yards, the longest completion in the game. So don't expect on Sunday against the way Dallas will likely play Washington, if it's similar to the way Philadelphia played it, don't expect that because, you know, Jaden did can get the ball down the field a lot in the first three quarters of the game Sunday against

Philadelphia, that it's going to be bombs away. You don't do that against this style of defense. You've got to be patient. You've got to run the football. And you certainly can take advantage of the middle of the field in that short to medium range. But that's what needs to happen there. Jaden Daniels, by the way, spoke today because Wednesday is quarterback day. And he was asked about shotgun versus under center in the split on Sunday against Philadelphia. By the way, the overall split was that there were 18 of the 71 snaps. That includes the two-point conversion. 18 snaps under center.

So what is that? 18 divided by 71, roughly 25%, somewhere in that neighborhood, 36. Yeah, it would be right around 25%, a little bit more than 25%. 18 out of 71. So, you know, I tried to talk about at various points during the offseason, even going back to last season, that even the teams that are under center a lot aren't under center a majority. of the time. You know, they're under center in the high 40s of percentile. So 25 percent under center on Sunday, maybe not as high as we thought. I'll tell you the other thing that was not

as prevalent as I thought it would be is more play action. I didn't think that they had as much play action, but that may have had a little bit to do with Philadelphia, the defense they play, and really for play action to work, you got to get those safeties up by running the football a little bit more effectively than they did. But I wanted to point out that Jaden today was asked about it, and he said the following. He said, quote, I think it was what I expected. I know a lot of people thought it was going to be like 80% under center. I was not at 90% under center, but I think that's the kind of split that Blowen envisioned for the offense and what we game planned for.

So I kind of expected it, but at that point, not really even thinking about, am I under center on this play or how many times I've been under center, or how many times I've been in the gun. It was much more about just hearing the play call, getting it to the guys, and trying to go out there and execute it.

I went to look at something just to see if, on their two long touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, it seemed to me that he was not under center anywhere near as much as he had been up until that point. So here are the numbers. Out of the 71 offensive snaps, which I included the two-point conversion, as mentioned, 18 of them overall were under center. The rest were in shotgun. So in the final two drives, including the two-point.

conversion, there were 23 snaps, 18 of them taken in shotgun. So at 78.2 percent, he was in shotgun over the final two drives. They also had more no huddle on those drives than they had had during the course of the game. Whereas on the first 48 snaps before the final two drives of the game, they were at 72.9 percent. shotgun. So it did increase, you know, roughly 5.3%. It wasn't as dramatic as I thought it would be. I thought he went almost exclusively shotgun. But remember, they had some of those undercenter runs with Ketron Allen, especially when he came into the game. But, you know, it's going to take some time for Jaden to feel as comfortable in that under center. I actually thought part of what sparked

the offensive, you know, fourth quarter and them really getting hot, him really getting hot, was he was in shotgun. They went with more tempo, more no huddle. He's comfortable with that. That's what he did the first two years. So it's going to be a process. But I don't know if 25% under center is going to be the number because he said it was he got what he envisioned with Blau.

I thought it was going to be a little bit more. but maybe it will just grow from where it is right now. All right, two things that I wanted to finish up the show with. Number one is this. Sam Darnold's not going on injured reserve, but the reports out of Seattle are that he will likely, he's going to miss this week, but he'll likely miss week three as well.

Week three is Seattle here in Washington. So they're in Arizona against the Cardinals on Sunday, and then they're in Washington the week after. So it appears as if while Darnold won't be on injured reserve, Drew Locke will likely start week three here. We'll see what happens next week. But that's the thinking right now. Sam Darnold isn't the type of quarterback that he's lost in the seasons doomed. No, Seattle's got a lot of really good players. And Drew Locke is a bit of a game.

and has been as a backup and even as a starter, which is what he was for a time in Denver. But you're better off, certainly facing Darnold, facing Locke rather than Darnold, no doubt, because Darnold had a big year and the combination of Darnold and JSN. We saw it here last year. It was an absolute bloodletting when they came to Landover last year.

Now, that was a different defense altogether. I'm going to end today's show with this from Dishon Watson. Deshawn Watson on Sunday for the Browns. As the starter, Todd Munkin named him the starter for the first two games at least because the first two Browns games are on the road. And people thought, well, maybe week three, Shadur Sanders in the first home game, gets the start. Deshawn Watson in his first start against Jacksonville was the lowest rated quarterback in the league per pro football focus for whatever that is worth. He was 16 of 22 for 205 yards, a touchdown and interception.

He was sacked five times. He fumbled once but did not lose the fumble. He had a 34.2 QBR, a 97.7 passer rating. He also rushed six times for 38 yards, but Cleveland was a poor team. One for eight on third down in the game, 270 yards of total offense and just 10 points in a 34 to 10 loss to a team that I think is going to be very good this year, Jacksonville. And by the way, with a quarterback with Liam Cohen, I actually think that match is a good one. I think Liam Cohen is very, very gifted as a coordinator and play caller from Sean McGovern. vase tree. I think

Jacksonville's a team to really keep an eye on this year. But Deshawn Watson today talking about his game as if he had a decent game. Listen to this. Yeah, final completions, operating well.

That's I mean, that's pretty much it. You had one turnover. A couple, you know, that one-stack formal, obviously got to protect the ball, but we recovered it. Yeah, you know, that's pretty much it for real you know we just didn't have opportunities in the red zone to get your points um only six incompletions one of them was a pick one was the end of the game or end

and a half tip ball two miss throws and then a throwaway so i mean i mean yeah you played great deshawn this guy's laughing all the way to the bank uh this is an all-time heist uh in terms of contract. Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the Browns, will go down as the owner that probably gave out the worst contract in NFL history. Man, what a fall for Deshawn Watson over the last, now what, six, seven years since he's been in Houston. But yeah, he was truly dreadful on Sunday, and he appears to not realize it, or he's just trolling everybody. That may be what he's doing. Be interesting to see if Todd Munkin does go to Shudur Sanders.

I have no idea how good Shudher Sanders is. The Bucks, by the way, are an eight and a half point favorite against the Browns on Sunday. I hate to say it, but I might have to give out the Browns and the smell test because there are going to be very, very few bets on Cleveland this Sunday. Every sports book in America will need Cleveland to cover. So maybe he's got one decent game in him. I doubt it. All right, that'll do it for today, back tomorrow with Tommy.