The Kevin Sheehan Show - Three "Mock Schedule" Games Revealed

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

Kevin opened with the Caps Game 2 win over Carolina and plenty of Washington football including something he learned today about one of the Commanders' draft picks. Then, Kevin revisited his interview with NFL Schedule-Maker Mike North from April before unveiling three of his annual Washington "Mock Schedule" games including the Skins' opener and their first Monday Night game of the year. He will deliver his entire "Mock Schedule" on a special podcast tomorrow. He finished up the show talking Caps-Hurricanes with Al Koken.  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. Carlson, across for Ovechkin. Checking the defenseman's at the net. Myl's!

Sean McDonough last night, a minute 54 into the third period as the Caps took a lead that turned out to be enough for a 3-1 win over Carolina to even up the series at a game apiece. The show's presenting sponsor is always, Window Nation, 86690 Nation or Windonation.com if you're looking for new windows. On the show today, next segment, three mock schedule reveals. My season opener, I'll give you in the next segment, and then two other high-profile games. If you were listening to my radio show today, I gave you the season opener and one high-profile. game from my mock schedule. I'll give you an additional high profile game on today's show.

And then tomorrow's show, a special podcast in which I'm going to unveil my entire 17 game Washington mock schedule, a bit that I've been doing for, I think, close to 20 years now. God, that seems ridiculously long. But tomorrow, look for it. annual mock schedule for our football team. This one by far and away was the most challenging, also the most fun I've ever had doing it because it is the best team that I've ever done a mock schedule for and there are just so many potential high profile prime time kinds of games. I will do three reveals on. in the next segment.

You're also going to hear some of my interview that I had here on the podcast back in mid-April with Mike North, one of the key NFL members of the schedule-making team. Because last night, a game got leaked, and we're not sure if it's true or not. But you'll hear what Mike North told me about some of the leaks that come out before the schedule is actually unveiled as part of the the next segment as well. Also on the show today, Al Koken in the final segment of the show to talk in detail about the Caps win last night, a win powered by Tom Wilson, who was great. That assist to John Carlson on that power play goal that you heard coming in to the show. What a pass that was. How about Carlson? 16th season in Washington with a huge goal. But Tom Wilson last night, an assist, a

goal and empty netter at the end. Big hits, big block shots. Seemed like he had more than he was credited for block shots-wise in the box score. Logan Thompson, another game that was outstanding between the pipes in net. Washington needed that one. They head to Carolina for game three tomorrow night. More on this game in the series with Al in the final segment of the show today. Also, Sean McDonough was on with me today on radio.

He's one of my favorites, like of all time. I've talked about that before. I think he's one of the best and most versatile play-by-play guys of all time. He was great. We talked about the series in the game last night, but we talked a lot about him and his career. You know, he is truly one of the only guys that has been either the lead or one of the top two or three guys in four sports.

basketball, football, baseball, and hockey. And we talked about that. And I know that Caps fans or some Caps fans are really upset because they feel he's been biased in this series towards Carolina. I don't feel that way at all. You know, it was brought to my attention, actually, early in the game last night that Caps fans and some of media members, my guy Grant Paulson from 1067, the fan thought that he was, you know,

not objective in calling the game. I think it's more of a result of a couple of things. Number one, the caps stunk in game one. They were also not very good in period one last night. It was very much an extension of game one in the first period last night. But I also think that when you go from the local hometown announcers who are the best here, Joe Beninati, Craig Lachlan, you know, Alan May, Al Coke, and the whole group. But when you go from hometown announcers to the national crew, it's going to seem a little bit more objective, and then by comparison sake, maybe seem a little anti-home team.

I compared it this morning on radio a bit to the way Skins fans felt for many years and still do probably about Troy Aikman. It's not obviously in apples-to-apples comparison, because Sean McDonough didn't play for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And Aitman obviously was the quarterback for the Cowboys all of those years. But the sensitivity to an announcer who, you know, they feel is favoring one team over the other. I just never felt that way about Akeman. Never.

And I listened very intently last night to Sean McDonough call the game. And I didn't hear him favoring one team. over another. I heard him, you know, certainly being critical of the Caps play until the Caps started to play well. One thing I'll say about Sean McDonough, and I've always loved this about him, he does inject more opinion as a play-by-play guy than most others. I actually asked him about that on the show this morning, and he was, he agreed with it and talked about the reasons why he's more opinionated as a play-by-play announcer. But, you know, with respect to Akeman, I remember having Akeman on the pre-game show many

years ago, and Aikman said, you know, he hears that criticism all the time, but he doesn't think it's true at all because he actually wants the other NFCE teams to be good again so that the heyday of the division can kind of come back. You know, he played during those years, especially early in his career, when the division was loaded and Washington was a defending champion and the Eagles were good and the Giants were good. And I remember him specifically saying, I'd love it if Washington were really good again. I hate that they're not, you know, as relevant as they used to be. It's kind of the way I have always felt about the NFC East.

I want Washington to be the best team, but I want the rivalries to be there. One of the great things about being a winner over a period of time is those rivalry games are legitimate. And we've missed out on that for so long. And maybe we got it back last year with Philadelphia to start with. And maybe it will evolve into a big deal with the Eagles over the next few years. And maybe the Cowboys will end up having some good teams. And that can feel like a legitimate rivalry again.

But anyway, yeah, I thought that Sean McDonough was fair. but I'm also not a Caps fan like some of you are. Admittedly, and this is not the first time I've admitted this, I'm just not a big Capitals fan. I'm not a big hockey person. I love it in the postseason, but I'm just, for whatever reason, I just never became a huge Caps fan.

And so my sensitivity to it is different than some of yours. But anyway, Sean McDonough was great with me on radio today. and I'm a massive fan, have been for a long, long time. I want to read this from Frick Daddy 89. Frick Daddy 89 tweeted me and wrote, was very surprised you didn't ask Clinton Portis anything about Sean Taylor's brother, Gabe. If he knows him at all, if he's watched him as a player, etc. A likely long shot to make our roster,

but I thought it would have been an interesting question and answer. You are right. I should have asked Clinton about Sean Taylor's younger brother, Gabe. Totally slipped my mind, my fault. Gabe is, you know, obviously was the much younger brother of Sean Taylor. He is at rookie minicamp, which is taking place this weekend out in Ashburn. He played at Rice was a second team all-AAC safety this year, led the owls and tackles with 57. led him in interceptions with three, tied the team for the lead with 10 passes defended, had a career best three sacks and seven tackles for loss, a really good player at Rice. He went undrafted and Washington signed him as an undrafted free agent.

He had options but wanted to sign with the team that his brother played for. Thank you for mentioning that. I should have asked Clinton about it, and I'll try to remember the next time I have Clinton on. This from Alvin, Alvin writes, Kevin, why no talk yesterday about Jadavian Clowny? Should we sign him? Yeah, Alvin, we recorded yesterday's show before the news of Clowny's release from the Panthers broke. But I don't think it's going to happen.

I looked for a link with Dan Quinn, Adam Peters, even Lance Newmark. You know, maybe I missed it, but I think with a player like Clowny, they'd want to have an in with him in terms of relationship, previous relationship. You know, it's been their MO on many of their signings. I think he's probably got something left in the tank. He's 32. He was good with the Ravens two years ago. I just wonder why Baltimore didn't want him back after one year. Carolina doesn't want him back after one year.

It didn't end well a few years ago for him in Cleveland. My bet, Alvin, is that he lands somewhere else. If there had been a tie with Peters or with Quinn, I would have taken it more seriously. You know, not that Clowny's been a major problem anywhere, but he had some issues in Cleveland, you know, a few years back. But yeah, I think, there are others out there, Zadarius Smith,

Von Miller, Matthew Judon that might be better possibilities, but I don't think he's done. I don't. Two years ago, really good season with Baltimore. I want to stick with football here for a moment, Washington specifically, because I

learned something just a few minutes before I started to record the podcast today about one of Washington's draft picks that I wanted to share with everybody. I don't know that it's a huge reveal, but I think it's worth sharing because of how much it was emphasized to me. So this is somebody in the know that I had a call with today and caught up on various things, just trying to find out if I can find out anything.

This is, you know, somebody who listens, let's just say occasionally. And I did learn something. You know, I'm not speaking out of school and I'm not attributing it. And I'm not, you know, this isn't breaking news because I have a feeling this isn't like a huge revelation. But it was for me to a certain degree. And I'll get to it now. Washington's fourth round pick, 128 overall, Jalen Lane, wide receiver, Virginia Tech. When they picked him, I told you after the draft that I did not. I didn't look at him before the draft.

I looked at him after they picked him. I didn't know much about him at all before the draft. But after watching him, you know, certainly the highlights, love the speed, love the athleticism. But I mentioned specifically, and I talked to Smoot about this when I had Smoot on the show. I thought that he as a punt returner had better vision, better cutback ability, better wiggle, tremendous acceleration. And I wondered why that was.

I mentioned that to Smoot. And Smoot's like, that's interesting. Because, you know, he's a deep threat. He's a vertical threat. He's got great speed, ran, you know, 4-3-something. But I thought and said and mentioned as a punt returner, there was real vision, feel, real acceleration, big play potential.

He had two punt returns for touchdowns in college, one at Virginia Tech, one when he was at Middleton. State before he went to Blacksburg. I know that, you know, most of you understand that he was a punt returner also at Virginia Tech, and that that's not breaking news by any stretch of the imagination. But I think the emphasis on him as a punt returner was a bit of news to me, because what was mentioned to me was that Jalen Lane was the top punt returner in the draft for Washington, and that more than anything else that he did at wide receiver, the reason they loved him, the reason special teams coach Larry Izzo was reportedly so thrilled with the pick,

is that he was their top punt returner on their board for this 2025 drive. draft and I was told that this guy is going to be the punt returner in 2025 unless he isn't who they think he is, you know, over the spring and summer. But they didn't draft him to stretch the field as a receiver, which he might be able to do. They didn't draft him to replace Diami Brown as a deep threat, you know, also as a solid line of scrimmage, you know, screen guy. Debo's here to handle the screens and the jet sweeps. now they're really excited about his punt return ability. Top punt returner on their board. They were looking for one, Jameson Crowder, remember not brought back, which meant they really didn't have

an obvious answer on the roster until drafting Jalen Lane. So for what it's worth, and perhaps not a lot, to some of you, but Jalen Lane is the odds-on choice to be the team's punt returner. You know, I would say barring injury or barring that he just doesn't live up to what they think of him right now. By the way, he was also a decent kickoff returner. I was told at Middle Tennessee State, didn't do it a lot at Virginia Tech. But, you know, kickoff return specialists aren't necessarily what they used to be because of the new rules. It's more of a line of scrimmage play. So they're really viewing him as a punt return guy on their roster. He did cover kicks for Virginia Tech as well.

But, you know, this team needed a kicker and a punt returner. And they signed Matt Gaye to be their kicker. And from what I was told, they drafted Jalen Lane more so to be their hopeful punt returner in 2025 than necessarily, you know, a contributor as a wide receiver. Doesn't mean he won't contribute as a wide receiver because he has great speed for sure. Great separation ability. But they had him as the top punt returner on their draft board and got him in the fourth round. One other football note that for me should be something that Washington considers and should be interested in.

News today out of Cleveland, Andrew Barry, the Brown's general manager, that a reunion with free agent running back Nick Chubb is unlikely. You know, they drafted Quinshawn Judkins from Ohio State in the second round. They drafted Dylan Sampson running back Tennessee in the fourth round. I mentioned this, I think, last week that I think Nick Chub should be scoped out, you know, not literally, but somebody should make sure that this guy isn't, you know, like fully healthy and ready to have another big Nick Chub kind of a year. Andrew Barry told a radio station in Cleveland that he believes that Chubb's broken foot has healed and is not a concern at all.

He missed the first six games of last season as he continued to rehab the severe knee injury that he had had in 2023 that basically cost him that year. And then he broke his foot late in the season. He had, you know, in the games that he played in, really one of the worst seasons overall. He had 332 yards rushing and had a career low yards per carry at 3.3. And, you know, it's one of the reasons I guess Cleveland is moving on. But I think Washington needs to look at that position. J.K. Dobbins and Nick Chubb are the two guys that are out there. Both injury guys, both can probably be had for a one-year deal with incentives. Now, I'm not suggesting that they sign him

if he's not healthy, if they don't think he can regain his form. But a lot of times after a severe knee injury, that first year back is a rough year, and that's what he experienced last year. But two years after it, 29 going on 30 years old, he was an elite back when he was healthy, elite, I think. J.K. Dobbins, I wouldn't put him in the chubb category, but younger, and if he's healthy, I'd give him a look-see. I still think they have a need for a running back.

You know, I mentioned that Kroski Merritt, their seventh round pick, you know, looks good on tape, but seventh rounders, doesn't matter if it's a, you know, a deep draft at a position like running back. Running back, over the last 10 years of the draft, one seventh rounder has amounted to something, Isaiah Pacheco. That's it. That's the list. out of 33 7th round running backs. I mentioned that I think last week when I was going through the draft, maybe earlier this week.

And look, Brian Robinson, Jr., Austin Echler, injuries, and not under contract after next year. Now, Nick Chubb wouldn't be either, but I would certainly look at Chubb and even J.K. Dobbins. I would. If you get a chance to rate and review the show on Apple Spotify. Big help when you do that. Five stars, you can rate us on Apple. Give us a quick one to two sentence review. If you see fit to do that, it'd be much appreciated. Following us on Apple and

Spotify, hit the plus button, hit the follow button. That's a big help as well. All right, next segment, three mock schedule reveals. You'll also hear some of the things that Mike North, One of the guys that puts the schedule together told me on this show last month. We'll get to that. And then Al Koken after that, after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, guys, a good Mother's Day gift idea for you. It's Gold Belly. I've been talking about Gold Belly for a while now.

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Mike's been doing this for 30 years. He was on the show with us on April 16th. And there were things that he revealed about sort of the process and even specific to Washington's schedule that I want you to hear again. Then I'm going to reveal three of the games on my 2025 Washington Mock schedule. I revealed two of the games this morning on radio. I'm going to reveal three on the podcast today. And then on tomorrow's show, a special Saturday show,

the entirety of my 2025 Washington Mock schedule. This ridiculous bit that I've been doing now, for nearly 20 years. So the entirety of the schedule tomorrow, this was the most fun I ever had because they're going to get six primetime games. They're going to get a few more standalone games. It's a team that's supposed to be good

for the first time heading into a season in a long time. So it was challenging because there's so many really good opponents, at least as they appear right now, and so many opportunities for stand alone and primetime spots. So I will reveal the whole thing on tomorrow's show, but I got three games coming up. But before I get to those three games, I want to go back and revisit this Mike North interview that I did,

VP program development for the league, been involved, intimately involved in schedule making for 30 years. He was great. A lot of you loved that segment. I'm not going to play the whole thing back. I'm going to cherry pick a few of the sound bites and play them for you. This first one was when I asked Mike about Washington this year versus the last many years. You know, he pointed out that every year there are 272 games, and that's what they're putting together,

taking all 272 games and putting them in spots on the NFL calendar. but that there are 10 to 20 every year that are obvious for high profile, high visibility exposure. And I said and asked him how different the view of Washington is this year compared to previous years. Here's what he said. Very, very different. And honestly, as somebody who's been with the league for a long time, grew up on the East Coast, you know, when we were growing up, you know, the Redskins were a thing. And yes, it's been a while, but I don't think we'll see what happens.

I don't think that fan base left. I think it's just kind of lying dormant. So now that they're competitive again, an NFC championship game appearance, I don't think there's any question you're going to find the commanders all over the national television schedule. And they've got a great schedule. You think about not only all those NFC games, obviously every year those matters, but you play a Detroit. You play a Kansas City.

You play Chicago and Green Bay. There's a lot of really good games on the commander's schedule. So, yeah, whereas in previous years, you know, maybe a lot of Sunday 1 o'clock starts in the Bellway, that's probably not what's going to happen this year. I think you're going to see a real challenge for Coach Quinn and the team. We're going to be out of our routine playing a lot of Sunday nights, some Monday nights, some Thursdays, got to be in the mix for kickoff in Philadelphia, got to be in the mix again for Thanksgiving in Dallas. There's going to be all kinds of places where we're going to see commanders games this year.

So Washington is just a completely different team in the eyes of the schedule makers this year. Obviously, they were in the NFC championship game last year, but they also have a superstar at quarterback. So they're going to be featured in a lot of the biggest spots on the NFL schedule this year, one of which is opening night. Philadelphia as the defending Super Bowl champions will open up the season, September 4th, at home as the defending champion. And there are lots of possibilities for Philadelphia. They've got a lot of interesting games at home.

But one of the possibilities would be a rematch of the NFC championship game against Washington. I asked Mike North about that, but I also wondered whether or not. they really needed that for the first game of this season. You'll hear my question and then his answer. Is a perceived quality opponent, Mike, you know, an attractive matchup between Philly and another good team or perceived good team? Is it necessary?

Meaning, you know, it's the first game of the year. Everybody's going to watch no matter who's playing in it? It's a great question. I mean, I think you've kind of seen we've done it both. weights in recent years. You remember a couple of years ago, we put Detroit in there off of their first winning season in a long time. They had knocked off

I think they knocked off the package. Last game of year, yeah. So they kind of played their way into that window. It maybe wasn't one of the top 10 or top 20 games of the season, you wouldn't think, but, man, Detroit went in their game all they could handle, got out of there with a win and sort of propelled themselves onto this

new perception of Detroit where they're an NFC mainstay. So there seems to kind of play their way into that position, but you know, you can't go wrong with a mainstay. Like you said, you put Baltimore, Kansas City last year into that window, and it came down to the very end with the kids' toe on the white in the back of the end zone, and, you know, you've got 28 million people watching. So, you know, there's probably a floor to what that window could do, and I think we're

going to want to put, you know, a game in there that our fans are going to care about, but I'm not sure we've really tested the ceiling of what that window could be, and as you look at the Eagles' home schedule this year, it's spectacular. I could make a case literally for every single game on their schedule. And obviously, Washington would be one of them. I mean, the last time we saw these two teams play was a whatever 30, 40-point blowout in the championship game. But like we said, you had Debo, you had some pieces on the line. Jayden's got another year, got a full-off season.

Who knows? Maybe Washington, Philly's a great window for that game in week one, and everybody can be excited about it for the next four months. But I can make the same case for Chicago, you know, a Bears Eagles game there with Ken. Caleb and the coach who probably could have had any job he wanted, and he chose Chicago, and he chose to go work with the kid, and they've added some pieces to their offensive line, Denver coming off a playoff, Dallas getting their quarterback with a new coach, Detroit would be fun, the two best arguably teams in the conference last year. I can make a case for literally almost every game on the schedule.

The Rams have earned it. I mean, you can make a case for every single game. It's less about that one game and more about the trickle-down effect on the rest of the Eagle schedule, the rest of the Sunday night NBC schedule, the rest of the week one schedule. It's not just about checking one box. It's about checking a lot of boxes. Yeah, that opening night is a tricky thing for the league.

It's not easy because of what he said. There's a trickle-down effect. I guarantee you Fox is going to get one of the Washington-Philadelphia games. They're going to have Washington and Philadelphia at 425 on a Sunday at some point during the season. as the standalone or certainly the strong lead doubleheader game.

So that leaves the other game for, I think, prime time. But does it make sense to put them in the opening night spot where you're going to have a massive audience anyway or put them on a Sunday night or a Monday night later in the season? I don't know. I put a poll out today on Twitter asking fans if they want to open up with Philadelphia on Thursday night, September 4th.

I'm surprised a little bit by the results. 60.7% say no. They don't want to open up with Philadelphia on opening night. 39.3% said yes. I'm really indifferent, to be honest with you. On one hand, I always refer to week one as a major head fake week in the NFL. We saw that with Washington and Tampa in the opener last year. And so it being a head fake week and teams not really being,

totally ready after a preseason in which they barely play and a training camp in which they barely hit, maybe it's an opportunity to go in and steal one, you know, from the Eagles on opening night. I don't know. I don't really have a strong feeling either way. If Washington does get placed in that spot, it will be the first time since 2008. 2008, the Giants were the defending champs. They had upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And they opened up in that Thursday night spot against Washington. Washington was coming off the 2007 season, the tragic Sean Taylor season, the last for Joe Gibbs. Jim Zorn was coaching his first game.

They were completely unprepared for that game and got beat pretty handily. That's the only time Washington has opened up against the defending Super Bowl champions on Thursday night football. They did play in a Thursday night game. season opener back in 2003 against the Jets. But that's not when they were using the defending champs as hosts for that game. I don't know. I'm going to give you three reveals here shortly. One of them is going to be my season opener.

And I'll tell you right now, I don't have Washington opening at Philadelphia. I think there's probably a better spot for them in prime time against the Eagles than on opening night. even though it's more than possible because they had Chiefs and Ravens in an AFC championship game rematch in the opener last year. A lot of you would love to see Washington played Dallas on Thanksgiving this year. Here's what Mike North said to that. Maybe with Thanksgiving, you know, Redskins Cowboys game on Thanksgiving as the Thanksgiving tradition has continued to grow.

You know, that's where we capture a lot of casual. fans, I think I saw a stat somewhere where, you know, eight to 10 percent of NFL fans watch their first game of the year on Thanksgiving. Wow. So you're with the family. The television's on. It's the Cowboys year after year and felt like for a long time it was, you know, a constant, you know, Redskins Cowboys just felt natural.

Now, you know, you put a Redskins Cowboys game on Thanksgiving. I think we're still holding, what, 42 million from a couple of years ago when that game was on? And that was before, you know, the commanders became, you know, what the commanders are now. And you add Debo and you add all these interesting pieces, a commanders' cowboys game on Thanksgiving, you got to think is looking at, you know, the most watched regular season game ever for the NFL. But is that the best use of that asset? You know, you could put it on a Sunday afternoon on Fox and probably get 30, 35 million.

You could, you know, like we said, have the commanders in kickoff. You can have them on Thanksgiving. You can have them on Black Friday. You can have them on Christmas. You can have them in Madrid and have them go over and play Miami. There's so many ways to dole out these 17 commanders games. A lot more options than we've had. So I think the game that he was referring to, Washington, Dallas on Thanksgiving Day,

that did like an all-time number, I think he's referring to the game in 2016. That game, which featured 9-1 Dallas against 6-3-1, Washington. Dack was a rookie. The Cowboys were on fire. Washington had just clubbed Greenwood. Bay on Sunday night football. That game in the moment was the most watched regular season game ever on Fox. Now, I think that's been topped in recent years.

And I know that the Giants Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day last year did a massive number. And therein lies the challenge. It's kind of similar to opening night. Do you put, you know, a sexy matchup, you know, a matchup between two perceived really good teams in those spots, or do you say everybody's going to watch anyway? I thought that was interesting. He said that there's something out there that suggests that 8 to 9% of football fans, I think he said, watch their first game of the year on Thanksgiving Day.

Yeah. Anyway, it dovetails into this next soundbite that I want to play, because there are two opportunities for Washington this year. internationally. We've talked about this since the opponents were known and the international host teams were announced. They could play the Chargers in Brazil on Friday night, September 5th opening weekend, or they could play the Dolphins in Madrid. Tommy and I have talked about we would want to go to that game if that game gets scheduled. I'll talk about the schedule leaks from last night in a moment. But I did ask

him about the possibility of the chargers in Brazil, the dolphins in Miami. By the way, keep in mind, Washington, two road opportunities, certainly one of those two could be an international game, and it would feel very much like a neutral environment. Maybe it'll be a pro-Washington crowd if they were to play internationally. And if they end up playing the Chargers in L.A., that might be a pro Redskins, pro commanders crowd as well, because the Chargers just don't draw in LA. So in a year in which

the NFC is playing nine road games, eight home games, two of Washington's scheduled road games could end up being incredibly beneficial, neutral or even pro crowd environments. But I did ask him about

the two international opportunities. Here's what he said. It is, definitely a possible possibility. Personal opinion, I like them for kickoff better than I like them for Brazil in week one, but obviously not my decision. Spain would be pretty interesting, kind of right in the middle of the season. It might cost you Thanksgiving, which is something we're going to have to think about.

If you play the Spain game in week 11, let's say, and then Washington comes home to the buy in week 12 after Madrid, then you probably can't turn around and play on Thursday in Dallas on Thanksgiving. So is that the right thing? What would go into Thanksgiving instead? They're not even guaranteed their buy coming back from Madrid. We've got so many international games now. Some of them early, some of them late.

You can't give everybody their buys after international games. So do you go to Madrid, come back to a home game, and then quickly get on the road for a short week in Dallas on Thanksgiving? I don't know if that's the best way to set up the calendar schedule. So are they in the mix for both Brazil and Madrid? Absolutely, yes. Are they in the mix for kickoff? Yes.

Are they in the mix for Thanksgiving? Yes. Are they in the mix for Christmas? Yes. We're not going to be able to do all those things. So we're really just going to come down, like we said, to Vanilla Chalkat and Strawberry at the end. This one's got the commanders in kickoff, so they're not in Brazil. This one's got them in Madrid, so they're not on Thanksgiving.

This one's got them on Christmas. This one's got them on Christmas. So they're going to play two short week Thursdays. They're all going to be a little different. I love the flexibility. I love the optionality. As you said at the beginning, this is probably something we haven't really had with Washington games for, you know, decades, really.

So this is exciting for us. It makes all the NFC East games more interesting. The NFC East crosses in the NSC North, so that'll be fun this year. There's a lot of really good games. No question the commanders are going to find themselves in some pretty prominent windows. So this was one of the parts of the conversation that I had with Mike North back in mid-April that has stuck with me over these last three, three and a half weeks. For two reasons, primarily.

One is, I think he kind of ruled out Brazil against the Chargers. He said it was more likely that it would be Philadelphia on opening night than the next night, Friday night in Brazil against the Chargers. And we've seen some reports, I don't know how accurate they are, that the Chiefs are the preferred opponent for the Chargers in that Friday night game. But the other part of this answer that has stuck with me for a while was what he said about Madrid. He presented it not as a definite either-or situation, but as a logical either-or situation. The either-or being they'll either be in Madrid or they'll play on Thanksgiving, both probably not.

Now, he didn't eliminate it as a possibility, but he just said, coming off the travel to Europe, whether they have a buy or not, that the league may not ask them, than, you know, 10, 12 days later to go to Dallas on short rest after a game or even after a buy week. And remember, buy weeks are no longer guaranteed for international games. Some teams don't even want them, believe it or not, but there are just too many international games to give everybody a buy week after their international games. So I kind of proceeded in my mock scheduling with the idea that it was either Madrid and I think. Christmas Day or no Madrid, no Christmas Day, but Thanksgiving Day.

I know a lot of you believe that it will be Madrid by week Thanksgiving Day. I don't. And it's that part of the conversation that has sort of led me to believe that, you know, Madrid or Thanksgiving is the either or. Now, that leads me to this. The leaks that came out last night from various. schedule leaking Twitter accounts, which, you know, I'm going to play a soundbite from Mike in a moment, which he essentially says it's all fake news. But a lot of you took it and ran with it, that

Washington and Miami in Madrid is a done deal. It may be. I can just tell you that these leaks over the years that come well in advance of the schedule coming out are often wrong. But, before I get to one of the three games that I'm going to reveal, I wanted you to hear him talk about, you know, this cottage industry of schedule leakers this time of year. This is how big this schedule has become is there's now, there are tons of sites, tons of Twitter accounts, social media accounts, that leak games, most of which in recent years have been dead wrong. I asked him about that. Here's what he said. All well and good and love that people care and love that there's interest, but literally anybody who thinks they know anything about a game or the schedule

or a team schedule is fake news. I mean, there's just literally nothing locked in yet. And oh, by the way, none of this gets approved until the boss says it's approved. So if we're looking at a, you know, May 13, 14, 15 or so time frame to release the schedule, kind of where we've been these last few years, second week in May. That means, you know, Monday morning the 12th, whatever that is, Monday, May 12th, we're in Commissioner Goodell's office, let the computers run all weekend, probably have a nice long Zoom call on Mother's Day night, everybody loves that, but then come in Monday morning with, here's some great options, commission. Here's one that has Washington, Philly for kickoff. Here's one that has Detroit Philly for kickoff. Here's one that has Denver

Philly for kickoff. They're all great. They're all slightly different, obviously. So it's not really like this one's better than that one. It's almost more like ice cream flavors at that point. Vanilla chocolate, strawberry. They're all delicious, Commissioner. Got to pick one and put it out at some point. You give us another month. We'll find you a few more flavors.

Here's a rocky road. Here's a prelines and cream. They're all great by that point, I hope. And I hope we've met with him enough along the way that we're not surprising him with anything and those targets that he thinks we cannot miss on. You know, we've hit. So now it's just kind of on the margins. And is this one a little better for Washington?

So it's a little worse for Philly. Is this one a little better for CBS? If so, it's a little worse for Fox. And just kind of try to find that balance, thread that needle, and pick a winner. Anybody who thinks they know what the commissioner is going to say is definitely, you know, not a chance. So for what it's worth, there's a guy that's been doing this thing for 30 years, and he says, don't believe anything right now. He said don't believe anything in mid-April,

and he implied that even a few days before, The schedule is set to come out. You shouldn't believe anybody that this thing doesn't get finalized until just a few days before. Now, they have announced the league has that it will unveil certain games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning through their league television partners. And then we'll get the whole schedule on Wednesday night. But one of the reasons that I wanted to get this thing out now, you know, the three games that I'm about to give you, and then the whole schedule,

tomorrow is it wouldn't be a true mock schedule if I knew a game or two. And Washington, more likely than not, is going to be involved in one of those big announcements on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, where in years past, they were probably not going to be a part of some of those announcements. All right. So with all of that said, let me get to three games that will appear on my mock schedule tomorrow. So I'm going to give you the season opener first. I spent a lot of time thinking about this season opener because Philly is obviously an opportunity on opening night and a possibility.

But I don't think it's going to happen. I think they're going to save Philly, Washington for another primetime spot. And I think Fox will get the other Philadelphia Washington game. I considered many possibilities. But the first thing I settled in on for the opener is that Washington's going to be in a high-profile spot. So if it's not Thursday night, and I don't think it will be, and I don't think it'll be Friday night in Brazil, it's either going to be Sunday at 425 as the lead game on the doubleheader for Fox more likely than not. It would be Sunday night football or Monday night football. Sunday night football is the second biggest high-profile opportunity in week one.

Thursday night's number one, the season opener. and then Sunday night football on a week-in, week-out basis is the highest watched spot on the NFL weekend, you know, game slate each week. I think Washington's going to play on Sunday night in that opener. So then I had to decide who they're going to play and where they're going to play it. Well, four straight years, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, Washington opened at home against Philly, the Chargers, Jacksonville, and Arizona. Last year was the first year out of the last five years that they opened up on the road in Tampa. Just, it's not that I think they put a lot of emphasis on opening at home or opening on the road. I think more so in the season finale, they look at closing versus, you know, closing on the road or closing at home.

And they look at trends there. But I'm just going to go with that they're going to open up on the road because they've opened up at home so much in recent years. And then there were two opponents that I really kind of dialed in on. One opponent, I think, would be a blockbuster season opening Sunday night game. And that is Washington at Kansas City. But I didn't pick that one. I think there's a spot down the road where they will play the Chiefs in prime time. But Dallas, for whatever reason, seems to have not, you know, a monopoly on Sunday night football, week one. but they've played in that spot more than anybody else.

So I'm going with Washington at Dallas, Sunday night football September 7th, for Washington's season opener. On the road, because four out of the last five season openers have been at home. Dallas more so than Casey, because Dallas seems to have occupied that spot. Sunday night football for Washington because it'll be the second highest, you know,

exposure spot of the weekend, Thursday night being spot number one, and I could see them absolutely desiring Washington and Jaden Daniels for Sunday night football. So that is reveal game number one of three that I'm going to reveal at Dallas to open up the season Sunday night, September 7th, 820 kick on NBC. Reveal game number two. I did not give this one out on. radio this morning. Week 2, September 15th. That is a Monday night, Chicago at home. I think the rematch of the Hail Mary game, the Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels matchup from last year, Ben Johnson in his first year, I think that Washington, Chicago makes sense for a prime spot. Monday night

football, week two, so Jaden's first two games, Washington's first two games are on national TV in prime time. Now, I think week two, it could be part of a double header because they do those double headers on Monday night several times during the course

of the season. In the last few years, they've done them week two versus week one, but whether it's a standalone Monday night game or the primary Monday night game after you get one that starts at 7 o'clock, Washington, Chicago, week two, Monday night football. So that is reveal number two.

And then the last one that I'm going to reveal is a game, I swear on my kids, I had before any of the potential fake leaks last night. But when I did this mock schedule and I spent time on it yesterday and I've been spending some time on it because it's been the most challenging to put together. But when I finalized everything yesterday, I had Washington in Madrid on November 16th against the Miami Dolphins 9.30 a.m. local time. I put it in there, and I can certainly prove it because I have someone that would attest to it if need be,

not that I really intend on going to those lengths to prove that I had this before. or anybody leaked it, whether it's an accurate leak or a fake leak. But I did tell my very good friend, Scott, Scott Van Pelt, because he called me last night, we were talking, and he said, when is it that you put together that dumb mock schedule thing that you do?

And I said, actually, I just finalized it. I just finished it. I'm going to do it over the next few days. And he said, well, you know, who are they opening with? And I told him, you know, at Dallas. And he said, what else? And I said, the biggest challenge, coming up with all the prime time games because I think they're going to have six of them.

But the biggest challenge for me, and I told them, was Madrid or Thanksgiving? Madrid and Christmas Day or no Madrid, no Christmas Day in Thanksgiving. Again, there's a chance they could play in Madrid, have a bye week, and then play on Thanksgiving in Dallas. But I'm going to go with what Mike North suggested to me implied that more likely than not, he thought it was in either or situation, Madrid or Thanksgiving. But there are the three games. At Dallas Sunday night football, opening night on September 7th. Chicago at home, week two, on Monday night football, whether that's part of a doubleheader

or not, Washington would play in the prime spot at 820. And then on November 16th in Madrid against Miami, Tommy and I are going to have to seriously talk about going to that one if it actually becomes a reality. We've talked about how much we'd love to go to that game. I would definitely like to do that. What a great city. The first ever NFL game in Madrid, that would be fun. So there you go. And again, I promise you, this was finalized and mocked before any of those leaks came out. It was not a copy of information that had been out there, and Scott will tell you that, yeah, he told me that he picked the Miami road game to be in Madrid. I've given you hints. I'm not going to have them on Thanksgiving Day. I am going to

have them on Christmas Day and against a very cool opponent. So tomorrow's show, again, out late morning, early afternoon-ish, I'll have my entire mock schedule laid out for you. All right, Al Koken to talk Caps, Carolina, after these words from a few of our sponsors. Guys, personal experience with a product that I want to tell you about, it's Zbiotics and their product called pre-alcohol. Let's face it, after a night of drinks, most at our age anyway, don't bounce back the next day like we used to. You either have that choice the night before of, do I have a drink or two or do I pass? because I don't want to feel badly the next day. Well, there's a sure-fire way to wake up feeling fresh after drinks with friends.

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Preakness and eventually the Belmont. And all of the NFL futures, betting opportunities, and player prop bets are up. Here's one on Jaden Daniels at my bookie. Total passing yards for the upcoming season for Jaden Daniels. The over under is 3,300 and a half. If you're wondering, last year, he threw for 3,568 yards, obviously rushed for 891 yards. So a big part of his offense was the running game as well. But they've got the over-under number at 3,300 and a half. If you bet over, you've got to lay minus 124. If you bet under, you get plus 102 back. But a lot of the player props, a lot of the MVP stuff right now, and I think I've mentioned this one before in terms of MVP, Jaden's way up there, man. Jaden right now in the MVP odds is the fifth.

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Use my promo code at mybooky.orgie.orgie. That promo code is Kevin, D.C. All right. Joining me right now, my friend Al Koken, at Real Smokin' Al on X on Twitter. This time of year, he gets to sit back and watch the games. rather than taking part in the broadcast of the games because it goes over to the national broadcast in round two. But of course, everybody knows Al has been a big part of Caps Hockey on Monumental, on Comcast Sportsnet, whatever it's been called over the many years he's been here.

So I just want to start with this, and that is, after the first period last night, which seemed like an extension of game one to me, and you know I'm not, you know, hardcore into this. this, how concerned were you? The final five minutes of that first period changed my outlook on it. I was kind of with you with the first half, particularly. It was played way too much in Washington's, and that was the problem in game one. But I finally saw them start to get some, you know, some of the things that they needed to do to turn this series around in their advantage in the final five minutes.

They got some zone time. They kept Carolina pinned in down there. some good scoring chances before the period was over. So in that regard, I was encouraged by that, and I thought then they carried that over into the second period. Everything flipped around then once the second period dominance of this team. The killing off the penalty early in the first period was a good sign, but I really thought the second period is where they established their game and what they need to do to beat this

team. So I didn't talk to you after game one, but what I said about game one for, you know, what I said about game one for someone like me is as a hardcore sports fan, you could see a one-sided beat down where the score didn't reflect what I was watching. With that said, are the hurricanes a team that just generates a lot of activity and a lot of shot attempts, but there's not enough quality to it and then the caps can kind of play off that in a counterpunch mode? I mean, maybe the overwhelming sort of statistical advantage isn't playing out for some reason, and there's not as much reason to be concerned about that?

You know what I'm saying? I know exactly what you're saying. And you're saying. What you did see in many regards was quintessential Carolina hurricane hockey. That's exactly how they want to play. That's exactly when they play their best. It's a high-volume shot team. A lot of times it's just a shot on goal that you think any goaltender is going to

about that, but they just do it consistently. They're constantly doing that, and that's why they hope to get the break like they got in overtime. You know, by shooting the puck whenever it was on somebody's stick, well, in overtime, it found its way through, and those are the type of goals that gets scored in overtime constantly, and I think what you saw is exactly what Carolina does and does so well. And that, to me, is, A, the problem, but also be the way you can defeat that is by what the capitals then did to them. because the Carolina Hurricanes really don't have what I would consider a game breaker.

They've got some really good players, Svetnikov-A-Ha-ho, guys like that, the Stankovin that they brought over in the trade is a good player. But the reason they tried to make that trade for Miko Ranton early in the season was they needed an elite player. They don't have what you would consider an elite player, the way an Alex Hovechkin is an elite player. And I think that's sort of been their bugaboo over the past few playoffs. is they play what you saw in game one,

but they don't have a lot of guys who can then turn that into two, three, four goal games. So is it fair to describe Carolina as like, you know, an all bark, no bite, you know, kind of a team, an all foam, no beer kind of a team. Like, I'm starting to come to that conclusion in watching them through two games. Well, I always say this, and I'll use a basketball analogy. They're a team that's basically a full court press team. And if you then get caught up in the four-core press and keep turning the basketball over, that's when they're effective.

But if they don't have a lot of size or post-players and you can beat that press, then you're able to have success in your own right. So as I talk to Coach Jean about basketball, you know what it's like to go against the team that is relentless, and if your players start turning the basketball over into that pressure, you're done. But when you break the press by doing the things the Capitol did last night, the flips high out of the zone, quick banging it off the boards, get it out, you know, fight another day. That sort of thing, the things they didn't do in game one, that let the Capitol then get back into their game, and that's where the heaviness of a guy like Tom Wilson plays into effect here,

something that Carolina does not have. So that would be the way I will analyze that from a basketball perspective. A full court press team can kill you if you let them, but if you can diffuse that press, you can turn that into your advantage. God, you read the room well. You know your audience. Joe B, when he was on with me two days ago, is like, you know, Kevin, in football terms,

it's the team that, you know, does zero coverage blitz, and sometimes they get home, but sometimes you can throw over it. And here you are with the basketball analogies. I appreciate it, by the way, and I think it's a very good one. You mentioned Tom Wilson. Was there a better player on the ice last night than Wilson? I mean, everybody stepped it up, but he is just at another level when he does those things. And that, you know, we, again, we focus so much on the physicality of Tom Wilson, which is a huge factor.

That pass he made to John Carlson on the power play goal that, let's be honest, if they don't score that goal, that power play goes to Ryan, it's still a, you know, just another, you know, one-gold lead. I'm not so sure we're talking about, you know, a 1-1 series, to be honest with you. So that elite play that he made is also why Tom Wilson is so unique. Nobody else in the league is the combination of what you saw last night, the unrelenting physicality, but also the ability to make brilliant offensive play. So that's why he becomes such a, you know, just a weapon that the teams dream about and the capitals have been lucky enough to have him now for the championship

and hopefully a longer run in this playoff. Has Logan Thompson been unbelievably good, or has it been more a case of Carolina hasn't gotten a volume of high-quality chances? No, I think he's been really good. And my concern after game one was not that Logan Thompson couldn't repeat his game one performance, but you were wondering, oh, did they just waste a really great goaltending performance? because he was the only reason that game was close. Again, I'm saying that Carolina may not have the elite finishers, but they've got guys who can score, and they had quality chances that he stuffed out.

The thing I'm seen with Thompson in these first two games is he's reading the play so well. You watch one of the things Carolina does very well when they have his own possession, they get it down from the forwards, back up to the defenseman, and boom, it can go cross-eyes. They can go any different way. They move the puck very, very quickly. and to do that then you have to be able to read where that puck is going next. And I thought some of the saves he made, particularly in game one, but some of the big saves he made last night were off great reads knowing, okay,

it's coming from there, it's going here, I'm going to beat the puck to get to that spot. You know, you mentioned they move the puck very quickly, and I think that's, you know, an observation I made in game one in particular. I mean, the passing's great as they move from one zone into the offensive zone. But on their power play, it doesn't look very, very, creative. Am I right or am I missing something? Well, if you don't, for example, everybody when you play the Washington Power Play, what's your number one thing that you've got to take away? Right? Oh, that's number eight. Yeah. Number eight. There's really not bad, as we kind of talk about.

Right. There's Spetched a Koff and Aho and those guys are very good and the guys back in the point, burns and Gossip, you know, really good. But there's no one defining factor on their power play. So that's why they're trying to break you down and find whichever guy ends up being open as opposed to, you know, we'd like to get one of our big options being get Alex over for his one-time shot. Then if not, we've got other options, Wilson in the bumper spot. You saw last night, they did something. I mean, Carlson is usually much higher up, right? What did they do?

They broke Carlson down, and thus, by breaking him down, getting him down into a different position, they broke down the Carolina penalty kill, which wasn't prepared for that. It took an elite path to make sure it happened, but that was the difference where the capitals have a few more options. Caroline is just trying to find, get somebody open, and then we hope that open guy can do our scoring as opposed to. We've got to feed the beast, which is what the capitals have always done with number eight. Yeah, I mean, in the first series, it seemed like, what's his name, number 13, Coffield,

that that guy in that first line for Montreal was more potent than anything Carolina has. I would agree with that. I would agree. Again, Stan Coven is a young player who they brought in in that second rat in trade, who I think is going to be kind of that factor one day. And I whole and specific of those guys are really good. I mean, they're 30 goals scores, but I agree with you. Coffee looks like an elite shooter.

these other guys score goals, and I think there's a difference. Any reason to be concerned about Ovechkin's first two games in this series? No, because I think if the Capitals can start to do what they did, which is more play it in their end, that's when he becomes effective. The up-and-down nature of the game is not his game anymore. So that's why I like the fact that the Capitals were a lot more smart, a lot smarter with the puck, made better decisions with the puck,

and when they put Carolina having to play defense in their own zone, then you could see where Alex had some chances. Also, that's where Alex can use his size and his physicality. When he's chasing after a defenseman in their defensive zone, the Capitol's offensive zone, there's where he starts to become more of the weapon that we were used to seeing. And once the Capitol slowly but surely started to do that from the second period,

Then I think you saw, A, the Capitals game that they want to play, but B, where Alex can certainly be a weapon and a factor in a series. I've heard that Carolina has a great home ice advantage. So in addition to that, will they benefit from having that last line change ability at home the next two games? Yeah, I think there's no question that Rod Brindamore is going to want to get the Ajo-Svcichikov line away from P.R. Luke Dubois, who's been terrific. You know, he was great in the Montreal series taking on their top line. He's done a really good job in these first two games

taken on that top line. So there's no question that Brindy Moore is going to want to do that. The one thing, though, that I've liked about the capitals on the road this year is sometimes they come into these buildings, and they just, instead of trying to put on a show for the home fans, they just get to work. And if they just copy what they did, now, again, they're going to have to weather a lot of different storms

because that crowd's going to rev them up and at home Carolina is an outstanding team but you can diffuse that as we talked about if you play a little more in their end and sometimes when you're on the road it's easier to get these guys focused in on keep it simple flips and chips chips just dump it in when you don't have a play

just banging off the boards when you don't have a play sometimes at home you're trying to make a play you're trying to do something creative you're trying to oh I thought I saw that guy open and I tried to throw that stretch pass and it got picked off. Sometimes on the road, Kevin, the keep it simple, stupid motto comes through a lot better for a team. And I think that's when the caps are going to be at their best in this series when they keep it a little simpler. All right. Two more. One, we've seen two games between these two teams. What's your hunch

on what we're going to see the rest of the series? Do you see a super long series at 1-1? Do you see an advantage one way or the other? How do you view kind of this thing? thing going forward and now what is the best of five? I had thought to be perfect actually before this series started, I thought this was going to be a seven-game series. And I thought the difference was going to be the seventh game being in your home building. I think that was one of the things that had a factor into it. Carolina, I'll be perfect honest with it.

They played a little better on the road than they played during the year. and we saw him a couple times of this building in the capitals, I think we're a little, you know, had a little easier time with them. Now the playoffs bring out the best in everybody. It's a different season. What you saw on the regular season, you can't count on the playoffs. But I will say that I thought if the capitals were going to have an advantage in this series, it was going to be the fact that their home record versus Carolina's road record was going to be into effect.

Carolina stole game one. And that could be a huge factor if the capitals don't get the split here in Carolina. I don't think that is going to be a seven-game series. But if you bring it back tied two-two, I think we're looking at seven. All right. I know you were up late last night watching Edmonton and Vegas. Just for those that I was, and Al and I were texting back and forth as I asked him to come on today's show. Explain to everybody what Connor McDavid did in setting up that goal in overtime that gave Edmonton a 5-4 win.

Well, I'll go back to our basketball terms that we talked about. He just put on a killer crossover at full speed while doing it on ice. Okay? Yes, on ice. On ice. Try that. Yeah. It was Alan Ivers.

It was Iverson's crossover on ice skates. Yes, it's hard to do. That was one of the most, it was one of the smoothest, most incredible kind of open ice moves. and then the pass was brilliant to that guy Dreisdahl, who was a big-time goal score, obviously. Right. Yeah, he led the league in goalscourt, I mean, the brilliance of that to do it at full speed.

Kevin, there's, you know, as you watch the playoffs, and you've appreciated over the years when you do watch the playoffs, the skill level of these guys, these players are incredible. But when I watch McDavid do everything, he does it at full speed. There are guys who can kind of slow the game down and do similar things, but to see him at pop speed, make that play, and then have the presence of mind to find the open guy at the end, you just sit there and just, you marvel at it because I'm not saying he's the only guy who can do it,

but he's the only guy who can do it on a regular basis. And every time you watch him play, his speed and his ability to make unbelievable plays at full, speed time and time again is what separates him from everybody else in the game today. God, the NHL playoffs, we've had a lot of just one goal games and a lot of drama so far through the first two and a half weeks or whatever it's been. I know you're jumping on the plane to head down to Raleigh, right? Is that where you're going? Yes. Yep. All right. Talking to you from the parking lot of Dallas. All right. I appreciate you doing this, as always. Always enjoy chatting with you, Kevin. Thanks. Al Cokin, everybody. He's been doing

his thing at a very high level for 50 years in this market. At Real Smokin' Al on X on Twitter. Caps in Carolina tomorrow night in Raleigh, 6 p.m. start on TNT. All right, that is it for today's show, but as promised, as mentioned, back tomorrow with my 2025 Washington Mock's schedule in full.