The Kevin Sheehan Show - Washington-Miami Recap

Episode Date: August 19, 2024

Kevin with a recap of the Commanders' 13-6 preseason loss in Miami. He had thoughts on every Jayden Daniels' play and provided his "Game-Take" highlighting the things he liked and didn't like. Then he finished up with some Dan Quinn post-game thoughts including the lack of clarity at wide receiver after Terry McLaurin.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. So Daniels operating the Washington offense. Fake the hand off to Echler, keep it himself. There goes Jaden Daniels to the 50-yard line. Double secret probation.

He is on, all right? But no, for him, I thought he had another really good outing, honestly. I don't know passing-wise what it was, but the accuracy, the decision-making of where to go, he really is a unique competitor. But yes, he was definitely in trouble again with the head coach. Double secret probation from Dan Quinn, an Animal House reference. Last week, it was a reference to Top Gun.

All's fun and well in the preseason. But he did not like that Jaden Daniels after running 13 yards on a reed option keeper, got tackled instead of getting out of bounds, which he had an opportunity to do. Today's show is just a quick recap of last night's 13 to 6 loss in Miami in preseason game number two. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, Windonation. Call them at 86690 Nation or go to Windonation.com if you need new windows. Mention my name and you'll get a free in-home no-obligation estimate. That's a free in-home, no-obligation estimate.

So, look, last week, Quinn and Kingsbury didn't love that he checked to the 42-yard pass to Diami Brown on 3rd and 6. They didn't want him checking last week to drop back because they didn't want him to get hit. You know, they had a banged-up offensive line. They ran almost exclusive, you know, quick game stuff, which, by the way, they pretty much did last night as well. They didn't want him to take a shot. But last week, he knew, Jaden knew that the ball could come out real quickly and that even if there were pressure, he probably wouldn't have gotten hit because the ball would have been out quickly. Last night, after he kept it on a zone read for 13 yards, and I don't think they have a problem with him keeping it on these read option runs. But he had a clear path to the sideline.

You know, one in which it would have kept him upright, he wouldn't have got it. and hit. There probably wasn't an opportunity to slide, a better opportunity to get out of bounds, and he just didn't take it. He decided to go for the extra yardage, which turned out to be maybe an extra yard or two. And this is an area that isn't going to be movie referenced in the future if he takes a big shot and gets hurt. You know, this was at the top of the list of concerns about Jaden Daniels coming out of LSU. You know, people were concerned about the frame and people were concerned that he took too many shots in college.

He didn't get down enough. He didn't get out of bounds enough. Now, if you watched him last year, as I did, he got out of bounds a lot. And he didn't take as many shots last year as he did during his junior year. But he took shots, you know, in part because their best chance to win games was for him to be brilliant, and it required from time to time him taking risk because their defense was so awful they couldn't afford to punt the football. But in the first quarter of a preseason game, get out of bounds, period. He didn't take a big shot, but he got tackled on the field. And yes,

it's tackle football. I understand that. I understand that, you know, quarterbacks get tackled too. But the quarterback should be tackled the least. amount of any of the skill players, especially in preseason. And he should never get tackled when he doesn't have to get tackled. And that play last night goes for 11 yards instead of 13 yards if he gets out of bounds, which he could have done very easily. The play would have resulted in a first down either way. He needs to understand his value to his team. And for that matter, his value to an organization trying to get their head above water for the first time in 30 years. Get out of bounds in the first quarter of a preseason game.

You could see Quinn yelling at him from the sideline to get out of bounds or get down. It was fun in the press conference afterwards, but that's a conversation they're having with him. They want him to be upright, and when you've got an opportunity, an easy opportunity to get out of bounds, And it's the preseason. I mean, who cares if it was even for a first down, which he already had the first down. Get out of bounds. It's a preseason game, you know? All right.

I'm going to talk about his game a little bit more here in this opening segment. And then I'll do a game take in the second segment. And then we'll play some Dan Quinn sound from the postgame show afterwards. But enough about him, you know, getting tackled. It's football. I understand that. but he had an opportunity to make his coaches feel a little bit better about that play by easily he could have run out of bounds.

So he played well last night. You know, it's a preseason game. You know, the Dolphins didn't have all their starters out there on defense, but they had more than the Jets had last week because the Jets didn't have any. And Daniels, for a preseason game, was impressive. He was 10 of 12 for 78 yards and two drives. He had two reed option keepers for 13 yards rushing. The first one, by the way, gained nothing. He led the offense on drives that went 46 yards and 52 yards. Both ended in field goal attempts. The first one, Riley Patterson missed badly, the second one he made. Daniels was on time. The ball was out quickly, almost exclusively short dropbacks. The ball was out quickly and accurately. There were a few throws like his second completion to Dionne's. Brown on third and two. It was his second completion of the game.

And the first one was a quick bubble to Diami Brown. But you watch that play. And Diami's not even starting to put his foot in the ground and get into his break. And that ball is out. It is on time. He throws with excellent anticipation. He did it at the college level. He throws in timing. He went to what appeared to be the right places. based on what he was seeing. Most of his throws, actually almost every single throw with the exception of one dropback on third and 12 before the field goal that Riley Patterson made.

They were all quick game throws. There was no pure dropback. The first drive started with a bubble screen to Diami for his first completion. The second completion was that third and two. Just a perfect throw, man coverage, balls on target when Diami comes out of his break. He had an excellent sideline comeback throw to Terry.

He put it low and on the outside so the defender couldn't even get close to it, even though it was decent coverage. There was another conversion on third down. This one was a third and three. It was a quick out to Terry on time, well thrown. Terry slipped to tackle, took it 20 yards. He had another quick game throw to Diami for four yards. And then on third and six, his first incompletion that ended that first drive,

was extra man pressure all coming from one side. They overloaded Washington's right side. And Daniels just wanted to get rid of it. He threw a deep ball to Terry that didn't really have a shot. He had other options, but I don't know where they were in the play's progression. You know, that's not something that we know right now. Echler looked to be the checkdown, and maybe Jaden expected him to stay in and protect a little bit. But you could see he just wanted to unload it, not risk a big hit.

You know, you could nitpick that play a little bit, but I'm not sure we have anywhere near enough information to do so. Bottom line, whether or not he should have thrown it to Terry, he didn't take any chances with the throw. It was, you know, a deep throw towards the sideline, wasn't going to be caught more likely than not by anybody. And there was over-the-top help. So if he throws a ball near Terry and gives him a chance, the ball could get picked. seven passes, two runs on that opening drive, no points because of the missed field goal, and I will get into Riley Patterson when I get to the game take.

His second and what turned out to be the final drive, there's the zone read for 13 yards that we've already talked about, and then at midfield, there's another quick game screen to Dotson, and then we saw a play that we saw over and over and over again in 2012. with RG3. It's that read-option play action into that drift route. This one went to John Bates, who was lined up on the line of scrimmage as a tight end. You know, this is something we've talked about a lot over the years when the quarterback is a legitimate run threat and the team presents that quarterback throughout the game, throughout this season as a run threat. Everything around

that quarterback benefits from it. There's more attention on him so the running backs have it easier. You know, see Alfred Morris in 2012. When there's play action, pass catchers feast on the ability to get open against a defense that has to hesitate. You know, the offensive line doesn't have to hold up very long. You know, this one was, you know, the balls in the gut of Austin Echler. Daniels pulls the ball back out. The second tier of Miami's defense takes a step forward,

the linebackers, and Bates is into the middle of the field by himself with a 16-yard pass reception. I mean, we saw that over and over and over again when our G3 was the quarterback, and you see that with all of the quarterbacks who are true dual threats. It's just hard to account for the quarterback in the run game and then also drop in coverage in the correct timing.

After that read option, play action throw to Bates, the next play is another screen. This one, a traditional running back screen to Echler for four yards. And then the next play versus the Blitz, another line of scrimmage throw. This one to Zichias for five yards. And then the drive bogged down when Wiley got called for holding. on a third and 16 Echler run. I don't know if it was holding or not. I really couldn't tell looking at the replay.

And then they had a third and 12 at the Miami 33, first play of the second quarter, and this was the first legit dropback throw for Daniels in the preseason. I mean, the first one where he's got to drop deep into the pocket and wait for receivers to get down the field. They had four out in the pattern, the Dolphins dropped seven into coverage, and he checked it down to Bates for five yards. It was actually a smart throw because there was nothing downfield open,

and you can't take a sack because the ball's at the 33, and you lose field goal range. In the regular season, he probably starts to move, he starts to extend, see if something breaks free down the field, perhaps runs the football, and maybe he ends up checking it down anyway. But that was, you know, I thought the smart decision considering the circumstance. Pre-season field position. And then that was it, you know, three drives in the preseason total. No punts, one touchdown, two field goal attempts, one field goal made, 10 total points, facing opponents in the Jets who didn't play any of their defensive starters.

The Dolphins played a few. He went 12 of 15 in the preseason for 123 yards, no touchdowns, no picks, no sacks. He ran three times for 15 yards, including the touchdown last week against the Jets. I'm pretty sure that's it. I doubt we see him again until the opener in Tampa. I'm not going to grade him. I'm not going to be conclusive about anything because we all know, you know, from years of watching preseason football, that it reveals very little to people like us. It may be revealing to the coaching staff in a lot of ways. I would say one thing, though.

I would say that what really stood out in his three drives, what, 29 plays total, I think it was, is that that is Jaden Daniels' personality in the football field, what you saw in these first two preseason games, from Arizona State to LSU to these stupid exhibition games. He just never looks like he's sweating. He doesn't look like he sweats anything. He's cool, he's calm, he's poised, his demeanor, his personality on the field. It's what he's always looked like. Now, you know, week one, Todd Bowles, Tampa's defense,

maybe that'll rattle him in his first NFL game three weeks from today. Maybe the Ravens and Browns defenses shake them up in weeks five and six. Nobody knows yet. But he has appeared in his first two preseason games in the NFL to have the same personality he had in college. He's just smooth. He just really is. All right. A game take.

What I liked, what I didn't like and more when we come back. after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, the slightest of edges make a huge difference in the games that we love to watch. In shaving, Harries gives you the sharpest edge with their razors. Harry's Edge comes courtesy of a combination of two things. The incredible shave their razors provide and the fact that they do it for a price way lower than the big brands. In an industry of overpriced and underperforming products, Harry's is your MVP. I've been a Harry's customer for a few years now, going back to when Harry's first started

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Jaden Daniels end for his second series. Robinson breaks a tackle. Gets across the 30 upended by Marcus May, but he's got a first down. Brian Robinson, Jr., three carries 22 yards. That makes it eight carries 42 yards in total for the preseason. I doubt we'll see him next week against the Patriots. We certainly don't need to see Brian Robinson, Jr. week against New England. I think he is poised for a huge 2024. This from Cole, who gave us five

stars on Apple's ratings and reviews. My favorite DC sports podcast, but I think I actually like the non-sports just as much. Kevin and Tom's chemistry is so great that my wife, who doesn't care for sports, listens as much as I do. Keep up. the great work boys, but Kevin, please get Cooley this year for the film analysis. Thank you, Cole. Yeah, I'm working on Cooley. I hate to even mention it because some of you accuse me of teasing him when it's a long shot.

I did talk to him on Friday. He said he would watch Jaden Daniels from the first game and whatever he was going to do on Saturday night and he would come on with us at some point this week. It's only 28 total plays or whatever it is that he needs to watch. So I will try to get him to do that. Fingers crossed. But thank you, Cole. Rate us and review us if you get a chance,

especially on Apple in particular. It's a huge help for us when you do that. Same with subscribing and following us on Apple and Spotify. All right, let's get to a very quick game take. Pay attention. Here's Kevin's Game Take. The Game Take is brought to you by MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.orgie.

Use my promo code Kevin, D.C., and they'll give you a cash bonus on your initial deposit. This was the final weekend without real football until late January, the weekend between the championship games and the Super Bowl, because this coming Saturday we have real football, college football, Florida State, Georgia Tech from Dublin, The Knowles ranked 10th in the country are 11-point favorites over Georgia Tech at MyBooky. They've got all the college week one lines up. They've got all of the NFL week one lines up.

Interesting about week one of the NFL. There are only two games with a greater than five-point spread. Everything other than Cincinnati is a nine-point favorite over New England, and Buffalo is a six-and-a-half-point favorite over the car. Cardinals, everything else is five points or less, and a lot of it is a field goal or less. Washington at MyBooky, four-point underdogs at Tampa Bay in the opener. The total in that game is 41.5. MyBooky.ag use my promo code, Kevin, D.C.

All right, let me get to a game take, and it'll be a quick one today. What I liked, what I didn't like, a few other observations. Remember, as I've said, many, many times before. when we've done these preseason recaps. You know, the score doesn't matter. The game context often really doesn't matter. They're running things sometimes just to evaluate an individual. It's just hard.

A lot of what they see in practice carries much more weight than what they see in the games. I will say this, though, when it comes to kickers, we can evaluate that. You know, we know what the goal is, and we know whether or not they executed the goal. and Riley Patterson will certainly lead the list of things that I didn't like. But what I did like, I'll start with Jaden Daniels.

We went through every single play in the opening segment, but he's impressive in the quick game, and that's really all they've run here in the first two games and the three drives that he's been in there. Line of scrimmage throws, screens, quick outs. We've only seen the quick stuff, and he looks confident, and he's good at that. You can quick game your way to a lot of wins in the N.

You can West Coast quick game your way to a lot of wins. I don't know if it's going to be the primary part of the attack, but it'll be, you know, a certain percentage of it, that's for sure, because he's good at it. He's decisive. He sees it. The release is quick. The ball's thrown accurately. Remember last year, Sam Howell's best games were when Eric B. Enemy, you know, for

whatever reason for a moment had clarity, and he's like, I don't have a quarterback that can drop back and throw from a pocket. But the quick game stuff worked, you know, against Philadelphia, twice, the Seattle game, I guess. Jaden's going to be good at everything. I think he's going to be. We just didn't get a chance to see a lot of the other stuff in the three drives. I can't wait to see what the offense looks like, though, when the real games start. But what they asked him to do, last night and last week. He did it. He executed it well. I liked the up-tempo, you know, no huddle. I'm actually a little bit surprised that we've seen a lot of that. I would assume that this is something they're planning on doing in the regular season.

They didn't hide it, you know, in the preseason. They didn't hide the, you know, dual threat nature of the quarterback position either with with a lot of zone read potential. but, you know, pace and playing with pace, and by the way, that really does mesh well with quick game. You know, when you get a defense on its heels and you go up-tempo and you go quick count, that ball's coming out quickly, you just have to have the playmakers that can make it pay off for you, you know? And I'm not so sure that they have the best of playmakers. they could definitely use another really good wide receiver. But I do like what we've seen from that.

Brian Robinson Jr. is on the list of things that I liked. I just think he's got a big year ahead of him. Eight carries 42 yards in the preseason, over five yards per carry. And I think that was another indication from Cliff Kingsbury. I think Kingsbury sees him as a dude that's going to be a big part of what they do, and he's going to take a lot of pressure off. Jaden. And when you have your quarterback in pistol or shotgun and there is the threat of the quarterback running, that's going to make it even easier for Robinson Jr., for Echler, for any of

the other backs. But I'm impressed with Brian Robinson, Jr. He is a load. He's going, he's, I feel it coming, man. I think this guy's going to get the opportunities that he didn't get last year. And with a quarterback that can run like Jaden can, with a coordinator. in Kingsbury that I think will scheme it up the right way. I think Brian Robinson Jr. is going to be in for a big time year, and I thought he looked good again last night. I'll tell you what, I thought Jeff Driscoll looked good last night. I think he looked good last week, too. Look, Marioita is not going anywhere. I don't think he is. I mean, I could see Driscoll being the third quarterback. I mean, Mario, as I said last week, signed a $6 million deal with $5.4 million of

guaranteed. I mean, we may see Mario to play some against New England. I'm guessing we will. I thought Driscoll in the two games in last night, I mean, he had a 40-yard run on his first dropback. I mean, he looked quick. He was decisive. He throws the ball. He handles the quick game stuff pretty well. Also, he was 11 of 15 for 82 yards, had four rushes for 45 yards. One of them was for 41 yards. I'm looking at it right now. I thought he was impressive. I thought John Bates was good last night as a blocker and a pass catcher. Two catches, 20 yards, including the 16-yarder from Jaden on the read option, play action throw, and then he had a four or five-yard catch on a checkdown on that third and 12. But I thought he looked good blocking. I think Bates is a big part

of what they want to do in the run game in particular, but I think they like them as a target. I think, you know, no Zach Ertz, we're going to see a lot of Ertz too, a lot of Ertz. I think Erts and Bates are going to be big parts of what they do. Offensively, you know, Wiley didn't carry the ball well like he did last week, but he had a couple of really good catches, you know, towards the end of the game. I'm going to be interested to see who that third running back is. Did you see, and I'm sure you notice they had Kaz Allen back there as a running back last night. Wide receiver last week, running back last night.

They are looking for a way to keep Kaz Allen because because they like him on kickoff returns. You know, he didn't have any big returns last night. They had him back on punt returns, didn't have any big punt returns, and he had a bad fumble, you know, on a carry, on a decent run. It may have been the best run he had. But number 10, you could tell it last week, and I mentioned it last week. I mentioned it in the offseason because Quinn, unsolicited, mentioned his name.

and I knew how much the staff last year liked him. They're trying to figure out ways where he can be on this roster and also perhaps contribute as a position player. The fumble didn't help him, I would imagine. But I like Wiley, I do. I think he's got really good vision. I think he's decisive and he proved last night he can catch the football as well. Defensively, look, tackling is an issue in preseason

end in early regular season games, but I do like the urgency and the flying around on defense, the enthusiasm they're playing with. You know, you really saw that at times in the second half. You know, guys that stood out, San Ristill, Louvo, Walker.

You know, we still had a bunch of guys last night that didn't play, Payne, Alan, Wagner. Tyler Owens, man, Castro Fields, Gene Baptiste, Jamin got a sack. Jamon's going to make this team. He's going to be a pass rusher and a defensive end on this team. I don't know if he's active every Sunday. I don't know where he fits in exactly, but I think they're starting to like him. And him getting a sack last night was huge. You'll hear something Quinn said about Jamon in the final segment of the show.

Just going through my notes here, anything else. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much it on the list of things that I love. liked. I mean, Tress Way had a big night punting it, but, you know, whatever. The things that I didn't like. Well, Riley Patterson, you got to start with Riley Patterson. I mean, that first kick was hideous looking. You know, it was, you're talking about a 49-yard field goal that had no shot right from the beginning. Then he comes back and he makes a 46-yarder, and that one look good. And then he misses a 43-yard or wide right. That's a problem, man. Riley Patterson was kept because he's the veteran kicker. And Riley Patterson's had a decent career. I mean, he got released. He wasn't on a

roster. You know, he was on a roster to start this training camp, got released. And he's, you know, he's the guy that's kicked in the league. I mean, he's, I went and looked this up before recording this, you know, because I know I've mentioned it before, but he's 59 of 67 career on field goals, an 88.1% success rate on field goals. Extra point-wise, he's 93 and 97 career. He's had some big kicks. He, you know, won the game in that playoff game, that big playoff game when Jacksonville came back against the Chargers.

So he's got some experience. He's got some experience in kicking in big games, but I would certainly guess that the kicker on opening day is not on the roster now. We've been talking about that for a while, and that on August 27th, a week from Tuesday, when everybody's got to be down to 53 by 4 p.m., there will be a ton of kickers out there available.

So I would guess that the kicker against Tampa is not on the roster. There were a lot of drops last night. Bryant had a drop. Bryant had a drop on a ball where there was a legal contact called, but I thought that was a catchable ball. Davis dropped one. Tinsley dropped one at the end. I mean, was it a great throw?

from McSorley for what would have been, you know, an opportunity to go for two in the win. I don't think they would have kicked the extra point there. But Tinsley dropped the ball. There were a few others that were catchable that were dropped. You know, I mentioned the urgency. The tackling, you're just not going to get great tackling this time of year. But I like the enthusiasm in which a lot of the players defensively played. The drops, the Kaz Allen fumble for sure, the penalties.

You know, we had some holds, we had some Wiley issues early, we had a late hit. That's kind of it. I mean, you're really getting into the weeds if we start talking about, you know, some of the guys that were in there in the second half. I actually thought for the most part, the guys that were out there early looked pretty good. Now, St. Juice got beat on the touchdown pass. I thought the coverage was decent. I thought like last week it was another really good throw.

Yeah. Yeah, and that's basically it. You know, the only other observation that I wanted to make is just they clearly don't have an answer yet for punt returns or kickoff returns. Because you've had one, two, three, four, five, six, seven people that they have tried in these return situations. And I have no idea how many people they've tried in practice. It's very obvious that they'd love to see Kaz Allen do something, and maybe it'll come down to him doing something against New England for that spot. You have to have two kickoff returners deep.

You know, they like Pringle, perhaps, back there. Pringle's got, you know, some success in the NFL in the regular season, including a big one last year for Washington. You've got Davis, who's been a part of some of the stuff they've done. You know, you still have, you've got Zakias on punt returns, potentially, if it's not Alan, you know, Crowder, we're going to see where the hell he fits into all of this. But I think it's pretty obvious at this point that if they had to play a game on Sunday, they'd be winging it on punt returns and kickoff returns.

My best guess right now is Pringle. You can't have Pringle and Allen both on the team. They both can't make the team because they're not going to play as position, players enough. Unless they're going to count Kaz Allen as a running back, as the third running back, and maybe that's what happens. It's Robinson, Jr. Echler, and they count Kaz Allen as the third back, and they get rid of everybody else.

I guess that's potentially in play. And then you could keep a Pringle, potentially as a receiver. You need to have McCorn, Dotson, Zichias, McCaffrey, Diami, five, and then your sixth could be somebody like Byron Pringle if they were going to use them in the return game. But my guess is it would be Zakias on punt returns, and it would be Alan and somebody else back there on kickoff returns. I don't know. It's going to be interesting because I think they want Alan, but he didn't help himself that much last night and hurt himself with that fumble because it was not a big hit on the play that he fumbled on. All right, a few Dan Quinn sound bites to finish up the

show right after these words from a few of our sponsors. If you've been thinking about new windows, call Window Nation 86690 Nation or go to windownation.com. They'll take good care of you. You'll get a free estimate. You've got nothing to lose there. That estimate is in and out of your home in an hour or less. They'll leave you with a quote. That's all I ask is if you've been thinking about new windows, just give them a chance to give you an estimate. It's free. If you decide to move forward with Wind Donation, you're going to get two free windows for every two you purchase, plus no money down, no payments, and no interest for two full years.

Plus, when you mention my name, an extra $250 worth of credit when you use Window Nation. This sale, their anniversary sale, in August, ends August 31st. So act quickly, 86690 Nation or Window Nation.com. So I wanted to finish up the show today with three Dan Quinn soundbites. The first of which is about Jamin Davis. I think it's fair to say that Jamin Davis was, you know, one of those popular picks to be a 53-man roster cut on August 27th. That he had struggled in his first few years in the NFL. They had brought in Louvre.

They had brought in Wagner. They brought in Walker, Pittman. They had guys. They were focused on that position in free agency. They drafted Jordan McGee and that he was in big trouble. But, you know, as we have seen here over the last few weeks, including in the last two preseason games, last week and last night, he is a 4-3 defensive end.

And by all accounts, he's made progress and had a good game again last night. And Dan Quinn was asked about the progress that Davis has made. made and here's what he said. I think that was a big step. And when you put that much work in, it's nice to be rewarded for that. He's really put in a lot of work with Ryan and with Daryl to get that part of his game right. And going into the game, we had some injuries at linebacker. And so would we put him back down there? I said, I really want to see him down on the line of scrimmage again. You know, he's getting close to what we want to see. Even before the sack, he did a nice job on the keeper that was a rollout and you just felt his speed. And so it was

exciting to see all the players get that excited for him. You can generally see when the sideline erupts for somebody what their teammates think about them. And I think they're recognizing how hard James putting in the work for it. So it was good to see him rewarded for that. A couple of things about his answer. The last part is interesting because I think that's important to the group right now. They want players that fit into what they're trying to build here. and he said that there's real genuine excitement among Jamon's teammates for the work that he's put in and then seeing it play out in these two preseason games in a positive way. And then I thought the other thing he said was that with the injuries to linebackers,

there was, I guess, some discussion about perhaps having him play linebacker last night. And he said, no, I want to see him continue with that position he's played, which is a 4-3 defensive end, and he made some plays last night. I think it's getting close to a lock that Jamin Davis is going to make the team. At this point, I would be very surprised if he doesn't make the team. You know, your D-Ns, in terms of true D-Ns, I'm not talking about, you know, outside pass-rushing linebackers. You know, it's feral, it's Armstrong. You've got KJ. Henry, who I think is going to make the team.

and then I don't know if they view Dante Fowler Jr. as more of a defensive end or a linebacker. He's definitely a pass rusher. But I think then there's a really good shot for Jamon to make it as a defensive end. I think Gene Baptiste, you know, looked pretty good last night. But that's kind of it. You know, Andre Jones Jr., their pick from last year, he was in there a bunch last night. I didn't see him get enough consistency as a pass rusher. last night. I really kind of liked him coming out, and I liked him at times last year. But I think

we're getting close to it being a lock that Jamon Davis is going to make the team. I would be surprised at this point if he didn't. All right, the next question, I think it was J.P. Finley, who asked him about Emmanuel Forbes. Forbes, I guess, on the sideline last night was interviewed by the Channel 9 sideline reporter. And he talked about just the scrutiny of being a first round pick. And feeling kind of that heat and the the public pressure and media pressure, et cetera. And the head coach wanted to weigh in on that, and he did. Sometimes he feels like people jump on the negative plays with him. Have you talked with him about that at all?

Yes. How to keep this kind of based on the world of? I have. What's those conversations like? I think, you know, there's a narrative that can happen for any ball player outside the building versus inside the building. and I wanted to make sure he was aware of the decisions that will make, Adam and I are ones that come from inside the building, not from outside.

And I love the way he's competing at practice. I thought I had a really physical play down the first part of the red zone in the practice. And so I illustrated that to him on Thursday night to say, I know he's been under the fire a little bit, but competitive plays like that go a long way. And so that's where I was at. Coaches today, man, the jobs they have beyond jobs. coaching ball. You know, you have to deal with young people who are impacted by outside voices,

by the scrutiny that comes every game, every play, every practice for crying out loud at the NFL level, social media, sports talk radio, sports podcasts, print. I mean, and you've got to be there to convince these people who are sensitive to it. And I'm not suggesting that Emmanuel Forbes is, but, you know, he brought it up in this interview last night on the field. You've got to convince them that basically most of the people on the outside have no earthly idea what they're talking about. I've got my hand up in the air. We don't, for the most part.

We watch games, and we're right about some things and spot on about a few things, but we're wrong about a lot of it, because we just don't know what they're being asked to do and the technique that they're being asked to play, and whether or not they were supposed to be matched up against A.J. Brown or not. I don't know. I think he was last year. I actually think that Emmanuel Forbes competes really hard, and I think they like that about him.

And he's young, and he is a ball hawk. He's just got to get tougher as a tackler, and they have to get to the point where they don't feel like they're really exposed with him out there by himself on a good receiver. I think, you know, there's no risk of him not making the team. I don't think that's in play at all. I think the issue is whether or not he's able to be in there in front of his St. Juice or a Michael Davis, because Sandra still seems to be the nickel corner, the slot corner to start with.

But I'm not over it on Emmanuel Forbes. I'm not sold that he's a bust of a pick. I would have picked Christian Gonzalez. I have a feeling Christian Gonzalez is going to have a better career at this point. But I think Emmanuel Forbes may be serviceable at the very least if they give it time, and I think they will. Last soundbite from Dan Quinn is about wide receiver too and all of the conversation about, you know, Jahan Dotson and all the other wide receivers. This is what he said.

Yeah, I know that's a narrative in here, but it's not as much with me. And so I wanted to be clear on that. I'm glad that you asked it because we're, trying to feature all the things that players can do. And it's, you know, easier because Terry's, Terry and clear cut to where it goes. And a number of the other guys have really bought some nice attributes to the team. Like, I love Jahan taking deep routes and in breakers, and I think you saw all that in practice on the other day. And I felt the Army getting on top of people and being strong.

I've seen, you know, OZ working the slot, aggressive hands. So by that position and finding what players can do, that's our job to put them into that spot. But I don't see it as one person has to be into this space. I just want the guys to be absolutely flying and at their best and competing and playing with urgency. It's not about a number at a position. It's really about just the urgency, competitiveness, contested catches, route running, getting away from press coverage, beating man to man. Those are all the things that I look for. But it doesn't have to be a one or two, a three.

It just has to be really consistent. And I like the group. They're fighting hard. I couldn't think of a better guy to work with than Bobby. to help develop them. So we're going to keep finding the things that they can do and then try to hopefully feature them in those best ways. Bobby Angram is the Bobby that he was referring to the wide receivers coach

in case you didn't know. So I've listened to that sound bite a couple of times. I mean, let's face it, Dan Quinn's answered a question about wide receiver two, specific sometimes to Jahan Dotson several times in the last few weeks. And after, you know, competition, urgency, etc. Here's what I keep hearing. I keep hearing a lack of clarity after Terry McClure. I mean, maybe Zichias as a slot receiver, but a real lack of clarity. Like who the hell is going to be on the field for us? Probably Diami Brown and probably Dotson to start. But when you have a lack of clarity

and it's still trying to be figured out right now, you don't have somebody that's stepped up into that clear-cut number two wide receiver role. That could be a problem for this team this year. Maybe one of these guys emerges. Maybe Jahan does. I still think Jahan has a lot of talent. We've seen Diami do this in preseason before and not be very good in the regular season. I'm not going to sit here and make the case for trading for Brandon Ayuk, but God, that would help. I just want more support for Jaden Daniels offensively. I think they have it in the backfield. I think they've potentially got it at tight end, and I would include Senate in that conversation. But I think wide receiver right now, you've got Terry McLaren and you've got Zakias.

And let's face it, it's not like Zakias has been a lights out slot receiver in the NFL and his five or six years in the league, seven years in the league, whatever it's been. They are short right now at wide receiver two and three. You know, they don't, he does, there's been too much conversation about these battles and lots of different. names being mentioned, there isn't a lot of clarity there at the position. I'd be concerned about that heading into the year. All right, that's it for today, back tomorrow, I think with Tommy tomorrow.