The Kevin Sheehan Show - Washington's Top 5 Memorable Season Openers

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

Kevin solo today with his "Skins' Top 5 Most Memorable Season Openers". He also gave an overview of his thoughts heading into the first season in many years where Washington fans can legit dream of better days ahead. He recapped Maryland's 50-7 win Saturday over UConn, Virginia Tech's overtime loss at Vanderbilt, and much of the rest of College Football's first full weekend.  Want a chance at $500? Fill out this survey:bluewirepods.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Well, happy Labor Day, everybody. September is finally here. This is the second day of September, but the first podcast of September 24.

I think September for me is top three in terms of my favorite months. I think October is my favorite month, maybe followed. by November and then September. It's probably in that order. I feel like we've had this conversation before. Maybe Tommy and I had this conversation once. And I think I gave you my favorite months the same way I gave them to you when I talked to Tommy.

That's what it feels like to me. I've never really written them down anywhere. But I think October around here is my favorite month. I love November as well. And maybe November is a real close second because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. But September is a great month for many reasons as well. By the way, I was looking at the extended forecast for next week. And when I say next week, like Monday, a week from today, high temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s,

with low temps at night in the upper 40s to low 50s. Fall, it's a coming. One week of college football, nearly in the books. We get Florida State and Boston College tonight. No smell test pick on the game tonight. I had mentioned on Friday show there was a chance I would have Florida State in the smell test. I am not putting Florida State in the smell test. I wish I had put USC in the smell test.

And some of you were wondering why I did not put USC in the smell test. One week of the smell test, two and three, by the way, on my picks. And already the tweets and the emails are coming in. It's a long game, guys. It's a long game. I might share a couple of those with you in the next segment. When we talk about Maryland's big win over Yukon, an expected win. They were 20-point favorites.

But I thought they were very impressive. And actually, I know it's just one game. But the quarterback, Billy Edwards, Jr. was outstanding. And I'm optimistic all of a sudden about Maryland football. Not that I am usually pessimistic when it comes to Terps football, because the last few years, with locks at the helm, I've been pretty optimistic. But tonight, Florida State, BC finishes it up. But in the next segment, in addition to talking about Maryland, we'll talk about the other

games on Saturday, the game last night, Virginia Tech devastating season opening defeat at Vanderbilt in overtime. That was painful for sure. But look, we are in regular season mode finally. And the season opener coming up this Sunday for Washington at Tampa. My top five most memorable Washington season openers coming up in the final segment of the show today. Most memorable, by the way, does not mean that the memory has to be a positive one. There have been a few gut-wrenching season openers.

So sorry, a few of those, we will have to relive as well. But the final segment of the show today, my top five most memorable Washington season openers. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, is Windonation, 86690 Nation or WindowNation.com for new windows. Mention my name, Kevin Sheehan, and they'll provide you with a free, no obligation, in-home estimate. But we have arrived at that time of year that I love so much. You know, it starts with early September games played as summer is starting to wind down.

We don't learn much about the teams we don't know much about. But it's probably not too early to say that the opener on Thursday night between the Ravens and Chiefs at Arrowhead will be played by two teams who, as long as they stay healthy, will be near the top and in contention in the AFC when we get to the end of a long 17 regular season game, slate 18 weeks overall. The rhythm of the football season is the best. It matches, you know, the comfortable life rhythm that many of us get into this time of year. Kids back in school, you know, adults back at work, weekdays are busy, weekends are

busier. But for those of us that love it, football is always there to offer up one of the true enjoyable diversions in our lives. September rolls in October, the weather starts to change. So do the leaves. Pumpkins. We get the first frost. And before we know it, we're handing out candy and then a few weeks after that sitting down for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, let's eat. football is a part of all of it, and by the time we get to Thanksgiving, we start to figure things out. It can take that long. You know, who's got a chance to win it all? And who's headed for high draft position?

That's what we start to figure out by the time we get to Thanksgiving. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it gets colder, and the list of legit contenders kind of dwindles to typically six or so teams. that we think can get to a Super Bowl, but maybe only half that number in terms of teams that we think can get there and win it all. The holidays are such a great time of the year. They include so much football. And this year, much more than ever,

with the college football playoff, 12 teams adding an additional eight massive playoff showdowns before we get down to the final four semifinalists, which we've had for several years now. But the expansion of the college football playoff means even more meaningful football during the holidays. I went and looked this up from a period of December 17th through January 5th, 20 days in a row. 20 days in a row, there is football. That includes bowl games. but we've never had a stretch, I don't think, of 20 straight days with scheduled football.

And marked down December 19th through the 23rd. Over that five-day period, four college football first-round playoff games and 16 NFL games. It starts Thursday night football NFL, Browns at Bengals on December 19th. Then on Friday night, the next night, Friday night, December 20th, the first ever first round college football game, a playoff game. Then the following day, a triple header of college football games with two NFL games. Houston at KC., Pittsburgh at Baltimore.

That Saturday the 21st is an insane day. Three college football playoff games off the heels of the first one on Friday night, along with two NFL games. And then the next day, Sunday, December 22nd, you get a full NFL Sunday slate of afternoon games, followed by a Sunday night game. And then the next night, you get Monday night football. And that's an incredible December 19th through December 23rd stretch. By the way, after that Monday night game on December 23rd, two days later, Merry Christmas, everybody. And we get Netflix offering up an NFL doubleheader for the first time.

ever scheduled Wednesday NFL football. But that's down the road. Let's enjoy the whole thing. And let's just take it here from the beginning. Because the start of this season and the journey it takes us on is for our team, I think the first in a long time where we can allow ourselves honestly, not delusional, to think that good things can happen and that good things could be in store. You know, no guarantees, of course, but we can't, you know, be in a position like we've been

because we can now at least think in terms of rooting for a franchise that has become normal again. You know, after the Snyder 24, 25 years, abject misery, abject embarrassment, caused by an abnormal approach. We don't have to feel stupid for thinking the team might be good at some point now. It's been 19 seasons since the last season that this franchise won a playoff game. 2005, Joe Gibbs 2.0. That team won five in a row to end the regular season. They finished 10 and 6, and they won a playoff game Wild Card weekend in Tampa, 17 to 10.

January 7th, 2006, was the last time this franchise won a playoff game. That's pretty pathetic in a league that prides itself on parity. But Washington never seemed capable of participating in NFL parity because they didn't seem capable of operating like an NFL team, but that has changed now. You know, it doesn't mean, and I've said this before, it doesn't mean that Josh Harris and Josh Harris's hiring of Adam Peters, and Harrison Peters's hiring of Dan Quinn will result in an organization that produces

consistently like, say, Baltimore and Pittsburgh and Philly and San Francisco, some of the really solid franchises in the NFL. But we can't automatically rule it out like we used to because there's a chance now that this organization could produce like those. You know, Harris and Peters and Quinn, those new names are essential and very important. But the spotlight, let's not kid ourselves from the jump, will be on the quarterback they picked in the first round, Jaden Daniels. He looked good in Vegas last night, supporting his LSU Tigers in their game against USC, a game they lost. Some of you had an issue with him being there. They had these days off. He can go do what he wants to do on his day off. You know, we see bye weeks all the time.

You know, players go, you know, to their college, their alma mater's game, especially, you know, within a year or two of them graduating. I don't have any issue with him being there last night. He was a focal point of the broadcast, that's for sure. But come Sunday, you know, he is the one that will need the support. You know, good coaching, good scheme, good talent around him. He has so much to offer, but he is a rookie. Most of the time, rookies need time and they need help. I like much of what they've done, and I am skeptical, or maybe that's not the right word,

maybe better put, I'm in wait and see mode on some of the other things. You know, I like the hiring of Cliff Kingsbury. He knows quarterbacks. He knows offensive scheme. He knows talented, dual threat quarterbacks. He's done a very good job in the past of scheming people. open in the past game, and not always with the most talented skill position players. I also believe he will be a responsible offensive coordinator. I think there were hints of that

during the preseason. I think there's going to be an emphasis on a running game. There will be a reliance on quick game in their pass offense. They have two excellent backs. They've got a star wide receiver, and they've got an experienced and a big target in a tight end in Zach all things you want to provide for a rookie quarterback. The wait and see is the offensive line, the other receivers not named Terry McLorren. You know, will the OC and the QB be able to mask average to less than average in those areas? It can happen. It happens. The last LSU starting quarterback to play in a Super Bowl was Joe Burrow in 2021. The best. Bengals had a bad offensive line that year. They really struggled to protect him. But

Zach Taylor, the head coach, Brian Callahan, the O.C. They schemed up a lot of easy, quick throws to combat a lot of the heat that their quarterback was under. Burrow led the league in completion percentage at over 70 percent with one of the worst offensive lines in front of them in the league. He threw 34 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. He got sacked a ton, including nine times in a playoff game. But they won that game against the Titans that year on their way to going to the Super Bowl where they lost a very close game to Matt Stafford, Sean McVeigh and the Rams 23 to 20. Daniels is much more dynamic as a runner and a playmaker than Burrow.

But that's not even the point. It's going to be on Kingsbury to make it easy for Daniels in his first year with some mystery and skepticism and wait and see on an offensive line and a receiving group after Terry McLorn. And then it's going to be on Daniels. If Kingsbury schemes it up, it's going to be on Daniels to understand how his offensive coordinator and play caller is making it easier for him. And then he's got to execute the easy. The offense is a mystery heading into this year. And they face some good defensive teams and seasoned defensive minds in their first six games. But I'm a believer in Kingsbury, for now anyway, but I am a believer in Kingsbury. Head coach in the

NFL, maybe not. A quarterback developer and an offensive coordinator, I think so. And I think he's going to be huge to whatever Daniels becomes here early in his career and perhaps a massive influence on the type of team they end up with in 2024. Defensively, look, it couldn't be any worse than it was last year. I think it's pretty much guaranteed to be better because it was so bad last year. How much better is really the question? Let's start with this, okay? Because this defense has changed dramatically.

There's no reason at all to even reference what they were last year. defensively. They have new coaches and new players. In fact, among the expected top 14 players on defense. So you factor in, you know, a third corner and you factor in a pass rusher. You know, the top 14 expected contributors on defense, nine of them are brand new. Armstrong, Farrell, Fowler Jr., Johnny Newton, Louvo, Wagner, Chin, Michael Davis, and Mikey San Francisco. still. Nearly two-thirds of the defensive personnel is new, and the coaching staff is completely new. Two of the three players that aren't new could be two of their best players on that side of the ball, Payne and Allen. And most importantly, the coaching staff, and by extension, the players, they're into it this year.

They're engaged. The attitude is completely different than a year ago. Ron and Jack were on their way out. Everybody sensed it. And look, the other side of the ball was done in training camp last year. When the head coach, as in Riverboat Ron, let the cat out of the bag that the players already didn't like Eric B. Enemy. So last year was just doomed before it started. We've talked a lot about that. This year seems kind of destined before it starts. The kicker is a worry.

The punter isn't. the return game, who the hell knows, with the new kickoff rules, I can't wait to see what it looks like on Sunday. But as a warning, and I think it was email or Tom on Friday's show that gave us a warning, Sunday counts, but it's no referendum on what's coming on anything. You know, I would love a quick start to the season. It's important when everything is new and everyone starts optimistically and everyone starts, you know, know, in that mode of we've had a pretty good off-season, we've had a pretty good training camp even though they haven't played a game. You know, let's face it, they have been feeling it as far as the progress of their off-season and how it bled into a belief that they had a very

productive training camp. So for validation on that, it would be nice for them to start off well. And it's not going to be easy, as I mentioned. On paper, four predicted playoff contenders in their first six games with some good defenses and good defensive minds. You get Tampa and the Giants in the first two weeks. The Giants are loaded on defense. You get a season defense and defensive coordinator in Cincinnati in week three, and you have Baltimore and Cleveland in your first six games. You could argue going into the season,

the two best defensive teams in the league. The uncertainty of most of most of. NFL team seasons before they start is really, it's like reality TV at its best. You know, the uncertainty week to week is what makes the NFL so popular. The game is great, but the unpredictability of it is just so dramatic. So there is a lot of drama heading into this season, as much as I have felt about a season in a while. Because I think even though there's drama for every team, you know, heading into a season,

I just think in recent years I kind of knew what it would end up being. And this year, I kind of feel like I don't know what it will end up being. I mean, I have a hunch. You know, my hunch is I've shared with everybody is that they're going to be a much, much better team in 2024. I feel as good about this particular season as I felt about, you know, any, season since 2017. You know, that was the third year of Kirk starting. I thought they'd be excellent offensively again in 2017, like they were in 2016 and 2015. But what I really believed in

2017 is they had made some additions defensively that would improve what had really been an awful defense in 15 and 16. Injuries ultimately derailed that season. But, you know, since you know, who Kurt left the team in 2017 after the 2017 season. This team has barely sniffed anything resembling a competitive season since. So I've said 10 and 7 with a wild card playoff berth. It's definitely shaded towards the feeling that I haven't had in a long time, which is, hey, why not us? Why not this particular team?

My official official will come with Tom on Thursday show in terms of my prediction. Looking ahead to Sunday, you know, the Bucks, keep in mind, are coming off a career-saving season for really not only Baker Mayfield, but probably Todd Bowles as a head coach as well. The Bucks won five of their final six games to win the NFC South. Last year, Mayfield had the best year of his career. They destroyed the Eagles and the playoffs at home, and they had a legitimate chance. in the divisional round at Detroit. They lost that game 3123, but that game was tied 1717 heading into the fourth quarter. They brought back a lot of their key players, Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, for starters,

and they are optimistic about a good follow-up season to last year. They have good pieces on both sides of the ball. They're well-coached, certainly defensively. They did lose their offensive coordinator. He became the head coach in Carolina. But they're expecting to be right there with Atlanta and New Orleans in what most perceived to be a weak NFC South. But you know how that goes. We never get that right.

Not the easiest of openers. The odds makers at my bookie in most places currently have the bucks as three to three and a half point favorites on Sunday. 425 kick for the opener on Sunday. Weather on Sunday in Tampa, I looked at that. degrees with showers in the forecast on Sunday in Tampa. That's a long way from now, so we'll see how that forecast bears out. But playing in Tampa this time of the year, it's better to play at 425 where it kind of bleeds into evening rather than being at the height of the afternoon with a 1 o'clock start. But Washington, part of the Fox doubleheader Sunday, the big game is

Dallas at Cleveland. That'll go to most of the country with Tom Brady calling his first game with Kevin Burkart. But Washington will be in that window as well. All right. If you haven't rated or reviewed this podcast and you get a chance to do it on Apple and Spotify in particular, it would be much appreciated if you could do it. It takes literally 60 seconds. Follow us and subscribe to the podcast as well on Apple and Spotify.

And let me just let all of you know. some of you reached out to tell me how much you enjoyed this. On Friday's show, I had Ian O'Connor on the show. He just wrote the Aaron Rogers book, Out of the Darkness, The Mystery of Aaron Rogers. I've had Ian on the show before. He's always been a great guest. It doesn't matter what you think about Aaron Rogers. One of the great quarterbacks ever and certainly complex, to say the least, off the field, personality-wise.

and a lot of what we've read about Aaron Rogers is in that book, and Ian O'Connor talked about it, talked about the 10-year estrangement that he's had from basically every family member, and a lot of the other things. I really enjoyed it, and several of you reached out to say how much you enjoyed it. So if you haven't listened to it, 30 minutes right around,

I think it was like 32 minutes in total. Ian O'Connor, it was timestamped 43, 45. So the 43 minute mark, 45 second, 43 minute 45 second mark on Friday's show, August 30th. I think you'll enjoy it if you haven't had a chance to listen to it. All right, up next, we will look at the college football weekend, including Maryland's impressive win over Yukon. We'll finish up the show with my top five most memorable Washington Redskins, Washington Football Team, Washington. and commanders season openers.

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and they're soft gels for those days where you're on the run and want a convenient grab-and-go option. Timeline is offering 10% off your first order of Mitopure. Go to timeline.com slash sheen. That's timeline.com slash sheen. Here's why they're exciting new pieces. Nolan Ray. That was Nolan Ray's first carry for the Terps this year.

He is a redshirt freshman. Played a tiny bit last year. But he was a guy that was mentioned by all three of our guests that talked to Maryland football last week. Jeff Irman, Stanford, Steve, and then on Friday show, Steve Souter. He's a guy that, according to the people out there that these guys have talked to, they can't keep him off the field. He's that dynamic. First carry 48 yards touchdown that gave Maryland a 14-0 lead. They went on to absolutely crush Yukon, 50 to 7 in the opener.

This segment is brought to you by MyBooky. Go to my bookie.orgie. Use my promo code right now. The NFL season opens up Thursday night. Right now at MyBooky to Kansas City Chiefs are three-point favorites over the Ravens in the Thursday night opener. The totals 46. You use my promo code, Kevin D.C., and you'll have a chance to get up to a thousand dollars

in a cash bonus on your. your initial sign-up deposit. Most shops are not giving out that much free money. Free house money in your account based on the size of your initial deposit, but it could be up to $1,000. MyBooky.ag promo code Kevin, D.C. There's a Friday night game in Brazil. The Eagles are two and a half point favorites over the Packers.

and then Sunday's big matchups in terms of, you know, one o'clock and four o'clock window. You know, early on on Sunday, the dolphins are three-point favorites against Jacksonville. Caleb Williams' debut against Tennessee. The Bears are four and a half-point favorites. Then we get into the late window. Dallas is a two-and-a-half-point underdog at Cleveland. Washington right now at My Bookie. three and a half point underdogs with the total climbing.

This total, when the game opened up, was at like 40.5, 41. It's now at 43 and a half is the over-under number for Washington, Tampa. The Sunday night game, a good one. Detroit's a three-and-a-half-point favorite over the Rams, and then the Monday night line has come down a bunch. The 49ers are three-and-a-half-point favorites at home in that Monday night opener against the Jets. My bookie's got all the college stuff up.

Maryland's a nine and a half point favorite right now over Michigan State Saturday at 3.30 in college park that would get the Terps to 2 and O. MyBooky.ag.agmibooki.com promo code Kevin D.C. So let me just start with this from the Maryland game, the Terps game on Saturday. 50 to 7, the final over Connecticut. Maryland rolled up 634 offensive yards. What stood out to me, in addition to Nolan Ray, who ended up with six carries 60 yards, so in his five other carries, he only had 12 yards total. Billy Edwards, Jr.

He has waited his turn. We've seen him in spots, but Leotunga Vailo has been the quarterback at Maryland for four years. I thought Billy Edwards, Jr. was outstanding. We've always known Billy Edwards Jr. as TURP fans to be an excellent runner, a big physical runner as well. Passing accuracy was the question mark. If he had the opportunity to start games, he played very well in the bowl, went over Auburn at the Music City Bowl in Nashville in late December. Edwards, he was seven for seven to start. He finished 20 of 27 for 311 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, rushed for 39 yards. I thought he looked great. It's Yukon. They're not very good in Rickmore Jr's first year. I'm not one of those that one game, you know, is a referendum in college or the NFL like we've

talked about. College, man, things really change week one to week two. But I thought Billy Edwards, Jr., not only looked comfortable, but really looked apart. And that along with the offensive line, question marks. Maryland could have named the score in this game. Per usual, Loxley has recruited athletes. He's got speed everywhere at the playmaking spots on offense. Hemby, they're running back. I mean, I think Hemby's a pro, and then they've got Nolan Ray and Colby McDonald's just always been excellent whenever he's gotten opportunities. Ty Felton is a pro at wide receiver. He had seven catches, 178 yards, two touchdowns. Pray, looked good as well.

And then defensively, team speed, and I thought they were much more physical up front than they've been. Again, I don't know what Yukon will ultimately be. Michigan State's a better test, but really, Sparty's not very good this year. Maryland plays them 3.30 at home, 9.5 point favorites. I like the Terps already to get to 2 and 0 in that one. But don't be surprised, and I know I kind of say this, year, and I get a little bit pumped early in the season, but Maryland's going to be a good football team again this year. They're going to be a team that's going to threaten eight wins again.

And there's no divisions in the Big Ten. There's no more Big Ten East where they've got to deal with Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. It is, you know, all 18 of the teams ranked one through 18. The schedule for the Terps, yeah, it's not easy. But the first six games they should be favored in, and then on October 19th, USC comes to town. But I was impressed with Billy Edwards, Jr. I was impressed with their skilled position players again, and time will tell on whether or not the offensive line, you know, which is totally revamped, is good enough, you know, against some of the teams and some of the defenses they face.

They face Iowa later on this year. But really, look, this program was dead to right. And now they are in that mode. Locksley's gotten them in that mode where they're going to be a bold team pretty much every year. It certainly would seem that way the way he's recruited. They've got a top 25 class, borderline top 20 class coming in next year. And excited about Maryland football this year. Virginia Tech, that's a rough loss.

There were people picking Virginia Tech to be the sleeper ACC regular season and champion. Chip winner. And with their quarterback, drones back and looking good. They were down 17-0-0-0 in this game. They rallied to take the lead. The game went to overtime. They got lucky Vanderbilt missed a field goal

at the end of regulation. They went to overtime, and their quarterback Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia was outstanding. But Kyron Drones was out of gas. He was cramping. They had to put in Colin Schlie. who played in Frederick County, played at UCLA,

before moving to Tech, played at UCLA last year. I think started at Kent State, or Kent, ends up at Virginia Tech, ends up on the field in overtime, and they didn't score, and they lose 3427 to Vanderbilt. There was a situation, too, where, you know, you see this occasionally, early in the year especially, but it really was a costly penalty. Vandy

Virginia Tech had forced Vanderbilt into a delay of game penalty which took their field goal team off and put their punning team out. But then the Hokies were charged with a five-yard penalty for having two of the same jerseys on the field at the same time. There were two number zeros on the field at the same time.

That put Vandy back in field goal range. They made the kick and that gave them a 20. to 10 lead. That was three crucial points in the game. Elsewhere in college football, it was kind of a... There wasn't a lot of drama on Saturday. Probably the best game of the weekend was last night with... By the way, I think Miller Moss really looks the part. And I thought Nussmeyer, LSU's quarterback was really good too, but SC's quarterback Miller Moss, who set an SC record by throwing six touchdown passes in their bowl win,

you know, after Caleb Williams opted out last year, I thought he was excellent. Lincoln Kennedy can scheme up almost anybody to look good offensively. He's not great at clock management. They really blew an opportunity at the end of the first half. But that was a hell of a game last night. Intense atmosphere in Vegas. Man, those LSU fans are unbelievable.

That place felt like a road game for USC, even though they're much closer. to Vegas, really, really impressed by the two quarterbacks replacing the last two Heisman trophy winners in the game. On Saturday, though, there really wasn't a lot. You know, you had blowout after blowout on Saturday with most of the top 10. Obviously, Florida State lost that week zero game to Georgia Tech. But, you know, Georgia dominated the second half against Clemson, Ohio State dominated with Will Howard coming on in the second half. Texas crushed Alabama crushed. Ole Miss could have probably scored 100 if they had wanted to. They won 76 nothing. Penn State, you know, dominated West Virginia. Then they had a two-hour-plus thunderstorm delay,

came back and kicked their ass again. That's a big win, big win for Penn State and James Franklin, because that seemed like a tricky spot in Morgantown for the opener. Alabama and the Kalin-de-Bore era gets off on the right foot, 63-0-0. The Notre Dame Texas A&M game, I'll be honest with you. Texas A&M's quarterback was terrible, highly touted. And I didn't think Riley Leonard was that good. I know Texas A&M's front is great. Notre Dame pulled away.

They scored with about a minute 45 left to take the lead. They ended up winning by 10. Not a great game. Michigan was unimpressive. Oregon held on for a 10-point win. It was a three-point game in the fourth quarter over Idaho. although that was a bit misleading because they dominated every aspect of the game, just a weird score 2414.

But Michigan didn't look that good. I'll tell you what, though, Fresno's not a bad team. Michigan plays Texas this week in the big house. Texas is a six and a half point favorite. I'd be shocked if Michigan isn't a smell test pick on Saturday. And maybe the most impressive performance of the weekend was Miami going into the swamp with Cam Ward, man. God, does he have a casual personality and style of play? Through for 385 and three touchdowns. God, he was good. And they blew out Florida. Graham Mertz

is horrendous. He wasn't good at Wisconsin. He's not good at Florida. This is probably going to be the end of Billy Napier if Florida doesn't get it together. But Miami proved what a lot of people believed they could be, and that is a much more dynamic team offensively with a much better quarterback situation with Cam Ward coming from Washington State, and he was awesome in that first game. But overall, you know, not a lot of drama to the first weekend in college football, and until last night, that was a really good football game. game last night. I thought LSU had multiple opportunities to sort of extend. They had a 17-13 lead and, you know, even score touchdowns when they kicked field goals. A ridiculous catch in that game

by a USC wide receiver and some dumb penalties by LSU, dumb 15-yard penalties that cost them dearly. This I got from, where is it? This from Dan. Dan writes, Kevin, Wyoming, North Dakota State, not even close. I don't know why I follow your picks, but you put a lot on some strange teams. You should keep your picks to top 25 teams only. The smell test was two and three. I had North Dakota State. They're not a top 25 team, I don't think.

They covered against Colorado. Colorado, by the way, a seven-point underdog at Nebraska. coming week. And I had South Dakota State. They did not get it done at Oklahoma State. I had Wyoming. That's true. Dan, by the way, wrote North Dakota State.

North Dakota State was a winner. South Dakota State was the loser. I had UNLV. That's not a big name team. They won. Look, Dan, I think I do this every year when I get something from somebody after a weekend that doesn't win. And they say, why do you get it?

me all these bad teams. This may not be for you. Like some of my friends and I say when we're in Las Vegas, Vegas, it's not for everybody. This may not be for you. You don't ask somebody who plays basic blackjack strategy, right? Those of you that play blackjack, you know that there is a basic blackjack strategy. You know, a basic strategy that tells you what to do in every situation. Your two cards versus any up card for the dealer. And it gives you, you know, the thinnest of, you know, downside margins in playing. But you don't ask somebody to play differently than they've played because you lose a couple of hands in a row or you get a bad shoe.

You know, you don't all of a sudden start hitting 15 against a 16. You don't all the sudden because you'll go two and three, you know, stop doubling down on 11 versus, you know, a five or a six or whatever, you know, every other card. The smell test is my version of basic blackjack strategy. You know, it's not as quantifiable. I'm not, you know, saying they're exactly the same, but it's the same mindset. I have a formula. It has nothing to do, Dan, with top 25 teams versus lesser teams or big name brands versus. non-brands. It's just find the games in which the house needs a side badly, and it doesn't

matter who the teams are. It's just two-eights, split them. You know, it's two threes against a four, five, six, split them. It's ace two against a five, double down. It's a ten versus a six double down. It's basic. It's a formula. It's a strategy. It's a long game. 13 winning seasons out of 18 doing this. We went two and three over the weekend. I can handle that. You don't bail on a strategy because you had a couple of bad shoes. You sit there, you man up, and you keep playing the same way until it comes back around. You know, they're reshuffling the decks right now. and if you can't bet Wyoming or South Dakota State, no problem. This isn't for you.

I'm going to stay at it the same way because it's worked better than any system you had before you started following this smell test. And let me just tell you, week two I've already looked ahead. There are going to be a couple of them that fit perfectly. I already gave you one of them. I guarantee you the world is on Texas with how bad Michigan looked on Saturday night and their win over Fresno State. Fresno State's not a bad team.

I'm pretty sure I'll have NC State against Tennessee. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have the Indianapolis Colts against the Houston Texans on Sunday. But we'll get to all of that later in the week. I got this from Allen. He writes, how come you didn't have USC in the smell test? All of the Vegas guys were saying that LSU was a huge popular public bet and that the line kept coming down.

You didn't prepare well for week one is my answer. We count on you, Kevin. Live up to your responsibility. And then he's got a winking emoji there. There were a lot of games that were really enticing and were so close to fitting everything. I do because, you know, the basic blackjack strategy, the contrarian handicapping system for football, it's harder in week one because you don't have the obvious public sides. next week, Texas will be an obvious public side, and there's some data there.

It's like Michigan looked terrible, recent impressions. Texas looked great. It wouldn't surprise me if Michigan wins that game outright. But I looked at USC. I also looked at Clemson. They got clobbered. Clemson nearly fit it. West Virginia nearly fit the smell test.

Florida nearly fit the smell test. I'll tell you what. Seriously, I think I had in preparation. for the first week weekend of the year for the smell test. I think I had like 18 or 19 games written down. I ended up with five and went two and three. But if I had had all of them, if I had gone with all of them, I think it would have been, I think I went back and looked at all these.

I would have been like seven and 12. So it would have been like down five units instead of down one unit. It wasn't good. A lot of sides that looked right didn't come through. I backed off some of those, including USC last night, because when I did this on Friday, there was some mixed sharp actions, specifically in the Clemson game, West Virginia game, and the Florida game, and even a little bit last night. But anyway, hey, don't use this as a way to develop your retirement. you know, this is not a retirement strategy, the smell test. Sports gambling is not a living for 99.999% of people that do it,

which would include all of you, I'm pretty sure. All right, when we come back, Washington's top five most memorable season openers, according to me. We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, I want to welcome a new sponsor. That sponsor is Navaj. Navage makes a nasal care product that works. How do I know that? I've been using it since they sent it to me. Now, I am someone who has allergies, and because I have these allergies, I get congested a lot. The congestion sometimes leads to snoring and issues with sleeping. But Navage nasal care makes breathing easy. easier. It's a game changer. My wife and I have both used it. It works. Now, what is it exactly? Well, Navaj uses smooth saline flow and gentle patented nasal suction to clear your nasal passages. You just hold up this Navaj nasal cleaner to your nose and press the start button. And what it does,

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It's spelled N-A-V-A-E-E-D-com slash Sheean. That's promo code Sheean at navage.com slash Sheen. Second down and 16 now for thousands. Chris Walker way out to the left. He has Garrett to the right.

Charlie Brown between two Donald's defenders he walks into the end zone. Oh, Charlie loved that. This is a brilliant place. Those fired up scene. One have you seen the Dallas Cowboys appear in such disarray? The last time they were here in Washington. The unmistakable Monday night football voices of Frank Gifford,

Dandy Don Meredith, and Howard Coasell. That on the night of September 5, 1983, the season opener at RFK Stadium, the defending Super Bowl champion Redskins against their heated rival, the Dallas Cowboys, and all seemed to be going so much. well as they took a 23 to 3-half-time lead on that 41-yard touchdown pass from Thaisman to Charlie Brown. And you heard the conversation between Cosell and Meredith saying, the last time the Cowboys looked this bad was the last time they were here. And that was the NFC title game from the year before when Washington beat Dallas 31 to 17 and route to their first ever Super Bowl title over the

dolphins. This segment of the show where I'm going to count down my top five most memorable Washington season openers is brought to you by Windonation. If you've been thinking about new windows, all I'm asking is that you call Windonation and give them a chance to schedule and then come out and give you a free estimate. 86690 Nation, Windonation.com. You mention my name. They're in and out of your home in less than an hour. It's no obligation. They're not going to pressure you. This September offer is buy to get too free with no money down, no payments, and no interest. All right, for 24 months. Don't wait. Call wind donation today. You're going to be working with a company that's got a 96% customer satisfaction rating. That means when you choose them,

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This is my personal list. Top five most memorable season openers in Washington history as this is the week leading up to the 2024 season opener in Tampa. By the way, one of my top five was a season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. but the highlight you just heard is number five on my list. Washington and Dallas, once again, back at RFK, essentially nine months after they had faced each other, eight months, excuse me, after they had faced each other in the NFC championship game.

It was 90 degrees at kickoff, the humidity was high, but the place was packed and 30 minutes before kickoff. the place was chanting, we want Dallas. And Washington came out and gave all of us an indication of what they would be in 1983. And that is an incredibly dynamic offensive football team. In that game, they rolled up 447 yards of offense. Thysman threw for 325. Rigo ran for 89 and a touchdown.

Washington was in control at halftime, 23 to 3, but things started to change in the second half. And this is what makes this game, despite its ending, one of the top five most memorable for me in all of my years of watching this team. And I really go back to say 1971. So this is from essentially the merger through present. Dallas scores. on their opening drive of the third quarter on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Danny White to Tony Hill. Then they got the ball back again and facing third and 10 at midfield. This happened. Third down and 10 now. And the shotgun. Danny White. Going for Tony Hill. One hand with touchdown, I can't believe Tony Hill. It was Anthony Washington recently acquired from Pittsburgh. He was back

they're trying to cover and Tony Hill and Danny White made it look so easy. 51 yards. A touchdown and the red skins are starting to get nervous. Not just nervous, Frank Gifford. They were in trouble, Washington was. 20-point lead at halftime had been trimmed to six after Tony Hill's second long touchdown pass of the night. Hill only had three catches on the night for 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Danny White only completed nine balls in the game, but three of them were for touchdowns, and the Cowboys were surging back in a game. They would ultimately win 31 to 30. From 20 down to a 3,130, stunning comeback win over Washington in the season opener. That's number five on my list. By the way, Washington would go on that season in 1983 to lose two games. 14 and 2 was the final record.

The two losses were to Dallas in the opener, 31 to 30 that game. And then later on in the season at Green Bay on Monday Night Football, 48 to 47. They lost two regular season games by two points. They did get revenge later in that season in what they called the Fat, game when they dressed in military fatigues, went down to the Cowboys, Texas Stadium in December of that season. The two best teams, the two best records, both teams were 12 and 2, fighting it out for the division title and the number one seed in the postseason in the NFC, and Washington destroyed the Cowboys 31 to 10. But that Monday night, September 5th, 1983 season opener is number

five on my list. Number four on my list. Joe Gibbs back for his second stint as Washington's coach. It's 2004. Clinton Portis is playing in his first game as Washington is home in their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here's Clinton Portis's first carry in that game. Clinton Portis, goodbye, no-fives, touchdown. Joe Buck on the call, September 12th, 2004. Gibbs is back. Clinton Portis, part of the champ Bailey off-season trade, and the first time he touches the football,

he goes 64 yards for a touchdown. Washington went on to win that season opener over the Buccaneers. 16 to 10. That's number four on my list of the most. memorable season openers in Washington history. One thing that I think gets confused about that game is when you hear people retell the story of that game, they will often say that that was the first play of the game. It wasn't.

The Buccaneers actually had the ball first, and then Washington ran three plays before Portis touched it for the first time and went 64 yards for a score. but it was his first touch as a Redskin, and they won that game, 16 to 10 in front of 90,000 98 people. That was the height of the stadium in terms of its capacity. Brad Johnson was the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay. Mark Brunel was in his first year, and that was his first game. He was 13 of 24 for 125 yards. went 29 carries, 148 yards for a touchdown, including that 64-yard.

Of course, that first Gibbs season didn't go well. They were a competitive team all year, but they would lose their next four games after that season opening win, and then play better at the end of the year. They went six and ten. Their season finale that year, they knocked the Minnesota Vikings out of the playoffs in a game that was meaningless for Washington. But Tampa Bay, Washington 2004, number four on my list. So one game that was memorable for a loss, one game that was memorable for a win.

This next one is the last one that was memorable for me because of a loss. But this is one of the epic games in the history of Cowboys v. Redskins, the 1999 season opener. Washington led 35 to 14 in Brad Johnson's first game as a Redskin quarterback, but Troy Aitman brought the Cowboys roaring back, forced overtime, and then had this play early in their first drive in OT. He's got a wide open. He's got Rock in his now.

He's got it. He'll score. The Redskins, 41 to 35, in one for the ages between Dallas and Washington. Aikman to Rocket Ishmael, who will ever forget that one? 76 yards on the Cowboys' first drive in overtime. That was the first game. Dan Snyder was owner of the Redskins, September 12th, 1999. Brad Johnson quarterbacked his first game as a Washington Redskin through for 382-2-2-2-29.

touchdowns. Stephen Davis had a big game. Michael Westbrook had a big game. For the Cowboys, though, it was Aitman's fifth touchdown pass of the game that capped off an incredible epic series comeback from 3514 down to a 41 to 35 win. Washington went on that year, if you recall, to a 10 and 6 record. They won a playoff game against Gus Ferrat and the Detroit Lions before losing to the Buccaneers in the divisional round 14 to 13. So that comes in number three on my all-time list of season opener memorable games. Number two, we got to go back to 1982. The first season, Washington won a Super Bowl. That was the year of their first Super Bowl victory. That was the year of the NFL strike. But the season kicked off before this strike on September 12th, 1980.

for the skins at the vet in Philadelphia. You'll hear two kicks, Mark Mosley's kick to tie it, and then Mark Mosley's kick in overtime to win it. As we mentioned before, Tom, besides ballgame pressure, he's in a battle for his kicking job. Might be a good way to cement your job with the boss. This will be from the 38-yard line. We're talking about a 48-yard field goal.

Right in the middle of the field, too. There's no breeze to help you or handy to you. 48-yard field goal appeared. We'll tie the football game with six seconds left. He's got enough foot. We got an O-K. Over to the kicker, who's battling a rookie. I mean, it was dead straight.

He did it like he was in practice. But they're at the 15-yard line, a 16-yard line, a 26-yard field goal, it's over. Lesbis have won this. 37, 34 in overtime. A 10-13 clocking in the overtime. You bet you're there, half-beat? and you better believe the Eagles are plenty hot. That was Tom Brookshire on the call.

He was Pat Sumerall's number two throughout the decade of the 1970s before John Madden retired and became Somerals' number one in the early 80s. Brookshire took over as a play-by-play guy in the early 80s, and he called Mosley's kick from 48 yards out to force overtime, and then the 26-yard or an OT to win it. Mosley was battling a rookie kicker who the skins took in the 11th round. His name was Dan Miller. He kicked at the University of Cincinnati, and they didn't cut him.

They put him on what was called the taxi squad, kind of the equivalent of the practice squad today. And they kept Mosley early in that year, but Mosley was teetering on losing the job to Dan Miller. and he comes up with these two huge kicks, which kick started what turned out to be an NFL MVP season for Mark Mosley, the only kicker in the history of the league to win the MVP. Washington was an eight-point underdog in this game. These were the Eagles of, you know, Ron Jaworski and Wilbert Montgomery and Harold Carmichael and Mike Quick, etc. These are good Eagles teams. And Washington wasn't supposed to be anything, even though they had finished the previous year.

Gibbs' first year winning 8 of 11 after starting 0 and 5. But this was a significant game. This was the game that Thysman and many of the skins point to from that era. They knew that they were getting better. But this was validation that what they had done the previous year at the end of the year, that they were on the right track. Now, this season ended for the strike two weeks later. They beat Tampa the next week, and they went on strike after that.

They came back. They went 8 and 1 in the regular season, went on to win the Super Bowl that year. But that season opener, Thysman threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns. Mosley, you know, lights out on the field goals that he had to kick. He was three for three on field goals, didn't miss an extra point in the game. And Washington had a 3734 overtime win. I put that number two. You know, there were others that were close there.

I think, you know, certainly the 41 to 35 Rocket Ishmael game is close. I think, you know, the Clinton Portis, Joe Gibbs V2O opener was close. But I put that one number two on my list of the top five. most memorable season openers. For me, this is my list. Number one, I honestly don't think it's close. I don't think anybody could really debate shock and awe. The season opener in 2012, down in New Orleans, RG3's debut. Robert Greta, the third, six to six on the Redskins first possession. He fires down, field, Now seven for seven as Garsault breaks three.

The Air Guard will nods to number. Touchdown of RG3's NFL career. And that one I think is pretty easy. September 9th, 2012, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Washington's a nine-point underdog. We don't know what to expect. But the number two pick in the draft comes out. He's in pistol formation.

Kyle Shanahan and Mike Shanahan are introducing a whole new way of playing professional football with a dual threat quarterback. He throws for 320 yards on 19 completions. He runs for 42 yards on nine runs. We're introduced to Alfred Morris that day, who goes 28 carries 96 yards, two touchdowns. And the 88-yard pass to Garsohn early in that game gave him a 10 to 7. lead end of first quarter. Two things happened. We got griffening with him on his back, pointing up to the sky, and we got Pierre Garsohn hurt, which ended up really hurting the early and mid-portion of their schedule with not having him on the team with that, you know, turf toe injury that he

sustained on that particular play. Washington went on to win that game 40 to 30. Two. You know, the season, we couldn't wait for the next week. They lost a tight game to St. Louis on the road, the Rams, 3128. They had a great game a few weeks later where RG3 let him down the field and they kicked a game-winning field goal to beat the Buccaneers. By two. We had the Vikings game with the 76-yard touchdown run. But then we got to the bye week and they were three and six and things weren't looking good before the season turned around. they got a little healthier and they got on a roll and we certainly know the story after that. Hello to Nata, the Ravens game, the Browns game, the Seahawks game. But that opener in 2012 was absolutely stunning and it gave us reason to believe that anything was possible. In that moment it was.

All right, if you want to tweet me on the games you think I missed from my top five list, I had several others that were in contention, and I'll try to mention those on tomorrow's show. But top five, most memorable season openers, number five for me was their 1983 season opening loss to the Cowboys, where they blew a 20-point halftime lead and lost 31 to 30. fourth on the list was Gibbs 2.0 season opener 2004. Portis goes 64 yards on his first carry. Number three was the Rocket Ishmael game, blowing a 35-14 lead, losing 41 to 35 in overtime. Number two was the Mark Mosley game. Washington rolled up a lot of offense, but one on a kick from Mosley to tie it at the end of regulation in Philadelphia, and then a kick in overtime to win it,

37-34. That was a win that was huge and ultimately ended up propelling Mosley on the way to an MVP season, and then number one, RG3, 2012. All right, that's it for today. I'm back tomorrow with Tommy.