Welcome to the Command Center Podcast. I'm Julie Donaldson. The Commanders host the Dallas Cowboys for their season finale on Sunday. With quarterbacks Sam Howell and the younger players expected to play, Santana Moss and Logan Paulson shared what they expect to see. Okay, So Ron there expects to play a lot of the younger guys, kind of a good chance to see what he has. And it starts right there with Sam Howell.
What are the realistic expectations though, Logan, I want to start with you on this because you talk about Okay, you want to put him in a situation where he will be able to succeed, and it's the situation now where he gets the first team reps with the team coming into it. But you're also going up against a team that will come after you. Yeah, And I think that's the main thing for me is that this Dallas defense is very, very dynamic. They rushed the passer extremely well.
Their first and second down philosophy is rushed the passer to stop the run like they want to get after the quarterback. You're getting a new left guard starting with Chris Paul which I'm super excited to see, but how does he handle the communication? They play multiple fronts, they bring multiple pressures, they disguise their coverages really well. This is gonna be a big, big testament to Scott and how he puts this guy in the best position to
be successful. You know, it's funny watching practice days had I forgot how wal he throws the football. Got a live arm, live release, is very very physically gifted, but that only gets your show far mentally how closely they get him to be ready against his dynamic Dallas defense. And he's talking about a dynamic Dallas defense. That's what I said. You know, his athleticism is going to be key, you know him, how can he handle that pressure, you
know duty get the ball? Yeah, he has a live m also, but he's gonna have to probably escape some of those rushes here and there and then you know, you know, you know, regain that that passing you know lane where he can get that ball out. So that's one of the things that I'm gonna be looking for. But it's gonna be a task that we're all gonna be looking forward to see and see how he passed. And you've played with do you remember how many rookie quarterbacks.
You played with quite a few, right, Yeah, there's a certain amount of patients than you have to have, and this staff understands that. That's one of the things head coach Ron Rivera said, like, if you bring in a rookie, you have to give time for them to grow develop. But you want to see what that decision making is going to be. And they're going to get a good look at that to close out the season here to decide what do they need to do moving forward? Can
Sam potentially be that guy? What about some other guys that are going to have some chance to have a little extra time out there on the field, Bogan, unless they're done offense? Who you want to see? Yeah? For me, it's the two young tight ends. And I know they've played a lot of you know, Turner and Armony Rodgers. I think they've played a lot. They've blocked really well. They've exceeded my expectation in that category. I just want
to see them catch the football a little. But I remember in training camp Cole Turner was absolutely mossing every single person in sight. I want to see him get some more touches there. Armande Rodgers, is this dynamic athlete who every time he touches the football is a big play waiting to happen. What happens if you're able to feature him in the passing game a little bit more and get them some more touches. I want to see
what their role is moving into next year. Yeah, And one of the things I want to look at offensively, I feel like, when you look at across the board, we have every guy you know, but the offensive line. I think this offseason is going to be we're talking about quarterback. Yeah, we need a quarterback too, but we also going to have to shop out there for those
guys with protecting that quarterback. So knowing that Chris Paul is going to be playing, I've been hearing whispers here and there saying that Chris Paul is one of those guys not to be reckoned with. He's a guy that has showed these guys on our start in defense that he can be a force. And so I'm looking forward to him going out there and playing some live action and being able to show the world what you can
expect next year. And when they drafted him, they said, Okay, he's going to be a player that we will develop and so his chance to get out there as well quickly here Santana, what about on defense? Well, defense, Percy Butler. You know another thing that I've been seeing since we lost Cam a little bit, you know what I mean, We've been needing that safety to somebody to step up and be that other guy. So I want to see what Percy Butler has in the game where it's going
to be really bad. Basically on him to go out and make some plays. Yeah. For me, it's the young linebackers Milo and Harris. Hopefully those guys step up and never agree in wide receiver John Dobson has put up some record numbers in his first year. Dodson seven touchdowns is tied for the most among rookie receivers this season. London Fletcher caught up with Dodson to get his thoughts on the season. All right, First off, Johan, congratulations man to you Nitney Lions on the Rose Bowl win be
in Utah. Yeah, that's big time, big time got to go in that's a such a historic venue to play. Yet I always love seeing my Ninity Lions win. Yeah. So for you, you know, the season obviously as a team hasn't gone away we had hoped for, But you personally, you've had it ann outstanding the rookie season. You know,
how how would you kind of rate your rookie season. Um? Yeah, I feel like, you know, the games that I was able to play, I feel like I've done some some things very well, but I feel like there's there's a lot of room for improvement, um in my game, you know, from a lot of aspects of my game. Just being more comfortable out there on the field. Um. And I
feel like that's just gonna come with time. Um. But you know, getting in the weight room, different stuff like that, getting with the coaches, more film work, just different little things that invest my game so that I'm even better next season. Even despite the only playing eleven games, You're one touchdown away from time the franchise rookie record for receiving touchdowns. This was set by Charlie Brown back in
nineteen eighty two. I don't know if you pay attention to the any of that, or if you were aware of that. What does that mean to you? Having you know, been able to accomplish that. Yeah, you know, that'd be a very cool moment, especially for me and my family. You know, just to achieve such a goal. Um, coming in here, you know, I had high hopes for myself, high expectations for myself, and to be able to put myself in the record books with what guys like Charlie
Brown and Terry. I know, I'm uh like tye with Terry or something like that. Just to be there with those guys. Uh, and they're they're already Washington. Great. So Um, it's truly a dream come true, as you as you kind of look at it, you and Terry in the same room. Have y'all had a chance to talk about that a little bit. Maybe Terry, I'm trying to try to freak your record. No, not really, you know, Terry,
Terry is super humble, dude. I haven't really I haven't mentioned it to him at all, or he hasn't mentioned to me at all. Going going too this last game against the Dallas Cowboys. You you you played them down there, got a chance to experience what that rivalry is like. You know what are you looking forward to it in this game? Week a teen ageins the Cowboys playing them at home? Yeah? Um, looking forward to go out, go out the season on the right note. You know this
thing on a good note. We didn't get to where we wanted to get to, but you know, we got one more tests and one more opportunity in front of us, and to go out with a bang and make sure that we do this thing right and on a good note, it would be a good good look for us. Looking back on this season, from the time you were drafted here to where you are now, what's been your favorite moment of your rookie season. Favorite moment of my rookie season.
You know, honestly, I would just I would just say just coming in here and just spending time with the guys in my room. Like the guys in my room there, they're truly characters. Man. They make they put smiles on your face anytime you're around them. They their attitudes are contagious, Like you just always want to be around those type of guys. So I would just say spending the time with the guys in my room and just laughing and
joking around. I'm looking forward to see you going down and breaking that record against the Cowboys, man, and hopefully we're able to get a win. So I'd love to see you. Wait, can't wait to see you play Sunday against the Cowboys for all your news and analysis. Sure to tune into Command Center weeknights at five and ten pm on NBC Sports Washington. You can also stream on YouTube and commanders dot com.