How to stop a dangeRuss offense | The Beatdown Podcast | Washington Commanders | NFL - podcast episode cover

How to stop a dangeRuss offense | The Beatdown Podcast | Washington Commanders | NFL

Nov 10, 202429 min
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Episode description

The Washington Commanders swept the New York Giants last week and are looking to start 8-2 for the first time since 1986 with a home matchup against Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Senior Writer Zach Selby chats with Logan Paulsen and Al Galdi about how the Commanders can prevent Wilson from making plays downfield, the challenges in the red zone and more.

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Transcript

Speaker 1

What is up?

Speaker 2

What's going on?

Speaker 1

Everybody?

Speaker 3

This is the Beatdown Podcast. Welcome into another episode. I am your host and you're right for the Washington Commanders, Zach Selby and guys.

Speaker 1

The Commanders one in the Meadowlands. That's it's amazing.

Speaker 3

They swore the Giants for the first time since twenty twenty one season with the twenty seven to twenty two victory. Wasn't exactly the prettiest win, but it was efficient and they got the job done, which is really the most important thing. They are now seven and two for the first time since nineteen ninety six. I was four years old, just just a wee lad back in the day.

Speaker 1

And now they are.

Speaker 3

Heading back to Northwest Stadium to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, a big interconference matchup here. Russell Wilson is flying high right now. I mean, what's the what is the Seals version of Let's rile, Let's weld?

Speaker 1

Is that? What that is?

Speaker 3

Either way, the Steelers are doing really well right now, six and two, coming up of buy a week. So how did the Commanders pull off this win and go eight and two for the first time since maybe eighty six? Well, that is definitely what we're going to be talking about. Joining me today is Logan Paul and Algaldi. You can find him on the Algaldi podcast. Guys, how are we doing?

Speaker 4

I'm doing great too, Yeah, doing well, man. Super pumped for this game. You know, I'm actually married to a Steelers fan, so this is an especially big game in my household. But really excited with what's going on with the Commanders right now.

Speaker 3

Oh my god, since you brought that, I gotta know, like, what is the what is the dynamic there?

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean she's from Pittsburgh, she came down here to teach and diehard Steelers span Her dad was a season taken older for years, and you know, they're used to a certain caliber football up there with you know, the Steelers not having had a losing season in forever and having just you know, three head coaches over the last you know, two hundred years or whatever this dad is. So it's really nice to have a team now that is right on that level, if not.

Speaker 5

Above that level. I mean, this is great.

Speaker 4

This is a big game on Sunday afternoon, so super funp Yeah.

Speaker 3

It really is, and I'm really excited for it. You know, again, I've never been seven and two with this franchise. One went away from doubling the wind toll they have them last year, which is always fantastic. But the people who are listening, they know the spield, they know the deal. Here. We're gonna be asking these guys three questions, one offense, one of defense, and one more of a general question. There will be points that will be given out at the end of each round, and since I am the

host of this podcast, I get decide the winner. That is a heavy burden that is rested upon my shoulders. But you shouldn't focus too much on on the results. You shouldn't focus too much on who is the designate of the winner, to be more focused on the points and the objective opinions that these guys are gonna be bringing out. And with all that being said, let's just jump right into it, starting with the guy we mentioned earlier,

Russell Wilson. And ever since he replaced Justin Fields as the Steelers starting quarterback, they've really done a good job. You know, I only know a lot of people were really expecting him to put out some of the more Seattle Seahawks asque performances that he was putting out with the last couple of weeks Agains steel with Steelers, but he really has had that offense working in a very

different way. And dan Quinn even mentioned it in his in his Wednesday press conference that this guy is an exceptional deep ball thrower, and over the last couple of weeks, I mean, that's exactly what he's been. Thirteenth on deep passes in terms of overall gray from Pro Football Focus and the average depth of target for Russell Wilson on deep passive twenty plus the yards is thirty six as

third in the NFL already. So in terms of in terms of how the Commanders are going to be able to stop this guy with the secondary that is improving. And obviously they did just completely trade for larsh Marshall atam or. I don't we don't exactly know when he's going to be playing, and we know that he's often going to be playing in the near future.

Speaker 1

We're just gonna win.

Speaker 3

UH. But in terms of how they can prevent these explosive passing plays, which UH does, has come up a

little bit here and there. There were a couple of plays against the Giants where that was a little bit of an issue, but Logan starting with you, like when you when you're when you're looking at the tape on the Steelers, like and you're trying to figure out the matchups, like what are some things you know, the committerer should do to be able to prevent Wilson from being able to make these exposive passing plays on them.

Speaker 2

Yeah, so I think, you know, one of the things that jumps out to me when you're watching the Steelers film is that, like, that's not an overly complex offense. And what I mean by that, they don't get in a ton of bunches. There's not a ton of shifts, there's not a ton of movement, you know, very kind of you know, agonist to what it was when Arthur Smith was in Atlanta, which was a little bit surprising

to me. And so they really are just kind of they're running the football, they're kind of hitting some play action looks, they're trying to get Russ out of the pocket. And then when they need these explosive plays like they're it's not like, oh, we're gonna run two posts on a rail and get the pick route and get Pickens open. It's like Pickens is running a vertical route. I'm gonna throw the ball to him and he's gonna make me right on this fifties fifty contested catch. So to me,

there's nothing is there a lot of mystery. It's just about to me matchups, then understanding like how to play that deep ball opportunity. And then I think, you know, how you affect him as a passer because he's not a big guy, he can't see very well, and he does remind me a little bit of the Arizona game versus Kyler Murray in terms of kind of how it works. It's like, if you can't find that explosive chunk play,

he's not super effective from the pocket. So to me, it's like, can we find a way to create a little bit of pressure on Russell Wilson. The offensive line's been a little bit banged up. They've got their backup center and backup right guard Rodger Jones has struggled pretty pretty tremendously over the last couple of weeks in terms of past pass blocking, and I think that's one of the reasons they've been so committed to running the football,

maybe as a way to get him settled in. And then I think the other thing that's important to just understand is these are fifty to fifty contested catch opportunit co unities. They are not going to hit on all of them. And I think when you look at that Jets game as a really good kind of sample size of this, George Pickens makes three tremendous catches in contested catch situations. If he drops two of those, which is

exactly what they are, it's fifty to fifty. It's just pure statistics that they're not going to come down with all of them. They probably lose that football game. So what I would say is like, probably pick your best matchup, which is sent Benjamin Saint Jewish, throw different covert structures at them, and make sure that that you're giving different looks so that when they do throw that deep ball,

sometimes it's banding man, sometimes it's covered two. And then the other thing that I think is incredibly important in terms of stopping Russell Wilson in this offense and getting out of getting them out of their comfort zone is being very effective with the commander's offense and scoring a lot of points, getting them out of the type of offense they want to run and get them into a more conventional drop back, which I don't think would be

very successful for them. So I know I throw a lot out there, but to me, the offense got to stop the run. Commander's offense has to be have to get them in a good game flow and get them out of this this kind of this shot played down the field type environment and make them kind of run more efficient passing attack. Yeah.

Speaker 3

Yeah, you mentioned a lot of your points there, and I want to I'll circle back on those on a little bit, but I really want to focus on the other part of this explosive passing attack, which would be George Pickens. And you brought him up and right now he's ninth in the NFL with contested contested catch targets with eighteen just one one one behind Late Neighbors. And you know, uh, goalie, we'll switch over to you because I think you know, George Pickens is an interesting matchup

for this Commander secondary. And again we don't know exactly when Marshall Lattimore is going to play as he gets up to speed, but in this current iteration that we have this Commander secondary right now.

Speaker 1

What do you what do you how do you how do you expect the you know, Joe A.

Speaker 3

Junior in this and this Commander secondary to address the challenge of t and then limit George Pickens.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 4

So Pickens is a really interesting guy. He's very good, he's very talented, but he also can be a head case. There have been issues with Pickens during his time with the Steelers, and he strikes me as someone who you can get inside his head and you can potentially rattle him. And you know, I know that Benjamin Saint Jews has become like a pinata for a lot of people. I don't think he's as bad as some people make him

out to be. And I think Marcel Latimore being a part of the Secondary's going to do Saint Jews a lot of good. But you know, I think about Saint Jews and one of the most obvious things about him, right is that he is handsy, and that can work against him, but that also can work for him. And so I wonder if this is a matchup where maybe Saint Jews can rattle Pickens a little bit, can frustrate Pickens a little bit. Like I said, Pickens to me is prone to if things aren't going his way, he

can start to sour. And so I think there's some of that that could be in play here. But I think the number one thing with Wilson, and this is true of a lot of quarterbacks, but you do have to pressure.

Speaker 2

His success with.

Speaker 4

The Steelers has stood out no doubt, these last two games, averaging more than nine yards per pass attempt, averaging more than fifteen yards for completion. Those are dare I say, Jayden Daniels like numbers, but if you dig a little deeper, you go buy sharp football analysis. The stats that Warren's got up there. Wilson is just six for seventeen on pass attempts when pressured, So when he's being pressured, he's

not having success. If the Commanders can generate pressure, I think they can rattle Russell Wilson.

Speaker 5

And you know I think about this. You mentioned Joe wid Junior.

Speaker 4

I don't know how serious he willis when he said this during his preractice press conference last Thursday, said that he should be sending Jeremy Chin more.

Speaker 5

Now.

Speaker 4

I don't know if he said that just to say that if you legitimately felt that, but shit is playing really well. We saw him have a number of standout plays in the win at the Giants. I wonder if you maybe see some of that on Sunday afternoon in an effort to get to Wilson. But I think if the commander's pressure Wilson, they can dude this Steelers offense,

which has been going really well. It's two games, you know, it's not some massive sample size, So I think there's still a lot to be proven in terms of all this. Steelers truly good offensively, and like Logan said, connecting on deep balls is great, but it also is kind of a you know, it can't be a thing.

Speaker 5

It can't be a thing. It's random, it can fluctuate.

Speaker 4

You are dealing with a lot of fifty to fifty propositions. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don't. Hopefully this Sunday afternoon they do not go the way of Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3

And you know, you both mentioned mentioned press pressuring Russell Wilson. I think that these commanders have done a very good job against mobile quarterbacks. I mean, you look all the way back, you know, to Kyler Murray. He had his lowest pass performance of the season going against Washington. Uh, you know, Deshaun Watson obviously it had a really tough go in there. The following week in Northwest stadium. Lamar Jackson has had his day because he's Lamar Jackson and he's an Ivy P.

Speaker 1

Caliver candidate.

Speaker 3

But you know, the last you know, few weeks or so, these manners have, uh they've allowed less than one hundred passing yards up until like the fourth quarter, and I think a lot of that is because of how well the pass rush has has really improved.

Speaker 1

Uh, you know over the last two weeks or so, like, yeah.

Speaker 3

You've got you know, Johnny Newon, You've got to Ron Payne and John Dante Teller has been has been really really solid over the last two weeks. You know, there's not necessarily the a A tier, top of the class defensive pass rusher that you're they would really expect have these. But at the same time, this this this pass rush is top ten or least around that in sacks. So, you know, Logan, you mentioned that, you know, the offensive line of the Steels offensive line being a little beat up.

Roger goes not playing exactly as well as maybe he wanted to. It's at some points, but in terms of you know, how this how this Steelers offensive line matches up against, uh, the Commanders defensive front, what are you seeing so far and like, how can they take advantage of some of their some of the Steelers and maybe miscues there.

Speaker 2

Yeah, So I think it comes down to kind of who the Steelers want to be. And when you look at their offense, they want to run the football. They want to be in a kind of you know, I look at Mike tom when he's a defensive head coach. They want to be in a defensive led game. And what I mean by that they want they don't want to make any mistakes offensively. They want to kind of

let the defense drive the ship. And they're okay, kind of being very conservative on first, second, and third down, nothing too crazy, not putting the ball on harm's way. Their turnover to differential is very very high. So I think the first thing I'd say is like can you stop the run? Yes or no? And on first and second down and then get them to third long situations where they have not been overly effective rushing the passer.

And I think when you watch the offensive line, one thing that jumps out to me on film is while they have very talented pieces at certain spots, I think when you look at you know, Isaac so Mallow, excuse me, you know from Philadelphia, one of the better reguards in the NFL. They Dan Morris playing good ball at the moment. They have good pieces, Zach Fraser went health he's doing a great job. They have good pieces, but they're not

playing together very well as a group. And then makes sense because they've got a new offense that they're all learning. So to me, it's like, put those guys in difficult situations, get them and third and long, and exploit those matchups the way that the Washington Commanders have exploded them all season. And what I mean by that is like, can we get good front matchups for Frankieluvu mentioned Dante Fowler, you

mentioned Dorance Armstrong. Those guys have shown they can win in obvious passing situations because they understand when to take their shot, how to anticipate the snap count, they have a go to move, and they've been very productive. And so I think that's that's what I'd say is this team is not built to be a passing team, so force them to do it. And now you have to commit more resources on first and second down to stopping the run, which makes you more susceptible to shots down

the field. But ultimately I think that's the way you want to go, or you go the way that they went last week with the New York Giants, and you say, hey, we're gonna play cover two shell, We're going to let our offense get a fourteen point differential and eventually the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to throw the football and our

defense will be able to capitalize. So to me, those are the things that I look with the defensive line, the commander's defensive line going against the offensive line, and that I think could be favorable matchups.

Speaker 3

Yeah, and you also talk about, you know, making sure that you were able to stop the run on first and second down, which I think, you know, it's not necessarily related so much to prefering that to the explos passing yet, but it is related at the same time because you want it, like you said, you want to force them into do something that they're not necessarily you know,

equipped to do. Goaldi is a real question, like real quick before we move on to the next question, is like, you know, talking about stopping the run here, like this has not been an area that the commanders are incessily always the best that I think they're like around twenty eighth in yards allowed per game. But you know, Pittsburgh top eight team. You know Najee Harris is running the

ball really well. Right now, as you look into that matchup, what are some some concerns that you maybe have that you really kind of hope the Commanders address going against that the Steelers rushing attack.

Speaker 4

Yeah, well Harris is hot Steelers in the midst of a three game winning stree. Harris is averaging right around six yards per carry during that streak. He, in a lot of ways, is what makes that offense go. It's a cliche to say like it starts with stopping the run, but I think in this case it does. I think if you do a good job against Harris, this is going to be a good game for the Commander's defense. He's a good back, he runs violently, and he's had

some big games here lately. You know, it's tricky with this Commander's run defense because you look at individual guys and you say to herself, this should be a pretty good defense against the run.

Speaker 5

Bright like the Ron and Gerie is a good player.

Speaker 4

We have seen Johnny Newton do some good things, and obviously there are big expectations for what he could be but Darien Mattis.

Speaker 5

Is having a step forward season. He's doing some good things.

Speaker 4

If you look at Bobby Wagner's PFF grades, he ranks as one of the best run stopping linebackers in the NFL. So, like, you look at the individual parts and you say, Okay, they shouldn't be that bad against the run, but of course that has been an issue and it certainly is something that has to get fixed. You look at this week against Najie Harris, the fuddling game. Just a few days later at the Eagle Sakon Bar we was been on buire for. But you do have to stop the run,

especially as the weather starts to cool down. But I think the good news here, like Logan said, the Steelers offensive line has talent, but it's not necessarily a great unit when everything's coming together. Uh, when you look at everything together, and I think with this Stealers offense, if you can stop Harris, and that's a big if, but if you can do that, I think that set sets you up quite nicely to have a good defensive performance.

Speaker 3

Yeah, I think so too, And I think you're you're right on the money there in terms of I think this this run defense is maybe a little bit better than the numbers would suggest, but they do allow, you know, some of those those bigger explosive plays occasionally. I think that does bump up the averages a little bit. Either way, I think I think it's gonna be quite interesting to see with how they're able to handle that. We're gonna move on to the next question, but first score off

it Logan you are ahead by to uh. You know, realize some of the points you were making there, but you know we've still up plenty of time, uh for for for people to catch up here. We're gonna move on over to Commanders often the side of the ball, Steelers defense side of the ball, and I think this is this particular match up.

Speaker 1

That things gonna be interesting is in the red zone.

Speaker 3

You know, the Commanders have they're not always the best in terms of getting into the red zone. I think they're near the bottom third in terms of red red zone touchdowns. The Steels, on the other hand, have the best red zone defense in the league in terms of allowing touchdowns. They are allowing touchdowns on thirty seven point

five percent of the time. That's leads by you know, pretty decent margin there and I look at that and I think, Okay, Like I like the I like the way that Washington Commanders are able to move the ball in between the twenty up to the twenty yard line, but once they get there, I think it's it's that's something really where the the matchup is going to be quite interesting. Uh So, Bobby, we'll start with you first. And you know, I think I really like the way

Cliff Kingsbury has been able to design this offense. But what do you think that they can do to put hi that he can do to put the Commanders in more advantageous positions in the red zone, to to to just just get in the end zone against Steelers, which again, like has has been very very stingy in terms of allowing touchdowns so far this year.

Speaker 4

Yeah, and normally you say, well, if you don't do great in the red zone, you can survive that if you hit on a lot of explosive plays and score touchdowns from beyond the red zone. But the Steelers defense is really good, so I don't know that you can be counting on connecting on a bunch of forty yard touchdown bombs. Although again, Jaden Daniels, you know, I don't think we've been anything past him at this point. So I think this is where Brian Robinson Junior potentially being

back is huge. Running the ball in the red zone oftentimes can be more advantageous than passing the ball because you have that condensed field.

Speaker 5

And Robinson is.

Speaker 4

Like a perfect red zone running back right because of his size, his physicality, his ability to display first. I think the Commanders have missed Robinson in the game that he's missed this season. I think like it has really stood out that they have not had him in those games. I think that you really need him back and I would love to have him back now.

Speaker 5

If he's not back, here's what I wonder.

Speaker 4

So Chris Rodriguez Junior had been buried for so much of this season, right, he got cut from the cut down to fifty three, signed back to the practice squad, got elevated for a game, didn't get any carries in that game. But then last Sunday afternoon happened eleven carries fifty two yards and Dan Quinn has been singing the praises of Rodriguez ever since. Made it a point to praise Rodriguez during Quinn's opening statement of his postgame press conference.

Then Quinn this week has praised Rodriguez once again multiple times in back, Rodriguez seems like, you know, a little brother version of B rob in terms of like physical runs violently. If Robinson isn't back, I would not be against Rodriguez getting some red zone carries.

Speaker 5

I know the lead has been more toured well.

Speaker 4

If Robinson is out, to go with an Austin Eckler or Jeremy McNichols, and they certainly have had their success.

Speaker 5

But man, I like Rodriguez. I thought he did a good job last season.

Speaker 4

You know pretty clearly his training camp season, his preseason did not go particularly well ergo, he was let go in the cutdown of fifty three, but I think he has talent in it. I would not be against him getting some red zone carries if Robinson is out. Obviously you can basketball in the red zone. We saw that with the JAD and Daniels touchdown pass to Terry mcflure

on the first one last Sunday. But if you're gonna have to run the ball against his tough Steelers defense inside the twenty, I think Robinson or Rodriguez might be the way to go.

Speaker 3

Yeah, and you bring up Rodriguez, and I was really happy to see that he was doing well, you know, led the team in rushing yards, really had I think like five carries there in that last ride to help ice.

Speaker 1

The game against the Giants.

Speaker 3

But you also bring in Brian Robinson, you know, who was out last week, and he's he was limited in practice on Wednesday. We'll see what happens at the time of this recording, it is before practice on Thursday, so we'll see where he goes.

Speaker 1

But Logan like.

Speaker 3

Just specifically talking about Brian Robinson, like how how much more diverse is he? Like does he allow the offense to be especially like you know, in scoring position like that?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I mean I think it's it's simple in the sense that he's an efficient He's an efficient runner. And what I mean by that is he's a guy that you know, has excellent content balance, excellent vision, and can keep you on schedule. So when the run's not blocked exactly riot, he has the power to kind of create his own hole, create his own space, and the vision to kind of find the soft spots and ride the crease as they call it. So to me, he's just to me, the value that he brings is that he

gives Cliff confidence in the run game. And I think that's where you know, like Al was talking about with Chris Rodriguez, he has a very similar skill set and he's got the power to kind of create his own opportunities.

So to me, that's the value. And in the low red, like when the throwing windows are tight, when the opportunities are sparse in terms of throwing windows, like, it's nice having a guy that can keep you on schedule and fall forward for three yards when there's nothing there for you, and you can live in those situations a little bit more reticently when the down and distance favors you. So I think that's where b Rob's value comes in in

the low red. It's just he's an efficient, powerful runner with good vision and can maximize touches in difficult looks.

Speaker 3

Yeah, he really does. And you know, again, he's not like he's not necessarily Derek Henry. He's gonna be able to just.

Speaker 1

Run rushot over everybody.

Speaker 3

He's not, you know, like Christop McCaffery, who's gonna be able to speed past too. But he does have a little bit of both, I think, and plus like he has a really tough guard, especially on third and short. I think that's that's really where his value uh brings a lot, Like it's just because he's able to keep the change moving and keep the momentum going. I think that's that's so big for this offense. And I hope he's able to play because I want I love watching

him run. And two, I think this offense is a lot more exciting and a lot more fun. Uh when when you have a talented gaal, I'd be riving there the backfield, even though Rodriguez assuming he if he does, you know, if he does have to play, and there's some some things with the roster that have to go for they have to happen for that to be a reality. Uh, either way, we'll see what happens. We're gonna move on

to the final question. Uh, you guys are tied. Uh So there's that, but we're this is all gonna come out of the last question here. And obviously there's gonna be a lot of really key players for the commanders to have to to account for. One of them on offense we were I talked about would be George Pickens. The second one will be TJ. Watt, who is. I think a lot of people put put him with the odds on favorite to win Devensive Player of the Year.

He's just been that explosive, just been just that good as we all expected from Galla TJ Watt. So, Logan, we'll start with you first, very just binary question here.

Speaker 1

Who do you think is more important for the Commanders to account for and stop on Sunday? TJ. Watt or George Pickens?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I mean we talk a little about George Pickens at the top and when he brings to the offense in terms of his ability to maximize those contests to catch opportunities. So I definitely think it's important that you regulate him. But in terms of who the Steelers want to be, what is their identity to their core, they're a defensive football team, and who leads the defense at

TJ Watt? And again, he's not the most prolific or effective down to down pass rusher, but against some of the best pass rushers I ever played against in my career, they understand the moment, they understand when to take their shot. And in watching him, watching his sacks from this season, it's I haven't seen someone this year studied someone this year that understands that better than t J. Watt. He understands when to take a shot, and when he takes

his shot, he usually connects on it. He leads the NFL with four force fumbles, like their impactful plays not only in terms of the sack, but in terms of turning the football over. So to me, you know, are the thing that drives this team right now is the offense. Who helms the offense? It's Shadon Daniels. How do we keep him upright? How do we keep the offense efficient?

And that to me is managing t J. Watt, managing High Smith, managing Nate Herbig if he does end up playing like those three pass rushers, all need to be managing. And the guy that kind of helms the ship, the leader of the horsemen of the pass rush in Pittsburgh is TJ. Watt. Definitely to have a plan for him, whether that's ship, help slide, help minimize his impact on the game and let Jane Daniels do what Jade Daniels does. So to me, he's the guy that needs to be accounted for on this game.

Speaker 3

And to your point, I think the commanders have done a very good job against He's you know, really solid pass rushers. You know, dexel Ourent didn't record a pressure last week again with the Giant, Miles Gear didn't scord a stat at all. He was basically a non factor for the Browns a few weeks ago. So yeah, I do feel really confident about what how they offer THEE can handle TJ.

Speaker 5

Why all right?

Speaker 2

Now?

Speaker 1

The same to you George Pickens or tjy.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I would say TJ. Watt Pickens is good, but I don't know that anyone can argue realistically that he's the best receiver in the NFL. You can make a compelling argument that Watt is the best edge defender in the NFL. He's so good, He's been so good for years now. You know, you mentioned his ability. Logan did about like recognizing the moment. If you go by overall

PFF grades in fourth quarterers, TJ. Watts is not ninety three point three for this season like he has been at his best in clutch time, in winning time, as Dan Quinn has been calling it. So yeah, I think you got to stop what He has the ability to take over a game, which is not something you can say for a lot of defensive players in the modern NFL. But what certainly can do that? Now you just mentioned

and Zach, I think a key point. The Commanders this season have done such a good job against some of these elite defense in alignment. When you look at Miles Garrett, when you look at Dexter, Lawrence, Cliff Kingsbury has shown an aptitude for coming up with a plan to neutralize these guys. Now, I'm not assuming that that's gonna happen with Lot Again, he is really good, and the Steelers have other good edge defend. There's two including just having traded for a guy we know well in Preston Smith.

But you know, if you can have another game in which Brandon Coleman does a really good job at left tackle and you give Coleman help, he could get some help in that win at the Giants. But you know, maybe you can survive what doing what he does because he's gonna have his moments like he's going to win his share of reps. I think that's pretty obvious. But do you allow those one reps to wreck you or are they more Okay, he pressured you, but.

Speaker 5

You were able to survive that snap.

Speaker 4

So I think that's gonna be key, but what is a special player and the commanders are going to have their hands full with them, no doubt.

Speaker 3

And you know, you mentioned Cliff and I think one of the one of the more fun things that I that I've enjoyed over this of the season is watching Cliff Is come of these really unique concepts in terms of slide protection, in terms of chipping, in terms of just insulating this offensive line in ways that you know they I mean this, this is one of the one of the worst in terms of allowing sacks last year. Obviously there were other factors involved in that, but this year they've they've been I.

Speaker 1

Mean really really good.

Speaker 3

And there's a lot of other things for that, but like the players themselves have also been very solid. All right, So winners. You know, it's a very very close matchup, you guys, very close, but I think I have to go with Logan. I have to go with you. I think you're the You're the winner here. Do you have any parting words of victory for us?

Speaker 2

Well, just Al was a great competitor day, a lot of good points. Learned a lot from his insight today, So thanks Al for all that, and Zach, thanks for having me on the show and looking forward to be back soon. It feels good to come out of here in such an illustrious competition with a victory.

Speaker 3

Professional as always Hopefully like the Commanders will be coming out of this weekend with another win, a four straight win going to eight and two Radi inter Divisional play, the harder Divisional play with another matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night football, which we will not be previewing guys, so we'll be skipping the next week's we'll be heading our next time you hear this will be

against the Dallas Cowboys in that preview. But be sure to rate, review, subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts.

Speaker 1

And this has been the beatdown

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