Sam Howell > Dak Prescott | Command Center Podcast | Washington Commanders

Welcome to the Command Center podcast. I'm Logan Paulson. Here is fred Smooth. I'm here and that is Santana Moss.

Guys, President, President, What you say when President Frederick?

President?

You guys get on that boat over memoring all day weekend.

You know, I stay off for both.

You stay up for boat.

I was waiting on Free to pick me up.

He's alive, counting.

So I got a fun game for us today. All right, it's called overthrown, underthrown on the money. Okay, I'm going to provide stats to you four players on the Commanders, and you tell me if that's way too high, if it's underthrown, or if I am on the money.

All right, gotch you?

Okay, So we're gonna start with sam Howell. Samuel Samuel Howell, Okay, sixty six point three completion percentage two and sixty yards. This nice twenty three touchdown touchdowns and fifteen interceptions. What do you think? Am I on the money? I think I'm on the money.

I think you underthrown this ball underthrown, and I think this these stat line might get him fired. You know, I'm telling you this is not a good step. This is not a playoff quarter.

Bit it's like right in the middle. It's like, you know, right around below average. It's like it's nineteen nineteen. It's like Chakoby Brissett last year.

I know, I kind of could live with this.

If we run the ball well and we got a receiver two with a thousand plus yards, I can live with it.

I'm gonna give I'm gonna just I'm gonna caut myself in the question. I think the yardage is a little low this, but I think I.

Like the picks. I don't like the fifteen picks.

But I think he's a rookie. He's a rookie player.

Yeah, but we don't want to see him in the foot before shoot him in a hand, rather before he get out there and throw a ball.

So fifteen picks overthrown, underthrown, I say did though.

I just don't like the picks.

No, I say this is under thrown, under throw.

Not enough yardage, not enough touchdown seventeen games.

Think about this. If he has two.

Thousand yard receivers Johann and McLaurin, he ain't got but eight hundred more.

He ought to get a tight ends in the running back.

I see him going more like thirty eight, thirty nine, Yes, three thousands.

I thought I could I could get on with like thirty two to thirty five.

I think you know, they gotta crawl when he walks, So I'm I'm okay with the twenty.

He was a massive passing wrong as the ball around the yard at North Carolina.

I know he did. I feel like he gonna say, are they gonna give him the keys to the car in the first year? Because right no, right now, this is the nineteenth grated quarterback in the NFL. That's what this stat line is.

And I think, I think this kid could be better, and now he.

Can be better. But what's he gonna be your one?

I don't think we're gonna spoon feed him like he's a rookie. Okay, I just don't think. I don't think coach b Enemy is gonnao. I think Coach Bingmy gonna say get out here and do your job.

So what if I told you that style line I just said, yeah, was Dak Prescott's scout stat line for last year.

And I tell you he's stunk last year.

He also missed a couple of games, So I think I think that's why the yardist number is a little low for me. Yeah right, But would you say, so what, so what does this look like for him? You said thirty five hundred? What you said? You said thirty nine nine? Classic Fredswood. I think that's an overthrow.

But here, I say just about it.

At three thousand, he's going to have a heap of touchdowns.

I say, I take some of the picks off.

I understand a young guy hasn't you know, been out there enough. He's probably going to have some of them setbacks and throw some picks. But I don't want to see fifteen, right, I mean, I'm not even gonna I'm not even gonna put that in the air in the atmosphere for him. And I don't want to see fifteen put like this.

Let me ask you something. Are these numbers good enough to make it to the playoffs?

If the defense, if the defense is the top five, twenty worst eight you've seen words, bro I have?

I mean, we didn't make it.

I've seen a super Bowl team quarterback then then throw for that many y'all we talked about.

So I'll say this. I say that this is that is a low number yardage wise, right, The defense is going to have to be like the number one rated defense and our rushing attask gonna need to be top ten.

Yeah.

I don't think either one of those things are like a lock. I think defense probably top five. I think Russian attack probably top fifteen. If that's the case, he's got to be a top he's got to be a top fifteen quarterback.

Yeah.

And I think that these numbers aren't that.

Yeah, they just not playoffs numbers, all right.

So let's move on to Diammy Brown. Right, And I just went crazy here. I just went actually, Jason Jason producer probably with these numbers. And I think Jason it slipped out a little bit. All right, So he has So if I said he had forty six receptions, right for seven hundred and twenty four yards and two touchdowns.

He's your fourth receiver. Yeah. I mean if your fourth receiver.

Has seven hundred, you are five thousand year old pass.

I mean I'll just say, YEAHD one was gonna be thrown for six thousand.

Yeah, I don't. I think this was what if? What if?

Okay, so we're thinking though, I mean, if somebody get hurt, what if his role changes? Look, I'm like this and This is my opinion. I will hope to see that he put up those numbers, but I will say, if you ask me right now today, you overthrown.

Yeah, you know.

But I would love to see.

Diami Brown go out there and and rekindle that flame that he had or that that and be able to come in because I want him to be used only for the you know, for the fact that him and Sam know each other. I want them to bring him in in certain packages and say this this thing going to too and they can't stop y'all because y'all have the chemistry y'all have you know, y'all have that history.

So I would love to see him put up those.

Now I go out on the limb and say he could lead the team in average per catch.

I like that.

Yeah, I like that. I think he is because he.

A big play hitter and he might not have the catches that the guys got, but he could accumulate enough yeards through his george.

And that's a good point because I do think when you look at Andy Reid's offense in Kansas City, the one that Ebu was a part of his each receiver had a role. Martez Valdez standing had that deep role, right, and he had a really high you know, Juju was the position, and then Tony was the gadget guy, right, so everyone kind of had their role. So I do think there is a role. I think that's a really nice kind of on the money mark throw. There is that he leads the team in yards per reception. But

Overthrown and picked off by me. You know, tip ball is aye ball.

And so the comparison, these are Darius Slayton's stats from last year, and Darius Slayton was the number one receiver for most of the season for the Giant the Giants, right, And so with the Giants, I think they had a lot of injuries and Darius Layton took on a much larger role yes the season went on. I think that's why his numbers were so high. So I think we agree. And if his role changes, if if he becomes the true three, maybe that's something that happens, but I think

I think five a good round number, five hundred, yeah, I think four.

To fifty five, Yeah, four eighty four touchdowns, four touchdowns at least because he's a deep three.

So I gotta believe it. You get a couple, He's gonna get a couple on something.

Like Aldrick Robinson back when when was that twenty twelve that was like his.

Role asy getting them things.

All right, let's go on to Johann Dotson. You're ready. I mean, I know you can see this already. So ninety five receptions.

It's a lot of receipts.

Eleven hundred and ninety six yards and seven touchdowns.

I see money on the money on the money. Wow, I like I told you, man, I think hoghy of the kid man. He showed last year that he can be a number one in anybody off How.

Many catches did Terry have last year? Seventy something, So we're just going to be on offense that much more that he can have. I have one hundred.

You got to pass thinks no.

Last year, if we just want to talk about, not talking about the quarterbacks, just talk about the opportunities, Terry wasn't getting a lot of opportunities. At one point, he wouldn't. He wanted to tell Honeke got in the game. So I tell you this. If they going the way they was going last year, if it's trending the way Johann was trending last year at the gate, and he doesn't have a set back and get hurt, you know, have a ham stream pull, he probably gonna get ninety five last year receptions.

You know what I mean I'm saying.

I mean he was number one threat at one point.

So the producer just said Terry had seventy seven catches last year.

I thought it was seven.

We got a legit guy that knows how to He's about the minutia, that love about the enemy.

Last week of practice, man, we saw him coaching the route depths.

Man just just own it to the point where every little catch matters. I watched Andy Reid turned Todd Pinkston into a go to receive.

I don't know that, That's what I'm telling you.

So at the end of the day, they know how to get while our receivers open, and we got some guys that gonna catch the ball. We're gonna be a better passing office than people think we are.

I agree, I think we're gonna be better. Also, did I tell you I saw you be you know, get after Antonio Gibson for going the wrong direction out of the huddle. Yeah last week, man, he is own it right now.

Save no wasted motion, Yeah, no wasted right.

So let me say this, So this seems just a little high to me. I mean, are we do Are we gonna have two receivers with ninety plus catches?

I think we can have two thousand yard receiver.

I think so too. But I don't think we're gonna have one ninety five catches.

One look right and like and and who's to say that Terry won't have seventy again and get what he gets and this guy have ninety something.

I think both.

What's the most receptions you had in New year, Tenna?

The most I had in your team was ninety two, I believe ninety ten.

And I was second in the league that year.

Yeah, that's just a lot. That's a lot, a lot of catches, man. So what I'll say is, I think the yardage is doable. You know, eleven hundred yards. I think that's doable. I think, I wa, I'm gonna get my range to say nine hundred to eleven hundred yards. I think that's right on the money. I think seven touchdowns feels good that that catch number just seems so.

I'm gonna keep him in the seventies.

I think if you got two number two guys that could be number one, seventy five catches each sounds.

Seventy is seventy is is is.

Beyond great to me, you know, because you can get a lot of done.

You could get you can, you can you can be really dominant with seventy sixty seventy catches.

Kelsey had ninety to one hundred.

Kitchenes had.

So if Kelsey had one hundred catches last year, what is the number two guy in Kansas City? I think that would be a really good indicator because that that offense is about as healthy as you can get.

But the quarterback also threw for five thousands, right, So that's.

What we're talking.

Juju had nine hundred yards last year, with Kelsey having one hundred.

Yeah, yeah, and you forget about you had.

Probably like seventy catches, and so I think.

I think we're gonna get something like that. One guy is gonna have ninety eighty ninety catches. Oh he had one hundred and ten catches pure so yeah, So like I think that's a little steep. So I'm gonna say. I'm gonna say for Jahan, he's gonna have seventy five catches for just over one thousand.

Can we agree that Kelsey is the chain mover, so he's.

Going to get more touches. So who's that guy in this office?

You?

Who is the chain move I think Johann is the change.

Maybe, but I honestly think to Logan gonna have a better year, just Thomas Logan Thomas.

But we know we ain't talking about you.

Yeah, but your Logan Logan Thomas would have a better year just knowing that this is his year two from that. Yeah, that knee injury, and think about it. Last year, I think a lot of stuff was forced to see him out there pressing too early.

Yeah, he was pressing a lot.

He's gonna be that escape, He's gonna be that safety net for Sam. He's gonna be that guy over the ball in the middle of the field. He's gonna be playing that role what Heineke took advantage of before he got injured, before Logan got injured, and he got such.

A big catch rady as that he's your bad he's your bad ball bringer down like he brings down bad and I.

Feel like those one hundred and ten catches that Travis Kelsey has, yeah, you know, Logan gets twenty five of those, John Bates, Yeah, John Baits gets fifteen.

Yeah, whatever it is, and Turner becomes your ribs one, right, And I.

Think that's how it's gonna go. So if I told you that johns stats had just read off where Devonte Smith from last year, what would you say?

I say, he can do it.

I know he can do it, but like, is there enough?

I just think I just think we have a we got this threesome with Samuel, and I just think they are going to divide.

Let's just say, out of these guys, I.

Know, but you really got you got three, you got two pass catching tight ends, you got a pass catching running back. I think it's just there's a lot of people who deserve touches will get touches. Yeah, And there's just there's not that many times to throw the football.

Right, four hundred completions for sam Let's just say four hundred, all right, I can go seventy to seventy.

There's one forty nothing to the top two.

Receivers, yeah, and then fifty to Curtis and you got fifty the logan, So I.

Just see the ball being dispeared pretty good.

All right, all right, So let's get to the defensive side of the ball here. Let's talk about Chase Young Sixty five total tackles, six sacks, three forest fumbles. Do you think that's on the money? Overthrown or underthrown?

I think that's underthrown. You threw a duck in there with a kangaroo. Get listen to me.

What is he Okay? What has he done so far?

This is what I feel?

Tell me, you know, like I know, motivation for football players is everything.

And pick up his fifty year options.

Just coming out for injury, seem to be there forgotten about gym that diamond, Like he's going to show back up and literally pretty much have his best year.

We always have. Our best year is on country.

But I mean, like, so I'll say this and again, I hope Chase has an excellent year. I think he's capable of having an excellent year. But what is he done recently to show you that he's cap.

I'm not gonna do it all recently. He coming out the injury, he was hurt. Yeah, he had a slow start to the second year. But like I said, we are mentally we are mentally built when people make us an underdog to outperformer.

I also think he's a different player now. You know last year you saw when he came back he was paying close attention to detail. Last year, he wasn't doing that thing that he did the year you know before he got hurt, where he was just running there trying to get sacks. Now he was set in the edge. He played within the scheme.

Last year.

You saw that.

I saw that, you know what I mean, it was glaring that and I talked to him briefly and he say, man, you know they gonna feel me this time around. And you saw you saw flashes of that last year, even with that big Fokyo brace on ye.

He was showing up in the paint.

He was showing up where he.

Needed to be at.

So just imagine a guy that had that same hunger and desire and knowing like like like Smooth just talked about knowing that, you know, he got added chip to have on his back, you know what I mean.

And the two Pro Bowl is inside the double teams. What happened inside, He's probably gonna get more one on one uh, I mean blockers this year than he ever got.

Also saying schematically though, one of the things about this defense is is that end has to rush off of the three technique a lot. It's not the defensive end show like a lot of teams here, it's it's the three technique interior player that's going to affect his ability to be super productive. I mean Montest had nine last year, right, is that correct? Nine? So doing that, I mean he had in his Pro Bowl year eight right?

Eight or nine?

Right? He gets seven?

So if he had seven in his Pro.

Bowl year and he was young and not there his playing running.

Wow, he's a little wiser. I give him. I'll give him a little more.

So what's the number one, I give him eleven, eleven.

I'll give him eleven sacks.

I'll give him around. I'll give him nine.

Or ten, nine or ten. I feel I like nine or ten. So what if I told you those stats were DeMarcus Lawrence from last year Dallas, doesn't shock.

Me because he did yeah down here that ye, yeah, he had.

But we think it's going to be chasing, gonna be better this year.

Yeah. Michael Parsons then took some of his life.

That's true, that's true, no question. All right. So now Fred your favorite yep, the secondary, Yes, let's talk all right. So nineteen point seven opponent points per game. Okay, I know that's a defensive stat but you know, I think that's a pretty good indicator of defensive production. Two hundred and ninety two opposing yards per game passing yards, that's a pretty good number. And seventeen interceptions. What do you think is that.

Seventeen exceptions that's averaged one interception a game.

That'd be pretty good.

So you're giving the team.

A short feel, maybe turning the ball over at the right time one time.

A game, but I will take that.

Yeah, three hundred almost three hundred passing yards.

I think you got to get that down about one sixty I mean to sixty.

Oh okay, yeah, talk about two sixty.

Yeah, because they're telling me in the fourth quarter you're making sure they don't get the yards. Then yeah, Like, and this what it's about. In nineteen points a game. I think that's pretty good. I think you can win like that, Yeah, queen like this. So I think these numbers are winning numbers.

What you got great numbers?

I mean I mean, if you can get that many interceptions alone.

To me, that's that's that's jumps off the page. But I definitely believe if.

A team, if you're defense holding the teams to around nineteen points offensively, you should be able to win those games. You should be in those games or winning those games.

Yeah.

So it's just for analysis purposes. These were the ego statistics from last year. Right, So they had a couple of guys with a whole bunch of interceptions at the guy Gardner with six, right, six, and they had to play with four or whatever it was said, a couple with a lot of interceptions. Do we have enough playmakers in the back end? Yes? You always talk about how he's a disruptor or he's a turnover guy, right, Do we have enough turnover guys?

Yeah?

Full look, coming off his best turnover year, Phillips is a turnover magnet. I'm giving right now, I'm giving four of six picks. That's the same amount I had my rookie year. Six pictures, my rookie has six pigs.

It's a good flex by you.

Hey, I'm just saying, at the end of the day, it will.

Be I think we got the guys to do it and defro found the ball last year. I'm looking for Cam Curll to have a bounce back year in the ball this year.

One of me tanna is Percy Yeah, if he's playing the true post, because I think he's got more range.

And then Kwan, Yeah, we're forgetting about Quan Mark got all about Kwan Yeah. I mean, I just feel like we have we have with the takes in the secondary. One of the things that stood out to me is just you know, when you have those guys up front, man, you don't have to be the best in the back end. And I think we have some better guys now at that position that's going to be able to get their hands on a lot of balls. So they better be ready.

If I was the defensive backfield, I would take my d lines down there to the offensive line and tell them to work on block because when I get my hand on the ball, y'all need to learn how to block for me.

All right. So we'll say that the Eagles played a lot of that soft cover three last year. I think that's one of the reasons the yards was so high. Jack's defense is gonna be a little bit more aggressive. Also, Philly played with the lead a lot, so they saw more passes. Yes, you are so keimn This offense provide the scaffolding you know, to stress defenses, to stress opponent offenses the same way that Philly's offense trusts.

When your offense gives you the lead.

As a cornerback, I can play a lot looser and I can go at the balls that I normally wouldn't go there. And when you play with the league, guess who else benefits? The pass rushes. The pass rushers benefits, so not a sect total goes.

That's what I'm saying. Ken the offense do that.

I think I think after first four weeks, the unpredictability of the offense, I think it's gonna keep defenses on their heels. They don't know what to study. Who are they gonna study for the first month to stop us?

Kansas City?

They true, they gonna look at Kansas City. They're gonna look for They're gonna look for indicators. You know that they're gonna look for a formation.

But it's nothing.

But the thing that's gonna be different is the skill players. The players are a lot different. So to me, I believe Kansas City made up a lot of the you know where they was lacking in with the skill position, with the quarterback just being so elusive, so damn you know able to you know, uh you know, uh, you know do some of the things you know off schedule that most quarterbacks don't.

You have these guys here. We talked about it on the field.

If you get that ball out in the timely fashion and let these guys do work. We have from pound for pounds, some of the best at their position, you know what I'm saying.

So, but also just to play Devil's advocate, because that's what I'm here for, right is they have Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, and we're talking about a guy that through for five MVP of the NFL. He elevates everybody, you know, and so I think as good as the skill position players are here Ken, Sam Howell.

I'm gonna tell you what you are, Logan.

I just feel like Sam don't have to do as much as Patrick.

When you have the guys, I'm gonna tell you who you are. I ever walked into a store down south for gas station and then you see that pickle pig feet right there on the right there on the job right there that layers pickle pe feet.

That's who you are. Nobody wants it. We all admire. We look at the pickle pig feet and this logan.

Fred, I just gotta be here to just bring you back to earth because you're saying, Oh, this offense is gonna be and I'm just saying, and I want the offense to be good. I think it's gonna be good.

I wanted to be good too.

But it's like Ken they have, they have the best player in football right now, the headsas City.

Yes they do.

All I'm saying is better scheme, better quarterback. I do think Sam Howe is better than Heinike. I know you love your Heinekee.

Now I like.

He's better than Conston Wins.

I don't disagree.

So I think that alone.

But I also think there's a potential there. There's a potential there. That's what I think is gonna happen. So with the Eagles, secondary is that we over overthrown on the money.

I think we own the money.

Okayney, you said the yards might be all high. Okay, so let's talk about this something really interesting and I'm really excited to talk to you guys about it because you guys played a lot of football better around good leaders. And this is an interesting time year because it's where leadership is kind of developed.

Yep.

What makes a good leader? Okay, and let's talk about it specifically with related to Sam Howell. How does he become a good leader? What do you need to see from him to say that, like, this is his team and he's leading it.

All I need to see from day one is how he takes command of that huddle. I can say that stands out more than anything. One of the things I give a lot of credit to RG three being that he was young. He had command from day one. We believed in this guy before we even saw him. I mean, he ran two plays and I was a believer, you know what I mean that twenty twelve season it was unbelievable because he had command and it was nothing that he said that I didn't believe he couldn't do, Like

Went out there and made a play.

So take command, you know, be show these guys that you're going to stand on everything that you say and get the right guy to ball, and trust me, you will have everybody at the palm of your hand.

You know, I got these different things in my head that I go through when it comes to quarterbacks. You know, you know about my married but you also know about my ugly quarterback clause. You know, the attractive quarterbacks are what this.

League is about.

You think he's ugly?

Who Sam? Do you think he's a truck No? I think Sam Hows is attractive tructor man.

That's all right. Now, I'm here with you, Fred, I'm supporting.

No, No, listen, I think, like Tanner said, controlling their huddle and everything else come from.

Your play say.

Everything else comes from like this is what I want him to do. I want to see that first touchdown of the year, the first touchdown of the year he throws, gonna gravitate everybody towards him anyway. He's he's and then he comes off as one of the guys. I've been around him, and he just he's quiet. He's my manner. And you know, some quarterbacks stand up with it. They want to command the room.

He's just more of all right, let me go out here, let me do my job. So I think everything gonna come from him.

But I think also if you watched him play in the preseason last year, and you watched him playing that last game, you know against the Cowboys, what he showed also that that had everyone gravitate to him as just his play making a bit. He didn't necessarily have to throw the proper pass to go out there and move the chains. He would add live and do something with his feet that allowed the office to continue to move the ball down the field. And that gets everybody ignite.

They're going to go out there and find a way to get it done.

I will say this, I think there's two types of leaders at any level of football. Right. There's the guy who's like the character leader, there's everything right, but that isn't necessarily the best football player. And they're like a fabric.

Guy that holds Kirk Cousins.

Kirk Cousins a great example, Kendrick Golson, Lorenzoe, Alexander guys who were solid pros but never kind of reached that, but really good leaders in the locker mentors. And then I think the other type leader is guys who are just ballers, Like it doesn't really matter what kind of character they have, if they're if they are helping you win football games. That grab it, that that brings people in somehow.

Let me let me ask you just didn't care?

Boy? What point we go nowhere with him?

But guess what when you give him that ball and then let him go and do his thing?

Well, what point do y'all want to see Sam RiPP into somebody?

Like? Because it got to happen.

At one point, Like, at what point does he get out of the choir zone and maybe were down twenty in the second quarter? Like, that's that's what I want to see. I want to see how he reacts and what happens when he do ripping.

I don't think you necessarily have to get that from a quarterback because I you know, I played with Mark Brunell and he was a leader amongst leaders, and Mark Burnell, it wasn't it wasn't a dull moment in the huddle. Even when it was time to be serious, he found a way to get us focused by saying a joke by saying, you know, doing something silly, and guess what

Way Reggie did something.

Then I saw how Tom did when we practiced with those guys. He was ripping you know what in them. I don't respond from quarterbacks like that. I remember Chad Pennington saying something to me and I just looked at him, like, boy, you don't even know to have I'm just I'm just I just look like this. You understand, because honestly, I don't respond from fear.

You can't.

You can't scare me into doing something. You don't do that because I'm I'm gonna be sharp.

You understand I'm coming to work, so you don't have to tell me now if I mess up. I know I messed up before you did, so you don't have to. You know, you don't have to remind me. But I don't think Sam is that kind of guy. I look at his demeanor I don't think you going to ever see him pull a guy to the side and rip

And I think that's one of the reasons why this is such a hard conversation conversation tennis, because there's different leadership styles. You know, Mark Rudell did that. Kirk had his own very unique leadership style, right, especially when he's a starter, like he would yell at guys, but he was also kind of funny. He was one of the guys, but he was all so the quarterback, right, Matt Ryan

Then that quarterback has to be solid. I mean when I say solid, he could do no wrong for him to even have that authority to yell at me, you understand, like, you better be out there, you better be pinpoint shopping everything you do. If you're going, you have to design to raise your voice.

And that's what I'm fair with Kirk Couzins. Are you ready to say that Kirk Couzins is a better banker than he is a quarterback? It could be my banker, collect But when it comes to a football player, now, where's Kirk?

Credit man?

I like Kirk? I like because so what I want to say about Kirk is like he's a guy that This is what I like in a football player. Right, Obviously I like the freak talent, right, Julio Jones, Hopkins, Trent Williams, I'm about that right. The next thing I like is dude to our overachievers who squeezed every ounce of what they had out of what they were given. And there's no doubt my mind cursed on that he's from a leadership standpoint, He's in that from a place

And one of the things I canna say about Kirk too man like he didn't necessarily have to he was so sharp. You know, I remember a couple of players that I played with him, and I play more than a couple.

I just automatically knew the ball was.

Gonna come at a timely fashion and I was gonna have a chance to do something with it. I never hesitated when he was at quarterback, you know what I mean. And that's crazy because you know, you watch them in practice and you get a chance to go through those reps and you like, get to my spot turning around beause Kurt gonna throw that, but it's gonna be right

To get on him.

I totally agree. And I think that's the interesting interesting thing about the quarterback, right, is that different kind of leadership styles lead to different results. But they gotta be sharp, they got to own it. I think an interesting guy is John Allen on this team, right, because he's got a lot of big personalities to navigate. If you were in that room, Fred, like, how would you go about that?

He don't give an f Well, this is what you gotta understand by John Allen.

He's military race, his daddy parents, mama in the military.

He's trying to know nonsense. You know, when you read raised by military payer, he's the guy to handle that room.

Man.

He cussing and fussing.

Mean, listen, that's what you gotta do, especially with them d Linen.

D Linen's are rowdy anyway, like they're rally by nature. So I think what John actually does besides the talking point, he just leaves. By example, he goes out there and kicked the ass of the guard in front of him, and he says, all right, if I can do it, you can go do it, and he holds him to a standard up. I don't care about all their talking. Show me he from Missouri, show me.

I feel you on all that he does that, but he also ripped on you. I mean, god, bleep that.

French may.

When I say I watched this dude go out to d Lineman, I'm like, hold on, that's your boy.

He was your boy five minutes ago, and you tear off into him.

But now I like that about John because that shows you how much it means to him.

I understand. And that was like.

And you can lead it a little different as a d line.

And that's what made me just, you know, admire London Fletcher because he had that same kind of demeanor. Now London was he kind of gave you his message a little differently. But if he had to say, if he had to say something he gonna say, he has said.

It might not been directly. He'll do it indirectly. But you everybody got the mess.

You remember London restarting practices. Remember that's what I'm saying.

Like I've seen him up.

He coaches with back up, He's like redoing this practice and you're like, well, you're like all right, and then all the coaches let's run it back. That's that's how he was.

And so you expect a guy like that, and that's I'm a guy from the outside looking in. You know, John could have played with us because I see the way he handled those guys. I'm like, we had some knuckle heads, yes, you know what I'm saying, especially on that D line, and it was some heads that he would have had to turn and tell him like, look here, bro, we ain't going for that today, you know. And that's why you see those guys competing and play at that level. Our D line as good as they are for no

No, I totally agree, And I think there's another example of a guy who his play supports his leadership style. He can be aggressive, he's a good player because he's a Chris and I compare him to like Kendrick for example. We all remember Uncle Keed, right, unc Uncle Keed, Like he was much more quiet and how he let do his job and like, there's just different ways to be leaders on that group. John's got a very distinctile. And then Freddie you know you're here, Manuel Forbes is here.

But because you don't like you don't like, no.

I want to talk about run fits No. So in the secondary, who's the leader right now?

Caim Curl, Kim Crow I would say Cam Curl is the undisputed leader. Fuller is the most educated, but Fuller's quiet and Curl is more of the talker.

You see him talking back there.

I see him.

I see him bring guys in and check them when something ain't going right. I see him on the sideline go talk to guys between things. So I'm gonna have to say Cam Curl is the guy, not by default.

He earned it.

And you want to talk about overachieving, he is one of those guys.

That came in and got every inch out of his table.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I go with that when it comes to just what he did play wise, you know, but if I had to look at somebody and someone to give me, give me a little knowledge of the game and a little leadership from just being a vet, you know, I will lean on Fuller with that.

I mean, we.

All measure guys by the play and say he's the guy.

You know.

I remember when I came in here, David Patton, God bless the day. He was one of the wide receivers that had just came came to winning Super Bowl with New England, and I had thrash. You remember, you know, James trash and being that I was younger than those guys. I know, I was a big money guy, but I used to let those guys speak because that's how I was brought up. You know, let my others talk, you know, and d people like aunt Tana, you the guy, we just hear it.

We just here be, you know, we want to hear disciples.

And I looked at him like that's good leadership.

It was a great leadership and I never forgot that.

And he waited till we got to meet.

He said, look here. He say, look here, we're gonna We're gonna go as far as you go. So he said, you're riding this thing. We're gonna ride with you. And I swear it made me just think, like I'm always.

Being by example.

I leave by example.

I ain't got a rod rode with you.

I don't like blowing smoke because I want to make sure that I'm always on minds and the way I'm gonna get on mine by saying less.

I've always been a guy.

I ain't gonna sit here and scare you with no words.

I don't look tough. I got a babyface, so I ain't trying to be tough.

But I'm anna hitch in the mouth and you're gonna least expect like, oh man, I didn't know that was coming. And when you hit me in my mind, I'm anamile at you and get up and say do it again. So that was my thing, the lead by example and not be the guy to go out here doing this talking, but to know that I had two older guys that I grew up watching that was, you know, down for me to do it that way, that meant a lot to me, you understand.

That kind of gives me chills, man Like, That's awesome leadership. That's so like, that's what leadership's about. Empowering younger guys to do that kind of thing. And I don't know, man like that. That's a special type of leader for sure.

Yet you gotta have them all great teams got them.

Yeah, And it's and it's names you don't necessarily think about, you know. And I think there's probably some good leaders in this locker room right now that we haven't talked.

We're not talking about Jeremy Reeves, guys leader. If you want to talk about DV, that gonna lead to Lee.

My example, he's one of those.

He did just that last year.

Absolutely. Man, that's that's a great point. All right. So time of year O T A three a lot of time with each other as a team. Do we have good stories of teams bonding? I know he probably got they gotta be podcasting print podcast appropriated. Yes, stories of teams coming together during face ree Ota. So min, mine's a little bit more chill. So like when I was older and I was on different teams, that's right, older as a player. Let's say that, all right, I would

So I remember we signed a Big Day our gardener.

This is a funny start.

We signed Big.

Day a gardener around this time, and people don't know who Darl Gardner is six eight, three hundred and fifty pals.

Every time, every time you tell, the story gets bigger. But he is a big man's dude.

Hey, listen to me. This dude, he's still growing it this say. You listen to me.

You know, I'm the jokest in the locker room. I like to have fun. So I guess he attracted to me. And then I go home and I get a knock at the door. I'm not expecting anybody in this big Darryl Gardener, and he got a bag in his hand. He literally walked in the door. I did not invite him in. He moved in my house.

Understand me. I'm a cooking breakfast in the morning for the dude dinner. I'm so scared. I had to come tell Marvin Luis, you got to get this dude out of my house. You understand, Because I couldn't get him out. So what happened now.

He forced his hand.

I told you I was in there cooking, cleaning for him. You need anything there.

It was bad for me. I was a hostage in mown house.

Yeah, that's a scary story. You We'll talk to him. No, I don't probably keep the space right, he will take.

Your house probably probably come looking for your house now, looking for him now, all right, man Fred moved moved to let me see time.

Friend and ten open their mouths. I can't wait here what they got to say. Because it's always great stuff. So if you want more good content like this, make sure you turn it every week to this podcast. The Commander's content never stops. Monday, Julie goes one on one with John Allen.

Tomorrow.

Wednesday is our flagship show, command Center and look, you can watch these sports shows on big networks, but they talk about the Cowboys too damn much. Fred, our show is Commander's focused, even when talking about what's going on around the league. Thursday, Tanna has his takes right Tanna, Oh Yes in Indy and I live in YouTube comments every Friday to answer your questions. We got something for you all week, so be sure to check it out on YouTube.

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