Talkin' Ball with Pat Leonard

Giants-Commanders Preview with Logan Paulsen: Jayden Daniels, Daniel Jones & NFC East showdown

Duration:: 38m
Broadcast on:: 13 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

Former NFL tight end Logan Paulsen, a sideline analyst for the Washington Commanders, joins New York Daily News NFL columnist Pat Leonard to break down the X's and O's of the Giants' Week 2 road trip to face their NFC East foe in Landover, Md. Paulsen shares insight on Jayden Daniels, Austin Ekeler, Dan Quinn, Kliff Kingsbury, Joe Whitt Jr. and the Commanders after their Week 1 loss at Tampa Bay. And Paulsen and Leonard project how the Giants and Washington will stack up in this pivotal early game. SUBSCRIBE to the @PLonNFL YouTube page to get the latest Giants updates and news delivered directly to you, and to participate in regular LIVE Q&A chats with Pat. Purchase a Super Chat or Super Sticker to have your comments elevated to the top of the feed and have Pat answer your question FIRST! Watch the full video of this @Bleav podcast on Pat's YouTube Channel. Find Pat also on 'X' (@PLeonardNYDN), Instagram (@PLonNFL) & TikTok (@PLonNFL). Talkin' Ball with Pat Leonard is brought to you by MyBookie. It’s MyBookie’s 10th year anniversary, and they’re rolling out the red carpet for bettors, including Risk-Free Thursdays and weekly no-sweat bets all season long. Make your Football season a winning season with MyBookie! Bet Anything, Anytime, Anywhere. Talkin' Ball with Pat Leonard is also sponsored by @BoomChaga and @Estate98Coffee. BOOM Chaga Mushroom SuperDrink is a natural extract loaded with anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting antioxidants and heart-healthy compounds. Go to BoomChaga.com and use the code TALKINBALL25 to get a 25% discount on your first Subscribe and Save Order. Estate98 is an all-natural, specialty coffee with no sugar that is convenient for the on-the-go coffee drinker. Go to estate98.com/talkinball to get a special buy one, get one free deal.

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Commanders, Giants, Logan Paulson, the former commanders of Washington and NFL tight end, who now covers the team down in Washington is going to join us to preview Jaden Daniels, the Dan Quinn defense, and how this matchup stacks up in the NFC East in a must-win for Brian Dable, Daniel Jones, and company. So we will get right to that fantastic interview. First one to tell you about my bookie. It is my bookie's 10th year anniversary. They're rolling out the red carpet for bettors, big bets, and big confidence with a no, with a risk-free Thursday bet. If your boosted bet doesn't hit, you'll get more money back. Right now, I'm focused on the betting line of this game. The betting line of this game started open at minus two and a half, commanders favored. Now it is down to minus one and a half. It's moving toward the Giants. Interesting development there, especially coming off a week one where the Giants did not score a touchdown. Due to sharp, no something we don't. 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And if you use the discount code TalkingBall25 or access it through the QR code on your screen, you'll get 25% off your subscription. First, subscribe and save order on the site. Right now, that means a month's supply costs you only $30. Start feeling the difference today at BoomChaga.com and brought to you by estate 98 Coffee and All Natural, specialty coffee with no sugar that is convenient for coffee drinkers on the go. It takes me less than 10 seconds to make a delicious estate 98 ice coffee and only a minute more to make a hot coffee or latte from this All Natural Concentrate. Go to estate98.com/talkingBall to get a special buy one, get one free deal. And now to our conversation with Logan Paulson previewing the giant trip to Washington. All right, welcome to another episode of TalkingBall with Pat Leonard, previewing the giant's commander's week two game down at Washington. Grateful to have former NFL tight end, Logan Paulson on the program. He's a radio in-game analyst on the sidelines down in Washington with the commanders also has podcast, the take command podcast and the command center podcast does great work. Logan, thanks so much for being here, man. - Thanks for having me Pat. Looking forward to previewing this football game. - No, me too. So I want to start off on the betting line. And here's why. It opened that two and a half, minus two and a half commanders, favorites over the giants. It has moved toward the giants, Logan. It has moved to now minus one and a half commanders. So it's moved the full point in the giants direction. I was at the giants week one lost at the Vikings of the game score touchdown. I am struggling to understand why this is moving in the direction of New York. Is there anything on the commanders in that you think explains that? - Yeah, I think there's like this national narrative about the defense specifically for the commanders now. I think there's this national perception that they perform very poorly. And so I think like when you listen to other betting shows, like that's what they're talking about, right? Is how bad the Washington commander's defense is. I think that's a little bit overstated after watching the film and kind of reviewing the all 22. And also, I think there were some limitations to the offense week one. And again, I think, you know, with the young quarterback, Jane Daniels is gonna kind of go through some growing pains. But I think there's this perception that it was really bad versus Tampa Bay. I think Tampa Bay is a better football team than one to give him credit for. And so I think that there's been like a kind of a three, four, five days of conversation about this game that is maybe swinging that. You know, I've got a buddy who calls me and we talk betting lines all the time. He's like, every national betting show is just crushing us right now. So I think there's a little bit of that going on is that we the media are kind of pushing a certain narrative for sure. - Interesting. Yeah, no, it was, it was noteworthy to me, our sponsor here in my bookie.ag. I saw it move and I thought to myself, well, Darius Layton's in the concussion protocol now for the Giants, that's one of their weapons. Why are they being given more of an advantage? I'm glad you kind of clarified that for us as far as what the perception and the narrative is. So let's dive into it and start with the quarterback. Rookie quarterback, obviously, it's gonna be difficult for any rookie right off the bat. But it looked like Jaden Daniels did some damage to rushing touchdowns. You were there. I want to know from your vantage point, especially as you project towards the Giants, what did Jaden do really well? What does he have to work on? And how do you feel like he stacks up against the York? - Yeah, so I think Jaden did a great job. You know, the great jobs probably strongly did well in his first outing. I think that Todd Bolz defense is pretty dynamic. Seeing it live in a living color, that's a group that's played together quite a bit. They're very complicated in terms of the pressure packages they're bringing. They do a good job disguising coverages. And I think that pressure early on kind of unsettled him. You know, he's a guy that is cool, calm and collected. I've been able to interview him and talk to him a bunch of times. Like really just got the right kind of demeanor for the position. But, you know, I felt like he was kind of rushing through some stuff, you know, not being super aggressive as a passer throwing the football. And again, we haven't seen that from him in training camp. So it was a little bit of a surprise to see that, but he was able to kind of cover up some of those issues with how he ran the football. And I think you see kind of always wondering because he didn't run a 40 coming out. Like how's his speed going to translate? And he looked fast. He looked in and fell fast. And, you know, it just raises the floor of the offense. So I think looking again, looking back at the all 22, I think there was a lot of opportunities that if you were to talk to him, he'd say, yeah, I got to be more aggressive here with the football. And I think the matchup for him against the Giants, it's going to be really advantageous because the Giants, while a very good defense and while a game plan defense tend to be a little bit simpler in terms of coverage structure and disguise. Now, if I'm, you know, Shane Bowen's, I'm going to be a little bit more aggressive in terms of the pressure I'm bringing. I'm going to spy the quarterback. I'm going to bring some line stunts, all that kind of thing, all the stuff that was effective week one, I'm going to try and adopt some of that going into week two. But I do think, again, the simpler coverage structures, the clarity in the back end, while challenging, I think we'll make it a little bit easier for Jay and Daniels to really uncork the football. That's a really interesting point by you, which is the Giants plan should be to do something they haven't been doing all training camp. - Yeah, really. - Something that they're not coaching their players to do anymore. So that's pretty interesting. I do think Isaiah Simmons played no snaps in the first game. He's not happy. He's a guy who is athletic and is a good blitzer. So I would expect him to be involved more. Also, Jason Pinnock, their safety, who he's on the back end, he's up in the box sometimes, but like one of his best things he does, really the best thing he does is blitz. So to me, I totally agree with you. That's what they should throw at him. But like you said, it sounds like you're saying in camp, he was throwing the ball deep and doing it well. And I saw him just miss that one, the McLaren too. That looked like a pretty good throw. I mean, it didn't miss by much. My question for you now is stuck out to me right away, you said, you like his demeanor. So how did he process like a loss? How did he process the fact? How did he react to, you know, I didn't put the passing game on the field that I wanted to. - Yeah, I think the thing about him that I love and it's just great being, you know, around him is that he's so gosh darn competitive. Like in the preseason game, I forget, oh, it gets the Jets. Like they were losing. And he has to go back in the game because he wanted to win the preseason game. Like he is pretty locked in from a competitive standpoint. And again, like he's one of those guys like when you're around him, you realize like why he's the second pick in the draft. Like people gravitate toward him. He's calm, cool and collected. He hungers for greatness. Like he's the first guy in. Like it's the middle of the off season, you know, we're in OTAs and he's getting there at 5.30 in the morning to prep and study and make sure he's on top of his stuff. So if there's anybody that's going to figure it out, it's him. And again, he's such a tremendous athlete. He's got such arm talent. I'm not saying like, you know, he doesn't have the biggest arm in the world but he can layer throws. He's got this lightning quick release. He's got great footwork in the pocket. So I think, you know, kind of once he settles in and gets used to the speed of the NFL game, I think you're going to have somebody who could be very special at the position. And again, like it's all developing. It's all got to kind of come together. But he's got all the traits you're looking for. And hopefully he figures it out sooner rather than later. - Giants fans are going to have serious FOMO. They already know obviously that they will accept. Yeah, let's go up and get him. Like if he's turning it on in this home opener for Washington against the Giants. I mean, it's bad here already, Logan. Like it's really bad. One thing he, I saw you had three fumbles, but none lost. Was the ball security, like is that an issue coming out? Or was that not all on him? - Yeah, I mean, two fumbles. I think one of them, one of them was a lateral that didn't get picked up. And again, that kind of speaks to that accelerated process. Like he kind of flew through his progression through the ball to the back. The back wasn't quite ready for it. It was a lateral. He had one kind of in the plus 40 area of the field where there was a little bit of internal pressure. He'd step back in the pocket and wasn't great with the ball in terms of security. So again, like he's a young player. There are some issues you're going to have to navigate with ball security. He's getting used to the speed of the NFL game. Like after the Miami game of the preseason. He said, you know, he kind of took a little bit of a hit on a quarterback design run. And he said, like, I'm just getting used to how fast everybody is and how quickly things close. And I think you saw that definitely with the second fumble. Like he just, he thought he had more space in the pocket that he did. But again, like he's a guy that the more you watch and the more you're around to be realizing, he's going to do everything in his power to make himself a better football player. And I think that's something that's really exciting. - Is the usage of Echler and Robinson in the past game on these screen passes or dump offs? Do you think that is going to continue against the Giants and beyond as far as what they're emphasizing in the offense? Or do you think Jaden was even taking those a little bit more because he's, he's acclimating? - Yeah, I think that's a really good question. I think obviously those are true, you're better football players on the offense. Austin Echler and Brian Robinson. I think you want to get them touches in the run game in the past game. I think when you see Brian Robinson catch the football, he's 6'2", 6'3", he's 230 pounds and he can run and he moves with really good dexterity. So he's big old house man. And when you walk in the building, you're like, is that a defensive lineman or a defensive end? Oh no, that's Brian. He's a big guy. And so you want to get him involved as a playmaker. So like I have no problem with him working the underneath stuff. Austin Echler kind of checked down that he turned into a 30 yard gain in the first game. Like he is a compact, strong son of a gun who's played a lot of football. He's good at blitz pickups. Like they're both really good players. And my objective or my motivation, if I'm Cliff Kingsbury is to get good football players on the field. And the other thing about the running backs is they create and they draw really favorable coverage match ups, right? 'Cause you're not going to put your starting corner on a running back. You're going to put a linebacker or safety. And I think both those guys, Brian Robinson and Austin Echler can win that matchup. And with a young quarterback, you're always going to be hunting for those match ups. You know what I'm saying? And so I think, yeah, get those guys on the field as much as possible. Not just in the screen game, but in the passing game in general. - That's where I think Isaiah Simmons is a key for the Giants. And like I said, he didn't play it all in week one. So it would kind of be interesting to be relying on him a lot, but probably remember Wink Martindale used him specifically, not only as a blitzer, but also to specifically cover running backs on third downs. When they were there in Washington last year, he had the pick six obviously to seal the game in a 50-4 yard interception return. But that's what I'm watching Logan, because the Giants linebackers, like O'Karake is a good linebacker, better in run than pass, but he can do a little bit of both. But their second linebacker on the field, if it's not Simmons, whoever it is, can not run with the running backs on Washington. Was Echler, did he only get two carries because they were behind? Or do you think it's going to be a bulk of Robinson because just he's a good runner? - Robinson's, I think, you know, people don't know him because he's not like a national name yet, but he's a special athlete, you know, he's big. Like I said, he can run, he's got good vision. So I think if there's a guy you're going to kind of want to feature in your offense, it's going to be him. And I think a great change of pace is going to be Osaneko. I do think if I was a betting man, I think they want to feature him more in terms of carries and more touches. But again, game flow was a little bit unique in the Tampa Bay game and that they were behind early. And so they had to change their philosophy, I'm sure. Again, I haven't talked to anybody about that specifically, but I would assume that they want to get those guys, as many touches as they can, you know, them. And then obviously Zach hurts the tight end. All again, because of the mismatches that they're able to draw in the past game. - Some good Austin Echler fantasy advice there, Logan Paulson, who by the way, you did your most damage in your career against the Giants. - Yeah, I don't know what that would be. - I don't know what that would be. - That would be your touchdown. I think you played them like the most of any team too. - Yeah, I don't know why that would be, but yeah, I always had pretty successful outings against the Giants. - It's a good memories for you. - Is there a thing in Washington, like up here, the Giants are one and eight in their last nine against the Cowboys and Eagles, but you know, Daniel Jones really doesn't have success against many teams. He does against Washington. It's the only team in the division they beat. Is there a feeling in Washington of like, we're tired of this, we're tired of, you know, losing the bulk of these games especially more recently against the Giants, or do they not look at it like that? - Well, I think the apps, I mean, when you talk to every beat reporter here, it's like you, they all have their own podcast. You all talk to them when you're at practice or at the games. And it's like, yeah, man, I think we should really beat the Giants, but we never beat them like whatever it is. And there's a frustration in that group and there's a frustration amongst the fan base. But I think the great thing is that, you know, Dan's like, this is, I can't speak to what happened in the past. This is a new era. I think that's very exciting to hear a coach kind of just say, I don't care what they've done in the Ron Rivera, Jake Gruden eras, like we're moving on and we're gonna, you know, present a different product. So I think that's refreshing for fans to hear, kind of not to be beholden to this, the curse of the Giants, so to speak, but definitely the fans, the beat reporters, that's all we've been talking about that here all week, so. - I was joking with somebody yesterday that someone needs to do an oral history of Darnay Holmes, wrapping his arms around. Who was that? Why receiver was that? The Ami Brown and the other one? - Oh, yeah, that's right. That's right. - Someone needs to go back and just do an oral history or that's ridiculous, non-caught every single day. - Yeah. - You mentioned earlier, you mentioned about Dan and then we were talking about Cliff earlier. This is of course, like you said, same logo, but new staff, new team, new era. One thing that cropped up for the Giants in week one that was alarming is with Martindale out and Shane Bowen in and out Debo as play caller, they did not have a schematic coaching advantage in the game, like Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores basically coached the pants off of the Giants staff. And so what I'm wondering from you is, when you watch the game in week one and you've seen this staff kind of take hold, right? And you have Dan essentially running the defense and then Cliff running the offense. Do you see a coaching staff that you feel like in Washington can be way more of a schematic advantage than that organization has had in the past? And how do you see them stacking up against Debo Bowen? - Yeah, I think, you know, obviously Joe with Juniors calling the defense, it stands defense in terms of like lineage, but Joe with Juniors calling the defense. And, you know, we've had a very specific style of defense here in Washington for the last four years. It's been four down. We're going to play some type of quarter to cover six. And we're going to rely on our front four to get after you a little bit. That was not the wing Martindale week one experience. I think he did a great job of knowing when to bring pressure, understanding how to kind of create different rush angles for the defensive line, which is again, something we didn't see a lot. They played a little bit more aggressive man, a little bit more press man, in certain situations, then we'd seen, which was basically zero prior to this, right? So I love the variety. I love the kind of different coverage structures. Again, there were some communication issues with some young football players in the back end. They led to explosive plays. But I do think I'm excited about what that staff's doing. And I think the other thing that's exciting is they have a very clear defensive league, very clear vision for who and what they want to be from an energy effort and compete standpoint. And that is also very refreshing. So again, like schematic advantage in the NFL, I think, obviously, Dave Ball is an extremely bright dude. Kafka have always been impressed with how he calls plays. So I think they're smart. I think that's the biggest lack in the NFL. It's overreacting, excuse me, to week one football, because they're all good coaches. You know what I'm saying? They're all great coaches. Shane Bowen to me has been one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL of the last couple of years, 'cause he's just able to pull water from stones. Like, if you look at the talent down in Tennessee over the last three or four years, like, it's been a tough group of times. And he's always managed to keep them competitive, especially in scoring metrics. It's like, oh my gosh, he's been off the charts. So I, you know, this is NFL, man. Those are competitive sons of guns. They're gonna come out with their A game this week. And so I think every coach in the NFL, I mean, obviously the exceptions to this are certain coaches that don't appreciate, but I definitely appreciate the Giants coaching staff. And I think that what Cliff's gonna bring offensively will be different than what he brought, brought me one, 'cause they're gonna grow and mature. And I think Joe Wood Jr. is, I'm very confident he's gonna have that group ready to rock and roll. So I really can't wait to see the matchup and see all the wrinkles added after the week one. I'd say disappointing performances from both teams. - This interview with Logan Paulson on talking ball with Pat Leonard is brought to you by my bookie. It is my bookie's 10th anniversary, 10th year anniversary, and they're rolling out the red carpet. Four betters, risk three Thursdays, weekly no sweats, win-win bets all season long. Sign up now. You can literally double the cash in your account with deposit bonuses before you even place your first bet. If you're already a mybookie.ag, subscriber who's been playing on the site, there's a new loyalty rewards program. It's called mybookie plus helps you unlock exclusive promotions, giveaways, and cash back into your account. Up dog ups, underdog upsets, back to our covers, shoot outs between contenders. My bookie is there to help you cash in on every moment. Go to my bookie to win this football season. Bet anything, anytime, anywhere. 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You talked to Bobby Johnson yet about facing this team here. - No, I have not talked to him yet. He seems like a nice guy though. Do you know him at all? - Yeah, yeah, he's a classic O line, like intense, loud booming voice, loudest guy on the field when you're watching practice type thing. Players love him. Yet one of many, I mean, Logan, I know you're aware of this turnover up here, but like in New York, I think when Bobby got fired, it was they now hired Carmen Barcillo. He is their eighth O line coach in a decade. - Oh my gosh. - So what happens here is they turn over the coaching staff, but the problems at root still exist, right? And so, you know, he got a role at the O here. He was a day balls guy. And then, you know, he ended up with, along with several others, getting scapegoated and a lot of other coaches left. But obviously an interesting potential revenge angle. But on the line specifically, you know, you mentioned you think like the giants defenses that play the commanders should try to bring pressure even more so than what phones used to. He does like to, however, send the front four at the offensive line and get pressure that way. Think of like, you know, solid does with the Jets for example. So in your mind, I know we've only seen one game of football, but you think Burns, Lawrence, Thibodeau, and whoever is coming with them is a problem for this Washington O line. Because up here, the perception is the Washington offensive line is susceptible to a better game from the Giants pass-wishers than they had against Minnesota, but how do you see it? - Yeah, I mean, I think the Washington offensive line is somewhat underrated. It's like kind of on that crazy pendulum. Like they're not the best offensive line in football, but for some reason now everyone thinks of them as the worst offensive line in football. And I think one of the things I appreciated about Cliff, least week one, is he did a good job of calling a game to keep those guys out of too many high leverage situations. And obviously when you have Jayden Daniels, who can move around a little bit, you are incurring a little bit more risk for the offensive line, but you also promote an escape ability. You know what I mean? And I think when you saw that in week one. So when it comes to the defensive personnel, I mean, I think Dexter Lawrence is about as good as you get on the defensive line. He's the best nose guard in football. He's kind of in the top five in terms of disruptive players on the front. Like he's definitely a problem. And so in terms of guys, you got to scheme around and understand where they're going to be. To me, he's the guy, when I watched the film from last year as well, that makes that defense go, right? He's going to create pressure. He's going to be stuck in the run game. And because of the way he compresses the pocket, I think he adds value to Thibodeau, who's been to me somewhat up and down in terms of pressure numbers. Obviously, his sack total last year was very, very high. But the pressure numbers don't seem to reflect or match statistically or analytically those sack totals, right? And obviously Brian Burns has been, you know, a little inconsistent, I'd say, you know, like he's a good football player. You definitely see the athlete. The pass rush juice is live. And so I'm not going to say, I think what I'm saying is like, while Thibodeau, again, the pressure numbers don't reflect the production and Burns has been a little inconsistent. I think having the extra Lawrence in the middle becomes incredibly problematic because the pocket depth, you lose pocket depth. And then those guys are just so prolific off the edge. I do think it can be problematic. But I think Cliff Kingsbury, it's back to my personal point, can call an excellent football game and insulate those guys and keep them out of a little bit of trouble. Now that's challenging, but that's why you get paid the big bucks to be the OC. - Interesting, very interesting. I think that's an excellent point you made about Thibodeau, which is, yeah, you could, my dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big row as man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laughing me to this day. - Not everyone gets B2B. But with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com/results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. At Sprouts Farmers Market, you'll always find fresh at the center of the store. Come in to discover a huge selection of the season's best produce, bursting with flavor in every bite. Explore thousands of better-for-you products for every dietary lifestyle, from plant-based and organic to gluten-free and keto-friendly. Scoop up your favorite bulk nuts, fruits, sweets, and more. Perfect for baking or snacking. Visit your neighborhood sprouts today to explore healthy products down every aisle. Stay inconsistent or not production in one game. But what your point is, even when the sack totals are up, the pressure is not consistent enough. He actually pressured the quarterback on only one of 20 pass rush naps. - That's tough. - Against the Minnesota Vikings. That's the number five overall pick. By the way, you mentioned Dexter Lawrence. He's good friends with Cleveland Feral. - Is he really? - On their Clemson days. - That's nice, yeah, I'm thrilled with that. - On the defense over there on Washington, I was talking to Tim about that yesterday. He actually told me the Giants game ended earlier than the commander's game on Sunday. So he went right to watching the game because it's the next opponent, but he was also watching Cleveland play because they're good friends. So that takes us to the defense. You mentioned this right off the bat when I asked you why are people having more faith in the Giants right now? And you said this perception about the defense. So let's dive into that. You mentioned Joe Wood Jr. And his ability to be multiple, and it's a different defense, and you like how he calls the game. Personnel-wise though, like we know up here, we know Jonathan Allen, we know Doron Payne, we know Bobby Wagner, even though he's older, we know the pedigree there, linebacker, but where is the perception that they are not a good defense coming from? And where do you think it can either get better or there are weaknesses that the Giants could attack? - Yeah, I think when you look at that first game, I think you gotta give a lot of credit to Liam Cullen, the defensive coordinator for Tampa Bay. I mean he was excellent, like totally in his bag. You know, he's kind of this Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, disciple. They're in multiple different looks. He's adopting motions and shifts from Miami. Like they come out, they run a lot of Wham and Trapp that really, I think caught the commanders off guard a little bit. And then because of the motions, because of the tight formations, it really challenged some of the land rules in the back end for our young secondary. Like we're starting a lot of young football players, Emmanuel Forbes, second year player, Quan Martin, second year player. Mike Sanders still isn't rookie, obviously. He's been tremendous in training camp, but you know, he's a rookie. So I do think that the rules and the communication in the back end wasn't where it needed to be and it led to some explosive plays for Tampa Bay. So I think, you know, one of the things Dan has been emphatic about in his pressures this week is that was not who we want to be, and that's not what we want to be about from a communication standpoint. I think if you can get that communication clearing up, they're gonna be much more effective in the back end. 'Cause I think this staff, you know, Benjamin St. Juice is the end of the corner on the field. He's a veteran, I think this is your five or six form. I thought played some of his best football, you know, like that I've seen him play. And again, he got burned for a touchdown by Mike Evans, but he was competitive. He was instinctive. - He was in the club. - Yeah, right, everybody, right? So I do think that there is a lot of growing that the defense needs to do, which is why there's this narrative about them, but I do think they've got guys and coaches in place that can help those guys grow. So I'm really excited to watch this game against the Giants, 'cause I think the Giants, when watching their offensive performance, had opportunities, but they just weren't as detailed as they could have been in terms of route spacing, route depth, protections became an issue at some points in those games. But I think they have a kind of an interesting or an intriguing group of offensive playmakers. And I'm just curious to see the matchup and see if Washington's secondaries grown, and if the New York skill position guys have kind of detailed up that offense a little bit. - Interesting. Yeah, the Giants really struggled to run the ball. They're actually kind of trying to find their identity still without Saquon Barkley, you know? And it's like, you described kind of the tight formations and the ability to run the ball for Tampa that then challenged kind of some of the man rules on the back when they went past and play action in Tampa. And the Giants just never got to that point with Minnesota where they could force the defense out of what it wanted to do with the run game. And so that's a huge thing I'm watching here. So Feral and Armstrong at the ends, you know, we're used to obviously coming down there over the years and seeing, you know, Montez sweat being a pretty consistent presence in the backfield. And then when Chase Young was there as well, we know pain and Allen are good players and tough players and they'll provide pressure in run and past game. What did you see from Feral and Armstrong in week one? Do you think that they can challenge those tackles? I mean, Andrew Thomas was excellent in week one of past protection. Jermaine Alumino on the right side over the Giants. He and Van Rotten, that right guard, they were leaky and struggled in past bros. So I guess I'm wondering if you think their front four can take advantage in pass rush? Yeah, I'm actually a big fan of Alumino. I think he does a great job. And I think you see a guy who understands angles and positioning really well. So, you know, I think he's a very solid player. I think Cleveland Feral is a kind of power, bull, rush through, who compresses the pocket. And I think Dorrence Armstrong has a little bit more juice than people nationally want to give him credit for having seen him in person and studied him a little bit last year when he was a free agent. So I think, again, they're very different than Chase Young and Montez sweat. Those guys are, you know, one of one. They're the freakiest dudes I've ever seen in the NFL. You know, they're like, they're just freaks. But it is very different. And so I think that's where I was impressed with Joe Wood Jr. Like they were able to create more pressure with those guys than I was expecting because of the stunts, because of the blitzes, because of the one-on-ones, they're able to create through the blitz patterns. And again, I think when you, if you go back and watch that Tampa Bay game, they had a bunch of opportunities, I wanna say five or six for big sacks on Baker Mayfield. The Baker Mayfield just was in his bag in terms of being able to escape the pocket and extend plays. And so, you know, that's probably one of the best games I've seen Baker Mayfield play. But if they finish some of those pressures that were like, he was wrapped up and skating out of him, you know, that's five sacks for the game. So I definitely think there's an opportunity because of the scheme that Joe Wood Jr. is running and that Dan Quinn is running for them to take advantage of the offensive line. But again, I do think that offensive line after watching them is much improved from last year. Again, there's still a little ways to go, but I think it'll be a very intriguing matchup. - I think you made an interesting point right off the top too about what you're talking about, Jaden. You were like, he just played Todd Bowles's defense at his first end of the game. And the Bucks as a team are a good team. Like they're going up to Detroit this week. And I picked them to cover, it's a seven point spread. You know, I watch that playoff game. I mean, they went to the fourth quarter tie game. Like they were a couple of plays away like that Baker Mayfield interception. A couple of plays away from winning a game on the road in the playoffs in Detroit. So I have a lot of respect for that roster too. I think that's a really good point by you. Now, the last question about the defense. You mentioned St. Israel. You said he had a really good camp. This was a corner. So the Giants ended up taking a safety Tyler Neuben from Minnesota in the second round. I do feel like he could be a really good player. I like his mental makeup as well. But then they waited till the third round to get a corner. They took Drew Phillips from Kentucky. I was looking at St. Israel in the second round saying like, this makes so much sense for the Giants. They didn't take him. What do you think of him as a player and his ability to-- like, let's just look at Wanda L. Robinson, who's going to be in the slot a lot for the Giants. You know, is St. Israel ready for that type of challenge from what you're seeing? Yeah, I think Sanderstil is a special football player. But so is Wanda L. Robinson. I mean, he moves very well for a slot receiver. You know, he's got like kind of all the explosive tools you want from a guy on the inside. But I think Mike Sanderstil is special because of his physicality. Like, he's not a big guy, but he's physical. And his football IQ, he's very, very smart. And again, like, he struggled week one, I think, Tampa Bay knew what they were doing. And they kind of-- I don't want to say they picked on him a little bit, but they did. Just but not physically. It was more like, we're going to get in a new formation. We're going to shift to something. And you could tell that his wheels returned a little bit. He wasn't playing as fast as he possibly could. So again, I think he's a good football player, showed out in camp, struggled a little bit week one. But a guy that I have the utmost confidence in, it's going to kind of figure it out and place some good football here coming up for the team. Now, is it this week against the Giants? I don't know. But I definitely think by the end of the season, they'll have a guy who's going to hold down that nickel position for them for a long time. All right, prediction time. Panthers are 0-1. Giants are 0-1. The line's getting tighter. What do you think is going to happen on Sunday in Washington's home opener, which I actually think is an underrated part of this too? Yeah, I was about to say, the home opener thing is a big deal for me. I think the commander is going to win this football game. I think it'll be really close. It's going to be back and forth kind of exchange. But I think after week one, I think they needed that punch of the mouth. And I think they needed to refocus a little bit. And I think they're going to come out and give a much better version of the team we saw last week. And I kind of think the same thing for the Giants too. But I'm trusting in Jayden Daniels. I'm trusting in Joe Whit Jr. to kind of call a good game and confuse Dana Jones a little bit and give us an opportunity with this football game. All right, so you've got a tight game. I'm going to go 24-16 commanders. I don't have much faith in the Giants offensively to take advantage, even if there are things to take advantage of in Washington. I think it's going to start pretty low scoring, because both defenses are going to go a little bend. But don't break-ish and just try not to give up anything over top. But right as we said at the top, I think Jayden pushes the ball downfield more. I do-- it is on Cliff Kingsbury to do what he did in week one as well, which is kind of protect the line in Daniels from themselves and from the pass rush. But I think he's going to hit one or two of those deep shots. The Giants have been giving those up all summer, including during a joint practice against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets to Garrett Wilson. It was bombs away. So I got 24-16 commanders. And Logan, that's going to put a lot of heat on people in New York. It's already hot up here. That's going to put a lot of heat on people's jobs. That's why I'm glad I don't cover the Giants, man. Because you guys got a deal with all that heat. And I can just stay down here and be nice and cool with our new owner, new staff, do everything. So I'm going to enjoy that. Yeah, well said. He is Logan Paulson, nine-year NFL, tight end. He's also a radio analyst in game on the sidelines for the commanders. You can also catch him on the Take Command podcast and the Command Center podcast. Look forward to seeing you down there for the game, Logan. And thanks so much for being on Talking Ball. Thanks for having me, man. I really appreciate it. That was a fantastic conversation with Logan Paulson talking about Jaden Daniels, Cliff Kingsbury, how it stacks up against Brian Dable and Shane Bowen. Paulson has a lot of respect for people on the Giants such as Jermaine Aluminor, right tackle. Bowen's defense is what he was able to do in Tennessee. But as you saw, we both picked the commanders to win outright in the game. We will see if that comes to pass. 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You can easily pour this natural liquid supplement into any of your favorite drinks. I put mine in my coffee every morning and immediately feel the difference. I personally have felt a post-workout like Energy Boost with Boom. Chaga also has the ability to lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation and improve immune and heart health with its beta-gluten and antioxidants. Go to BoomChaga.com today to place your first order. And if you use the discount code TalkingBall25 or access it through the QR code on your screen, you'll get 25% off your first subscribe and save order. Right now, that means a month's supply costs you only $30. Start feeling the difference today at BoomChaga.com. Also brought to you by a state 98 coffee, convenient for on-the-go coffee drinkers, all-natural specialty coffee with no sugar. Go to estate98.com/talkingball and get a special buy one, get one for you deal. - Bingo. - All right, Phil, we're recording now, so it's live. Go ahead, pick on me the way that you want to. - Did I say that? I would say that to my son, man. I mean, come on, man. - Just go. - This isn't CBS. - All right, be quiet for a few seconds. Why would people want to listen to the Sims Complete Podcast? Well, a couple of things. One, if you'd like to see sons pick on their father, this might be the place. If you want to see a place where the father just kicks the (beep) out of his son, this would be the place. What do you like about it, Matt? - Ditto. Father, son, dynamic duo talking about the game of football that we love and share and appreciate together. And, you know, hey, it's an extension of what we did, right? Growing up, I was able to watch my father play football, then obviously watch him as a broadcaster. And then he taught me the game of football and share the wisdom that he learned throughout his playing career. And, you know, hey, sometimes we're a full of it. And sometimes we actually know a thing or two. Well, we do do a lot of research. At least I do, you know, you're a little spotty, but, you know, you hang in there. It's fun. I love doing this and it's been awesome. Sims Complete, check us out. Wherever your podcasts are available on the Believe Network, appreciate it. See ya. (air whooshing) - If you liked the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening. (air whooshing) [BLANK_AUDIO]