Grant and Danny
Beltway Blitz: Nate Davis on the NFL
The Beltway Blitz every day on G&D, the teams in town you care the most about right here on the fan. We're gonna go football heavy today, so let's get after it right now. Spin us around the NFL, we got our guy Nate Davis, USA today with us. Nate, why don't we get a local take from you first on Jaden Daniels and the commanders, a star-born it feels like last night, the coming-out party for Daniels. He was fun in week one, ran it a lot. He was excellent in the second half of week two, and then last night was a generational kind of incredible performance. What do you think? Generational, I mean, you want some numbers? I can back that up. We haven't seen anything like it statistically. I mean, he has a 91%, I mean, that's a great record. And I mean, he's off to, you know, a very nice start. I think he's kind of been exactly what they've needed. He's completely outplayed his peers in this quarterback class. You know, the first home we've ever seen six guys come up the board in 12 picks. So I don't think you could ask for a much better start. You know, I would warn people that, you know, this feels a little like 12 years ago. So let's not put too much of a burden on him right away. But, you know, I think this kid is living up to the bonafide and plus the fact that, you know, unlike 12 years ago, I think he's a great athlete, but I also think he comes out as a polished passer. And that's something that he's going to be able to fall back on. It may be when the legs lose some juice down the line. So, but, yeah, I've talked to you guys about it before. I mean, I think this franchise is in a really good place. And I think he's the number one reason for that in terms of this, and maybe we found it turning around after that dark quarter century. Nate, what about their opponent since that? And they've gotten off to slow starts in years past. But everyone kind of thought, I think I certainly, that was everyone. But I certainly thought, okay, this looks like their get right week. And, you know, they'll be towards the top of that division. They're now 0 and 3, and fans are pissed off. I know because we were there in the stadium last night. People were pretty dejected and disgusted. Where are they right now? Yeah, I mean, like you said, I mean, I think during Joe Burroughs tenure, they've been a collective one to nine, one and nine in weeks, one and two. But, you know, oh, what's the different deal? I think I think six teams with those three starts since 1970 merger made the playoffs. So they've got a big bill to climb. But yeah, I think there are some issues there too. I mean, Cincinnati is, I mean, the NFL is, you know, everybody shares in the pie, some degree, but Cincinnati is a smaller market team too. You know, they paid Joe Burrough. They haven't paid you more chase. It's obviously there are bad feelings there. You know, I think I think the Joe mix in. I'm jettisoning it. Tim is certainly having an effect. We saw the Trent Brown injury last night. I think this thing has potential to go off the rails a little bit. You know, we heard the trash talk. You know, I think I think that Taylor is trying to get a hold of that thing. I think there's still time given that the Ravens and the Browns are not in great shape yet either. And we'll kind of see what the Steelers are once they start facing some better competition. But there's no doubt that they're in trouble there. Nate, how about the NFC East? Maybe based on your preseason expectations, has anything changed? Have you seen anything that's all that different than what you assumed coming in? Or is it still too early after three weeks? I mean, I don't want to pound my chest wrap. But I mean, at this point, it's kind of what I expected. I thought the Eagles would be the number one team there. I thought the Cowboys would not be as good. I thought they would be a diminished product. I thought the commanders had a chance to challenge the Cowboys to be the second place team and I thought the Giants would bring up the rear. I will say that the Giants are starting to look a little bit better than I thought. I think Malik Neighbors is really showing that, you know, he might be your front runner for rookie of the year. He might be one, Jake Daniels, one eighth at this point. However, he won't slot that, but he can show him that he can take and do some things and maybe carry an offense and that defense is also maybe a little bit better than I expected. So maybe the division overall is a little bit of my thought, but mostly all these teams are kind of doing what I thought when I was sizing him up, you know, in the off season. How for reals, Minnesota? Yeah, they may be the biggest surprise in the league. I had them third today in my week for power rankings. I mean, to blow out wins and they're being a, you know, what we all know is a very good 49ers team. The question is, can Sam Barnall kind of sustain this? I mean, I mean, you're seven for him. You know, reminder, he's stuck under the Joe Barrow, but it looks like he's finally found the coach of Kevin McConnell. They can harness his ability. Good players up there, a defense that can apply for sure relentlessly. That can be a double as short of time, but I'm not sure yet. I'm ready to sustain it for a full year, given to Arnold's capacity to get close the ball sometimes. But I mean, they don't mind money, probably RV or at least he's not surprised. How about the other really surprising three and O team in the conference? The Seahawks, a little bit of a lighter schedule for them in route to three and O, but still Mike McDonald, a first year head coach coming over from Baltimore. It's done a nice job. Yeah, I mean, you can't ask for more than three and O. I mean, the winds are Broncos, you know, over time in New England and then the two of those dolphins. So, you know, I feel like we're going to get a better litmus test on them when they play at Detroit. But I think next Monday night, so I'll probably be feeling with them at that point. I mean, I kind of feel like they didn't really have the parts to run. Mike McDonald's defense the way he really wants to. I know they want to be a running team. They show they can be to some degree, but I feel like they're really built to pass the ball. I just need to see them play against Spartan competition before I'm ready to really believe the Seahawks. Nick, thank you as always, but have a great week. Thank you guys. Thanks, Dave. See you, my friend. In the fast-paced world of attacking, speed is everything. And that's where the Fuhrron 7+ shines. Engineered for accuracy and precision at a rapid pace. It's your secret weapon on the pitch. Experience, overall comfort and precise striking. 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