Grant and Danny
Jay Gruden previews the matchup against the Bengals
Jay Gruden joins Grant & Danny for his weekly Monday appearance, but this time, it's ahead of a big time Monday Night Football matchup for the Commanders against Cincinnati. Hear what Jay Gruden thinks is the key to the game for the Commanders to pull off a victory
- Broadcast on:
- 23 Sep 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
I'm going to try that game day. Burgundy and Gold, game day presented by Rude, is your cooling system letting you down, score a touchdown with Rude, an experienced peak performance, dominate the season with unmatched cooling power, and visit ruud.com if it ain't Rude, it ain't right. It's Monday Night Football, three hours, 20 or so minutes from right now. The ball will be kicked in the air, and since Sennady or the Bengals and the commanders are playing, we will be there in! Paul Brown Stadium, now Paycore Stadium, which is beautiful on the water downtown, Ohio River right across from Great American Ballpark. We're broadcasting live right now from Lawrenceburg and Indiana visiting our old friend, Thami. They've got a great watch bar and situation here. I want to tell you about some of the foods we've been eating in just a few minutes. But one of the guys who gave us some solid wrecks when we came out to Sennady was our friend J. Rude joins us now on the BetQL guest hotline. On air and on the road, J. Grude is driven by the Tedbread Automotive Group, Tedbread Ford and Chantillion Fairfax, your F-150 headquarters, Tedbread Chantillion Lincoln, and Tedbread Chevrolet in Sterling, home of Tedbread for lifetime vehicle coverage. See and shop them all at Tedbread.com. J, this place is pretty cool, man. We were staying in Covington, Kentucky right across the bridge from the stadium. So we walked across, yesterday I went to Great American. We actually got a ballpark tour this morning. And then we're getting ready to go to the game tonight. But you were here calling plays in this stadium not long ago. Pretty amazing environment down on the river on game night. Yeah, it's changed a lot. It's grown significantly. They've done a lot to it down there and it's all for the better. It's a great area down there. Great people. A lot of great places to live in Cincinnati too. It's kind of spread out. You can pick whatever type of environment you want. And they got something for everybody. It's a good family place too. Big picture tonight, J, Cincinnati, obviously pretty hungry. Oh, and two, probably shared a one last week. Could easily be one and one. What are you expecting from them and how do you think Washington will respond? Yes, they're going to be tough. You know, they get T Higgins back, which is huge. They did lose a couple of defense alignments. So they're going to have to do something to stop the run a little bit. I think that's going to be the biggest challenge for Cincinnati against Washington. Washington, Washington did a good job running a football game. Very good front for the Giants. Saw the Giants did the Browns yesterday. So I expect the Washington to run the ball and try to do what they did last week against the Giants. That's need up to clock. Keep the ball and keep burrow off the field. I think that's going to be the key to the game. Yeah, the 29th ranked run defense in terms of yards per game yards per play, I think, which is maybe a better metric. They're 18th or so for Cincinnati, but it certainly hasn't been a strength early on. So how do you expect Washington to try to exploit that on the ground? Very similar the way I've done it, you know, use formations. And then, you know, if they try to load the box and they'll flip it outside to some receiver screens and get positive plays and just maintain possession of the ball. And hopefully when they do come up, maybe get some big plays in the corner tonight. Let's see him get a couple shots behind the defense and makes big plays. But the most part J will be patient run when he has to run possessive football and good things will happen. J is as a play caller, there's that it's, you know, it's one part science, one part artistry feel and, you know, there's a million things that go into calling the perfect play at the perfect time. You mentioned that occasional shot or something to McClellan. I missed one in week number one, you know, overthrow, which happens, it's the league, but when do you feel like there's that right sense? Go into that description, right, where you go, now's the time. I feel it and they're not thinking about it. Now I'm going to take that shot to you if we can hit that home run. When does that feeling come? Yeah, it really comes early. You know, if you have some success on first down, you know, running the football, then you might want to take a shot the next first down you get. But yeah, it's just a feel for it. And I know that they scripted some plays and practice some plays practice some plays early in the week and later in the week and they feel good about three or four shot plays that they want to get off the script. You've got to be patient, make sure he sticks with the plan early, then pull out some of the dangers early later in the first quarter, early in the second quarter. Make some big plays. Jay Gruden on Grant and Danny here on the fan. One of the things that has come up in town is what is Terry McClellan really? And it's not that anyone's trying to knock him. He's a really good football player. But Danny and I were talking about a week ago, yes, he needs to be more involved. There's a lot of meat on the bone still that hasn't really been eaten on that front. But there was a time a few years ago where I think the consensus was he was a top 15ish wide receiver in football. And if you go through the list now, it's more like top 25 ish. I mean, is that because of usage lack of production because of bad quarterback play or like where are you on Terry as a player? It would seem to me, he's a guy that boxes dudes out, plays bigger than he is, makes contested catches, but it's not that often. He's not like Malik neighbors when I watch him. It's not that kind of receiver. Yeah, he's an explosive guy. He needs to get the ball in his hands. He can run after the catch. He can do a lot of different things. He's good tracking the ball, adjusting the ball, making the tough catch. He can do a lot of things. He's been kind of worn down with a couple quarterbacks that are not starting to league anymore the last couple of years. And he's had different coordinators. He had a new coordinator now. He's got a rookie quarterback now, a coordinator trying to find his way with the offense and trying to make it simple for a young quarterback. And that's sometimes the more simply you get makes it hard for a marquee receiver to move around and get the looks that he needs to get. So yeah, I think they're trying to just bring Jayden along at a slow pace and that's going to inhibit Terry a little bit from his usage as far as getting shallow crosses and slants and getting matched up to the number two receiver and trips or moving around him. Or maybe that's just not Cliff Kerry King's various beliefs. He doesn't believe in leaving a guy on one side of the field and working on that way. So a lot of variables go in to get the star receiver the touches. And unfortunately for Terry, he hasn't had a good quarterback play. And now he's got a rookie quarterback and a rookie a play call or call in place for a rookie quarterback trying to make it easy. So it's tough for a receiver to get his looks. But that's to be clear then, I think that's probably it's good to hear for a lot of people. You evaluate him as like a legitimate weapon and like an X. You think he's on that Pierre type level where the passing game can go through him. Oh yeah, for sure, for sure. And I think he can do a lot more than just play X. You know, Pierre liked to be on the ball all the time. He didn't like to be off the ball and motion around and doing all that stuff. He liked to be on the ball as an X and worked to go balls and the slants and the curls and all that stuff and the daggers. Terry, I think, is good enough and smart enough and has football savvy enough to do more. You know, you know, to put him at number two and number three and trips a motion and put him in bunches outside or inside at the point. Whatever it might be in stacked formations. And that's where Terry's really good because he's got good feel for the game, he's got good knowledge, he's explosive. Once he gets the ball in the fans, I think he's a very good runner after the catch. And like I said before, he has a speed to take the top off, which, you know, so I don't really know what his weakness is. If you have one, let me know what it is. What were your favorite ways to J. Gruden with us here? I'm Grant and Danny. What were your favorite ways, if you look up and go, my favorite target, whoever that happened to be over your years in both Cincinnati, D.C. Otherwise, where you go, he hasn't gotten going yet. What were your favorite ways to get him going? I want to be a quick screen right away. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? There's other ways you can line them up in stacks and let somebody think top off. Well, I'm a choice route and option route where you can usually read zone or bad and break it off in man or hook it up in zone or break it in. It's about five leverage and read leverages. Those are always easy ways to get in the ball and be a number two in trips. Sometimes a good spot to be because if they press number two, you can get them on the stomp phase. We used to call it. You get them on the quick slants with number three running the shallow cross. There's a lot of good ways to get Mark Heaps player of the ball. We had AJ, he had almost 1,400 yards by last year with him. Obviously, Deshawn, we took our shots with Deshawn. Jordan Reed is our main receiver there when he was healthy and obviously want to look for Crowder and Pierre. So, you know, there's a lot of times you want the covers to dictate where the balls goes. But if you have pure progression type plays, you have a Mark He receiver. You want your best receiver to be progression number one. You know, sometimes he won't get it. If you get progression number one, not to go progression two or three or whatever. But you got to get him in a situation where the quarterbacks are going to look for him. First, the covers takes it away. Then they'll go off of them, but try to get him some looks. Jay Gruden with us on Grant and Danny on the fan. We're creeping up on three hours from kickoff ahead of Monday night football. We'll take you up to 6.30 tonight and then pregame right here on the fan. So no reason to navigate away from G&D as we get closer and closer to football. What about on the flip side with Washington on the field defensively? It is a petrifying thought to think about this secondary, which has had no answers with Chase, who's ready to break out presumably Higgins, who's coming back and Joe Burrow slinging it. How would you even begin to try to put together the plan to allow the Bengals offense to not get going through the air? Yeah, I think I would feature a lot of two high fates for Mel Kuiper, just to piss him off. You know what I mean? And make Joe Burrow check the god dang ball down and try to get the pass rush. Try to get your hands up the balls. And then when he does check it down, let's come up and be physical and try to get the ball out. I don't know if they can play single high coverage and play a lot of man to man. I don't know who's going to match up with T. I don't know who's going to match up with Jamar. Shouldn't that be a big exact Moss game then, too, Jay? Sorry to cut you off, but I mean, isn't that what we're seeing around the league? Like if they play deep and make Mel Kuiper mad, that's where the run game's coming from around the league right now, right? 100%, but the Bengals have not had a very good run game. You know, Zach Moss only had like 12 carriers for 30 yards last week, you know. So it's not like they're a juggering out of running the football between the tackles. And I think Jonathan Allen and Ron Payne and Armstrong, they got to step up in Farrell. They have to step up and stop the run with white boxes. And I think they have the ability to do that. You got Bobby Wagner who can also play the run pretty well. So I think they have the ability to stop the run with white box. They didn't do it last week against single Terry, but I think they can do it. They just got to move the front a little bit on some defense alignment. Get these guys and disrupt the just disrupt the running lanes and force bro to throw on third down. And hopefully get some pressure because I don't think I don't think Washington cover the Bengal receivers in single high coverage man-to-man situations. Jay, go deep into what you've seen from Joe Burrough so far this year. We know when he's right, he's one of the best in the game, but is he right? Yeah, I mean, he played better last week, obviously. The first week is, you know, I don't know what it is with the Bengals are starting out as slow as they do. Last year they scored zero points, I think. They're too talented offensively to start out like that. I don't know if it's a lack of three season work. You know, last year Burrough had the calf and this year maybe he didn't get as many reps as he would like. Maybe a new offense alignment working together. They got a new right tackle. I don't know what it is, but they're way too talented to have quarterback as talented as Joe Burrough to start out as slow as they are. I can't put my finger on it, but I imagine we're going to start putting the pedal to the metal start tonight. Yeah, think about this, Jay. These numbers, tobacco, you just said, are pretty crazy. So five years of the Burrough era for the Bengals, they've been 0-2 four times in those five years. That's a really good football team most of that time, obviously. In week three is kind of traditionally when they've got it together. In those games they're 3-0-1, Burrough jumps up to 255 passing yards with eight touchdowns, two picks, a rating of about 97. It's like this has been the week almost throughout the entire Zack Taylor experience where they've started playing football, which is fairly inexplicable and strange, but there is a trend here, I guess. Yeah, it really is. And I can't put my finger on it because they're running the same stuff. I would think training camp and things that Joe Burrough has liked over the years. The more time Joe Burrough puts in in this offense, the more play he's going to call that he likes, especially early in the season. So it is a head scratcher for me. I wish I could have the expert piece to tell you why they struggled so badly in the first two games the last four or five years, but I don't. But I do know they have a good football team and now that Higgins is back and Chase is back at full strength and obviously Zack Moss and Chase Brown, they're another guy, Goseki, he had a good game last week. So they have the weapons for him, so we'll see if they can do it. But they can't do a lot if they're on the bench. If that's why Washington needs the main paint possession to run the ball like they did last week at the giant. Totally. You mentioned Higgins a couple of times. Go through like the actual schematics of what he changes by being back for Taylor. And just another option. You know, a lot of times if you play, for instance, a coverage quarter, quarter, half, you want a half. Usually you play the half sides of your best player. Now if you're going to play the quarter side to see Higgins, he can destroy corners. He's physical. He can do the jump balls. Obviously the 50-50 balls. He's awesome, Matt. He's good after the catch. So yeah, now it just opens up the whole field. Now you want to play cover two. That opens it up for Goseki. And you're running back to the back field. Obviously running the ball or check down. Open the middle field for those guys. So they have ways to get after you. Most teams have one good corner and they can match them up with Jamar. Not many teams have two good corners. And I know that the commander is unfortunate. They don't have probably one, let alone two to match up with these guys. That's why they're going to have to play more zone. Jake Gruden with the Sierra on G&D. Noah Brown, I want to jump on him. What did you see from him last week? You know, not a ton of targets. I don't know how many receivers are going to get a ton of targets. But seem pretty explosive, big and strong. Roll maybe this week going forward. What do you say? Yeah, I mean, I like big physical guys like that. You see what the receivers for Sam Frangenys did yesterday with his opportunities going up with Debo out. He's a very similar type guy. A guy very beneficial in a running game that can block. And I want to get opportunities catching the ball. He makes big plays. And those guys are great targets for a young quarterback. And just try to get them on pearl routes and end routes and flant routes. Those are big targets, big hands. And he can make good runs after the catch. And it's a great option to have. You know, Terry take the top off. Now you've got a big target run on the hike for all. So yeah, I like the fact that he started to step into that role as a number two receiver. I thought the Army Brown might do that. Or Luke McCaffrey. But, you know, who cares who does it. Just have somebody come in and make some plays. Jay, when you were coach in whether it was as a coordinator or as a head coach. Do you remember guys actually getting wide-eyed from Monday night football at this level or trying to do too much? Or is the Monday night thing something more fun for us that players don't really care that much about? Yeah, I've seen coaches get wide-eyed too. You know, the school is nerve-wracking. You know, sometimes they get a little nervous. We're into those coaches named Jay. Yeah, maybe. They're going to show their ass a little bit with their creativity. And the cool play that they draw up for you so they get their name on TV. You know, those geniuses. You know, so they got to be careful of that. But not really. I think sometimes when the lights do cut on, some guys do get nervous. And you see, you miss a block or whatever it might be. They try to do too much too early. That's usually the big thing. They try to do things that they're not really capable of doing. But for the most part, these guys are all pros. They play the high-level and college football. They're draft picks. They play some NFL football. And this is their time to really show what they can do. Monday Night Football is a great time to play for these guys and they should be all excited. Jay Gruden on Grant and Danny. We never really get to talk to you hours before a game. So this is something that I think is interesting for people. What is the lay of the land right now? Like we see players coming on and off the field doing their routine and walking around with their headphones on. What's the actual last few hours before the game, like schedule? And then also as a coach, do you address the team with a speech before every single game? Obviously it's not some like any given Sunday speech every time. But like are you always giving some type of pep talk or is it done kind of more by position group? Like how does that work? Typically the main talk is a night before the game. Monday nights are a little bit different because typically they have a walk through around 11 o'clock and then they'll have a lunch and they have pre-game meal, you know, three, four hours before the game. They get there and they all warm up and then right before after they warm up, the team warm up, they come in and get ready to go. And then I talk to them for about five minutes or not even five minutes, but a minute, maybe tops. Just to a few reminders, a few things that we worked on throughout the course of the week, some slogan points that we really want to focus on through the week, whether it's ball security, whatever is penalties, lack of penalties, start fast. You know, things of that nature, things that we worked out throughout the week and just remind them and have some fun and go kick the mask. So at this point, right, for the players, they've been waiting around all day. That's what's so different for these night games, right? Monday nights on the night games and it throws off your routine to a degree. Is that something that we overrated as Pudgy Zilchers on this side or is that something that actually you guys have to learn how to deal with in terms of the players part of this thing? Yes, tough. You know, you sit around a hotel all day long. That's why you try to get them up and moving for a little walk through in an old meeting for like 25 minutes or an hour. Maybe you walk through the first 15 plays again offensively and defensively make some calls for empty or some empty automatics or maybe you're having coverage plays of this three by one. We're running this covers two by two run on this and have the mic linebacker communicate it. Maybe you walk through a two minute drill just to get them up and moving. Then they go back down and rest for a little bit and obviously get to the trainer. Maybe some guys need some more treatment. It's a good time to get extra treatment. Then they go to the stadium and they're ready to go. Jay, we appreciate you. As always, great insight into tonight's matchup. Thank you and we will chat again next week. Alright, good luck commanders. I'll talk to you guys later. Appreciate you, buddy. On Aaron on the road, Jay Gruen is driven by the Tedbert Automotive Group, Ted Britt Ford and Chantilly and Fairfax. Her F-150 headquarters. Ted Britt, Chantilly Lincoln and Ted Britt Chevrolet and Sterling, home of Ted Britt for lifetime vehicle coverage. See and shop them all at Tedbritt.com. Next on Grant and Danny, what are you expecting from Jayden Daniels tonight? What do you think he'll do in Monday night football game, primetime game, number one in his young three week old career? We'll open up the phones. MGM National Harbor listening lines. 800-636-1067 on that right now. What do you expect from Daniels against the Bengals? 800-636-1067 is the number on G&D. [BLANK_AUDIO]