Grant and Danny
Which Side Of The Ball For The Commanders Will Be Better Vs NYG?
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There was a big push, a big announcement, a big look what's going on. Not only this game, the home opener 'cause last year was week one, but beyond that, weeks out in advance, they were letting people know, hey, this is working, this is happening. You're part of something, we're building. We haven't had that same energy, same excitement, but to their credit, they've sold out week one. - So that's a good thing. Last year was the Cardinals who didn't travel. So you know it was all commanders fans. This year it's the Giants, they've got fans in the area and we'll come down 95. So I will be curious to see the breakdown of the fans and the stands, but we can get into that in more detail after Sunday when we get to see some of the optics at the stadium. But if one of the two sides of the ball bounces back, who are you more confident in doing so after the clunker for the offense and the dud for the defense? We'll open up the MGM National Harbor listener lines on this at 800-636-1067 now. - This is an easy one for me, the defense. Not because the defense is good, and I don't expect it to be good, but because the Giants are that bad. The Giants offense is a worse version of Washington's offense. They don't have anything. They don't have the ability to do anything. They are low ceiling, even lower floor. They are turnover prone, they can't run it, they can't throw it. There's very little they're capable of doing. They're gonna make a lot of teams look like the 85 Bears. Minnesota I expect to give up a bleep ton of points this year. I don't think that defense will be particularly good. They looked, the 2000 Ravens called and what their stat line back. So the defense this week has an opportunity just by being in uniform to have themselves a pretty decent day. - I definitely agree that it's a great matchup for the defense and that they should be a lot better than they were. You're not dealing with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. And I think when you're dealing with really good wide receivers, with Washington secondary on the field, they're gonna get exposed. But I do think potentially the best weapon on the outside in the game is Malik Naip. - I grew that. - I mean, neighbors is gonna be sexy all year long to watch and he is a blast first down in the touchdown type talent. And again, five for 60 and change in his debut. But I'm gonna go with the other side of the ball actually in Washington's offense. And it's a similar reason for me. I thought the Giants defensively were putrid in their secondary and against the pass. They did an okay job actually getting pressure on Sam Darnold at times. But Sam Darnold always had outlets. He was able to get the ball out, whether it was checking it down or in the intermediate area. He was able to push the ball down the field at times. And by the way, Darnold, I thought was Dynamite. If you guys didn't see his first game with the Vikings, you know, it's his last chance, maybe as a starter in this league. And it's not even gonna be in Minnesota long term after they drafted JJ McCarthy, but it's a pretty good situation for him with Kevin O'Connell and Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and Brian Flores led defense that at least against the Giants looked very good in week one. But I thought that the Giants secondary, which Chris Bizignano, the Giants insider who joined us yesterday on blitzing the east said is just flat out bad, looked putrid when I went back and rewatched the game. I could not believe, and this is not to take away from Sam Darnold who did a nice job. I mean, he was, I want to say 14 for 14 or something like that. - Sure, at the game, yeah. - To start that game, he petered off a little bit as the game went, but he was just throwing to open receivers often in the first couple of quarters. They finished week one 30 if in yards per play defensively, dead last in a couple of categories and 29th against the pass. They gave up about 5.6 yards per play. They could not get off the field and they were 30 second in sacks per pass attempt. So you look at some of those things from last year, those numbers carried over into 2024 where they were 28th against the pass and 28th against the run and 28th in yards per play and 26th in sacks per pass attempt. It's not just week one, it's last year's numbers too. This is not a good defense and specifically, it's not a good secondary and I think it's just with the doctor ordered for some open receivers, throwing the ball into space into bigger windows for Jaden Daniels and maybe getting these receivers going a little bit. - If it's gonna happen, this is the week it's gonna happen. You know what I mean? Like you're not going to have many better opportunities than this one. I don't think they have that card to play. I don't think they've got that waiting where they're good enough to take advantage of bad. Like we talked about that a lot. - Very possible. - I remember in Rivera's first year that we're 20, 20 year, we all know what happened, but they got a chance to beat up on some bad quarterbacks teams that were reeling and they were just good enough to take advantage of bad. That's a threshold. I know that sounds trivial and we should frankly expect a lot more, but there is a baseline. In other words, if you're not any good, you're finding yourself down in the muck with another team, it's not very good. And it's a rock fight. If you're decent, if you're part of that middle bucket and you play a terrible team, you see the Saints and Panthers this weekend. The Saints aren't, they're not going anywhere, not special about them. - Seven, eight, nine wins-ish. - But they beat the breaks off of that hapless group of zilches down there. And that's what you, that's what, if you're good enough, you can do that. If this unit is good enough at all to do anything at any point in time, this is the week. - Yeah, I don't know what Washington is yet. And I don't want to sit here and pretend to know. I've got one game, which isn't enough, especially when you don't take the preseason seriously. And that's not a knock on how they did it, although it's not how I would do it. But it's knock on how the league does it. - Sure. - And enough with the argument that we've had for years as an industry, not UNI specifically, but football fans and media have had about not needing the preseason and look at the Rams. The product is worse in week one than it is in week 10. Bar none. Passing offenses statistically, way down. People pay for not playing their starters every single year in the preseason. We pretend like they don't. Which is fine if your point is just to keep guys healthy and you'll wear it for a week or two. Okay, but let's just acknowledge what it is. So I think it's important to say, we don't really know what's going to be good, what's going to be bad from this operation yet. We've got one game and in a week to week league, it could be completely misleading. But a lot of our priors got confirmed and I think that's where some of our confidence is coming from, which isn't always fair. But I will just say that if we're saying which side of the ball is going to improve, both of them have a great chance to. - It's your best shot for a while. - As bad as the Giants are though, they're doing the exact same thing there about Washington. Just so everybody knows. And I'm not just saying that. I mean, I actually listened to their radio, WFAN a couple of days back. And after their game, they were referencing the potential of Daniel Jones being on the hot seat and going to the backup quarterback and what other changes could they make. And the idea was, well look, they've got Washington this weekend. - Here's your get right game. - They've got a chance to break out on offense, to play a lot better, look a lot better on defense against the rookie quarterback and receivers that they don't worry about, right? It's the same thing we're talking about. So it's an even game in a lot of ways. Like Washington is a narrow favorite. I think the line opened at three. It's down to one and a half in a lot of places. You get two for being at home. So by definition, the odds makers actually think the Giants are probably a half point better or so than Washington. It's a toss up type game. But both sides of the ball should be able to look way, way, way, way, way better than they did last week. And there's only a couple games like this on the schedule. Like this one in the Panthers, where you go in and go, "Hey, let's get right on both sides of the ball." And it's a plausible thing. It could absolutely happen. - Indeed, and there might be other opportunities as the year progresses with injuries or how a team is playing, et cetera. But remember, going into this season, there was only one game. This is from Mike Clay with the SPN where Washington was the prohibitive, odds-on favorite to win this week, two game against the Giants. And I think the Panthers was closer to 50-50. I think I would change those odds now, but that's just me talking. So yeah, there is an opportunity here, right? Week one, the thing that has frustrated me a little bit is everyone's now kind of saying, "Well, Tampa's really good. They've made Tampa into some world-beater. They might win that garbage NFC South, but so what? They're not going anywhere. And if they do, I'll eat my hat." But this is another team that's down bad. For a different reason, right? This is the beginning of a build, even though they won't say it. I'm happy to say it, by the way. This is the beginning of a build. They're trying to start something here. And I give them credits. There's going to be some pain and some growing pains dealing with it. New York is in a very different place. They had a choice and they paid their quarterback a lot of money, not the top end of the market, but not the bottom either. That's a lot. They moved on from certain players going, "We can't afford to keep both, say, Juan Barkley and this guy. We can't afford this." They were acting like they're supposed to be pretty decent. Like they thought they were going to be competitive. At least that's what it looked like to me with some of their moves and with that off-season hard docs. There weren't different spaces, right? But both teams come in probably needing some validation. And it's not a must-win for any kind of football sense 'cause it's a must-win if you're trying to get to the playoffs or trying to do something special this year. I don't think that's in the cards. Maybe some fans did, but I don't. To me, this is a must-show better for both organizations. Must be much better than you were in week number one, which was a massive let down for a lot of people. So Danny thinks that the defense is going to look a lot better than it did against the Bucks. I'm going to go with the offense and roll the dice on them taking advantage of a bad, giant secondary. (upbeat music) - Dear Autumn Leaves, you won't be covering roads alone this season. Toyota's lineup of cool, colorful vehicles is ready to ride by your side. Take on fall in a trail tackling Tacoma or go for the powerful Tundra. Head to toyota.com for more info or visit your local Toyota dealership today. Toyota, let's go places. (upbeat music) - The seasons may be changing, but the deals at the sharpest rides are unbeatable as ever. Hey, what's going on? It's your girl, Tasha McKia. And I need you to join the sharpest rides for their fall into savings event where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shop from sleek sedans to rugged SUVs and sporty convertibles. The sharpest rides has the perfect ride to match your fall adventures. Plus, with their exclusive financing options, getting behind the wheel of your dream car has never been easier. Log on and shop online at the sharpestrides.com right from the palm of your hands. Or check other massive inventory in person at the sharpest rides, located 2,250 South Sea home street in Inglewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out. Head on over to the sharpestrides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell 'em that your girl, Tasha McKia, sent you. The sharpest rides, affordable, sexy, sharp. - Hey NFL fans, you can start the season with a big return on Fandal, America's number one sports book. 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