Grant and Danny
Austin Ekeler Discusses the Takeaways from Commanders Season Opener
Grant and Danny on the fan. Thank you for making this show part of your day means a lot. We appreciate you We're spending the afternoon out at 1757 golf course by the commander's training facility in Ashburn Talk to mark ripping a former Super Bowl MVP today. We're just joined by Steve Buck and she can find those interviews at the fan DC Dot-com podcasted when we are done But as we've been telling you throughout the show all season long on Tuesdays at five o'clock We'll be joined by commanders running back Austin Echler who joins us right now for his first Appearance of what will be 17 conversations this season? We are so thrilled to have Austin as part of our show great to have you back on the program with G&D man here, man How are you? What is going on fellas looking forward to it all year man. I'm excited I like doing these weekly shows because I know I get to build a relationship with you And anyone else you bring on to the show, and it's always always been a good time. So looking forward to it now We're pumped man. It's an honor What's the mood of the other troops here after week number one man? How's everybody feeling? Yeah, I mean obviously, you know, it was not the outcome. We wanted You know, we want to see a lot of things improve and that's that's what we'll get back to work doing It's it's also week one So there's a lot to kind of build off folks from things that we need to learn from and I think that's what DQ really hit on And I think that was really important is that This is learning and you have to treat it like that treated like this is something we're gonna learn from come back and get better From because if you don't then it you know, it doesn't mean anything and you just got your butt kick for no reason But hey as we continue to learn get stronger Then I felt like getting hot at the right time and what does that mean? That means continue to come back watch the film We call it call it call it Tell the truth Monday, right? Take the coaching take everything that we can and they can get back out there And you know try to fix it for the next week and continue to build into what will be a hopefully our final product at the end of the year Where we're on a roll so I know we have some other questions I'd love to get into it. I'm looking forward to yeah, I keep talking about week one It was good stuff. I mean, I can just jump into it if you want, but What I'll go for it Yeah, so I think something cuz everyone's gonna, you know, I think you know, I'll have Jayden do I think we saw a lot of great things from Jayden It was also his first game and just I remember my first game as a rookie and everything kind of went faster And it was like a surreal moment for me I can't obviously speak for Jayden, but I think that's one of those things that as a rookie you get into and you're like whoa like this is it and It's not that you necessarily try to do too much, but you like like you're just it's going so fast These things aren't necessarily clicking like they have been and like practice with things maybe a little bit slower You can never simulate the actual game day. So looking forward to him. I'm loving what I've seen that man can absolutely fly I've never ever fly like that. You know I practice so to see him really running like that. Okay, like this man can run But I know you know DQ came out and said it today You know like we don't want to live in the world where he's running 16 times a game You know, that's that's what I get paid to do That's what me right gets paid to do and the receivers and our tight end So looking forward to seeing him come and bounce back and put another week together and the growth from that first one Along those lines, you know, I don't mean Jayden specifically But just kind of broadly Austin as fans and media on the outside look We have no idea what to expect going into week one We think we know some things but nobody really knows anything is it like that at all even in the locker room where you guys are Mostly practicing against yourselves. I guess now and in these years here in the 2020s You also get some of those joint practices, but the preseason is maybe there's not a lot to it You're not game-planning you might play a driver, too So I guess you get ready to play a first game Do you guys really know your strengths your weaknesses where you're gonna get exposed where you're gonna dominate or is it also like a? Learn on the fly thing for you guys, too. I think it's I think it's both I think you know you as an internal team know, hey, this is what we're good at. This is the players that we have And you know you have to look at kind of the profile of what your team is what's the identity there? But at the same time you're also in a new year. So new players can be doing new things Like for me instance when I was a rookie I was really a special teams guy in my rookie year And then the next year I started playing more offense and then the third year for that I was actually starting for a few games And so like you never know the progression or you know how people have improved or how people have kind of changed throughout the offseason which you really have to wait and see as We get going into games and one game is definitely not you know an identity setter We're like oh, this is how it's gonna be because if it was that way then you know You'd be a lot of you know bad football and you know in my opinion There's a lot of a lot of mistakes that don't happen at the end of the year that are happening at the beginning of the year So a little bit of both I would say Austin and Austin Eckler with us here on Grant and Danny that first catch where it looks like you know It's a check down on third down and you break a couple tackles make some guys miss bursting forward I'm going oh hell yeah, and then you're charted off to the sideline. How do I get more Austin Eckler touches? Are you is it something to stick aside buddy? Is it is it all sincerity where after a little while you might feel comfortable? You know, maybe tug it on a sleeve of Cliff Kingsborough Like you know I've got some ingredients. I would like to cook please is there is there any time where you feel like that can happen? Hey, well, you know after that one. I was I was just tired, so I needed a break Look, we're getting a rhythm going. We'll see kind of how things play out You know, we got we got some playmakers on the on the field You know, we want to see some other guys, you know get the opportunity to make those as well But when they come your way you got to be ready for them And you know on that play in particular like it's back to you know doing what I do is that's how it made a living in this league You know first I was with Phillip Rivers, and so I caught a ton of balls I I've I've had a you know nine hundred and seventy or ninety seven yard season 107 catch season like I've made a living off of just check turn and check down into the chunk plays like that So one thing you can look forward to is more of that for sure Yeah, that was four catches for fifty two yards in the debut on just four targets for Austin Eckler Maybe we could turn up the faders on those targets a little bit. You're leading receiver going into week two Ahem for the Washington commanders Austin Eckler We were actually talking about that today, and it's like yeah, that's great. No, but hey We gotta get we gotta get these other guys activate. I want to carry ripping them, you know, we want to see you know Earth's running down there because Look, it's great and all for us as a running back to right get catches and stuff like that We also run the ball obviously, but you want your receivers that are going down the field making those plays leading your leading your team in reception So and receiving yards so looking forward to seeing these other guys get activated as we keep going here through the season When you came on the show a few weeks back We asked you like who's the the slept on guy fantasy wise, and you said, you know I feel like people are are thinking I'm done basically you're like I think I'm gonna have a good season So we had our Grant and Danny listener League We had a you know bunch of listeners 14 listener League come out at a big bar and Kristen took Austin out because she's like You got to tell Austin. I listened I took him so Kristen's got you on the roster She got 9.2 points in the receiving category from you this week but joking aside I will say that it seemed to me like on that first catch you answered whatever there were as far as questions like You said basically after last year a lot of people were questioning how much is left or was it an injury? Was it this was at that to me? That was open field elusive evasive wiggle Austin Echler. You looked like it was six years ago I mean, yeah, for sure first. I'll fill my 20s now. So everyone needs to calm down here Years ago like 28 is a running back people act like you're a 40 year old senior citizen on ARP I know right. Well, here's the thing in fantasy. You're judged off of your past season, right? And so obviously last year high uncle spraying was dealing with that all year and then our team our team Which is not connecting like we thought we were going to so that is now People's last memory of me. And so now is a new opportunity for me to go paint that hey Okay, Austin can still play it was funny actually I'm gonna discord with Washington Fans because I just I love to be around fan communities and they're like hey actually kind of look a little fast out there It's like I guess you still got some speed up like that's crazy like you guys thought of just what like I just tanked And now I'm just an old man out there and can't run anymore But like I said, that was the last memory about me. So now it's a let's go repaint the picture Doors take us to summers away Or winter adventures And afternoon getaways You're dedicated Fidelity advisor can help you open those doors by working with you on a comprehensive plan to help you reach your wealth's full potential Because doors were meant to be opened Visit fidelity.com/wealth Investment minimums apply Fidelity brokerage services LLC member NYSE SIPC I've watched you a lot, but I never study it as close as I do now that you're on the team that I cover and watch Back the all-22 and all the stuff is fans. We have access to now dude Is this a common number of wallop hits like you got destroyed a few times It was like you got caught on like in body lean moments I mean it was just like that's not a normal day at the office right that there was some One thing you'll learn about me is that I'm very compact. I'm also very light Well, not not very light. I'm just lighter than most of the guys that are hitting me. Let's say that so being compact and Being light is a is a tendency to bounce off of things. Sometimes the better. Okay. Sometimes not so much Austin. Yeah What's that? So my six-year-old sons like that just a lot of small and compact bounces off a lot of stuff Exactly exactly. So like your son, right? We have things in common So here's what's great about it is you bounce back up because you know, they think they just you know, you know trucks stick to you And they might have but guess what for you being so compact like you just you felt a thought and got pushed a different direction And you know ended up falling down on that one. So yeah, it's gonna be something You'll see just because of the nature of my my physical makeup, but hey as long as I bounce back up, no big deal No doubt, but kidding aside like what does it feel like and I guess after you have two carries and four catches for a guy in your Career who's been a bell-callet points? You probably feel like a million bucks But if there is a week where you're getting say 17 carries eight and nine catches in your career I mean are you going up steps that first morning or are you like asleep on the couch guy like what does that feel like on your body? I was telling my wife like like the worst thing in season is flipping stairs Because my it's it's not my upper it's my ankles, man My damn ankles that are like sore every single morning I got to do this like little routine stretch them out But then going down the stairs they're just so dank sore But all the bumps and bruises in the legs and the shoulders and like right now like my oblique is you know A little bruise or feels like a little funny, but after a couple days they'll go out go away You kind of get used to it as a football player I've been playing this sport for like 22 years And so every year in the fall I'm getting beat up But it's just kind of part of the toughness part of it. So is what it is Austin Eckler with this here on G&D every Tuesday at 5 p.m. Austin. It's it's a new everything right like you're new Most of the team is new coaching staffs new GM everything. It's kind of this all brand new deal How long should fans? I mean we're not a patient lot as fans short for vaticle But when do you feel like hey work? This is when we should be in a rhythm as an offense when it should be secondhand when it should be you know comfortable and commonplace You guys kind of have established yourselves who you are what you want to do week in a week out What's kind of a normal time frame? I wish there was just a black and white answer like oh for weeks, and this is why right? But we have so many new things that yeah It really comes down to us as players and it comes down to us as coaches and look we have a rookie quarterback Right, that's something that you know he's had he has a lot to learn like that's just what it is And so some learn faster than others and it depends on us around him too are we protecting this guy are we getting open for him are we running the ball effectively like how how quickly is that coming together and Are we continue to progress are people staying healthy? That's another one right? Are we having the same guys on the field building that mesh and look? I honestly can't tell you obviously you want it to be sooner than later, but that's not the reality of football football I think is you go out there you give your best shot sometimes you'll lose a game Sometimes you'll win a game and you didn't even play at your best or play a solid game But it's who can who can sustain the highest level of play and not make the smallest day because how we say and In our room is games are lost not one so who can sustain? Right the level of competition and level of play where you did enough not to lose And so because it's really competitive, right? It's the margin of air so close because there's such a good high level of competition So it's really hard to tell You know good games bad games It might have been a misstep and that made it made you give up a sack and it's like well Is that because you're not meshing well? No, because you're technically so there's so many different factors. So Time will tell I there's no answer to that if there was an answer to that I would be a head coach right now, you know That'll have to wait hopefully for a handful of more years Austin Echler here on Grant and Danny first of a season's worth of appointments with us At five o'clock on Tuesdays I was thinking about this when I was watching the Friday night game in Brazil and I just wanted to bounce this off you Footing for running back for a skill guy. It was obviously terrible in that particular situation where they were playing an international game But do you handle all that pregame when you run out onto the field and kind of determine what you're gonna Wear is it always pretty much the same thing that you default to and then grass versus turf? Like what are your thoughts at this point on on some of those kind of surface debates? Yeah, I think the international games you're gonna get obviously more variance in The field play just because they're not like we are over here and where we are focusing So the auto football field being a American football field It was just very different than what we call soccer That type of field and so that's where you're getting the variance that obviously we want the best footing But I understand and I think players kind of understand doesn't mean we like it at all But there's gonna be some variance when you go to it You know somewhere international and you're playing in a different different, you know You know culture and playing on a different field. So this is one of those things that we kind of have to deal with Unfortunately Like I said doesn't mean we like it, but then coming back to the States Love me some good grass like not just any grass. I'm like, oh, this is fine I've definitely played on grass that is not very secure and would not recommend like Lambo field during the end of the year Oh my goodness Like it is just not great And so playing on good grass like I feel like that is ideal Turf, I mean, there's so many different things that we don't like about turf I mean like even just the how your joints feel I have to wear literally turf tape all over my body So that I'm not just getting skid like my skin skid off every single time I go to the ground And so it's just little little things like that to add up as far as quality life We're at the with the highest level football making a ton of different, you know revenue streams like in my opinion You think we would be putting the best type of you know conditions for our players that they want to play in But we don't always necessarily, you know, see eye to eye with you know people that are putting you still to it So that's what we're dealing with right now. All right Austin last one for him. All right. This is a personal favor for me Let's say I'm in I'm in a social gathering. Let's say there's a bunch of people You're in the game Give me something that I can look for so that I can sound really smart I love sounding smart I'm not so I kind of try to pass off like I know what I'm talking about like everyone can see when you make a catch You make a wiggle, right? Give me like a thing where I'm gonna go watch what he does on this play Give me like a secret little tip. Oh I think different like watch the court. I think something. Maybe this is too obvious I was gonna say like You know if a quarterback looks a certain way and does an audible that way and then if you know the if you know the route That that person just ran you'd be like like Rogers last night I know he gave like he gave like a little slant or he gave like a little curl to Number five Wilson. You could be like yeah, well, you could be like dang You see Rogers give Wilson a little curl right there. I got to open that zone, you know like things like that We're like oh, how'd you know that when you you saw him look over there? And you saw him give him like a little some type of signal You obviously don't know how it is But then you can watch the route and see what he ran back and he gave like curl around and got open it I was good. Oh, that was a good audible. So use that one. That'd be a good one. I like that Two quick things before we let you go first is I saw your wife on Instagram gave you an outfit to wear for week one And it was so terrible You told her basically no she gave you like a sweater vest and you joned pretty hard So I don't have to pile on but what was that sweater? I mean if you guys have to check it out on his Instagram. I'm not a fashion guy, but God that was bad. Oh Yeah, so yeah, you can see me. I was definitely roasting it I should bring her in here to over explain herself, but maybe next time But she had a backup plan thankfully and that we went the backup plan for that one So look the expectation is high. She did all of my outfits last year So we'll have one of those every single week she'll have to do the content stuff So it'll be a fun little series. We were involved in I Love it. We'll be checking it out and then lastly so as we go forward this season, right as a segment This is our first one. So we're gonna kind of workshop this on the fly Just kind of a little show show meeting here with Austin Echler So we need an intro song first of all a song that you want played is your walk-up song So if it's if you know it off the top your head, that's fine We could also just get it before next week's little homework the other thing is it's your segment, right? So we've got our own stuff. We're gonna do but do you want listener questions? Do you do you want to have guests that we bring on for you or you bring on do you want to do anything fantasy? Like what do you want this to be I? Love some listener questions is always a good one. I always love recap and recap in the game That's the low hanging fruit for us as well You know, I'll talk on things that I can't talk on I always can't talk on anything and aren't everything anyway Just because it gives us the first 15th trip for next week Right, right, right, right. So I can't give you that, you know all the obvious stuff, you know But yeah, I love the listener stuff walk-up song, you know, that's you know, we work on that one Fantasy I have actually so I don't have my show anymore with with the yahoo So my fantasy knowledge has kind of been lacking a little bit. I haven't been up to date with as much as I usually am in that space So yeah, I mean other than that then I think we're free game and I think we even make Plan we'll get with you before next week for the debut of your walk-up song and we're in a good spot We got a good thing going here. Thanks so much. We're fired up about it. It's gonna be a fun season. Awesome. Look forward to it y'all All right, boy, you got it. Okay. There's Austin Echler on Grant and Danny with us He'll be with us every single Tuesday right at five o'clock. So make note of that He's a ten out of ten. He's great gonna be a fun. It's so good You are listening to the fans speaking of week one and the positive that was Echler out of the backfield Reasons for hope causes for concern after an oh and one start next on Grant and Danny