Grant and Danny
Phil Mathis Joins Grant In The Postgame, Will The Commanders Make The Playoffs?
I agree with you 100%. I really do. I just think what these guys have put on tape for the first five weeks, you know, and it's not like they played easy sketch. Well, a giant just went to Seattle and beat them. Cardinals just beat the hell out of San Francisco. The Bengals obviously are the Bengals. They beat them on Monday night football. Joe Burroughs. So they've had some tough teams. They've had to beat. So, yeah, I'm not too, I'm not too sold on NFC East right now. The other teams Dallas has their issues on defense and they had throws every now and then Philadelphia. They're always in the media for something. They get going on over there. And you know, he can beat the Giants already did. So I don't see why that that's a stretch. So you can't win the NFC East. That was Jay Gruden is heard right here on Grant and Danny earlier today on the fan. It goes without saying it will take keeping Jaden Daniels healthy. You cannot have any massive injuries to your most important players. But if Daniels gets this team in and out of the huddle on 17 occasions this year, over 18 weeks, they're playoff bound. That's what it feels like right now. And I'm ready. Five weeks in to say that the DMV's football team is a bright future. It's time for you to think about yours. The exclusive sponsor of our show is the law firm. We'll see you in the next few weeks. I'm Dr. Andre McInroy and Murad to help update your last will and testament and set up a trust for you and your family. Schedule a free consultation with our state planning attorneys today. Visit KMLoyers.com. Tell them that we sent you so you can get a discount. That's KMLoyers.com. Danny had caught up with Fiderian Mathis after the game. They're on the run. They completely stuffed the Browns at the line and made to Sean Watson beat them. And needless to say, he was not capable of doing that. This was Mathis locker room yesterday after the game. Seems like every week you guys are getting a little better, a little better. And this was pretty dominant today. How do you feel about seven sacks and 0 for the game on third down for the Browns? Very impressive man. Everybody buying in, the whole D-line, the DB's. Everybody buying in to what Coach Wheatley is calling. I think that's the biggest thing. Everybody taking care of their assignment. As long as we keep going there, the players are going to keep coming for each and every one of the guys up there. Seven sacks collectively and it was kind of an everybody eats type day. When that's happening out there, what is that like just being on the field knowing that somebody's turn? I don't know if it's me or somebody else. Someone's getting to them here. So it's just, like I say, everybody building off each other. You got to be able to trust the player beside you. If we keep doing that, man, next week might go to 10. You never know, man. Everybody just keep buying in to the system. Keep buying in to what Coach Wheatley is calling him. And we're going to be alright for sure. Outside the building after one week, after two weeks, there's a thought of what this defense is. Did you guys always know? Give us a little time here. We're going to get where we need to be. I mean, you just can't listen to the naysayers, man. Everybody got there on the pin, but what goes on in this facility is between us. We know what we can do. We know what we capable of. And we believe in each other. We just keep doing that. We'll be just fine. We can't worry about the outsiders. Everybody got there on the pin at the end of the day. I know you want to soak up this win, but if you don't mind real quick, before I let you go, next week's The Ravens. One of the great running teams in the league for a guy like yourself, I'd imagine, kind of lift your lips a little bit because it's Derek and Ray. It's a little more Jackson. I mean, they're coming downhill. Like, what is that? It's power versus power, man. Yeah, we just got to do our job. You don't make the game bigger than what it is. Just do our job and just fight on. What do we do every week? Just continue to have a great mindset and we're going to be alright. When is the last time Washington had this kind of a showdown? One o'clock on Sunday puts a little damper on it because it feels like a prime time matchup. Maybe could have. It should have been flexed, but obviously NBC wanted it said about new. Yeah, they just said no, so they'll send Nance and Ramo. They're 18. We'll get the a broadcast crew for CBS in the early window on Sunday. Although I think I'm going to go to the game up in charm cities often. See what those guys say post game when I rewatch it, but when's the last time you were this fired up for a non week one commander's regular season game? I'm racking my brain. It might be that Sunday night Green Bay game years ago, 2016 or whenever it was that both teams were pretty good, I think, or Green Bay hadn't hit their stride yet. And we're reeling, but still at a winning record because it was Aaron Rodgers. I don't know, man. It has been a minute. And the difference here is honestly, if they don't win this game, talking about Washington. I think it's a house money game that precisely what I was going to say. I mean, that's it. This is a, if they do win, they're five and one and they just beat the Ravens in their building who needed it. Holy crap. No, no, no, if they win, instead of talking about they could make the playoffs next week, we're saying this is the best team in football, arguably, right? I mean, five and they're in the combo. The Vikings will have a buy. They'll still be five and no. The Chiefs will have played two times counting next week. The way they're playing. I have a hard time believing they'd be six and no, but hypothetically, let's say you don't have the best record fine. You will statistically presumably have the best offense. You'll have just beaten the team with the best running game when we were told the defense can't stop the run. You will have won five straight. You'd be five and one first time since 1996. I think the conversation next week is going to be about whether or not they are the best team in the league. Again, I'm not talking like that means they're going to win the Super Bowl or the last team standing. We're just reacting to what is. I know people don't want to do that because of the anxieties and the nerves of the past. But what is through five games is this is a top five team in the league right now. This is a top three offense in the league. This is a top two running game with Baltimore. This is a quarterback playing at a top five elite level. But those are the things that are currently happening right now. We can acknowledge them or not. And I say, why not acknowledge them? Yeah. Because that doesn't mean the next thing. In other words, right now is now this is 100% true. This is unequivocal. Everything you just said is correct. It also doesn't mean that in, you know, they got home field advantage throughout the postseason in the first round by and we'll see in the NFC title game for the first time in 35 years. Nobody's saying that that Redskins team in 16 that beat the Packers on Sunday night was actually pretty good. They were six two and one. Yep. I don't remember it being that good. So that win. No, you know what? They would have been five three and one. Sorry. That win got him to six three and one against the Packers. Herko through for three seventy five and three on a windy night. Forty two to twenty four went over Green Bay. I don't remember being as jazzed up for that game, but I probably was. So maybe that's what we were going back about. It's almost 10 years eight years. It's been a long time, man. Yeah, since networks were fighting over the Washington commanders. What I really like about Sunday against Baltimore is we're going to get our defensive answer. How good is the commanders defense? How much of it was the Browns being terrible or the Cardinals helping them by abandoning the run and. Tyler Murray having a bad game where he just stayed in the pocket for some reason to seem like to prove a message. You see yesterday he ripped off a 50 yard touchdown run. That was a different guy than we saw two weeks ago. I mean, he gets through a hole and is even with a couple of guys who puts his finger in the air going touchdown. That was hilarious. He did that at like the forty five yard. Yeah, with a long way to go. And guys like on his heel. And he knew nobody's catching him. But for this week, talking about the Ravens, like if you let Derek Henry get his feet going, like in other words, if he's got momentum, he's like juggernaut from X-Men. Like once he has momentum, it's like trying to tackle a what is what is the expression somebody use was a Fred Smoot or someone like a bowling ball of knives. Like that dude is not fun to bring down. So it's on defensive lineman to do the disrupting thing. If you make him move and change direction early, you got a chance, but you could see it in overtime against Cincinnati. As soon as he get that one little cut and he's going up field, it's now this, you know, Mack truck that's escaped into the secondary. He is ridiculous when he gets going. So you can't let him get going. These are said. This matchup is the number one and number two rushing offenses in the NFL. Lamar Jackson, Jaden Daniels. I saw someone had like a meme of Michael Jordan and Alan Iverson kind of going head to head and they were like this weekend's game. Daniels early on the first couple weeks, I thought was kind of playing a Lamar game. He has been more of a pocket passing presence, though. Not that Jackson who threw for three bills can't do some of those things too. But I think when you watch Lamar, he is more of a runner. Then Daniels probably wants to be, which is what I'm really intrigued and enjoying about Jaden Daniels game here of late. I will get to don't forget about in just a couple of moments. Let's hit the phones 800 636. 10067. Dan's in warranted on the fan. What's up, Dan? Hey, boys, how's it going? Come on, it's been a great time in. I wanted to time in on your postseason prediction, and I want to say, Grant, I don't think you're crazy. In fact, I think you're usually a little more sane and lucid to maybe your partner there, Mr. Who would hate, but I think in this case, I kind of agree with Danny, you know, the angst and anxiety and having been kicked in the gut over and over again for so many years. I can see it, but I just don't know if I can feel it yet. I totally get that. And I think that's kind of what I am suggesting is. I think the fact that a lot of people are hesitant to kind of acknowledge what's happening and what lies ahead is the past being prologue and not really about the moment. Because it is certainly about Washington and what they're doing. But for me, it's also about, I don't believe in the Eagles or the Cowboys being that good. I think those are 10 win teams at best. Washington's got to go six and six to finish there with a fairly weak schedule. I think they lose to the Ravens this week. Somebody just showed me that they bought a ticket for the division championship. I think they got like maybe plus 290 or something, 100 bucks, get you a couple hundred more. And I said, well, I love it. I don't know when you got this, but I'd wait to buy a division title ticket till after the Ravens game because they probably lose. The odds probably get a little longer and you get a little bit more value. But even at that point at four and two, I'm going to feel really good about where they are. And at worst, they'll be tied for the division lead. I just think you look at the schedule ahead and what we know. This is why playing the off season win losses game is such a dumb exercise. They play like the Panthers in a couple of weeks, the Bears after that, the Giants, the Steelers who can't move the ball or score, the Eagles and the Cowboys in succession, neither team is overly daunting. Like, stop me when you find a game where you go. They're probably not going to win. The Ravens coming up. Seven point dogs. And then we haven't had another one of those going through the schedule. They play the Titans, the Saints, the Eagles, the Falcons, the Cowboys. If Jaden Daniels is on your team charter, you got a chance to win every week the way he's playing. So, yes, you've got to keep him healthy. That's the caveat that you need to not suffer major injuries to your key players. But any team can say that. My point is just the trajectory currently is that very obviously of a playoff team. Yeah, and the data says that not the data is on the side of a division championship team. Yeah, with teams that start four and one, generally end up having pretty good seasons. Usually you got to be pretty good to start four and one. So it's so effective, right? It's not just four and one. It's four and one in whooping people. That's true. That's true. They were four and one with Jim Zorn and they've been out. They'd outscored their opponents and their four wins by 20 points. They've outscored opponents this time by 57 points. They have won back to back games by the margin that they have. And that's not something that they do around here, right? I mean, you got to go back. I think 20 years to find the last time they pulled off consecutive wins of this magnitude of the discrepancy that they've had. So it's not just wins. Like Jake Gruden said, I mean, it's domination. Sean's in Waldorf. What's up, Sean? Granddana, great shows always. Appreciate you. I'm in a couple points. We definitely want playoffs. If we don't want division, yeah, I'm disappointed. But I'm going to tell you right now, like you said, if we beat Baltimore, we got the best team in the league. I don't care what nobody said. And I was there all those thousand years ago, like Lord Elrod on Lord of the Rings. But we was chicken tail back in the 90s. Minnesota was supposed to be good. They're probably to me. I think we the best team in the league right now before we beat Baltimore. And we beat Baltimore is guaranteed. If they beat the Ravens, he's got them as the onesie. That's pretty fun. They game on. At the moment, right? But again, that doesn't mean this is the part that people just can't handle, I think, is that no one necessarily says that because that's true right now, that doesn't guarantee anything so true beyond this moment, right? It gets you nothing. Right? That in two bucks gets you half a cup of coffee, right? Pretty much. I would add this though. And this is why I'm the most excited. In the same way that I said this Ravens game is house money. This season is mostly house money. I was going to bring that up. This is year one of whatever this build is. Today in Quinn's credit, he said it's not a rebuild. They got to find North. I think they found North pretty quickly here. And where's five? Right? They recalibrated. Right? I mean, they've, they've calibrated. It seems like. But they have a hundred million dollars going into the off season to spend massive amounts of cap space. They have an another allotment of draft picks and they added a third for Adam Peters. They are in as good a spot in terms of assets as any team in the league with money and picks again. And you have what is the Holy Grail in this sport, which is the quarterback on a rookie contract, who seems like he is your franchise QB in your answer. So I was talking to dad this morning on the walk to school. The walk to school chat. The sports fans. They want to come up and chat about the football team. And I said, they're the same phase as the Wizards. Now the Wizards have, it's going to take them longer because there was no women yama and their draft where they got the second overall pick. And, you know, there's no instant cure. You need one superstar player, then maybe more come. But they're in that deconstruction phase. Usually when a team is four and 13 and fires everybody, everybody under the sun got fired, right? You need to dig out. And then usually what happens is five or six wins the next year, which are bringing your own guys. Then you kind of start your build. Sorry, they're already a little bit ahead of pace at the moment where they're beating up everybody by 21 points a week. It is time on Grant and Danny as we do before we get out of here on all of these Monday shows, winner loss for don't forget about something we don't think is getting enough attention. Don't forget that alumni is a Kias was awesome in the punt return game time and time again, getting his footing and getting up field pretty quickly. No wasted movements. I thought he did a really good job on special team. Do not forget this is a deep cut the Nick Balor. I believe the guy who got the holding penalty on Austin Echler season opening kickoff return for a touchdown or at least home opener all over the field on special teams talking about commitment, finding guys that fit the culture, finding guys that do what they're supposed to do, starring in their role for special teams tackles yesterday for Nick Balor. Don't forget Jeremy McNichols was huge in the second half. Brian Robinson didn't play a single snap after halftime. He was actually pretty annoyed by that. It seemed like he was not in a good mood in the locker room. I went up to him, tried to talk to him. He was not having it. I just looked like he was salty. I understand. I mean, the guy worked hard to be on the field this week and make sure he could play had the two rushing touchdowns, seven carries in the first half. But I also think the team did the right thing. By the way, as an aside, there's no reason when you're up by three touchdowns with a position where you're a battering ram getting a lot of contact all year to push it. So they did the right thing. They played Nick Nichols. They played Echler, but Jeremy McNichols is averaging seven yards per carry this season and has three touchdowns the last two weeks. Please don't forget about the fact that Dorn drum strong. Remember we asked before the Cincinnati game, what's going on? What's he put to do? And what's he doing? Anything three sacks over the last three weeks? How about that? Half sack one and a half and one this past week. It's not dominant jump off the tape JJ Watts stuff, but they don't make that many of those guys. You keep your nose with the grindstone. You keep standing in your rush lanes. Eventually you keep doing that. You'll end up with double digits. Don't forget that Terry McClorn has gone for a hundred yards two of the last three weeks. Now he did have a lost fumble and a drop touchdown yesterday, uncharacteristically painful at times his performance. However, he'll make up for that as the year goes along. You already know that, but he went for a hundred against the Bengals. He went for 112 yesterday at the 52 yard game against the Cardinals. He is back on a 78 catch, 1000 yard pace after his rough start. Don't forget about the fact that a rotation at left tackle, like their Florida quarterbacks, a dozen plus years ago, it's T bow and leak going back and forth. Lucas and Coleman allowed zero. That's zero of what Danny zero of anything for Miles Garrett. Miles Garrett did not appear on the stat sheet yesterday. That's a defensive player of the year candidate that's as good as anybody in football. He may be the best defensive player. We got zero, no impact. Ed's in spring down on G and D. What's up, Ed? How are you? Hey, hey, how you guys doing? Good man. Great, buddy. So yeah, I just want to I just want to say we're talking about don't forget. Let's not forget Adam Peters. I mean, you know, the team that he's put together with with all of these players that were like not drafted. Captains of their team, people with high integrity that come out and play every day. These are not the type of guys that we've seen in the years past that were in the club after a loss. These are focused guys. And I really think based on the players that we got and the coaching staff that we have, and you know, we obviously our dynamic quarterback, we can go deep into the playoffs this year. Appreciate you, buddy. Thank you. Squeezing Vick and AKA kick who's been waiting on G and D. What's up, Vick? What's up, G and D? Hey, buddy, Brad, we agree, brother, let's do it. Play off her bus. Double digit double digit win team or bust. I know what I'm looking at. I'm looking at good football. I'm looking at a good football or a well rounded football team. I'm looking at a team that is very well coached, very well prepared. They do things right. They do things with the level of attentionality and excellence. If I was just coming out of a coma, and I saw this, I would not think anything else for what I'm seeing now. My son said to me the other day, Dad, are the commanders good? They don't suck anymore. I say, as far as you know, since you just started watching football, I call it that. Yeah, there's a chiefs. I'm, I'm, I'm, yes, indeed. I'm not expecting anything. But what I'm saying because of the way the organization is moving and I'll leave with this. Brad, you said something very dope. He said, we have a stockpile of brass pick because we do. We have a hundred million dollars in cap space. This is how the 49ers in the mid to late 80s, early 90s got top super talented. This is how the Dallas Cowboys became what they were in the mid 90s. This is not hyperbole to me. This is how Victor going too far. When I know what you're saying, you are saying what you are seeing. And hopefully we can capitalize on the goal that we are mining and make the most of appreciate you, buddy. It's to me, just the opportunity is there in front of them. And look, if they disappoint, if they don't finish 10 and seven or better, if they go sub 500 the rest of the way, if the bottom falls out, the Kingsbury offensive regression from Arizona happens, Daniels looks more pedestrian, then we'll go back to the drawing board and we can dissect everything. There's still going to be a 500 ish team. It's still going to be viewed as a massive win from, you know, the off season. There'll be a disappointment from here on out, but it looks like you've got your quarterback given the preseason expectations to that end point of winning nine games and then and then you go into the off season. You get rid of the things that didn't work from here on out that led to your sub 500 finish. You add at the places where you need to, namely pass rusher, couple of other things, maybe a, you know, playmaking explosive wide receiver, if they want to do that, whatever it looks like. And it's another off season for Adam Peters, who seems to have had a tremendous first off season. It's early. I don't like kind of claiming victory on any moves in the first quarter of a year, right? But right now, the arrow is trending very much up on Louvoo, Echler, Wagner, Biotich, Allegretti, Brown, Zacchaeus, Hertz, Armstrong, Chin, Fowler, if you look at the draft class, Daniels looks really good. Coleman looks excellent. McCaffrey has looked very solid. We could go round and around. Yeah. And none of those guys, by the way, are top of the market, $30 million players. Do you know what I mean? Like that, that's what's always the most devastating is finding a guy that we're not that much and getting more than you bargained for out of him is always awesome. But going out for the superstar, the big game hunter, right? You pay someone on top of the market at their given position. And that guy's a bust. See every move that Rivera made, see most moves the Bruce Allen and company made over the years, the Josh Gromman signings, things like that. It's disastrous. And as you already pointed out, full lot, I'm going to draft picks and more coming and a hundred million bucks without making up without lifting a finger going in the next off season in terms of cap room, the future is bright for the local football team and for you. And it is time for you to plan your future. The exclusive sponsor of our show will help Condorian Meraz, the law firm that makes this show possible. We'll get you squared away with your last will and testament. They'll set up a trust for you and your family schedule a consultation with their estate planning attorneys at K M lawyers.com. Tell them we sent you. That's K M lawyers.com. Danny, you know, who must have been pretty happy last night. Who's up? What do you think Josh Harris was saying? The new owner of the football operation last evening. Obviously it's, you know, a great start to something we don't want to be satisfied after, you know, only five weeks, but, you know, our goals are to be sustainably good and have a chance to try to win championships. And it's incumbent upon us to deliver a product to this fan base and all of us can be, you know, proud of Josh, you know, who's on the show coming up tomorrow? You guys always have a great lineup. And I would say I should come on more. Well, you can come on tomorrow if you want to have the heavy. I have to talk to someone about that. But more people should try to come on your show. Lewis Riddick at three. He's outstanding. Austin Echler at five. Great player. John Carlson of the capitals. If you're familiar with his work, I love the devil. He will he torments me as the devil's owner oftentimes. Certainly does. It's going to be a good Tuesday operation round these parts on Grant and Danny. Toby's next. Enjoy Monday night football.