Grant and Danny
Brian Baldinger Breaks Down Commanders 4-1 Start
(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 of 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. Shot 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 to the sharpest rides.com, right from the palm of your hands. Or check other massive inventory in person at the sharpest rides, located 2250 South Sea Home Street in Inglewood. Either way, you will fall into savings. Don't miss out, head on over to the sharpest rides.com today and explore the deals that make every season better. And tell them that your girl, Tasha McKia sent you, the sharpest rides, affordable, sexy, sharp. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Whether you love true crime or comedy, celebrity interviews or news, you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue. And guess what? Now you can call them on your auto insurance too, with the name of your price tool from Progressive. It works just the way it sounds. You tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Get your quote today at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, price and coverage match limited by state law. - Grant and Danny on the fan, Luke McCaffrey of the commanders is gonna join us coming up in a little over 10 minutes. Make sure you're listening. Right now though, we're sneaking in our buddy, Brian Baldinger, because he's one of our favorite analysts. And as we're getting ready for the biggest game of the season, so far for Washington, there was nobody we wanted to break it down with more. Baldi, thanks for a few. I've been seeing some of your analysis and film breakdowns on the commanders getting fired up. I know like the rest of us, you like what you're seeing. - Yeah, I do. I mean, that's a good defense that they carved up last week against Cleveland. Those are some good corners. To see that touchdown throw from Jayton to Diane Brown against Martin Emerson. I got a lot of respect for Martin Emerson. He's a good corner. Tommy ran right by him and the throw was unbelievable. The throw to Terry McLarren for 66 yards on a broken plate of scrambled drill. You know, avoiding Zadarias Smith and Dusso doing. It's just an amazing throw. The third down throws to Luke McCaffrey. The protections against Miles Garrett and how they get it. Like, oh, it's really good. You know, I mean, I know who Jeremy McNichols is. He's been, you know, he's drafted 2017. I know the kid. Like, he's known as 19. He scored one touchdown in his career. He's got three in the last two weeks. I mean, everything you're doing right now was working outside of a couple of drop passes last week. - Well, you mentioned protection. That's the thing I've been amazed about to this point is that Daniels has had time. And when he hasn't had time, he just makes teams pay with, you know, double-yard scrambles. But how are they protecting so well? I've been blown away by how good they are in that department. - Well, it's hard to rookie in Coleman, but, you know, Luke is playing out there. And they're split reps. They split reps last week. You know, whether it was injury or later, I don't know. But, you know, two different guys, man to position. I mean, the big acquisition was beyond-ish. I mean, the guy's a good player, really good player. I mean, doesn't go to Pro Bowls or anything. But he's a solid player. I know the kid. Down at Duke Manning, weather's all off-season. Working on his core, working on his strength. Loves the game. You know, I think he's made Allegretti better. Cosby's coming on. Wiley's just so steady. I mean, it's a good group up front. You know, and then Cook does a good job of chipping with his tight ends. They're not great blockers. But he's chipping with them. They know what they're supposed to do over there. So, I mean, the protection's been good. But, like you said, I mean, you go back to week one against Todd Bowles in that defense. And, you know, Todd, I mean, it was 37-16. Todd Bowles was still blitzing him. With a minute to go in a game, you're still coming after him. But he picked the blitz with his running. And, you know, he's such a fast-twitch guy. I mean, the Darius Smith can be right in front of him, and he can make a miss. You know, I mean, it's just remarkable. Because I always say this about him. And it's only five weeks now. But, like, he's really, really fast, but he's never in a hurry. And that's a great calmness to have as a quarterback. - Brian Baldinger on Grant and Danny here on The Fan. Baldi, what else can you say about what we've seen from Daniels to dive into? Some of the decision-making. - You know, one of the things I saw in college that I worried about was he didn't get out of the pocket and throw ever. I think there were, like, eight times or something he threw while scrambling all of last year. He's already showing some propensity to leave the pocket to throw, which is, man, that would be a big development in a game changer. - Well, he's really coachable. I mean, you just, you know, talk to Brian Kelly at LSU about him when he came from Arizona State. I mean, he wasn't a runner at Arizona State. He added that component to it. He watched the Alabama game last year. And to your point, he went to run, you know, and you go, he can't survive, you know, this game against Alabama, much less do it in the NFL. But, you know, his eyes are up. They're throwing a third of the car and he could have easily just run right there. But his eyes are up and he saw him a car and come from the other side of the field and they just launched a bomb, you know? And so he's not just running to run. He's running to make a play. And if it's not there, then he takes off. And he's pretty good. I mean, I've seen him hit probably a couple of times where he probably doesn't need to take that shot. Probably used to get down a little sooner. But, you know, he's running out of bounds. He's sliding. He's protecting himself pretty good. But look, he's, he, as soon as he breaks the pocket, he doesn't leave just to leave. I mean, he gives, he looks at what he's supposed to look at and then he's looking to buy time and to extend the play and make a play. So whatever they're teaching him, Cliff, whatever it is, he's a good student because he's running. - Paul, do you mention Cliff, Kingsbury offensive coordinator? I wasn't sure to be quite frankly. I didn't know what to expect in terms of fit here, et cetera. So far, you know, the choir is singing, man. It's been unbelievable to watch. It seems like they've got something, have an answer for everything. It seems like defenses are befuddled as to what they're trying to take away. And it's resulted in nothing being taken away to this point. What have you made from that new fit there with Kingsbury and Daniels? - Well, you know, the little known fact about Cliff is, you know, I did a lot of big 12 games. It was out in London when he was there a bunch. Coach of Texas Tech always had 10 new plays on his whiteboard every single week that he was trying out. But the really, he always spread teams out even in the big 12, even at Texas A&M. He spread teams out to running. Like, and they're a very good running football team right now. You know, Ekler missed the week. Mick Nichols picks up. Brian is really super solid. Obviously the quarterback is special. But you know, they're a very good running football team. They can melt the clock. That's a good defensive front. They ran the ball up and down the field on them. And that's really the hit jewel. And then, if you just look at the design of the offense, because you sort of call plays with the predictability of what defense you're gonna get. Cleveland's a big man coverage team. They had their man beaters up. The receivers won routes. They come back to Terry McCarran in the first quarters, a 20 yard comeback on timing. Now, you don't do that by accident. You do that by putting in hours and hours of work. And McCarran's like, he's at the top of his route. He's separate. He's coming back to balls in the air. It's right where it's supposed to be. Like, you see that over and over again. And that's not easy to run 20 yard comeback in his league. Against good corners like Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson, but they did. So they're getting worked on in practice. Cliff is a great play caller. I noticed, I don't know if it was last week, or it wasn't last week, it was probably the week before when they blew out Arizona. I saw some sideline shots of him. He has honestly, he had the smallest play chart for a long time when he was in Arizona, Texas. He couldn't put it in an index card. And now he noticed the play sheet is a lot bigger than it used to be, ever. And so I feel like that means the quarterback is digesting a lot and he can handle a lot more. And so he's given them a lot more right now. Probably at the line of scrimmage, two, three plays called, he chooses it. Like, I think he's given them more than I thought. I'm doing the game in a couple of weeks in Chicago. I'm anxious to talk to Cliff before the game. Just to see if I want to look at his play chart and see if it's pretty advanced for a kid that's going to probably make him his eighth starter. Yeah, I can't wait to have Baldi on the call. He's going to be on Commander's Bears with the number one overall pick Caleb Williams who's been playing a lot better this past week, especially. And the number two overall pick Jaden Daniels who early on is running away with the rookie of the year award, four rookie of the week honors in the first five weeks. Baldi, it'll be a quick visit, I suppose, 'cause we got Luke McCaffrey calling in a few, but I do want to get your thoughts here on Commander's Ravens because this is the game. It seems like that everybody wants to get their hands on. So in our final few minutes here, give us your detailed Baldi breakdown here on Washington and Baltimore, we're fired up. Well, I just did the Raven since that again last week, so I saw him up close. Lamar is at another MVP level. He's playing better than he ever did last year already in large part because of Derek Henry. But the play of Justice Hill, they've kind of fixed what the offensive line is now. It took a couple of weeks to get it right, but McCarry is that left guard and Rosa Guard and is that right tackle. They got that fixed. They got Mark Andrews back and playing really good football right now for the first time. They are a juggernaut on offense. Defensively, they have a lot of problems right now. They lost a lot in coaching. They lost Jodevian Clowney. They lost Patrick Queen. They've got good players there, don't get me wrong, but they don't look like the same defense anywhere that they were a year ago. And so I think they're very vulnerable. I mean, Joe Burrell looked like he could have scored anytime he wanted to last week, practically did. They've got a lot of holes defensively. I'm anxious to see Cliff and how he attacks them because I think there's a lot of things. They're good in the middle like they always are. They're big and stout up front, but there's there's there's running lanes on the edges and there's certainly passing lanes down the field. They got exposed by Jamar and T and that group in Cincinnati last week, big time. And I think those are still vulnerable areas. Baldi, you're the best man. I always appreciate the time. Have a great weekend. Hey, I look. Yeah, thanks guys. Enjoy this game. It's gonna be special this Sunday. We've been waiting for this around here for a long time. You know that Baldi. We will see you at Landover, Maryland's Northwest Stadium in just a couple of weeks. Baldi will be on the call of the commanders and the Bears. (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. 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 events where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shot 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 2250 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 them that your girl, Tasha McKia sent you, the sharpest rides, affordable, sexy, sharp. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Whether you love true crime or comedy, celebrity interviews or news, you call the shots on what's in your podcast queue. And guess what? Now you can call them on your auto insurance too, with the name of your price tool from Progressive. It works just the way it sounds. You tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Get your quote today at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, price and coverage match limited by state law.