Battered and Bruised
The Commanders vs Eagles Preview Pod: Can the Commanders get right on Thursday Night?
[Music] Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the battered and bruised podcast with your host, Brent. Going by my host, Drizzy Dre, what's happening, Dre? Man, it's a lot happening, man. Biggest game of the year. Up to up to this point, man. Our first division match up with the Philadelphia Eagles. It's a big one. Yeah, it's a big match up. We aren't at 100% coming off a short week in a tough game against Pittsburgh, but let's just talk about it. Running up, running up, huh? What'd she say? Okay, so first, I guess we could start with the injuries, our side, and maybe talk about the injuries on Philly side before we go into our match up, but give me an update. Who's playing and who's not for us? So it's looking like we're going to be right back. They said he was a full participant in practice today. He will go. Don't say foul is a full goal. No, it's not even a full goal. I don't know what's up with Cleveland's Feral, but I think he's a full goal. He didn't practice today, but he's not listed as questionable and the thing. So he's a full goal. Tyler Diatis, full goal. Now, three tackles are all listed as questionable, but they were all limited throughout the whole week. And I'm expecting for all of them to go. We had Andrew Wiley active on Sunday, but he didn't play. I guess he was active on some emergency type time, but I think they specifically held him out to get him ready for this game. Your boy Marcia Latimore out. The women's Austin, Austin cyber out. And Nick Balor out. Wasn't even Nick. Special team. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. He doesn't matter. Special team. You could have just stopped with with Marcia Latimore because, you know, I got these with this kind of important. Like we didn't know how saying Gonzalez was going to do last week. Okay. Well, we see that. That was the question mark. Okay, he's reliable. You know, who's not reliable? The lemon that the lemon that they sold me off the light. And now I can't even take it back anymore. They talking about the trades going through pending physical. Well, how that how that how that damn physical go. He two weeks in and he ain't playing. Hey, please. Hey, please. He said he looked at the medicals. You said we go up with those three. Hey, this was this was the first time I'm looking at you like, I know. You didn't you didn't you didn't went all in on this season. And this is a pool. This is the biggest game of the season so far. So no question. No question because you're asking Philly. If we drop this game, you're asking Philly to give us help to help us out to run the division. I don't care about all we gonna make the playoffs. I don't care. I don't care about that. I want to win the division. That's what y'all told me we was gonna do. So now we need to do that move that we made to get Marcia Latimore gave up that third and that fourth. Amen. So so you have you have the belief that what if if we we lose the game like like still ain't losing again for like the rest of the year or something. Like is that the belief that you have if you're asking me the only game that I can I would be willing to put money down that they lose is maybe Baltimore because I don't know what Baltimore defense. I don't know what Baltimore defense is anymore. And Pittsburgh. We be Pittsburgh. We should have be Pittsburgh. They not all that after the outside of that the Rams. They just lost in Miami, man. No, I'm just thinking. I'm just thinking a little more not lose to an energy team. Like Oh my goodness. But I hear the near. The reason why I'm not crying and and and complain. Oh my god. I was picking us the witness game regardless before March on Latimore was even a thought. I hear you right. I hear you. I was picked. I was picking us regardless. I didn't. This is and and hey cool. We disagreeed anyway. I'm not sure. I'm not sure for them like that. And you got so much confidence and business. I just tell them I'll strap up. I hear what you say. I hear you. They can't do it. You don't want to go. You don't want him to go to the bench. You don't think he invented. He's not gonna strap it up. He's not gonna strap it up. He gonna give up a couple. He gonna give up a couple of plays. What you what you worried about though. What you worried about? You worried about. John Dawson in the slot. Is that what you worried? What I'm worried about is be worried about on the outside. That was not with now with Ben. I'm worried about not with Ben. I'm worried about Sequam bringing them down. Mike you trying to come down and help and and and run and run support and the next thing you know top off. I'm not worried about I'm not worried about Mikey and one support. I think Mikey got more heart than the six foot four point about it. In the six three point six four. Who are you talking about? Three six three Benji six three Benji. I'm not worried about Mikey and run support. Like let's be for real. Let's be for real. We we we we say we say Mikey book blow up a receiver then go get in on the tackle. Like I I'm I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about take while Barkley just running through gaps. Like like it's nobody's business. I'm like I said that this Marshawn Aladdinmore injury is troubling to me. Like how long is this going to last? When is he going to get on the field? Listen I'll start to worry if he if he isn't playing in that Dallas game because like I said last part don't be surprised if he got played this week. I'm surprised. I'm upset. No I'm not even surprised. I'm upset. Why did we trade for him right now? I know that I get you on to trade that like whatever. Why are we making him move for a hurt corner? All they said is he's good but he'll be good. They don't they don't predict for him to be hurt be the entire season and we have an under contract for the next two years. Like this isn't a rental. He missed 17 games over the last two years. Hey. Oh about to be 18. Might be 19. Oh it might be 19 games over the last two years. Hey man. He's played seven this year. He missed him. He missed him two games with us. I'll reevaluate. Come Dallas. And if he ain't playing you going to call him a lemon like I did because I can't take this back to the dealership. I wish I could. I wish I could but I can now. Come on. I'm gonna be disappointed. I'm gonna be like all right what's up with this hamstring and what you're gonna look like when you get back on the field. Like I said man but let's actually talk about the matchup that we got going on. You want to start with offense. You want to start with defense. Let's start. Let's start offense. Okay J.D.5 against this Philadelphia defense that is playing better but has feasted on some good matchups. Their last five games they played were the Giants, Bengals, Jags, Cowboys. Oh and before the Giants it was the Browns. So they have not played any teams that have a C. That's a T. Higgins list. Bingles. That's true. That is definitely true. No T. Higgins. So they don't like they look better. They're playing well. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna fake like they like they're not playing well. My word is that they had enough cupcake offenses to face to kind of get themselves together in jail. I would say that but that Jaguars game. I didn't forget that. Like they they they fell apart. Tribal Lawrence is garbage. Like they fell apart down the stretch on that game. They were up what? Twenty twenty one or something to nothing? Like twenty two to zero something like that. Yeah. Twenty two nothing and then the Jags scored twenty three straight. No, they scored 16 straight. Just pick the field goal. And then yeah. Like I said, the Jags were the Jags were literally driving with the opportunity to take the league and Tribal Lawrence throws an interception in the Reds on first down. He throws up a 50-50 ball to a running back. It was just a terrible throw. I'm trying to figure out which running back that was because it was not a running back that you Deanna's Johnson. There we go. Yeah, I was gonna say it wasn't even like it was tank big tank big B or Charlie. Yeah, it was really a head-scratching decision. Yeah, it definitely was. So, I mean, like I said, looking at that. We saw him against what? Koopa Koopa Rush. Dallas Dallas is garbage. Oh, they gave up. They quit. Zeke just handed them the ball in the red zone. Like they they are terrible. Yeah, so they quit. And now I'm looking at. I'm looking at their defense and I'm like, okay, we are the best challenge they've seen all year. I'll put it put it bluntly like that. I mean, I guess maybe a bucket of yours are better. Yeah, I'm gonna say offense would be for sure. I mean, yeah, they they caught the belt against the bucks. But yeah, I feel like they ain't seen. They haven't seen the offense of our caliber to this point. Now, my thing is how the how the matchups are going to go. Because Queen Queen has been playing some ball. Like he's been he's been he's been locking up. If Terry is who we say he is, which is a top five by receiver and inner fan. I guess it a little bit, but I know I guess it a little bit, but he's playing his number. Say he's top five. If he's a top five, he's third in the league right now. If if he is who the numbers say he is, I ain't worried about that. That ain't nothing I'm worried about. We went that match. Well, what I'm worried about is the support and cash. Yeah, I don't know. I don't think we should. And he's in these in these in these matchups against better. It is a support and cash going to show up. Now, I feel I feel I feel a lot better with the fact that I'm playing B Rob is B Rob is going to play. So we'll have a run game. Yeah, so that that'll change the level of physicality we bring in the run game. Um, but I mean, as far as. Everybody outside of Terry, like y'all want to catch the ball. I think like it is the spotlight won't be too much. I think that you get a better I think you get a bounce back game from nowhere. But I want to say bounce back like he had the one drop. That a lot of people said should have been defensive pass interference because the guy never turned around and he's working his way back to the ball. So black should have been thrown. But I do feel like he's someone that you can depend on. I think the Caffrey doesn't have that drop. I think that zackers is what zackers is at this point. And I probably will want to see more business in that role. Yeah, I'm ready for them to start phasing being centered into the game plan. At least at least having running routes like the thing like, they just got him in a blocking role and he ain't running too many wells. And if he is, he ain't getting too many looks like let's try to get him involved in the past and then you're like, I know y'all made Zach Earth to captain, going back to Philly, all that got out of y'all. But come on, bro. He looking like wash Jason Whitten out there like, get open, you're gonna catch the ball. But that's it. He is no exact right now. And to me, the biggest question offensively versus their defenses, are they going to be able to replicate what Pittsburgh did as far as limiting JD as a scrambler? No, because I don't think there's secondaries anywhere good enough to contain our guys in those scrambled routes when, because you, you, you watch the game. I know you think it's about the secondary though. I think it's about the rush. I don't think they're rush is that. Zach Bond is playing an incredible football right now. He's, I think he just won NFC defensive player of the week. He's playing really good. He's fast as hail dog. And I just know something that stuck out to me against the Steelers was Patrick Creen was kind of moving and I ain't seen JD not out one too many linebackers, but Patrick Creen was able to stay with him a little bit. And forcing them to have to throw it or just take a, take a short game. And when they, and when they were rushing the pass with, they weren't getting out of their lanes like that. And to me, that's a result of. Hoach, Pittsburgh having, yeah, having two weeks to prepare. Yeah, I don't think that Billy. Can do it. Now I know not on the short week, I don't think they can do it in general. I don't think they're deep. This is a, this is a, they don't have a T. They don't have a TJ. Why? And they don't have a high smith. Like, Pittsburgh got two of them. Like, yeah, high smith may not get all the accolades, but like, he would start on 98% of the league and probably be the best rusher on those teams. So I'm like, I'm like, what does, what does worry me is. How healthy is Tyler Biottt? I think if they want to put him out there, he good enough to go. We saw him roll that ankle and Cam Haywood started getting pressure up the middle. And Jalen Carter is somebody that can affect the game. Up the middle of the field, especially if, if, if Tyler Biottt is compromised. I don't think that Biottt's injury should. I don't think he would be playing if they felt like he was going to compromise them that much. No, I feel you. I feel you. I just know what I saw on Sunday. I know, I know. I get you, but it was fresh. So it was fresh. It just happened. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to say, because he, he left, came back, and then all of a sudden, all that Cam Haywood is in the backfield in JD running for his life. Yeah. I don't think that that's going to get, I don't think that's going to be an issue for us. And then you know how you kind of slow that down a little bit. Oh, yeah. It's something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's an eight up there. It's an eight. It's an eight that way. That'll slow them down a little bit. Because Pittsburgh did not have to worry about the run at all. They were not concerned about the run. So that, that changes our whole dynamic. But anything else you want to talk about offensively before we go talk about the defense? Like I said, offensively, supporting cast, help your quarterback out, man. I'm trying to help you. I'm just saying, if it hits your hands, catch it, dog. I ain't asking for you to make superstar-like plays. Just make the plays that's there to be made. I'm going to put it on you. He sure does, man. Some of them throws, but all right. Let's talk about the other side of the ball where it is, you know, the lemon kind of hurts is not being here. Running up, running up, huh? What'd she say? All right. Defensively, the only player that scares me, that legitimately terrifies me, is 26. I don't know. I don't know. For sure. For sure. It is, I think I saw something good. They just activated. Ayana, he's playing. Yeah, he's playing. All right. So do you think Donte Fowler still has the type of impact he's had? He over the last few weeks. I need him to have, I need, again, I need him to. I need him to, but this might be the best online we playing. Listen, I know I need him to generate pressure because you beat Jalen Hertz by containing Sequah and putting pressure on him. He don't like it, even if he got AJ Brown. Hey, St. Juice. Hey, Mikey. Hey, Noah, if the defensive pressure is getting there, I'd rather y'all get beat on a double move, but play up on, press them. Press them, knock them off. They're like, don't, don't just give up them slants because you playing 10 yards off. Because AJ Brown feasts, or he wants you to give him that 10 yards. He like, you got five to catch me on an angle, and it ain't nobody there over the middle. I'm gone. Yeah. And you better wrap up because I will break this tackle. So that's what terrifies me because then, you know, that's when the play action happens and it's a slam. And then the next thing you know, you three feet, you three steps behind AJ, the ball's out and it's six. And defense, defense got to be prepared to play for them. Like, we can't, like, it's 39. We can't give up seven. They going four and four, bro. Yeah, Tis push. That's all they, that's all they're going to do. You can't, like, we, we, we, we, you can't, you can't give them enough in treatment. When you get them behind the six, keep them behind the six. Yeah, like I said, this is going to be interesting because I just don't know how we stop. Segua, like, because the thing is with him, every run ain't a home run, but he actually where you down as the game goes on. And then next thing you know, he out the back door. You looking stupid. It's a 50 yard touchdown. And now all the momentum is swung their way. And you might have been up 10. Now you only have three. And the offense doesn't score. And next thing you know, they take the lead. Look, this is, this is one of them games. To be honest, we're after, like, the best defense going to have to be, going to have to be the offense, be honest with you. Like, we're going to have to, we're going to have to control time of possession. And we can't have wasted possession. We got to score, dog. We typically do. Like, I, I take, yeah, I take, yeah. It like, like, it was going to be just a, I think last week's game and throw it out. Because that was the most three and outs we had all year, I think. And also, like, they, they are mad. They, they are built to stop what we do. Like that team, that coaching staff, that extra week, that secondary, that pass rush, like them line back. And the fact, the thing that got me feeling how positive about it is, yeah, we were, we were banged up. They had extra time. And I still feel like we should have won that game. Like, there was still periods in that game where, we were moving the ball with, with ease. Like, we got into a rhythm and was moving the rock. Even, even without our running game. I still feel like we, on that last drive, if we didn't get worked on those two plays, I think we were going to kick the field going to win the game. Like, I was confident after they scored, I said, don't worry. It's a JD, JD is going to take us down to field and score. And he should have. If, if dummy, if that hurts, catches, well, it's not his fault. If they don't work us on the spot with Zach Earth's. We're, we're, we're out beyond the sticks and don't take the knee. We are literally five yards out of field go range. If Noah Brown hangs on, hangs on to that pass or gets the pass in the finish, we were at the 20 something. Hey, we were going to win. So I'm, I'm not, I'm throwing that out. Like that happened. I'm not saying it didn't, but I'm confident. We line that up again. We went that game. But this Eagles defense, he ain't piss burned. He ain't nowhere close. Don't get me wrong. The numbers say they climbing. Yeah, I'm not saying they're the number two total defense. Hey, look at who they've played. That's all I'm going to say. Like bro, the, the Browns, the Giants, the Bengals, no T Higgins, the Jaguars put up 23 on them and then the Cowboys with no deck. Like I can see how they're the, the, the number two scoring defense. Them teams try to get a ball away to you. So I'm just saying, like I, I don't know if I'm, I'm not sure how I feel. If we're going to, I think we're going to win this game, but I'm not confident enough to really just be like, we're going to win. So I feel like what you say with the office having to be the best defense. Like you basically saying this has to be a Cincinnati game again. That's how I'm kind of, I'm kind of feeling like that. It's going to be a, we got to outscoring because I've just, I don't have the confidence in us holding them to say like 24. Like I don't have, I can't see that. Real quick, if you had the, if you had to pick an X factor for this game, who would it be? That Jaden Daniels? Yeah. Now, I mean, come on. We know five is the most important to this whole thing. But somebody other than JD, like Brown obviously. Okay. Yeah. I can see that. You were saying the same thing? Yeah. I'm thinking, I'm thinking be where I'd be where I've got to go. Yeah. I'm expecting him to get 20 plus, 20 plus carries tomorrow. That's the only way that you call this. I don't know if, I don't know if he get a dove. I'll press off the hand me, but run his ass into the ground. We got six goddamn weeks to get ready to play them again. Run them into the ground. He'll be fine. He ain't got to play, he ain't got to play against Dallas. He ain't got to play against Italians. He don't even got to play against the Saints. And then you get to buy like, come on now, man. If I need him to take the tote that thing 20 times that he can't do it, he will do it. He got to tell me he can't. Nah, my foot is, I'll let you in. He got to, he got to tote that. Cause I'm saying the same thing. And I, it, it, like the beauty of having him healthy and tote in it is, I feel like he makes Echolos so much better. Cause the defense is tired of trackling me off. The change, the change of pace and the explosive plays that Echolos, the Echolos has when, when B-Wob is out there, like the difference is drastic. Yeah, it makes out, it makes out often it's more explosive. So yeah, I think, I think he, he, he's a big aspect. Because I mean, of course, you know, JD, we need, we need him to do what he do. I need, I need, I need that direction, production from him to, to be back this week. And I need him to, I need him to make the right reads or on when to hand it off versus when to keep it. Me last week, it was terrifying, man. Like I'd be terrified to go out with something. It's going, it's going, it's going to be some opportunities there. I need, I need him to pick, I need him to pick right. It's like, I need, I need him locked in. And when you take it, be decisive. See, he's turned up, man. I know you seen the clip of him earlier. Yeah, I seen, I seen him. Yeah, hey, listen, they could, then boys come in. I feel good about it. They come when they're ready. I told, I told you after, bro, after everything I was hearing from them, after the game, like, they know they dropped that one and they, and they shouldn't have. And they, they ready for this feeling. They get it. Like, I, us winning or losing, ain't going to be because we weren't ready to play. If we, if we lose this game, it'll just be, it'll simply just be because clearly got more talent. I don't want to hear that. That, that, I don't want to hear that. Maybe I'm not predicting the loss. So you ain't got to tell me. I don't want to hear that. Here, or don't hear. I don't want to hear that. If I rather lose because he wasn't ready, then us lose because we ain't got no talent. That's how I feel. No, I take it. I, I take it because. Because if that's the case, you're going to lose. You're going to lose the second game. They, they ahead, they ahead in their, in their process. You know, they're like, I don't want to hear that. We weren't ready to shit. I, that, that I don't want to hear. Because are you not ready? How are you not ready for a game of this magnitude? I rather hear that. Because if you saying it's a talent thing that we lose in on December 22nd, because they just got more talent. Yeah, now necessarily, you know, we beat them in the past and we won't damn well that they have more talent than us. Yeah. So talent, talent don't win out every week. It wins out most weeks. I got to say, I don't want to hear that. But, uh, since we, we talking about that predictions, like, give me score, JD, one other person stat. And yeah, we, we are, we're wrapped with that. Um, score. I got a 34 to 30 commanders win. Um, I'm going to say, JD throws for anywhere from, let's say, JD throws about 250, um, another, another 50-hour Russian on the ground. B-rock, 85 on the ground, two touchdowns. Um, Akla's going to give me, I say, maybe, maybe about 40 on the ground. And he'll, he'll have a, he'll have a big, a big receiving, like a big catch, big screenplay. One of them, one of those explosives, um, I'm not sure, I'm not sure what, what Terry's number one looks like. I got to see it. I got to see it, but he's going to make plays. He's going to make plays. I just, I just got to see it. But I think, I think B-rock, B-rock will have a game. Okay. I think, I think the final score will be, like I said, I'm predicting the win, but I think it's going to be close. Oh, yeah, two pass and touchdown by JD, by the way. Okay. I think, uh, I think we win 27, 24, Gonzalez game, winning kick. I think, uh, JD is about 200 yards passing. I think he, I think he's a more effective on the ground. I think he gets about 80, one, one rush, one, one pass. I think, I think. One type of russing passes down, this is one of Ray's own jumpsos. Who he's a part of, RPO, RPO. I think, uh, B-rock, 100 on the ground, he gets, he gets a touchdown. And then I think Eckler has like 30, and he gets a rush and touchdown. I think my, my, my sleeper, I think the defense is a total of six-sactimal. Six-sactimal hurts. I think six, I think that's how we win the game. We put pressure on Earth and just throw that time in off all day. They fortunately turn over. I called the last game. I said a fumble in the pick. I'm, I'm going to keep it going. I think that we get an interception. They're going to have to force a turnover. And a timely fumble from Sequan. Okay. I've been in business, a timely fumble from Sequan. Like somebody punches out when he, when he's trying to do too much. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If I, if I, if I, if I haven't seen that in my mind. So I think, I think, and you know, HRSA will give you one. So I think that kills two drives for them where they might have been able to score. Defense does just enough. Gonzalez knocks it through, straight through the middle as time expires. And we get out of Philly with a win. 27, 24. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah, it's going to be a, be a big match up. Man, it's been a while since the Primetime Game Warriors actually could be the game of the week. What? Cause I mean, I, I last Primetime game. I ain't going to lie. I still, I still, we're going into that zone. That was, that was my big worry. I'm like, this might be one of them games. Where Joe Burrows just, just go crazy on us. But it was a pleasant surprise. And that was the day that we officially knew. We got one of them once. That we had one of them once. Cause I, what, I don't say that this could be the match above the week, like casually, like. No, no, this legit, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's crazy because it's, it's three match ups with seven, when teams go ahead to head, which is, is the most in the history of the league at this point. Um, you got us in Philly, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and who is the last match up. The Buffalo and Kansas City? Buffalo and Kansas City. Yep. I know, I know the common man will say Buffalo and Kansas City. So Kansas City, but our game is either, to me, it's between our match up and Philly. I said Philly, Baltimore win that game too, by the way. I don't like either one of them. So I don't care. But I, I see what you're saying. Cause Kansas City has been struggling all year. But, you know, I'm like, go ahead, go ahead. Baltimore beat Pittsburgh. So they got to get, they got to get high. They got to get hot. So that way, the battle of Philly, the battle of Philadelphia, they might actually take that one. Oh, that's a battle Philadelphia battle of Pennsylvania. They might actually take that one, but my man, this is a big match up. I'm glad we get it out the way early. So then after that can just enjoy the weekend or not and figure out, go from there. Hey, get ready for dial this week. But, uh, yeah, folks, we catch up with y'all after the game. Hopefully the home team brings home a dub. And we back on top of the NFC East. But job be easy. Thanks for tuning into the battered and bruised podcast with Brent and Dre. You can listen or follow an Apple podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Battered and bruised with Brent and Dre. [BLANK_AUDIO]