Speaker 1: Excited to talk specifically Lions and Commanders with the guy
Speaker 1: who's really familiar, knows the commanders inside and out, does
Speaker 1: a great job on the pre and postgame show on
Speaker 1: radio on the Commander's Radio Network. His name is Scott Jackson.
Speaker 1: You can follow him on Twitter at Jackson Sports and
Speaker 1: he joins us here on Exus and Bros. Scott really
Speaker 1: appreciate the time because I know it's valuable, and I
Speaker 1: know a lot of people are tugging at you. How
Speaker 1: are you today, great, Matt, how you doing. I'm doing fantastic.
Speaker 1: Cappy new year to you and yours. What surprised you
Speaker 1: and impressed you most about how Washington has gone about
Speaker 1: its business so far this year?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean it's so new right with we're talking
Speaker 2: about a staff change, and I mean from the top
Speaker 2: on down right. This was technically year two of a
Speaker 2: new ownership group, which everybody was excited about. Look, just
Speaker 2: getting Dan Snyder out of here with a huge win,
Speaker 2: no matter what was on the other side. You know,
Speaker 2: I think everybody that they had been paying attention here,
Speaker 2: we've been talking about this for decades, which was I
Speaker 2: didn't feel like the franchise could move forward until you
Speaker 2: got him out of here, and they were able to
Speaker 2: do that that. Josh Harris made a really smart hire
Speaker 2: last year around this time with Adam Peters since the
Speaker 2: general manager of the forty nine ers at the time.
Speaker 2: And you know, dan Quinn was not the number one
Speaker 2: target I think publicly, but they really really liked him
Speaker 2: and they were very intrigued on him. Obviously, Ben John
Speaker 2: Speer guy there Detroit was everybody's number one choice, and
Speaker 2: you know they just it didn't for whatever reason work
Speaker 2: and you hear different stories about why, but it didn't
Speaker 2: really matter because you know, here's dan Quinn. You get
Speaker 2: the second pick of the draft and he hits like
Speaker 2: he has and has been, you know, everything you could
Speaker 2: want from a future star in this league. And I
Speaker 2: think you start right there, I mean, and then from
Speaker 2: there they build out this roster with with other parts
Speaker 2: that have come together. But it's far from a finished product.
Speaker 2: I mean, there's still the issues of the defense. Certainly,
Speaker 2: offensive line could be a lot better, and you know
Speaker 2: there's skilled positions that are lacking. But you know, number
Speaker 2: five makes it all happen. So this has been an
Speaker 2: unexpected great season by so many levels for this franchise
Speaker 2: and overly do for a franchise, it used to be,
Speaker 2: you know, a very good one when I was young,
Speaker 2: when Will Gibbs was run of the show here first
Speaker 2: part of Joe Gibson's career, know, with Jackie Cook is
Speaker 2: the owner. So it's been refreshing for people my age
Speaker 2: to remember what it used to look like here prior
Speaker 2: to the nightmare that was the twenty four year tenure
Speaker 2: of Dan Sneiner.
Speaker 1: And really all football fans Joe Gibbs one of the
Speaker 1: classiest and best coaches in history and winning three Super
Speaker 1: Bowls with three different quarterbacks. When you look at Dan
Speaker 1: Quinn and he had that stint in Seattle, right or
Speaker 1: in Atlanta? Rather, we know what he did in Seattle
Speaker 1: to rejuvenate his head coaching opportunities, and rightfully, so, how
Speaker 1: has he made this team better? Do you think? I'm
Speaker 1: sure that's a multiple answer to the question, but overall, well,
Speaker 1: how do you think? What do you think he's done
Speaker 1: to make him better?
Speaker 2: Well? I think he's a heck of a culture builder.
Speaker 2: You hear that term culture thrown around a lot, and
Speaker 2: it's easy to identify that culture and harder to probably
Speaker 2: build the good stuff. And I think with him and
Speaker 2: Adam Peters vision and the staff they put together, it's
Speaker 2: not like he didn't come in here like he Cam's
Speaker 2: from Dallas, right. He brings you know, Joe Witz, Junior's
Speaker 2: coordinator with you know, the coordinator and Rim here. It
Speaker 2: wasn't like though he had like this heavy Dallas staff.
Speaker 2: I mean a fe you guys from the Cowboys that
Speaker 2: came with him, but guys from all over the league.
Speaker 2: You know, got a couple of former head coaches. Cliff
Speaker 2: Kingsberry who he had no relationship with running this offense,
Speaker 2: but was a head coach in Arizona. You know Anthony Lynn,
Speaker 2: you know, is on this staff, who was of course
Speaker 2: the head coach of the Chargers. I think that's helped him.
Speaker 2: He leans into his staff. He's not trying to do everything,
Speaker 2: you know, he knows that, but he's the guy sets
Speaker 2: the tone every week. I mean, the way he talks,
Speaker 2: he's very similar to your coach, you know, Frankly. I mean,
Speaker 2: the Dan's has got a lot of a lot of
Speaker 2: things that they're similar to coaches you probably want to
Speaker 2: go into a barroom fight with if you you needed
Speaker 2: to pick a coach to have your back. I mean
Speaker 2: they're both those kind of guys and both ultra aggressive
Speaker 2: with fourth down. I mean he's built a lot of
Speaker 2: confidence in a like a you know, a Novs attitude
Speaker 2: in terms of way to want to approach the football
Speaker 2: game each and every week.
Speaker 1: I love that too, And I think you're right the
Speaker 1: backward hat just it's who he is. I love that
Speaker 1: he's not afraid to show who he is. And Scott Jackson,
Speaker 1: who is the outstanding pre and postgame radio host for
Speaker 1: Commander's Radio network, joins his follow him on Twitter at
Speaker 1: jacks and Sports. Obviously, people want to always ask you,
Speaker 1: and you probably almost get tired of talking about Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 1: I don't we see what he does well? The thing
Speaker 1: that impresses me most from Afar you would know better
Speaker 1: than I would. But from Afar is his willing to
Speaker 1: be unnerved. He never seems like the moment is too big.
Speaker 1: Is he has he surprised you in any way when
Speaker 1: he first came out of LSU? And how has he
Speaker 1: gotten better through the year through the season?
Speaker 2: Do you think I see? I think he learns on
Speaker 2: the go, like if something is something that he's not
Speaker 2: doing well, he'll fix it the next week or even
Speaker 2: really the next player next series. You know, maybe he
Speaker 2: gets caught on, you know, he messes up a covers,
Speaker 2: gets picked off, you know, reads it wrong. You know
Speaker 2: it's not gonna happen again. He has not had big
Speaker 2: interception games this season. He is and really smart with
Speaker 2: the football. And you know it's the first after the
Speaker 2: first week. They played awful against the Buccaneers in Week
Speaker 2: one and of course it just beat them, and you know,
Speaker 2: I remember he just took a lot of hits and
Speaker 2: he was very quick to run out of the pocket
Speaker 2: that week, didn't really have his eyes up. All the
Speaker 2: things that he was good at in college he wasn't
Speaker 2: doing in Week one. Next week comes the Giants game, sliding,
Speaker 2: you know, looking downfield when he's moving, you know, they
Speaker 2: in the end zone. They kind of kick seven pield
Speaker 2: goals and week do to win a game. Then there's
Speaker 2: that Monday night game against the Bengals in Week three
Speaker 2: where like everything worked. I mean he was hitting downfield
Speaker 2: with McLaurin, which hadn't been happened before. And it's just
Speaker 2: like it's been a progression since there. And you know,
Speaker 2: the confidence and you mentioned the unflappable manner. So true.
Speaker 2: I mean the other night he's sitting on the benches sing.
Speaker 2: Gonzalez is literally joinking the right up right, you know,
Speaker 2: and the ball's going through and he like he is
Speaker 2: like a he's just smiling on the bench and he
Speaker 2: kind of gets up really jill like and hugged one
Speaker 2: of the coaches that came over to him or one
Speaker 2: of the traders, and you know, just then starts celebrating.
Speaker 2: You know, But it just doesn't seem like the thing
Speaker 2: about him is I don't I don't think any of
Speaker 2: this surprises him. Like he's not going to say like, yeah,
Speaker 2: I knew I was going to come to the league
Speaker 2: and be you of the Year and we were going
Speaker 2: to win twelve regular use the game. But I don't.
Speaker 2: I think he knows. He's that kind of athlete that
Speaker 2: has put in the time. And this is truly what
Speaker 2: the great ones to do, right, They put in the time.
Speaker 2: They have a schedule, league stick to. I mean, he
Speaker 2: has a routine, is very regimented, and he puts in
Speaker 2: the work so he expects to be successful when they
Speaker 2: step on the field each and every week, and he
Speaker 2: has been. I mean he really has been, even when
Speaker 2: he has some games where we're like, hey's a little off,
Speaker 2: what's going on, And then he'll settle in and he'll know,
Speaker 2: he'll start hitting.
Speaker 1: Yeah. What I really like about him is I think
Speaker 1: too often times we label running quarterbacks air quotes there
Speaker 1: that that's what they do best. I think he throws
Speaker 1: the ball better than he runs, and he's really good
Speaker 1: throwing the football. Too many times we just assume that
Speaker 1: that's how he makes his living. He's going to be
Speaker 1: running it. If he were a pocket quarterback or had
Speaker 1: to roll out and throw like we've seen plenty of
Speaker 1: this year, he could still be one of the best
Speaker 1: quarterbacks the league. There's no question. He doesn't need his
Speaker 1: legs to validate how good he is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, with this offensive line he does unfortunately at times.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean you're right. I mean it's like,
Speaker 2: I look, everybody wants to compare twenty twelve Robert Griffin
Speaker 2: and the third right Heisman Trump's winner as well. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that can overall pick but very different number one personalities,
Speaker 2: very different work ethics in terms of the way Jaden
Speaker 2: has put in the film work and he eases a
Speaker 2: much more polished passer which you hit it on the head.
Speaker 2: Robert really needed that run. And look, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 2: The RPO is good for them, It's good for a
Speaker 2: lot of teams. I mean, you know, you've got teams
Speaker 2: that don't have athletic running quarterbacks all the time. It's
Speaker 2: a good way to address defenses. But he has. Yeah,
Speaker 2: he's excelled with his accuracy is really top notch. And
Speaker 2: you heard this coming out of draft, and you know, look,
Speaker 2: they're they're fortunate to have him. I mean, it's been
Speaker 2: a blessing. There's a franchise that has spun their wheels
Speaker 2: for decades, even when they were good. You mentioned it,
Speaker 2: coming in three different Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.
Speaker 2: They never really had that one franchise guy. They have
Speaker 2: the Hall of Fame quarterbacks on way way back like
Speaker 2: Paul and Jurgensen, but they never really drafted a quarterback
Speaker 2: and developed one. You know, in this era of modern
Speaker 2: you know, passing football, and I think you know, again
Speaker 2: you got to always say, you know it's early, but
Speaker 2: you know the early results had been excellent.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and had MVPs like Mark Rippon and one and
Speaker 1: the Lions can speak to that experience speaking of the
Speaker 1: Lions thirty thousand foot view. Outside this market, we all
Speaker 1: get caught up on our own teams, emotionally and rightfully.
Speaker 1: So how do you view the Lions. What impresses you
Speaker 1: most and perhaps what would you consider their weakness?
Speaker 2: Well? I love their coach. Okay, I always start there.
Speaker 2: I was one of these people that was on radio
Speaker 2: the day after the NFC Championship game of telling people
Speaker 2: to shut up. I was like, look, this is the
Speaker 2: way they played all year. They got here doing this.
Speaker 2: This guy knows this team, this is how they played.
Speaker 2: There is I buy into the four down philosophy like
Speaker 2: Dan Campbell and Down Quinn and these others. I think
Speaker 2: it's important because you can run on third downs, right
Speaker 2: you get third and seven, you don't have to drop back.
Speaker 2: I mean, if you're going to play it on fourth down,
Speaker 2: as long as you don't lose, you know, big chunk yardage.
Speaker 2: You know. I love the philosophy. Number one. I like
Speaker 2: the way that their offense is amazing, and I was look,
Speaker 2: I was excited about the idea of Ben Johnson last
Speaker 2: year when the interview process started here. I thought he
Speaker 2: was he was very intriguing enjoy watching their offense and
Speaker 2: the new wrinkles they put in each and every week.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I'm a you know, i'd say I'm a
Speaker 2: Lions fan from Afar in the sense that like you'd
Speaker 2: like what franchises do and how they handle their business.
Speaker 2: And you know, any team that runs a score for
Speaker 2: the Cowboys is one of my favorites. So you know,
Speaker 2: I like those kind of thing. I look that the
Speaker 2: weakness this year has been just you know geez. I mean,
Speaker 2: the defense is beat up. I mean, my god, I
Speaker 2: don't know how many more hits you can take. That
Speaker 2: being said, I mean the way they handled the end
Speaker 2: of the year I think is just such a great
Speaker 2: testament to what they're all about, which is we're not
Speaker 2: going to take a knee in the forty nine ers
Speaker 2: gable that we could have, you know, come back the
Speaker 2: next week and blow out you know, division rival to
Speaker 2: put an exclamation point on the season. That felt inevitable.
Speaker 2: I mean all year we're like, oh, they're the number
Speaker 2: one seed by a lot, but they weren't right because
Speaker 2: like no, but actually gonna have to play Week eighteen
Speaker 2: to get it. So yeah, I love everything they've done
Speaker 2: to this point, and I think you know, defensively, yeah,
Speaker 2: there's some there's some aspects of their defense you look
Speaker 2: at and sink, yeah, I do. You know, they're gonna
Speaker 2: have some The Commander's gonna have some chances here to
Speaker 2: make some plays and they're gonna but the Commander's big key,
Speaker 2: kind of like they did against Tampa, is they're gonna
Speaker 2: have to stay on the field like they're gonna have
Speaker 2: to have long drives and finish them off with touchdowns
Speaker 2: and keep golf for that offense and the sideline as
Speaker 2: long as possible because that's gonna be Look, the Lions
Speaker 2: offense is gonna be the best unit at the stadium
Speaker 2: on on Saturday night, and they've got to try to
Speaker 2: limit their opportunities as best as possible and obviously maximize theirs.
Speaker 2: And they're gonna have to play their game of the
Speaker 2: year in all three phases and they haven't done that yet,
Speaker 2: which is you know, interesting, but you know it's sometimes
Speaker 2: it never happens for teams, right, I mean, I think
Speaker 2: that that's what is really challenging about this this game,
Speaker 2: you know, coming up Saturday night and exciting, but I
Speaker 2: think there's a lot of similarities from what the two
Speaker 2: have gone through to get back to this point.
Speaker 1: You can follow them on Twitter at Jackson Sports. He
Speaker 1: you's got Jackson, the Commander's pre game show host, joining
Speaker 1: us here on X's and Bros. Every team has weaknesses.
Speaker 1: There's there's no perfect team out there. Washington very susceptible
Speaker 1: to the run. It's one thing, one of the many things.
Speaker 1: I think Detroit's offense does exceptionally well. And David Montgomery
Speaker 1: comes back to compliment Jamier Gibbs like he has most
Speaker 1: of this season. How challenging do you think that'll be
Speaker 1: and how concerning do you think that is for Washington
Speaker 1: fans knowing Detroit's run team is as stout as it is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is. I mean they did the same thing
Speaker 2: last week. It's the Bucks, and they were able. Like
Speaker 2: I said, you know, the limit opportunities for Tampa. You know,
Speaker 2: it's just forty eight plays I think helped a lot.
Speaker 2: And Bucky Irving, you know, never got going like he
Speaker 2: has been this year, so that that's encouraging. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean it has been the weak spot. But here's
Speaker 2: the weird thing. Some of their worst run defensive performances
Speaker 2: are games they've won, which is just wild. I mean,
Speaker 2: they'll have these games. Will they'll give up, you know,
Speaker 2: not much, and they'll get us some chunk runs like
Speaker 2: Sakwon Barkley the Eagles, you know when they beat the
Speaker 2: Eagles and the game where galn Hurst was knocked out
Speaker 2: of in the first quarter. You know, Barkley was killing
Speaker 2: them early and then they really locked in on him.
Speaker 2: Then the first Eagles game, Barkley was getting nothing. They
Speaker 2: had they had a great defensive game plan. Barket was
Speaker 2: getting nowhere. You know, they were really containing that Eagles
Speaker 2: offense in week one or excuse me, in the first meeting,
Speaker 2: which they played up in Philly on a Thursday night,
Speaker 2: and then Barkley popped too late after the Commander's offense,
Speaker 2: you know, stalled out on a fourth down. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean that's going to be the challenge. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's going to be one of the loss that that
Speaker 2: offensive line just really just all parts of the offensive line.
Speaker 2: Also the way they move when the you know, the
Speaker 2: screen game, and then the other things that they're able
Speaker 2: to do in terms of protections are going to be big,
Speaker 2: and you know, the ability to tackle, you know, don't
Speaker 2: let guys, you know, they're great after contact and after
Speaker 2: catch as we know. I mean, you've got to be
Speaker 2: really good in those areas if you're the commander's defense.
Speaker 2: So that's going to be the biggest challenge for sure,
Speaker 2: and obviously maximizing you know, opportunities on offense when you
Speaker 2: get them out there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm super excited for it. I think what excites
Speaker 1: me most is I like seeing good teams play. I
Speaker 1: know a lot of people feel like, oh, I just
Speaker 1: want to blow the opposition out. I like watching good
Speaker 1: teams play. I like watching Jayden Daniels. Not because you're
Speaker 1: on with us, but I think he can hurt you
Speaker 1: from the pocket, he can hurt you outside the pocket.
Speaker 1: I like Zach Ertz. I think Terry McLaurin, now that
Speaker 1: he has a quarterback, really kind of shines through and
Speaker 1: how good of a wide receiver he truly is. He's
Speaker 1: probably one of the best wide receivers in football. People
Speaker 1: just didn't know enough about it. You mentioned Philadelphia. Philadelphia
Speaker 1: now gets the Rams. After the Rams win last night,
Speaker 1: people feel like you have to run the football, And
Speaker 1: that's what kind of piqued my interest when you said
Speaker 1: that about Barkley. Both the Rams last night and the
Speaker 1: Vikings rushed the ball twenty two times and actually Minnesota
Speaker 1: I'll gained them on the ground, which is interesting. Turnovers
Speaker 1: is big. Did it surprise you? How do you handicap
Speaker 1: the Rams at Philadelphia this weekend in the NC semi Finals.
Speaker 2: I say before last week, before Sunday, I should say
Speaker 2: I would have said the Eagles by a launch them earlier.
Speaker 2: This syear pretty good. But after watching the you know,
Speaker 2: the Rams essentially come out of a bye week. Let's
Speaker 2: be honest. They didn't play anybody in week eighteen, right,
Speaker 2: they sat their starters. They were a comfortable dropping down
Speaker 2: the spot. I'm intrigued by the matchup much more, I'd
Speaker 2: say coming through the weekend now, because I don't think
Speaker 2: Eagles offensively were that sharp. I thought I thought it hurts,
Speaker 2: looked like a guy who had missed multiple weeks with
Speaker 2: a concussion. Frankly, And you know this is you know,
Speaker 2: Eagle fans will tell you if their deep dark secrets
Speaker 2: sometimes if you if you let them uh one of
Speaker 2: their one of their concerns, their quarterback. You know, if
Speaker 2: they if they get into a game where the running game,
Speaker 2: the balance they got to get the drop back game,
Speaker 2: can he really beat you, you know, throwing the football
Speaker 2: around the yard. And I think that's the thing right
Speaker 2: now that you know, a couple of seasons ago, when
Speaker 2: they had the Super Bowl run, it felt like there
Speaker 2: was a lot more flicking going on there, and you know,
Speaker 2: with A J. Brown, that was all new. But now,
Speaker 2: I don't know, it's interesting Philadelphia. I think talent wise,
Speaker 2: you know, player for player, you could you can make
Speaker 2: the arguments the best roster owen, but it's not always
Speaker 2: shown in the results right or the way they play
Speaker 2: right now. But yeah, I think there's more of a chance.
Speaker 2: I'll say this coming out of the weekend, and I've
Speaker 2: talked too long already the Rams. I have a much
Speaker 2: better feeling about the Rams that having a shot going
Speaker 2: into Philly that I did prior to this weekend.
Speaker 1: Last thing from you, because you're in depth, indeed deep
Speaker 1: with the NFC East. You brought up the Cowboys. We
Speaker 1: were talking about it earlier. We're just thankful that Jerry
Speaker 1: Jones isn't the Lion's owner. I know the Lions have
Speaker 1: been the laughing stock in the past, but now no
Speaker 1: reason to be because she has done a really good job.
Speaker 1: But Jerry Jones thinks he's the smartest guy in the
Speaker 1: room and every conversation, especially when it comes to football.
Speaker 1: We thought he screwed himself by not allowing Mike McCarthy
Speaker 1: to talk to the Bears and by holding on he
Speaker 1: did not talk with Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn didn't
Speaker 1: get that chance. But he's going to talk with a
Speaker 1: guy like Dion Sanders, which you know, to each his own.
Speaker 1: I suppose how thankful are you that he's not your owner?
Speaker 1: And what's the overall belief as you make your way
Speaker 1: through the NFL, especially in that division about Jones and
Speaker 1: the Cowboys direction.
Speaker 2: Well, it's great. I hope he stays forever, you know,
Speaker 2: doing what he's doing. I don't want him to change.
Speaker 2: I mean, he does. He thinks he's been doing this
Speaker 2: since the mid nineties when Jimmy Johnson, you know, just
Speaker 2: couldn't deal with it. But he's worn.
Speaker 1: He's also got rights.
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, as I'm saying, is he let Jimmy go, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, basically force him out by by trashing him
Speaker 2: and telling him anybody could do what he does and
Speaker 2: then you watch, you watch it as you know you can't.
Speaker 1: That's not true.
Speaker 2: It's actually the opposite Jerry. You know, you needed Jimmy
Speaker 2: needed a football person. You need somebody to you know,
Speaker 2: to be in charge. But he wants to prove his
Speaker 2: life's mission and he's going to take it to the
Speaker 2: end is to prove that he's the smartest football guy
Speaker 2: and what he's was in that organization and we can
Speaker 2: see the results. They have wonderful regular seasons, but they
Speaker 2: can't get it done in the postseason. I mean, Dion
Speaker 2: Sanders has already told you out loud what what what
Speaker 2: he thinks about the NFL, which is he didn't think
Speaker 2: his style and he's cut out for it. But yet,
Speaker 2: you know, I don't know how serious these things are.
Speaker 2: Like he said, he listened to conversation, he hung up
Speaker 2: the phone happy, but he doesn't really know I what
Speaker 2: it's going anywhere. And he thinks to stay in Boulder
Speaker 2: or whatever. So I don't know if this is going anywhere.
Speaker 2: I think this is just a great way for Jerry
Speaker 2: to stay in the public spotlight as he liked to do.
Speaker 2: And it's about marketing. You know, they're great at making money.
Speaker 2: Nobody's made more money than he has. He's awesome about it.
Speaker 2: But in terms of putting together a championship roster and organization.
Speaker 2: He's not been able to do it since Jimmy Johnson left.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that would end badly if Deion Sanders
Speaker 1: were their next head coach. But really enjoyed the conversation
Speaker 1: with you, Scott. Thanks for the time. Continued success, enjoy
Speaker 1: the weekend.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Matt, you too appreciate it.