Brian Baldinger calls into The Sports Junkies to discuss the Washington Commanders matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and what he expects to see from Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels.
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00:00We're all pumped to see Jaden Daniels debut.
00:03Are we getting over our skis a little bit?
00:05Because he's obviously a rookie, even though he's the number two pick.
00:08We know his accomplishments at LSU.
00:11They're well-documented.
00:12He's on the road against a Todd Bowles-coached defense.
00:16Are we expecting too much in game one?
00:18How do you see this game playing out, and how do you see Jaden playing?
00:21Well, I mean, Tampa's a very good team.
00:24They've won the division three years in a row.
00:27They've got a lot of good veteran players there, Vita Vail, Evante David.
00:30I mean, you just go through the roster, it's good.
00:33They upgraded their offensive line.
00:34The one thing, you know, I think Jaden and Cliff and Dan, they know that these pressures
00:40that Todd Bowles literally draws up in his sleep, they're coming.
00:44And so do you have an answer for it?
00:47Are you going to be able to handle it?
00:50What are you going to do when it comes?
00:51Because it's not just third down and seven.
00:54I mean, he's got different pressures from everywhere on the field.
00:57He's very unique like this.
00:59So I think that's a big part of what they do in a pass game.
01:02I mean, you know, it's a good defensive front.
01:04They have added a lot of talent, Elijah Kansi, you know, Yaya Diaby, some of these guys,
01:11people don't know their names, but they're good players.
01:13They've been drafted high.
01:15It's a good blend of defense.
01:17So it's going to be a great test, honestly.
01:18Like, this is a good football team and a team that will really compete for the NFC South.
01:23So look, it's a good test for J.D. in the group.
01:26It's a rebuilt offense, a lot of new offensive players, receivers, whatnot.
01:31It's going to be a good test for him, by the way.
01:34Baldy, I think that the receivers for Tampa are really going to give the DBs for Washington
01:41a tough day.
01:42That's just my gut feeling because Mike Evans and Godwin are veterans.
01:47You know, Evans scores 13 touchdowns a year.
01:50They drafted Jalen McMillan, quick guy, you know, in the draft.
01:55So they've got three legit receivers.
01:59You know, you've got Rashad White.
02:00I just think that they're going to give problems to the secondary because that was one of the
02:03major issues for Washington last year.
02:05There's no doubt.
02:06There's no doubt.
02:07I mean, you know, they signed Michael Davis, who's, you know, came from the Chargers, and
02:11he's had a lot of good days.
02:12He's a big corner.
02:13You know, he's 6'3", he plays big.
02:16Maybe I don't think they're going to, you know, put somebody on Mike Evans and travel
02:20him like that because Mike can line up anywhere, but, you know, you're going to get tested
02:24by those two guys.
02:25This Jalen McMillan, I watched him in preseason.
02:27All they did was talk about this kid.
02:29He was the guy that nobody really talked about at Washington.
02:32But before there was Roma Doomsday, there was Jalen McMillan.
02:35And that's who everybody was talking about going into the season.
02:38And so down there, they were looking for a third receiver.
02:40They've been looking for a third receiver opposite Evans and Godwin.
02:44They feel like they found it.
02:45Baker thinks they found their third guy.
02:48So look, the secondary was the worst and most porous in all of football last year.
02:53They gave up 39 touchdown passes.
02:56They can't come anywhere near that this year.
02:58They've got to work at getting that down into the 20s this season.
03:02And so this is a good first test because you get to the red zone, Mike Evans might be the
03:07best.
03:08I'll just say this.
03:09I remember one day talking to Kurt Warner about the greatest show on turf and red zone
03:13offense and what they did.
03:14He goes, look, Baldy, you drop all the plays you want.
03:15Sometimes it's good just to throw it to Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone.
03:16Right.
03:17Let him go get it.
03:18And that's kind of what Mike Evans has been.
03:19He's been maybe the best red zone receiver in his league over the last 10 years.