The Athletic's Ben Standig takes advantage of the bye week for a deep dive into the Washington Commanders' future with Kevin Sheehan (Team 980) and Grant Paulsen (106.7). Top priorities with new GM and coach hires. What's the QB plan: Sam Howell or that potential top-5 pick? Lots of roster talk. How many 2024 starters are in place? Are you re-signing Curtis Samuel, Kam Curl or any other free agent? How does Josh Harris woo the remaining fan holdouts, or is the answer change the name -- and win? Lastly, the fellas made way-too-early 2024 choices at GM, coach and QB ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig and Michael Phillips (Washington Times) ignored the notion that if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing because podcasts require talking. But nothing was positive from the Commanders' 45-15 loss to the high-octane Miami dolphins. The fellas discussed Ron Rivera's fate with Washington, Miami's explosive start that effectively ended the competitive portion of the game, Terry McLaurin's zero catches, Sam Howell and more ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig discusses Commanders' future (coaching search?) and present (player evaluations) with the Miami Herald's Daniel Oyefusi and the Washington Post's Sam Fortier. Ben and Daniel begin with whether Dolphins' coach Mike McDaniel represents the new era head coach Washington should target if Ron Rivera is gone. What about Miami OC Frank Smith? Biggest concerns for Sunday? Then Sam enters for thoughts on the Commanders' roster, what matters over the remaining games and whether anyone here is Pro Bowl viable ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig and former Washington head coach Jay Gruden begin the process of looking forward -- and for meaning in the Commanders' final five regular-season games beyond QB Sam Howell. Speaking of Howell, what happens to him if Washington finishes with a top-5 draft pick? They also discuss the timing of Jack Del Rio's firing, meddlesome owners (and why Josh Harris doesn't appear like one), current building blocks, blitzing Jamin Davis, and more. Ben also shares the latest on Emmanuel Forbes' status and Ron Rivera's plan as the new defensive play-caller ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig and Grant Paulsen (106.7 The Fan) join forces to discuss a seismic 24 hours in Washington Commanders land. First came a 45-10 Thanksgiving day loss to the Cowboys. Then, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were fired. We know why the latter occurred -- dreadful defense this season -- but how did Washington get here? What now with Rivera? How do we look back at Del Rio's four seasons? Has any part of the roster overachieved? Lots to discuss ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig and guests Al Galdi and Doc Walker consider the state of the 4-7 Washington Commanders, what led to this low moment and where things go from here. Ben opens with updates from Ashburn and considers the secondary's struggles. Then Al enters to discuss how the season has fallen short, which changes perhaps accelerated the dip, Sam Howell and more. From there, Doc offers thoughts on how Washington can return to glory, playmakers need to make more plays, and whether an "interim" coach Eric Bieniemy is worth exploring (Some rougher audio in the Doc interview. Apologies ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig, guests Al Galdi and Doc Walker consider the state of the 4-7 Washington Commanders, what led to this low moment and where things go from here. Ben opens with updates from Ashburn and considers the secondary's struggles. Then Al enters to discuss how the season has fallen short and which changes perhaps accelerated the dip. Then Doc joins for thoughts on what ownership must ponder for a return to glory and whether interim head coach Eric Bieniemy is worth exploring ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig talks about Washsington's latest low point with the Voice of the Commanders, Bram Weinstein. They really lost to a Giants team that started inexperienced Tommy DeVito, whom the defense sacked nine times. Committing six turnovers didn't help. Neither did Washington's lack of a baseline strength to fall back upon. Now what? Time for significant changes? Are there even young players to use more over the final six games? As to no hot water post-game for showers, that's a stinker ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig is diving into all the Sam Howell thoughts with Commanders' film analyst Mark Bullock. Mark's season-long assessment of the QB. Are the fellas ready to claim they see Howell as the long-term answer? They also ponder how the final games might shape off-season plans for helping the defense. Ben also shares the latest injury updates, and Josh Harris speaks about stadium homework ..read more

The Athletic's Ben Standig dashes through his recap of the Commanders' 29-26 last-second loss at the Seahawks on Sunday. After another sterling effort, Sam Howell remains the best part of Washington's season. Is that good enough for now? The pass rush and run-pass balance could use some tweaking for sure. Thoughts on the running back as pass catchers, BSJ, the playoff picture and plenty more ..read more