Daily Slop – 15 Aug 24: Eyes on Mikey Sainristil and others at Commanders joint practice in Miami today

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Washington Post (paywall)

Mike Sainristil plays ‘star,’ and the Commanders think he can become one

The rookie from Michigan has a dizzying job description as a modern-day nickelback, a position that has had evolving responsibilities in recent years.

Mike Sainristil, welcome to the NFL. Here is your job description as a modern nickelback: Do everything.

Be ready to cover the league’s best receivers from the slot without the sideline to protect you. Is that a tight end? Match up with him, too. Also, be ready to blitz off the edge. Remember your responsibilities against the run — watch out for that 320-pound guard barreling your way. Is your head spinning yet? We’re just getting started.

A slot defender — who matches up with a player between the offensive tackle and wide receiver — used to be considered a specialist. Those days have passed. Nickel packages, with five defensive backs and just two linebackers, are now the norm. The Washington Commanders, under Coach Dan Quinn, give the slot defender a name befitting its importance: star.

Sainristil, 23, played a similar position at Michigan. At under 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds, he is smaller than most players. Washington was undeterred and drafted him in the second round in April.

The team believes his mix of explosiveness and intelligence readied him for an early, demanding role.

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Emptying the Notebook: Commanders defense vs Jets

Taking a closer look at a few players that stood out for one reason or another from the Commanders defense in the preseason opener

Fashanu completely stuns Davis’ rush and prevents him from generating any real pressure. Davis attempts a weak spin back inside but Fashanu catches him mid-spin and Davis is caught going nowhere with his back facing the quarterback. To his credit, Davis does hustle to try and close the rushing lane for the quarterback as he looks to scramble, but he’s so locked up by the tackle that he is unable to shed the block and make the play himself.

After a few reps of Davis getting locked up in similar fashion, Davis did try something new.

Just like before, Davis lacks much of a threat in terms of burst off the snap. Just compare him to defensive tackle Norrell Pollard inside of him and it’s quite a bad look for Davis. Pollard was listed at around about 280 pounds in college, which is roughly 50 pounds heavier than Davis. But despite that extra weight, Pollard gets off the snap quicker than Davis and is further up the field at every step. Now Pollard is an undersized, penetrative defensive tackle (who flashed quite a few times in this game, for the record), so his burst off the snap is a good trait for him, but the whole reason Davis is being tried as an edge rusher is his athletic ability, despite the fact it’s not enabling him to get off the snap quicker than a defensive tackle that’s likely 50 pounds heavier than him.

Despite the slower get off, Davis does a good job of anticipating the hand placement from the left tackle, having already been stopped by it a few times. This time he looks to negate it before it lands to prevent getting locked up. He still doesn’t take full advantage by swatting the hand down aggressively, but he does manage to catch the wrist and lift it up before Fashanu can land the hand on his chest. To keep his chest clear initially is a sign of progress from Davis, however that progress is very quickly stunted by the fact Fashanu immediately resets his hands and lands both on Davis’ chest. That locks up Davis once again and he doesn’t get close to applying any pressure to the quarterback.

Perhaps if we were talking about a late round rookie that was changing position based on athleticism, we’d see this as a sign of positive progress in their first preseason game. But Davis isn’t that. He doesn’t have time on his side to sit and learn and develop. He’s entering the final year of his rookie contract and his play as it stands right now is nowhere near worth the value of that contract. Pass rushing takes years to develop and perfect multiple techniques that can consistently give blockers issues. I just don’t see Davis being able to take the leaps in his game required to make it worth persisting with this plan beyond preseason.

Any natural defensive end is going to be more effective as a rusher than Davis is right now and likely throughout the whole season. Sure, perhaps by the end of the season Davis will have developed a few moves that can make him an option as a situational rusher. But by that point it’s too late for him to make much of an impact this season and then he becomes a free agent next year that the team is unlikely to re-sign.

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Commanders.com

Three positions to watch during Washington’s joint practice with Miami

Here are three positions to watch during the joint practice with the Dolphins.

1. The defensive backs.

Although we have a better idea of which defensive backs on the Commanders’ roster have stood out among the rest, like Benjamin St-Juste, Michael Davis and Noah Igbinoghene, it’s still anyone’s guess as to how the team intends to use them or how they stack up against opposing receiving corps in the NFL.

They saw their first real test against the Jets and had mixed results against Garrett Wilson and the rest of New York’s wideouts. They’ll face an even more difficult one with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle waiting for them in Miami.

In a way, it will be an opportunity for the Commanders’ defensive backs to show how much they’ve grown in the last year since last playing the Dolphins in December. Hill had an outstanding afternoon at Commanders Field, catching five passes for 157 yards and two scores of 78 and 60 yards.

Hill and Waddle will have their moments, but it would be seen as progress for the Commanders if they were to limit the explosive plays, both in practice and in the preseason game. Keep an eye on Emmanuel Forbes Jr., who did give up a touchdown against the Jets but also had solid moments in other parts of the game.

Another player to watch out for is rookie Mike Sainristil. He received the third-highest cover grade from PFF by a Washington defensive back, allowing just one yard on one target.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Rookie QB grades: Caleb Williams impresses, Drake Maye struggles in preseason debuts

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

• Grade: Incomplete
• Stats: 2-3, 45 yards (1 carry, 3 yards, TD)

He played only nine snaps. The big highlight was the throw down the right sideline which was a dime into the bread basket. We’d say, if a receiver was running down the sideline, “Just put gifts down the chimney from Santa,” and that’s exactly what he did. Just a little gift down the chimney. But if I were the Commanders, I would not let Jayden Daniels see the field again this preseason. He just looks smaller than what he weighed in at the combine. If there was one knock against him, he does not know how to slide, he does not know how to protect himself.

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Commanders Wire

Commanders are signing quarterback Trace McSorley

On Monday, head coach Dan Quinn offered an update on Hartman.

“Sam will be out today and tomorrow, and I would say if he and a couple of other guys don’t make it back in time for practice, they wouldn’t play on Saturday; that would be where we’re at,” Quinn said. He did say that Hartman’s injury didn’t appear to be a long-term concern.

Washington is off on Wednesday as the team travels to Miami for Thursday’s joint practice. With Hartman missing Monday and Tuesday’s practice, Quinn said he’d be out for the week. In response, the Commanders added more quarterback depth, signing veteran Trace McSorley, per Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.

McSorley, 28, was a three-year starter at Penn State. The Baltimore Ravens selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. He spent the first three seasons with Baltimore, but in his third season, the Arizona Cardinals signed him off the Ravens practice squad.

Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was Arizona’s head coach at that time.

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Podcasts & videos

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Joint Practice & Preseason Game 2 Preview with the Miami Dolphins | Podcast | Washington Commanders

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Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Headed south to Miami

The Washington Commanders have touched down in Miami for their joint practice and preseason game with the Dolphins. Take a behind-the-scenes look at them stepping onto the plane.

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NFC East links

NFL.com

Cowboys acquiring DL Jordan Phillips, seventh-round pick from Giants in exchange for sixth-round choice

The Giants are trading Phillips and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the rival Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round selection, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday night.

Phillips is a nine-year NFL veteran who’s played for the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals.

He started nine games for Buffalo last season with 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks. The 31-year-old signed with Big Blue in the spring, but is now bound for Big D, where, should he make the roster, will be set to play the Giants this season.

Though he’s primarily been used on the inside, Phillips has played some at defensive end. He could be used for depth on the Cowboys interior behind Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa or put into place to help with the loss of defensive end Sam Williams, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. One of the players signed to soften Williams’ loss, Shaka Toney, was waived/injured this week.

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Bleeding Green Nation

Are Eagles training camp battles already over?

Start writing the 53 man roster in ink, or stone

Right Guard

Becton starting over Steen then coming out almost immediately while Steen played nearly half the game strongly indicates that Becton has already won the job.

CBs who aren’t Darius Slay

If the season started next week Rodgers would start opposite Darius Slay with Quinyon Mitchell playing the slot. But it doesn’t and even if it did there will be 16 games to play after that, Mitchell will get the chance to overtake Rodgers by season’s end.

The backup WRs

Wilson looks to have the lead on everyone on the roster for the 3rd spot, but could WR3 be someone not currently on the roster? Whatever the answer is to that, Wilson has a roster spot, as does Covey. Covey getting some run helps his case for a role on offense, but he may have gotten more playing time simply due Campbell being out. So there’s one WR spot available.

Time to update your resume:

–James Bradberry played 51% of snaps, though he was playing CB and S, but only one special teams snap. The Eagles will take anything in exchange for him.

–Matt Hennessey was playing late in a preseason game, never a good sign for job security.

–Zech McPhearson, who would have been cut last year if he hadn’t gotten hurt, played the most snaps on special teams but didn’t play a snap on defense.

–Nakobe Dean played as many snaps as Ben Vansumeren. A third DC in as many years not wanting to get him on the field should be the end of his time with the Eagles.

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Blogging the Boys

Trey Lance’s name might come up with the Vikings losing QB J.J. McCarthy for the season

The first major QB injury of the season may have implications for Dallas.

It often takes an unfortunate injury to a projected starting QB to stir up any trade talks, and on Wednesday the first of those for this season occurred when the Minnesota Vikings announced rookie J.J. McCarthy will miss his first season after needing meniscus surgery.

The Vikings are now left with veteran Sam Darnold, Jaren Hall, and Nick Mullens on the QB depth chart. In their preseason opener against the Raiders, Hall saw the most action behind McCarthy, with Darnold only attempting eight passes. Having the most experience of this bunch, the Vikings were protecting Darnold to be either a Week 1 starter or reliable backup to McCarthy, but that equation has now changed.

Dobbs was the best of their backup options for a short stretch last year, becoming something of a league-wide sensation as he burst onto the scene and won his first two starts by making plays both through the air and with his feet. It isn’t out of the realm of possibilities to think Lance could do something similar for the Vikings, a team that wouldn’t need him as an immediate 17-game starter so long as Darnold remains healthy.

The Trey Lance acquisition has been a bit mysterious since the beginning for the Cowboys, trading for a player that can help them in a variety of ways. The regular season is quickly approaching though, and it hardly feels like Lance can do enough before it arrives to displace Cooper Rush as Dak Prescott’s trusted backup to win a few games in his absence. This makes a trade for Lance more likely, and having the former third overall pick end up with the team that just spent this year’s tenth overall selection on a player now out for the season is an idea worth pondering.

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Big Blue View

New York Giants sign two safeties to help bolster injury-plagued secondary

The Giants have been in desperate need of secondary depth

The New York Giants secondary has been drastically impacted by injuries, as the franchise was forced to have first-team players take snaps with the third-team unit during practices earlier in the week.

To add some depth to the secondary, the Giants signed two free-agent safeties on Wednesday, both of whom worked out with the team earlier in the day.

The first reported signing was Jonathan Sutherland, a player who signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. He never appeared in a game for the Seahawks but put together a strong career during his college days at Penn State, where he recorded 137 tackles, five passes defensed, and one interception over 58 games played.

Former Los Angeles Charger Raheem Layne also earned a contract from the Giants as he looks to return following a season-ending torn ACL a year ago.

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Big Blue View

These are not your 2023 New York Giants

Brian Daboll has run a more demanding training camp this time around

When practice for the 2023 season began, the Giants were coming off a shockingly successful 2022 season. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They won a playoff game. Brian Daboll was the Coach of the Year. Those things were not supposed to happen, and in retrospect, it is clear that the 2022 Giants were a fun, overachieving bunch.

They were an aberration. A team that, in truth, was at the beginning of a rebuild with a new GM and new head coach.

Unfortunately, they seemed to prep for the 2023 season like they believed they were a veteran, contending team that had already arrived.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic, bless his overly-detailed note-taking heart, has the full breakdown of the three training camps run by Daboll:

The Giants have held 11 intrasquad practices this summer. Jones hasn’t thrown a single pass in seven-on-seven during those sessions. He threw 50 passes in seven-on-seven drills through the first 11 practices of camp last year. Daboll used seven-on-seven drills sparingly in his first camp in 2022.

Those seven-on-seven attempts have been directly replaced by 11-on-11 work. Jones has 205 attempts in 11-on-11 periods through 13 practices this camp. He had 157 attempts in 11-on-11 periods through 13 practices of last year’s camp.

The Giants also have practiced in full pads more this year. Tuesday will be their seventh practice of camp in full pads. A league-mandated acclimation period prevented the Giants from wearing full pads in their first four practices, so they will be in full pads for seven of 10 possible practices this summer.

The Giants wore full pads for seven of 19 training camp practices last year. That was down from 10 of 19 camp practices in 2022. The CBA allows teams to conduct a maximum of 16 fully padded practices during camp.

Two of the Giants’ practices during this camp have lasted at least two hours: A grueling two-hour, one-minute session in 92-degree heat on Aug. 2 and a physical two-hour, two-minute practice on Monday. Daboll never had a practice reach the two-hour mark in his first two training camps.

Anyway, things are different this season. The Giants have practiced harder. They have practiced longer. They have practiced more physically. Daboll is demanding more physicality.

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NFL league links

Articles

Pro Football Focus

Grading all 32 first-round picks after preseason Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season

Pick No. 1: Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams

• Overall Preseason Grade: 73.5 (Rank: N/A)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 20
• Preseason Week 1 Grade: 73.5

Williams looked solid in his first NFL action, completing four of his seven passes for 95 yards and also rushing for a first down. His first completion was a third-and-12 seed on a curl route to DJ Moore, and his best throw came on a deep cross to Cole Kmet while running a bootleg. Williams rolling to his right is going to be a weapon for Chicago’s offense. While he still took a bit long to get rid of the ball at times, it’s very encouraging that Williams didn’t force any passes into heavy traffic.

Pick No. 2: Washington Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels

• Overall Preseason Grade: 85.1 (Rank: N/A)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 11
• Preseason Week 1 Grade: 85.0

Daniels’ lone drive in Week 1 went roughly the same as many of his drives at LSU. He threw a gorgeous ball deep down the sideline to Dyami Brown to set Washington up deep in Jets territory. He later finished the drive with a read-option rushing touchdown. His day was done in short order, but it’s clear that Daniels has command of the offense.

Pick No. 3: New England Patriots: QB Drake Maye

• Overall Preseason Grade: 56.3 (Rank: N/A)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 6
• Preseason Week 1 Grade: 56.3

Maye saw short work in his NFL debut and had to battle poor weather conditions and conservative play calling. He completed a screen pass that went for a first down and finished his night 2-of-3 with 19 passing yards. It’s clear that New England is easing Maye into the NFL, but we should see more from him in the coming weeks under better conditions.

Pick No. 8: Atlanta Falcons: QB Michael Penix Jr.

• Overall Preseason Grade: 63.2 (Rank: 4/8)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 24
• Preseason Week 1 Grade: 63.2

Penix was comfortable in the pocket and decisive with his throws in his NFL debut. He had a few misses on the night but also made a big-time throw down the sideline and took what the defense gave him when he faced zone coverage. His average time to throw was a swift 2.14 seconds, a mark he never came close to during his two years at Washington. Overall, it was a solid night for Penix. He certainly didn’t look out of place on an NFL field.

Pick No. 10: Minnesota Vikings: QB J.J. McCarthy

• Overall Rookie Grade: 81.5 (Rank: 1/8)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 30
• Preseason Week 1 Grade: 81.5

McCarthy got an extended opportunity to shine in his NFL debut, and he mostly did so, outside of an early interception. He looked very good throwing the intermediate-to-deep crossing routes that are a trademark in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. He finished his day with a 92.9 PFF passing grade and two touchdowns from a clean pocket. His biggest misses came while under pressure, so that will be something to watch for moving forward, but McCarthy’s debut performance should give the Vikings and their fans plenty of optimism for the time being.

Pick No. 12: Denver Broncos: QB Bo Nix

• Overall Preseason Grade: 71.4 (Rank: 3/8)
• Principal Opponent: N/A
• Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 39
• Preseason Week 1 Grade: 71.4

Nix was solid, if unspectacular, in his NFL debut after a couple of early misses. His lone big-time throw went through the hands of Josh Reynolds in the endzone. He used his athleticism to escape the pocket on several occasions, including for a first-down rush in the second quarter. As is his trademark, Nix completed 13 of his 14 passes on targets less than 10 yards downfield. Hopefully, we see him push the ball downfield more often in future appearances.

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Sportico

NFL’s Bucs Rejected Record $6 Billion-Plus to Sell Team

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers recently turned down a proposal to buy the franchise for a tick above the $6.05 billion that a group led by Josh Harris paid for the Washington Commanders last year, according to someone familiar with the details who was not authorized to speak publicly. If accepted, it would have set a record for the transaction of an NFL team and a global record for a control sale of a sports team.

The interest to acquire the two-time Super Bowl champions from the Glazer family came from someone deemed a “qualified buyer” in NFL parlance, i.e., they could write the check. Sportico wasn’t able to identify the potential buyer. The Buccaneers did not return requests for comment

Sporticovalued the Buccaneers at $5.5 billion—ranked 16th overall—in its 2024 NFL team valuations.

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Front Office Sports

CBS Hoping Chiefs, Stars, and Slime Can Deliver Even Higher NFL Ratings

There is a rather high bar for the NFL and its domestic broadcasters to improve television ratings this season after a banner 2023 that included across-the-board increases in viewership and an all-time record for Super Bowl LVIII.

The challenge grows further because of the U.S. presidential election set for November, something historically shown to be a drag on sports ratings.

But CBS Sports still sees a path for additional audience growth in the 2024 season. Speaking Wednesday with reporters to preview its NFL coverage, network executives laid out several factors it will rely on during the upcoming season:

• Growth of the NFL’s overall popularity: During 2023, the NFL represented 93 of the top 100 most-watched broadcasts on U.S. television, across all programming, up from 82 in 2022 and 61 in 2018. In an increasingly fractured society, the NFL is perhaps the closest thing to monocultural programming, with no letup in sight. “This sport—every day, every season, it distances itself, against all forms of media,” said David Berson, CBS Sports president and CEO. “The stars that are being built, the product on the air, the fact that they’re willing to innovate … they’re doing a really good job.”
• All Chiefs, all the time: The two-time defending Super Bowl champions were already a focal point of the 2024 NFL schedule. But CBS Sports will air nearly half of the team’s slate, with a minimum of eight Kansas City games to be shown on its network. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the Chiefs feature the league’s biggest star, quarterback Patrick Mahomes (above, right), and tight end Travis Kelce, boyfriend of global pop icon Taylor Swift.
• Quarterback star power: While Mahomes will certainly be a point of emphasis, CBS as the primary home of the AFC will regularly air other signal-calling stars in the conference such as the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Bills’ Josh Allen (above, left), the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, and the Texans’ C.J. Stroud. The balance of QB power has swung decidedly toward the AFC in recent years.
• Broadcast TV trends: Macro-level media disruption has fueled a sharp rise in over-the-air television as a refuge for cord-cutters and cord-nevers. That trend plays directly into the hands of the NFL and networks such as CBS, which have made broadcast TV a foundation of its coverage for decades.

The Slime Is Back

CBS Sports will once again air a kids-oriented NFL game production on Nickelodeon, reviving an effort that began in 2020 and was deployed twice last season, including in Super Bowl LVIII. The next effort will be during one of two wild-card games the network will show in January.

“I don’t know if there’s anything that’s been more innovative in coverage of the NFL in a long time,” Berson said of the alternate broadcasts on Nickelodeon. “This is genuinely bringing in an incremental audience and cultivating the next generation of fans.”

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