Command The Commute

Season Finale

• Bob Bechtel & Michael Burger • Season 1 • Episode 27

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 1:03:14

Send a text

Thirty episodes. One rollercoaster season. And we’re wrapping up Season One the only way we know how.

In this finale, we break down the Super Bowl — the defensive battle, the halftime show debate, the commercials (or lack of memorable ones), and yes… the streaker. Then we reflect on what this first season of Command the Commute has meant to us and to the growing community listening across multiple states and countries.

From bold preseason predictions (13–4… we remember 😅) to a 5–12 reality check, we own it all.

Then it’s time for the first-ever Commies Awards — handing out honors for:

  • Best “We Were There” moment
  • Injury of the Year
  • X-Files Award (former players still shining)
  • Don’t Come Back Player of the Year
  • Commander in Chief
  • Team MVP
     …and more.

We close things out looking ahead to a pivotal offseason — draft strategy, cap space decisions, and how this team builds around its franchise quarterback.

Season One is officially in the books...The offseason begins...And we’ll be back when it’s time to Command the Commute again.


https://www.instagram.com/commandthecommute?igsh=ODFmNTYxdHBtMDJq&utm_source=qr

SPEAKER_03:

Yo, Mike A.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, we finally made it.

SPEAKER_03:

This is it. You know, uh, we're gonna get into this in the stats portion of the the podcast here in our in our season one finale of the Command the Commute podcast, but this is our 30th episode.

SPEAKER_06:

Hey, it's a nice round number. I like that. Right.

SPEAKER_03:

Nice round number. Yeah, welcome everybody to the Command the Commute podcast. Specifically, like I just referenced our last one of this season. The Super Bowl just ended. So listen to this episode slow. You know what I mean? We've got a couple weeks here we're gonna take off, at the very least. We're gonna bring it back up when there's a a reason to get back. Yeah, when there's stuff to discuss. Yeah. So we've got we've got a a lot of off-season topics, and we're gonna have some news get filtered in to get us excited um between now and and our next game, essentially. But um yeah, we've got the draft, we've got which I hope to go to. Um we have our fingers crossed. We're planning for it, folks. We'll we'll see what happens. Um we've got free agency, we've got many camps. I'm sure there's gonna be a couple little things here and there. You and I have gone to training camp before. This year we're definitely gonna have to go to a to a yeah. I mean, I guess for the sake of the podcast. For the sake of the podcast, we're gonna have to commute it to training camp. We'll have a whole new set of players after free agency. That's exciting. Um so yeah, we're we're we're bringing it back to you. And then we're obviously gonna get back into our weekly, our weekly sessions here, our weekly podcast once the season kicks back up um next year. But um, for right now, like many of you and my know Michael, I'm ready for this season to be officially over. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06:

Looking forward to the break.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. So let's get started. Okay. So in the first quarter of this podcast, we're gonna get into the Super Bowl. The second quarter of the podcast, we're gonna get into um some of the stats. I told everybody last week we'd get into some stats about the podcast, and then we're gonna finish up the second half of the pod with the commie awards. You can't take it from me, Mike. I'm calling it the commie awards.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I told you to work on the name.

SPEAKER_03:

They're like, well, it's like if if if if Michael Scott was a part of this podcast, he'd call it the commies and wouldn't even know that the like communist party existed. So that's what I'm going with. We're just gonna we're just gonna rock it with confidence that this is the commies. These are the commies.

SPEAKER_06:

So if we get canceled, it's gonna be your fault.

SPEAKER_03:

But if we get canceled, it'll be Dan Snyder's fault, uh some way or another. Yeah. But anyway, so what'd you what'd you think of the Super Bowl?

SPEAKER_06:

It was a defensive battle. I mean, I I guess you could say, in a sense, I've heard that it was a boring game. Some people didn't enjoy it. I I did. I mean, Seattle won and New England lost, so that's what I wanted. But Seattle had a downland defense all year long. So I'm not surprised that it was a a defensive game and that the first touchdown wasn't scored until the fourth quarter.

SPEAKER_03:

So Yeah, it was it was a little bit boring for for a Super Bowl, let's be honest. I did enjoy the the defensive back and forth. I but I would have you know the Patriots how I mean, I guess they went damn near all of their drives with like, but I don't know how many punts in a row that they they went. Um it was just it got to a point where like, all right, you know, get a field goal mixed in.

SPEAKER_06:

They were struggling.

SPEAKER_03:

And even though it was a defensive game, the Patriots defense really, I mean, they didn't perform.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I don't know if they were if it was just the nerves of the Super Bowl with being kind of a a newer team with a young quarterback, or if they weren't coached right going into a game of this magnitude. I don't know, but it yeah, it did seem a little off, didn't it?

SPEAKER_03:

It was lopsided, let's be honest. I mean, I've been saying that the Seahawks were a well-disciplined, well-rounded team, and it showed. Um there wasn't a touchdown till the fourth quarter, but there wasn't a penalty till the fourth quarter, yeah, I don't think. So um there wasn't there wasn't a lot to get you jumping off the couch, let's just say. And there I was asking you just prepping a little bit here about a half hour ago, like what commercials do you remember? And it's like, none really. The Dunkin' Donuts uh Good Little Hunting One was was decent. And the Budweiser Easy commercial. And and like outside of that, the commercials were kind of lame. Yeah, the uh Cliff Booth sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I'm a big fan of Quentin Tarantino.

SPEAKER_06:

That was the only, we were talking about movie trailers. That's the only one that I can recall from the Super Bowl, but we already knew that.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I know there was Marvel wasn't gonna run anything, so yeah, I but I know there was a couple other movie trailers, but none that really stuck out to me. Maybe I was socializing and just my eyes didn't get drawn over to it.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, there was a lot of socializing at the party we were at, yeah and not so much game watching, but but I'll tell you, it if there was a game worth watching, that wasn't a bad place to watch the game either.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. We had the option to. It's just it's just our eyes didn't really get drawn that way. Now we have to talk about it. The halftime show. Go ahead. No, I want you to talk about it. What are your what are your thoughts? I'll give you mine, but it's I don't I already know you just draw an opinion on it.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, we're I think we're in ingredients on this particular topic.

SPEAKER_03:

It sucked, but I want to I want you to tell the people your opinion. That's why they're listening. You're out you're the outspoken one here when it comes to shit like this. It sucked. Let's be honest. If you spoke Spanish, and if you were a fan, if you're a fan of Bad Bunny prior, then you probably enjoyed it. But if you didn't know him and you don't speak Spanish, it was it was right.

SPEAKER_06:

And that's that's why in the moment I said that it was the worst halftime show uh in my lifetime, which is 42 years. Oh and it's not that I'm not a fan of him or whatever, it's just that you couldn't understand it. So it wasn't enjoyable to, I guess you could say the average American. It just wasn't enjoyable, okay? It just wasn't. You couldn't they were all Spanish songs, and we couldn't understand, we didn't know his songs and understand the lyrics, so we couldn't we couldn't get invested into the music, but they I thought hating on the guy, he was good and happy gilmore too.

SPEAKER_03:

And the and the couple SNLs gets the setup that they had, the setup that they had on the field was good.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, um, and the way he moved around.

SPEAKER_03:

Music, not from me. Not from me. You know all those good graphs that they had on there, the setup for the Super Bowl. I didn't realize that it was. Yeah, I saw that on the TikTok. You know, I'm not gonna hate on like the the the setup of the stage or what they did on the field or anything, because every Super Bowl is a little bit different, and the artists are a little bit different, whether you got just uh your standard stage and they're running around on, or whether they're you know, on wires, or whether they're running on the field. We've seen it all. So I don't care what they do for for like the stage and the people and they interact. They had a wedding on that's pretty cool, I guess.

SPEAKER_06:

That was a legit wedding. Surprised me as well.

SPEAKER_03:

I think it's cool. I just figured they were extras. Honestly, if it were if it weren't a real wedding, I would have thought that it was just a lame little like acting thing that I didn't really get because I didn't get the lyrics. They could have been taught it could have been a wedding song, as far as we know.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, in the moment, that's kind of what I thought that it was that that particular segment was associated with the song that he was singing. But since I'm not familiar with, you know, his music.

SPEAKER_03:

Am I the only one to think that in the planning of this, like would anybody throw out the idea of like the Disney sing-along like bubble of a bouncing ball over the lyrics in English, so the average American can watch it? I don't think so. This is not a political podcast. We touched on this last time, but I can see why people are tuning into YouTube to watch Kid Rock. Um, I wouldn't watch him either. Well, I'm there's neither here nor there, but it well, look, you watched Bad Bunny. If Kid Rock was selected as the halftime show of the NFL, you would have watched them. Correct. Right. But we weren't.

SPEAKER_06:

But I wouldn't make a conscious I would not make a conscious decision to change the channel.

SPEAKER_03:

But the views have been extremely high on it, and we're not surprised because of how much that Super Bowl halftime show sucked, and it only sucked in the sense that like the dude doesn't have one song in English, or he couldn't have came up with one song in it. I know he speaks English, so like what the hell? I don't know. All right. Enough about the halftime show. What do you can you recall a favorite halftime show from the past, in your opinion? I can. I'll start out. I know I put you on the spot a lot. I know I rec I can recall Prince. He had a really good halftime show. Um, and then uh there was Eminem and 50 Cent and Dr. Dre. I enjoyed their own. Yeah, that was just a couple years ago. That was entertaining. Didn't really care for uh Usher. Um Kendrick Lamar's brought a lot of memes, and I and I love that. So I'm on board for his. But I was thinking because they had be they had beef that Drake should have been this year's halftime show, uh just to spit the beef back at Kendrick Lamar, but I don't know nothing about that.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, I'm not I don't yeah, I don't I don't know anything about that, so that doesn't mean anything.

SPEAKER_03:

I felt like the aftermath of the uh of the memes of last year's halftime show was cool, but this year's I haven't seen many memes. It's because nobody understands the words.

SPEAKER_06:

There and there was nothing to really meme out of it, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

I guess so. Um The only other thing, I called it when we were watching it on T. I saw there was a stoppage of play during the game in the in the streaker. I was like, oh, there must be a streaker on the field. And there was, yeah. Come to find out there was. Now, I understand why they don't show us the streaker. They try to avoid it with the camera angles and stuff. But Well, I don't think like I don't think this streaker got completely down to the No, just a shirt off. Yeah, it was just something wrote on his chest that nobody can make out in the moment, which is why you don't want to show it on national television because if it's just the F-word. Well, he got hammered down by that one New England player, just but like, but I understand why they don't show, but like once they determine that, like can't you sh can't you show us him being handcuffed and taken off the field? They don't even acknowledge that it was happening to them. Yeah, they didn't even acknowledge that. They don't want to promote it or get anybody excited. But hats off to the guy that will put a$10,000 bet on there if or not there will be a streaker during the Super Bowl, and then you end up streaking. Um hats off to that guy if that's what he did. And if and if that streaker didn't make that bet, shame on him. It's a wasted opportunity. At least have a buddy make that wager. If you're gonna be the one streaking, I don't know. All right, any more thoughts on the on the Super Bowl or the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks? Uh, any any thoughts at all on that?

SPEAKER_06:

I have no desire to expand on what I've already said.

SPEAKER_03:

Okie dokie. Um, all right, let's get into the statistics portion of the podcast. Um, this is the the portion of the podcast where it really we're gonna give a lot of of thanks because Mike and I came up with this idea for a podcast, and we did it, and we were consistent with it, and you guys have been consistent listeners. And honestly, if there was 12 of you out there, maybe we wouldn't we would we wouldn't have kept going. But a lot of you kept listening, and it was really fun to do this year. It's been fun to kind of recap and go back through.

SPEAKER_06:

So you're thanking all 13 listeners, got it.

SPEAKER_03:

There's a lot more than 13, Mike. I know you kind of kind of like to degrade uh how many people are listening, but you you tell me whether or not uh because I don't even know if you are aware of a lot of these stats.

SPEAKER_06:

So you've told me uh some throughout the season, but what you're about to say, yeah, I I don't know what the the season-long stats are.

SPEAKER_03:

So I have not been able to figure out quite yet the the social media algorithms and uh things. We've got, but you know, starting from scratch, where I I think I know five people or six people of the followers personally uh on each of the social media accounts. TikTok, we have 210 followers, and of the 10 videos I got out there, we got a thousand likes. So we appreciate the people. That's not bad at all. We started we started that I think like week eight. But the two yeah, it was definitely like almost halfway through before we're Instagram, 240 followers. We thank you guys, all of you, thank you so much. Um, Instagram is where I've been posting a lot of our stories and a lot of that stuff. It's it's a little bit harder to grow on Instagram, I think, than TikTok. Um see now we got about the same. Facebook, I think, is my fault. I don't really I don't really post as much on Facebook, but I share on Facebook, but uh we don't really have a lot on Facebook. But hey, if you're listening, give us a little like on Facebook too, just for that account. All right, into the podcast stats here. Uh Michael, we are in eight countries starting at uh number starting at um number eight, and this is in order of the amount of of podcast plays. Okay um Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom at number six, Canada at number five, France at number four, Japan at number three, Singapore, uh Singapore at number two, thank you in one lesson. Yes. No, well, he's he or she must be telling somebody. Um, because there's more than 30 downloads over there and plays over there in Singapore. We've only had well, this will be our 30th episode. So we've got a we've got quite a following out there in Singapore. It's exciting. Um so Singapore behind the United States is uh is our is our our next country out there. So thank you to our Singaporean uh out there or singer porno. Singaporenian? Yes, there you go. Yes. You just want me to stop guessing. Preferably, yeah, that would be good. To our Singaporeans out there, please go into one of our social media accounts or however you're listening to this podcast, just leave us a comment and tell us what you're referred to as over there. Is it a Singaporeno, a Singapore nian, a Singaporenish? Maybe they're pornish.

SPEAKER_06:

No, no.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay. All right, let's get to the United States. Let's go state by state here, Michael. We are coming up.

SPEAKER_06:

I don't think we have that kind of time. Can we just do it by regional?

SPEAKER_03:

Look, you're along for the ride, so are they? They want to hear this stuff. So, number eight, we've got Florida. Number seven, we've got Texas, and I have listened, I have communicated with several of our Texans out there. Um thank you for and a lot of them are Redskins fans out there in Texas, just looking for somebody like us. Uh, because they don't have many Redskins fans down there to communicate with. Yeah, I wouldn't think that they would. You I've told you this before. The Washington Redskins slash football team slash commanders fan base talk about the football team over one year throughout an entire lifetime. We talk about our football team more than any other fan base. That is a true fact that I saw on the internet, so it must be true, Michael. Right, because everything that's on the internet. Number six is Georgia, number five is Virginia, number four is New Jersey, a lot of people from New Jersey. Okay, number three is Pennsylvania, number two is the District of Columbia, which we love to see that, and number one is Maryland. The great state of Maryland. All right, there we go. So all right. The next we're getting into we're getting into the statistics here. Um, across all platforms, we have 150 downloads to a device. So when people are getting on Apple or Spotify or Amazon Music or however else you're listening, they're downloading it to the device because they're getting hopping on an airplane or don't want to mess with uh the bad Wi-Fi service or or cellular uh service out there. So we've 800.

SPEAKER_06:

And you downloaded a couple when you would re-listen to it because you were literally commuting into God's country.

SPEAKER_03:

I am within these stats, okay? I I am within these stats for sure. Um and and add one because I listen to it now as we're saying it out loud in live.

SPEAKER_06:

And see, you know, admittedly, I am not much part of those stats because I just do it live and I don't need to.

SPEAKER_03:

You come in here and you just do it.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

We have 2.4 oh no, what am I saying? 2.4,000. That doesn't matter. 2,400 plays across all platforms. Okay. So that includes the downloads, but um yeah, two two point two thousand four hundred uh plays across all platforms, sixty thousand, or sixty thousand, sixty percent on Apple, thirty percent on Spotify, ten percent other. And none of these include those that are are listening to this on YouTube, and we thank those on YouTube. But you're not in these stats, thank you. Spotify. Now, just in terms of the stats that I can get through Spotify, Mike, we have we have some loyal, loyal listeners out there. We have 17 people. 17 we have 17 people where we are their top ten show on Spotify. So when they log on to Spotify, whenever they're listening to a podcast, top 10, they're us, right? 13 people, we're a top five show. And for seven people out there, we are their number one show for seven people out there. And we thank you guys so much. I think one of those that is dedication of those two. One of them is probably me, because I listen on Spotify. So I mean, when I listen it's on Spotify, I will I will tell you. Do you listen to any other shows on Spotify? No. Okay.

SPEAKER_06:

So that leaves Because my commute to work is like 15 minutes later.

SPEAKER_03:

Five other people, five other people love us so much that they listen to us more than Joe Rogan or uh anybody else out there, Kevin Sheehan, uh Rick Doc Walker, you know, the the sports junkies, all the others got podcasters out there. This uh we're we're gonna narrow it down at least three, because one of them's gotta be my mom. No, she doesn't know how to work Spotify.

SPEAKER_06:

So we went from seven down to three or four.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, but who gives a shit? Thank you guys so much uh for for listening. Um now here's what we've learned to diving through some of these stats. Um 55% of you press play within the first twenty four hours of us putting out a podcast. And the reason behind that is because you're listening when we go to the game. Or right. You're commanding the commute right with us, yeah. So next year, what we're gonna do, because we've gotten some Feedback. Next year, we're going to add an episode throughout the week. It's going to be a short guy. It's going to be a recap to the game that we just went to. Now, a lot of people said you should just do it on the way home from the game. But that's my time. Yeah, I ain't doing that. We're exhausted at the end of these games, just trying to book it on the way home.

SPEAKER_06:

We're listening to I'm sorry, but I just don't have the strength to do an episode right after the game.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay. Well, and especially after a season like this where we lost damn near all of them.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I don't you don't need about it. You don't need social media videos of me crying on the drive home.

SPEAKER_03:

I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about it. But uh I felt it important to finish up or at least add these stats into our season finale. So the people that are listening know that you are part of this community, and we and we'd love it if you help help us grow as we get into season two. Um for the rest of this episode, we are getting into our first. I'm so excited about it. I know you are you are we're getting into our first annual. It's the commie awards. It is the commie awards.

SPEAKER_07:

Tonight is the commut, the annual employee awards night here command the commute podcast. And this is everybody's favorite day. Everybody looks forward to it. A lot of the people here don't get trophies very often. I mean, who's gonna get Kevin Award? Dunkin' Donuts. It's really, really funny.

SPEAKER_03:

All right, the commie awards. We're gonna pretend like I didn't just break my my drinking glass on.

SPEAKER_06:

I wasn't even going to acknowledge it, but I did.

SPEAKER_03:

I did. All right. But what a way to start off the commies uh with a broken glass um in my office. But all right, the first award of the podcast. I know you're all silent drum roll. Yeah, the the first award is going to go the we were there award, Michael. Uh yes, our our nominees for the We Were There Award. Uh and these this award goes, or the nominees basically are, you know, we were there, we saw it, you weren't, so you didn't.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So the Art Monk uh halftime celebration of his uh Ring of Fame. Or I should say Jersey retirement.

SPEAKER_06:

And they had a pretty cool uh laser light show during uh on the field.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, that is our second nominee, the light show, and the fact that we sat in the club level pretty much all season long. Ate the what we paid for.

SPEAKER_06:

By God, uh I'm gonna enjoy every inch of those seats. Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh the the third nominee goes to the Donald Trump flyover. Uh if you weren't there, you didn't see it.

SPEAKER_06:

You don't know how far Air Force One was or how close it was to because we were that was the one game we were at the 400 level, but it really felt like you could reach.

SPEAKER_03:

You were actually you were sitting 400. That's right, yeah. I believe that was week 10 uh the Lions game. Um That's right.

SPEAKER_06:

It was the second game that Wendy came. Yes, too.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes. Uh and then the uh the final nominee, and what we'll just go ahead and tell everybody is the winner of the We Were There and You Weren't uh award goes to the national anthem, the American flag. We were on the field week three for the Salisbury alumni game against the uh Raiders. We came away with a 41 to 24 W. I mean, I should just leave it at that. We won 41-24, and we got to go in on the field.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, there that was a one we said it was.

SPEAKER_03:

I stood right next to Max Crosby.

SPEAKER_06:

And you know, we said it when we were there going through it. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we may never get to do again. Um, but it was just it was awesome.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean it was awesome to be behind the scenes. Uh we also got and no joke, that flag's heavy as fuck. Oh my god, yeah. Um and and it's so weird. Ever since that time being on the field and carrying the flag, every time I watch another game and I see the and their piddly ass flag that's like anybody else is just looking at their flag and being like, oh my god, it's huge. I don't like their flags only 20 yards, their flag's only 30 yards, you know, whatever. Um yeah, uh that what a what a great what a great game. So the We Were There award goes to uh the National Anthem American Flag uh award where we did get a flyover that game too. So go back out, go back through our social media. Because I remember and look at that.

SPEAKER_06:

Because I remember standing there and making sure that I looked up for the flyover uh as much as I could. Yes. While trying not to get yelled at by the uh field sergeants that were telling us not to screw anything up.

SPEAKER_03:

And that leads us right into our next award, which is gonna be kind of our Washington themed award, which is gonna go to our Sayonara Sucker Award, which there wasn't a lot of contenders. There wasn't a huge a large amount of nominees, which we won't get into, but our winner for the Sayonara Sucker Award for the Washington Commanders goes to our good old kicker, Matt Gang.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, kicking was atrocious this year, so well deserved.

SPEAKER_03:

Sayonara Sucker. Uh, he's not gonna be a player that I'll I'll miss. I don't think many would. No, no, and we'll leave that, we'll leave it to that. Yeah, let's move on. The the next award that we're gonna go into here uh is gonna be the snapcrackle pop award, the injury of the year. And uh for those of you that have followed along all season long, you know that there's not a lot of not a lot of injuries up for the nominees here. I guess we could go with that horrible injury that we saw to JD5, but I just really don't even want to talk about that a whole lot. Um but the injury of the year has got to go to foot facing wrong direction. His foot was facing the uh wrong one. I saw the foot was facing the wrong one. Foot facing wrong direction. One week later.

SPEAKER_06:

I don't remember what the exact injury was, but I'll tell you what the injury was. What was it?

SPEAKER_04:

Because I I missed it.

SPEAKER_05:

Donald fresh up in it as well as and it's incomplete. Eagles came free on a stunt up the middle. I think it was Zach Vaughn that time.

SPEAKER_03:

It was on the coverage, and it was Nabu was slow to get up. Oh no, his ankle. Oh no. Oh man.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm for injury. Yeah, I was devastated. Um it's my boy, man. So um seeing him go down, and obviously like reacting to to what happened, and um that just that sucks. It's it's the worst part of this game.

SPEAKER_00:

Feel absolutely terrible for the young man. Um obviously saw it or it looked looked bad. Um you know you feel for feel for anybody on your team that goes down and has a really bad injury, uh, and I feel and I know the players feel the same way uh about Scat.

SPEAKER_03:

Alright, yeah. So we had to go with foot facing the wrong direction for injury of the year.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, I mean, it it affected the entire league.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean no questions about it, no questions about it. So the uh X-Files Award. I'm kind of excited about this one, Mike. Uh the X-Files Award, the nominees are basically uh any player that used to play for us, but no longer do. So there are X-Files. Well, not as long as you'd think. I mean, I maybe it's a longer list. Like once you start thinking of productive players, it it gets a lot shorter. So um Emmanuel Forbes is a nominee. He he had three interceptions this year, 18 passes defended, which is pretty high up uh when you look across the league, as far as that statistic goes. Um but he was a Ron Rivera draft pick.

SPEAKER_06:

Uh the And they were all they were all gutted off the team.

SPEAKER_03:

So he was really excited about him, but if you remember back, he was one that was really small. He had a really tiny frame, but long and lanky. Yeah. Um, but was known for and was basically drafted because he led all of college football and interceptions, but had a pretty decent year for the Rams. Uh Trent Williams, you gotta you gotta nominate him. 37 years old, uh another another dominant year for him. Did have some injuries sprinkled in there, but under a different owner, he might still be with our teams. Yeah, wouldn't that be awesome? Um Chase Young had a had a decent year, actually, all things considered. Was injured early on, uh started for 12 games, he had 10 sacks, led the Saints in QB pressures, um forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and ended up having a defensive touchdown uh for the Saints here. So good, yeah. Good on good on Chase Young. I I hope he has a long career. It just the timing, the the effort, the age, maybe he uh I variety of different things.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, many different things, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Whatever. Um Kirk Cousins, eight games played in relief for Penix. He threw for 1,700 yards, 10 touchdown passes thrown, and five interceptions on those tens.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, for all that, he's about to get cut.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, and he'll would you be shocked if he went to Minnesota?

SPEAKER_06:

No, I think the I think the wisdom has him going to Minnesota, actually.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, are you ready for the winner? Did a little drum roll, please. Yeah, hit me. Cameron Curl. He did not miss a defensive snap all season long. Recorded 122 tackles, he had two sacks uh and two interceptions, uh, and was graded very, very high uh across all the boards uh and uh playing for the Rams. And obviously, we know how far they made it in the playoffs, which was pretty good. Yeah. So the winner of the X-Files Award for the Command and Commute Podcast goes to Cam Curl. And I I I think that's I think it's well designed. Yeah, I I enjoyed him on our team. He he was more of just like a salary issue, you know. It was like somebody's always gonna pay a little bit more for your services when you outgrow that that current contract, depending upon who you got. But I wish he was still on our team. So um the next award is gonna be the foot in mouth award. Now, the foot in mouth award, Michael, was pretty much you and I were nominated for every nominee uh in this category all season long. And I can I can count a number of times I wish I put my foot in my mouth. And I know based upon our text messages exchanged after the podcast, there's been several times you wished you would have put your foot in your mouth. Um, but the winner goes to me, you, and pop for our week zero seasons greetings podcast. Yeah, we were full of optimism. Full of optimism. And this is when we were making our preseason predictions. And for those of you um that have not listened to that podcast, this is the award winner.

SPEAKER_05:

I got a loss against the Packers, right? Loss against the Packers. I got a loss against the um the Cowboys. Cowboys. I got a loss against the um Broncos. Yep, that's three. I got a loss against the Eagles. That's four. That's four. All right, there it is. So I'm off on my prediction as far as the record, but I stand packed at 13 and 4.

SPEAKER_03:

I got it. I agree. 13 and 4. Mike's got us at the same record as last year, 12 and 5. Is 13 and 4? Is that the number one seed in in the NFC?

SPEAKER_05:

Number one seed. Home field advantage. We got the tickets, Mikey. Hey, we're gonna be there regardless. Can't wait. We're going okay.

SPEAKER_03:

We're going. Okay, so there are our season predictions. We will reference back to these picks as the season goes along. Um so yeah, that's uh that that's uh a good foot in mouth.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, uh, but you know, we had after last season, how could we not think what we thought then, you know? Um so it just didn't turn out the way any of us uh clearly had uh thought that it would.

SPEAKER_03:

So well, I've got a buddy out there and he knows who he is, but he texted me after listening to that podcast and thought that I was crazy.

SPEAKER_06:

But I was closest to what our actual record was. It was just inverted.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, that's a foot and mouth moment right there. Uh so congratulations to us.

SPEAKER_06:

There's at least one listener who will enjoy that comment. Sure.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh here. Um, all right. The next award we're gonna give out go is our uh don't come back player of the year. Yeah, we talked about this one. I'm excited about this one. The Don't Come Back Player of the Year. Uh there was several candidates. Um I wish I would have called it something a little bit different, because the nominees, one of them was a play. So the tush push, uh, don't come back. Well, that's not going anywhere. But it's not a player, right? And then I had Pete Carroll as a nominee for the don't come back, but he's not a player. You know? But as far as the don't come back player of the year nominees, I had Philip Rivers. Um, I man, really enjoyed him.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I mean that was that was a highlight of the season, really.

SPEAKER_03:

It was a fun storyline watching him come in, and it was fun rooting for him and seeing him swinging around, and I love his sound bites and everything like that. But don't come back. Don't come back, Phil. You know, like come back as a coach, which is why I think like I'd like I'd like him in the league in some capacity. But he's not the winner of this award. But he's not the winner for that fact. Because we do want him to come back. Yeah. Just not as a player, right? Uh so the winner of the don't come back player of the year goes to Russell Wilson. Hands down, the right decision. Don't come back.

SPEAKER_08:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

I think you could have made a case for Aaron Rodgers as a nominee, if if you are of the mindset of like if you're not an Aaron Rodgers fan, right? But I'm not an Aaron Rodgers fan.

SPEAKER_06:

You can't make that argument because the on the field play doesn't even compare.

SPEAKER_03:

He's gonna try to come back. You know, you want to.

SPEAKER_06:

Aaron Rodgers can still play. Russell Wilson, a little little rough. I think it's just time to time to sit down and you know.

SPEAKER_03:

He's gonna be an Arizona Cardinal. That's my off-season prediction. Well, this might be a five. I guess he might decide that they call it quick.

SPEAKER_06:

They just don't want to uh go anywhere next season, then uh you watch. Uh yeah, I'll watch them do what they've done every season for like the past 20 years. Nothing.

SPEAKER_03:

So Russell Wilson, the Don't A.

SPEAKER_06:

But hey, they're not Cleveland.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03:

Russell Wilson, the Don't Come Back Player of the Year.

SPEAKER_04:

Dink.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, congratulations. Uh the Retire a Redskin Award. I was excited about this one. Uh, so much so we're giving it out twice. The mindset here is um, you know, you should retire a Redskin. And uh Ryan Kerrigan, he retired a Redskin. He is now retiring a commander. He's recently been uh laid off of his duties as a defensive line coach or defensive line assistant coach or assistant catch. I don't know.

SPEAKER_06:

But but when you have an over, you know, when your defensive coordinator goes like they gut the entire staff and the new people bring in their own people, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

Pretty much, yeah. So this is the guy you got that comes with the building. We appreciate your services, but no longer needed. I'm sure we'll give you a great uh but we'll validate your parking. So uh yeah, but I bet he can still work out there. Um but I wish the best to Ryan Kerrigan. Um as well as the other his co-award winner here is Zach Ertz. I hope he can make a comeback. I do too. And if he does make a comeback, I hope it's with us.

SPEAKER_06:

I would like it to be, I think, but I but I think I get the feeling that the team wholesale is going in a different direction, at least with that position. So if he makes a comeback, I don't think, unfortunately, it will be with us. As much as he wants to play for us again, I I just don't see it.

SPEAKER_03:

I I don't know. I mean it depends. His contract was up, so nobody else is gonna sign him. So if he wants to play again, we're gonna be his first call. But he'll come in uh of like you know, uh week eight or for a playoff push, right? If if necessary, right? One of these signings in. This is like he had that devastating injury last year, still been in recovery mode, looking to make a comeback, didn't want to hang it up on that note. I respect that. But if he does decide to hang it up, um what a game, yeah. He doesn't he doesn't owe it to anybody to keep playing unless he wants to truly keep doing that. So Zach Hertz is our uh retire red skin uh award winner. Um leads us to our our our next one here, which uh I'm excited about, well, which is the third Mike Award, which goes to our our best guest moment. We've had plenty of those this year.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, we've really dragged along some unsuspecting victims.

SPEAKER_03:

That's a great way to put it, man. This is such a great way to put it.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, one of your nominees didn't even know he was on the podcast. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So I mean, a lot of our friends have been along for the ride with us just because, like, we're doing it. So if you're coming, you're doing it too. You know what I mean? Um, so I'll I'll I'll give you the list of nominees here. We'll start with with Laura talks turf toe. She was a return uh guest on the pod several times this year, but the one one conversation that um came to me off the top of my head was when she was trying to explain to us turf toe, and it made sense and it didn't make sense all at the same time. Yeah. Uh and coming from a nurse, you know, I don't know. I st so it's the ligament, it's like the ball, the ball of your foot there. Uh uh, it's that ligament there. It goes the wrong direction. It's like a hyperextended big toe essentially.

SPEAKER_06:

Exactly. And the lost nurse can go back to that episode uh in the off season.

SPEAKER_03:

We appreciate Laura been on the on on the podcast several times. Uh we appreciate her Steelers take. And you know we've been referencing she's the one that's got to be planning this Pittsburgh draft trip if we're going. If we're going, she's planning it.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, so I I don't know what's been planned.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm really curious about Mike McCarthy and how and her thoughts on him. I haven't really been able to ask her those thoughts.

SPEAKER_06:

I think we can safely say she is absolutely thrilled.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_06:

I think so, yes.

SPEAKER_03:

I I that surprises me. I thought that she would have been more of a a younger younger coach that's gonna be there for the next 25 years, as opposed to a guy that's gonna I don't he's he ain't got twenty-five years left to coach.

SPEAKER_06:

I I I think she is absolutely thrilled to have him as a head coach.

SPEAKER_03:

Why, because he's a Pittsburgh guy.

SPEAKER_06:

And not has nothing to do with the fact that his previous job was as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. I I think she's just absolutely thrilled. You know, hometown boy coming home.

SPEAKER_03:

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. Of course I am.

SPEAKER_06:

She she doesn't want him because he's uh used to be the Dallas head coach, guaranteed. We'll have to get her on an episode and she can air her grievances on that.

SPEAKER_03:

The next nominee goes to Tom Surprise Commute when we drunk Tom along.

SPEAKER_06:

That's what I was talking about.

SPEAKER_03:

Which yeah, which which which week was that?

SPEAKER_06:

Uh no, that was the away game because um we went to uh we went to we went to Kelso's house. Yeah, but which game was that?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh oh, was it week six? No.

SPEAKER_06:

No. I don't remember.

SPEAKER_03:

Maybe it was uh week five. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Uh that was a great podcast.

SPEAKER_06:

But he didn't know, he didn't know he was on the podcast till we pulled in his driveway. We were already, yeah, we were already what 15 minutes in?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. And of course, having him on for Can't Lose Locks and going through the picks um was was a great time. Um the next moment goes to mom um when she said she liked uh Konkowski. The conk show, yeah. Yeah, she liked conch. Uh and I was like, what? Gronkowski. She liked Gronk. Oh, Gronk. Yeah, Gronk. Yeah. Do you she and this she's you uh you know him, right? Yeah, everybody knows he's Gronk, but his name is Gronk, not Konk. It's a classic moment this year. Uh and then the winner.

SPEAKER_04:

Hey, if I'm the Lions, I I'm out for revenge. We did a good job missing that little uh fender bender there. Woo!

SPEAKER_03:

This van weighs a little bit more than those cars. So I am glad we didn't hit them. This this was the podcast that would have gave us a million views if we got a wreck just now. Okay. We're good people. Sorry, that was that was that wrong. That was really close. Um Jared Goff, Marat St. Brown, San Laporta, David Montgomery, Gibbs, you've got Aiden Hutchinson on the defensive side of the ball. I knew there was gonna be an episode where we almost wrecked the car.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, it was bound to happen.

SPEAKER_03:

Better knock on wood. I can't afford for us to get in a wreck.

SPEAKER_06:

No, no.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh on the road. Uh, because, you know, trying to make an insurance claim, they find out we got a podcast, they all cover it. You know, it'll be a whole mess. I'll be coming to you for this shit.

SPEAKER_06:

Good luck.

SPEAKER_03:

All right, folks, two more awards left. Um, both very similar in nature. Going to go, they're gonna go to a commander's player, the uh commander in chief award, which I'm basically putting the nominees out there as the best representative of our club out there. Um couple candidates out there, because we've got a we've got a handful of good representatives.

SPEAKER_06:

We got a lot of especially now under the new ownership, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

A lot of really talented, good leaders, you know, that can back up on the field and in the locker room and in just how they conduct themselves. Um, just a lot of really good young men. Um, you know, and and I think DQ's gotta be his name's gotta be thrown in there as a nominee, um, because he's steering the ship. Um the next nominee I was thinking of was Tressway. He's been around for such a long time.

SPEAKER_06:

And they just extended him.

SPEAKER_03:

Yep, they just extended him. So you know he's gonna be back. Our our lone Pro Bowler um uh out there, which uh for those that listened to last week's podcast, we messed up. That either it was previously recorded. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was either previously the Pro Bowl, it was previously recorded during the weekend, or we just messed up because that shit came out on like Tuesday or Wednesday. Like, when do we record? Tuesday night?

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, and that that same night a couple hours later is when they were airing it on ESPN. That's when you know when they're putting the Pro Bowl on a Tuesday night. But it had to be pre-recorded because there's no way they were playing it on a Tuesday night.

SPEAKER_03:

It just doesn't but anyway, we just it didn't matter because I still didn't watch it. Right.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, I don't think anyone did. Still didn't.

SPEAKER_03:

But we can move on. We spent enough time on that part. But the the Commander in Chief Award has got to go to your Walter Payton Award winner, and congratulations to him for that. But Bobby Wagner, uh 100%. Finishing up uh yet again, another uh great season uh on the field. Uh not not in the on the record book is in terms of of our record, his team's record. Um but he he finished strong, uh one of three players to finish with uh uh over 100 tackles in 10 plus seasons, which still irks me about London Fletcher. Like, I just don't understand. Like, how come everybody knew they were watching Ray Lewis future Hall of Famer? Everybody knows they're watching Bobby Wagner future Hall of Famer, but London Fletcher just isn't the runaway, just he's why is he not Hall of Famer? Is it I I just don't get it. That's a that's a conversation for a different time. Um but congratulations to Bobby Wagner for for all his success and hopes that he plays another season or two, too, with us. So um leads us to our last award, Mike, which to me and you was both kind of a no-brainer as we were trying to think about our commander MVP, our most valuable players.

SPEAKER_06:

As we've been talking about all season, there were not a lot of high points, highlight standouts.

SPEAKER_03:

So I it and you know it goes to uh we had a lot of injured stars. Right. So when your best players are all injured, it doesn't really leave that much, but even still, you gotta think, even if our playmakers were healthy, this guy's performance only would have been better, right? Oh, if Harry, if McCaffrey, if Jaden, if Ertz, if they all would have just stayed healthy. Uh we didn't get I didn't even say anything offensive line or or obviously Austin Eckler, but if they all would have stayed healthy, his season only would have been better.

SPEAKER_06:

And as we've been talking about all season, it was a season of ifs. Like if they would have been healthy, we would have been uh a a great solid team. Yeah, but uh if your team can't stay healthy, you're you're screwed, and we certainly uh suffered those consequences, and we yeah, just it was unfortunate.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so uh Debo Samuel gets the uh Command the Commute Commander MVP uh award. Um for those of you that that couldn't see that coming, uh, congratulations to to him. Uh, we will be sending all of our award winners a suitcase full of money and goodies. And no, I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_06:

We don't they just get our appreciation as fans. That's all they get.

SPEAKER_03:

One day when we're huge and and everybody wants to be on our podcast, they'll listen back to our first podcast here where we're like in the slums, our our video quality has been shit. Uh and uh before we have figured it all out, you know, people will be going back and be like, oh man, listen to this.

SPEAKER_06:

Uh but now the days of yesteryear.

SPEAKER_03:

So that's it. That's the commies. That's what I got for the commie awards, Mike. What do you think? I love it. I think you it's perfect little ending. It's a nice little recap to the season. You know, we kind of got our our little I think we did a wonderful job choosing the winners of these awards. And we have to tip our hats off. We couldn't have done this without ChatGPT. You know that that's the real MVP right now. You think I'm coming up with all this shit myself? Now I will say, uh, me and my ChatGPT uh we're partners when it comes to our creativity.

SPEAKER_06:

So uh like 90 10, 60 30. 75 25, 95, 5, 99.

SPEAKER_03:

Let's go 5545 uh chat GPT. But we're we're hands-on. Honestly, a lot of my chat GPT conversations, I feel like I'm correcting it. Like, no, do this, no, do this. Computers are only for think this way. Uh, yeah, they'll figure it out. And guess what? You know, as Chat GPT gets better, we will get better.

SPEAKER_06:

So stands to reason, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Stay tuned, folks. Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, if they if they survived our first 30 episodes, I think they can stick with us.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah. But yeah, thank you guys so much. Uh before we let you go, uh, I felt it'd be fitting right now to just, and you don't know this. Of course not. I always put you on a spot. I know. Uh, before we sign off, because it's gonna be uh a little bit of time here before we log back on. Um, do you do you have any predictions for free agency? Uh uh a position that we might go after, a player that we might go after. Um we've got the seventh pick in the draft. So I think our first episode uh when we pick back up is going to be a free agency episode, and then shortly thereafter, we'll have a uh the draft.

SPEAKER_06:

Um do you have any predictions or maybe not predictions what you'd like us to do in terms of free agency is not what I would like us to do, but I would not be surprised if we traded away that seventh pick, though I think we should keep it and utilize it. I wouldn't be surprised if we traded it away. Uh free agency, I don't know who to tell you who we might go after. I mean, tight end, obviously, with you know Earth, but uh tight end, we depending on what they do with wide receiver with you know Debo, if they resign him or whatever, uh, maybe there. I don't know. It's really after the quite frankly, we know the shitty season that we had at 5 and 12. I don't think there's anything that we can't not consider in retooling this team. Just to continue to build around about because the the only constant you truly have is JD. Yeah. Okay. So whatever it takes to build a winning franchise around him, better do it now in year three of DQ, or uh DQ's gonna be gone, and then we're gonna be going through this rebuilding cycle yet again. So we have to get it right this off season.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, this is a very, very important offseason. I agree with you. Um I'd like us to use that seventh pick. I'd like us to use it on an edge rusher. I actually wouldn't mind it if we spent our entire draft on the defensive side of the ball. Build around this new quarterback.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, I'd be okay with our defense was absolute garbage this year, so yeah, load us up.

SPEAKER_03:

Load us up on defense with a bunch of young players. Uh uh, like seriously, every single pick.

SPEAKER_06:

Like, don't reach for a defensive player, but the stars on the on the defense, like you know, Wagner, like they're not getting any younger. So you gotta bring in uh marquee young college players who can take their place.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. I I'd like us to to go heavy defense in the draft and heavy offense in free agency. Um spend that cat money on on some some offensive stars. Like I wouldn't mind going tight end in free agency. Uh figure out who you like out there and and go get them. Uh I I think one more offensive lineman. Yeah, I mean I and he doesn't need to necessarily be uh a dead giveaway.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, earlier today I sent you the uh the graphic on the cap space, and I we're definitely top ten in available cap space. I don't know the number right now because my phone is we got plenty of it, but we've got plenty of space available.

SPEAKER_03:

And I like being and when you've got that quarterback, it's like one of those things. Like when you got the quarterback, you know he's your guy, and like do you you gotta spend that money now? Because you're not gonna have it.

SPEAKER_06:

You have to spend it to build around him because we've seen how many times throughout the league.

SPEAKER_03:

He's about to be the highest picked quarterback in the league in two or three years.

SPEAKER_06:

And you have to build around the young quarterbacks while they're young so they can make their Super Bowl runs, because that window for any team, for any quarterback, it's a finite window of at most what three, maybe five years you have to make a legitimate run, unless you're like a standout team like Kansas City. You have such a small window to be successful, or you know, you're you're done till the next cycle.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, we we're seeing what happened with uh in Buffalo. Um, you know, they built they they found their guy and and Alan. Maybe it occurred to them uh a season late, you know, because he didn't come in as a rookie and blow it up. But by year three or four, you if you hadn't figured it out that he was awesome, then shame on you. Yeah. But we have figured it out in year one. And why they're not spending that money, I don't know. I don't know if we're we're gonna see. We're gonna find out. Yeah. But I'd like to see a tight end in free agency. Uh we we know we need running backs.

SPEAKER_06:

But they're, as we've talked about, running backs are kind of a dime a dozen. So I'm I'm not so much worried about the running.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm not worried about it either, but I'm just saying that that that they need them. Bill is the only guy that we got under contract, whether or not they get Rodriguez, McNichols, and then we have that same conversation we were having about uh Ertz. It's the same conversation about Eckler. It's one of those things I gotta think. Nobody else is gonna sign him because he's coming off of that injury, unless there's a a coach that he's worked with at the pat in the past that you know wants to take a shot. But you know, I don't think he's moved away. He's still hometown, or you know, he's still local here. So if he's and it from what I've seen online and from his social media, uh it looks like he's he's gonna try to make a comeback. So I don't know. We'll we'll see what happens. But all right. Well, let's wrap things up here. That's what she said. Uh appreciate all of you all season long. It's been a blast. It's it really has been fun uh starting up this podcast.

SPEAKER_06:

We really have enjoyed it. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

It's it's it's it's been a nice addition to our game day experience. Uh, and we hope that it's uh it's an addition to yours as well. So thank you all very much. We're gonna take uh a couple weeks off here, a month off, and uh we'll be back for season two of the Command the Commute podcast.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks for listening to the Command the Commute Podcast. I now welcome you to crack a cold beer, cook up some chicken wings, and enjoy the football game. Because the commanders, the team, the redskins, or whatever else you call them, is gonna kick some ass. If this is a home game, Bob and Michael will be in the Red Zone lot at Northwest Stadium. We encourage you to come to our tailgate and say hello. If you are still listening to the podcast, wow, you are an extremely loyal listener. I wonder how much longer you'll stay. Hey, I've got a question. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck? If a woodchuck could chuck wood? You've got mail. Goodbye.