Hail To The District Podcast

Because misery loves company, HTTD's Pat Rice voices out loud the inevitable truth after the Washington Commanders' loss against the New York Giants this past Sunday: it's time for the Ron Rivera regime to come to a close, as we finally close the book on everything to do with the cursed Dan Snyder era.

After the Washington Commanders' 14-7 loss to the New York Giants today, HTTD's Rajan Nanavati resurfaces the dirty truth about Ron Rivera's tenure in Washington: after 3+ years, this team has toiled in mediocrity and shown virtually zero signs of improvement. In other words: this entire regime needs to be dismissed if this franchise has any hope to compete in the future.

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice reconvene to vent about a Washington Commanders' win over the Atlanta Falcons that almost felt like a loss. They talk about Desmond Ridder and Arthur Smith throwing this game away for Atlanta (2:50), if Washington's pass catchers are quietly to blame for all the sacks Sam Howell is taking (11:22), Jack Del Rio's uncanny ability to allow touchdowns on the opening drive of every game (22:11), whether Ron Rivera being dismissed at the end of this season is still a foregone (34:00), and an early favorite of ours for the next head coach (36:51).

NOTE: This was recorded Wednesday, October 4th. HTTD's Pat and Rajan convene for a mid-week episode to discuss their thoughts on the Washington Commanders through the first four weeks of the 2023 season. They discuss Sam Howell (obviously), the defense leaving much to be desired, key players to date and moving forward, and their thoughts on the remainder of the Commanders' schedule.

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati provides a short and miserable recap of the Washington Commanders' 37-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. That includes recognizing the fact that Buffalo is a really good team, calling out the fact that Washington repeatedly squandered chances to compete in this game, and identifying the most critical takeaway moving forward -- specifically in terms of quarterback Sam Howell.

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice provide their final takeaways from the Washington Commanders' 35-33 win against the Denver Broncos, before looking ahead to next Sunday's contest. Their conversation includes: Sam Howell is "HIM" at quarterback for Washington, dubbing this the "Welcome back Chase Young" game (17:57), and Sunday's matchup against Buffalo being an enormous "measuring stick game" (28:57).

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice provide their thoughts on the Washington Commanders' win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 of the 2023 season. The conversation includes: Washington's defensive line taking things into their own hands and changing the tide of the game (5:28), the difference in mindset brought by Eric Bieniemy and manifested by Sam Howell (8:44), Andrew Wylie (13:18) and Antonio Gibson (16:16) being absolute disasters, and an early look ahead to the Denver game as well as much of the first half of Washington's schedule (22:37).

As the 2023 NFL season fast approaches, HTTD's Pat Rice and Rajan Nanavati reconvene to preview the upcoming season for the Washington Commanders. Specifically, they dive into and analyze the biggest questions that they think pertain to the team this year, or the ones that'll really define how this season goes for them. Those include: if the early glimpses of Sam Howell this preseason are for real (3:47), how much of a problem is the offensive line (16:10), the offensive skill position supporting cast being a major strength (27:20), if this is the year that Chase Young lives up to his Draft billing (43:03), is Jamin Davis officially a bust (51:35), whether the secondary has emerged as one of the major strengths of the team (58:18), and how many games this team can legitimately win this year given their brutal schedule (1:05:36).

In Part 2 of their 2023 over/under review, Rajan and John review the projected win total for each team in the NFC. They start in the NFC East, commiserating how 6.5 wins feels spot on for Washington (2:43), if the Eagles are still the team to beat in the NFC (10:39), and how many wins you should take away from Dallas because of Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer (20:32). Next is the NFC North, including Green Bay being a prime candidate for the under (31:20) and Detroit's chances of winning the division (50:30). Next is the mess that is the NFC South, including the buzz around Atlanta (1:00:21) and Tampa Bay possibly being the worst team in the conference (1:07:26). Finally, in the NFC West, they talk about the Rams (1:31:41) and Cardinals (1:35:52) being a little better than most people think. For a quick rundown of all their favorite bets, head to the 1:41:21 time stamp.

With the 2023 NFL preseason officially underway, Rajan and John reconvene to talk wagers for the upcoming season, in the form of win total over/under for teams in the AFC. They start off in the AFC East (2:57) which includes a discussion of New England being the worst team in the division. They head to the AFC North (26:04) and debate if Cleveland can usurp the division crown from Cincinnati (35:47). Next is the AFC South (44:32) which is the home of their #1 stone cold lock in Indianapolis going under their projected wins (55:27). Finally, their AFC West discussion includes KC being a strong bet for the over (1:01:51) and Las Vegas potentially being the worst team in the NFL (1:10:52). And if you want a quick recap of all the picks, jump to the 1:22:48 mark.

The HTTD podcast finally returns, with a special look at the 2023 NFL Draft. Specifically, Rajan and John project which player will be taken at each of the first 10 picks, and analyze the available betting odds for prospects at each of the 10 picks. They also review a whole bunch of the available prop bets as well. Highlights include: making a wager on a QB or a defensive player at #2 (7:20), which team will trade with Arizona for #3 overall and for which player (12:23), the tasty odds to avoid with Seattle's pick at #5 (19:38), the intriguing prospects and hedge bet for Atlanta's pick at #8 (29:15), the fascinating options and tantalizing odds for Philadelphia's pick at #10 (40:10), one our favorite under-the-radar live bets on Draft night (58:55), which position do the Washington Commanders address in Round 1 (1:05:59), and the "gimme bet" of Anthony Richardson being selected before Will Levis (1:25:08).

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice joined up and looked back at Washington's putrid performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Their conversation includes: Ron Rivera's "Year 3" mantra looking like a complete joke (2:37); Carson Wentz's disastrous performance (4:57) and the horrid performance by the offensive line (8:47); and a systemic failure by the entire offense (15:40). They highlight the only three players who showed up for Washington (22:48) including Jamin Davis possibly having his best game in Washington (28:47). Finally, they discuss if the mismanaged roster construction is coming back to bite us (34:10) and if Ron Rivera has officially reached "hot seat" status and what it will take for him to worry about his job (39:32).

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati drops a solo episode, recapping Washington's loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. First, he discusses how Detroit's game plan to relentlessly pressure Carson Wentz and Washington's offensive line clearly worked as intended (2:10). Then on to the main course: screaming about the continued incompetence of Jack Del Rio as a defensive coordinator (6:56) and Rajan's unending hatred of Bobby McCain (9:29). He ends the episode identifying the handful of key plays that spelled doom for Washington (12:45), and preparing for the looming disaster of facing the offense of the Philadelphia Eagles (17:20).

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice excitedly convene to discuss the Washington Commanders' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season. Their conversation includes: the joy (and relief) of seeing so much depth and diversity from the offensive skill positions (1:55), Antonio Gibson rewriting the gloom-filled narratives around him this preseason (11:46), Washington's first experience of the rollercoaster of emotions from Carson Wentz (17:37), DaRon Payne's "man child" performance (34:07), Jamin Davis' "outhouse" performance (41:35), and whether Washington can go to 2-0 after playing Detroit next week (52:25).

In Part 2 of the 2022 season preview for the professional football team in Washington, HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice take a bit of a detour from the original plan, doing a walkthrough of Commanders' 2022 schedule and providing their final win-loss projections. Coversation highlights include: the slightly unorthodox nature of this episode (0:33), if the best team in the entire NFC resides in the NFC East (11:32), the potential buzz about Carson Wentz's return to Indianapolis (21:39), if Ron Rivera's success in November will manifest yet again (27:58), Rivera "playing possum" with key players to protect their season-long health (33:08), finally having (very) meaningful football taking place in DC in December and January (38:38), and the "friendly opposing quarterbacks" schedule that Washington has this year (47:34).

With the advent of the 2022 NFL season, HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice reconvene for their annual two-part preview of the professional football team in Washington (now known as the Commanders). In Part 1, they discuss the defense. They start with the secondary, including Rajan's irrational disdain for one of Washington's starters at the spot (3:03) and the top heavy but thin-on-depth cornerback spot (10:57). Next up is linebacker, in which they discuss the baffling trend of that position remaining the worst group on the team (22:40). Then they move onto the defensive line, talking about Montez Sweat being primed for a monster season after all the adversity he dealt with last year (33:17), DaRon Payne (maybe) still having long-term potential to remain in Washington as he also looks primed for a huge year (37:38), and if former defensive line coach Sam Mills was the reason that Matt Ioannidis left Washington. Finally, they wrap things up with a discussion of the lack of schematic diversity from Jack Del Ri

After something of a winter hiatus, HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice reconvene to provide their thoughts on each of the selections made by the Washington Commanders in the 2022 NFL Draft. They review each pick in reverse chronological order, starting with the Day 3 picks, then Day 2 picks, and finally Washington's first round pick in Jahan Dotson from Penn State.

HTTD's Patrick Rice provides his reaction to the official reveal of the new name "Washington Commanders." Said discussion includes his thoughts on the final name choice, the logo selected, and the crest; his preferred abbreviation for the team name; how and why he suddenly feels like he's rooting for an expansion team; and the only way this name change, in general, can be successful.

In the first podcast of 2022, HTTD's Rajan Nanavati and Pat Rice briefly discuss the Washington Football Team's second loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this season, before taking a step back and focusing on the big-picture questions that continue to remain for Washington.

HTTD's Rajan Nanavati tries to work through the carnage of the Washington Football Team's humiliating loss against the hated Dallas Cowboys, discussing what the loss means for both the short-term and long-term outlook for this team.