C.S.S. Q&A: Bram Weinstein, the Voice Of the Washington Commanders
The veteran radio and television personality sat down with us to discuss, among other 2025 NFL tidbits, the budding Caleb Williams / Jayden Daniels rivalry.
⬇️ THIS STILL infuriates me. ⬇️
For those of you Chicago Bears watchers who’ve forced it out of your minds—something I wish I had the wherewithal to do—here’s a brief, painful flashback.
It was October 27, 2024.
The Bears were visiting the Washington Commanders.
Chicago had a 15-12 lead with two seconds remaining on the clock.
As the Commanders lined up for the inevitable Hail Mary attempt, Chicago cornerback Tyrique Stevenson decided it would be a good idea to, rather than get in position for the play, taunt the crowd.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels launched a desperation heave towards the end zone, which was hauled in by Commanders receiver Noah Brown—the very man Stevenson was supposed to be covering.
Despite my bitterness towards the Washington franchise, I sat down with the team’s venerable veteran play-by-play man, Bran Weinstein, to chop it up about his Commanders, my Bears, and a pair of quarterback who will always be joined at the hip.
Alan Goldsher: As much as it pains me, I have to ask you about the infamous Hail Jayden play. Did you see Tyrique Stevenson being a chump?
Bram Weinstein: I did not see what Stevenson did until after the game—my eyes were more focused on the line of scrimmage. As for the touchdown, I don't think you're ever prepared to see one of those. [Washington] is a 90-plus-year-old franchise, and that had never happened before. And if you’ll remember, we weren't even sure Jayden was going to play in the game; he’d hurt his ribs. The idea that he could even throw the ball that far was actually very much in question.
A.G.: Did you see the play coming?
B.W. I wasn’t surprised. They needed some luck, obviously, but [the play was] coordinated.
This was a magical year. After that [game], they won six straight games on the last play from scrimmage; karma was really on their side., I wouldn't call the Hail Mary the launching point, but it was another chapter in what was probably the most memorable season we've had around here in a very, very long time.
A.G.: Glad we were able to help. Even today, it kills us that guy that we possibly should have drafted beat us. Speaking of which, let's backtrack to the 2024 Draft. Since Caleb went first, Washington didn't get a chance at the hometown kid. Was the fan base and the local media throng thinking, Okay, we missed out on Caleb, but Daniels is a pretty good consolation prize? Or was there an inkling that he would be who he was?
B. W.: There was actually a big discussion around here as to who the best of the three quarterbacks were: Williams, Daniels, or Drake Maye. We felt really good about our options, but Caleb Williams grew up around here, and was a superstar quarterback in high school, so there was something really appealing and cool about the idea that he would come in, because, like the Bears, the Commanders have not really had a franchise quarterback for a very long time—and the quarterbacking play here has had a lot left to be desired.
Based on Jayden’s play in his last year of college, we didn't feel like were getting the second best player. And then there was a subset of people who thought that Drake Maye should have been the choice.
A.G.: Obviously you’re all Commanders, all the time, but you see enough football to know what Williams was about in his rookie year. Taking last year’s garbage offensive line and horrible play calling out of the equation, what did you see that worked for Caleb, and what didn’t?
B.W. He was put in a difficult situation last year to start. It might have been the right time for [the Bears] to clean the [coaching] slate. But they chose not to do that, and that was their choice.
I liked what I saw early in the season from Williams, and it didn't surprise me. I'm also not surprised he's going to have to figure out the speed of the game—but once he does, he [could be] very Mahomes-like. He's going to improvise a lot because he has a very specific talent, and he's been doing it his whole career. We saw him play in high school, we know what he was in college, so I'm very bullish that he's going to be really good.
I think winning and succeeding really matters to him, and that's half the battle. Early success for Jayden has to do with the fact that he deeply cares about being great at this. He's the first in the building, and he's there at every turn. Plus he's extraordinarily talented. So that Hail Mary game is the first of many chapters between Daniels and Williams.
And the coach that you guys hired [Ben Johnson] has put Williams in, potentially a really good scenario for him to start over. I think he's got an extraordinary level of talent that if they harness it and unlock it, you guys have a Pro bowl quarterback there. I’m rooting for him.
A.G. We're all excited about Ben Johnson here in Chicago, but we were also jealous watching Jayden in a Kliff Kingsbury scheme last year. Do you envision Johnson helping Williams go next level similar to the way Kingsbury helped Jayden blow up?
B.W.: [Johnson] certainly offers a better scenario for Williams [than former Bears coach Matt Eberflus]. Look at the play of [quarterback] Jared Goff [who Johnson coached in Detroit], and how he accelerated in that offense. But to me, the money Chicago spent on the offensive line is the biggest deal.
I don't think it's a secret that the Lions’ success was due, in large part, to their top-three offensive line. Williams obviously has really good skill position players, too. I love the tight end [Colston Loveland] that you all drafted, and there’s obviously a tandem of high-end receivers in D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze. You fix the offensive line, you put Caleb in a creative offense, and I think you're off to the races.
A.G.: Speaking of receivers, what are we getting in [former Commander] Olamide Zaccheaus?
B.W.: I actually was surprised he didn't come back [to Washington], because I know how much he was loved here. He's a really good locker room guy, really good teammate, extremely hard worker, very physical player. But he's diminutive, so he can't bully his way around. But he'll do anything he’s asked.
A.G.: Let's talk about former Commander EDGE Montez Sweat. After the Bears acquired him in the middle of 2023, he was a beast, but last year, he seemed to take his foot off the gas. Can he find his form, or is the 2024 Sweat the Sweat we’ll see for the rest of his Bears career?
B.W.: He exactly the player that we had in Washington, so that didn't surprise me. He's a really good, really high end EDGE, but the numbers don't always show it.
A.G. He had five-and-a-half sacks last season as opposed to 13 the previous year.
B.W.: Five-and-a-half is a low number for him—we always had him around seven-to-nine. The biggest complaint was that there should be a little bit more. They always asked him to finish more plays, make more game changing plays. It sounds like what you have with him right now is that his presence is felt. He's a really good player, but you're not getting a 15-sack season.
A.G.: Pivoting to the wide receiver position, your receiving corps is comprised of Terry McLaurin, new arrival Deebo Samuel, and a bunch of, basically, WR3s. The Bears have Moore, Odunze, rookie Luther Burton III, who is going to be a stud. Right now, does Caleb have a more useful receivers room than Jayden?
B.W.: What was missing from the Commanders last year on offense—and they had a great year on offense—is that they didn't really have a lot of explosive playmakers outside of McLaurin, so there was a major concerted effort to get explosive playmakers. You saw it in the draft: They took a 4:40, guy [Jaylin Lane], they took an explosive running back [Jacory Croskey-Merritt]—they're trying to find guys who can make plays. But I like our wide receivers group: McLaurin, Deebo, Noah Brown, Michael Gallup, K.J. Osborne—we have a tremendous amount of experience.
A.G.: Can the Bears win the NFC North and/or make the playoffs?
B.W. I can't imagine Detroit doesn't step back a little bit, what with losing both coordinators [Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn]. I just cannot envision them being 15-2 again.
Green Bay got better in the offseason—and Jordan Love was hurt for a good amount of the year.
Minnesota is a question mark because of quarterback. All things being equal, I love Minnesota’s roster, and if J.J. McCarthy's good, they're scary.
So I don't think the Bears are a division winner in 2025. I don't know who is, though. The NFC North is a meat grinder, and you guys are gonna have to win 13 games, because somebody's going to win 12. So I'll put the Bears as a wild card team with ten wins.
Bram Weinstein is the play-by-play voice of the Washington Commanders and the founder of Ampire Media, a podcast network based in Washington DC. You can visit him at his homepage or on Twitter.