New Washington football radio crew says it will keep on cheering, but its timing will improve

“That, for me, was really special, that he actually did that and took the time to text me,” Weinstein told ESPN 630′s Andy Pollin on Monday. “That’s what really got me after the game.”

Weinstein began his own afternoon show on Monday talking a little more about the experience of achieving a childhood dream. He said he thought his debut with Julie Donaldson, Washington’s senior vice president of media, and former Washington defensive back DeAngelo Hall went “pretty well” and the feedback was mostly positive. To the critics, Weinstein offered, “Look, that was the first time we ever did that together, and it’s just going to get better.”

The most common complaint about Sunday’s broadcast from listeners on social media was that Donaldson and Hall too often reacted excitedly to something that happened on the field, as if they were fans watching on TV, before Weinstein had finished describing the outcome of the play.

For instance, on the Carson Wentz interception that helped turn the game around late in the first half, Hall started shouting “Go get it! Go get it!” and Donaldson declared “We needed that” before Weinstein announced that Washington cornerback Fabian Moreau had come down with the ball in Eagles territory. A similar thing happened on the call of Jimmy Moreland’s third-quarter interception.

Earlier in the game, Donaldson declared that kicker Dustin Hopkins was “money” in the middle of Weinstein’s call of his 48-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left.

“I gotta check my eyes,” Donaldson joked.

On Wentz’s deep shot for open wide receiver Jalen Reagor late in the first half, Hall got excited and let an “Oooh!” slip before Weinstein told listeners that the pass fell incomplete, just out of the reach of the rookie.

“It’s hard not to get caught up in it when you’re sitting there, especially when it’s your first time, especially when you’re a little bit nervous and especially when you’re down 17 to Philadelphia and you’re coming back,” Weinstein said on his radio show. “We should be caught up in it. If the day ever comes that that’s not exciting to me, I’ll quit that job.”

Donaldson responded directly to many fans on Twitter, promising to be better about not talking over Weinstein while he describes the action in future games. She made no apologies for the excitement level in the booth, or the rah-rah tone of the broadcast.

“I had a couple fans tell me it’s unprofessional to cheer,” Donaldson said Monday on Weinstein’s show. “’Well, then go watch the Eagles broadcast or go watch the national one’ is what I wanted to say back, but I didn’t. I just said, I’m not going to promise not to cheer. We work for the team, we root for the team, we will cheer for the team. Now, I will make sure that I won’t get in the way of you bringing all that pertinent information, but the first time, it was fun, it was exciting. If that’s what we get crushed for today, or what I get crushed for today, then so be it.”

Herzog’s touchdown call — “Touchdown, Washington Redskins!” — was iconic for a generation of Washington football fans. Weinstein’s touchdown call, at least on Sunday, was similarly simple and effective.

“Touchdown! Touchdown, Washington!” he shouted after Dwayne Haskins connected with Logan Thomas for Washington’s first score of 2020, and again after Peyton Barber’s two scoring runs.

The start of Sunday’s broadcast didn’t go as planned. Due to technical difficulties, the pregame show scheduled to be hosted by former NFL Network reporter Tiffany Blackmon and former Washington receiver Santana Moss was nixed, leaving Weinstein and Donaldson with nearly two hours of airtime to fill. Things flowed smoothly from there, with Scott Jackson and London Fletcher handling the postgame show. When they weren’t talking over the play-by-play, Donaldson and Hall demonstrated good chemistry with Weinstein, provided useful information and brought good energy to the broadcast.

“For a first go of anything, I actually thought it went really well, and I’m not trying to just pat us on the back,” Weinstein said Monday. “I honestly felt that way, and no one is more critical of myself than me. I am hyper critical of everything I do. … Give us a chance, you’ll see, it’s all going to get smoothed out, it’s going to be great.”

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