Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast Shanks Quarantine by Shading too sous.
Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL Podcast,
Speaker 1: presented by the United States Rain for My name is
Speaker 1: and and just joined in a virtual room filled with
Speaker 1: some heroes, Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal, What is up? Boys?
Speaker 1: Feels like we made it here that the previous show
Speaker 1: my favorite show of the week. And I used the
Speaker 1: piece sometimes, Dan, you like to hate on the previous
Speaker 1: show a little bit, but I love it? Does I don't,
Speaker 1: I don't, I don't, I wouldn't. I love all things
Speaker 1: Around the NFL podcast related. And this does feel like,
Speaker 1: you know, the the day after we learned that the
Speaker 1: city of Los Angeles where we live canceled Halloween. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's good to know that some things are still around,
Speaker 1: and that's football, which starts tonight with the Texans and
Speaker 1: the Chiefs at Arrowhead in front of eighteen thousand brave fans.
Speaker 1: And uh, we're going to have a late night Thursday
Speaker 1: mini pod coming up later uh today or early Friday
Speaker 1: that recaps that game, and hopefully it will be all
Speaker 1: four of us with Chris westling Um and we're planning
Speaker 1: to head over to West Manor to see Lakisha and
Speaker 1: Link and the whole gang a little bit later. So
Speaker 1: we're all excited and pumped up as we are every year.
Speaker 1: I believe this is our eighth season boys uh doing
Speaker 1: NFL Action here at the dot com. Can you believe it? Mark?
Speaker 1: I mean yeah, I can. I think it's also when
Speaker 1: we started this show, you thought, well, this would be great.
Speaker 1: At this lasted for you know, a good six months
Speaker 1: until they catch wind of what we're doing here. And
Speaker 1: so the idea that the show has gone on for
Speaker 1: eight months is a small miracle. I think in sports
Speaker 1: media industry circles that that said that we couldn't even
Speaker 1: do the podcast together when it started, like one of
Speaker 1: us had to stay in the newsroom. That's how a
Speaker 1: little it was thought of we. I had another boss
Speaker 1: that told me when I got uh, if I finally
Speaker 1: got a full time job at NFL, don't focus on
Speaker 1: the podcast. Don't take it too seriously. Your job is
Speaker 1: a writer. That's what you do. And we still write,
Speaker 1: and we still love to write. But this podcast is incredible.
Speaker 1: I think it's taken on a life of its own,
Speaker 1: and we're all very lucky to do it for another season.
Speaker 1: And this is Greg and your way off on that.
Speaker 1: I love kid. By the way, where is that shadowy? Like?
Speaker 1: Especially a week he's just biking around? Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: he's biking around the beach somewhere, nothing to do. That's
Speaker 1: where he is. Greg connecting some dots here and maybe
Speaker 1: so are some listeners working? All right? So what are
Speaker 1: we doing today? You know what we're doing. We're gonna
Speaker 1: preview every game to be played on Sunday and Monday.
Speaker 1: And of course it's week one everyone's playing, so we
Speaker 1: got a lot of games to get to. Very exciting.
Speaker 1: A few ground rules to remember as well. Uh that
Speaker 1: we will be picking uh in a dray Aft order
Speaker 1: which will be fun, which means Gregg, as the reigning
Speaker 1: locks champion, you get the first overall pick this year.
Speaker 1: Congratulations on that. For the games that will be covering,
Speaker 1: and we'll do its snake style, so look out for that.
Speaker 1: And as I said, yes, each of us will pick
Speaker 1: one lock of the week, which were usually very poor
Speaker 1: at but we'll track those all season long on the
Speaker 1: Thursday show. Uh. And one program note and this is
Speaker 1: also very exciting. For the first time, the our preview
Speaker 1: program will also be airing on NFL Network Saturday mornings
Speaker 1: eight am Eastern, which is just a beautiful little time
Speaker 1: slot you wake up, Uh either watch it live or
Speaker 1: on the DVR and get caught up to date if
Speaker 1: you miss the audio show, or you want to see
Speaker 1: our beautiful mugs. And it's also mark, you know for
Speaker 1: those teams out there one am one am Eastern Sunday
Speaker 1: morning airing. And you know the teens love that, the
Speaker 1: late night stuff they do. I mean it's you know,
Speaker 1: in days of old, it would be just as some
Speaker 1: of them are getting back from the bars and and
Speaker 1: but now it's just you know, people that have been
Speaker 1: launched on couches for seven or eight straight hours, that
Speaker 1: are still up at one am and saying, well, this
Speaker 1: show is on, I'll guess I'll watch this. What else
Speaker 1: do Greg? You know a little more on that one
Speaker 1: am slot, you're always team this and team that, and
Speaker 1: Team this and team that. So that's you know, especially
Speaker 1: important to you. Well, I like creating divisions among the
Speaker 1: people I like and the people I don't like. But
Speaker 1: ten pm Pacific, though, that's how I'm on team Team
Speaker 1: West Coast time I'm sick of this and East goes
Speaker 1: bias always saying he's goes ten pm is a beautiful
Speaker 1: time slot out here on the West Coast. Not bad,
Speaker 1: not bad at all. All Right, without further ado, it's
Speaker 1: time to get to it. Spen through all the games
Speaker 1: on Sunday and Monday. Guys can pick any game you want,
Speaker 1: any game at all, and Greg, like we said, you
Speaker 1: have the first overall pick. And there's a little pressure
Speaker 1: involved here. We did our Wednesday live stream YouTube question
Speaker 1: and answer, which was a lot of fun. We technically
Speaker 1: did preview the first game of the season there, but
Speaker 1: there's something different the Thursday show. Yeah, it's up to
Speaker 1: you to do this. Well. Sometimes the number one overall
Speaker 1: pick is the obvious choice, like the Bengals, you know,
Speaker 1: the obvious choice was taking Joe Burrow. The week one
Speaker 1: obvious choice for the best game is Buck Saints. So
Speaker 1: that's what I'm taking right off the top. I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to watching that in the afternoon window like the
Speaker 1: rest of the country. Joe Buck, Chris collins Worth. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be beautiful. The NFL schedule makers got this right
Speaker 1: when they put Tom Brady versus Drew Brees in Week one.
Speaker 1: They're making sure no one can get hurt, you know,
Speaker 1: during the season. I want to see this matchup twice
Speaker 1: and I want to see what Tom Brady does against
Speaker 1: the very good Saints secondary. And I think if you
Speaker 1: look at these two teams and you're looking for something
Speaker 1: that separates them, they both have great pass for us,
Speaker 1: they both have great weapons, but the Saints have that
Speaker 1: depth in the secondary where both of these quarterbacks are
Speaker 1: looking for matchups. That's what they're picking out, like where
Speaker 1: is the mismatch? And I think it's harder to find
Speaker 1: going up against the Saint sec and theory now that
Speaker 1: they have Donors Jenkins, Marshaan Lattimore, they're very deep at
Speaker 1: safety now with Malcolm Jenkins, Marcus Williams. They've got good
Speaker 1: players coming off the bench. It's gonna be tougher for Brady.
Speaker 1: I think to find open receivers in this game than
Speaker 1: Drew Brees, who's done me playing his millionth game in
Speaker 1: the Super Dome. I know you love that, Cessler, Well,
Speaker 1: you know I I think this is a fascinating matchup.
Speaker 1: And everyone talks about the fact that the Chiefs are
Speaker 1: returning eighteen of twenty two starters. To your point, Greg,
Speaker 1: the Saints defense returns ten of eleven. This was a
Speaker 1: team that was third in the league in sack slasher.
Speaker 1: I think that went a little bit under the radar
Speaker 1: and I kind of can't wait to see, you know,
Speaker 1: I think you know, Sean Payton and Drew Brees could
Speaker 1: it could be on you know, a heavy dosage of
Speaker 1: hallucinogenics and tell still tell you about their playbook, um
Speaker 1: from it from total memory. That's how familiar everything is
Speaker 1: in New Orleans. Tom Brady is Tom Brady, but you're
Speaker 1: still dealing with teammates in a playbook that is still information.
Speaker 1: And what happens when O. J. Howard runs like a
Speaker 1: button hook when he was supposed to running out in
Speaker 1: tom Brady's tossing the ball to a ghost and some
Speaker 1: of you're gonna get that moment where Tom Brady likes
Speaker 1: to tell us receivers you gotta get on the same
Speaker 1: page as me. There might be a little bit of that,
Speaker 1: And I think that makes this game super intriguing because
Speaker 1: Tom Brady is in a totally new environment. Bruce arians
Speaker 1: is sitting on a potential super Bowl team. But there's
Speaker 1: a lot of adjust to write in Week one. But
Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you one little thing right now. I
Speaker 1: believe in the Saints. I believe in them so much,
Speaker 1: and I know this is gonna be a tight game.
Speaker 1: I think this is a great way to start this
Speaker 1: season of locks. For me, I'm going with the New
Speaker 1: Orleans Saints as my lock of the week. Baby, all right,
Speaker 1: that's that's a solid one. I like that. We like
Speaker 1: to well, there's a code of conduct in this on
Speaker 1: this podcast where you never lock a team that's too
Speaker 1: heavy a favorite. You gotta look in the mirror past
Speaker 1: that mirror test. But I think, especially in week one
Speaker 1: with so many especially with how this summer played out
Speaker 1: and so many other factors, to just imagine any team
Speaker 1: is a heavy favorite, to me seems a little bit foolhardy.
Speaker 1: So I I I'm with you. I do think this
Speaker 1: is the Saints game to win for the reasons you
Speaker 1: guys added and that listen, the Bucks they were to me,
Speaker 1: the training camp champions. I would even give him the
Speaker 1: whole offseason title the way the Browns won it the
Speaker 1: year before, and it didn't work out for Cleveland, and
Speaker 1: who knows if it works out for Tampa. But I
Speaker 1: do imagine there will be some bugs in the machine
Speaker 1: glitches in the matrix early on with a new quarterback
Speaker 1: and a new offensive setup in the post Jamis Winston era.
Speaker 1: How about the idea of and nobody roots for injuries.
Speaker 1: But Jamis Winston what if he got in this game
Speaker 1: somehow and he's going against the Bucks right off the bat.
Speaker 1: I also want to know Taysom Hill, who signed that
Speaker 1: million dollar extension for two years. You know, Sean Payton
Speaker 1: with that uh commitment to Hill, He's gonna make sure
Speaker 1: he's in this game. And I want to see how
Speaker 1: he's deployed with Drew Brees at forty two years old. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I totally agree about the Saints in terms of if
Speaker 1: they put in Jamis Winston, they would brought up the score.
Speaker 1: I mean, do you remember here Teddy Bridgewater had his
Speaker 1: best game of the season in a blowout against this
Speaker 1: Bucks team. So this matchup in terms of Sean Payton
Speaker 1: versus Todd Bowles, we've seen it before, and uh, the
Speaker 1: Alvin Camara that we're gonna see this year, I think
Speaker 1: is gonna be a little bit different. I think this
Speaker 1: matchup plays very well and I feel a little ashamed,
Speaker 1: I gotta admit seeing that Mark did the lock of
Speaker 1: the Week because I was filing the same thing. I'm
Speaker 1: gonta lock it up too. I'm not going off that
Speaker 1: it's weird too that we're both locking right off the top.
Speaker 1: Joined me. You know we need to start the season
Speaker 1: with a bang. Join me. I like that, you know.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm in group think with the the champion from
Speaker 1: last year's lock lockoff, So I like that. You know,
Speaker 1: Camara last year, not healthy, had a hundred yards in
Speaker 1: each of the two games against Todd Bowles and the Bucks.
Speaker 1: He was still effective. I think he's a perfect weapon
Speaker 1: to unleash against a very good Bucks defense. To me,
Speaker 1: I mean, this game is the one that I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna turn all the other screens off and just focus
Speaker 1: on this. We have been talking about Tom Brady endlessly
Speaker 1: for send months and we haven't even mentioned Rob Gronkowski.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's just so much to like about this
Speaker 1: matchup that it is. Uh. It is a juicy Week
Speaker 1: one offering. I'm glad they scheduled it as such. Last
Speaker 1: thing I'll say is all the focus on running back
Speaker 1: in Tampa. Leonard for it, It's like a lot of
Speaker 1: wasted hot takes and hot air it's like they were.
Speaker 1: They were dead last in the league in running the
Speaker 1: ball in the first half a game when Jamis Winston
Speaker 1: was their quarterback. You think they're suddenly gonna start running
Speaker 1: the ball with Tom Brady. Give me a break. It's
Speaker 1: gotta be about three carries at halften. Alright, we'll have
Speaker 1: to see how it all plays out. Let's move on
Speaker 1: to the second draft pick of Week one, Mark Sessler.
Speaker 1: I'm magnanimous, man, so I give it to you. Well,
Speaker 1: thank you. You know I'm gonna go. You know, in
Speaker 1: the past, I would shy away from this type of
Speaker 1: matchup because it's a little too glistening, a little too glittery.
Speaker 1: It includes the Dallas Cowboys, which you know, whether or
Speaker 1: not I want to watch them, they're on Primetime basically
Speaker 1: every other week. I like this Cowboys at Rams matchup
Speaker 1: a lot. I think these or two should be playoff teams.
Speaker 1: Uh and unless something goes wrong, and I know, you know,
Speaker 1: Greg is high on the on the Eagles, which means
Speaker 1: you must be low on the Cowboys. I don't know
Speaker 1: why that has to happen. I think that this Dallas offense. Yes,
Speaker 1: you have a new coach in Mike McCarthy, But I
Speaker 1: think Mike McCarthy is on a bit of a revenge
Speaker 1: tour to salvage his reputation which was a little bit
Speaker 1: you know, harassed at the end of the Green Based
Speaker 1: And I love that they kept Kellen Moorett offensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of continuity here. The one big difference
Speaker 1: you added Seedee Lamb to create basically the best wide
Speaker 1: receiver corps I think in the NFC. And they talked
Speaker 1: about Ceedee Lamb. You know, you get these camp reports
Speaker 1: some of these rookie first round whiteouts are shining or
Speaker 1: they're not. They've talked about Seedee Lamb as someone that
Speaker 1: they want to plug in with a primary role right away.
Speaker 1: Jerry Jones said that Mike McCarthy has said that. My
Speaker 1: one concern, you know, and I think that Zeke Elliott also,
Speaker 1: this is someone that they said we're going to throw
Speaker 1: the ball a lot more to Zeke Ellity is going
Speaker 1: to get back into the way it was in eighteen.
Speaker 1: My concern is you have Lyle Collins out of the
Speaker 1: lineup and you have someone named cam Irvin in there
Speaker 1: the bust first round. Think of the Browns who they're
Speaker 1: saying we have all the confidence in the world, and
Speaker 1: but this is not. You can't just say this is
Speaker 1: the same Cowboys line of old. I think that's your
Speaker 1: concern for the safety of Dak Prescott, for the functionality
Speaker 1: of the whole offense. But if Zeke Elliott, for instance,
Speaker 1: can overcome that, I really like Dallas in this game.
Speaker 1: I do. I'm glad you mentioned injury. It's one of
Speaker 1: the biggest factors in this game. Dan, Like I I,
Speaker 1: no one's talked about it this week. They're basically down
Speaker 1: to two guys you think of as the Cowboys offensive line,
Speaker 1: Tyrann Smith, Um and Zack Martin. It used to be
Speaker 1: five guys that you could trust, and now they're just
Speaker 1: kind of like another team. Well, Martin is still an
Speaker 1: elite guy, and maybe Tyron Smith has come down a
Speaker 1: little bit. I still think the line is gonna be
Speaker 1: above average. Maybe, like you said, it's not gonna be
Speaker 1: an elite line, but they've they've earned the benefit of
Speaker 1: the doubt for me a little bit at that position.
Speaker 1: And then when you look everywhere else, if that line
Speaker 1: holds up, I think this team could be has no
Speaker 1: every one offense in the NFL potential. I think it's
Speaker 1: it's at that point. And on the RAMS side of
Speaker 1: the ball, I think the there's been a little bit
Speaker 1: of people getting down on the Rams as having kind
Speaker 1: of no chance of being a team in transition that
Speaker 1: had their shot, And maybe that is the case. And
Speaker 1: that's why it's kind of fun to watch this all
Speaker 1: play out because maybe, yeah, that's exactly what's going on
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles right now. But how about Sean McVeigh.
Speaker 1: And our buddy Chris Wesling, who we wish was with
Speaker 1: us right now, has pointed out that maybe Sean McVeigh
Speaker 1: was handcuffed a little bit last year. Todd Gurley, the
Speaker 1: highest paid running back in the league, this guy that
Speaker 1: was supposed to be the face of the franchise, and
Speaker 1: they kept feeding him and running the offense in some
Speaker 1: ways through Todd Gurley. And now he's gone, and the
Speaker 1: Rams obviously made it a point that it wasn't gonna
Speaker 1: work with him in the mix anymore. And now we
Speaker 1: can see what Sean McVeigh looks like, uh, putting this
Speaker 1: offense together where he doesn't have Girle in the mix.
Speaker 1: And I also like the idea of Jared Goff coming
Speaker 1: off an off year when everyone thinks Jared Goff is
Speaker 1: not that great and maybe he's not a Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: but I like to see what Sean McVeigh does. Here
Speaker 1: was a still very good group of wide receivers and
Speaker 1: an interesting backfield. We don't know much about how it
Speaker 1: is going to operate right now, but I think the
Speaker 1: Rams offense Gona is gonna be surprising people this year.
Speaker 1: I can't win to see Van Jefferson, who I think
Speaker 1: Van Jefferson was one of the stars of Hard Knocks
Speaker 1: but also someone It was one of the few bits
Speaker 1: of real football information you got from Hard Knocks that
Speaker 1: they love this guy. You know. For me, though, the
Speaker 1: one thing Jared Goff's offensive line is not really improved
Speaker 1: that much, and I think that was that was the
Speaker 1: issue with Jared Goff, that he is going to thrive
Speaker 1: when he's protected well, and you look at kind of
Speaker 1: his metrics and his numbers and they fall off a
Speaker 1: dangerous cliff when he's not protected well. They have great
Speaker 1: continuity though, and you know throughout their team, these two
Speaker 1: teams have great offensive continuity. But the matchup that I'm
Speaker 1: excited I would be excited about, you know, I'm excited
Speaker 1: for my daughter, she's a Rams fan. Is when those
Speaker 1: Rams receivers are out there against these Dallas corners. Those
Speaker 1: Dallas corners weren't very good a year ago, and then
Speaker 1: you change your scheme. You got Mike Nolan there, That's
Speaker 1: where the big change came in Dallas. And so you
Speaker 1: have guys that really weren't that great and now you're
Speaker 1: trying to fit them into a different scheme. And I
Speaker 1: think you've got more depth on the offense and more
Speaker 1: versatility in l A than they've ever had because they're
Speaker 1: gonna use their tight ends with Tyler Higbee and Gerald. Ever,
Speaker 1: because of Van Jefferson and because of that backfield you
Speaker 1: mentioned Dan, they're better off without Gurley. I love I
Speaker 1: love me some cam Akers. I like Malcolm Brown. We'll
Speaker 1: see if Darrell Henderson gets in the mix for a
Speaker 1: little bit of speed. But I think if you're looking
Speaker 1: at two teams with a lot of continuity, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: trust the one and Sean McVeigh that got a big
Speaker 1: time playoff win run going up and down the field
Speaker 1: against the Cowboys a couple of years ago. How about
Speaker 1: the Rams were a nice little home upset, open up
Speaker 1: their stadium alight. One little, one little quick note about
Speaker 1: this game is that like this is so um, this
Speaker 1: is so this offseason, the Michael Brockers said that he
Speaker 1: had no way to scout uh the Cowboys at all,
Speaker 1: and that he's basically just resorted to watching like what
Speaker 1: little shreds of practice clips he can find on YouTube.
Speaker 1: That's what teams are dealing with right now. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be insane. I think Week one is gonna be wild.
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be filled with upsets quote unquote,
Speaker 1: and I think the Desert people are in for rude
Speaker 1: awakening even would you be totally stunned just by the
Speaker 1: recent history of the Dallas Cowboys. If everyone does all
Speaker 1: this hype talk about their wide receiver room and Zeke
Speaker 1: and Dap being the MVP this year, and then they
Speaker 1: scored thirteen points, they blow hype. That's what the Cowboys do. Alright,
Speaker 1: moving forward, I'm up. I got the snake picks. I
Speaker 1: got two picks here. I'm a little bit nervous. I'll
Speaker 1: go with Monday Night Football. Let's do it. Chris Berman
Speaker 1: calling the game. I don't know Steelers at good dream
Speaker 1: and such a really pumped uh I'm really pumped. Yes,
Speaker 1: I love it. I love the franchises. I love talking
Speaker 1: g men in transition post Eli would be very interesting
Speaker 1: to see, UM how this offense looks. I don't think
Speaker 1: this is a playoff team uh in the meadow lands
Speaker 1: this year with the Giants. But I also, you know
Speaker 1: we just talked about with the Cowboys. Do you really
Speaker 1: ever trust the Cowboys? The Eagles have some of their
Speaker 1: own question marks, although Greg thinks they're going nineteen and
Speaker 1: o uh. I think the Giants could potentially hang around
Speaker 1: in the NFC East and surprise people at the offense,
Speaker 1: it plays up the standards at Danny Dimes, uh makes
Speaker 1: the leap if se Kwon Barkley is back to rookie version,
Speaker 1: which was absolutely dominant. They have some playmakers on the
Speaker 1: outside as well, and a good slot man in Golden
Speaker 1: Tate and Evan Ingram who's a great tight end if
Speaker 1: you can stay in the field. So I don't think
Speaker 1: the Giants, if their offensive line is better UH and
Speaker 1: Danny Dimes cleans up some of his mistakes, are gonna
Speaker 1: have any problem scoring points this year. I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna lose some shootouts as well, but that's the way
Speaker 1: it is on the Cowboys side of thing, excuse me.
Speaker 1: On the Steelers side of things, I think this is
Speaker 1: a super Bowl ready team. I picked them on NFL
Speaker 1: dot Com. But win the Super Bowl. Um. I think
Speaker 1: that if Big Ben is of what he was before
Speaker 1: the injury, I think this is a team that's gonna
Speaker 1: roll over teams. And I think they're gonna have their
Speaker 1: way with the Giants in Week one with the one
Speaker 1: caveat Greg. The same thing I'm gonna say with all
Speaker 1: these games that maybe the Steelers have to knock off
Speaker 1: some rust and it's closer than we realize. But I
Speaker 1: like the Steelers here, Yeah I do too, But they
Speaker 1: are one of those teams, the Steelers that hit a
Speaker 1: lot in camp. Maybe Joe Judge was like that too,
Speaker 1: you know, Joe Judge is a tough guy. Everyone knows that,
Speaker 1: you know. Yea, So maybe these are the two most
Speaker 1: ready teams. But the Steelers are one of those teams
Speaker 1: that Tomlin was tackling and he was hitting. He was
Speaker 1: He's still running those old school training camps. So they
Speaker 1: seemed to me like a team that would be absolutely
Speaker 1: prepared for Week one because they have such a veteran
Speaker 1: defense who knows what they're doing. Where the Giants are
Speaker 1: installing a whole new offense, a whole new defense, And
Speaker 1: I'm with you. I think the Dimes man, uh, I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna be delivering all year. I actually think
Speaker 1: they can hold up against his defense. But when you
Speaker 1: go to the other why not you know, dimes common man.
Speaker 1: I I think the Numbers game when the Steelers are
Speaker 1: on the field, and that's kind of what the NFL
Speaker 1: is now, Like, how many mismatches can you have? I
Speaker 1: said it in the Buck Saints game. Every every position
Speaker 1: is a mismatch. They're deep at receiver. I like their
Speaker 1: two tight ends Deebrown and McDonald, and the Giants don't
Speaker 1: have anything in the secondary. I'm sorry. I know they
Speaker 1: signed Logan Ryan, but this is a rough group, so
Speaker 1: there's mismatches everywhere. There should be a lot of points here.
Speaker 1: My my concern because I would put Daniel Jones in
Speaker 1: like the for this week alone to rank the quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: I'm excited to see Daniel Jones is in the top five.
Speaker 1: I think you can make the kind of leap that
Speaker 1: everyone wants to ascribe to U Kyler Murray and everyone
Speaker 1: else why not. I mean, you've got great weapons around you.
Speaker 1: It's really it comes down to staying healthy. My concern
Speaker 1: in this game because I think you to your point, Greg,
Speaker 1: the Steelers are battle tested and ready, much more than
Speaker 1: percent of the league right now. How do you stop
Speaker 1: t J. Watt, How do you stop Cam Heyward? How
Speaker 1: do you stop Bud Dupre. This is another team kind
Speaker 1: of like the Saints that rack up punishment on quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: sack totals, quarterback hits. And what we saw last year
Speaker 1: with Jones, he led the league in fumbles when he
Speaker 1: was attacked and put under pressure or that was his
Speaker 1: Achilles heel. I think that's the kind of thing that
Speaker 1: you're gonna see him and approve on in year two.
Speaker 1: I mean that had to be a focus. I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna see a big leap from Daniel Jones. But
Speaker 1: can you put it all together in one week? To me, though,
Speaker 1: the overriding thing is that the the Joe Judge experience,
Speaker 1: You've got to be, you know, dead inside not to
Speaker 1: be kind of intrigued and excited by what this can
Speaker 1: mean for a Giants team that's been a see a
Speaker 1: really long time. All right, Well, then for the pandemic.
Speaker 1: Help you if they make you feel something, Greg. If
Speaker 1: Joe Judge gets into that Greg Rosenthal little heart there,
Speaker 1: we know that Joe Judge has done his job and
Speaker 1: we will be excited coming out a week one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but you know you know that with Rosenthal, like he
Speaker 1: Joe Judge is just another turncoat from the Belichick tree,
Speaker 1: so he roots for him to fail and doubling because
Speaker 1: it's the Giants, because of what happened in those two
Speaker 1: Super Bowls when Eli took down the great two headed Bohema.
Speaker 1: I love the I love the Dimes man. Danny Dimes
Speaker 1: has gotten into my heart. I'm just not in love
Speaker 1: the fact that he's inherited Jason Garrett right in his offense.
Speaker 1: I like fun football. It's been a while since the
Speaker 1: Giants who played some fun football. Let's Greg, Jason Garrett
Speaker 1: or Patch Schremer. I mean, are we is it really?
Speaker 1: I mean? I think you know it best. It's it's
Speaker 1: a draw. Lee Shermer was throwing it forty times a
Speaker 1: game that was fun. Who it feels like a bit
Speaker 1: of a with all due respect, like a talking heading
Speaker 1: to just assume we're we know what Jason Garrett's We
Speaker 1: don't it's been head coach anymore. You're right, You're right,
Speaker 1: all right, it's snakes to me, right. You gotta make
Speaker 1: the sound effect though, Dan, I mean that was one
Speaker 1: of the national things draft. Here we go. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: this is a no brainer Packers Vikings. That is what
Speaker 1: I mean. People when they have their fantasy dress, they
Speaker 1: get bummed out when they're picking last. But when you
Speaker 1: nail that, that snake and that turnaround like I just did,
Speaker 1: and you're in the what do they call it, the
Speaker 1: something bird seat, catbird seat, I don't know. We're in
Speaker 1: your world, Dan, you you can name it whatever you want.
Speaker 1: At this point, I think cool man. Alright. Packers at
Speaker 1: Vikings love it. Awesome matchup lust speak of things I love.
Speaker 1: I love the NFC North and there's so many great
Speaker 1: sublots here. This is a Vikings team that appears ready
Speaker 1: absolutely to contend for a Super Bowl. And the Janik
Speaker 1: and Gockway pick up was so smart by Rick Spielman
Speaker 1: because it filled a big need. They needed somebody that
Speaker 1: could get to the quarterback. They needed somebody to replace
Speaker 1: Everson Griffin and Yoni and Godway could absolutely do that.
Speaker 1: And he doesn't have to be the only guy now.
Speaker 1: Daniel Hunter, their other great pass rusher, went to short term.
Speaker 1: I R, are we calling a boomerang? I are? Are Are
Speaker 1: we still trying to make that boomerang boomerang? I R.
Speaker 1: It's a thing. We're making it a thing. We're forcing people. Well,
Speaker 1: I was just more curious for the three week version.
Speaker 1: Is that boomerang as well? I guess it is. It's
Speaker 1: just a shorter throw right, shorter love. Okay, Anyway, Daniel
Speaker 1: Hunter is not gonna be playing in this game. That's
Speaker 1: that's an issue in Gockway is getting used to his
Speaker 1: new surroundings. He wasn't very active this summer, so that's
Speaker 1: something to watch along the defensive line for the Vikings. Um.
Speaker 1: But I think again with Davin Cookback. I know Stefan
Speaker 1: Diggs is gone, but I think Adam Feelin, who's gonna
Speaker 1: be hopefully healthy this year, is gonna have a big
Speaker 1: season with Kirk Cousins. And then on the other side
Speaker 1: of the ball, I'm fascinated. We talked about it on
Speaker 1: our Sandwich Predictions show on Monday. What Aaron Rodgers. I'm
Speaker 1: predicting he's an All Pro this year just because I
Speaker 1: wanted to happen. I think that would be a lot
Speaker 1: of fun if it happens, and hell happ no fury
Speaker 1: like a legendary quarterback scorned. I think he wants it,
Speaker 1: and I think he's gonna be better this year. Just
Speaker 1: a hunch, but we'll see. I'm with you on Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers having the correct motivation now, not that he didn't
Speaker 1: have it before, but it's right in his face where
Speaker 1: we're We're weeks away from him telling, you know, our
Speaker 1: friend Kyle Brandt that he believed that the end in
Speaker 1: Green Bay was, you know, was coming. That he that
Speaker 1: was sort of the tea leaves when they went and
Speaker 1: got love in the first round and traded up for him.
Speaker 1: He really had only four games last year right through
Speaker 1: for over three hundred yards. He's that's gonna have to
Speaker 1: change for him to be m v P. And the
Speaker 1: way that they attacked the Vikings, you know more recently
Speaker 1: is that Aaron Jones had four hundred yards and his
Speaker 1: last three outings against Minnesota. And I look at the
Speaker 1: Vikings defense where they completely rebuilt group of cornerbacks. It's
Speaker 1: three new corners and Mike Zimmer is good at coaching
Speaker 1: those guys up. But there are some TVD elements to
Speaker 1: tow Minnesota's defense. There are, but I trust in Zimmer
Speaker 1: and and people have been focused on that. Okay, they've
Speaker 1: they've got these young corners. Well, the old corners were bad,
Speaker 1: like they weren't playing well. Like getting Xavier Roads out
Speaker 1: of there is a plus. And and zimmer is one
Speaker 1: of the only coaches in the league that's really patient
Speaker 1: in terms of how he brings his draft picks along.
Speaker 1: So these guys have been around in terms of Hughes
Speaker 1: and Holton Hill like they've been in the building. They're
Speaker 1: not rookies necessarily, and I like that they needed some
Speaker 1: fresh But I'm a little worried, as Dan mentioned, what
Speaker 1: they're gonna be like upfront, And I'm a little worried. Dan.
Speaker 1: You remember that game, We watched it with your father
Speaker 1: in the garage. I mean, the Vikings really didn't show
Speaker 1: up in a big spot. So this happened. This is
Speaker 1: a chance for them, uh to maybe set a new
Speaker 1: a new path this year because that was ugly last
Speaker 1: year with a division on it. But you know it's weird. Greg,
Speaker 1: I remember that. I think it was a week fifteen
Speaker 1: or sixteen game and game uh, and it basically sunk
Speaker 1: their chances of winning the division. And we all said, ah,
Speaker 1: the Vikings are frauds. You know, get Kirk Cousins out
Speaker 1: of here. He's doing gender reveal parties anyway, Anybody who
Speaker 1: does that needs to be thrown into the ocean. And
Speaker 1: then they went to the super Dome in the playoffs
Speaker 1: in one a game. And I know they got killed
Speaker 1: the next week by the Niners. But it's like you
Speaker 1: never know which version shows up. You just never know
Speaker 1: you're right. But they I just find them to be
Speaker 1: the classic good not great team and I and I
Speaker 1: wait to see if they're a great team. I mean,
Speaker 1: the greatest thing that came out of that total flop
Speaker 1: by Minnesota was Dan's dad referring to Matt Lafleur as
Speaker 1: a little boy with a beard. I mean that wasn't
Speaker 1: kind of the perfect indication of what I think he
Speaker 1: kind of looked like, lash right. I think he's grown
Speaker 1: up a little bit. And Batt Lafour is probably wanting
Speaker 1: to show people, you know, to stop talking about this
Speaker 1: soft thirteen and three record from a year ago, which
Speaker 1: I appointed to a hundred times. I don't like what
Speaker 1: happened in the NFC title game. They were not a
Speaker 1: thirteen and three team in that game to me. But
Speaker 1: Green Bay probably has a little bit of feelings. But
Speaker 1: they worked in general, they were in fact, they were fourteen.
Speaker 1: They were fourteen and three game team in that game.
Speaker 1: And then I stick by the fact that, like you know,
Speaker 1: we've been watching football for decades, there's a hundred thirteen
Speaker 1: and three teams. They did not vibe that way to me,
Speaker 1: But that doesn't mean they weren't a very good team.
Speaker 1: All right, anybody got the vikings in this game? I
Speaker 1: took them. You can check out my picks NFL dot
Speaker 1: Com or game debut on Friday nights. I mean, why
Speaker 1: not you got Also Greg went sixteen and oh one
Speaker 1: week last year in his pixsl NFL dot com. I'll
Speaker 1: tell you because he won't, but that was impressive. He
Speaker 1: went back and changed, I'll give you I'll give you
Speaker 1: a bag. I will give you a bag of cash
Speaker 1: if you do that in this week. I really will
Speaker 1: all right time now four Road to Victory, presented by
Speaker 1: the US Marine Corps are mark the draft heads to you. Well,
Speaker 1: and how about we take a little road, a little
Speaker 1: trip out west to San Francisco. That's what the Cardinals
Speaker 1: are doing. They're hopping on a plane soon they're gonna
Speaker 1: get out there. And this is a classic kind of
Speaker 1: game that I that I can get up for because
Speaker 1: you've got my guy, Kyle shannonhan versus Cliff Kingsbury, I
Speaker 1: think two of the most interesting coaches around and inside
Speaker 1: an NFC West filled with great coaches, and this is
Speaker 1: gonna have to kind of show us what Kyle Shanahan
Speaker 1: can do in a pinch. Your defense is banged up.
Speaker 1: You look at Deebo, Samuel Brandon and Yuke. We don't
Speaker 1: know what's going on with those guys right now, whether
Speaker 1: they'll be available or wide receiver corps a mess. So
Speaker 1: I think you gotta do this. You gotta try to
Speaker 1: keep Kyler Murray in that fast Cardinals offense fourth fastest
Speaker 1: in the league last year, off the field best you can.
Speaker 1: So maybe this is a run heavy game. Maybe this
Speaker 1: is a game where George Kittle, if you own him
Speaker 1: in fantasy, is gonna lead you to a win because
Speaker 1: you're just gonna funnel the ball to him all day long.
Speaker 1: What you don't want to do if you're the Niners.
Speaker 1: Is let Kenyan Drake do what he did last on
Speaker 1: that he dealt with his team get about two hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty yards and his two matchups against the Niners,
Speaker 1: they shut everyone down. He was someone they could not
Speaker 1: shut down. I cannot wait to see what Arizona's four
Speaker 1: wide receiver offense looks like in Week one. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: think of that four wide receiver sets that Kingsbury did
Speaker 1: so much last year. Now he actually has four good
Speaker 1: wide receivers. So it makes you think, is he just
Speaker 1: gonna do it all the time now that he's got
Speaker 1: Hopkins as the one? But you slide in. Christian Kirk
Speaker 1: has a two fit. Larry Fitzgerald supposedly had an amazing
Speaker 1: training camp, which is just it's funny that he's still
Speaker 1: having amazing training camps. And well, he's the same as Frank.
Speaker 1: These guys that everyone loves, their veterans always have great camps.
Speaker 1: They they do. But I don't I don't doubt that
Speaker 1: he's out working this Cardinal secondary. Now you have Andy
Speaker 1: and Isabella and you're you're playing fast and it's totally
Speaker 1: opposite to what Kyle Shanahan really likes to do. Mark
Speaker 1: so they're they're from the old school in San Francisco
Speaker 1: in terms of Shanahan running these heavy sets with fullbacks
Speaker 1: and keep an eye on two tight ends. Not just
Speaker 1: George Kittle, but Jordan Read. Here's a guy who's gotten
Speaker 1: a little bit of camp pipe over the years and
Speaker 1: hasn't always stayed healthy. But he really would change their
Speaker 1: team if Jordan's the old Jordan Reed from Washington shows
Speaker 1: up like that, to me is a major X factor
Speaker 1: in Shanahan will know how to use him. I'm sure
Speaker 1: he will show up, and I'm not making light of it,
Speaker 1: but the reason he has great camps is because he's
Speaker 1: a gifted athletic pass catcher and playmaker. And then when
Speaker 1: he gets hit, unfortunately, he's had head injuries that come
Speaker 1: up year after year. Hopefully he shakes that because they
Speaker 1: really need somebody else to step up right now. Greg,
Speaker 1: you've been very down on the Niners this summer. In fact,
Speaker 1: in our prediction show you even said they're not going
Speaker 1: to make the playoffs. You put sandwiches on it, which
Speaker 1: just seems to me a little bit strange, but that
Speaker 1: was that was our onion hangers. You gotta have one
Speaker 1: that you know isn't too likely, but it just shows
Speaker 1: that you're not afraid to take a chance. But it
Speaker 1: is an interesting matchup because you're not the only person
Speaker 1: that's doubting the Niners a little bit. And then you
Speaker 1: have the Cardinals, who everyone is ion. I said that
Speaker 1: I thought the Bucks were the off off season champion.
Speaker 1: The Cardinals came in second because everyone just assumes, and
Speaker 1: this is like the red flag for me a little bit.
Speaker 1: Everyone assumes that Kyler Murray is now going to take
Speaker 1: the Lamari and leap and become an m v P
Speaker 1: type player, And maybe you will, and maybe he's in
Speaker 1: a perfect offense for it, but that's a lot harder
Speaker 1: than that it looks. I know Mahomes and Lamar did
Speaker 1: it back to back years, but that doesn't happen but
Speaker 1: once a decade tip now, I would say this too,
Speaker 1: that you know, DeAndre Hopkins and Kyler Murle didn't work
Speaker 1: much together in camp really at all. They really didn't
Speaker 1: get a lot of reps, so that might take a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks to to iron out. But also, you
Speaker 1: know Richard Sherman, one of the last guy who seems
Speaker 1: healthy in the secondary. He doesn't flip flop. I mean
Speaker 1: he stays on one side, so you can kind of
Speaker 1: you if your Cliff Kingsbury's scheme around where Sherman is
Speaker 1: not with Hopkins, and maybe that creates an advantage for
Speaker 1: Arizona right there, An Sessler, you know he doesn't flip flop,
Speaker 1: he just stick. Well, I you know, I just dropped
Speaker 1: like massive predictions that come true in time. I don't
Speaker 1: know what you're talking about with the flip flop business.
Speaker 1: That's absurd. Greg, You're up next, and I'm glad you
Speaker 1: left this Patriots Dolphins game for me. That's the one
Speaker 1: I want to watch early on Sunday. And uh, these
Speaker 1: teams are kind of similar to me in some ways
Speaker 1: in that they have great, you know, defensive backfields. They
Speaker 1: almost want you to run the ball against them. That's
Speaker 1: they're inviting you. It's not, I guess a shock because
Speaker 1: Brian Flores and Bill Belichick have the same sort of
Speaker 1: defensive philosophy. But on offense, you also don't know what
Speaker 1: you're gonna get. I think you're gonna get a lot
Speaker 1: of running. I think you're gonna get a lot of
Speaker 1: option football from Cam Newton. And I think you're gonna
Speaker 1: get a lot of surprises from the Dolphins too. I
Speaker 1: would not be surprised to see two a tongue of
Speaker 1: Vloa out there with a special package. Both these coaches
Speaker 1: are so cag that you know they just want to
Speaker 1: spring something on each other in Week one in Belichick
Speaker 1: is not happy that Flores went up there to Foxboro
Speaker 1: and basically ended the Tom Brady era in Week seventeen
Speaker 1: last year, taking that by away. So Belichick's ready for
Speaker 1: a little revenge. Was wait, you can win. You can
Speaker 1: win against the Titans the next week. It wasn't over
Speaker 1: at that point. Just the lost any chance, any chance
Speaker 1: they had at going deep into the playoffs and maybe
Speaker 1: winning a championship, which is all they're really worried about.
Speaker 1: It was over the second you knew the team didn't
Speaker 1: have it at that point. That's all. I think. It
Speaker 1: showed like a severe chink in the armor, and it
Speaker 1: was it was you know, you had Ryan Fitzpatrick, you know,
Speaker 1: with players jumping on his on his back, he's piggybacking
Speaker 1: players off the field. It just was not the way
Speaker 1: New like New England likes to close the season. I
Speaker 1: thought it was interesting. The Beat writer Jeff how noted
Speaker 1: that coaches think that Cam Newton can still basically be
Speaker 1: the rusher he was in twenty seven team when he
Speaker 1: ran for a hundred and forty times or so. I
Speaker 1: cannot wait to see how they scheme him and what
Speaker 1: this offense looks like. You know, we got used to seeing.
Speaker 1: Even if the Patriots switched up with Tombrey a little bit,
Speaker 1: it just looked the same year after year. Do you
Speaker 1: give the advantage to New England with with surprise or
Speaker 1: Chan Gailey in Miami You hasn't coached since and maybe
Speaker 1: wants to run who knows wildcat or pistol all day long.
Speaker 1: I'm going with, uh, the Patriots in the Element of
Speaker 1: Surprise game here, Jan Galiley and Ryan Fitzpatrick made magic
Speaker 1: on the one Jets team that had a winning record
Speaker 1: in the last ten years. Uh So they have a
Speaker 1: knowledge together and I'm really interested to see. I've given
Speaker 1: Gregor hard time this offseason that the Patriots won't be
Speaker 1: special anymore. I still believe that, But Cam Newton, Cam
Speaker 1: Newton's playing football again, and it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker 1: The thing I'm most interested in with Newton is is
Speaker 1: he gonna be running around a lot? Because you know,
Speaker 1: there's conversations in that building, can he be that guy anymore?
Speaker 1: Because they kind of needed to be that guy because
Speaker 1: he's never been a special passer. It's when you put
Speaker 1: the two things together that that made him an m
Speaker 1: VP level player. So I'll be interested to see how
Speaker 1: he's deployed in Belichick's offense. I think it'll be a
Speaker 1: ton of running. I think you'll see a lot of
Speaker 1: James White. I think you'll see some Sony Michelle. Both
Speaker 1: teams are gonna run. But one team, to me, is
Speaker 1: more prepared to run. They have a at her offensive line.
Speaker 1: That's the new England Patriots. The Dolphins have so many
Speaker 1: new starters. I think it's gonna be very difficult for
Speaker 1: them to not have had a preseason to get ready
Speaker 1: for this year. Better win this game, Greg, you get
Speaker 1: things off on the right foot here. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know. I'm not suiting up. I'm just well, I'm
Speaker 1: just watching at home. We're gonna be doing our Week
Speaker 1: one recap show regardless. You know, well, we'll still You're right, Mark,
Speaker 1: I could hear in his voice, all right, let's let's
Speaker 1: snake along. Greg. It goes right back to you. Oh,
Speaker 1: I am so excited. You didn't think this was gonna
Speaker 1: get taken so high. It's the Las Vegas Raiders go
Speaker 1: into Charlotte this week to face Mark's boy, Matt Rule
Speaker 1: and the Carolina Panthers. A little bit of a reach,
Speaker 1: I don't think. So, you know what, I got the
Speaker 1: Patriots on one TV, gonna get my attention. I got
Speaker 1: this game on the secondary TV, and I picked it
Speaker 1: because there are two teams that I just I like,
Speaker 1: I don't know what these two teams are gonna look like,
Speaker 1: so I'm very curious. I mean, Rule, it's a mystery.
Speaker 1: But even the Raiders, if you look at their starting
Speaker 1: lineup right now, they have nine players that are first
Speaker 1: or second year starters that were drafted by Mike Mack.
Speaker 1: That is an outrageous number. Most teams have two or
Speaker 1: three players like that. So it's a lot of rookies.
Speaker 1: It's rookies at wide receiver, you know, Rugs and Edwards
Speaker 1: for the Raiders. So even though Gruden has been there
Speaker 1: a couple of years, it's it's a lot of mystery,
Speaker 1: and to me, that gets me at that gets me
Speaker 1: going on Sundays. Maybe maybe it doesn't, you know, maybe
Speaker 1: you're just already board by these teams. Dan, I am
Speaker 1: with you. I think that tell me more the Carolina
Speaker 1: side Sunday mornings like that. I look at the Carolina
Speaker 1: side where the mystery is. Basically, you've got like nine
Speaker 1: players on the defense that we're in college a year ago,
Speaker 1: you know, studying the books and playing on Saturdays. Now
Speaker 1: they're suddenly having a deal with the Raiders offense. John
Speaker 1: Gruden year three, I I flipped to the Carolina's offense.
Speaker 1: So I mean the big name that they have it
Speaker 1: all O C Joe Brady who basically turned Clyde Edwards
Speaker 1: Hilaire into elis use all time leading past catching running back,
Speaker 1: and now Clyde Edwards Hilaire is being taken number one
Speaker 1: overall in Kansas City by fantasy heads for that reason.
Speaker 1: And they basically said, that's what we want to do
Speaker 1: with Christian McCaffrey, that there's no idea this, We're not
Speaker 1: going to diminish his role. He's basically it's more of
Speaker 1: a Saints type offense. They're gonna run him the way
Speaker 1: that Alvin Kamara was used. And there are weapons on
Speaker 1: this offense. You still have d J. Moore. I love
Speaker 1: that they got Robby Anderson. The idea that this team
Speaker 1: is starting from scratch entirely is not true, but we
Speaker 1: do need to see the Teddy Bridgewater experience week one.
Speaker 1: I know, Mark, you've already put Matt Rule into the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame as an NFL head, but her Titanic.
Speaker 1: He has a Titanic challenge in front of him this year.
Speaker 1: I don't like their chances early on in the season.
Speaker 1: They seem to me a team maybe kind of like
Speaker 1: how Brian Flores did in Miami last year, where they
Speaker 1: start out a little bit of a mess, and then
Speaker 1: as the season goes along and he starts to get
Speaker 1: the team more comfortable and everybody get finds their roles,
Speaker 1: they get better. But I like the Raiders a lot
Speaker 1: in this game. I think they they have they have
Speaker 1: a better flow to them right now. They have more
Speaker 1: more in place entering the season. And I I'm call
Speaker 1: me the one guy out there, at least in the
Speaker 1: national media that thinks they are car could be legitimately
Speaker 1: good this year, not just the guy that everybody kicks around. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it's a mismatch. When they have the ball.
Speaker 1: The back seven for Carolina is pretty rough. I thought
Speaker 1: you were gonna lock it up there, but I guess not.
Speaker 1: I don't want to go that far, but I will.
Speaker 1: I do have a team in mind. Mark, it's your turn, buddy,
Speaker 1: all right. Well, you know I'm predictable enough. I think
Speaker 1: that you know where I'm going here. I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: Cleveland at Baltimore. And you know this game is giving me,
Speaker 1: um some troubles internally because you know, as a long
Speaker 1: time just a few, just a few. I I don't
Speaker 1: know if I like the idea of having to roll
Speaker 1: out a whole new coaching staff and a new offense
Speaker 1: and a lot of new faces um against a Baltimore
Speaker 1: team run by John Harbaugh and essentially all the same
Speaker 1: people from last year, other than the fact that you added,
Speaker 1: you know, Derek Wolfe and Calias Campbell and Patrick Queen
Speaker 1: to uh what should be a much better run defense.
Speaker 1: I don't know in a pandemic that I need on
Speaker 1: Baltimore dropping a forty burger on the Browns um added
Speaker 1: into the spicy mix of life. But um, I am
Speaker 1: hopeful about the Browns in general. I really do think
Speaker 1: that the the b line through their entire offseason under
Speaker 1: Kevin Stefanski has been hyper organization. All the players basically said,
Speaker 1: this coach is super zoned in. Everyone has very specific
Speaker 1: individual goals. Um their practices were organized us a lot
Speaker 1: to like. I think Baker Mayfield has his head on
Speaker 1: straight this year. My concern is just that I don't
Speaker 1: think you're gonna see it in week one or right away.
Speaker 1: It's gonna take time the same way it will for
Speaker 1: so many of these other teams. Maybe I'm being too
Speaker 1: uh pessimistic here, Greg, Come on, why why are you
Speaker 1: so nervous? I mean the the Ravens, it's the Baltimore
Speaker 1: Last year, it was the Browns that dropped the forty
Speaker 1: burger on the Ravens and gave him a big fat out.
Speaker 1: I know you called that game of fluke. You called
Speaker 1: that game of fluke when it happened, So I mean
Speaker 1: I kind of vi that game is a little flukey myself.
Speaker 1: So okay, I do too. But I think if you
Speaker 1: look at the Browns roster, I'm not trying to just
Speaker 1: you know, pump you up. Okay. The Ravens are known
Speaker 1: for their backfield. Who's got the better running backs? I
Speaker 1: would take Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. I really went,
Speaker 1: who's got the better tight ends? It's at least the
Speaker 1: question you got in Joku. You add Austin Hooper, I
Speaker 1: know you love your boy h from the draft of
Speaker 1: Browns and Harrison Bryant. Then you have the wide receivers.
Speaker 1: Who's deeper wide. I'm just saying, I mean, this Brown's
Speaker 1: team is talented, so let's puff out our chests. Last
Speaker 1: year and for most of the most of the players
Speaker 1: you just bought up, Greg, they were all there last year,
Speaker 1: and all those Ravens guys were there last year. And
Speaker 1: one team went four fourteen and two, and one team
Speaker 1: went six and ten. And the games, even the second matchup,
Speaker 1: they were ahead in that game, deep into it, and
Speaker 1: then Freddie Kitchens happened. Greg Dan, I would say this,
Speaker 1: I mean, the Browns are not the same offense. Though
Speaker 1: they actually added they didn't have a tight end that
Speaker 1: was healthy at all last year. You've got three good
Speaker 1: tight ends. They're gonna run the ball. A ton Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield is gonna be involved in play action, not these
Speaker 1: you know, eleven sets all day long. I think that
Speaker 1: can make a positive effect. Yeah, I mean, but you
Speaker 1: you're also saying you think of forty Burger is about
Speaker 1: to be dropped on a flip un tootally illogical. I
Speaker 1: think the Ravens have Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are
Speaker 1: a super Bowl. They're in the top one, in the
Speaker 1: top two teams in the a f C. The Browns
Speaker 1: were an unknown and probably will take six weeks to
Speaker 1: get their act together. I guess for me, it's like
Speaker 1: I went through it last year as we all did
Speaker 1: with the Browns. Show me, show me that you're all
Speaker 1: these pieces actually turn into something, and they made the
Speaker 1: right They made the absolute right move they had. Freddie
Speaker 1: Kitchens was a bit of a punching bag and a scapegoat,
Speaker 1: I thought, and everything that went wrong was put on
Speaker 1: Freddie Kitchens, and maybe a lot of it was. But
Speaker 1: Kevin Steffantsie, we'll see, he's kind of a blank slate
Speaker 1: to me too. I know he's had some success in
Speaker 1: his career, but I'm not ready to say they've fixed
Speaker 1: head coach. Kevin Stefanski's in town to do that today.
Speaker 1: The fact, the fact that I don't trust the Browns
Speaker 1: after last year's mess, and the fact that the Ravens
Speaker 1: are the Ravens and they're playing in Baltimore. I know
Speaker 1: there's nobody there. I'm locking it up. I'm locking up
Speaker 1: the defending Provision champions to take out Marx Browns and
Speaker 1: do it handily, because I get the feeling that they're
Speaker 1: probably well ahead of the Browns right now at the
Speaker 1: stage in the game. I mean, Dan just likes to
Speaker 1: he likes to make the little cut and then just
Speaker 1: pour a big salt shaker of salt in it too,
Speaker 1: and that you know, I don't. I I don't appreciate
Speaker 1: this locked in, but you know what, I think you're
Speaker 1: gonna probably start one another and I don't. I don't
Speaker 1: think it does at all. But you know it doesn't
Speaker 1: pass my personal test, which is just about number just went.
Speaker 1: You went position group by position group and said the
Speaker 1: Browns were better at every position than the brown than
Speaker 1: the Ravens. So I guess to keep it close, I
Speaker 1: am picking Browns to keep it close. And now that
Speaker 1: you did this, I'm just gonna pick. You know, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be rooting for the Browns win it outright, all right?
Speaker 1: Any final thoughts, Mark, give me a record, Give me
Speaker 1: a record. How about this? I think they could be
Speaker 1: nine and seven or eight and eight being conservative there
Speaker 1: maybe or maybe I'm not, But how about surprised me
Speaker 1: for once. They haven't won a season opener since two
Speaker 1: thousand and four, when Jeff Garcia was a quarterback. That
Speaker 1: was the year I've lived in l A. They have
Speaker 1: not when I moved to l A. They have not
Speaker 1: won a season opener since. Maybe it's maybe I've jinx
Speaker 1: them by moving, you know, to the West coast. Um,
Speaker 1: this is how I think it's. It's it's a mess.
Speaker 1: It's a mess. Get me out of here, all right,
Speaker 1: hanging there, buddy, all right, it's time. Are we snaking again?
Speaker 1: You know, there's so many reasons why I miss west
Speaker 1: on the show on a show by show basis, But
Speaker 1: the snake comes at you fast. Three person's draft, I
Speaker 1: mean translation, Dan doesn't know what he's gonna pick. Make
Speaker 1: a choice, Dan, I well, no, this will be good
Speaker 1: for you, Mark, because I know you don't like when
Speaker 1: I say Anti Brown's thing. So now you get a
Speaker 1: chance to make seventeen Adam Gaze jokes because I'm gonna
Speaker 1: pick the Jets at Buffalo Bills. The Drayman going up
Speaker 1: to Orchard Park in a very difficult game assignment for them. Obviously, Uh,
Speaker 1: everyone loves these Bills and that's part of the reason. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I'm always gonna be super plugged in and want to
Speaker 1: see my Jets, especially in Week one when Hope is
Speaker 1: still somewhat in the building. But what kind of Bills
Speaker 1: team are we gonna get? I mean, who who are
Speaker 1: the Bills? Because some people see them as a super
Speaker 1: Bowl team and then there are other people out there
Speaker 1: and Greg Greg is one of them, and I think
Speaker 1: I am too. That's ay. Yeah, they're a super Bowl
Speaker 1: team except for the guy that plays the most important position,
Speaker 1: and he still needs to make improvements in Josh Allen.
Speaker 1: So how does Josh Allen come out? Uh out of
Speaker 1: the gate? Because I want to remind you guys one thing.
Speaker 1: I'm breaking my own rule because this is ancient history too.
Speaker 1: But next year with the Bills and Jets played as well,
Speaker 1: and the Jets blew the game and hideous fashion and
Speaker 1: San Donald had Mono and C. J. Mosley towards growing.
Speaker 1: But Josh Allen was terrible in that game. I think
Speaker 1: he had four turnovers in the first two quarters in
Speaker 1: the game. And is that going to be the guy
Speaker 1: that comes out of the gate this year too, where
Speaker 1: he's chopping, he's throwing the ball everywhere, and he's putting
Speaker 1: the ball on the ground. Because that version of Josh
Speaker 1: Alan needs to go away if we want to take
Speaker 1: the Bill seriously super Bowl contenders. He's got to be
Speaker 1: better with the ball. He's gotta be more accurate, and
Speaker 1: he's gotta be you know, his head's gotta be on
Speaker 1: his shoulders because the last time we saw him, he
Speaker 1: melted down a little bit against the Texans in that
Speaker 1: wild card game. So this is his first game since then.
Speaker 1: So we'll start with the Bills there. I think they're
Speaker 1: obviously the favorite here. Uh you got what do you
Speaker 1: guys think about seeing the Bills in finally in action.
Speaker 1: I know you're excited, Mark, I mean, this is the
Speaker 1: team you've been pumping up. But I think Greg Williams
Speaker 1: is a pretty interesting challenge for Josh Allen right off
Speaker 1: the bat because he's he's not gonna cheat you for
Speaker 1: lack of blitz is and showing you a different look.
Speaker 1: It's like he's gonna test Josh Allen. Mentally, I don't
Speaker 1: think the Jets have the same personnel, at least that
Speaker 1: they would like with Mosley, you know, opting out and
Speaker 1: Jamal Adams gone um. But but I kind of flip
Speaker 1: it around and think about Sam Donald's two games against
Speaker 1: this Bill's defense, and yeah, maybe he did have mono
Speaker 1: that first game. It was a rough Week one to
Speaker 1: start Week one, you can always throw out. But I
Speaker 1: remember that Week seven team game two when he's going
Speaker 1: up against the Bills backups and they got three points
Speaker 1: with about seven minutes left in the game. And this
Speaker 1: is such a good secondary, it's such a veteran defense.
Speaker 1: It's about his trustworthy of veteran defense, I think, as
Speaker 1: there is in the league. So it is a big
Speaker 1: time challenge for Gayson Donald right off the bat to
Speaker 1: show that there's been a little bit of progress this offseason,
Speaker 1: because it doesn't get much tougher, I don't think than
Speaker 1: than going up to Orchard Park. I mean, i'd also
Speaker 1: point to a different coordinator and Brian Dable, who you
Speaker 1: know in Buffalo, is one of the more creative offensive
Speaker 1: play callers around and did a lot of interesting stuff
Speaker 1: last year, especially late in the year with pace and
Speaker 1: timing no huddle that helped Josh Allen. So I think
Speaker 1: that those two guys grew together as the season went along,
Speaker 1: and you know, I know other people do this, but
Speaker 1: I point to that Cowboys game is what Josh Allen
Speaker 1: is capable of, along with the games where he's mistake prone. Um,
Speaker 1: but Dan, I don't, I don't just you know, think
Speaker 1: the Jets are gonna get wiped here. I think that
Speaker 1: you know, we are forgetting about someone like lev On
Speaker 1: Bell because of what happened last year, and we're forgetting
Speaker 1: at times about the fact that Sam Donald can do
Speaker 1: things where three games in a row he he completely
Speaker 1: confirms for you, if you're a Jets fan why he
Speaker 1: was taken where he was taken in the draft. I
Speaker 1: think he's been putting a really tough situation. Um, their
Speaker 1: offensive line should be a little bit better, but again,
Speaker 1: it's four of five new starters that the that's the
Speaker 1: kind of thing that's gonna take time for teams to mesh. Uh. Buffalo,
Speaker 1: you know, to me just simply is sort of stronger
Speaker 1: all over the place. And their defense has been very
Speaker 1: consistent year to year under Sean McDermott, and I don't
Speaker 1: see that going away. So it's a really big challenge
Speaker 1: for Donald right out of the Gate. It is and
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to because one thing with Sam Donald
Speaker 1: is there are no there will be no excuses this year,
Speaker 1: and that same thing goes for his third year and
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield and his third year. These guys need to
Speaker 1: fall out. And as much as Donald kind of got
Speaker 1: put behind the eight balls first two years, and maybe
Speaker 1: he's still there because Adam Gaze, I don't know, maybe
Speaker 1: he's just the wrong guy in Any quarterback tied to
Speaker 1: him is not gonna be in a good position to win.
Speaker 1: They did improve the offensive line. They got really good
Speaker 1: marks from people that covered the team this summer. I
Speaker 1: don't know if it's gonna be great and Joe Douglass
Speaker 1: they're not the Hogs up front, but they are much better. Uh.
Speaker 1: And there are you know, like you said Levy on Bell,
Speaker 1: Christopher herndon the tight end, there are hard seavers here
Speaker 1: that are that they're healthier than healthy at the right
Speaker 1: time for week one cut down stay. He needs smarter
Speaker 1: with the ball and he has to show the debts
Speaker 1: that he's got because if he doesn't, if he's not better,
Speaker 1: the Jets are gonna stink. They're gonna be three and
Speaker 1: thirteen bad and then the organization is gonna have a
Speaker 1: big decision with a high dress pick. So that's a
Speaker 1: lot of pressure on my boy Sam. But I do
Speaker 1: believe in him, and I'm so excited to see him
Speaker 1: play right off the bat. I want to see what
Speaker 1: he does here with my boys. He's practicing fully, he's
Speaker 1: Caraman's back. I'm glad because I don't want to see
Speaker 1: Sam Donald with you know, both hands tied behind his back.
Speaker 1: So I think Mims is going to be a key
Speaker 1: for them, and I'm excited at least that that they're
Speaker 1: a little healthier going into this game. I think it's
Speaker 1: it's interesting to see. It's interesting to see Dan's optimism
Speaker 1: um for a Jets team that could collide into total darkness,
Speaker 1: and my pessimism with my team. I think it's so Dan.
Speaker 1: I do appreciate that you kind of always start these
Speaker 1: years hoping for the best. We'll see where we are,
Speaker 1: you know by Sunday night. It's supposed to be fun, Mark,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean I wish it were fun. It's not.
Speaker 1: It's not the fans fault when the team goes too
Speaker 1: and fourteen and how much fun am I supposed to
Speaker 1: draw from that? I mean, help me, help me. This
Speaker 1: is fun. So I guess my point. This is the
Speaker 1: time where we get to have fun and just hope
Speaker 1: for the best, and then reality sets in and then
Speaker 1: we then we could be miserable and and be you know,
Speaker 1: nervous and all that weekend. Alright, snakes to me, snakes
Speaker 1: to me in a big part of doing this is
Speaker 1: you want to make sure you don't overly populate um
Speaker 1: certain time spots, because we really are This is no
Speaker 1: no joke, This ain't no jive talk is the great
Speaker 1: Dama Check used to say. We will be assigned to
Speaker 1: watching these games come Sunday for the website and then
Speaker 1: reporting on them for around the NFL Flagship Show on
Speaker 1: Sunday night. Um so I have to make the choice.
Speaker 1: I gotta pick a four pm game Eastern. It will
Speaker 1: be Chargers at Bangles. And it's kind of a no
Speaker 1: brainer for me because for two reasons. Um one, Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow Well I was playing this game. He's the number
Speaker 1: one pick. Everyone's in love with them. Cincinnati has become
Speaker 1: a frisky team. They are, of course the team that
Speaker 1: we have really decided to track on a higher level
Speaker 1: this year. They are in the bengalship sanctuary. So you know,
Speaker 1: shame on us that it's even taken this long for
Speaker 1: the Bengals to be drafted in the Week one preview draft.
Speaker 1: So to see how this offense was Zach under, Zach
Speaker 1: Taylor and Joe Burrow operates right at the gate, see
Speaker 1: if the defense has improved, which needs to happen as well,
Speaker 1: and then the Chargers. UH. A month ago, I would
Speaker 1: have said, all right, I'm only interested in this game
Speaker 1: because of UH Cincinnati's offense and the guy playing quarterback.
Speaker 1: But Hard Knocks, they did what they do, and they
Speaker 1: did an awesome job giving us a better idea of
Speaker 1: what the Chargers are about as a team and UH
Speaker 1: institutionally with head coach Anthony Lynn, so they're kind of
Speaker 1: an easy team to root for. How did they recover,
Speaker 1: uh from the loss of Derwin James. And in the
Speaker 1: Hard Knocks finale, you saw how Derwin James's injury happened
Speaker 1: and how crushing it was inside that building. Matt money Smith,
Speaker 1: who's the voice of the Chargers, was saying to me
Speaker 1: on the Power Ranking Show that there's still pieces here
Speaker 1: for this to be one of the better defenses in
Speaker 1: the league. That people are getting too caught up in
Speaker 1: the James thing and saying that the Charges now don't
Speaker 1: have a chance. They still could have a very good defense,
Speaker 1: they just lose that Celia being maybe the best defense
Speaker 1: in the league. I don't know if I don't think
Speaker 1: people were getting caught up in Derwin James. I think
Speaker 1: like it was appropriately you know, labeled a disaster for them.
Speaker 1: But here's how you, you know, you make up for it.
Speaker 1: You unleashed Joey bos Melvin ingram Lin, Vaal Joseph against
Speaker 1: the Bengals offensive line that has not improved um and
Speaker 1: I I really think that the one hit potentially well
Speaker 1: it just got a first room that we'll see he
Speaker 1: didn't play last year. I mean so that he's like
Speaker 1: a lot of other rookies playing left tackle. Where will
Speaker 1: you know what? I hope that works out for them,
Speaker 1: But the rest of their line, if you go look
Speaker 1: at like the PF grades and sort of just watch
Speaker 1: what happened last year, that is what could stunt burrows growth.
Speaker 1: And I don't think that's a crazy thing to say.
Speaker 1: I mean it caused total havoc for them a year ago.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're gonna need Joe probably get a lot
Speaker 1: of Joe Mixon early on. I think that know, you
Speaker 1: see where like a J. Green is going in fantasy drafts.
Speaker 1: People have forgotten about a J. Green if he's healthy.
Speaker 1: That is a huge add on too. This offense. So
Speaker 1: there are ways out of problems. But you're not behind
Speaker 1: the Cults offensive line if you're Joe Burrow. And that
Speaker 1: is my one concern that can rattle a young guy
Speaker 1: big time. It's a big time concern. But I flip
Speaker 1: it to the Charges, to their charge. Their offensive line
Speaker 1: does not look great on paper. I mean they're a
Speaker 1: little bit better at tackle now this year, but that
Speaker 1: at right tackle especially, I mean that left tackle might
Speaker 1: be the worst starter in the league, at least in
Speaker 1: terms of their performance a year ago. And I don't
Speaker 1: like teams that are one dimensional, and I am a
Speaker 1: little worried the Chargers offense is gonna be one dimensional.
Speaker 1: It's like, you look at this Bengals secondary, where they
Speaker 1: already lost Trey Waynes are starting a third year guy,
Speaker 1: Darius Phillips, and they don't have much step and you're like, okay,
Speaker 1: let's attack them through the air well. Is Anthony Lynn
Speaker 1: and Tyrat Taylor gohan to attack him through the air.
Speaker 1: Are they you know, if Mike Williams, their wide receiver
Speaker 1: doesn't play in this game, do they even have the
Speaker 1: receivers to attack them. You're going into a game where
Speaker 1: it's like you want to just keep it posts by
Speaker 1: running the ball. I I don't like that one bit.
Speaker 1: I kind of like the Bengals maybe as an upset
Speaker 1: home team here using all that talent that that Joey
Speaker 1: Burrows got around it. Interesting. Yeah, I mean that, I'm
Speaker 1: just going. I'm just going strictly, you know, by what
Speaker 1: the people in the in the desert are are telling me.
Speaker 1: But now you know, now Zach Taylor's got got enough
Speaker 1: receivers to actually run the type of offense he wants
Speaker 1: where he's got, you know, three wide receivers on the field.
Speaker 1: Like last year they were running it out there didn't
Speaker 1: make a lot of sense. Now they've got some players
Speaker 1: that can actually run this team all right up next,
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler, Alright, I this is a game that I
Speaker 1: would be surprised in days past that I would pick
Speaker 1: because it's probably would have been my last pick in
Speaker 1: years years of old. I'm gonna go uh Bears at
Speaker 1: Detroit Chicago. With Detroit a couple of interesting things happening.
Speaker 1: That's where this you know, um somewhat ridiculous quarterback competition
Speaker 1: in Chicago. How does Mitch Robiskie look against a team
Speaker 1: that he's fared really well against historically. It's like the
Speaker 1: one team that he's almost, you know, consistently and reliably
Speaker 1: um taken care of. Uh. But I think this Detroit
Speaker 1: defense up front is a little bit different in the
Speaker 1: past and hum a lot of pass rush. I think
Speaker 1: they kind of sort of sit back and say, maybe
Speaker 1: come at us, But you've got a rookie cornerback in
Speaker 1: Jeff Okuda. Uh. For me, though, it's all about the Lions.
Speaker 1: I I have picked the Lions as my seventh NFC
Speaker 1: wild Card team and I just want to see if
Speaker 1: there's any reality to that. Can it be real? And
Speaker 1: I think the running back situation is really murky with
Speaker 1: Adrian Peterson there. Matt Patricia has been glowing over Adrian
Speaker 1: Peterson in practice, so that kind of tells me he's
Speaker 1: gonna be the dude out it right away because they
Speaker 1: don't seem to really trust anyone else at the moment healthwise.
Speaker 1: Great offense Matthew Stafford, I think could be very effective. Um,
Speaker 1: if you don't start want to know here. If you're Detroit,
Speaker 1: I think you got questions. I I think you need
Speaker 1: to have a quick start. Um, they've got a bit
Speaker 1: of an issue with some of their scheduling. And if
Speaker 1: you're the Lions, like, let's kind of say what happened
Speaker 1: last year after Matthew Stafford went down was the myth? Three?
Speaker 1: Reality is that we can be a nine and seven
Speaker 1: type team with forty two Expatriots on our defense. I mean,
Speaker 1: you said that Trabinsky has good numbers against the Lions.
Speaker 1: It's like the one team he's done well. Well, it's
Speaker 1: because everyone has good numbers against matt Patricia's Lions defense.
Speaker 1: I mean, you've been there three years, you got your
Speaker 1: you've got your own GM picking the players for you.
Speaker 1: It's like, show up now. I mean, just show up
Speaker 1: and be average on offense. We know they're gonna get
Speaker 1: it done, and uh, I'm curious if the Bears are
Speaker 1: gonna be a difference making defense still that they still
Speaker 1: were very good last year, so it's not an easy matchup,
Speaker 1: but they'll score points. But man, Patricia, it's it's time
Speaker 1: because if you can't stop Mitchell Trabinsky in year four,
Speaker 1: like you haven't been stopping him in year two and three,
Speaker 1: it's like, what are we doing here? Why? Why are
Speaker 1: you our head coach? Get it done exactly. That's why
Speaker 1: the optimism around the Lions, I guess, including yourself, Mark,
Speaker 1: you've been on that train on social media. This is
Speaker 1: still the same coaching staff. And just because Matthew Stafford's
Speaker 1: what were they three five one before he went out?
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess I need to defensive numbers. But
Speaker 1: you're right, yeah, I see it, Patricia on a on
Speaker 1: a weekend week out basis because two years in it's
Speaker 1: just not been working. I mean, they nearly beat the
Speaker 1: Chiefs last year. I mean when they're on, they're on,
Speaker 1: and it's a it's a lot of nearly and uh,
Speaker 1: we'll see. Like Adrian, I don't know. The Adrian Peterson
Speaker 1: thing is fun, but it kind of weirds me out.
Speaker 1: It's like I was all excited about DeAndre Swift. It's
Speaker 1: I'm not fully confident in them, like being able to
Speaker 1: figure out a bit of a complicated soup on their roster.
Speaker 1: And it's funny how if you watch football long enough.
Speaker 1: And I'll use an example from the past when the
Speaker 1: Jets had Rich co tight and they went one in fifteen.
Speaker 1: They lost so many games right at the end of
Speaker 1: the game, and then Bill Parcels took over the next
Speaker 1: year and they started winning those games. Like coaching plays
Speaker 1: a big part in those narrow games where you need
Speaker 1: somebody to, you know, figure out how to get it
Speaker 1: down down the stretch. Don't know, Mattie p I kind of.
Speaker 1: Patricia is not a guy that I root against. I
Speaker 1: think me neither you can do it. But it's time.
Speaker 1: It's time big year three for him. All right, who's
Speaker 1: up next? I believe it's Greg with a snake back
Speaker 1: to you. I'm glad and thankful you left me the
Speaker 1: last prime time game on the board. It's Tightens, it's Broncos.
Speaker 1: It's late night, but they're weirdly using the ESPN number
Speaker 1: one team. I don't know what's going on there. It's
Speaker 1: Lewis Riddick. I'm excited to watch him on Monday nights.
Speaker 1: I think we're gonna have a better experience and I
Speaker 1: think he's got a fun game because I think Drew
Speaker 1: lock is fun and I'm not sure what we're gonna
Speaker 1: get out of the Titans, but it's just hard to
Speaker 1: be as optimistic about these Broncos since the Von Miller news.
Speaker 1: We have not taped the podcast since we found out
Speaker 1: that Von Miller is likely lost for the season, definitely
Speaker 1: lost for three four months. And you think of what
Speaker 1: the Broncos were gonna be under Vick Fongia, and they
Speaker 1: were really playing some good defense. He was coaching him up,
Speaker 1: and you're thinking it starts up front with Von Miller
Speaker 1: and Bradley Chubb. And now you have Von Miller's out,
Speaker 1: and Bradley Chubb's coming off torn a c l and
Speaker 1: hasn't practiced fully in weeks. And that makes me a
Speaker 1: little concerned going up against a very veteran Titans offense. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean. And they've reached out the Broncos to to
Speaker 1: claim Matthews, trying to get him to join the party,
Speaker 1: and he declined, and there were whispers to claim Matthews
Speaker 1: wasn't gonna play the entire season, and they said no,
Speaker 1: he actually is still interested in the right situation. But
Speaker 1: Denver wasn't the right situation, and it seemed like the
Speaker 1: prime place to go and contribute right away. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'll flip it over to you know, Arthur Smith, the
Speaker 1: Titans play caller, and what he's been hearing all offseason is,
Speaker 1: you know, Ryan Tannehill could never be the same guy
Speaker 1: he was last year. There's an interesting stat from Rhodo
Speaker 1: World that when Mariotta was the starter, the Titans average
Speaker 1: point four three points per minute, when when Tannehill took over,
Speaker 1: its shot up to point nine nine, which is doubly
Speaker 1: the production point wise Mariota put on board there. Now,
Speaker 1: I mean we saw it with our own eyes. It
Speaker 1: was real, um Ken Tannehill be that guy two years
Speaker 1: in a row, so much later in his career than
Speaker 1: you could point to and say it's just simply growth.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of est what Arthur Smith does
Speaker 1: with Tannehill, and you know that way that offense is based.
Speaker 1: I think you can still get somewhere in between the
Speaker 1: Tannehill from the Dolphins and what we had last year,
Speaker 1: which was probably a lot of statistical outliers, but still
Speaker 1: a player put into a much better situation than he
Speaker 1: was in Miami. Yeah, I think the uh, Ryan Tannehill
Speaker 1: situation is maybe not as dire as people are making
Speaker 1: it out to be because I think with the setup
Speaker 1: that he has here, I don't think we're gonna go
Speaker 1: back to seeing the Ryan Tannehill guy in Miami that
Speaker 1: frustrated everyone. I think he'll always be a little better
Speaker 1: than that at this point, as long as you can
Speaker 1: stay healthy, which was also an issue in his past
Speaker 1: that he was able to get past in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: But asking him to be that borderline dominic guy that
Speaker 1: he was as as he was is down the stretch
Speaker 1: in the regular season last year. But can they still
Speaker 1: be a top A f C contender if he is
Speaker 1: a step below what he was last year and and
Speaker 1: this is a perfect game too, I think show that
Speaker 1: he doesn't need to do that much like he takes
Speaker 1: a lot of sacks. I don't know if the Broncos
Speaker 1: are a team that's gonna be able to generate sex
Speaker 1: right now. They're a team that if they struggle on defense,
Speaker 1: it's definitely against the run that you can just imagine
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry having a big game. I am excited to
Speaker 1: watch uh Drew lock in this game. But when the
Speaker 1: number one thing I could come up with when picking
Speaker 1: for the Broncos was the altitude, which I don't know,
Speaker 1: after like no preseason games, it does kind of seem
Speaker 1: like a hard thing. That's probably not a good sign.
Speaker 1: I'm just I'm just glad that it's not Mariota going
Speaker 1: because this was the gate to Denver, because this was
Speaker 1: the game that broke our buddy, Chris Wesley, and I
Speaker 1: don't know if you remember, it was sixty nothing, a shutout.
Speaker 1: It's the game Mariota got venched. Uh he after five years,
Speaker 1: he finally gave up on Mariota after this game, which
Speaker 1: was just a tough one to watch. So if the
Speaker 1: Broncos I want to feel good about anything, that's it.
Speaker 1: They shut out this Titans team a year ago. I'll
Speaker 1: be it with Mariota. I had an offseason of like
Speaker 1: minor key feuding with the Broncos fan base about Drew Lock.
Speaker 1: And that's why it's so good that football is back,
Speaker 1: because now we could see I'm not even saying who's right,
Speaker 1: because I've never said that Drew Lock stinks and games
Speaker 1: of games of consequence, games that matter what happens. UM
Speaker 1: looking forward to it, all, right, who's up, Greg, It's
Speaker 1: snakes back to you. It does. I don't think there's
Speaker 1: any way for me to avoid just have it loading
Speaker 1: up on early games. So I might as well take
Speaker 1: my Super Bowl champion prediction. Indian Apples Colts heading down
Speaker 1: to the fish tank, do we that's no, wait, that's
Speaker 1: Miami whatever they call Jacksonville where they got cool like
Speaker 1: in like three thousand fans. This game might be the
Speaker 1: least of the weekend, right, the big chlorine tank, That's
Speaker 1: what it is. I'm a little worried about this game
Speaker 1: for the Colts, I really am, because I think people
Speaker 1: and I see it in terms of how people are
Speaker 1: predicting this game and how heavy a favorite the Colts are,
Speaker 1: uh that people just think the Jaguars are gonna totally stink.
Speaker 1: And as we've talked about this show, I think Week
Speaker 1: one is gonna be weird. And the Jaguars actually have
Speaker 1: a lot of continuity on their offensive line for the
Speaker 1: first time ever. It's not as bad as it used
Speaker 1: to be. I think they have okay weapons at receiver
Speaker 1: and they have Jay Gruden, who I think is a
Speaker 1: quality offensive coordinator. So if you're gonna tell me this
Speaker 1: game comes down to the last drive and Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: needs to make one of those you know, last minute touchdowns,
Speaker 1: to go when it would not surprise me one bit.
Speaker 1: It just feels like it's a it's a tricky spot.
Speaker 1: It's division rivals. I'm not just assuming the Colts are
Speaker 1: gonna roll in there and win a game right off
Speaker 1: the bat by a lot. Why you laughing, Mark, I
Speaker 1: don't know if I I really think this offense is
Speaker 1: kind of set to fly Indianapolis because I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna be run heavy. I find it interesting that Jonathan Taylor,
Speaker 1: who seemed like he was just gonna take over running back,
Speaker 1: is now being sold as you know, we drafted him
Speaker 1: as a complimentary piece to Marlon Mack. That's not a
Speaker 1: bad thing. They must really like Marlon Mack. You know.
Speaker 1: I want to see too. I want to see where
Speaker 1: we are like in a month with that. But to me,
Speaker 1: I I just like teams in this weird environment that
Speaker 1: we're in. If you come in with the best offensive
Speaker 1: line in football, returning to everyone, and I mean it's
Speaker 1: the best tackle combination, you've got the best guard in football.
Speaker 1: They just resigned their center. I mean that's something that
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers has not had on his side in a while.
Speaker 1: And so maybe we move away from the environment where
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers, who cannot run for a for a lick
Speaker 1: at this point, is trying to run for his life,
Speaker 1: you know, against pass rushers and winging the ball forty
Speaker 1: yards down field. This is a better set up for him.
Speaker 1: I don't know what that need. I'm not sure Philip
Speaker 1: Rivers is necessarily still a totally functional quarterback. That's why
Speaker 1: we need these games. To Dan's point, but the set
Speaker 1: up in the whole situation screams eleven and five to me.
Speaker 1: The defense, by the way, in Indianapolis was really frisky too,
Speaker 1: and their schedule is great for a bit. The old
Speaker 1: Zeuser has always enjoyed spoiling for a fight with Rosenthal
Speaker 1: and westling to the Mailman and the old Boss about
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers because he seems to get the excuses that
Speaker 1: Eli Manning never got. Because he's great at football, because
Speaker 1: he's great at throwing the football on target to the
Speaker 1: people he's intending something to go to the other team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: flex Burs, Plexigo Burrs caught it on target pass. So
Speaker 1: did Mario manningham greg fifteen feet away from Plexico Burros
Speaker 1: at that time. But you're right, Eli did play well
Speaker 1: in those playoffs. Y is phil Rivers. I think he
Speaker 1: is who he is at this point, and yes, he
Speaker 1: needed to go somewhere. This is the best place he
Speaker 1: could have gone. That's the only reason of buying it
Speaker 1: at all is that he's gone to a place with
Speaker 1: a great offensive coach and Frank Wright and a great
Speaker 1: offense line in front of him. But there might be
Speaker 1: and I would say, you know, I am not locking
Speaker 1: in eleven and five even close to it, because it's
Speaker 1: like this could absolutely go sideways with Philip, where it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter what you put in front of him. He's
Speaker 1: still an old man thrown balloons into the secondary and
Speaker 1: hoping for the best. Uh So I see that as
Speaker 1: a problem, even if even if the protection is better.
Speaker 1: I like them in this game because I think the
Speaker 1: Jaguars are gonna stink. But I still think the Colts
Speaker 1: have a lot of questions to answer with that quarterback.
Speaker 1: In fact, I wouldn't even put it past the realm
Speaker 1: of possibility greg that Jacoby Brissette, Jake Brisket gets a
Speaker 1: little bit of pt Coach's decision style. By week, Jake
Speaker 1: Brisket yanks put a sandwich. He's making Jacoby a bit
Speaker 1: more money than than any backup in the league. I
Speaker 1: guess him and Alex Smith are paid almost like starters. Um.
Speaker 1: I do think Mark being a good point on this
Speaker 1: game specifically in terms of the Colts do want to
Speaker 1: be a running team, and the Jaguars like half of
Speaker 1: their defensive tackles opted out or retired, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: early in in the off season, so that that could
Speaker 1: be trouble when you're trying to stop the run. I
Speaker 1: think it's a problem. All right, Mark, you're up. We
Speaker 1: got two games left, so you will essentially be picking
Speaker 1: for me as well. Now, So just I'm gonna I
Speaker 1: think I'm gonna be generous to you and probably give
Speaker 1: you the game that you would have preferred here, but
Speaker 1: I'm gonna pick what I want to see. For a
Speaker 1: couple of reasons. I'm taking, uh, the Philadelphia Eagles visiting Washington,
Speaker 1: the Washington football team. I kind of just want to
Speaker 1: see how Ron Riverican opens this very new era. You're welcome, Dan,
Speaker 1: You're welcome. I mean it's you know, it's no you
Speaker 1: have to follow the Twitter handle of the Washington Football Club.
Speaker 1: It's new Rivera. I like that. I'm not huge into
Speaker 1: that word play, but I don't feel ordered to say that,
Speaker 1: you know what, you are we going to Washington for everything,
Speaker 1: because you know, if you wanted to catch up, you
Speaker 1: know we we are, you know, taping this on NFL
Speaker 1: dot com. You can always check that out. It says
Speaker 1: Eagles at Washington. And I noticed that with my picks.
Speaker 1: They edited my picks from like Eagles twenty football team
Speaker 1: ten and they just changed it to Washington. I don't
Speaker 1: like it the way from the team. That would be
Speaker 1: the most journalism an old journalism school trick is in
Speaker 1: a sentence, if you're gonna say the city name when
Speaker 1: you're mentioning the other team, you should say their city name.
Speaker 1: To the idea of mixing Eagles with Washington, it should
Speaker 1: be Philadelphia at Washington, yepis sure, whenever anyone's ready for that.
Speaker 1: I don't think today's editors seem to care about those
Speaker 1: old jay school rules. Here's the thing, Like, I mean,
Speaker 1: the Eagles, you know, very banged up. Um, you know
Speaker 1: they're they're just not who they are. It's it's crazy
Speaker 1: that a year ago these two teams battled in Week one,
Speaker 1: the Eagles lost to Sean Jackson after a monster game,
Speaker 1: and we're never the same at that position in a
Speaker 1: year later. All Sean Jeffrey is not around. I mean
Speaker 1: he's not healthy. That you're banged up all over the place.
Speaker 1: Jalen Riagor is not healthy. It's like, we have to
Speaker 1: see what happens there. Um, But I'll flip to Washington
Speaker 1: and let you guys discuss the Eagles after. I just
Speaker 1: want to see Dwayne Haskins in this offense. I want
Speaker 1: to see what happens with um their backfield. You know,
Speaker 1: Scott Turner, he's the guy that battled for them to
Speaker 1: draft Antonio Gibson, who had about thirty three carries in college.
Speaker 1: But they are saying that he kind of fits that
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey role that Scott Turner oversaw in Carolina. So
Speaker 1: what does that mean between him and Bryce Love at
Speaker 1: a week one? You know, outside of Terry McLaurin, you
Speaker 1: really don't have much at wide receiver. But that said,
Speaker 1: I mean everyone's sort of just putting Washington into this
Speaker 1: two and fourteen bucket. Don't forget about this defensive line,
Speaker 1: which I think could cause absolute problems for you know,
Speaker 1: I know that you in in in Philadelphia. You've got
Speaker 1: your guy back at left tackle. But I don't like
Speaker 1: the those line situations in Week one right here, and
Speaker 1: maybe guys like Chase Young and so in the rest
Speaker 1: of the crew they have up front there that's a
Speaker 1: Ron rivera dream. So that is their one advantage I
Speaker 1: think they have against the posing offenses. I mean, how
Speaker 1: about our crack team behind the scenes here they change
Speaker 1: the graphic. It's now Philadelphia at Washington. Be the change
Speaker 1: wonderful you want to see in the world. Um, Gandhi,
Speaker 1: that was that was a Gandhi quote, Jason Peters, You
Speaker 1: guy you mentioned at left tackle. I don't even think
Speaker 1: it was Gandhi. Um, but my son was super into
Speaker 1: like this Gandhi book. He's really likes the history stuff.
Speaker 1: Let's get back to Jason Peters. We thought he was tackles.
Speaker 1: How weird is it? He's five. But they have these
Speaker 1: like you know, kids like history ones where it's like
Speaker 1: I am Gandhi. But then he wants you to do
Speaker 1: it in the voices and you start worrying it's a
Speaker 1: little racist. So you're like, no, I don't want to
Speaker 1: do it. In the voices, you revealed Jason Peters decided
Speaker 1: whether he is gonna play left tackle or not. It
Speaker 1: was really weird because at first he said no, wait,
Speaker 1: I want no, I don't do it. That's what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: because he listens to the audio version too, and then
Speaker 1: he wants me to read it separately, and he wants
Speaker 1: me to do it in those voices, and it's potentially problematic.
Speaker 1: It's a little like um, it's like a different version
Speaker 1: of Dan doing um Lakisha's mom. You know, it's a
Speaker 1: different version. It's not problematic. You figure it out. I
Speaker 1: do think the Eagles line will be problematic. How about that? UM.
Speaker 1: I think it's just so interesting that Peters didn't tell
Speaker 1: it was totally up to him and Doug Peterson was
Speaker 1: super thankful that Jason Peters came to him on Monday
Speaker 1: and said, Okay, I will play left tackle. Before that,
Speaker 1: they were just not They were just gonna go with
Speaker 1: a totally different plan. I mean, you gotta be like
Speaker 1: a Hall of Famer with a lot of pelts on
Speaker 1: the wall to just be calling the shots. I've almost
Speaker 1: never heard of anything like that. I think they'll be fine.
Speaker 1: Least they'll be finding this game. I don't know if
Speaker 1: there's any team in the league that could have used
Speaker 1: the preseason more than Washington. I'm giving them two or
Speaker 1: three weeks before I even judge them at all, because
Speaker 1: they just got so much going on that's new. I mean,
Speaker 1: there are soap opera off the field. Ron Rivera is
Speaker 1: fighting health issues, and then the team itself really does
Speaker 1: nothing for me, So thank you, Mark. Let's see how
Speaker 1: Washington does. But I feel like the Eagles should take
Speaker 1: care of business here playing this game. A little surprised
Speaker 1: Jalen Reagor might play. That would be huge, all right.
Speaker 1: Last game that leaves the Seattle Seahawks traveling to Atlanta
Speaker 1: to face the Falcons. An early game like it, solid game.
Speaker 1: The Falcons are a little bit, uh nondescript right now
Speaker 1: in terms of from the national spotlight perspective. You're just
Speaker 1: not hearing a lot about them. Uh they're flying under
Speaker 1: the radar. And maybe that's with good reason. Maybe this
Speaker 1: is a team that just doesn't have a big expectations
Speaker 1: and they're gonna be a middle of the PAC group.
Speaker 1: But let's see how it plays out, because I do think,
Speaker 1: at least offensively, that things could be special here. And
Speaker 1: I know Todd Gurley is a guy that we uh
Speaker 1: wrote off in many circles, and he's not the same
Speaker 1: guy used to be, but he's gonna have a he's
Speaker 1: gonna have every chance to prove people wrong. Uh in
Speaker 1: Atlanta in that backfield, and then you have Julio Jones,
Speaker 1: who's thirty one years old but still an all time great,
Speaker 1: and Calvin Ridley, who I really think has a chance
Speaker 1: to be the breakout wide receiver of this season. And
Speaker 1: then Matt Ryan still there, who let me down on
Speaker 1: my fantasy team back in two seventeen. But I'm over it.
Speaker 1: I've moved on. So give the Falcons a chance, and um,
Speaker 1: the Seattle side of the ball, Yeah, the Jamal Adams
Speaker 1: trade was huge and added to the piece to their
Speaker 1: defense that they needed. I still have no idea, and
Speaker 1: I would love someone explained to me how they pressure
Speaker 1: the quarterback this season, be as last time I checked.
Speaker 1: That's very important, uh in the NFL. I like Seattle,
Speaker 1: I don't love them, and I kind of feel the
Speaker 1: same way about the Falcons. I think it's a close game.
Speaker 1: I think you're right. And I got back to these
Speaker 1: two teams and I was like, to the does Matt
Speaker 1: Ryan sneaky own Russell Wilson because I had a vague memory,
Speaker 1: So I checked out the you know who needs a
Speaker 1: research department, checked out the old Football Reference game game Index,
Speaker 1: and I was right Matt Ryan's five and two against
Speaker 1: the Russell Wilson Seahawks and including twice in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: And that's why it had stuck in my mind that
Speaker 1: the Falcons took care of business at home against the
Speaker 1: Sea Seahawks team a couple of times and games that
Speaker 1: made a big difference. Is is that really gonna matter
Speaker 1: this week? I don't know, but it helped convince me
Speaker 1: to pick the Falcons because I'm with you, Dan that
Speaker 1: I don't trust the Seahawks upfront. And man, what a cliche.
Speaker 1: It is like you win the game in the trenches,
Speaker 1: and but I look at these trenches in Seattle and
Speaker 1: I'm not loving it. On either side. They have a
Speaker 1: new right side of the offensive line that's not inspiring.
Speaker 1: They don't seem to have much of a pass rush,
Speaker 1: as you mentioned, and so I thought, Okay, let's let's
Speaker 1: go for a slight upset here the Falcons taking care
Speaker 1: of business because Maddie Ice owns for us well and
Speaker 1: that and that would mean that Atlanta will start seven
Speaker 1: and oh and then lose nine in a row. Because
Speaker 1: they they are the streaking and NFL team as you
Speaker 1: can find in recent years under Dan Quinn. I want
Speaker 1: to see it's Seattle sticks to this, uh this business
Speaker 1: about you know, Russell Wilson saying, let's let's treat every
Speaker 1: quarter like the fourth quarter that Brian Schottenheimer's saying, you know,
Speaker 1: we want to start games faster. I think that they
Speaker 1: that they may believe that and they really want to
Speaker 1: do it. I mean, it's gonna take take Schottenheimer to
Speaker 1: kind of lift away from his DNA where you're gonna
Speaker 1: want to run Chris Carson thirty five times a game.
Speaker 1: But why not do that with Russell Wilson. You've got
Speaker 1: good receivers, You've got a good set up for him.
Speaker 1: I I like that for Seattle. On the flip side,
Speaker 1: I mean, to me, Girley is a huge question mark.
Speaker 1: And I also want to see if Hayden Hurst can
Speaker 1: just step into the Austin Hooper role and produced at
Speaker 1: the tight end position the same way, because that is
Speaker 1: an integral part of their attack. It has been under
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan for three or four years, so that is
Speaker 1: a key, key thing, and if you can't, like, they're
Speaker 1: gonna have to find other ways to move the ball.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I trust the wide receiver group
Speaker 1: if anyone gets hurt. I mean, it's not super deep.
Speaker 1: Um really really interesting Falcons team on offense and Bryan
Speaker 1: Schottenheimer and running that offense in Seattle. Chris Carson is
Speaker 1: I feel like one of the more underrated leadbacks. But
Speaker 1: he does put the ball on the carpet a lot,
Speaker 1: and you wonder if that is a problem that he
Speaker 1: can't fix, and that could be a hard problem fix
Speaker 1: for running backs. We talked about it with quarterbacks, which
Speaker 1: they could coach that out, but sometimes these guys can't
Speaker 1: do it. Does that affect his usage and anybody that
Speaker 1: drafted Chris Carson hates that I just said that, but
Speaker 1: just something to keep in mind as begins. All right,
Speaker 1: good stuff, guys, it's fine. Ricky. Are you there? Ricky? Hey, guys, er,
Speaker 1: how's it going. You want to let Ricky in the
Speaker 1: locks battle this year? Each episode? Yeah, Ricky, give us
Speaker 1: a lock of the week. I am going to start
Speaker 1: off strong here and I'm going to lock up the
Speaker 1: Bangles over the Chargers like that. I like it a
Speaker 1: little saucy, but I'm excited. And you know, Tyrod Taylor,
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow, Derwin James is down, who A j Green
Speaker 1: is feeling unhealthy. It's gonna be exciting. I'm actually excited
Speaker 1: to watch Michaels. I have one wish for this weird year,
Speaker 1: and it is that, And it's not Greg. It's not
Speaker 1: about you specifically, but if Erica beat Greg in the
Speaker 1: locks lockoff scenario, it would be one of the more
Speaker 1: I'm giving her a fifty fifty chance locks that would chat.
Speaker 1: The locks is a silly love silly She's not. I'm
Speaker 1: saying it's a coin flap. It's all luck. I have
Speaker 1: no predictive ability. That's what It's gonna get Greg's buns
Speaker 1: hot if he if he doesn't beat Ricky, I love it.
Speaker 1: What are they say? And they're like Women's ESPN, call
Speaker 1: it my women's ESPN. But I feel like the Bengals
Speaker 1: are gonna win all right. Later tonight, of course, Uh,
Speaker 1: the recap of Thursday Night Football that will be its
Speaker 1: own podcast at Lands and then Sunday night, Yes, it's time. Uh,
Speaker 1: the flagship program will recap every game we just previewed.
Speaker 1: Will also of course be live on the air on
Speaker 1: Sky Sports over there in the UK and in Ireland.
Speaker 1: So we're very excited to be part of that team
Speaker 1: again with Neil Reynolds and and Rob and the whole gang.
Speaker 1: So that's very exciting. So a new season is here
Speaker 1: and uh you will hear from us next tonight and Sunday.
Speaker 1: That's it. Stand hands a signing off for White Storm,
Speaker 1: the Old Boss and Ricky Hollywood in the Lost competition.
Speaker 1: Oh we just got some sizzle feel Sunday Night.