Speaker 1: Bayfield is not goes Bayfield duck out wait action, I'm
Speaker 1: the pressure by Freeld falls out, Bayfield kieks and down
Speaker 1: it goes pressure and Preston Smith gets the Baker Mayfield
Speaker 1: Another sound that were the five sacks recorded by the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers against the Los Angeles Rams in twelve
Speaker 1: Monday Night football victory. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm joined by
Speaker 1: Bill Barnwell, and I'm also joined by our producer, Justin Graver,
Speaker 1: who decided with that highlight reel to just like get creative.
Speaker 1: That was his artistic rendering of this game, just going
Speaker 1: with back sax On Baker. Do you not like Baker Mayfield,
Speaker 1: Justin or something? No? I like Baker Mayfield. I love
Speaker 1: Baker in Los Angeles. I just felt like I kept
Speaker 1: looking up at the TV and he was getting sacked
Speaker 1: in every week. I feel like it's just like a
Speaker 1: touchdown montage, and I was getting bored of just always
Speaker 1: doing a basic touchdown montage. So I like it. We
Speaker 1: are fifteen weeks and we're getting art house, we're getting creative,
Speaker 1: and uh, we're gonna talk about the most improved players
Speaker 1: in the league later in the show bill. But I'm
Speaker 1: so happy to have you here, and I'm so happy
Speaker 1: that you can break down this game with me. And
Speaker 1: I'm expecting like unbelievable analysis out of you tonight, But
Speaker 1: you chose the wrong person, unfortunately. I was thinking, to
Speaker 1: be honest with you. I know I'm biased, I work
Speaker 1: for ESPN, but Joe Buck does a really good job
Speaker 1: of building up the tension on sacks like I can
Speaker 1: picture I can picture the pass rush closing in on
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield as his voice gets more and more excited.
Speaker 1: He's really good at that. I didn't realize that until
Speaker 1: I hurt this this clip here, So thank you justin
Speaker 1: for that. And you're hitting on a point I was
Speaker 1: thinking about tonight, which is Joe Buck does seem to
Speaker 1: be leaning into making the game as exciting as possible. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe it's because Packers Rams isn't the big time game
Speaker 1: that we thought it was going to be before the season.
Speaker 1: You know, this is a game network has probably fought over.
Speaker 1: This was for sure, maybe the number one game on
Speaker 1: the Monday and at football schedule going into this season.
Speaker 1: Obviously not as much at stake as we expect and
Speaker 1: not anywhere close. And so yeah, he's trying to make
Speaker 1: it feel like a big event, and he did a
Speaker 1: good job of it. Baker Mayfield's inclusion made it more
Speaker 1: interesting coming into the game. Did it make it more
Speaker 1: interesting for you, Bill during the game? No, because weirdly,
Speaker 1: I think Baker Mayfield gets worse as he learns more
Speaker 1: about his team and his playbook. You know, I I
Speaker 1: look at what happened in that game last week, the
Speaker 1: Thursday night game against the Raiders, which was you know,
Speaker 1: every week feels like there's either a traumatic thing happening
Speaker 1: to the Raiders or a a glorious season saving event
Speaker 1: happening to the Raiders. Um given their losses now are
Speaker 1: they're there and their loss in back to back weeks
Speaker 1: in the final moments of the whole season, Bill, someone
Speaker 1: needs to write a great oral history about this Raiders season.
Speaker 1: If you go through it one by one, almost every
Speaker 1: game is completely bananas. But that but that's beside the
Speaker 1: point tonight. You're right with with the Packers and the Rams, though,
Speaker 1: it felt like Baker growing more confident in the offense
Speaker 1: gave him more pause. It felt like he was not
Speaker 1: as confident ripping the football, and I felt like a
Speaker 1: lot of this offense was just basically boot and him
Speaker 1: checking it down to the underneath guy on boot and
Speaker 1: that's there's nothing wrong at that, but it's gonna be
Speaker 1: really hard to get the ball down the field for
Speaker 1: you know, a a eighty or ninety yard touchdown drive,
Speaker 1: doing that over and over again without a sack or
Speaker 1: a penalty or a turnover. And we saw that happen
Speaker 1: over and over again to the Rams in this game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they could not protect Baker for long he held onto
Speaker 1: the ball. They end up with only a hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty six yards of offense three points x yards for play,
Speaker 1: and yet I for stretches. I was like, you know what,
Speaker 1: he's ripping it. Okay, when he actually sets up and
Speaker 1: has a target to throw to, they hit on two,
Speaker 1: third and very long is the third and fifteen and
Speaker 1: a third and thirteen came Makers runs, but the Rams
Speaker 1: field beside the point. Ultimately, this is a game about
Speaker 1: the Packers, and I was curious coming into it considering
Speaker 1: the Packers remaining schedule. It's challenging, it's at Miami next week,
Speaker 1: it's the Lions, and the Vikings said, let's we'll talk
Speaker 1: about their playoff potential in a second. But the reason
Speaker 1: I was curious about this game. Was I kind of
Speaker 1: have an idea that their offense has mostly solved their
Speaker 1: issues and it's actually a really good offense right now.
Speaker 1: And I wanted to see if that UM opinion was confirmed,
Speaker 1: and it was. They only had nine drive For me,
Speaker 1: it was confirmed twenty seven first downs. They would have
Speaker 1: had thirty one points if they got another couple of
Speaker 1: yards right at the end. Uh. What do you think
Speaker 1: about the Packers offense right now? I think they're finding
Speaker 1: solutions that work, you know. I think they have a
Speaker 1: little more faith in the rookie wide receivers now. And
Speaker 1: I think they've gotten better, certainly with Christian Watson. And
Speaker 1: and Doom's not coming back from his he had a
Speaker 1: high ankle sprain, right, I mean, I'm not mistaken there
Speaker 1: in terms of injuries. Yeah, and he was five for
Speaker 1: fifty five tonight. Yeah, and he looked good. And Christian Watson,
Speaker 1: of course very notably not turned around and what could
Speaker 1: have been a a game ceiling touchdown in the final
Speaker 1: couple of minutes. UM. But you know, I felt like
Speaker 1: they were running the ball effectively. I felt like they were,
Speaker 1: you know, making generally good decisions with the football. The
Speaker 1: one exception was the interception on what looked to be
Speaker 1: a bit of miscommunication between Rogers and Alan Lazard. But
Speaker 1: this kind of felt like the old Packers, you know.
Speaker 1: It felt like a game they dominated from start to finish.
Speaker 1: It felt like a game where they were in control
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball, and it felt like, honestly,
Speaker 1: the only thing missing were the shot plays, because there
Speaker 1: were plenty of times in this game where they went
Speaker 1: play action. Aaron Rodgers took a seven step drop and
Speaker 1: he had all the time in the world to throw
Speaker 1: and nobody was open. I think that's the one notable
Speaker 1: difference between like your Packers and even this impressive, frankly
Speaker 1: version of what we saw from the Packers today. That's
Speaker 1: a good point. It was twenty degrees out there, which
Speaker 1: we should mention. I mean, that's exceptionally. Can we talk
Speaker 1: about the all time reverse jinxing happening during the game
Speaker 1: when they kept they kept mentioning, that's not about how
Speaker 1: that there only been two kicks of fifty plus yards
Speaker 1: and in sub twinty degree with either Macie comes out
Speaker 1: and is hitting a fifty five yarder, and honestly, it
Speaker 1: would have been good for from about sixty three or
Speaker 1: sixty four. Just an incredible kick. It was an amazing
Speaker 1: kick and gave missed that extra point later. It's first
Speaker 1: of the year. Yeah. They also jinx that the Rams
Speaker 1: hadn't had a touchdown to a tight end all season,
Speaker 1: literally one play before Tyler Higbee wrapped up the scoring
Speaker 1: with a late third quarter touch down. So yeah, that
Speaker 1: a lot of jinx is around. But you could see
Speaker 1: on the kickoffs, especially it's degree so when people are
Speaker 1: getting on Baker Mayfield for a deep shot to two
Speaker 1: two out, well late in the game, hanging up there.
Speaker 1: I think you have to count the weather here as
Speaker 1: a factor. I don't know what it all means, but
Speaker 1: I know those balls are are not the same as
Speaker 1: they normally would be. It was much colder even than
Speaker 1: it was in Buffalo the other night, So I think
Speaker 1: that's that's part of it. And I look at this
Speaker 1: Packers offense and I think, like the offense could be
Speaker 1: good enough to win these last three games and see
Speaker 1: if they can get a tiebreaker. I I don't know
Speaker 1: if the defense is, but I've thought all season that
Speaker 1: the Packers should be, let's say right now, like an
Speaker 1: eight and six team. That's really what they profile more
Speaker 1: as if you if you look at their d v
Speaker 1: o A, their offense throughout the season has been close
Speaker 1: to top ten, if not top ten since weeks seven
Speaker 1: is a long sample size. I picked that just because
Speaker 1: that's eight games going to tonight there they were eighth
Speaker 1: in the league. That will only go up, like they
Speaker 1: get first downs. Jones and Dylan, they're one of the
Speaker 1: best combos in the league. And Dylan left with a
Speaker 1: potential concussion, which which would be a big injury going
Speaker 1: into this Miami game. But seeing Dobbs, Watson and Lazard
Speaker 1: on the field all at the same time, it was nice.
Speaker 1: And I think Rogers is for the most part throwing
Speaker 1: the ball well, and he's playing great against the Blitz.
Speaker 1: They tried to blitz him tonight. He went ten for
Speaker 1: twelve for ninety three yards against it. He's been great
Speaker 1: against the Blitz all year. Like it's a good offense.
Speaker 1: Like people have gotten so hard on the Packers because
Speaker 1: they're not like a top three offense. It's a good offense. Okay,
Speaker 1: it's a fine offense. I I think it's it's not
Speaker 1: a problematic offense. But the thing that made this offense
Speaker 1: work over the past few years is that they never
Speaker 1: ever turned the football over. They had thirteen giveaways all season.
Speaker 1: They had a liven all year in twenty all season
Speaker 1: in one. They had to tonight, if I'm not mistaken, Yeah,
Speaker 1: they had to tonight. That's nineteen already for this season
Speaker 1: with three games to go. And I think when you
Speaker 1: look at what happened with them in the past, Rogers
Speaker 1: was cooking, he was playing much better. They had Davante Adams,
Speaker 1: but they also never turned the ball over and at
Speaker 1: least they were the best red zone offense in the
Speaker 1: history of the National Football League. And I think they
Speaker 1: sort of have to adapt because they play a very slow,
Speaker 1: methodical style. They don't get a lot of possessions per
Speaker 1: game by design, they don't play very fast, and I
Speaker 1: think that might be something that they would consider adjusting,
Speaker 1: um given the style they're playing, given that they do
Speaker 1: need to get a couple of extra drives per game
Speaker 1: to score points. But I think at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, like they're the part of this team I
Speaker 1: have more faith in relative to the defense. Right, those
Speaker 1: are all really good points. I like it when Bill
Speaker 1: just like slaps me down to size like, they're good,
Speaker 1: They're fine. You're absolutely right if you would to put
Speaker 1: a number on it, ignored the stats, just in a vacuum.
Speaker 1: What where do you think they would rank in the NFL?
Speaker 1: We were ranking in NFL offenses right this very second,
Speaker 1: with their current personnel, they would make my top ten
Speaker 1: probably probably right at the end, nine or ten. So
Speaker 1: i'd have to go through. They're like twelve or thirteen.
Speaker 1: For me, I don't think we're far off here. Okay,
Speaker 1: I agree, And part of it is because their offensive
Speaker 1: line issues for the most parts, have been solved. Zack
Speaker 1: Thomas come in and played well for them, a rookie player,
Speaker 1: yosh yosh Nieman has played well, and they've just figured
Speaker 1: it out and there and they're playing better. And these
Speaker 1: defenses they're playing down the stretch two aren't great. Miami, Detroit, Minnesota.
Speaker 1: So I look at those uh that backfield and you
Speaker 1: could see it tonight. Not that the Rams are an
Speaker 1: amazing defense, but when Dylan is trucking Taylor rap On
Speaker 1: on the goal line and just I've always loved Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones and seeing him in space, it's just there are
Speaker 1: a lot to deal with, and to me, Christian Watson
Speaker 1: kind of unlocked this entire uh offense. He yeah, he
Speaker 1: had that play at the end where if he had
Speaker 1: turned around, he would have changed a lot of fantasy
Speaker 1: UH competitions, playoff games tonight. UH. They would have scored
Speaker 1: over thirty, they would have hit the over, so a
Speaker 1: lot of money would have changed hands. But for the
Speaker 1: most part, to me, he's locked, unlocked this offense. I
Speaker 1: don't have any faith though, that their defense will play enough,
Speaker 1: or play well enough to hold those three teams down
Speaker 1: to possibly win three in a row, or more importantly,
Speaker 1: just win on Sunday. They are one of the three
Speaker 1: Christmas Games. Bill Barnwell, they are the first one. Do
Speaker 1: you believe that their defense could could somehow get something
Speaker 1: going here? I think what has to happen is they
Speaker 1: have to have a good pass rush. And I know, like, yes,
Speaker 1: every defense is a good pass rush. This sounds like
Speaker 1: it sounds like like stupid criticism pretending to be smart criticism,
Speaker 1: or or fake insight pretending to be insight. But I
Speaker 1: think they're more dependent on their pass rush than most
Speaker 1: other teams in the NFL, and that has been inconsistent
Speaker 1: for them this year. You look at this game. Here
Speaker 1: they were playing a shall we say, compromised Ram's offensive
Speaker 1: line where pretty much everybody is injured. They lost Brian Allen,
Speaker 1: their starting center, on the second step, third step of
Speaker 1: the game on offense and had to replace him. And
Speaker 1: Rob Havnstein is having this weird season where he looks
Speaker 1: like he's never played football before and it's just getting
Speaker 1: destroyed every single week. He's been terrible. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't want to be mean, but he's been one of
Speaker 1: the worst players in the league over the last half season.
Speaker 1: And he's the one guy who's supposed to be like
Speaker 1: the reliable one. He's the one starter they have left.
Speaker 1: The Packers had doing mathe he I think they had
Speaker 1: five sacks in this game. To listen to the highlights,
Speaker 1: was justin like thin red right there, like he's a
Speaker 1: he's gonna submit that for a podcast award. It's gonna
Speaker 1: be it's gonna be a con. He did warn me
Speaker 1: about it, and I was just like, okay, okay, do
Speaker 1: do your thing. Do your thing. Justin I like you,
Speaker 1: like he's spread in your wings. Yes, So twenties six
Speaker 1: dropbacks for Baker Mayfield, five sacks. They have not been
Speaker 1: that good to a pass rush for most of this season,
Speaker 1: but I think they have to be that over the
Speaker 1: final three weeks of the year. And by the way,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins since Toronto and instead got hurt in the
Speaker 1: first half of that Texans game. Two has been getting hit.
Speaker 1: The Bills actually did the worst job of getting pressure
Speaker 1: onto A of any team over the past years. But
Speaker 1: the Texans got five sacks on to a in in
Speaker 1: the the second half of that game where he got benched.
Speaker 1: The Miners beat up to A. The Chargers had plenty
Speaker 1: of pressure onto A, and I think the Packers can
Speaker 1: do that, but it's not a given or a guarantee
Speaker 1: in the way it would have been maybe a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago. And my whole thing with this Packers
Speaker 1: team is they've been a little better, I think than
Speaker 1: the record show their three and five and one score games.
Speaker 1: They had a streak of them in the middle of
Speaker 1: the season where they just kept losing Giants, Commanders, Lions,
Speaker 1: and and maybe they should probably be seven and seven,
Speaker 1: they should be eight and six. I'm very intrigued by
Speaker 1: that game. I also wanted to ask you about Christmas
Speaker 1: games in general. Go ahead, what I want to point out.
Speaker 1: Is that kind of the the the the cards this
Speaker 1: house was built on for the Packers over the past
Speaker 1: three years was winning a lot of those close games.
Speaker 1: I felt very stupid for the past couple of years
Speaker 1: because every year I've talked about their their record in
Speaker 1: games decided by seven points or less and said, well, Okay,
Speaker 1: this year, finally they're gonna go back and regress towards
Speaker 1: the mean and they're going to be a normal team.
Speaker 1: There's no reason why they're good at these games. And
Speaker 1: they were good at they were good at it. They
Speaker 1: were good one. They were a combined fourteen and six
Speaker 1: in those one score games the prior three years. And
Speaker 1: I bring that up not to to take a victory lap.
Speaker 1: That's not the point, but what I am saying, that's
Speaker 1: the point. Let's let's do it. Let's have a parade
Speaker 1: for Bill Barnwell, right, and it'd be nice. I would.
Speaker 1: I would take it. I would. I would love love
Speaker 1: a marching bands. We need more holiday parades. It's like,
Speaker 1: I guess we got the Rose parade after January one.
Speaker 1: That's like about roses. They should have Christmas parades. They
Speaker 1: should have Bill Barnwell. Uh is an excellent writer parades,
Speaker 1: like we should nominate one person every year to have
Speaker 1: a parade thrown in their honor, Like whoever has the
Speaker 1: best preseason predictions, Like if Bill really nails his preseason
Speaker 1: teams that are going to regress or or improve, It
Speaker 1: makes total sense that you've been on that corner with
Speaker 1: the Packers. And and that's a good point that, Uh,
Speaker 1: this is a franchise that probably could use some bad
Speaker 1: luck after all the good luck they've had. I'm just
Speaker 1: saying that I think maybe the bar for what you
Speaker 1: would expect them to be maybe shouldn't be as high
Speaker 1: as the record was in prior years. Like I think
Speaker 1: they've been a a ten and a half eleven win
Speaker 1: team in the past few years, which is fine. They're
Speaker 1: still very good, but I don't think they've fallen off
Speaker 1: quite as much as maybe their record would indicate given
Speaker 1: their record in prior years. Yeah, and their defense, to
Speaker 1: me all season has been the biggest problems and some
Speaker 1: of the traditional stats hasn't haven't said it because they're
Speaker 1: the type of defense that just never gets off the field,
Speaker 1: that gives up these long drives, these soul crushing drives,
Speaker 1: and uh, they haven't shown enough for me to believe
Speaker 1: that's gonna be any different. Next week against Miami is
Speaker 1: kind of their their final test. But yeah, the guy's
Speaker 1: getting sacked tonight. We're like Nabarre. Is that how you
Speaker 1: say his name? He's the fifth round rookie outside linebacker
Speaker 1: has been playing better lately. I just noticed Justin Hollins
Speaker 1: gotta have a sack. He was on the range. Revenge game.
Speaker 1: It was a revenge game. Greg, I can't believe you
Speaker 1: did not pay attention to that. Uh. Yeah, they invested
Speaker 1: so much. And I never like it when teams over
Speaker 1: invest in the defense in general, and especially not when
Speaker 1: you have a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers. Uh, just think
Speaker 1: offense is more consistent. And they put so much into
Speaker 1: the defense this year that it needed to be a
Speaker 1: top five to tend defense, and it's been below average.
Speaker 1: And I don't know. There's something about Aaron Rodgers, I guess.
Speaker 1: Even though I don't root for any of his rival
Speaker 1: teams and I've always, you know, more or less been
Speaker 1: neutral on Aaron Rodgers, are enjoyed the experience. I certainly
Speaker 1: love watching him throw the ball. Like I'm still just
Speaker 1: kind of afraid of him that they will win these
Speaker 1: three games. There's part of me that is a fan
Speaker 1: of another team that's like, oh, they're gonna win these games.
Speaker 1: No one thinks they're they're gonna win him great. Could
Speaker 1: you not see a universe where it's Week eighteen and
Speaker 1: it's the Packers, the team that everyone's kind of sick of,
Speaker 1: that we know is not that good with the quarterback
Speaker 1: who you know has been tiptoeing around retirement for the
Speaker 1: last three years, Versus the Lions. Yes, uh, the the team. Everybody,
Speaker 1: including the Around the NFL podcast, all love the team
Speaker 1: that we've adopted, that we've we've had, We've put our
Speaker 1: our boots on the ground for for the past year
Speaker 1: waiting to see them rise up. And now this is
Speaker 1: their chance to cook it to the postseason. Then Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers is going to get in the way. I love it, Bill,
Speaker 1: give it to me. I mean, look at Bill barton football,
Speaker 1: look at Bill Barnwell, loyal to football and loyal to
Speaker 1: those Lions. I mean even prompting Justin to play our
Speaker 1: little theme song about the Lions. I love it. Give
Speaker 1: me that as the Week eighteen game. That's what I need.
Speaker 1: I want either that and I've already looked at this.
Speaker 1: I'm always obsessed with the Week eighteen thing. Um A, yeah,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of options. Practically every game feels like
Speaker 1: an option. I want that or Jets Dolphins as a
Speaker 1: winning in type of game. Either one of those to
Speaker 1: me would be delicious. But Packers Lions feels right. It
Speaker 1: feels better, and the Packers are gonna need to uh
Speaker 1: win two straight games to set that up. Yeah, or
Speaker 1: Titans Jaguars. You can't say Jaguars anymore. We gotta just
Speaker 1: say it's Jaguars. J I don't know who who tweeted
Speaker 1: about it. I think it was our friend Ben Solac today.
Speaker 1: That was just saying that anyone who says Jaguars on
Speaker 1: a podcast is immediately suspended, and and I thought to myself, yes,
Speaker 1: I've thought that that too. We need to stop these people. Wars. Well,
Speaker 1: the British say Jaguars. It is London's team. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go with Jags from now on, so I don't mess
Speaker 1: it up. I don't want Jack Titans, what about Ravens Bengals.
Speaker 1: This would have been a great top six list. I'm
Speaker 1: not even joking. Top six potential Week eight teen games
Speaker 1: and just talk about that. Yeah, Ravens Bengals is awesome too.
Speaker 1: I don't think we're going to get a bad one
Speaker 1: this year. The only way it gets bad is basically
Speaker 1: if the only winning in scenario is one of the
Speaker 1: Southern divisions and Jaguars Titans would be fine. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna hate that, but the NFC South would be horrible.
Speaker 1: I love Jack's Titans because you have Travor turboR. Lawrence
Speaker 1: is playing out of his mind right now, and you
Speaker 1: have Derrick Henry, who has owned the Jaguars for years now,
Speaker 1: even had like a hundred yards in the first half
Speaker 1: against them last time out, and then he got shut
Speaker 1: down in the second half, and I don't know how
Speaker 1: it happened, Like, I think that could be a real shootout.
Speaker 1: I I would be on board for Tennessee Jacksonville in
Speaker 1: the week game. Okay, I would too. In a normal year,
Speaker 1: it's like a seven and a half out of ten.
Speaker 1: But with these other games that are possible that just
Speaker 1: seem like the Lions, Packers, or Bengals, Ravens or Jets, Dolphins,
Speaker 1: those all seem awesome to me. So so that's all.
Speaker 1: It's just knowing that there's others out there, you won't
Speaker 1: be watching Texans Colts. I mean I'll be watching whatever
Speaker 1: it is we got to talk about it. It's the
Speaker 1: last game of the year that will not be a
Speaker 1: game because that cannot have an elimination scenario. At this point,
Speaker 1: I don't think the Colts can get back in this.
Speaker 1: Thank the Vikings for that quickly on the rams because
Speaker 1: before we get to the most improved list, I don't
Speaker 1: know if there's much to say about a cam Akers
Speaker 1: had a hundred. Had a hundred yards tonight out of
Speaker 1: one six Yeah, yeah, sixty on the ground and thirty
Speaker 1: five through the art. Uh yeah, totally yards, but fifteen touches.
Speaker 1: I mean for a team that had one fifty six
Speaker 1: to have a hundred is impressive. He has show explosion
Speaker 1: after a really lost early part of the season. Um,
Speaker 1: I think he came back from that injury looking much better.
Speaker 1: So to me, the rest of their season is just
Speaker 1: seeing who among these players can matter for next year,
Speaker 1: including Baker as a potential backup, including Acres in where
Speaker 1: he fits in, Guys like Michael Hoyt, who's really looked
Speaker 1: great as an edge rusher. So that's a nice find.
Speaker 1: Some of the guys in their secondary and that's about it.
Speaker 1: They just need to find some players, guys like Leonard
Speaker 1: Floyd actually who they'll be making a decision on whether
Speaker 1: they want to keep him. Like they can say fifteen
Speaker 1: million dollars against the cap, and they're gonna need money.
Speaker 1: He's been playing great lately, so he might be auditioning
Speaker 1: for for another team. That that's sort of all that
Speaker 1: matters for the Rams season at this point. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think sort of cycling through some of their younger players
Speaker 1: as well. Like you know, like like the guys in
Speaker 1: the secondary, you're Nick Scotcher, Taylor Raps who are coming
Speaker 1: up either towards the end of their rookie deals or
Speaker 1: the ring positions where you know they're not making a
Speaker 1: lot of money and you can replace them, maybe you
Speaker 1: draft a guy to replace them, And it's you know,
Speaker 1: can you trust those guys to be a part of
Speaker 1: a championship caliber defense? Scott was last year, rap really
Speaker 1: was not a focal point of that defense. Thinks a
Speaker 1: free agent and uh, I would guess he'll be gone
Speaker 1: just because I would imagine as well. Yeah, and they
Speaker 1: have they have other good players. You're right in the
Speaker 1: in the secondary or at least that they want to see,
Speaker 1: like like Kobe Durant and yeah, but but Acres is
Speaker 1: a good example. I mean, he was almost out of
Speaker 1: the organization. If anybody could offer them a swap of
Speaker 1: late round picks, I think he'd be on a different
Speaker 1: team right now. But he looks the best he's looked
Speaker 1: since his achilles injury. He was terrible in the postseason,
Speaker 1: almost cost the Rams their super Bowl given how bad
Speaker 1: he played, uh and in the final two rounds of
Speaker 1: the playoffs last year. But you know, obviously impressively came
Speaker 1: back and looks much better now, thankfully. And I think,
Speaker 1: you know, for a offense that could really use a
Speaker 1: relatively cheap running back to be, you know, the focal
Speaker 1: point of their running game, can't makers looks like maybe
Speaker 1: he can be that guy if he plays this way
Speaker 1: over the rest of the season, right Because something tells
Speaker 1: me they're going to be spending money on offensive lineman
Speaker 1: and uh I would hope so, but potentially quarterback and
Speaker 1: defensive tackles. We don't know who's going to be back
Speaker 1: for the Rams. That's for the off season. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about a list that I'm excited about I'm so excited
Speaker 1: about it, Bill, uh that I'm going to give you
Speaker 1: the first draft pick. It's our most improved players. And
Speaker 1: if you're a regular listener of the Monday Night Football
Speaker 1: Pro podcast, you might think to yourself, wait, didn't Greg
Speaker 1: already do most improved Players? Uh? Yeah, I did. I
Speaker 1: I just went third person too, and I didn't really
Speaker 1: realize it till I was writing down Christian Derri saw
Speaker 1: like a few hours before the show is like, this
Speaker 1: seems familiar, but it's the end of the season, and
Speaker 1: I think most Improved Player should be an award that
Speaker 1: is actually given by the NFL because it makes more
Speaker 1: sense to me than come back players. So I think
Speaker 1: it's good to be circling back right now. And at
Speaker 1: least the players I'm throwing out would be legit candidates
Speaker 1: for an actual most improved Player awards. So this is
Speaker 1: more the end of the season. Bill. You go, first,
Speaker 1: how how long ago did you? I don't want to.
Speaker 1: I thought about not bringing this up because how many
Speaker 1: people would really notice? Not that many? Um, But I
Speaker 1: just thought it was funny because I was like, Derris, wait,
Speaker 1: this this feels familiar. This is when you know you've
Speaker 1: done too many shows. I think it was like six
Speaker 1: weeks ago. But I'm doing different players, Bill, I want
Speaker 1: to hear, what do you think I think about in
Speaker 1: the past. Yeah, but this is this is all embarrassing.
Speaker 1: It was Charles McDonald. Okay, I respect Charles's opinion, So
Speaker 1: if it was someone I did not respect, I'd say
Speaker 1: this is totally different. I mean, this is such a
Speaker 1: great award potential. We could do it every week. Let's
Speaker 1: just talk about improved players. What's more human than trying
Speaker 1: to improve and recognizing that in the holiday season, Bill
Speaker 1: being critical. We do that pretty often too, So that's
Speaker 1: what it's nice to be. Give me pick, give me
Speaker 1: your first pick. Okay, one more thing before I start there. Okay,
Speaker 1: I just want to put it out there. I mentioned
Speaker 1: this before we started taping. Last time I came on
Speaker 1: the show, we had another list where you both came
Speaker 1: up with like two or three of the same things.
Speaker 1: The over under for the number of players we're going
Speaker 1: to name that are identical to me is two and
Speaker 1: a half. WHOA. I thought we said it at one
Speaker 1: and a half and you were taking it over before
Speaker 1: the show, but you just gave away a free number. Okay,
Speaker 1: a little different, like I just gave away Derris saw
Speaker 1: is not can't be on my list because it was
Speaker 1: on it last time. Though it's a slightly different list,
Speaker 1: but sure, I'll go with that. We're getting the most
Speaker 1: improved by team here. Okay. Number one for me a
Speaker 1: guy who was a question to even be starting this
Speaker 1: year and a player on America's team, the Detroit Lions,
Speaker 1: is jeff A Kuda, a player who was kind of
Speaker 1: lost under Matt Patricia, was a mess as a rookie.
Speaker 1: Tori's achilles was a question whether he was going to start.
Speaker 1: I think, uh a Moni over Warrier was looking really
Speaker 1: good like this year, like he was maybe going to
Speaker 1: play ahead of a Kuda. A Kuda wins the job
Speaker 1: in camp, and he's been really good, you know. I
Speaker 1: think the Lions defense admittedly has been pretty iffy. I
Speaker 1: don't think Ada has been a super star necessarily, but
Speaker 1: he's had a lot of tough assignments and I think
Speaker 1: he's battles really well. Had did a really good job
Speaker 1: that one week against Justin Jefferson. Not so much in
Speaker 1: the rematch, I guess, but you know, when he's been healthy,
Speaker 1: he's missed a couple of weeks, but when he's been healthy,
Speaker 1: I think he's been an above average starting cornerback, and
Speaker 1: I think that's the perfect timing for that for the Lions,
Speaker 1: given how little they got from him over his first
Speaker 1: couple of seasons in the league. So Accuda number one
Speaker 1: on my list. I love that, and I love that
Speaker 1: we're doing this list again because it just gives us
Speaker 1: a chance to talk about players I never do at
Speaker 1: length on this podcast. I think he's a perfect pick
Speaker 1: because of where he was in his career, and also
Speaker 1: as a representative of the Lions defense, which is the
Speaker 1: most improved defense throughout the course of the season since
Speaker 1: they're bye week there in d v O A. I
Speaker 1: mean that's average. I mean that's better than average. And
Speaker 1: I hate to be cliche, but Akuda is the perfect,
Speaker 1: uh example of why I like watching the Lions defense.
Speaker 1: They just fly around the field, and that's the cliche,
Speaker 1: but they play with such great energy and Accuda's physical.
Speaker 1: They give him the toughest assignments. Some weeks it goes okay,
Speaker 1: you're well and coverage some weeks it doesn't. But he's
Speaker 1: a great tackler and he's great and run defense and
Speaker 1: he makes plays outside of just being uncoverage and I
Speaker 1: think that's typical of this team, uh, of Rodrigo and
Speaker 1: the rest of him. So I love okudas the first
Speaker 1: pick five point six pass and reading a loud Perfootball
Speaker 1: Reference which checks out to me. A cornerback reference stats
Speaker 1: are always a little iffy, but I think, you know, again,
Speaker 1: not a superstar. There are guys with better numbers, but
Speaker 1: I think a solid corner on a team that needs
Speaker 1: solid players on the defensive side of the well. And
Speaker 1: I hate you never want to see top five picks
Speaker 1: wash out, and uh it's always a good reminder to
Speaker 1: give them time and see what happens. But that's especially
Speaker 1: to you at cornerback. Cornerback is so unpredictable that sometimes
Speaker 1: guys who don't seem like they're gonna make it on
Speaker 1: their first contract have great careers. I'm going with the
Speaker 1: guy that was at a totally different position. There's no
Speaker 1: way you wrote them down, Bill barn Well. I'm taking
Speaker 1: Juwan Johnson with my pick. Joan Johnson was a wide receiver.
Speaker 1: He was I know. I I was taking John Johnson
Speaker 1: in Best Ball drafts last year. Think he might be
Speaker 1: the new Marques Colston. Okay, so no I picked them
Speaker 1: because none of these wide receivers to tight ends. I
Speaker 1: shouldn't say nothing. It's pretty rare that it works out.
Speaker 1: And so Sean Payton moved him to tight end, and
Speaker 1: I didn't see it. He still looked like like a
Speaker 1: like a like he was too slow to even play
Speaker 1: tight end when he was playing wide receiver. But he
Speaker 1: really has improved. I watched enough of the Saints in
Speaker 1: the preseason and the regular season when he was on
Speaker 1: the field the last couple of years, UH to see
Speaker 1: what he's doing this year that he's worked on his
Speaker 1: game and he's explosive, he has great hands, he's obviously
Speaker 1: good in the red zone. And it's a little crazy
Speaker 1: that he scored seven touchdowns, but he has thirty five
Speaker 1: catches for four hundred and sixteen yards. UH. And he's reliable.
Speaker 1: Like they've found something in him and Rashid Shahi. The
Speaker 1: Saints have had the most bizarre season ever. But Juwan
Speaker 1: Johnson is a real player. Jowan Johnson is going to
Speaker 1: get a nice second contract as a tight end and
Speaker 1: he's not even getting to the second contract yet, only
Speaker 1: a third year player. And so I love seeing guys
Speaker 1: like that who just you had no thought would be
Speaker 1: a quality starter become one absolutely. And I think, you know,
Speaker 1: the numbers don't sound like they're blowing you away with
Speaker 1: you know, thirty five or four, sixteen and seven, But
Speaker 1: that's the seventh best fantasy performance from any tight end
Speaker 1: in football this year, and it's getting he's five or
Speaker 1: six weeks. It's just like the difficulty of the catches
Speaker 1: that he makes, Like that's a skill set that should travel.
Speaker 1: All right, what's your next pick? My next pick is
Speaker 1: I'll give you one that I think was probably on
Speaker 1: most people's list, and that's Talnoah Funka, the Niners safety
Speaker 1: where I just think not perfect, there's still weeks where
Speaker 1: people take advantage of him here and there, but such
Speaker 1: a playmaker. He's made them so much better. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: he can play different spots on the defense, and I
Speaker 1: think play them at a high level. I think he's physical.
Speaker 1: I think he is you know it kind of has
Speaker 1: that knack of being in the right place at the
Speaker 1: right time. That's the skill, even if it might not
Speaker 1: necessarily look like a skill, um, you know, on a
Speaker 1: given play. But I think that Niners defense the secondary
Speaker 1: was the big question mark for them heading into the year,
Speaker 1: even after adding to various ward and I think fans
Speaker 1: year to your growth was significant enough that he's the
Speaker 1: reason to me why they're the best defensive football and
Speaker 1: not the fifth or sixth or seventh or eighth best
Speaker 1: defensive football. That's that's type praise and and I agree
Speaker 1: certainly that he deserves to be on this list. I
Speaker 1: don't know if he's the difference, but he is a
Speaker 1: great example of a coach and a coaching staff using
Speaker 1: a guy's instinctive skill set to their full advantage. And
Speaker 1: he's a guy that when he was popping in the preseason,
Speaker 1: most people probably looked him up and thought like, oh,
Speaker 1: is he a rookie? And no, he's not a rookie.
Speaker 1: He just really came out of Noor. I love that.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna um pick a player not on your list,
Speaker 1: though not on my list. You're not getting your over
Speaker 1: over one and half unless you have this man. And
Speaker 1: I I could choose between two big name quarterbacks, okay,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna take two a tongue of Violoa and
Speaker 1: most improved and instead of Trevor Lawrence, because you know
Speaker 1: Trevor it was a rookie quarterback. We we know the
Speaker 1: situation there, and he's improved unbelievably during the season. We
Speaker 1: talked enough about chart to me, two is a better
Speaker 1: choice because he had already played so much in the
Speaker 1: NFL and we'd seen him over the last two years,
Speaker 1: and before Dolphins fans get in their feelings, I was
Speaker 1: higher on two A in general the last two years
Speaker 1: then consensus, I would say, because I thought what he
Speaker 1: showed in those two years was a skill set that
Speaker 1: was better or almost elite in some areas than NFL starters.
Speaker 1: And that was in quick game and that was in um,
Speaker 1: you know, the way he handles the ball, but also
Speaker 1: quick accuracy, and like, that's a skill set that travels.
Speaker 1: We've seen enough quarterbacks that never have that, and that
Speaker 1: he was almost at an elite level of that right
Speaker 1: off the bat. So like, Okay, you can work with
Speaker 1: this hopeful, you can build out different parts of his
Speaker 1: game and you can build around him, uh, and then
Speaker 1: he'll improve more. So I already sort of saw him
Speaker 1: that he was gonna be an Alex Smith type UM,
Speaker 1: and I don't think that's a derogatory And I thought
Speaker 1: that was like the middle point of how his career
Speaker 1: would go. And I think you look at this season
Speaker 1: and you want to just give all the credit to
Speaker 1: Tyree Hill and Jalen Waddle and Mike McDaniel, and I
Speaker 1: think that's unfair because I think the timing that he
Speaker 1: shows on the deep throws and the confidence that he
Speaker 1: plays with a lot of it is just confidence. And
Speaker 1: maybe that comes from coaching and how he's been talked
Speaker 1: up and and everything that he's worked on, But he
Speaker 1: didn't show those things necessarily in this first two years.
Speaker 1: And so yeah, it's the situation improving for him. But
Speaker 1: I think he's legitimately improved. And even if his arm
Speaker 1: isn't big, can it be big enough to be extremely
Speaker 1: efficient throwing deep like Drew Brees was throughout his career.
Speaker 1: I think he has a chance to do that. I
Speaker 1: don't think he's all the way there yet. I don't
Speaker 1: think he's an m v P You candidate, and I
Speaker 1: never quite saw you was there. But I think there's
Speaker 1: a middle ground here where, like you can recognize he
Speaker 1: has improved quite a great deal, and you've got to
Speaker 1: be excited if you're a Dolphins fans that he can
Speaker 1: improve more for sure, and I think the infrastructure of
Speaker 1: that offense has opened up to the point where he
Speaker 1: can kind of show what he can do in a
Speaker 1: way that he was not able to the first two
Speaker 1: years in Miami. I mean that offense. Yes, he is
Speaker 1: a very accurate pastor in the short and intermediate range.
Speaker 1: He's good during over the middle of the field. He's
Speaker 1: good on our pos with making smart decisions and getting
Speaker 1: the ball out fast and and not just one hopping
Speaker 1: the ball or putting it two lower, two high, and
Speaker 1: we're putting in the right spot for a guy to
Speaker 1: create yards after the catch because he's hitting them in stride.
Speaker 1: And we've seen more of that this year. But we
Speaker 1: know from his days of Alabamma he can throw deep.
Speaker 1: It's not like he's Chad Pennington, you know, where he
Speaker 1: just can't deliver a deep pass. I mean even Chad Pennington,
Speaker 1: by the way, like we remember the last few years
Speaker 1: of his career, but there was a period early in
Speaker 1: his career where he was like a top five quarterback.
Speaker 1: Oh sure, And I think with to a you know, like,
Speaker 1: it wasn't that he was not physically able to do
Speaker 1: it last year, it was that he was physically not
Speaker 1: able to do it while staying upright because he did
Speaker 1: not have the past protection to pull that off. And
Speaker 1: I think that is the difference for me this year
Speaker 1: is that the past protection has been better, and that
Speaker 1: means his confidence is growing. It means he has more
Speaker 1: faith in his offensive line, especially before this recent stretch
Speaker 1: where he struggled and line has been not doing as
Speaker 1: good of a job. But I think we've been able
Speaker 1: to see what he can do because of the context
Speaker 1: around him. It's not as if he was not able
Speaker 1: to do that in years past. It was just that
Speaker 1: he did not have the context around him to be
Speaker 1: able to show that off. So and a little more
Speaker 1: like the past protection also allows him to do a
Speaker 1: little more playmaking, which I'm not saying he's Alita or
Speaker 1: even above average, but he's shown it and that's the
Speaker 1: next step for him, that when he does have extra
Speaker 1: time and he's getting to his third or fourth three
Speaker 1: and he just has to go make a play. He's
Speaker 1: done that a bit this year. He's done He's done that,
Speaker 1: and UM, it's encouraging to see that because you didn't
Speaker 1: see that in the first couple of years. So if
Speaker 1: there was an actual award he would be a pretty
Speaker 1: strong candidate to win it because he would get a
Speaker 1: lot of love. All right, we each have one more pick.
Speaker 1: You're not getting your over, You're not. You're not. Would
Speaker 1: you say Jalen Hurts has improved more than when you
Speaker 1: when you said to quarterbacks, that's oh, you're right, shoot Hurts.
Speaker 1: I don't know why. I just guess I'm thinking about
Speaker 1: him as an m v P and and that I
Speaker 1: like had the Eagles in the super Bowl before the season.
Speaker 1: But yeah, of course he's improved incredible more. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1: Given it to myself. No, it's not hurt. Do you
Speaker 1: want do you want offensive lineman or a skill position player.
Speaker 1: Let's just give me both and we'll make it the
Speaker 1: next year. Just talk about one. We'll talk about one. Uh,
Speaker 1: Mike the offensive. Now let's go through. They moved him
Speaker 1: around and now he said it one spot playing very well.
Speaker 1: I'll go Donovan People's Jones, my receiver who I did
Speaker 1: not have high hopes. Work kind of figured, Okay, he's
Speaker 1: going to be the second or third guy. Maybe Anthony
Speaker 1: Schwartz moves past it in Cleveland. Since Week four, he's
Speaker 1: averaging just under two yards per route. Run. He's ahead
Speaker 1: of d J. Moore, ahead of Davante Smith, ahead of
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen, Deepo, Samuel Brandon. I. I mean, all of
Speaker 1: these guys who you think of as superstars, and I
Speaker 1: think Jacoby Brissette has played well, certainly, but it's not
Speaker 1: like Jacoby Rossette is a superstar quarterback. He was on
Speaker 1: my long list. It was good. I didn't know there
Speaker 1: was a long list. I mean kind sent me the
Speaker 1: long list. Briv. He's but not way people's choage is
Speaker 1: a legit number two NFL white out and I did
Speaker 1: not see him at that level before this year, and
Speaker 1: I think he's still pretty young. Of course, they're getting
Speaker 1: an upgraded quarterback with Deshaun Watson. Granted he has not
Speaker 1: looked very good to start this year, but hopefully next
Speaker 1: year he'll be better. And I think he can be
Speaker 1: like a legit starting NFL wide receiver that's pretty valuable
Speaker 1: for a midground pick. Yeah, I did not see that coming, um,
Speaker 1: but he has a good feel for spacing and making
Speaker 1: big plays. And you've seen it in the return game
Speaker 1: a little bit too with that touchdown. Uh, they found
Speaker 1: something there. Receivers are so valuable these days. Um, I
Speaker 1: almost feel like you just gotta take as many as
Speaker 1: you can in the draft. It's kind of like the
Speaker 1: old quarterback thing that I used to think take one
Speaker 1: every year. Receivers, Now you should take one or two
Speaker 1: every year. I think the Packers are are very happy
Speaker 1: with their second and fourth round pick. Um. I'll wrap
Speaker 1: it up with Jalen Phillips. I'm going double on the Daltons.
Speaker 1: Gregg he was on the list. He was he was
Speaker 1: number six on my list. I mean, how do I
Speaker 1: you didn't say him though, you didn't say his name. Well,
Speaker 1: I got one that's under one, and that's true. Jalen
Speaker 1: Phillips and and Joshneiman were my two other guys earlier
Speaker 1: in the show. That doesn't count. Um, the parade is mine.
Speaker 1: Jalen Phillips was a guy last year who got all
Speaker 1: these sacks and all the you know, supposedly smart people
Speaker 1: would just noted like, well, he didn't actually have that
Speaker 1: many pressures. I mean, me, I'm putting myself in the game.
Speaker 1: It's like he didn't really have that many pressures and
Speaker 1: he would get washed away in the running game. It's
Speaker 1: like that's all fine now you look back at it.
Speaker 1: That he has sixty pressures on this season, is playing
Speaker 1: way more because they trust him and run defense and
Speaker 1: has been playing good run defense. Uh, and just has instincts.
Speaker 1: And then you look back at last year and you think, like,
Speaker 1: maybe he just has good instincts for finishing plays, which
Speaker 1: is valuable now that maybe that doesn't always translate. But
Speaker 1: the fact that he went from year one, Okay, he
Speaker 1: just got the sacks to year two he's doing it
Speaker 1: all and he's getting the sacks is a great sign
Speaker 1: because this year it's not it's not luck, but he's
Speaker 1: certainly has a great nose forgetting and around tackles. He's
Speaker 1: one of those guys and I love pastors rushers like
Speaker 1: this that just don't get touched by the offensive lineman
Speaker 1: barely sometimes, And those are the types of guys I want. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I mean, like Jollen Phillips had such a weird,
Speaker 1: you know, disrupted career in college. He had to retire
Speaker 1: he got hit by a car. I mean, he really
Speaker 1: came back and and sort of just uh, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of came out of that one year in Miami
Speaker 1: to play at a high level and U and get
Speaker 1: to the Dolphins. So it would make sense that he
Speaker 1: would improve more than the typical player from year one
Speaker 1: to year two. It would make sense that he's a
Speaker 1: work in progress. So I'm not surprised he's made that growth.
Speaker 1: I think he has that kind of upside and we're
Speaker 1: seeing him deliver that more and more. And I mean
Speaker 1: there are plays in games when you watch the Dolphins
Speaker 1: where he is totally unblockable and he looks like the
Speaker 1: best player on the field the last two weeks time,
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm I'm definitely being a little recency by
Speaker 1: and by us here. He has had a great season overall,
Speaker 1: but the last two weeks he's taking it to another level.
Speaker 1: And you're right, but the pre draft thing was like
Speaker 1: he could be a little bit of a project, but
Speaker 1: the highest upside and that it's proven. Right, You've got
Speaker 1: the highest upside. Bill, you deserve all the parades. Uh
Speaker 1: you wrote a great article on ESPN dot com today
Speaker 1: about the quarterback situations. I'm jealous all the different potential
Speaker 1: teams that could be changing quarterbacks. No, it is really
Speaker 1: good analysis. Everyone should check it out on ESPN Plus.
Speaker 1: And uh No, I'm just jealous because that's the type
Speaker 1: of thing, you know, I wish I had written, but
Speaker 1: Bill barn More, nothing stopping you. I'm not gonna assue
Speaker 1: you if you write about quarterbacks and where they might go.
Speaker 1: It's not my idea, that's true. I'm I'll save it
Speaker 1: for January. Uh, and then it will be like slightly
Speaker 1: different form, but it's probably coming maybe fas even just
Speaker 1: just like underrated, just like that the most improved players.
Speaker 1: That's the real answer, Bill. And it sounds like I'm
Speaker 1: a blow hard, but that's what's getting in the way
Speaker 1: all these podcasts that I'm doing so many. I didn't
Speaker 1: even know that we already did most Improved. It's too many.
Speaker 1: That's when you know you've done too many. It's a problem.
Speaker 1: I think this was like a moment here, you know,
Speaker 1: where we realize we have a problem. Oh you know what, Greg,
Speaker 1: you have made a career out of your addiction and
Speaker 1: that's what matters. That's that's a goal for ever. That
Speaker 1: was a sound drop. Thank you Bill Barnwell for coming
Speaker 1: on late night on the East Coast for rams Packers
Speaker 1: and all the most improved and Uh, have a great Christmas, Bill,
Speaker 1: thanks for joining me. Thank you, sir. Have great holidays
Speaker 1: all right? For Bill Barnwell for Justin Graver. We'll be
Speaker 1: back on Tuesday. We have Kyle lean Wolf in the studio.
Speaker 1: Connor Or is going to join the show talk favorite
Speaker 1: Hallmark Christmas movie is gonna be good. He had the
Speaker 1: call se