Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: And then there were four. We are out of the
Speaker 2: final four in the National Football League.
Speaker 3: Welcome to another edition of the NFL Power Ranking Show,
Speaker 3: presented to you by Energizer, officially on the behind the
Speaker 3: curtain parlance.
Speaker 2: This is week twenty one of our season.
Speaker 3: My name is Andrew Siciliano at our studios in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2: The other side of the screen, the man who.
Speaker 3: This week only had to rank eight teams. What a bargain,
Speaker 3: What an easy week of work?
Speaker 2: How are you air A get.
Speaker 4: Home feeling relaxed, feeling refreshed, ready to go.
Speaker 5: I'm it feels like August all over.
Speaker 3: Again, except it doesn't. It is still January. The Super
Speaker 3: Bowl will be played in February. There are four teams remaining.
Speaker 3: Obviously we're going to rank eight. Let's start with you
Speaker 3: right there scanning the QR code on your screen, and
Speaker 3: here are the eight. Let's just unveil them all at once.
Speaker 3: The Ravens and the Niners stay at one and two.
Speaker 3: They both won the one seeds.
Speaker 2: They're at the top.
Speaker 3: The Lions and the Chiefs the two teams that won
Speaker 3: deface the Ravens and the Niners move up to three
Speaker 3: and four, and then the teams that lost on Divisional weekend.
Speaker 2: The Bills, the Packers, the Texans.
Speaker 3: And you had the Buccaneers as the worst team in
Speaker 3: that group.
Speaker 2: Of eight to make it the divisional weekend. We'll get
Speaker 2: to them at a second.
Speaker 3: Let's start, however, at the top at home, and let's
Speaker 3: start here with the Baltimore Ravens. I've said, no one
Speaker 3: is going to beat them at home. The Browns and
Speaker 3: the Steelers were the only ones to do it in
Speaker 3: the regular season. Really, the Steelers didn't count Week eighteen,
Speaker 3: it was raining, Lamar didn't play. That game was close
Speaker 3: for a while, I mean ten ten at the half
Speaker 3: thanks to the Stevens Simms punt return, but then eric
Speaker 3: in the second half, the Ravens not only in my eyes,
Speaker 3: proved they're the best team in football, but they almost
Speaker 3: made it feel like a high school game, like the
Speaker 3: big kids and the little kids, where you knew that
Speaker 3: the Texans simply wouldn't do it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you just could see how it was going and
Speaker 4: see how banged up the Texans were on defense, and
Speaker 4: you know, once they kind of figured out the Texans blitzes,
Speaker 4: you know, I mean they were coming at Lamar full steam,
Speaker 4: it seemed like, especially in the first half, but throughout
Speaker 4: the game. Once they figure that out, you know, I
Speaker 4: and credit Todd Monkin for really adjusting on the fly.
Speaker 5: It was all downhill from there.
Speaker 4: And you think about it, right from week one when
Speaker 4: they faced the Texans and then the Texans last game
Speaker 4: of the season last round. You know, four field goals,
Speaker 4: zero offensive touchdowns. That Baltimore defense did its job too,
Speaker 4: especially against CJ. Stroud and all the confidence he had
Speaker 4: coming into that game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that defense kept the Texans and again the first
Speaker 3: game of the year for Demiko Ryans and the last
Speaker 3: game of the year, kept the Texans out of the
Speaker 3: end zone in the two times they played at least
Speaker 3: offensively held them to old field goals. That defense, I
Speaker 3: think if you had to rank all the un it's
Speaker 3: remaining here, right, So offense defense, these four teams left,
Speaker 3: I think the Ravens defense is the best of the
Speaker 3: eight remaining.
Speaker 5: I think you can make that case, right. We have
Speaker 5: some questions.
Speaker 4: Obviously the Baltimore offense could certainly be also very good.
Speaker 4: But yes, but I think you're right, if you had
Speaker 4: to pick one team to kind of hang your hat on.
Speaker 4: Not to say that, you know, they can't give up
Speaker 4: some yards to Patrick Mahomes. Patrick's averaged about what three
Speaker 4: hundred and sixty seventy yards against them passing every single
Speaker 4: time he plays him. But that's in the past. It
Speaker 4: hasn't been a couple of years since there. It's been
Speaker 4: a couple of years since they've played, So you're right.
Speaker 4: I mean, the pass rushes come on. The coverage has
Speaker 4: been plus. I mean it's been really strong. Their linebackers
Speaker 4: are kind of an underrated strength of that team. They
Speaker 4: got pressure from the inside and the out too, which
Speaker 4: is a nice thing to have, especially this time of year.
Speaker 2: Well, it also shows, and the Niners show this as well.
Speaker 3: Certainly with green Law and with Warner in no particular order,
Speaker 3: that there is value to that position. With Queen and
Speaker 3: with Roquan. A lot of people were shaking their heads
Speaker 3: when Eric Tacosta gave up a two to the Bears
Speaker 3: to get Roquan Smith and then had to pay Roquand
Speaker 3: one thing to trade him or trade for him another
Speaker 3: thing to write him that big check. The Bears wouldn't
Speaker 3: right those two guys are a huge reason, especially with
Speaker 3: what they have up front that clogs all the lanes
Speaker 3: that allows them to go run. It had a huge
Speaker 3: reason they're here, and a huge reason really. Now Mike
Speaker 3: McDonald is in the conversation for all these head coaching jobs.
Speaker 4: Yeah right, I mean groomed by both Harbaugh's right, spend
Speaker 4: time with John as an assistant, and came has worked
Speaker 4: his way up and then went to Michigan with Jim
Speaker 4: for a few years. So he has been well versed
Speaker 4: in the Harbaugh universe. But he's done things on his
Speaker 4: own too. I mean, I think Jim Harbaugh or John
Speaker 4: Harbaugh rather made a point of saying like this is
Speaker 4: his defense. He's put the work in on this group.
Speaker 4: They've they've leveled up this season. You're right, I think
Speaker 4: that linebacker position, I agree with you. I mean, I
Speaker 4: saw Roquan Smith up close here in Chicago quite a bit.
Speaker 4: Thought he was a terrific player, was playing great at
Speaker 4: the time of the trade. But I didn't know that
Speaker 4: that would be worth the value, and especially after paying
Speaker 4: them twenty million.
Speaker 5: I'm here to say that I was wrong. It has been,
Speaker 5: and especially in.
Speaker 4: A game where you're going against Pacheco and Kelsey and
Speaker 4: their flexibility.
Speaker 5: I mean that really gives you an edge.
Speaker 3: I think, huge difference in what the Ravens had at
Speaker 3: linebacker and what the Bills had at linebacker, right, and
Speaker 3: coverage possibilities and opportunities against Travis Kelsey. Granted, the Bills
Speaker 3: are all kind of banged up and Matt Mlana was
Speaker 3: out and aj Klein has to be in there, Trail
Speaker 3: Bernard couldn't go, So, you know, two vastly different conversations here,
Speaker 3: But it's going to be the Ravens and the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: We'll get to the Chiefs coming up at a second.
Speaker 3: Let's get to the forty nine ers, because while the
Speaker 3: Ravens and Texans were tied of a half ten to ten,
Speaker 3: the Ravens kicked.
Speaker 2: It into gear.
Speaker 3: Conversely, the story Saturday night in San Francisco is Eric,
Speaker 3: the Niners are going to blow this, and they almost
Speaker 3: blew this. We could be sitting here today if not
Speaker 3: for that final drive. Half of the conversation is it's
Speaker 3: time to move on from brock perty and does Kyle
Speaker 3: have to hit reset again to go find his championship quarterback?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 4: All right, I thought that that fourth quarter was obviously
Speaker 4: huge for Perdy and Shanahan being able to overcome the deficit.
Speaker 4: I mean, how many times did you know they talk
Speaker 4: on the broadcast about the oh win thirty record when
Speaker 4: trailing by seven or more points entering the fourth or
Speaker 4: in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5: So yeah, I mean I thought that was really big
Speaker 5: for them to be able.
Speaker 4: To kind of get over the hump, especially after Perdy
Speaker 4: had struggled the weather was causing issues with his grip.
Speaker 4: You know, you and I were talking off the air
Speaker 4: about that one play where he wipes his hand mid
Speaker 4: drop back. I don't think either of us had ever
Speaker 4: seen anything like that before. Yeah, so you know, clearly
Speaker 4: it was struggling with the conditions. They lost Ebo Samuel
Speaker 4: early in the game. It just felt like their mojo
Speaker 4: was a little off. But big plays on defense from
Speaker 4: Drey Greenlaw, who you talked about earlier, and also Perdy in.
Speaker 5: The final drive, and we'll see.
Speaker 4: I mean, I still think this game is going to
Speaker 4: have a lot to say about the future of rock Perty.
Speaker 4: I mean, we've seen Kyle Shanahan firmly back on the
Speaker 4: quarterbacks before, and then that little uh that crush right
Speaker 4: wears off over time, so I don't know where we're
Speaker 4: at with Perdy right now, but trying to make this
Speaker 4: thing work and I'll have a shot against the Detroit defense.
Speaker 3: And as we tape this full disclosure, we're recording this
Speaker 3: Tuesday afternoon. On Monday, Kyle said, the update on Deebo
Speaker 3: is the shoulder isn't broken.
Speaker 2: That's the good news.
Speaker 3: But it's really up in the air as to whether
Speaker 3: or not Debo is going to play on Sunday. So
Speaker 3: that factors greatly in all of this, because without him,
Speaker 3: they're one to three this year. They fell apart in
Speaker 3: the second alf of offensively. Also similar to the division
Speaker 3: around in Cleveland. Because of the rain, it should be
Speaker 3: sunny for the most part, we think on Sunday in
Speaker 3: San Francisco. But no Debo, they are a different team.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 3: When you have all week to prepare knowing you're not
Speaker 3: going to have him, does that factor in all of this?
Speaker 2: Clearly it does.
Speaker 3: But what you said there about we could still be
Speaker 3: having this pretty conversation next week is dead on, especially
Speaker 3: after did you see the Nick Wagoner article in the
Speaker 3: espan dot com last week that suggested, and it was
Speaker 3: right out of Pretty's mouth that Kyle told him they
Speaker 3: were going after Tom Brady last year in the offseason.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, you know, everything's up in the air
Speaker 6: with Kyle, right, I feel like he's always got you know,
Speaker 6: multiple balls juggling in the air at quarterback, right, He's
Speaker 6: always you know, the Sam Darnold signing right after he
Speaker 6: was benched against the Ravens, a lot of people.
Speaker 4: Thought, boys, is it possible that Sam could take over
Speaker 4: down to the stretch. Didn't happen that way, obviously, But
Speaker 4: you know I didn't blink at that one. I mean
Speaker 4: I really felt like that was one of those those
Speaker 4: signings where this one has a little more deeper meaning.
Speaker 4: But focusing here on the game, obviously, if they can
Speaker 4: if they can exploit the exploitable weaknesses of this Lion's defense,
Speaker 4: they can win this game. There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 4: I Mean, I think there are some holes in this
Speaker 4: in this Detroit d but you know who knows, right,
Speaker 4: especially if Deebo is out. I do think to your point, though,
Speaker 4: if they come into this game feeling like.
Speaker 5: He's just not going to play, I mean, we're gonna
Speaker 5: have to have a Hail Mary.
Speaker 4: And they have a plan for it. Find their best
Speaker 4: stuff without him, you know, use a little misdirection they
Speaker 4: can get by.
Speaker 3: All right, all right, we'll pull back the TV curtain.
Speaker 3: That was a nine minute a block talking only two
Speaker 3: teams coming up, the other two teams playing this weekend
Speaker 3: our thoughts on the three and the four in this
Speaker 3: week's rankings, the Lions and the Chiefs. As we continue
Speaker 3: on the NFL Power Ranking Show presented by Energizing, It's
Speaker 3: the NFL Power Ranking Show. We're presented by Energizer, Andrew
Speaker 3: Ciciliano and Eric at home right over there, who puts
Speaker 3: these together. Obviously, we got the Ravens and the Niners
Speaker 3: at one and two. That means we have America's team,
Speaker 3: seemingly now the Lions. Eric at number three, Bucks gave
Speaker 3: him a run here. I feel like we could do
Speaker 3: an entire show on Todd Bowles clock mismanagement.
Speaker 2: On the knees at the end of the game.
Speaker 3: We're not going to do that, though, We're gonna celebrate
Speaker 3: these Detroit Lions, who I think have a heck of
Speaker 3: a show in Santa Clara on Sunday.
Speaker 5: Absolutely they do. I know, I probably I am talking
Speaker 5: out of both sides by mouth.
Speaker 4: They're already in the first segment, I said, hey, look,
Speaker 4: this Detroit defense has holes in it. They do, but
Speaker 4: they've also found ways to make plays when they absolutely
Speaker 4: have to. And you know Derek Barnes's first interception.
Speaker 5: Clinching the game.
Speaker 4: I wouldn't have put money on that one, but hey,
Speaker 4: you know they're they're finding sources on that side of
Speaker 4: the ball. You know, Melafon Wu in the secondary, Bryan
Speaker 4: branch is a rookie, you know, Alie McNeil, what have you.
Speaker 4: I mean, they've they've gotten other guys besides Aiden Hutchinson
Speaker 4: to step up, but you'd like to see it a
Speaker 4: little more consistently still. I think with that offense and
Speaker 4: what Jamiir gives, especially once he got into the game
Speaker 4: game flow a little bit more, you know, it completely
Speaker 4: changed the game.
Speaker 5: Tampa Bay did a great.
Speaker 4: Job plugging up all the gaps, especially when Montgomery's in there.
Speaker 4: But I don't know that San Francisco is going to
Speaker 4: have that same game plan or that same success level.
Speaker 4: They've been really good against the run statistically this year,
Speaker 4: but it has changed in the last several games as
Speaker 4: they've injuries up front.
Speaker 3: I just love the storyline here, not only the Lions, right,
Speaker 3: obviously trying to make it to the Super Bowl here
Speaker 3: and trying to win a third playoff game on their
Speaker 3: road to Vegas. But Jared Goff, as we see Baker
Speaker 3: Mayfield on the screen, Jared Goff going back home to
Speaker 3: the Bay Area, going back home to face a team
Speaker 3: that when he was with the Rams he had trouble against.
Speaker 3: But so de Teun mcvahn. The rest of the unit collectively,
Speaker 3: other than in the NFC Championship came with Matthew Safferty
Speaker 3: at the point. But the Jared Goff Redemption Tour is
Speaker 3: such a great storyline. Honestly, I know it's gotten a
Speaker 3: lot of attention. I think it deserves more.
Speaker 4: I think so too, right, I mean, I think people
Speaker 4: are still in the mindset of, well, whenever Detroit can
Speaker 4: replace them, they will.
Speaker 5: He's been good, you know.
Speaker 4: I hear that a lot as I go on radio
Speaker 4: shows and talk to people out and about, and they say, yeah,
Speaker 4: Jared Goff's good. Right, Well, he's played at a really
Speaker 4: high level. He didn't come out hot the way he
Speaker 4: did against the Rams in this game, so he had
Speaker 4: to kind of find his rhythm a little bit. Seemed
Speaker 4: a little offerly in the game, but boy, that fourth
Speaker 4: quarter he was he was firing away. I think he
Speaker 4: hit eleven or twelve passes in a row to start
Speaker 4: the quarter. You know, really got Laporta involved there, had
Speaker 4: some big throws to Jamison and obviously Saint Brown as well,
Speaker 4: so you know, they're still tough to defend. I mean
Speaker 4: they have four, you know, past catchers. I think they
Speaker 4: feel like they really trust and that doesn't even count
Speaker 4: Josh Reynolds who stepped up too, so maybe five.
Speaker 5: I mean, it's it's been a collective effort.
Speaker 4: Jared believes in those guys, and yeah, I mean, first
Speaker 4: of all, the guts of a team to hand it
Speaker 4: to Craig Reynolds on.
Speaker 5: Fourth and goal.
Speaker 4: It just supports the whole idea of that, like anything
Speaker 4: could happen with this team. Dared Goff, I'm sure has
Speaker 4: just as much faith in Reynolds as he does and
Speaker 4: all those other guys. It's a fun story all around.
Speaker 4: And you're right, if he wins this, I think people's
Speaker 4: minds are changed on him a little bit.
Speaker 3: I mean people called him a stop gap even after
Speaker 3: last season's great second right, which they almost got in.
Speaker 3: I had conversations with people like which is gm type
Speaker 3: of people at the league meeting where they were already
Speaker 3: projecting where Jared would go other than Detroit this coming
Speaker 3: twenty twenty four season, that ain't happening anymore, right, Jared
Speaker 3: Goff is on the verge of taking the Detroit Lions
Speaker 3: to the Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are
Speaker 3: in this position yet again, sixth consecutive year. Here as
Speaker 3: we get to the team making a power move presented
Speaker 3: by energizer Eric, the Chiefs are back in the AFC
Speaker 3: Championship game. And I think there is some similarity here
Speaker 3: with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, right, or Tom Brady
Speaker 3: with his great run for twenty years in New England
Speaker 3: that if you were in that conference, you simply weren't
Speaker 3: going to get past them because they were that good.
Speaker 3: And Mahomes is Brady or Mahomes is Jordan in the end,
Speaker 3: he will steal your soul.
Speaker 4: I mean, this could end up being an Indiana Pacers
Speaker 4: kind of series where it was sort of a flawed
Speaker 4: Bulls team, right that was able to beat a really,
Speaker 4: really good team. And I think that's what Baltimore is, right.
Speaker 4: I mean, if Lamar is Reggie Miller. He has a
Speaker 4: surrounding cast that goes very deep. We've talked about the defense,
Speaker 4: we know about the offensive line, we know about the
Speaker 4: you know those receivers, et cetera. So, but you're right,
Speaker 4: they still have Jordan, they still have Patrick Mahomes, and
Speaker 4: he's had success against the Ravens. Again, different personnel, different coordinator,
Speaker 4: all that. But you know, I don't think he's going
Speaker 4: to come in there, especially after going on the road
Speaker 4: last week and doing what he did against the Bills,
Speaker 4: that there is not going to be any fear in
Speaker 4: this man. So yeah, look, if Mark west Valdez Scantling
Speaker 4: can do what he did last week, if she Rice
Speaker 4: can do what he did last week, all of a sudden,
Speaker 4: this is a completely different offense, I think than what
Speaker 4: we were talking about for what fifteen of the eighteen
Speaker 4: weeks this year.
Speaker 3: Listen, I hesitate to compare anyone to Michael Jordan. Okay,
Speaker 3: but Jordan and Brady both had a quality where you
Speaker 3: will those around you to win, where the teammates were
Speaker 3: almost in fear of being known as the teammates that
Speaker 3: let the great one down, right, like you're gonna hit
Speaker 3: that shot from the corner because I'm not going to
Speaker 3: be the guy that misses the shot and Michael Jordan
Speaker 3: doesn't win. And those that we've criticized all year for
Speaker 3: the Chiefs, like MBS and Rashi Rice, all of a
Speaker 3: sudden now when it matters most make the huge plays.
Speaker 5: Absolutely they stepped up.
Speaker 4: And whether it was that fear factor or not, I
Speaker 4: think they're gonna need that same kind of performance against
Speaker 4: this Ravens defense that we've you know, I think thrown
Speaker 4: our flowers at because they have been that good. So yeah,
Speaker 4: I still think there's gonna be a way for Mahomes
Speaker 4: to have some success against this group though, as you
Speaker 4: pointed out, and like you said, it's the synergy that
Speaker 4: he brings out of everybody to hey, it's win or
Speaker 4: go home, And you know how I'm gonna feel about
Speaker 4: going home at this point.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, listen, we could we can do the
Speaker 3: x's and o's of this one for days. The Jerry
Speaker 3: as Snead against a Flowers or Odell. If you put
Speaker 3: them on Odell, does Mark Andrews come back here?
Speaker 2: Do they get Cadarius, Tony Backsky More?
Speaker 3: Then there's the what happens next year, like is this
Speaker 3: Chris Jones' final game is a Chief If they don't win,
Speaker 3: is Kelsey on the screen here going to retire. There
Speaker 3: are so many great storylines for this game, we'll have
Speaker 3: to save them for next week coming up on the
Speaker 3: Power Ranking Show presented by Energizer.
Speaker 2: But wait, there's four more. What happened to the Bills, the.
Speaker 3: Packers, the Texans and the Buccaneers. We'll do an exit
Speaker 3: interview of sorts for those four, the bottom four at
Speaker 3: our Power Ranking Show presented by Energizer. All right, it's
Speaker 3: the NFL Power Ranking Show, presented to you by Energizer,
Speaker 3: Andrew Siciliano, Eric at home, who puts these rankings together
Speaker 3: on your screen and also available on NFL dot Com.
Speaker 3: The Bills, here we go again. Eric, We've seen this
Speaker 3: movie so many times. They have a very good team.
Speaker 3: They get here, they have their hearts ripped out, usually
Speaker 3: by the Chiefs.
Speaker 2: Third straight year it is the divisional round.
Speaker 3: But as we move forward here, they have twenty two
Speaker 3: soon to be free agents. They have a huge cap
Speaker 3: hit coming up on Josh Allen's contract, Steph Digg's Big Number,
Speaker 3: Von miller Age and Big Number. It's not a tear down,
Speaker 3: but it is going to be a massive remodel.
Speaker 5: I agree, right.
Speaker 4: I mean they got to this point and were able
Speaker 4: to build their roster in such a way, including signing
Speaker 4: guys like von Miller to massive deals. Because of Josh
Speaker 4: Allen's contract, his cap hit, you know, until this season,
Speaker 4: had never been more than what like eighteen million forty
Speaker 4: seven plus million next year, So that's a different look.
Speaker 4: And as you pointed out, Digs two, I think is
Speaker 4: over twenty almost twenty eight million, so and really.
Speaker 5: Wasn't very effective down the stretch.
Speaker 4: He wasn't effective in the two games against the Chiefs
Speaker 4: nineteen targets then he had like seven catches for you know,
Speaker 4: fifty sixty yards. So boy, in those big moments, you
Speaker 4: really need your superstar number one receiver to be there
Speaker 4: for you.
Speaker 5: And I know Brandon Bean has said.
Speaker 4: On Tuesday that he views Diggs as that number one guy,
Speaker 4: but gave Davis entering free agency. I mean, you know,
Speaker 4: Trey White and Matt Malono, that age thirty range, coming
Speaker 4: off major injuries.
Speaker 5: I mean, that's a lot to figure out.
Speaker 4: And I know they get a little help with the
Speaker 4: compensatory draft, but man, I don't know. I just don't
Speaker 4: see a clear path back to the same level of dominance.
Speaker 3: That they've had, and it looks as if, barring something
Speaker 3: really unforeseen, that Sean McDermott is back as head coach,
Speaker 3: endorsed obviously by Josh Allen, by Brandon Bean, and McDermott
Speaker 3: was on the podium for his end of season press conference.
Speaker 3: There are some who think, however, that this team has
Speaker 3: gone as far as it can with Sean, that sometimes
Speaker 3: change for the sake of change might be a good thing.
Speaker 3: I don't think that is going to happen. He pulled
Speaker 3: them back from six and six in mediocrity and got
Speaker 3: them here. But again, it's the same end to a
Speaker 3: milliar movie for Bill's fans. Meantime, a much different movie
Speaker 3: than expected here for the Green Bay Packers how to
Speaker 3: invest in the future presented by Fidelity.
Speaker 2: They're the exact opposite, Eric of what you have in Buffalo.
Speaker 3: You have a young quarterback on still a reasonably cheap contract,
Speaker 3: and everyone he throws the ball to is either a
Speaker 3: rookie or a second year player.
Speaker 4: I have never quite seen a team assembled like this,
Speaker 4: and I suspect that when you and I get to
Speaker 4: the combine and all the talking heads, gms and head coaches,
Speaker 4: they're going to get asked about what the Packers are doing.
Speaker 4: The Packers model, if you will, which is obviously the
Speaker 4: quarterback component. We know, right, you draft him, you let
Speaker 4: him sit for a couple of years. We know that
Speaker 4: story very well. But also to draft all these young
Speaker 4: receivers in Aaron Rodgers last year, by the way, and
Speaker 4: then put them with the young quarterback and watch them
Speaker 4: grow up together. Early in the season. Results were incomplete.
Speaker 4: Second half of the year, terrific playoff game. More of
Speaker 4: what we saw of the incomplete variety, right, Some great
Speaker 4: throws early in the game, some questionable decisions, especially that
Speaker 4: last reception given the down and distance. You can live
Speaker 4: with it, I guess, But man, that was a tough
Speaker 4: one to swallow at the time.
Speaker 5: And I'm excited about the future.
Speaker 4: Like you said, I mean, I've never quite seen a
Speaker 4: group compile like this. But you know, we still have
Speaker 4: a decision on the defensive coordinator and loves got to
Speaker 4: avoid those kind of mistakes.
Speaker 3: Joe Barry the DC much malign during the season, but
Speaker 3: they unit came together down the stretch, a part of
Speaker 3: their winning Street it's a big part of that winning
Speaker 3: streak to get them in and to get them actually
Speaker 3: through Dallas and to San Francisco. I'm glad you mentioned
Speaker 3: the Senior BOWLT next week show will be done in
Speaker 3: Mobile and it's where Brian Goudakum's found most of these
Speaker 3: pieces for Jordan Love. Actually he found Jordan Love there
Speaker 3: as well in Mobile. But Musgrave, red Wis, Watson, Dobbs,
Speaker 3: they are all former Senior Bowl players. The draft starts
Speaker 3: in Bull Melton, yep bow Melton as well obviously went
Speaker 3: to Seattle first, bounced around and Bo Melton's brother is
Speaker 3: going to be at the Senior Bowl this year. Shameless
Speaker 3: plug NFL plus NFL Network all next week. All right,
Speaker 3: let's move out of the Texans. Future is right for
Speaker 3: them as well. They have a lot of young pieces.
Speaker 3: And it isn't just CJ. Stroud, It's Tanked Dell Senior
Speaker 3: Bowl guy, Christian Harris plan lights out as well. They
Speaker 3: have reason to be optimistic.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Jonathan Gernard and Will Anderson junior and you know
Speaker 4: you saw a little more on of John Metchi down
Speaker 4: the stretch when he was forced into action. So very
Speaker 4: excited about the young core here, Nico Collins kind of
Speaker 4: became that number one receiver out of necessity, but hey,
Speaker 4: I mean I view him as at least a low
Speaker 4: end number one right now that given the way he played,
Speaker 4: so a lot of excitement. Still have to find a
Speaker 4: way to fill out that defensive roster, still have to
Speaker 4: find a way to beef up the offensive line a
Speaker 4: little bit more. They've made it changes, they've made improvements,
Speaker 4: but more needed. And the expectations, I mean, Andrew, they're
Speaker 4: probably in the same kind of position that the Jacksonville
Speaker 4: Jaguars were one year ago. And we spent all off
Speaker 4: season extolling the virtues of Doug Peterson and Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 4: And you know Calvin Ridley is gonna blow up in
Speaker 4: this offense. Well it didn't happen, at least down the stretch.
Speaker 5: You didn't.
Speaker 4: So there's still a lot of pressure on this Texans team.
Speaker 4: I believe and is as good as an exciting season
Speaker 4: they had. I'm still gonna slightly pump the brakes a
Speaker 4: little bit because of what we've seen in the past.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but look, they got the quarterback right and they
Speaker 3: got the coach right. No doubt those two are huge, huge,
Speaker 3: passage in Tampa. I think they got it right. I
Speaker 3: mean Todd Bowles game mismanagement aside and the final seconds
Speaker 3: in Detroit.
Speaker 2: You gotta bring Baker back, right, I.
Speaker 4: Think so, And this seems like there's mutual interest. Look,
Speaker 4: he bet on himself, he won the bet. I mean,
Speaker 4: I'm impressed with what Baker did this season. Is there
Speaker 4: a cap or a limit to what he can do
Speaker 4: with an NFL team over a longer period of time. Absolutely,
Speaker 4: But this buys you time if you don't think that
Speaker 4: Kyle Trask can can knock him off the firch one
Speaker 4: day to draft somebody else. And so he's gonna be
Speaker 4: that good one two three year bridge quarterback whatever he.
Speaker 5: Ends up being.
Speaker 4: And you know they have more decisions on defense to
Speaker 4: make too.
Speaker 5: I thought they union really fell apart in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 4: But I'm I have to say I discredited some of
Speaker 4: what the Bucks did this year, especially you know coming
Speaker 4: from four and seven, that that streak in the middle
Speaker 4: of the year where they were really struggling. Bulls did
Speaker 4: a nice job, just like John McDermott did in Buffalo.
Speaker 4: He got his team playing good football. They saw the
Speaker 4: reality of the division and they went and won the thing.
Speaker 4: And oh, by the way, he beat the Eagles and
Speaker 4: almost beat the Lions. So a lot of boxes check
Speaker 4: checked this offseason.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and on the redemption Tour thing, I'm happy for
Speaker 3: Baker Mayfield as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the.
Speaker 3: Guy Baker Mayfield has has won a playoff game both times,
Speaker 3: and he's made it into the postseason twenty twenty with
Speaker 3: the Browns and then here with the Buccaneers. We are
Speaker 3: back next week. We're going to do this again after
Speaker 3: the conference championship games and rank them from mobile as
Speaker 3: we get ready for Vegas. Everyone enjoy Championship Sunday for
Speaker 3: Eric at home. My name is Andrews. Siliano and here
Speaker 3: we are again with another edition of the NFL Power
Speaker 3: Ranking Show, present of my Energisement.
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