Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the
Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings, presented by Energizer. I'm Dan hansis joined
Speaker 1: by a very special guest this week, Steve Wish, the
Speaker 1: Conscience of NFL Media. I'm so glad to be back.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think the special guesting needs to do.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm a regular. Now you are, it's you
Speaker 1: know what, your family, your family on a t N
Speaker 1: and now in the Power Ranks podcast, Connie's not here
Speaker 1: because Colleen Wolf is in Germany ostensibly working. I don't
Speaker 1: know right now, it just seems like she's having a
Speaker 1: great time. Not jealous, not upset about it. It's it
Speaker 1: is what it is. It is what it is. You know,
Speaker 1: should come back with stories for you so you can
Speaker 1: live like curiously. That's great. Stories are always better than
Speaker 1: lived in human experiences. The Power Rankings, and I want
Speaker 1: to say before we get into the first quadrant, Steve,
Speaker 1: I've noticed, um in a in a week where the
Speaker 1: bills went down and we had to shift at the
Speaker 1: top of the Power Ranks, I've noticed, really I put
Speaker 1: some distance between the other Power rankings in the NFL
Speaker 1: media sphere. It feels like mine are just so much
Speaker 1: better now that all the other competitors that it's getting
Speaker 1: a little like awkward almost. I mean, I haven't seen
Speaker 1: the other list, but you're clearly light years ahead. And
Speaker 1: here's what I said. What did I say to you
Speaker 1: when I first came in here. I really liked your
Speaker 1: list because you're battling of victories over last week versus
Speaker 1: projections moving forward depth that Yeah, the people and my
Speaker 1: mentions get it though. Oh yeah, they're those deep Those
Speaker 1: are deep people. They're not the powers standings of the
Speaker 1: power rankings. And speaking of Colleen, well, she had a
Speaker 1: take from Germany. I'm being told on the Power ranks
Speaker 1: this week. I have not heard it, but let's check
Speaker 1: in with Connie Fox. Dan Dan Dan, Dan, Dan Dan.
Speaker 1: What a weekend the Jets. They did it. God, I'm
Speaker 1: just so happy. This is great. I mean, like it's
Speaker 1: cool for the Jets of New York and all um
Speaker 1: and like you that's great, congrats, But really for me,
Speaker 1: I'm happy for me, and I'm happy for the Eagles
Speaker 1: because calear path to number one in the rankings and
Speaker 1: you really have no choice about it now, so I
Speaker 1: might not be there to hold you accountable, but I
Speaker 1: know that you'll do the right thing. And if not,
Speaker 1: even though I'm in Germany, the game is not until
Speaker 1: next Sunday, so I can fly home and agg your
Speaker 1: house or just send all of the clowns there. But
Speaker 1: I know that this is an easy choice for you.
Speaker 1: So this is great for all of us. A win win.
Speaker 1: And she's the Philly girl, Steve. She would kick my
Speaker 1: ass if I do not put the Eagles everyone, so
Speaker 1: I will the Philadelphia Eagles. Let's look at the first
Speaker 1: quadrant here. Yes, they're undefeated, and uh yeah, just like
Speaker 1: everyone else are a lot of people. I was drinking
Speaker 1: the Bills cool a that they were just to step ahead,
Speaker 1: but then they took a step back. So the Eagles,
Speaker 1: with no losses halfway through the season, are the number
Speaker 1: one team, followed by the Bills, who dropped one spot.
Speaker 1: We'll keep an eye on the josh al An elbow situation, Steve.
Speaker 1: The Chiefs at number three, they stay there. The Cowboys
Speaker 1: stay at four on their bye week. I got the
Speaker 1: Ravens up one spot after a great showing on Monday
Speaker 1: night in New Orleans. The Niners out of buy go
Speaker 1: down a spot. Tough spot for them, but it is
Speaker 1: what it is. Vikings stay at seven despite being seven
Speaker 1: and one, and the Titans after that narrow loss and
Speaker 1: Arrowhead stay at eight. I keep them there. Where do
Speaker 1: you want to start? Steve Willis started number two and
Speaker 1: you bring up a good point when it comes to
Speaker 1: the Bills a great and only did they lose to
Speaker 1: the Jets. But the Josh Allen elbow thing, when you
Speaker 1: hear about ulnar nerve, that's a serious thing. I've known
Speaker 1: to people who have had surgery for that, and I
Speaker 1: mean it's it's it's really a tough battle. You go
Speaker 1: through to the towards feeling, towards grip and things like that.
Speaker 1: Kansas City, to me, I could see you sliding them
Speaker 1: up intoto flip flopping. Those two teams and Bills are
Speaker 1: still among the league's elite. But the Chiefs pulling out
Speaker 1: that type of effort, it gets a team that has
Speaker 1: owned them over the past four years. Uh in Tennessee.
Speaker 1: You know, I think that's an interesting you know, I
Speaker 1: thought about I thought about it, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the Allen thing is so big because obviously if we
Speaker 1: get news between now and their next game. Uh, Alan
Speaker 1: did miss four games earlier in his career in a
Speaker 1: season with a similar elbow issues, So you hope, actually
Speaker 1: you almost hope, like, well, you hope he's fine. But
Speaker 1: then it's like, as long as it's not like we're
Speaker 1: not talking Tommy John surgery or anything like that, because
Speaker 1: that would be such a devastating situation for a Buffalo
Speaker 1: fan base. This still feels like the year. And I
Speaker 1: just thought with with the Bills, um, the Jets match
Speaker 1: up well against them in terms of their defense and
Speaker 1: the way they can cover in the secondary of course
Speaker 1: a Sauce Gardner leading the way, and the way they
Speaker 1: could get pressure without blitzing with their front four. So
Speaker 1: that is something that's interesting looking forward in this division.
Speaker 1: Uh with or without Josh Allen, well, this division is
Speaker 1: absolutely bananas right now. I mean, the Patriots are in
Speaker 1: the last place with a winning record. So if Josh
Speaker 1: Allen is offer an extended period of time for as
Speaker 1: much as we thought the Bills were gonna go ahead
Speaker 1: and moonwalk into the playoffs as a division winner, that's
Speaker 1: you know case Keenum like them very serviceable back up.
Speaker 1: But you just say, Miami's right, there, the Jets are
Speaker 1: right there and the Patriots are right there. It could
Speaker 1: end up be being a tough sledding for the Bills
Speaker 1: of Josh Allen is out for a while. We'll get
Speaker 1: to the Jets and Dolphins a little bit later, but
Speaker 1: let's talk a little bit about the Chiefs, um or
Speaker 1: get into it a little bit more, because I thought
Speaker 1: that the game against Sunday uh game on Sunday Night
Speaker 1: was a gut check for them UM at home prime time.
Speaker 1: We know mahomes record in such situations, Ryan Tannehill scratch
Speaker 1: at the ankle, and yet they find themselves with their
Speaker 1: back against the wall, and on a on a night
Speaker 1: where Mahomes through sixty eight passes, Steve it was his
Speaker 1: legs that saved the day in that and gut check
Speaker 1: is the absolutely right word. I mean, if pat Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes was not the magician that if they lose this
Speaker 1: ball game you talked about, you know, you know how
Speaker 1: the Jets match up well against the Bills. The Titans
Speaker 1: clearly match up well against the Chiefs. I think they
Speaker 1: beat him the last four regular season times that they've
Speaker 1: played UM and Mahomes had to be incredible. But I
Speaker 1: also like the way the Chiefs defense responded. Now it's
Speaker 1: easier with Malik Willis or rookie and just a second start,
Speaker 1: knowing he's not really that much of a threat to
Speaker 1: pass it. But Derrick Henry was running all over in
Speaker 1: the first half. They found a way to get going
Speaker 1: defensively in the second half. This is a Steve Spagnola defense.
Speaker 1: Second half of the season, they tend to get better
Speaker 1: and better and better. That's why I like Kansas City
Speaker 1: moving forward, especially with the way their division foes are
Speaker 1: kind of falling along the wayside as well. I thought
Speaker 1: it was a little bit interesting. Of course, this has
Speaker 1: been a season of transition in Kansas City with Tyreek
Speaker 1: Hill now in Miami. Clyde Edwards Zilaire, who started out
Speaker 1: fast this season, played of their snaps in their first
Speaker 1: game out of this by So this might be Jerck
Speaker 1: McKinnon's backfield moving forward. They're still tinkering with the model
Speaker 1: halfway through the season. Yeah, McKinnon, Pacheco and you see
Speaker 1: and Juju Smith Schuster really starting to emerge, that possession
Speaker 1: guy tough. Kind of one bet to Kelsey in the
Speaker 1: middle of the field of what the Chiefs are doing
Speaker 1: That's why Andy Reid is so great. He can consistently
Speaker 1: evolve no matter what part of the season it is. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that is such a huge advantage. Now let's talk about
Speaker 1: the Vikings fans. And uh again, I just said it.
Speaker 1: It's it's the power rankings, not the power standings. And
Speaker 1: yet I do understand the fact that I have, for instance,
Speaker 1: this seven and one Vikings behind the four and four
Speaker 1: forty Niners. I should explain myself, and I guess I
Speaker 1: just have to say. Week after week, I'm watching this
Speaker 1: team and I have so much respect for their ability
Speaker 1: to close out games and win. But I don't come
Speaker 1: out of these wins by the Vikings feeling like I'm
Speaker 1: seeing a powerhouse team that I'm watching a seven and
Speaker 1: one team. Um, and so I kind of just stuck
Speaker 1: him at seven and kept him there. And they have
Speaker 1: a big matchup against the Bills. Am I not mistaken
Speaker 1: on this? And now they might not even get Josh
Speaker 1: Allen in that game, and it's just like I want
Speaker 1: to know more about Minnesota. I want to see him
Speaker 1: get punched in the mouth like the Eagles did back
Speaker 1: in Week two and see how they react. But for now,
Speaker 1: they're taking care of business, and I do respect that,
Speaker 1: but I find it hard to move them. Steve, I
Speaker 1: just he should you can punch him in the mouth,
Speaker 1: I mean now, but it's you might see Taylor heinekeiller.
Speaker 1: So that's true because the Commanders punched him in the mouth.
Speaker 1: You know. I was kind of like you when it
Speaker 1: came to the Vikings, but I'm like, you know what,
Speaker 1: the more I see them in the abundance of weapons
Speaker 1: that they have, that's why you win close games. NFL
Speaker 1: games are close week to week, but you've gotta have
Speaker 1: playmakers to make plays at the end. Kirk Cousins seems different.
Speaker 1: They're clearly a different team with Dalvin Cook is playing
Speaker 1: the way that he's playing now, this defense is coming
Speaker 1: around a little bit um and to put him behind
Speaker 1: the forty Niners. So let me ask you this, Do
Speaker 1: you think the forty Niners are really that dominant or
Speaker 1: are you projecting because Eli Mitchell and everybody's coming back
Speaker 1: to join Christian McCaffrey. Because the Niners two of those
Speaker 1: four wins have come against the Rams, who they beat. Anyway,
Speaker 1: that sway you because I'm like the not because I'm like,
Speaker 1: I really like the Niners where they're headed projection wise,
Speaker 1: but in terms of overall wins, they beat the Rams
Speaker 1: that that's what they do. They beat them twice or
Speaker 1: are they really that good they always beat them? Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's definitely some projection in there, and some and what
Speaker 1: they've done um in the past cooked in and the
Speaker 1: idea of what what we saw the last time they
Speaker 1: played before the bye, with McCaffrey finding an immediate role
Speaker 1: UM in this offense, well, she knew he was gonna
Speaker 1: have a role, but to have the hat trick performance there,
Speaker 1: and now you trade Jeff Wilson, but yes, Elijah Mitchell
Speaker 1: comes back. That's a great back then. Oh my god,
Speaker 1: you have obviously uh with Debo leading the way at
Speaker 1: wide receiver, Um, you have a nice and George Kittle
Speaker 1: that's a that's a really nice combo there. And I
Speaker 1: just kind of trust their defense and it all to
Speaker 1: come together for them too. I'd still predict them to
Speaker 1: win the division. So that's why I have them ahead
Speaker 1: of the Seattle Seahawks as well. I'm in still I'm
Speaker 1: all the way clearly clearly. Yeah, I Seattle, they're doing
Speaker 1: nothing to just and they're making me believers I'm buying in, Um,
Speaker 1: we can get to the when we see you've got them, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, ranked down a little bit lower, but just
Speaker 1: a forty nine. Are interesting to me because I'm with you.
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna be a very very good team,
Speaker 1: but there not there yet. I would move them down
Speaker 1: and frankly, like you know, you've got the Vikings at seven,
Speaker 1: I might move them up. But there's a team a
Speaker 1: little bit lower in this poll. You got a number twelve.
Speaker 1: I think you're sitting way too low. I would probably
Speaker 1: put them at that six or seven spot. And that's
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins. I mean with two in there, they're
Speaker 1: winning ball games. Yeah, they had to go toe to
Speaker 1: toe with a Chicago team that's emerging a little bit.
Speaker 1: But when I look at them head to head, Um,
Speaker 1: you know you said you're not sure about the Vikings.
Speaker 1: Do you think the Vikings Miami head to head? I
Speaker 1: see the Vikings team. I can't get a handle on that.
Speaker 1: The Titans beat Miami head to head, I don't think so.
Speaker 1: Do the Jets beat Miami head to head? They have? Okay,
Speaker 1: all right, let's take a look at the second quarter.
Speaker 1: Let's features the Dolphins. We have the Jets at number nine,
Speaker 1: up five spots after beating the Bills, Seahawks at number ten,
Speaker 1: the Bengals at eleven. Then the Dolphins stay it uh
Speaker 1: twelve after their narrow win over the Bears, Giants on
Speaker 1: their by thirteen, Patriots at fourteen, Chargers up up one
Speaker 1: to fifteen, and the Bucks sneak back into the first
Speaker 1: half of the league the power rankings with their narrow
Speaker 1: win there at sixteen. UM. I do have legitimate concerns
Speaker 1: about Miami's defense. The offense is better than I could
Speaker 1: have ever imagined. I know some people thought this could happen.
Speaker 1: I had my doubts. I know, uh you covered tah
Speaker 1: extensively leading up to the draft, and I know um
Speaker 1: that he is really surprised a lot of people, myself included,
Speaker 1: about how well he's fit in with his offense. But
Speaker 1: when they go and they trade for Bradley Chub, to me,
Speaker 1: that was an acknowledgment. We're a little worried about our defense.
Speaker 1: We're gonna get a first round pick because we we
Speaker 1: feel like we need a little more juice, and they
Speaker 1: couldn't get a stop against Chicago, and I just wonder
Speaker 1: if that's gonna be kind of their Achilles heal that
Speaker 1: they're going to score points every week, but the week
Speaker 1: where they do come down to earth offensively, the defense
Speaker 1: is gonna let him down. And not too often though
Speaker 1: you're gonna play a quarterback is dynamic as justin fields.
Speaker 1: I mean, he he was just absolutely amazing. What do
Speaker 1: you run for a hundred seventy eight yards or something?
Speaker 1: I mean he he was absolutely amazing. Okay, so Josh
Speaker 1: Allen in their division, maybe, but you know, maybe Patrick Mahomes. Okay,
Speaker 1: we think we already hear. The Chiefs are probably a
Speaker 1: better team, but when you look at the overall AFC
Speaker 1: teams are not going to face quarterbacks Lamar Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1: I mean, what he's doing right now is absolutely insane.
Speaker 1: In the Ravens to me our team. But when you
Speaker 1: finish this up there, you've got him at five. They're
Speaker 1: probably gonna be a top two or three team. They
Speaker 1: are really playing well defensively now as well. But I
Speaker 1: I think Bradley Chubb's gonna help them. They need someone
Speaker 1: who could win one on one on the edge. They've
Speaker 1: been doing as a collective for three years and it's
Speaker 1: and it's work. But not so much now, got a
Speaker 1: little bit more health in the secondary. But I just
Speaker 1: think Miami's a team is going to continue to get better. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and they're fun to why and you know Tyreek Hill
Speaker 1: and and Waddle. Now it's you just take it for granted.
Speaker 1: Week after week they go twelve for two and two
Speaker 1: touchdowns against Chicago And when you think about it, Steve
Speaker 1: that really you know, obviously super unfortunate, fortunate head injury
Speaker 1: UH suffered by to cost him about a month of
Speaker 1: playing time. If he would have stayed healthy, they're probably
Speaker 1: on pace to set records this year. And that's how
Speaker 1: good this offense has been. Yeah, I mean, look, you're
Speaker 1: throwing a Kaseki year in the red zone. He's he's
Speaker 1: been fantastic, and that the running game is starting to
Speaker 1: open up. You're seeing where he most art being able
Speaker 1: to start to do some things. And if he gets
Speaker 1: going with the speed that he has UH and the
Speaker 1: way that they tanned him up in the backfield, they're
Speaker 1: gonna be a really tough team. Just because of the
Speaker 1: variety we're seeing in teams like Kansas City. You mentioned
Speaker 1: the forty nine is a variety of weapons when you
Speaker 1: come to close games. That's usually the difference maker. UM.
Speaker 1: Can we talk to my jets a little bit? Let's um. Obviously,
Speaker 1: last week's lost was so disappointing against the Patriots, and
Speaker 1: mostly because you knew after Breecee Hall went down, after
Speaker 1: Elijah Vera Tucker went down, there would be more on
Speaker 1: Zack Wilson to step up, and he didn't. UM. So
Speaker 1: what what I saw against the Bills was a complete
Speaker 1: team effort. And it wasn't Zach Wilson bawling out and
Speaker 1: me being like, okay, we're gonna be okay. It's a
Speaker 1: wait and see for me on Zach, but the fact
Speaker 1: that the entire team kind of played their best game
Speaker 1: of the year and it was beautifully coached by Sala.
Speaker 1: I just feel really confident for the first time in
Speaker 1: years about this team, as you should. I mean, that
Speaker 1: defensive front is real. I mean you and I said
Speaker 1: this a couple of weeks ago. They are reminding show
Speaker 1: me so much of the Niners. When the Niners are
Speaker 1: rolling in en right, the quarterback play, There's gonna be
Speaker 1: some games where you're gonna have to run it or
Speaker 1: find manufactured pointing to quarterbacks going for dred fifty yards
Speaker 1: or less. But I'll tell you what Zack Wilson showed
Speaker 1: me stomach that he didn't show the week before against
Speaker 1: the Patriots. He bounced back against a bad play and really,
Speaker 1: you know, down on the red zone, some of the
Speaker 1: performances and some of the leadership he showed. Highly impressed
Speaker 1: with that character treat Now, if you continue to build
Speaker 1: on that with some of the other things that they
Speaker 1: have going on, I mean, already know that there are nuisance,
Speaker 1: right you don't want to play them. You finished playing
Speaker 1: the Jets, You're like, oh my god, man, I gotta
Speaker 1: go home in the ice tub and everything like that.
Speaker 1: But again, they're right there. That's what I'm saying this, Josh,
Speaker 1: I don't they with the Bills, right, the Jets can
Speaker 1: slip right in there if he's got to sit out
Speaker 1: for and the Dolphins and Jets are are just a
Speaker 1: half game behind, both of them having beaten the Bills
Speaker 1: already this season. I think it was really um for me,
Speaker 1: especially exciting that in the tie game in the late
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter, about midway through the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: they get the ball at the four yard line, the Jets,
Speaker 1: and they run the ball and that was my What
Speaker 1: was so crushing to me about Breece Hall is like,
Speaker 1: if you have a offensive rookie of your stud in
Speaker 1: Breece Hall, with this defense and the quarterback making some plays,
Speaker 1: you can start having real dreams. And I thought maybe
Speaker 1: I had to lower expectations about the Jets, and maybe
Speaker 1: I still do. But their ability to run at eight
Speaker 1: straight times right into the red zone and set up
Speaker 1: that go ahead field goal, that was incredibly important to
Speaker 1: show this team with a makeshift offensive line that they
Speaker 1: could do that in that type of spot. And it
Speaker 1: takes a pressure off the quarterback and now and now,
Speaker 1: so when you get the defense biting up on the
Speaker 1: run and then then he can make a play like
Speaker 1: when he leaked out on that scramble and things like that,
Speaker 1: you know, his mobility helps. This is the one thing
Speaker 1: to talking to so many people in the NFL with
Speaker 1: all these defenses playing the too high safety and things
Speaker 1: like that, if you have a mobile quarterback, it takes
Speaker 1: things away from that type of scheme. Right, it's all
Speaker 1: in numbers versus numbers thing, and you've got a quarterback
Speaker 1: who can run that you've got to account for. That helps.
Speaker 1: So Zach Wilson's mobility. We saw it in this game.
Speaker 1: To see him run more, it was great. It's great
Speaker 1: to see him do that instead of some of those
Speaker 1: you know, five pirouettes behind the offensive line and then
Speaker 1: throwing it up for grabs. Uh. It's time now, Steve
Speaker 1: for power moves presented by Energizer telling me about the Seahawks.
Speaker 1: What are you seeing right now? I mean, first off,
Speaker 1: the defense is coming together. I mean, you know when
Speaker 1: this got here. Tyler Lockett, my god, he's Gino and
Speaker 1: Tyler have a good relationship. Now we're saying O Chenna
Speaker 1: and Nwosu, the USC guys who couldn't get into the
Speaker 1: rotation as a pass rusher with the Chargers because they
Speaker 1: had Melvin Ingram and they had Joey Bows so he
Speaker 1: was an occasional guy. Seven sacks now, right, they're starting
Speaker 1: to overwhelm quarterbacks and you put them in passing situations
Speaker 1: and Gino and the rest of the crew those tight
Speaker 1: ends that they have up there. This is the Seahawks
Speaker 1: in a legion of boom Era. This is what they
Speaker 1: did and it's working. And we thought the game passed.
Speaker 1: Pete kiro Bay He's like, no, I'm still here in
Speaker 1: my method works because I can get my guys to
Speaker 1: play hard. You know, I know you said, do you
Speaker 1: like the Niners to win the divisions? Did? I? But
Speaker 1: the Seattle Seahawks are not gonna make it easy the
Speaker 1: way they're playing, in the confidence that they're building, and
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's shocking to me still, but I'm
Speaker 1: I'm starting to process a world where Gino Smith is
Speaker 1: actually a legit QB one, What a great story. It's
Speaker 1: it's an it's an amazing story. I'm really I want
Speaker 1: to see how it plays out because I finally I
Speaker 1: find him to be a charismatic dude also, and you
Speaker 1: just he likes to talk, and I feel like this
Speaker 1: is gonna be a nice adventure no matter how it ends.
Speaker 1: I think we're gonna get a lot of good content
Speaker 1: out of Gino in terms of entertainment value. And but
Speaker 1: he can't sleep on like even when he has his issues,
Speaker 1: which have been very few bumps in the road this year,
Speaker 1: but he throws that pick six, he's right back at
Speaker 1: b and he you know, he throws the game winning
Speaker 1: touchdown pass. And I just think that this the Seahawks
Speaker 1: team is so balanced and a month ago. They were
Speaker 1: on a historically bad pace defensively, and Pete took care
Speaker 1: of that. I mean, I think that's the players Pete
Speaker 1: Hurt and Keneth Walker to run the ball too. I
Speaker 1: mean again, they're playing like they were back in there
Speaker 1: in the early team. So there you're NFC West champion.
Speaker 1: I still like the Niners. I do you know when
Speaker 1: they get debo and they get back to full strength
Speaker 1: as you here's coming back on defensive linebacker to add
Speaker 1: to already great linebacker group. Um, if they can get
Speaker 1: healthy and stay healthy, I like them. With Seattle, Seattle
Speaker 1: was a playoff team. Okay, they are playoffs graybe at
Speaker 1: the division winner, but they're a playoff team. All right,
Speaker 1: we're just getting started here on the Power Ranking Show.
Speaker 1: We've done the first two quadrants. Now we talked about
Speaker 1: the back half of the league where it's a little
Speaker 1: messy but still fun to talk about coming up next.
Speaker 1: All right, welcome back to Power Rankings presented by Energizer.
Speaker 1: Let's look at the third quadrant. You got the Atlanta
Speaker 1: Falcons up one spot to seventeen, Rams down three after
Speaker 1: another painful loss to eighteen. The Browns at nineteen Saints
Speaker 1: down three spots. I kind of thought they were gonna
Speaker 1: make a play, and they didn't show up on Monday night.
Speaker 1: So they're down three to twenty. Bears up three spots
Speaker 1: despite the loss uh to one, the Packers down three
Speaker 1: to two, Cardinals down one to twenty three, are hard
Speaker 1: to watch. And the Raiders, Man, it's not happening for
Speaker 1: the Raiders this year. There at um Steve we're talking
Speaker 1: about during the break just now. It's been for me anyway,
Speaker 1: destabilizing as a fan experience for the NFL to have
Speaker 1: the Bucks at sixteen, to have the Rams at eighteen,
Speaker 1: to have the Packers at twenty two, these teams that
Speaker 1: we just expected to be there in January, it's not happening. Look,
Speaker 1: the Bucks are a division leader and they're there, and
Speaker 1: they are legitimately, legitimately a sixteen, and I would say
Speaker 1: they actually belonged lower. But the teams behind them, it's
Speaker 1: not good. But but you know, you talk about the Buccaneers,
Speaker 1: maybe that rally they had to beat the Rams at
Speaker 1: the end of the game gets them going. We'll see
Speaker 1: their play the Seahawks and Munich, but they were terrible
Speaker 1: offensively that whole game. They were horrible. There so hard
Speaker 1: to watch an offense. I mean it's it's brutal, but
Speaker 1: defensively vida villa the way they got going. But again
Speaker 1: they're playing a ram team. They can't block anybody. Um
Speaker 1: the Packers, I mean, honestly, do you do you say
Speaker 1: like maybe they can get rolling, like maybe they can
Speaker 1: click three in a row. I think for me, the
Speaker 1: light went off this week because everything was so set
Speaker 1: up for them to get healthy in Detroit. Detroit has
Speaker 1: the worst defense of the league statistically, and Rogers has
Speaker 1: killed the Lions throughout his career. Was just like, Okay,
Speaker 1: this was gonna be the game where they roll up
Speaker 1: four hundred and thirty yards, score thirty points, they get
Speaker 1: the losing streak out of their building, and they could
Speaker 1: kind of start spinning forward. For the game to play
Speaker 1: out the way it did, and for Rogers to flop
Speaker 1: the way he did, it just makes me think like,
Speaker 1: this is not gonna happen. And I also wonder, just
Speaker 1: what's the what are the vibes in that building? Um?
Speaker 1: Is it? Are we gonna read some profile piece um
Speaker 1: after the season about you know, really bad communication and
Speaker 1: and um, some disagreements behind the scenes. It just feels
Speaker 1: like a bad set up in Green Bay. So I'm
Speaker 1: out on the Packers that I'm with. You. Look, I
Speaker 1: think this is where you know, Aaron bagging on the
Speaker 1: young wide receivers. It works early in the season, it
Speaker 1: works in training camp, but the fact he was continue
Speaker 1: to bag on them and then the cavalry is not
Speaker 1: coming right. You know, you didn't go out and get anybody.
Speaker 1: This is who you have to play with, and you've
Speaker 1: been crushing these guys all season. At some point they're like, Okay,
Speaker 1: I gotta step up, I gotta earn my next contract
Speaker 1: or whatever. But it's it is not going in the
Speaker 1: way the defense was playing for a while and now
Speaker 1: they've got gaps for the year. You know they now
Speaker 1: they're gonna miss it. Arias Smith he's in Minnesota killing
Speaker 1: it right now. Um I I just don't see them
Speaker 1: being able to go on a type of run they
Speaker 1: need to make to be to get into the playoffs.
Speaker 1: You can't go out in the media and say you
Speaker 1: gotta cut reps for guys and then throw to red
Speaker 1: zone interceptions like he did, like and then throw three
Speaker 1: overall and miss open guys all game. This is a
Speaker 1: guy and it's weird Steve, because I'm watching the game
Speaker 1: on Sunday and it's like he's still moving like Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1: You see them some beautiful touch passes, and then he'll
Speaker 1: just dirt balls or just miss a wide open deep
Speaker 1: guy by under throwing and by three yards. He played
Speaker 1: one of the worst games of his career in a
Speaker 1: huge spot for that team. But unt like Josh Allen,
Speaker 1: he didn't come to the podium and say, you know,
Speaker 1: I played like Duki Emoji. You know that's something I
Speaker 1: think you said. I never gave up. Well, great, Hey
Speaker 1: what about the Rams should they give up? Well, they're
Speaker 1: not gonna give up. I mean, it's not on their character.
Speaker 1: They're defending Super Bowl Chane. They give up at the
Speaker 1: end of that game after Jalen Ramsey gets sent back
Speaker 1: on the field. The defense that that defensive scheming and
Speaker 1: and just some of the efforts you saw where they're
Speaker 1: giving up ten yard chunks when the when the Bucks
Speaker 1: get the ball back with four or four seconds left,
Speaker 1: Like what are you doing? Like you guys have stone
Speaker 1: walled them all game and you're giving twelve an opportunity.
Speaker 1: We've seen this before. Look at this. I mean, kay
Speaker 1: Dotton was wide open, too easy, and then you allow
Speaker 1: him to get up and get even additional yards. Now
Speaker 1: you're don't you're not protecting the sidelines to the getting
Speaker 1: out of bounds, you're playing twenty yards off of them.
Speaker 1: Then you get the d p I, which is a
Speaker 1: legit d p I, and then you play the run.
Speaker 1: They're playing the run. They had no time out. Why
Speaker 1: are you playing the run? And the Bucks haven't been
Speaker 1: able to run the ball all the year, all game
Speaker 1: they saw Bradies the quarterback. It's like, I don't. I'm
Speaker 1: just wondering where, like the mental side and the physical
Speaker 1: side where their lapses on both ends. And then when
Speaker 1: Jalen Ramsey after the game speaks to that frustration about
Speaker 1: we got the stop, we need some help get that's
Speaker 1: another team where you wonder what's going on in the
Speaker 1: locker room at this point, what's going on behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: because this is the defensive Super Bowl champion that week
Speaker 1: after week is getting pants and you say to yourself, Okay,
Speaker 1: they're gonna get there, gonna show that metal of the
Speaker 1: defending champion. Like you know, we're seeing the Bengals who
Speaker 1: took the l they're starting to find themselves right with
Speaker 1: despite all their offensive line issues which their Rams have.
Speaker 1: Was despite some defensive lapses which the Rams have, They're
Speaker 1: finding themselves whereas the Rams seemed to be coming apart.
Speaker 1: I mean, this was an incredible opportunity. They had eight
Speaker 1: three and ounce Bobby Wagner blocks a field goal in
Speaker 1: the middle of the field where you can open up
Speaker 1: your offense, and they go three and out. I mean,
Speaker 1: and it is painful. It's not three yards in a
Speaker 1: cloud of gust. It is one yard in a cloud
Speaker 1: of nothing because there's no physicality involved. They're gonna screen
Speaker 1: you to death because they're not trying anything downfield. Because
Speaker 1: if you get that Matt Stafford is not gonna get protected,
Speaker 1: which he didn't. You can't block it up. Vita Villa
Speaker 1: look like the ground player in the world in that game.
Speaker 1: Um So they have some issues and and you have
Speaker 1: to ask yourself, can they can they rip off three
Speaker 1: or four straight wins like you know, like you're gonna
Speaker 1: need to do at some point, and you just don't know.
Speaker 1: You just don't see them coming together like they need
Speaker 1: to pull something. I remember this time around last year,
Speaker 1: a lot of people were putting them underground when they
Speaker 1: were in a slump and staff November he really struggled UM,
Speaker 1: and they went and won the Super Bowl. I saw
Speaker 1: a tweet out there. I wish I could remember who
Speaker 1: set it out because I like the line the Rams
Speaker 1: bought their title on credit. But now the bill has
Speaker 1: come due. That's strong, that's strong, but both the bill
Speaker 1: has come due now, it seems um. Let's talk about
Speaker 1: in a year that's been defined in some part by
Speaker 1: um bad quarterback play where you didn't expect it. Let's
Speaker 1: suck justin fields. Let's tuck a field good story at
Speaker 1: the quarterback position. It's unbelievable what he's doing week after week. Well,
Speaker 1: look gets you. The offensive coordinator and a lot of
Speaker 1: people told me coming in like this guy is really
Speaker 1: really good, right, and you're starting to see him understand
Speaker 1: the strength of his quarterback, the strength of his offensive line,
Speaker 1: and the strength of the rest of the team. So
Speaker 1: let's become the Baltimore Ravens. Let's do some things with
Speaker 1: the blocking team where we're moving guys all over the place.
Speaker 1: We can get justin fields to run behind them. We're
Speaker 1: getting defenses and positions now where they've got to account
Speaker 1: for him and away justin Fields can pull it back
Speaker 1: and rip it. No one can question his throwing ability.
Speaker 1: He can rip it. He was the top player coming
Speaker 1: out of high school. You know, we saw the things
Speaker 1: he did in college. But now they're tight ending him
Speaker 1: right Cole Commet, they're doing some very creative things here
Speaker 1: in the pocket. Now he just steps up boom. Look
Speaker 1: at the strength right here, slips the tackle slips, the
Speaker 1: tackle slips the tackle speed. Look at that. I mean,
Speaker 1: the acceleration is insane and you're seeing Lamar Jackson, except
Speaker 1: he's probably a little bit stronger, maybe not that much,
Speaker 1: and he just let that ball go. His confidence right now. Um,
Speaker 1: with the way they're playing, even though they lost to
Speaker 1: the Dolphins, it is It is fun to see a
Speaker 1: coach get to his quarterback and get to the offense
Speaker 1: and to make it happen instead of trying to fit,
Speaker 1: you know, a square peg into a round hole. The
Speaker 1: issue is defensively, trade away your two best defensive players.
Speaker 1: You know, Miami's gonna score thirty on everybody, but can
Speaker 1: you hold up to support him on that side of
Speaker 1: the ball. Yeah, And I think especially part of what
Speaker 1: makes it a great story is that things did not
Speaker 1: start out well this year, and there were questions like
Speaker 1: is Fields coming along here? Is this gonna be a
Speaker 1: thing that works? And now there's no question he is
Speaker 1: the future and and looks like a guy that profiles
Speaker 1: as a potential superstar and look out. So the Bears
Speaker 1: obviously blew it up, blew up their defense. They're building
Speaker 1: for tomorrow. But if they have a nice offseason, they
Speaker 1: can get good real quick. And I'm talking maybe not,
Speaker 1: but maybe they're a flying the ointment for teams this year,
Speaker 1: but watch out in that division next year if they
Speaker 1: make the right moves. Because Fields, you can build around
Speaker 1: this dude. Lowing in Miami. You bringing the right coach,
Speaker 1: he works at the quarterback, You get him going. You
Speaker 1: fix the pieces on on defense because you've got some
Speaker 1: ability to do so. I I completely agree with you.
Speaker 1: Let's talk Raiders real quick, just because it's just a wild,
Speaker 1: wild scene. Um, I don't know. I'm sure you saw it.
Speaker 1: Car his comments after the game, he gave the old
Speaker 1: there are things I want to say to you right now,
Speaker 1: but I can't say to you. I need to talk inside,
Speaker 1: all right, what what what are your vibes about this team?
Speaker 1: Because blowing three seventeen point leads in one season and
Speaker 1: it's not even close to Thanksgiving. Did you see the
Speaker 1: stat they had five in the history of the organization
Speaker 1: blowing three seventeen point leads and three this year. Here's
Speaker 1: here's all I have to say, and I want to
Speaker 1: people to process this last year, with everything they went through, injuries,
Speaker 1: John Cruden getting fired, coaching change, they showed they had
Speaker 1: the guts to overcome adversity. They showed they had a
Speaker 1: talent to win ballgames. You were a playoff team last
Speaker 1: year after everything could not have looked more of just
Speaker 1: a five alarm fire. The nucleus of the team is
Speaker 1: the same, and you add Davante Adams, who's not a
Speaker 1: disruptive guy. Okay, So to me, the players have the
Speaker 1: mental fortitude to be able to get through this. So
Speaker 1: whatever Josh McDaniels and that staff has done, be it
Speaker 1: schematic tweaks or whatever the way they're calling a ballgame,
Speaker 1: that's the issue. And DeVante Adams came out and it
Speaker 1: look how aggressive we were in the first half. Let
Speaker 1: me call a different game in the second half, and
Speaker 1: you saw what happened. So now you've got the players
Speaker 1: not trusting in what's going on. You know, the old
Speaker 1: saint don't ever say it can't get worse, because it
Speaker 1: always came right. And we can ask the Indiapolis cold
Speaker 1: to that. And I can understand Adam's specifically his frustration
Speaker 1: because I think he was seven for one, six and
Speaker 1: two in the first half and then he had one
Speaker 1: catch for zero yards in the second. That said. You
Speaker 1: could say schematics and all that, but if you watched
Speaker 1: the game, you know you did. Steve car missed. He
Speaker 1: missed so many throws in those lasting quarters, including several
Speaker 1: to Davante Adams, it would have been a totally different game.
Speaker 1: And that's that's part of this too. And I'm just wondering,
Speaker 1: and you're as plugged in as anyone, Steve, like, is
Speaker 1: there anything whispers out there? We've heard the oh Josh
Speaker 1: is running late for his press comments because he has
Speaker 1: to meet with the own or twice. Now, do you
Speaker 1: think there's a hot seat here for No, there's no
Speaker 1: way marks you to do that that that quickly, He'll
Speaker 1: let McDaniels change up this roster and do whatever he
Speaker 1: has to do on the coaching staff. If he's gonna
Speaker 1: do anything before he blows him out about at the
Speaker 1: quarterback position. I can't see it, but you never know.
Speaker 1: You never know. Here's the other I'm just thinking in
Speaker 1: the offseason, there's gonna be a lot more teams needing
Speaker 1: quarterbacks than there were this year, and we saw the
Speaker 1: type of movement because you know, Brady's probably really gonna retire.
Speaker 1: Maybe Aaron Rodger steps away, so there's gonna be some
Speaker 1: more teams involved. Who knows who they could even get
Speaker 1: with that salary cap situation they have because of contracts.
Speaker 1: You know who's enjoying this probably Rich How's how's that
Speaker 1: working on in Green Bay for him? Though I don't think.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's enjoying a whole lot right now.
Speaker 1: Maybe he's not enjoying anything at all. Is anyone enjoying
Speaker 1: anything in this NFL season? Let's check out Quad four
Speaker 1: before we sign off. The Commanders, Man, they love Taylor Heineke.
Speaker 1: They're channing is Aim and I don't quite get it,
Speaker 1: but they like they are. They are twenty five. They
Speaker 1: stay at five UM despite the loss. The Broncos stay
Speaker 1: at twenty six, Jags up three spots, the twenty seven
Speaker 1: Steelers down one. Uh on their by to eight lions
Speaker 1: up to finally got that dub Cults down to to
Speaker 1: thirty and they're down a head coach, but up an
Speaker 1: analyst that's also in the head of the head coach.
Speaker 1: The Texans up one out of the out of the
Speaker 1: basement with the somewhat of a spirited effort on Thursday night,
Speaker 1: and the Panthers listen, when you fall behind forty two
Speaker 1: nothing um kind of tough sledding. It's it's probably gonna
Speaker 1: be a bad situation for you when it comes power
Speaker 1: rankings time. Let's start with the lines, will start with
Speaker 1: the good and then we'll hit the mad um. Very nice.
Speaker 1: It's just fun watching those postgame uh celebrations in the
Speaker 1: locker room and in general to beat the Packers as well.
Speaker 1: I was happy for the hard knocks lines. Yeah, I mean, look, offensively,
Speaker 1: they're super fun to watch. But then you see defensively, um,
Speaker 1: you know, for them to come up and make the
Speaker 1: stops they make. I mean, we can we can blame
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers for a lot of it, but defensively they
Speaker 1: showed up. I mean this interception here, Hutchinson reads it beautifully.
Speaker 1: Rogers throws you know five feet short on it, um,
Speaker 1: But to see them come on and play like list.
Speaker 1: I mean, they just fired a very good, very popular
Speaker 1: dB coach and Aubrey Pleasant and I thought, like, man,
Speaker 1: the players are not going to respond well to this,
Speaker 1: and for them to give that type of effort in
Speaker 1: this opponent, you'd love to see it again. You just
Speaker 1: don't know if they can win two games here loose
Speaker 1: one win three games Derek the rest of the way,
Speaker 1: I'd like to see the springboard because one thing that
Speaker 1: would kind of depress me because Connie and I did
Speaker 1: the Hard Knocks podcast and UM in general followed this team,
Speaker 1: and I just would like them to get to a
Speaker 1: point where the season ends similar to last year, at
Speaker 1: this point where they win about half their games, they're competitive,
Speaker 1: and then we're not talking in January on Black Monday
Speaker 1: about who's Dan Campbell gonna survive, Like, let's just let's
Speaker 1: have some progress, let's build off something next year, and
Speaker 1: then if it doesn't work after next year, then you
Speaker 1: make a check. I think he makes it regardless, Um,
Speaker 1: all right, the Frank Wrek didn't make it. Oh God,
Speaker 1: what's your take on this whole thing? So not only
Speaker 1: does Jimmer say it's kind of a maverick in the
Speaker 1: owner ranks, and how he thinks it's one thing to
Speaker 1: to fire your coach in the middle of the season,
Speaker 1: it's another to bring in an old buddy who's a
Speaker 1: team consultant who's working over in Connecticut and make him
Speaker 1: your head coach in the middle of the year and
Speaker 1: have a whole press conference and the whole thing. What
Speaker 1: was your vibe on that. Let's look at the old
Speaker 1: secret to events. I mean, okay, Matt, Matt Ryan, let go.
Speaker 1: You fire the O C. Marcus Brady Um who doesn't
Speaker 1: call plays, who basically orchestrates the practices, and me, you
Speaker 1: fire him, right, things get worse. You put in a
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback Sam Ailinger, right, Okay, So now, Frank Wreck,
Speaker 1: we know he's on the green mile, so you you
Speaker 1: make it, you make you make it a green you
Speaker 1: make it a green football field, and you get rid
Speaker 1: of him. But then you go outside. Okay, you've got
Speaker 1: no play caller, you've got no quarterback developer. Oh and
Speaker 1: then he said, we're gonna play the rookie. Still, We're
Speaker 1: still gonna play him instead of Nick Foles or somebody. Well,
Speaker 1: we've got no, what you bring in Jeff Shaturday, who
Speaker 1: I love. I mean, I know Jeff personally, I love him.
Speaker 1: This is nothing on him. The opportunity was here, He's like, okay,
Speaker 1: I'll help you get to the first pick next year.
Speaker 1: Because to me, that's what it looks like is going on.
Speaker 1: How do you think John Fox and Gus Bradley and
Speaker 1: anyone in that building fields right now? Like what I mean,
Speaker 1: the wheels are falling off. Okay, we can see you
Speaker 1: going outside the building and bringing Jim calledwell right, bringing
Speaker 1: somebody who can calm things down, who we all respect,
Speaker 1: who can call place and get a former player. Oh,
Speaker 1: by the way, Reggie Wayne's on staff. You could have
Speaker 1: go had him. I've seen a lot of crazy things
Speaker 1: in the NFL, and this is sliding into the top
Speaker 1: three or four. Yeah it is. There is that kind
Speaker 1: of like um Al Davis type renegade vibe going on here,
Speaker 1: like I'm not gonna do what everyone else does and
Speaker 1: I need somebody could trust in this very vulnerable moment
Speaker 1: for the organization. But you're right, there are a lot
Speaker 1: of good, successful uh men on that coaching staff that
Speaker 1: have to be like, I gotta get the hell out
Speaker 1: of here. Oh yeah, and there's still you know, half
Speaker 1: a season to go. And oh, by the way, they
Speaker 1: have what three wins, they're not completely out of it
Speaker 1: in that division. And but then the worst part is
Speaker 1: when they say, you know, you have to play Ellinger
Speaker 1: at the quarterback, and you feel bad for him now
Speaker 1: because you've got no one there to develop him. You've
Speaker 1: got no one. He's being put in a situation that's
Speaker 1: gonna be absolutely tough for him playing Nick Foles. Just
Speaker 1: go ahead and let him at least try to bring
Speaker 1: some stability to an offense. It's right now. I just
Speaker 1: you know, they're not playing well anyway, but you're putting
Speaker 1: this You're putting this young guy in a horrible, horrible position.
Speaker 1: It has just got to be so dispiriting in that
Speaker 1: locker room and in that building. I don't I don't
Speaker 1: know what Mercy is doing other than maybe pacifying his
Speaker 1: own feelings. So now we have an owner being hands
Speaker 1: on a football decisions. Very strange times, uh. In Indianapolis
Speaker 1: and really in the whole of the NFL, it's been
Speaker 1: a very kind of bizarre season. Hell, my Jets are
Speaker 1: on the top ten of the power rings. Let's that
Speaker 1: tell you about the unreal nature of this season. Steve,
Speaker 1: You've said it all and you once again have pinched
Speaker 1: hit for Colleen and just I mean we're talking five
Speaker 1: and eight feet five ninety left center field bleachers, I'm
Speaker 1: trying to do. I love your list, on your list,
Speaker 1: You're You're the man. Colleen will be back next week.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening and watching along Heed the Call
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