Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast apparently is still a thing.
Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL Podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Hansas, coming to you from a
Speaker 1: virtual room filled with heroes Mark Sesser, Greg Rosenthal and
Speaker 1: sitting in the Chris Westling chair. And my goodness, what
Speaker 1: a blessing. It's Colleen Wolf. What's up? Connie and the gang? Hello, Hello, Hello,
Speaker 1: that's a big day. I took a shower, I washed
Speaker 1: my hair, I brushed it and curled it so like
Speaker 1: I am ready to go professional. It sounds like a
Speaker 1: lot of lies. Dan was so threatened by your appearance
Speaker 1: he put on a collared shirt and then now makes
Speaker 1: us look you know, Colleen is it looks like a
Speaker 1: true network anchor, which he is for NFL Network, And uh,
Speaker 1: you know, of course you can see her on uh
Speaker 1: Thursday Night Football every week but apparently week six not
Speaker 1: the case, but every week going forward and Good Morning
Speaker 1: Football on the weekend. And I had a T shirt on,
Speaker 1: and it just felt like Connie's gonna show us up
Speaker 1: in general, um when it comes to the visual. But
Speaker 1: with my T shirt on and Connie done up as
Speaker 1: the network anchor, it was looking a little bit absurd,
Speaker 1: like how did that guy get on camera? So I
Speaker 1: needed to clean it up just a little bit, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, we're just avoiding the look here of Colleen
Speaker 1: with three high school dropouts. So the column shirt helps
Speaker 1: and appreciate that. Well, this was a power play on
Speaker 1: my part and it looks like it worked. Connie Wins again,
Speaker 1: we had we had um in high school, the kids
Speaker 1: that hung out on the side of Walgreens, and they
Speaker 1: were kind of like the dirt bags. Uh, they smoked
Speaker 1: cigarettes and and they were truant, and uh, that's kind
Speaker 1: of the vibe we give all and then colleens like
Speaker 1: the one. Oh yeah, I just got into Penn and
Speaker 1: Columbia and Harvard. It's gonna be a tough decision for me.
Speaker 1: Where the burnouts. Meanwhile, I went to Drexel next to Pen.
Speaker 1: Nothing like Pen. But all right, Week six is here.
Speaker 1: How about that? And we have a full slate of
Speaker 1: NFL Action to dig into and preview and you know
Speaker 1: how the drill goes. Here, we have our Thursday preview.
Speaker 1: You could check us out on NFL Network on Saturday
Speaker 1: a version of this program and then on Sunday it
Speaker 1: is the flagship program where we recap every game that
Speaker 1: we just previewed here, so let's dig into it and
Speaker 1: we do it with a little flare, a little pizzaz
Speaker 1: draft style. And Connie, this is your first Thursday show
Speaker 1: with us in sometime. I'm even gonna say maybe years years,
Speaker 1: because you're such a star for the network now and
Speaker 1: you're connected to the biggest entity we have, Thursday Night Football,
Speaker 1: so we're very happy to have you. You will be
Speaker 1: picking first as an expansion franchise in our draft set up,
Speaker 1: so let it rip Contie Fox, Bucky Me. Yeah, no
Speaker 1: t NF this week. But I was like, I must
Speaker 1: be on television or on a sub type of property
Speaker 1: on Thursday. So here I am. Okay, uh right off
Speaker 1: the bat, number one overall pick. I'm going straight to
Speaker 1: the afternoon window, one of only two games being played,
Speaker 1: and that's Packers going down to Tampa Bay. This game
Speaker 1: I cannot wait for. I am planning my entire day
Speaker 1: around it. You have Aaron Rodgers who has just looked incredible.
Speaker 1: The Packers are four and o for the first time
Speaker 1: since they're averaging thirty eight points per game, zero turnovers,
Speaker 1: and Aaron Rodgers four touchdowns. Last Monday only six in completions.
Speaker 1: He has half as many touchdowns uh this year as
Speaker 1: he had all of last season. He's on pace for
Speaker 1: a ridiculous amount of touchdowns to throw something like fifty
Speaker 1: two touchdowns to zero interception. And he's getting help back
Speaker 1: this week with Davante Adams, who hasn't played since Week two.
Speaker 1: That's when he heard himself as hamstring against the Vikings
Speaker 1: the week one he was fourteen for one six two touchdowns.
Speaker 1: We know Alan Lazard's status is up in the air,
Speaker 1: but Robert Tonyan last week came out of nowhere three touchdowns.
Speaker 1: He has five touchdowns screw four weeks. He was the dude.
Speaker 1: And I am really interested though, to flip it over
Speaker 1: to the buck side of things here. I'm interested to
Speaker 1: see how Aaron Jones runs against this number one ranked
Speaker 1: run defense in Tampa Bay, especially after they lost Vita
Speaker 1: Vea in that Thursday night game against the Bears, the
Speaker 1: huge loss. He's one of the best players at any position,
Speaker 1: I think early in the season Vita Villa and so
Speaker 1: you wonder how it changes. But they have a pretty
Speaker 1: good backup, a pretty good line. What is it Roaches
Speaker 1: who has been playing really well and It's also the
Speaker 1: toughest defensive backfield that Aaron Rodgers place. If you look
Speaker 1: at these cornerbacks like people don't know him, Murphy Button
Speaker 1: and Carlton Davis and Jamal Dean, but they're physical and
Speaker 1: the pack Ers have not really played a great secondary
Speaker 1: all year. Not it's not taking anything away from what
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers has done. He's been amazing, but Todd Bowls
Speaker 1: will cookie up with some blitz is. He needs a
Speaker 1: little more help from the guys up front. Jason Pierre
Speaker 1: Paul and Mark Sessler's nemesis Shack Barrett haven't totally been
Speaker 1: getting it done this year. But the defensive backfield for
Speaker 1: this team, I love it. They're young, they fly around,
Speaker 1: and they hit, and I think they're gonna make it
Speaker 1: tough Ron Rodgers than any game this season. Mark Well,
Speaker 1: I made peace with Shack Barrett. I was wrong in
Speaker 1: my in my calculations of him a year ago, vastly
Speaker 1: and so you know, take a take the l when
Speaker 1: you have to. But I would point to JayR Alexander
Speaker 1: in Green Bay's secondary, who when we last saw him
Speaker 1: in Week four, erased Calvin Ridley, eraised Julio Jones, I mean,
Speaker 1: this was one of the better cornerback performances of the
Speaker 1: year on the flip side of the ball. You're right, Colleen,
Speaker 1: they were missing all those guys on offense, and I
Speaker 1: have to give Matt Lafleur a ton of credit. It
Speaker 1: was one of the more creative game plans we've seen
Speaker 1: all year. They came out in Week four with PFF's
Speaker 1: most official an offense with a ton of guys out there,
Speaker 1: have Davante Adams back, you know a year ago. And
Speaker 1: for many years I've been down on the Packers because
Speaker 1: I'm not always wedded to these teams that get predicted
Speaker 1: to go into the super Bowl for ten years in
Speaker 1: a row and never get there. And it's like, gonna
Speaker 1: do it. Dial that back up over again. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: lock it up. I'm not building up to it up.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna doust the Packers with a little bit of respect.
Speaker 1: I see this team completely differently than I did I
Speaker 1: did a year ago. They're complete. Matt Lafleur has like
Speaker 1: a Super Bowl operation on his hand. They just gotta
Speaker 1: keep rolling. I think they're gonna take care of business here.
Speaker 1: They played a nearly perfect first quarter of the season,
Speaker 1: and you saw when you entered this year there were
Speaker 1: teams that showed up underprepared and they flamed out. The
Speaker 1: Packers were the opposite. They hit the ground running. And
Speaker 1: this stat that I saw Bob McGinn, who obviously is
Speaker 1: the king of Packers beat coverage, had this. Green Bay's
Speaker 1: the first team in NFL history to score at least
Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty points without a turnover in their
Speaker 1: first four games. So not only are they lighting up
Speaker 1: teams well over thirty points a game, they're also playing
Speaker 1: mistake free football. It's been perfect. And you know, I
Speaker 1: do agree with you guys that the Bucks are going
Speaker 1: to pose a bigger challenge. I think Tom Brady is
Speaker 1: gonna be super annoyed after what happened uh the last
Speaker 1: time we saw him, losing track of downs and all that.
Speaker 1: But I find it hard to pick against the Packers
Speaker 1: right now because they've been such a well balanced machine.
Speaker 1: And the Bucks are going to help them out too,
Speaker 1: because all they do is get flagged. They have to
Speaker 1: clean up the penalties. They had eleven penalties last week
Speaker 1: for a hundred and nine yards, so that's something that
Speaker 1: needs to change. But I also, by the way, I
Speaker 1: thought Ronald Jones was one of the kind of loan
Speaker 1: bright spots in that game. Uh. In that tiannap game
Speaker 1: against the Bears, he ran for a hundred a little
Speaker 1: over a hundred yards. He has back hundred yard games.
Speaker 1: So Roe Joe, let's let's see if he can keep
Speaker 1: it going. He was moving well. Yeah. I was impressed
Speaker 1: by him on Thursday and it as well, and he's
Speaker 1: playing the best defense for it. We haven't mentioned the
Speaker 1: Packers defense at all because it's not good there twenty
Speaker 1: nine in in d v O A right now in efficiency,
Speaker 1: like Mike Patton and Mark Sessler went through this like
Speaker 1: he seems to make his defense is just inviting you
Speaker 1: to run the ball against him. That's just what they do.
Speaker 1: And they'll they'll cook up some pressures and they're pretty
Speaker 1: good in coverage. But I'm with you, Colleen, this feels
Speaker 1: like a road Joe game Leonard for net game. I
Speaker 1: like the Bucks to win this game. Get him off
Speaker 1: the schneide, said Cleil Mack. And he gave he gave
Speaker 1: Brady a lot of trouble. And you know, you can
Speaker 1: maybe get to Brady in this, but I'm with you.
Speaker 1: The Packers defense last year was applying consistent heat and
Speaker 1: they've got to do that to be productive. But their
Speaker 1: offense is kind of masking over all those issues. All right,
Speaker 1: looking forward to this one back as well. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: what was that kind of Chris Godwin? Yes, one of them.
Speaker 1: They have not have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin together
Speaker 1: for a full game yet this season. It's Collie. I
Speaker 1: know you're used to being the host and uh, but
Speaker 1: when the host is trying to transition for you to
Speaker 1: step on it that we're in a lot of trouble.
Speaker 1: Now is the show. But we're gonna try to power
Speaker 1: through it, all right. I'm gonna try to get the
Speaker 1: reins back of the show from Colleen after that power play,
Speaker 1: and I will go with let's see, oh yeah, hammer
Speaker 1: a little Monday afternoon uh football, Late afternoon football, the
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs at the Buffalo Bills. I gotta be honest.
Speaker 1: I mean, name like a draft where you had someone
Speaker 1: in the first overall pick that was you know, can't
Speaker 1: turned out okay, and then a Hall of famer went
Speaker 1: number two overall. That's how I feel right now. I
Speaker 1: love this game. The Chiefs humbled by the Raiders their
Speaker 1: first loss since November last week, and you know, they
Speaker 1: sprung some leaks. Let's be honest, Greg, you you've been
Speaker 1: on this a little bit. I'll give you credit that
Speaker 1: their offense, while they're still putting up points, something seems
Speaker 1: to be a little bit off there or they're just
Speaker 1: not clicking. They got shut out for most of the
Speaker 1: second half. I a very you know, suspect Vegas defense
Speaker 1: and the Bills. I don't know what to make of
Speaker 1: the Bills, Mark and I spoke about it on our
Speaker 1: Recap Mini Recap show earlier this week. What do you
Speaker 1: make of like a Tuesday night game and a COVID
Speaker 1: nineteen world where the team shows up flat and uninspired.
Speaker 1: You you got to give them some heat for the
Speaker 1: getting a forty burger dropped on them, but also maybe
Speaker 1: a little bit of a pass, especially with how well
Speaker 1: the Bills had been playing. But the big takeaway here, uh, Mark,
Speaker 1: is that one of these teams that Chiefs and Bills,
Speaker 1: two Super Bowl contenders in the a f C, are
Speaker 1: gonna be riding a two game losing streak after Monday night. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think there's a consistent issue with Buffalo's defense, and
Speaker 1: we saw it against Tennessee where they were just taking
Speaker 1: them to town with passes right up the middle, funneling
Speaker 1: right up the middle, and I mean, this is just
Speaker 1: is not the Buffalo defense that we're used to under
Speaker 1: Sean McDermott. But I will point to one thing about
Speaker 1: that Chiefs game. I know that it got away from
Speaker 1: them in the second half against the Raiders. They were
Speaker 1: up twenty one to ten midway through the second quarter
Speaker 1: with a deep, beautiful, one of the better touch down
Speaker 1: tosses we will see from a Homes to Tyreek Hill.
Speaker 1: They got wiped out by a flag, which would have
Speaker 1: made it a completely different game. I give the Raiders
Speaker 1: all the credit for what happened in the second half,
Speaker 1: but I don't look at that. I'm not in panic
Speaker 1: mode over Kansas City's offense at this point. It's just
Speaker 1: been a notch below what we're what we would have expected,
Speaker 1: and probably what we expected coming out a week one
Speaker 1: where they were a knockout punch. Well, they were first
Speaker 1: in the league and in net yards per attempt in
Speaker 1: his for Mahomes his first year as I started, they
Speaker 1: were first in the league when he was in the lineup.
Speaker 1: The non map more games in and they're twelve right now,
Speaker 1: so they're they're just not as efficient throwing the bob.
Speaker 1: But I'm with you. That throw to Tyreek Hill was
Speaker 1: the best throw of the NFL season so far. It
Speaker 1: was seventy yards down the field. This stuff is now
Speaker 1: happening on an almost weekly basis with Mahomes and we're
Speaker 1: just like, Oh, that's normal. That's that was. That was
Speaker 1: That was sixty six yards. Great, come on, let's be fair. Okay,
Speaker 1: I don't even care. I'm counting at seventy. I'm rounding up.
Speaker 1: It's let me have me my fun. And he had
Speaker 1: a couple of throws, um that just let you know
Speaker 1: who he is. But it's almost like the balance of
Speaker 1: how much he's gonna improvise, how much he's gonna go
Speaker 1: a little crazy Mahomes and just make up some wild
Speaker 1: stuff is a little lot of whack right now. He's
Speaker 1: almost counting on that too much. I think Josh Allen
Speaker 1: is actually a little more in line of staying within
Speaker 1: the system there. They're similar quarterbacks in some ways and
Speaker 1: that they have to sort of have that balance. Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers has struggled with that over the years, whether how
Speaker 1: much do you make up how much do you do
Speaker 1: in scheme? They need to do a little more in scheme.
Speaker 1: Let your boy, Colleen Andy Reid like, get his play
Speaker 1: calls then and just follow him. I know that's true.
Speaker 1: And watching the Chiefs, I saw a huge drop off
Speaker 1: when collect assembly went down in that game. Who was
Speaker 1: already filling in for Lauren du ren A Tardif who
Speaker 1: opted out of the season because of COVID. Mike Ramers
Speaker 1: came in and the Raiders were able to pressure Mahomes
Speaker 1: over and over again. He couldn't get anything going in
Speaker 1: the second half. They only scored eight points in that half.
Speaker 1: And the Bills d line is super talented, so I
Speaker 1: think that could be a huge factor. Yeah, the Mahomes
Speaker 1: was pressured sixteen times. I mean that is the second
Speaker 1: most pressures he's had in a game in his NFL career.
Speaker 1: And is that a What is going on there? Is
Speaker 1: that on Mahomes for holding the ball too long trying
Speaker 1: to make plays? Is that an offensive line that maybe
Speaker 1: we're overlooking as being overrated And now you have no
Speaker 1: Assemile was off to that hot start, as Colleen said,
Speaker 1: very interesting game. And Josh Allen, I am not like
Speaker 1: I said, Tuesday Night football, weird kind of dumb. But
Speaker 1: that's which is weird and dumb. Uh. He did look
Speaker 1: a little bit like that Josh Allen of the first
Speaker 1: two years of his career, with some of the scattershot
Speaker 1: accuracy and the mistakes. I'm not saying I'm gonna put
Speaker 1: too much into it. He also had some big throws
Speaker 1: that very few quarterbacks can make. I want to see
Speaker 1: if he kind of now back on more of a
Speaker 1: normalized schedule, delivers the type of m VP level Josh
Speaker 1: Allen performance that we had seen in the early weeks
Speaker 1: of the season. Alright up next in the draft. Alright, uh,
Speaker 1: next up, Let's take the Sunday night football game between
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco forty Niners.
Speaker 1: I think this is one of the biggest early games
Speaker 1: of the season because it's a it's a part where okay,
Speaker 1: it's not just two good teams, it's the NFC champion
Speaker 1: from a year ago possibly getting knocked to the ground
Speaker 1: and really in a position where they're not going to
Speaker 1: be able to come back. In the NFC West. It
Speaker 1: reminds me so much of when the Rams and the
Speaker 1: forty Niners played in Weeks six a year ago, and
Speaker 1: that was the game, and we watched it from London.
Speaker 1: Remember those times you could get on airplanes. We watched
Speaker 1: it from London on on TV and we thought, oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, the forty Niners are just taking the Rams
Speaker 1: lunch money and this is gonna continue. Like I don't
Speaker 1: think the Rams are going to recover from this. They
Speaker 1: never did, and now the Rams are the team that
Speaker 1: are bullying teams that are running the ball really well.
Speaker 1: It's the forty Niners who have the offensive line problems.
Speaker 1: It's the forty Niners who have the past. Rush is
Speaker 1: like a little out of whack and you sort of
Speaker 1: think that Sean McVeigh, and he said as much. They responded,
Speaker 1: I think to what the forty Niners did a year ago,
Speaker 1: and they say, we want to be a little more
Speaker 1: like that. We want short passing their attempts, which is
Speaker 1: crazy for for a Rams team. We want Jimmy Jared
Speaker 1: Goff to be a little bit like two thousand nineteen
Speaker 1: Jimmy Garoppolo. Just stay out of the way and let
Speaker 1: our tough guys win it. And that's what they're doing,
Speaker 1: and they can deliver a knockout blow right now to
Speaker 1: the forty Niners. I'm excited for this one. You know, Greg,
Speaker 1: I would say the one difference though, I mean, there
Speaker 1: are a lot of differences. But when we watched that
Speaker 1: game in London, and that was the game where Robert
Speaker 1: Sala started to pump is fist pumping on the sideline
Speaker 1: right right, so that wasn't the thing, but they did
Speaker 1: not have he was going mad. This secondary is shredd
Speaker 1: and if you go back and watch that Dolphins incineration
Speaker 1: of San Francisco, I mean, over and over, I kept
Speaker 1: seeing this guy number forty eight in San Francisco secondary
Speaker 1: getting flamed by Fitzpatrick in the passing game and it
Speaker 1: was a practice squad cover man Brian Allen who brought
Speaker 1: up and at this point is probably working in a
Speaker 1: convenience store somewhere because it was he was victimized over
Speaker 1: and over. I feel bad for the guy because it
Speaker 1: was a tough spot. In that same game, you have
Speaker 1: George Kittle two weeks ago going fife with a touchdown
Speaker 1: down to four catches forty four yards. They just were
Speaker 1: not on their game. I think where he mostarred is
Speaker 1: one of the better running backs in the league. He's
Speaker 1: another week out from his injury. He'll be healthier. I
Speaker 1: am not giving up on this Niners team yet, but
Speaker 1: this is a tough draw with Los Angeles. I'm very
Speaker 1: worried about the Niners offensive line. Greg. You mentioned it,
Speaker 1: and we just saw Jimmy g He got pulled at
Speaker 1: halftime in the blowout loss to the Dolphins because of
Speaker 1: that ankle to protect him. Kyle Shannon said that he
Speaker 1: was going to continue to monitor the whole situation. But
Speaker 1: Aaron Donald is on the other side of this thing,
Speaker 1: and he's coming off another n SC Defensive Player of
Speaker 1: the Leak Award. He leads the league with seven and
Speaker 1: a half sacks, is tied for first with quarterback Hits,
Speaker 1: Third and TfL. He's on pace for twenty four sacks Dan,
Speaker 1: So watch out, Michael Strahan. You have to see what
Speaker 1: he didn't know. Not locking it up. Sorry, not doing it.
Speaker 1: Not doing it. I have another one in store for you, guys.
Speaker 1: But Aaron Donald had four snacks last week against Washington
Speaker 1: and this offensive line for San Francisco, they give up
Speaker 1: the fourth most sacks in the NFL. They have just
Speaker 1: not done a good job. Thank communication has been off
Speaker 1: and when you have Aaron Donald on the other side
Speaker 1: and Jimmy G potentially not one that could be an issue.
Speaker 1: The whole world is rooting for you, Aaron Donald, make
Speaker 1: the sack record great again. I'm with you, buddy. Get
Speaker 1: twenty four. Yeah, blow twenty one and a half out
Speaker 1: of the water, whatever it is. Two things adventures in
Speaker 1: football punditry, uh dummy, dumb both from this game. Number one,
Speaker 1: the theory that it's okay, it's okay that Nick Mullen's
Speaker 1: bombed out a little bit because Jimmy G's back now
Speaker 1: and he's gonna be fine, and now there's no quarterback controversy. Well,
Speaker 1: what happens with Jimmy G stinks out the joint and
Speaker 1: his ankle still hurts, and now you've got Nick Mullins
Speaker 1: who's shell shocked and c J. Bethard, who's you know?
Speaker 1: C J. Bethord. So that was a dumb theory propagated
Speaker 1: by this podcast and me as well. The other one,
Speaker 1: the idea of going into the season at the Rams
Speaker 1: were a franchise in transition. I don't don't take the
Speaker 1: Rams too seriously this year. They have cap problems, they
Speaker 1: don't have a lot of draft uh stock right now,
Speaker 1: they're they're kind of rebuilding a little bit while trying
Speaker 1: to stay. But no, the Rams are a real NFC
Speaker 1: contender right now. I love this ramp teams. I hate
Speaker 1: I hate where the Niners are right now. I think
Speaker 1: they're catching them at the right time. I think the
Speaker 1: Niners are taking a dirt nap. And that's why you
Speaker 1: put it all together. I'm locking it up. Angela's football.
Speaker 1: Rams will wipe the floor with the Niners up there
Speaker 1: in the wine and cheese bar. All right, we have
Speaker 1: come now to the end of the first round. Mark
Speaker 1: you're up. You know. I think it that you all
Speaker 1: expect me to go a certain way with this. The
Speaker 1: Cleveland fan inside of me, I'm gonna go in a
Speaker 1: different direction. Okay, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go Bears at Carolina Panthers. I watched this Panthers game
Speaker 1: against the Falcons last week and my Matt Rule fascination.
Speaker 1: I think we were well aware of it. It's growing.
Speaker 1: Everyone thought this is a team they're gonna be two
Speaker 1: and fourteen. It's a rebuilding job. It's going to take,
Speaker 1: you know, four or five years. Then we'll see what
Speaker 1: he's doing with this squad. Suddenly they're three and two
Speaker 1: and they're playing you know who they were four or
Speaker 1: five years you did ye. Most people were like they
Speaker 1: had nothing to go one fifteen. Yeah, you know what,
Speaker 1: look at I don't get know what any of you
Speaker 1: said about it. Here's the point, Well, it was just
Speaker 1: let say it was not everyone. I don't think it
Speaker 1: was just you. I think I think there were columns
Speaker 1: written that Carolina had the built in excuse with COVID
Speaker 1: and coordinators that had never been at the NFL level
Speaker 1: blah u lah. And instead they're just beguiling opponents. They
Speaker 1: are three and two because they have one more intriguing
Speaker 1: offenses in the league right now. I mean, Robby Anderson
Speaker 1: is working out, He's had nine plus yards in like
Speaker 1: eight games in a row. Teddy Bridgewater fits here well,
Speaker 1: d J Moore yards after the catch guy, and what
Speaker 1: do you do with Mike Davis when Christian McCaffrey comes back.
Speaker 1: Mike Davis is one of the more fascinating backs I've watched,
Speaker 1: like in the last three or four weeks. He's a
Speaker 1: tough runner. Their defense, which people thought would just be
Speaker 1: left out at Sea, is doing pretty well as well.
Speaker 1: And you know what, not all four and one teams
Speaker 1: are created equal. And I'm looking at you Bears. I'm
Speaker 1: not buying it right now. And that's why I confidently
Speaker 1: confidently we'll be locking up. I'm not gonna go take
Speaker 1: one of these undefeated teams in the lock. I'm locking
Speaker 1: up the Carolina Panthers because their playoff journey is just beginning.
Speaker 1: Wow Wow, Mark. I'm a little worried though about the
Speaker 1: Panthers defense. They have a lot of key injuries right
Speaker 1: now with the shoulder injury. Both edge rudgers were held
Speaker 1: out of practice this week early in the week. At
Speaker 1: least Brian Burns has a concussion e tour Gross Matos
Speaker 1: has the ankle injury. You have Dante Jackson who was
Speaker 1: limited in the back end in the secondary. There's there's
Speaker 1: a lot to maybe be actions about. But I love
Speaker 1: how confident you are in this, Mae. You're making me.
Speaker 1: You're talking me off the ledge, Mark. I'll say one
Speaker 1: thing like the Bears offense will leave you less worried.
Speaker 1: I mean, they specialized in scoring twenty points are under
Speaker 1: and just waiting for their defense to capitalize with a
Speaker 1: big play or a defensive turnover that turns into a touchdown.
Speaker 1: I don't trust Chicago's offense at all. That's the point here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: how can you and the best play? The best thing
Speaker 1: I saw from the Chicago offense this year it was
Speaker 1: Nick Foles like yelling at Matt Naggy, like him just saying, no,
Speaker 1: let's do it this way. Stop calling these plays. I
Speaker 1: want to do a hurry of trust me. I won
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. I'm not even joking that that moment
Speaker 1: gave me some confidence. Like maybe Folds can lead them
Speaker 1: out of this, because when you watch them, it's a
Speaker 1: tough watch. I'm with you, Mark. I like the Panthers
Speaker 1: in this game. Uh, the Bears missed Tarik Cohen too much.
Speaker 1: When Tarik Cohen is out and like that really hamstrings
Speaker 1: your offense. That's a problem. And the Panthers, I think,
Speaker 1: can mitigate what the Bears do well, which is rushed
Speaker 1: the passer. They get rid of the ball so quickly,
Speaker 1: like Teddy has not been touched. Sometimes the offensive line
Speaker 1: is about coaching, it's about the scheme. Uh. And I
Speaker 1: don't think you'll hear much. Robert Quinn has been quiet lately.
Speaker 1: If chem Hicks isn't quite the same as he was
Speaker 1: before the injury, so it's really just Khalil Mack. I
Speaker 1: think the Panthers can get a win here, and they can.
Speaker 1: They can prove the doubters like Dan wrong. It's been
Speaker 1: a tough one for you. Dan. I'm really struggling with
Speaker 1: this because I understand that the Panthers are the greatest
Speaker 1: team in the history of professional football now because they've
Speaker 1: beaten a couple of teams. Uh, And I would have, actually,
Speaker 1: to be completely honest with you, I wanted to lock
Speaker 1: the Panthers up in this game because I like the
Speaker 1: way the Panthers are playing, and I don't like this
Speaker 1: Bears team very much. But I know it means so
Speaker 1: much to Mark and Greg that they have this corner
Speaker 1: that I don't want to be on your corner. So
Speaker 1: I can and I wouldn't, Dan, Dan, because like dance
Speaker 1: to to make sure Dan that that's not just like
Speaker 1: a device on your part. I welcome you to come
Speaker 1: lock it up together. No, I don't want to do that.
Speaker 1: I want you to enjoy this this moment. I think
Speaker 1: the Panthers are playing great football. I you know, Okay,
Speaker 1: so maybe they're not going to go three and thirteen
Speaker 1: and and improve as the season goes along, would still
Speaker 1: be a bad team. But I guess I'm not ready
Speaker 1: to say that the Panthers are some like supremely great team.
Speaker 1: I think they've caught some teams at the right time.
Speaker 1: I think when the schedule tightens up, like the Saints
Speaker 1: next week, we might see a very different result. Maybe
Speaker 1: I'll be wrong, but this seems like it's shaping up
Speaker 1: for another great set up for all the Panther supporters
Speaker 1: on this podcast. Because I don't think the Bears are
Speaker 1: very good. M I don't think so we're not gonna win, Greg,
Speaker 1: We're not gonna win with Dan here, So just to
Speaker 1: lock it up and dance, basically doing the equivalent of
Speaker 1: hold me back, I'm not going to do it, So
Speaker 1: I don't. I just doesn't feel right, Okay, uh up
Speaker 1: next Mark on the Snake. Well, and you know the
Speaker 1: reason I didn't have to go Cleveland at Pittsburgh is
Speaker 1: because I knew I had two picks in a row.
Speaker 1: So let's be real about that. This game has me
Speaker 1: a little scared, and I've I've been like not jumping
Speaker 1: on the Browns thing yet because you have to beat
Speaker 1: these teams in your own division. They were handled by Baltimore.
Speaker 1: I know that feels like a long time ago, going
Speaker 1: into Pittsburgh where they have not one since two thousand
Speaker 1: and three. I watched that game a billion years ago
Speaker 1: at my parents house on like a vacation from like
Speaker 1: a terrible job I was on in Los Angeles. So
Speaker 1: it's been a long time. And I'll tell you something else.
Speaker 1: This is a study in contrast. This Browns team has
Speaker 1: scored thirty points four games in a row for the
Speaker 1: first time since like the FDR administration. All right, but
Speaker 1: the Steelers have not allowed thirty since the opener of
Speaker 1: last year when the Patriots waxed them. The Browns offense
Speaker 1: leads the NFL in big plays, but we've seen their defense,
Speaker 1: and they've also allowed an a f C high twelve
Speaker 1: touchdown passes. The Browns have this great offense of line,
Speaker 1: but Baker Mayfield is a little banged up, and I'm
Speaker 1: worried about t J. Watt, Bud Duprie, Cam Hayward steph
Speaker 1: onto it. The whole cast and crew that has made
Speaker 1: a cottage industry out of beating up on the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 1: There since two thousand. The Steelers lead this series thirty four,
Speaker 1: six and one. I thought that the only series that
Speaker 1: might have a more lopsided scenario would be Jets Patriots,
Speaker 1: and that's thirty one eleven, just a little bit better
Speaker 1: than than Cleveland Pittsburgh. So Dan, that tells me that
Speaker 1: this is one of those games for psychology for the
Speaker 1: Browns fandom plays in. This would be a huge win
Speaker 1: for Cleveland to go five and one, take care of
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh and take care of a team that is psychologically destroyed.
Speaker 1: You since I was a youth, let's do this or
Speaker 1: what do I do? I have to be measured again
Speaker 1: in my in my look at the Browns going into
Speaker 1: a week later, this is a huge hashtag statement game
Speaker 1: for the Browns if they can go to Pittsburgh. And
Speaker 1: we don't talk about this much on our on our
Speaker 1: show here, but the Desert people are giving the Browns respect.
Speaker 1: There's an idea here that the Browns can do this because,
Speaker 1: like you're saying, they make big players on offense, their
Speaker 1: defense is opportunistic. They're turning the ball over. And to me,
Speaker 1: this is because I think he's one of the more
Speaker 1: interesting figures in the NFL, and not just because of
Speaker 1: his prolific advertising work. Baker Mayfield is just like kind
Speaker 1: of an interesting dude UH to track in his career.
Speaker 1: And I think this is a fascinating game for him
Speaker 1: because we talked about at their previous game, he was
Speaker 1: awesome in the first half, he was not good in
Speaker 1: the second half, and he got banged up with a
Speaker 1: rib injury. So you wonder where he's at health wise,
Speaker 1: and you wonder if he is up for the challenge
Speaker 1: to win a game for the Browns, if he has to, uh,
Speaker 1: if the running games not clicking against the very good
Speaker 1: Steelers defense on the road. I can't wait for this one.
Speaker 1: This Steelers defense, though, lead the NFL in sacks they
Speaker 1: have They average five sacks in game twenty total. That's
Speaker 1: having played one fewer game than of the league and
Speaker 1: Mark you talked about, T J. Watton, Bud Dupree, They've
Speaker 1: combined for seven than a half sacks, a forced fumble,
Speaker 1: and interception through four games. But this Brown's offensive line,
Speaker 1: these tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr. They're probably
Speaker 1: the best that the Steelers have faced so far. Baker
Speaker 1: has only been sacked six times or seven times. That's
Speaker 1: six fewest in the league. So I don't know what
Speaker 1: we know that the guard Wyatt Teller, who is kind
Speaker 1: of taking the league by storm. I feel like he's
Speaker 1: one of the trendiest guards in the NFL right now.
Speaker 1: He's week to week with a cap strain, so I
Speaker 1: am really interested to see how they hold up against
Speaker 1: this relentless Steelers defense. Right Their protection has been so good.
Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons why I don't think Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield has been any better this year than than a
Speaker 1: year ago. I think he's like a little worse. It
Speaker 1: really is a reminder of how much your surroundings matter.
Speaker 1: He's had some moments, but he's been a little erratic.
Speaker 1: It's really surprising. Both these teams are so good right
Speaker 1: now with their quarterbacks playing like against type, Like Big
Speaker 1: Ben is not hitting any throws down the field. Mark
Speaker 1: mentioned it last throw. He's more like big Breeze like that.
Speaker 1: It's his style right now. It's these little game manager
Speaker 1: really smart before the snap, like he's he's big Breeze.
Speaker 1: Let's give him twenty nine breeze. That's fine. Like it's working.
Speaker 1: They're they're efficient and you could spell You could spell
Speaker 1: it with like like breeze the wind, and then have
Speaker 1: a little graphic element to it. Big Breeze is a
Speaker 1: new nickname for Big Ben, and I think it could stick.
Speaker 1: Money Badgers. I want to ride this thing. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: make T shirts. We need some extra money here in
Speaker 1: uh in the COVID times. It's hard times out there.
Speaker 1: Dealers fans to buy that shirt. I don't think Steelers fans. Mark,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put you on the spot here. Pick the
Speaker 1: game and the score. Well, I had a chat with
Speaker 1: our good friend Dave Damna Check, and I picked that
Speaker 1: Cleveland would win an overtime thirty one. I had picked
Speaker 1: against them week after week. I just want to be
Speaker 1: optimistic and put good energy out there. And that's worked
Speaker 1: in the past, you know, five years from me, so
Speaker 1: why would it not work again this time? All Right?
Speaker 1: You heard it here? First the Brownies five and on
Speaker 1: knocking the Steelers front of the ranks of the unbeaten.
Speaker 1: Time Now for Road to Victory, presented by the United
Speaker 1: States Marine Corps. The Draft rolls on with Greg Rosenthal.
Speaker 1: M I feel bad doing this with Colleen on the show,
Speaker 1: but I'm taking the Eagles game hosting, then, I mean,
Speaker 1: you're not even gonna be on our Sunday show. So
Speaker 1: this is the game I want to watch early because
Speaker 1: it's gonna have reason Rosenthal. Yeah, I'm taking a lot
Speaker 1: of shots right now. Sorry, it's just how I was
Speaker 1: raised for several Lamar Jackson is like the most explosive
Speaker 1: player in the league, and he's making explosive plays every week.
Speaker 1: But the Ravens offense is not nearly the same as
Speaker 1: it was a year ago. They are below average right
Speaker 1: now on Football Outsiders d v o A in terms
Speaker 1: of their offense efficiency. There's seventeen in the league. It's
Speaker 1: it's a little hard to imagine, but when you watch
Speaker 1: them struggle a week ago against the Bengal Is, you
Speaker 1: start to think, I don't know if there's a book
Speaker 1: out there for for Lamar Jackson, but they're doing a
Speaker 1: much better job slowing down his running in the Ravens
Speaker 1: running game, and it's it's no secret that that's kind
Speaker 1: of the base of where they're often starts. They have
Speaker 1: a lot of really good things going on still with
Speaker 1: Mark Andrews and Hollywood Brown explosive plays in these great blitzes,
Speaker 1: but Jim Schwartz, your boy, Colleen's gonna take a look
Speaker 1: at this, and they have some pass rushers, and I
Speaker 1: think they're gonna look for waste to slow down the
Speaker 1: running game and maybe have some answers for the Ravens.
Speaker 1: I think the anxiety meter should be through the roof
Speaker 1: with this game, with Lamar Jackson and the Eagles linebackers situation.
Speaker 1: This is a game where I mean, really, this is
Speaker 1: an entire season where the Eagles linebackers they've struggled. They
Speaker 1: failed to address that position in the off season and
Speaker 1: it showed for sure. But they haven't really faced any
Speaker 1: mobile quarterbacks yet this season. Maybe Joe Burrow is probably
Speaker 1: the most has eight five rushing yards, but beyond that,
Speaker 1: they faced Dwayne Haskins, Jared Golf, Nick Mullins, and c. J.
Speaker 1: Beathard and then Ben Roethlisberger, so none of those guys
Speaker 1: are are truly mobile like Lamar Jackson is. And then
Speaker 1: of course, as you mentioned, they have Mark Andrews to
Speaker 1: who this is an Eagles team who was allowed the
Speaker 1: I Theiny've really struggled against tight ends. They've allowed the
Speaker 1: fifth fifth most catches the six months receiving yards. The
Speaker 1: third most touchdowns, so that could be an issue. So
Speaker 1: maybe it get right game for this Ravens offense. But yeah, Greg,
Speaker 1: you said it that Lamar Jackson the most explosive player
Speaker 1: in the league from a skill set stand standpoint. Yes,
Speaker 1: from what we saw last year. Yes, but that's like
Speaker 1: week five jumped out to me how his athleticism had
Speaker 1: been compromised somehow by the game plan of his opponent.
Speaker 1: He had three rushing yards in week five three. I
Speaker 1: mean that's speaking of like, that's Philip Rivers level rushing total,
Speaker 1: so they I mean it is for like a game.
Speaker 1: So it's it makes you wonder what what they need
Speaker 1: to do in that building in Baltimore to to unlock this.
Speaker 1: Because if there is a book out here on slowing
Speaker 1: down Lamar Jackson, you have plenty of time to figure
Speaker 1: out how to solve that. You have ten or eleven
Speaker 1: games here, But he is not nearly the same player
Speaker 1: as he has been uh last year. So it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a challenge for a Ravens coaching staff that you
Speaker 1: have all the faith in the world, and but to
Speaker 1: get this going in the right direction again, I would
Speaker 1: also like to see things getting in the right direction
Speaker 1: for Carson Wentz. And I know that they faced the
Speaker 1: Steelers defense last week and we just talked about them
Speaker 1: in their past rush. But and this is a thing
Speaker 1: with Carson Wentz sometimes, I just feel like there were
Speaker 1: a couple of plays last week where he was walking
Speaker 1: into danger, walking into sacks. I tweeted that it seemed
Speaker 1: kind of like in the horror film where like the
Speaker 1: girl goes back into the house where the killer is
Speaker 1: and walks up to stairs, like we we all know
Speaker 1: you shouldn't be doing this, but you're doing it, and
Speaker 1: we know how it's gonna end up, and you know
Speaker 1: when still makes his plays, But I know that you
Speaker 1: know they've got everyone and injured all the time. But
Speaker 1: this offense to me, outside of like a big Miles
Speaker 1: Sanders running a little bit of our man fulham like,
Speaker 1: they just don't seem to have much going on. And
Speaker 1: I they're a tough watch right now. And that's been
Speaker 1: the case, Colleen. It feels like it's been the case
Speaker 1: for a long time for this Eagles of offense. I
Speaker 1: excited though about Travis fold Hum. Yeah, he has such
Speaker 1: an interesting story and the Eagles, I feel like, are
Speaker 1: a team that plays so much better when they're essentially
Speaker 1: in a choke zone, when they're a backs are up
Speaker 1: against the wall. I'm gonna throw out the old cliche.
Speaker 1: It's true. They played better with their backups, and fold
Speaker 1: Um is a guy that came out of nowhere. I
Speaker 1: feel like last week it was the Chase clay Poll
Speaker 1: Travis Fulghum showdown with the Eagles and the Steelers. But
Speaker 1: Carson Wentz he almost takes another hit at this point
Speaker 1: without even being the game because Lane Johnson, we just
Speaker 1: found out, is also playing through a painful ankle injury,
Speaker 1: so he probably shouldn't even be out there because they
Speaker 1: probably want that to heal and get right and not
Speaker 1: have anything any further setbacks with it. But with the
Speaker 1: way that they started the season and with the way
Speaker 1: that this offensive line is, they have to have Lane
Speaker 1: Johnson out there. It's because the key he's the most
Speaker 1: important player I think on their team other than other
Speaker 1: than Wentz, is Lane Johnson. They are not the same
Speaker 1: Like the backup at left tackle, it's kind of working out.
Speaker 1: The right tack will forget about it. Uh. But they're
Speaker 1: kind of in a weird spot because they're in the
Speaker 1: NFC East. It doesn't even feel like their backs over
Speaker 1: against Wall. They can lose these games and then the
Speaker 1: real season starts when they play the NFC East starting
Speaker 1: next week. And I would say I agree with Mark
Speaker 1: that Wentz continues to make killer mistakes. Is the second interception,
Speaker 1: I believe came on a desperation heat, but the third
Speaker 1: quarter interception, it's being compounded by he has these ill
Speaker 1: time second half turnovers. They're happening in the third quarter
Speaker 1: at lots and then the defense immediately lays down after that.
Speaker 1: It turns into like a completely game changing type situation.
Speaker 1: But the silver lining I saw, in addition to Fulgham
Speaker 1: and the idea that Jalen Reagor comes back and maybe
Speaker 1: one of these veteran guys gets back in the mix,
Speaker 1: the Sean or al Sean uh and and and stabilizes
Speaker 1: his offense. There was a stretch there once Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: got going. It was a rough first half where he
Speaker 1: really looked like himself in the second half of that game.
Speaker 1: And what you what you want is for him to
Speaker 1: build off that and get on a hot streak, because
Speaker 1: he can do that, and this is gonna be a
Speaker 1: really big test for him. But I know there's there
Speaker 1: is a lot of reason to be worried about whence
Speaker 1: he's now like blown past his career high in interceptions.
Speaker 1: But I thought I saw a glimmer in there. I
Speaker 1: don't know if we saw that, but I thought I
Speaker 1: saw it in there, and that that loss flash. Let's
Speaker 1: see if you can love zach Ertz. Though we don't.
Speaker 1: We're not seeing any glimmers, not Zachurts. To me, that's
Speaker 1: the bigger problem. Throwing the ball to zach Ertz has
Speaker 1: been the worst playing football this year, like statistically, like
Speaker 1: I think the problem, and it's what Eagles fans are
Speaker 1: talking about. It really is kind of shocking how slower
Speaker 1: and not strong he looks. The glimmer was Chase Claypool
Speaker 1: absolutely taking jail and Mills to town like over and
Speaker 1: over and over like a wild horse running through Philly's secondary.
Speaker 1: It's a good thing they don't see him for at
Speaker 1: least four more years. That was Road to Victory presented
Speaker 1: by the United States Marine Corps. Alright, let's move on
Speaker 1: the old Zeuser in the cat bird seat there wherever
Speaker 1: you want to sit where all right, here we go.
Speaker 1: Let's go with the Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys. That
Speaker 1: is my next selection in this draft Monday Night Football. Um,
Speaker 1: all right, so here's my theory and we talked about
Speaker 1: it on Sunday's recap show. I love this is the
Speaker 1: ultimate I know unfortunately Greg has decided you're not invited,
Speaker 1: but that was not Please come, Colleen, add some more
Speaker 1: work to your schedule. This is the ultimate test of
Speaker 1: the Dalton scale. I can't wait to see how Andy
Speaker 1: Dalton plays for the Cowboys because if Dalton, as the
Speaker 1: great Chris Westling has propagated for years, is the prime
Speaker 1: meridian of NFL quarterbacks, a man who rises and falls
Speaker 1: at the level of the players around him, well, then
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton's gonna ball out here in Dallas. I know
Speaker 1: the offensive line is nearly as good, and that is
Speaker 1: a concern, especially with Lyle Collins now out for the year.
Speaker 1: That just it's not the same group that it used
Speaker 1: to be. However, Um, you have an all Pro running
Speaker 1: back and you have the best trio of wide receivers
Speaker 1: in the league. And I believe that Dalton. And by
Speaker 1: the way, this just turned into a fantastic contract year
Speaker 1: for Andy Dalton. Now he gets a chance to show
Speaker 1: that he could put up points and hit the open market.
Speaker 1: I believe it was a one year deal with the Cowboys.
Speaker 1: So here is the game to watch because the Cardinals
Speaker 1: defense is a defense that he should be able to
Speaker 1: thrive against. Especially with Chandler Jones now out for the
Speaker 1: year with a biceps injury. That's a killer loss for
Speaker 1: the Cardinals. So that's where I'm looking Andy Dalton lighten
Speaker 1: up the Cards and getting Cowboys fans excited that there
Speaker 1: is hope to m hmm. Yeah, they're hoping they can
Speaker 1: get Devon Kennard back to With Chandler Jones being out
Speaker 1: for the season, that would that would be huge for
Speaker 1: them at least to get a little bit of help
Speaker 1: in that department. But you mentioned the Cowboys offensive line
Speaker 1: not being anywhere near what it used to be, especially
Speaker 1: now for Andy Dalton stepping in. They don't have Tyron
Speaker 1: Smith or Lyle Collins. As you mentioned, they have two
Speaker 1: undrafted rookies in their spots there, Brandon Knight and Terrence Steele,
Speaker 1: and they also have a rookie starting at center and
Speaker 1: Tyler be a dish. So this is not the same
Speaker 1: type of protection that Dak Prescott. The Cowboys used to
Speaker 1: have before. Now Andy Dalton's going to have to figure
Speaker 1: it out, and that starts with Ezekiel Elliott. I mean
Speaker 1: he his his scrimmage yards, the percentage that they're really
Speaker 1: using him for twenty two percent. He's only accounted for
Speaker 1: the Cowboys scrimmage yards that's in the NFL. That's way
Speaker 1: down from how they normally utilize him. Since his rookie year,
Speaker 1: he's averaged at least of the scrimmage yards, which is
Speaker 1: third most. So we should hopefully we see an uptick
Speaker 1: in his usage. Can I just throw one one caveat
Speaker 1: to that is that they've been playing from behind the locks,
Speaker 1: this terrible defense. I think they've gotten out of their
Speaker 1: game script a whole bunch this year. It makes sense, Greg,
Speaker 1: you mentioned it that they're gonna get Zeke more involved
Speaker 1: now with dak out Well, I think that's how they
Speaker 1: turned the game around last week. They were down seventeen three,
Speaker 1: and instead of throwing the ball all over the yard,
Speaker 1: they went on a seven minute drive against that Giants
Speaker 1: defense that was almost all Zeke and that's what helped
Speaker 1: turn that game around. I'm with you, Colleen, but I
Speaker 1: also think they'll take advantage of the matchups on the outside.
Speaker 1: To me, that's the biggest mismatch in this game that
Speaker 1: the Cardinals cornerbacks have struggled this year. Patrick Peterson came
Speaker 1: into the year, you know, really wanted to have a
Speaker 1: rejuvenated season. It isn't happening for him right now. They
Speaker 1: have Drake Kirkpatrick on the other side, who they signed
Speaker 1: pretty late in the game, the former Bengal he's struggling
Speaker 1: right now. And then you take out Chandler Jones. As
Speaker 1: you mentioned, it's like that is a major mismatch. Amari
Speaker 1: Cooper can light them up, Gallup can light them up.
Speaker 1: Seedee Lamb is doing it in the slot every week.
Speaker 1: That's a little tougher matchup against Arizona. But I kind
Speaker 1: of like uh Andy Dalton to have a nice night
Speaker 1: on Monday, can't You? Just like imagine the announcers saying
Speaker 1: that nobody thought they could do it without Duck, and
Speaker 1: their own was like, well, actually, plenty of people thought
Speaker 1: it's a nice water from last year, right It's a
Speaker 1: nice upgrade from when Brandon Weedon would step in for
Speaker 1: Tony Romo and you knew that the ship was gonna
Speaker 1: sink in about four and a half minutes. But I
Speaker 1: want to see more from Kyler Murray. I mean, are
Speaker 1: a wonderful producer. Jason Klemon spoke in my ear to
Speaker 1: remind you guys that he has never lost at Jerry World,
Speaker 1: dating back to his high school exploits. But speeding information
Speaker 1: in your ear. I don't get that individual. They love
Speaker 1: those stats. We're gonna hear that all week long. I
Speaker 1: like anything Jason says. How I start right there, Greg,
Speaker 1: you can flame our producer on network television. That feels
Speaker 1: like a idea for your career. How about Kyler Murray's career? Alright,
Speaker 1: I will see this offense become what it could be
Speaker 1: against the deepness the train back on the tracks. I
Speaker 1: love it, Kyler. Kyler Murray played the Jets last week
Speaker 1: and everyone wants to come and saying, oh y had
Speaker 1: a career high yards. That's fine. He and DeAndre Hopkins
Speaker 1: got hot at the end of the game. When I
Speaker 1: watched in that game was a Cardinals offense that just
Speaker 1: seems a little bit off to me. The ground game
Speaker 1: is hot and cold. I don't think you rest assually
Speaker 1: have a one A or a true starting running back there.
Speaker 1: You've got two good ones, and outside of DeAndre Hopkins,
Speaker 1: I don't trust a lot of the other receivers here.
Speaker 1: So this is a game where it's let's get back
Speaker 1: on track, Cliff Kingsbury and company. All right, let's move on, Colleen,
Speaker 1: you are up next. Okay, So you know what this
Speaker 1: one was buying some time here and not a big deal. Uh.
Speaker 1: This game was postponed last week and I am ready
Speaker 1: for it. I don't like that I had to wait.
Speaker 1: And it looks like both teams should be getting their
Speaker 1: starting quarterbacks back. I'm going with Broncos and Patriots here.
Speaker 1: Cam Newton removed off the COVID nineteen reserve list on Wednesday,
Speaker 1: so he's tracking to play. And in his three starts
Speaker 1: this season, look, we know how well he played. He
Speaker 1: was completing sixty percent of his passes, which is a
Speaker 1: career high for him, seven fourteen passing yards, rushing touchdowns,
Speaker 1: and a team high four touchdowns. So you have this
Speaker 1: team in the Broncos that they haven't faced a mobile
Speaker 1: quarterback yet this season. So Pam, we know how he
Speaker 1: trans really transforms this entire Patriots offense. And then Drew Lock,
Speaker 1: he should be back at practice back in the game
Speaker 1: as well. He was back at practice. He was sidelined
Speaker 1: since week two. We saw how things went with Brett
Speaker 1: Rippon and Jeff Driscoll in the game and did not
Speaker 1: go well. So hopefully this will be a little bit
Speaker 1: juicier with both starting quarterbacks back on the field. It
Speaker 1: should we get Stefan Gilmore back most likely to he was.
Speaker 1: He was back at the Patriots facility on Thursday. You
Speaker 1: figure he's gonna match up against Jerry Judy and if
Speaker 1: Gilmore can take away Judy, then lock Who's he looking for?
Speaker 1: Noah Fanse is uncertain at this point. To me, he
Speaker 1: is such a key engine to this offense, so you
Speaker 1: have to watch his status. But you hear Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: talk about Vic Fangio's defense the last two weeks, you know,
Speaker 1: singing uh songs about it. I'm I'm with them. It's
Speaker 1: it's amazing how well coached this Broncos defenses, and they've
Speaker 1: gotten better each week. Bradley Chubb is starting to look healthier.
Speaker 1: I think they can slow the Patriots down. It's really
Speaker 1: a run first Patriots team and that kind of invites
Speaker 1: these close games at the end, and I wouldn't be
Speaker 1: surprised if that's the case. On Sunday, one little lex
Speaker 1: factor here, the Broncos had their bye week taken away.
Speaker 1: I know, it's like we get it. Their millionaires to
Speaker 1: making a ton of money. They don't need to go
Speaker 1: on a big vacation during Corona time. That would agitate
Speaker 1: me if suddenly i had maybe my vacation taken away,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be charged. Go teach New England a lesson
Speaker 1: the Patriots. The Patriots they are the those players said,
Speaker 1: how annoyed they were. I really think this is a factor,
Speaker 1: a little bit on my radar. Yeah, the Patriots game
Speaker 1: gets postponed so Cam Newton could get better and back
Speaker 1: in the lineup. I'm not reading you think Drew Locks
Speaker 1: back for the Broncos. Let me lock this one up
Speaker 1: for Denver. A little bit of a difference between Drew
Speaker 1: lock and Cam Newton. Connie, it's snakes to you. I'm ready.
Speaker 1: I know exactly what game I'm taking. I'm going straight
Speaker 1: to Tennessee and I'm going Texans Titans in this one.
Speaker 1: Tennessee value to play and party, thank you very much.
Speaker 1: Last week, they held the Bills, which was a top
Speaker 1: five offense coming into the game. I think they were
Speaker 1: ranked four coming into the game. They held them to
Speaker 1: a season low sixteen points and Derrick Henry was just
Speaker 1: out there snatching souls and I feel like that is
Speaker 1: something that can continue this week against the Tech and
Speaker 1: the Texans second to worst run defense in the entire league.
Speaker 1: All of these teams have ran all over them. They're
Speaker 1: allowing a hundred and sixty point for rushing yards per game.
Speaker 1: They allowed three individual one hundred yard rushers. We saw
Speaker 1: Clyde Edwards, Hilaire do it. We saw James Conner, Derrick Henry,
Speaker 1: He's gonna be next. Alvin Cooke was in there as well.
Speaker 1: So I think that this is a game that the
Speaker 1: Titans could win. So handedly. Locking this one up, especially
Speaker 1: with a Jay Brown back in the mix, give me
Speaker 1: the Titans is the lock of the week. Look at you, Connie.
Speaker 1: You know it's funny. The the stiff heart, stiff arm
Speaker 1: heard round the world. Derrick Henry on Josh Norman, you
Speaker 1: know it, it's it humanizes a little bit because we
Speaker 1: have worked with Josh Norman in a professional capacity with
Speaker 1: Sky Sports for Super Bowl coverage, and when you look
Speaker 1: into the man's eyes from up close and you have
Speaker 1: conversations with the person. When you see his soul taken
Speaker 1: a national television, it doesn't feel it's not doesn't give
Speaker 1: you that same charge as if he was just the
Speaker 1: perfect stranger prevent me from family, because all those things
Speaker 1: you well know, but you see these you know, now
Speaker 1: it's becoming a thing where there's a picture of the
Speaker 1: Earth's glow, the Earth in space and like that that
Speaker 1: freeze frame picture of Josh Norman being tossed away from
Speaker 1: the Earth, and it's like, my thing was, You're right, Dan,
Speaker 1: I like, this guy was a nice guy to us.
Speaker 1: Um he was a pro and uh, you know got
Speaker 1: paid a little bit more than us too, and I
Speaker 1: respect him. So I was like, I'm not retweeting that,
Speaker 1: like I. It's different when you meet these guys. It
Speaker 1: truly is Mark giving away Sky Sports Financial. I love this.
Speaker 1: You know what. The crazy thing is that the next
Speaker 1: run that Derrick Henry had not that I needed anymore
Speaker 1: proof that he's one of the biggest badasses to ever
Speaker 1: play in the NFL, but it almost proved it more
Speaker 1: than that stiff farm because his next carry, you saw
Speaker 1: Tremaine Edmonds of the Bills that their middle linebacker kind
Speaker 1: of want to get revenge, like you just clowned us,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna come after you. And he came with the
Speaker 1: biggest running start possible to try to just like deliver
Speaker 1: one on Henry, and he just sort of bounced off him,
Speaker 1: and Henry gained about three more yards and got the
Speaker 1: first down after that, Like there is I've never seen
Speaker 1: a running back quite like Therrick Henry. Maybe Brandon Jacobs,
Speaker 1: but but Henry is just like so much more than
Speaker 1: right now because it's weird to averaging. He's not even
Speaker 1: playing that well this year, right He's not He's not
Speaker 1: even playing that well. Their running team hasn't gotten going.
Speaker 1: The last week actually reminded me, or at least made
Speaker 1: me think this year, if I could shoot, if I
Speaker 1: was a Titans fan and I could choose a J.
Speaker 1: Brown on the field or Derrick Henry, I think a J.
Speaker 1: Brown is more important because they're a past first team.
Speaker 1: That's how they're winning these games, and a J. Brown
Speaker 1: is so impressive. They're just a different passing game when
Speaker 1: he's out there. I love that you said that, Greg,
Speaker 1: because I think Arthur Smith and I know Dan that
Speaker 1: we we talked about these sounds like he's the front
Speaker 1: you know, the frontman for like a painting company somewhere.
Speaker 1: But he is a he is a needs he needs
Speaker 1: a nickname. But they came out, they came out leaning
Speaker 1: heavily on their play action and like they Tannehill has
Speaker 1: been really really good in this offense. I mean, I
Speaker 1: just think he is one of the tougher, grittier dudes
Speaker 1: out there. He's fine taking a gigantic shot and throwing
Speaker 1: it and completing at forty yards downfield. And their passing
Speaker 1: game is very important, you know, as it was down
Speaker 1: the stretch last year too. But they're able to move
Speaker 1: the ball without Derrick Henry running for four hundred and
Speaker 1: six yards and three touchdowns Legarrett Blunt style game after game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the the idea of Arthur Smith as a head coaching candidate,
Speaker 1: that Arthur Smith, the name itself is holding him back.
Speaker 1: And yes, he is the son of the FedEx founder,
Speaker 1: I believe, or I mean, it's it's major, it's major
Speaker 1: his background. What if we just dropped Arthur Smith entirely
Speaker 1: and just like started calling him Special Delivery or something,
Speaker 1: Matt money Smith, that Matt money Smith went with something
Speaker 1: more simple alteration, go by Artie Artie Smith. Now it
Speaker 1: looks like a guy would hire for the Jets to
Speaker 1: reboot the offense. Maybe I don't know, just thrown it
Speaker 1: up there, that's a nice ring to it, Like, um,
Speaker 1: all right, good stuff. You locked that up, Connie. Huh.
Speaker 1: I like that. I locked it up. That's what I did. Ye,
Speaker 1: thank you. I'm glad I have all of your approval.
Speaker 1: You're having a good show. I mean, there was that
Speaker 1: instant early on when you stepped on me when I
Speaker 1: was trying to transition, But ever since that, I feel
Speaker 1: like you've really slid into the analyst role. Good thing
Speaker 1: is Dan will remember that stepping over him seventy five
Speaker 1: years from now, so it's you're in the clear. Well,
Speaker 1: I listen. I had to push the boundaries to see
Speaker 1: where they were, and Dan let me know. And I'm
Speaker 1: very adaptable. So whatever you need me to do, I
Speaker 1: am here for you. What a team player she is,
Speaker 1: all right? So the Zeuser is up. Kind of a
Speaker 1: tough pick because I wanted to check in with Minnesota
Speaker 1: because I'm not to give up the Ghosts there after
Speaker 1: that killer loss on Sunday night. But I can't watch
Speaker 1: the Falcons. I won't do it. So let's go with
Speaker 1: Cincinnati at Indianapolis. That is my next pick. And Uh
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow made to look like a rookie by the
Speaker 1: Baltimore Ravens defense in Week five. By the way, that
Speaker 1: the Ravens defensive coordinator what's his name again, Wink Martindale, Yeah,
Speaker 1: wink wink getting upset apparently that the Cincinnati head coach
Speaker 1: UH sent out the field goal unit to get points
Speaker 1: on the board at the end of that game because
Speaker 1: the Bengals didn't want to get shut It's got these
Speaker 1: guys all week and our little three points, the Spangels
Speaker 1: and every other NFL team prepares their hardest all week,
Speaker 1: and when you get you're getting shut out, just put
Speaker 1: some points on the board to get mad about that.
Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe some karma retribution coming towards the race,
Speaker 1: Wink Martindale have a problem when the Ravens in into
Speaker 1: l A and beat the Rams like forty five to
Speaker 1: six on Monday Night football, did the issue the same
Speaker 1: concerning statements about running. Probably not anyway, that's beside the point.
Speaker 1: So Cincinnati, yeah, a really bad UH Week five, and
Speaker 1: now they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts, and
Speaker 1: the Colts I know the head coach, Frank Reich. He
Speaker 1: he's saying that the quarterback Philip Rivers is not on
Speaker 1: his list of problems. Well, I don't know about that,
Speaker 1: and they have some issues, um that go beyond the quarterback,
Speaker 1: including who's playing around Philip Rivers. But I need to
Speaker 1: see Philip Rivers deliver a nice game here and light
Speaker 1: up a Cincinnati defense that is there for the taking
Speaker 1: in your own building. Go go blow out the Bengals.
Speaker 1: It's not it's not going to alleviate my my concerns
Speaker 1: and my doubts of the Colts, which I've had really
Speaker 1: since Philip Rivers signed there. But it's gonna at least
Speaker 1: like steady the ship and have people not asking hard
Speaker 1: questions about what's going on at the top of that
Speaker 1: depth chart at quarterback. So this on paper looks like
Speaker 1: an easy Colts win. It's just still maybe a Colts
Speaker 1: defense that got inflated a little bit in a steam
Speaker 1: based on their early schedule, but still a defense that
Speaker 1: I imagine at home should be able to do similar
Speaker 1: to what the Ravens did to Burrow and company. But
Speaker 1: if this ends up a close game. If they lose
Speaker 1: this game and Joe Burrow gets hot and Rivers throws picks,
Speaker 1: it's going to be a very tricky situation in Indianapolis.
Speaker 1: Think it could be easier for right well, I think
Speaker 1: I think it could be a little bit easier this
Speaker 1: week for Rivers because last week Anthony Costanzo when he
Speaker 1: went down their left tackle, the Browns really took advantage
Speaker 1: Miles Garrett specifically, and the Bengals they don't have that
Speaker 1: same type of pass rush, and Costanzo should be back
Speaker 1: in this game, so that should really help up front
Speaker 1: for Rivers. This would be a tough matchup. I think
Speaker 1: for the Colts. The Bengals defense has improved way more
Speaker 1: than the Bengals offense with Joe Burrow, which is crazy.
Speaker 1: Burrows playing well overall until last week, but the Bengals
Speaker 1: defense has been respectable after being terrible all of last year.
Speaker 1: But all of a sudden, right when they they start
Speaker 1: to feel good about themselves, they lose Sam Harvard, who's
Speaker 1: been playing well, one of their pass wrestlers, he's on
Speaker 1: i R. And you lose your biggest free agent signing,
Speaker 1: DJ Reader for the season. So this Bengals team Uh,
Speaker 1: it's been a lot of tough luck. But they should
Speaker 1: feel like they can keep this game close because the
Speaker 1: Colts offense is just so on inspiring. It's not just Rivers.
Speaker 1: This is such a run heavy team in Indianapolis, and
Speaker 1: they're they're terrible at running the ball, like they really
Speaker 1: miss Marlon Mack their thirty feet in yards per carry
Speaker 1: and Jonathan Taylor everyone thinks you can just throw in
Speaker 1: it and running back. He's not seeing the field. Well,
Speaker 1: he's not like seeing holes. Well, I think he's been
Speaker 1: struggling a little bit. Been part of their problem. There's
Speaker 1: one thing about the Colts that that is not overrated
Speaker 1: about their defense. They would have lost I think by
Speaker 1: another four team points to Cleveland if they weren't the
Speaker 1: best and if in the entire NFL and open field tackling,
Speaker 1: I mean, they make bobbiokariki. Some of these guys are
Speaker 1: making a couple of plays on one on one matchups
Speaker 1: in space, but I'm just not seeing anywhere else. So
Speaker 1: I do trust their defense, but I do not trust
Speaker 1: them to win game, to win blowouts and lets unless
Speaker 1: it's like twenty one to three. Al right, up next,
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, let's go um, let's go to an ugly one,
Speaker 1: shall we. Let's go to the Lions and the Jaguars.
Speaker 1: I don't know why I'm going down with this Jaguars ship.
Speaker 1: I I still believe in this offense, I really do,
Speaker 1: And I think this is the week everyone's gonna pick
Speaker 1: the Lions to come off of their by and kind
Speaker 1: of get right. And things have been going well, and
Speaker 1: I can just see a scenario where Matt Patricia's is
Speaker 1: facing more heat than he ever has because the Jaguars
Speaker 1: offense is the best group in this game. And I
Speaker 1: want to see what Patricia did with the bye week,
Speaker 1: Like how does he solve what his problems are on
Speaker 1: defense because there's so many of them and he seems
Speaker 1: to just kind of roll out the same plan each
Speaker 1: and every week and and it doesn't really work that well.
Speaker 1: And their offense really isn't isn't hitting big plays either.
Speaker 1: I know, I know Stafford will get some yards and
Speaker 1: points against this Jaguars team, but I sort of trust
Speaker 1: the Jaguars still. Maybe I'm wrong a little more in
Speaker 1: a shootout that than I do the Lions. Is you
Speaker 1: gonna lock it up? No? No, I thought we were
Speaker 1: going that way now that it's the Jaguars. Last time
Speaker 1: we saw the Lions, well go. Some might saw that
Speaker 1: they have five straight touchdown drives and four of those
Speaker 1: were for seventy five plus yards. This is not a
Speaker 1: good defense. And when I was high on the Detroit Lions,
Speaker 1: I thought their defense would grow and that their offense
Speaker 1: would be beat you up run game. They're none of
Speaker 1: those things. They're just none of them. And I'm with
Speaker 1: you Greg watching Jacksonville. Minshew played another good game last week.
Speaker 1: They've just got some young I mean, for all the
Speaker 1: flaming that the front office gets, for all the mistakes
Speaker 1: they made, they do have a knack for finding productive
Speaker 1: guys later in rounds. Like James Robinson had one terrible
Speaker 1: looked like a halfback option pass that turned into a
Speaker 1: umble that was a disaster, but over and over he
Speaker 1: is getting yardage in Minshew. I mean, I know that
Speaker 1: after this year they're gonna find another quarterback if they're
Speaker 1: high up in the draft. But he played well. He
Speaker 1: played well, and he does that most weeks. He has
Speaker 1: a couple of stinkers, but you can rely on him
Speaker 1: to be productive and not make too many mistakes. They're
Speaker 1: they're problem I think that Minshew. I think they're oh
Speaker 1: in five now when Minshew throws with three yards and
Speaker 1: I think They're big problem is that their margin of
Speaker 1: errors so slim that when they make the mistakes that
Speaker 1: they make, uh, it just kills them. Like Stephen Haushka
Speaker 1: who was high and by uh there, And how how
Speaker 1: is kai Forbeth not the kicker in that game in
Speaker 1: week five? He misses two in close field goals um
Speaker 1: factor in this game that bizarre fourth in one call
Speaker 1: where they gave it to James Robinson and it led
Speaker 1: to a fumble in the red zone. And then Minshew
Speaker 1: gets the sack fumble turnover, which was a big play
Speaker 1: that essentially turned the lights out on the game. Was
Speaker 1: a pretty big turnover by Minshew. So I think that
Speaker 1: those things can't happen because they they're just not good
Speaker 1: enough to survive mistakes like that. And that's why they've
Speaker 1: lost four or five. Yeah, and and their defense certainly
Speaker 1: can't hold up when they're missing c. J. Henderson, Miles
Speaker 1: Jack and Josh Allen, which they were all out against
Speaker 1: the Texans, and they're all they've all been limited this
Speaker 1: week in practice. But those are three essential parts of
Speaker 1: the defense, and it really showed when those guys are
Speaker 1: banged up. It shows how this defense kind of falls off.
Speaker 1: I'm with you, Greg, Matt Patricia loses to the Jaguars here.
Speaker 1: I don't know that's a patient organization for whatever reason
Speaker 1: in Detroit, but patients has got to hit a limit
Speaker 1: at certain at a certain point. Up next, Mark Sessler,
Speaker 1: all right, well let's see here. I'm gonna go with
Speaker 1: I want to see I don't want to see any
Speaker 1: of these games, actually, now that I'm looking at what's left.
Speaker 1: But every game is beautiful. Every game is a beautif
Speaker 1: full flower. Mark Dan, I don't want to pull the
Speaker 1: Jets away from you. If you want to watch that game?
Speaker 1: Are you being serious right now? Well, they are playing.
Speaker 1: I do not watch Jet games that feature Adam Gates
Speaker 1: and Joe Flacco prominently, so I have no interest. Okay,
Speaker 1: I just wanted to check in with you there. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go with um. I'm gonna go with the Chargers
Speaker 1: hosting the Jets, and that's like inviting someone into your
Speaker 1: the Dolphins hosting the Jets. Let's go with the Dolphins
Speaker 1: hosting the Jets. Where am I? I'm all over the place.
Speaker 1: Wait this actually, wait this is I I wrote my
Speaker 1: notes incorrectly here and so I don't want this game,
Speaker 1: but I'll take it anyways. Ryan Fitzpatrick, why not, started
Speaker 1: eleven of thirteen last week, absolutely flamed the Niners. I
Speaker 1: wrote in my notes, best court QB performance of the
Speaker 1: year in that division. I mean, that's not hard to
Speaker 1: achieve right now. But Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing out of
Speaker 1: his division. That's kind of hard. I I understand at
Speaker 1: but I mean watching what he did against that Niners defense,
Speaker 1: and I noted that their secondary was a hot mess.
Speaker 1: But I give Chan Gailey, who you know, we've we've not.
Speaker 1: I'm with you, Grey. I was not sold on the
Speaker 1: idea of hiring Shan Gailey five years after he was
Speaker 1: hanging out in Florida on the beach. But he came
Speaker 1: in and he was aggressive and they just went for it.
Speaker 1: And I thought that the pass rush was a little
Speaker 1: more active last game. They made lifetop on Jimmy g.
Speaker 1: Mike Asecki is a legit playmaker at a seventy yard
Speaker 1: catch last week. So this Dolphins team and I don't
Speaker 1: I don't want to like I. I you know, I
Speaker 1: get people on Twitter saying you project every team into
Speaker 1: the playoffs. I understand that. I get a little excited
Speaker 1: earlier in the year about some of these teams. I'm
Speaker 1: not saying that about Miami, but they are. They were
Speaker 1: not frisky early on, and I thought, are they just
Speaker 1: going to be the team that takes a step back
Speaker 1: after we spent all offseason I did thinking that Brian
Speaker 1: Flores could be one of the next great coaches and
Speaker 1: coached them up in a way last year that made
Speaker 1: them so fun and so frisky. I think we saw
Speaker 1: some of that against against the Niners, sort of like
Speaker 1: play loose, go for it for at tour. Right now,
Speaker 1: you can't even think about two at the moment. And
Speaker 1: I and you know the Jets, I think we all
Speaker 1: get it. Um They've they've parted ways with Levan bell Uh.
Speaker 1: It's it's a tough time to be a Jets fan.
Speaker 1: I've been there as a Browns fan Den where you
Speaker 1: it's it's it's October and you'd rather someone else watch
Speaker 1: the game. It's not fun, and being a fan, part
Speaker 1: of the deal is it should be fun. Sometimes it's not.
Speaker 1: Just a year after year of turmoil and chaos, and
Speaker 1: so I I legit understand why Jets fans at this
Speaker 1: point would as they say, you know, go rake leaves
Speaker 1: if you have leaves. We don't, we don't have leaves
Speaker 1: in our yard. But you go do that. If you
Speaker 1: do onto the day, douse the fire, you know in
Speaker 1: the hills behind, you know, like that put out a
Speaker 1: forest fire. Kids. Yeah, you can't judge us against past
Speaker 1: generations because media is different. But judging by social media,
Speaker 1: now the Jets fans are out on this team right now.
Speaker 1: They're out on the organization right now. And you go
Speaker 1: look at the TV ratings, like, Jets fans aren't watching
Speaker 1: their team because you did the one thing. The one
Speaker 1: thing you can't do is a cope away from a
Speaker 1: fan base. And if they don't have any hope that
Speaker 1: you're gonna play entertaining football, you're just not gonna watch.
Speaker 1: And especially with Joe Flacco playing Sam Donald, this is
Speaker 1: another game with that shoulder injury. I don't know, Ricky.
Speaker 1: I want to bring in Erica tamp Post, who, Yeah,
Speaker 1: the Jets are on pace for an infamous season, perhaps
Speaker 1: windless season. Well Erica can relate to that because she
Speaker 1: is yet to lock up a single team correctly but Ricky,
Speaker 1: I don't know exactly what she's about to say, but
Speaker 1: she just did say she wanted to connect with me
Speaker 1: on something. Erica, what do you got? Well, well, listen here. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's just look at the facts quickly. The Jets are
Speaker 1: oh and five, their last in the league get points scored.
Speaker 1: Sam Donald's out with the shoulder injury, injury, and everyone's questioning,
Speaker 1: Adam Gazes, I'm gonna destroy you. Okay, So so Adam Gaze,
Speaker 1: you know everyone wants him gone. Right. So the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: like Mark just said, came off on a easing when
Speaker 1: they against the forty niners. This should beat the single
Speaker 1: handedly easiest game for the Dolphins all season. I will
Speaker 1: be at the salon because I sense a blowout, and
Speaker 1: that's why I'm locking up the Dolphins. Let's go for
Speaker 1: the Jets. Okay, your confidence is so shattered that you're
Speaker 1: locking up the team that's the Jets are on the road.
Speaker 1: You're taking that home team that Okay, I don't want
Speaker 1: to look. I see nothing. Get the w In fairness
Speaker 1: to Erika, her pick last week the forty nine is
Speaker 1: we're actually even bigger favorites somehow than the Dolphins. Are
Speaker 1: in this game, and she got that wrong. So anything
Speaker 1: anything can happen, although probably not with Joe Flacco. Nothing
Speaker 1: can happen with Well. I feel good about that exactly.
Speaker 1: You look in the mirror when you're at this stage,
Speaker 1: when you're owing five, when you look in the mirror
Speaker 1: that don't worry about not seeing your reflection looking back
Speaker 1: is a beautiful woman. It's a very sad woman, though,
Speaker 1: and you need this. So I do family frying like
Speaker 1: in like mirage behind me like it's it's disgusting, honestly,
Speaker 1: and I have no remorse. Go to office team. Let's
Speaker 1: give them a little love quickly because they are the
Speaker 1: relevant team they I think they could be a playoff contender,
Speaker 1: two teams that can blow to the NFL teams out
Speaker 1: Like the way that they have. I'm starting to get convinced.
Speaker 1: Their defense totally different when Byron Jones is in the game.
Speaker 1: He was back last week and totally different. When they
Speaker 1: get a lead in Florist can start cooking up those
Speaker 1: blitzes because that's kind of give the Dolphins some respect.
Speaker 1: Erica is on the show right now picking them as
Speaker 1: the lock of the We're saying, we just talked about
Speaker 1: the Jets for three minutes. I just want to. I
Speaker 1: was like, I don't, that's unnecessary. The Dolphins are getting
Speaker 1: plenty of love with Ricky Hollywood right now. I believe
Speaker 1: in the Dolphins more, you know, so wholeheartedly, more than
Speaker 1: I believe in Greg to pick a shirt that doesn't
Speaker 1: pla with his background, Yeah, I think we should move
Speaker 1: on now, because alright, alright, up next, Mark, I believe
Speaker 1: it's snakes for you, buddy. It does. And I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go Washington at the Giants, Washington. Look the bottom of
Speaker 1: the barrel operations here and you know the way this
Speaker 1: you pull up behind the curtain a little bit. For
Speaker 1: our audio listeners if they listen to the Sunday Night Show,
Speaker 1: suddenly you know Nick Shook has some of these. They're
Speaker 1: wondering the backroom dealings. I I kind of line up
Speaker 1: a few that might get handed off to someone else,
Speaker 1: and this might be one of them. I uh, look
Speaker 1: at it's it's a tough situation. These two teams, you know,
Speaker 1: are in in rough shape. For all the good tidings
Speaker 1: of Alex Smith's returning the reality is that with Kyle
Speaker 1: Allen in there, they threw for seventy four yards. Alex
Speaker 1: Smith came in and through for thirty seven. So Kyle
Speaker 1: Allen will be back and they're gonna go through this
Speaker 1: song and dance. We're gonna see all these quarterbacks over
Speaker 1: and over. UM. Dwayne Haskins has been mentioned as trade bait.
Speaker 1: Dwayne Haskins is the rare NFL. NFL player that has
Speaker 1: been sick and away from the building for five days.
Speaker 1: UM is taking COVID tests and it's not testing positive apparently,
Speaker 1: but illness has been the report a gastro illness. Well
Speaker 1: those can I guess those can linger? I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna They had a hundred and eight total yards
Speaker 1: on offense and and and suffered eight sacks last week
Speaker 1: against the Rams. And I understand that mother nature was
Speaker 1: part of that game too, but there was a negative
Speaker 1: three hundred and twenty one yardage differential between Washington and
Speaker 1: l A. And there aren't many other games where you
Speaker 1: point to outside of a couple of minutes hope for
Speaker 1: this offense. And so it just creates such a long year.
Speaker 1: And I look at the Giants and I think this
Speaker 1: is a winnable game for them because guys like James Bradberry.
Speaker 1: He has been really good as a cover man for them.
Speaker 1: Kyler fact Roll has been making plays week after week,
Speaker 1: you know. And I know that Daniel Jones hasn't thrown
Speaker 1: a touchdown against week one, and he's gonna face a
Speaker 1: lot of pressure in this game. But to me, if
Speaker 1: the Giants, if they this is another fan base along
Speaker 1: with the Jets fan base, it's a tough It's a
Speaker 1: tough autumn in New York. If the Giants lose this one,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to start asking a lot of questions
Speaker 1: about the front office. I mean, they have a new coach,
Speaker 1: so you've got to give him some rope. But there
Speaker 1: are problems here. There just isn't a lot of consistency
Speaker 1: with New York week after week. This is a number
Speaker 1: thirty against number thirty one on the NFL dot Com
Speaker 1: Power Rankings matchup. And yeah, the gastro illness does not
Speaker 1: sound great for Haskins. I hope he gets well soon
Speaker 1: and I think he should be back in the lineup.
Speaker 1: I understand that we we litigated this, or disgusted or
Speaker 1: however you want to put it, that Ron Overa doesn't
Speaker 1: see Dwayne Haskins as part of the future most likely.
Speaker 1: Uh and and it's Ron Show in Washington. But god,
Speaker 1: I mean Kyle Allen and Alex Smith, and we love
Speaker 1: Alex Smith as a comeback story, but he had two
Speaker 1: point two yards per attempt, which makes Blaine Gabbert look
Speaker 1: like Joe Namath. And then it was pouring out there, Dan,
Speaker 1: I know, but come on now, I mean, there's Alex Smith.
Speaker 1: What are you proving as an organization when you have
Speaker 1: a prospect in Dwayne Haskins. It's it doesn't matter right
Speaker 1: now he's ill, But I think that Haskins should be playing,
Speaker 1: not these other two guys. He's out of the NFC
Speaker 1: East yet it's like the participation trophy division of the
Speaker 1: entire NFL. So listen, maybe Ron Rivera is like so
Speaker 1: holding out hope that they can get somewhere in this division.
Speaker 1: It's wide open, right to be fair, I guess the
Speaker 1: Kyle Allen, although you know, the injury he took was
Speaker 1: kind of like on a hit that he shouldn't have taken.
Speaker 1: You know, they had a touchdown drive when he was
Speaker 1: in there, and there there was too short a sample
Speaker 1: size to drop much of anything. He's a second year player.
Speaker 1: They have a chance to win this game because they
Speaker 1: have the best unit in this game, which is their defense.
Speaker 1: I think they're a top ten defense right now. Like
Speaker 1: Chase Young who was drafted two picks ahead of Andrew Thomas.
Speaker 1: I mean that's a mismatch. Uh Manta Sweats been playing well.
Speaker 1: Kevin Pierre Lewis their linebacker. Their their secondary has been
Speaker 1: pretty good. Like they're a topton defense. They're the only
Speaker 1: group in this game that's good. That's like a bonus.
Speaker 1: Like the most memorable thing I think that's happened with
Speaker 1: the Giants this year was Joe Judge pulling down his
Speaker 1: mask just to yell bs, I'm not gonna say the
Speaker 1: word out. He had it up the whole game that
Speaker 1: he pulls it down and he just like yells it out.
Speaker 1: And that was like the defining moment of the Judge Judge,
Speaker 1: you know what. That was a great Joe Judge moment.
Speaker 1: I'm still a fan of. When the loose ball fumble
Speaker 1: recovery drill at the end of training camp, when he
Speaker 1: dove on the loose ball and everyone gathered around him.
Speaker 1: In the New York media, with one viral video clip
Speaker 1: all decided that Joe Judge was cool now, uh, but
Speaker 1: that none of this is actually translating to any wins,
Speaker 1: so he seems to be in a very difficult spot.
Speaker 1: All right, take it away, Greg, one a game, okay,
Speaker 1: last one up. I guess no one wants to watch
Speaker 1: the Falcons out of mind. I mean I do mind,
Speaker 1: but I don't have a choice. Falkons Vikings. It's it's
Speaker 1: Raheem Morris. It's uh, it's young Grey. You guys. You
Speaker 1: guys remember when Morris the coach of the Buccaneers, and
Speaker 1: he had this slogan Colleen called young Grey. He made
Speaker 1: up T shirts that was his big thing. Younger. They
Speaker 1: were coming off, yeah, kind of kind of a fun
Speaker 1: season when he was first the coach and then he
Speaker 1: came back out. I think they went three and thirteen
Speaker 1: and it all, uh, it all unraveled. But they improved
Speaker 1: their defense when he took over the play calling last year.
Speaker 1: Uh late in the year, so I don't know. Maybe
Speaker 1: he gives them a little bit of juice, but they're overmatched.
Speaker 1: They're a little healthier right now, but they're playing against
Speaker 1: the Vikings offense, which I think is pretty good. I
Speaker 1: think this Vikings offense has gotten it going like they
Speaker 1: got their Gary Kubiak zone running scheme, they got the
Speaker 1: deep shots with Adam Thilan and Justin Jefferson. That's not
Speaker 1: gonna get you very far in the NFC East if
Speaker 1: you keep I mean the NFC wild Card rate said,
Speaker 1: you know you're losing these close games, but I think
Speaker 1: they'll be fine. I think they'll win games like this.
Speaker 1: The Minnesota Vikings have a little faith in these guys.
Speaker 1: The Dalvin Cook injury, he strained the groin. We'll see
Speaker 1: what kind of Cook they get. Alexander Madison is a
Speaker 1: nice backup though. So yeah, like I was saying, I
Speaker 1: don't want to give up the ghost on the Vikings
Speaker 1: um and their schedule. If they can get a win
Speaker 1: here and get to two and four, they got a
Speaker 1: really hard game the next week at Lambeau, but then
Speaker 1: you get Lions, Bears, Cowboys, Panthers, Jaguars. So as long
Speaker 1: as you don't totally bury yourself, I think they can
Speaker 1: get back into this wild card race. However, and we
Speaker 1: you know, hit it hard on Sunday night for obvious reasons.
Speaker 1: That was an unbelievably gut wrenching loss for them against
Speaker 1: the Seahawks. Because they outplayed Seattle for so much of
Speaker 1: that game and it had a chance to turn around
Speaker 1: the whole season. And then when you can't close, you've
Speaker 1: now put your off in a very difficult position. So
Speaker 1: you're gonna get one of two Vikings teams. You're gonna
Speaker 1: get the mad as hell angry we are going to
Speaker 1: take out all our frustration on a crappy Falcons team,
Speaker 1: which I think is the path we're gonna go here,
Speaker 1: or you're gonna get the Vikings team that's in the
Speaker 1: tank because they had all their um love and joy
Speaker 1: and energy pumped into that Sunday night football game, and
Speaker 1: when they get their soul sucked out by Russell Wilson,
Speaker 1: it's now, you know, bye bye time for them. So
Speaker 1: I am actually kind of interested in this game. It's
Speaker 1: just the Falcons depressed me so much right now that
Speaker 1: I couldn't pull the trigger on drafting them. M Yeah,
Speaker 1: it'll be interesting to see if Julio Jones plays what
Speaker 1: his status is. But I mean, this is a Vikings
Speaker 1: team who got after Russell Wilson pretty pretty good, uh
Speaker 1: in that game. But they have nine turnovers on offense
Speaker 1: and only four takeaways on defense, So they got to
Speaker 1: start right there and clean up the turnover differential for sure. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think like the Falcons are uniquely broken now, and
Speaker 1: so I'm with you the Vikings. That's a tough loss
Speaker 1: to come off of. But I think that I mentioned
Speaker 1: that I thought that the Seahawks were the most more
Speaker 1: resilient team in that matchup for the way that they've
Speaker 1: closed it out. But I don't think the Vikings are
Speaker 1: a we're gonna give up on the season type of operation. Now.
Speaker 1: My one note from that game, um, well, it was
Speaker 1: one of my notes that Adam feeling when he gets
Speaker 1: into these little touchdown dances where they walk up and
Speaker 1: I'll stare at each other on that television. He likes
Speaker 1: to get real wiggly with his body. I noticed him,
Speaker 1: if you go back and track that it was a
Speaker 1: very interesting touched Yeah, it was just like it wasn't
Speaker 1: like a white guy dancing. Was like he was really
Speaker 1: getting into his dancing. We can I will find it
Speaker 1: and forward it to you and the listeners they can
Speaker 1: do the same. And my second note was that am
Speaker 1: I wrong in thinking I feel like every um every note, Well, no,
Speaker 1: this is just another general Vikings observation but I feel
Speaker 1: like everyone had a high school friend who looked exactly
Speaker 1: like Kirk Cousins. Like I have like two or three
Speaker 1: friends that look exactly like Kirk Cousins when you go
Speaker 1: back to like like the early nineties, and it just
Speaker 1: he just has like that nineties type of guy look
Speaker 1: or something. No, you're You're totally right, you're a little
Speaker 1: bit What was that, Connie I said, I would love
Speaker 1: to see the rest of his notes on that game. No, yeah,
Speaker 1: he has such a because you're a little bit older
Speaker 1: than his market and you were right in the middle
Speaker 1: of that early nineties UM nine o two one oh
Speaker 1: era of life. I could picture him wearing like the
Speaker 1: circle glasses and the turtleneck with the swear a lot
Speaker 1: older than Colleen. To be clear, you know, yes, to
Speaker 1: be clear. Thank you for clarifying that you could be
Speaker 1: Colleen his dad you could. Thank you that the listener
Speaker 1: can already to douce that. Thank you for pointing that
Speaker 1: out that I am. I am much older than calling. Yes, am, alright,
Speaker 1: I did. I. I like that the Vikings are embracing
Speaker 1: that they're an offense first team. They're like going for
Speaker 1: it on fourth down. That was part of the thing.
Speaker 1: They're doing that a lot. They're they're bombs and eight team.
Speaker 1: They remind me a little bit of the Bills, who
Speaker 1: are also embracing uh, you know, their offense first team,
Speaker 1: and it helps me with that transition. Clean up a
Speaker 1: big mistake I made here earlier in the Bills game.
Speaker 1: I totally forgot to lock up the Kansas City Chiefs
Speaker 1: on the road. Oh I blew it. But you know,
Speaker 1: I want to get this in the podcast. It's tricky.
Speaker 1: We're on video now, so like the flow, sometimes it
Speaker 1: doesn't come back to you. You don't want to ensure
Speaker 1: just for the podcast listeners. When you have the chance
Speaker 1: to take Patrick Mahomes coming off a loss, you do that.
Speaker 1: You lock them up. What a moment in show history here, Greg,
Speaker 1: that was good. We needed that for posterity. Okay, good stuff, Connie.
Speaker 1: I don't know what else to say. You stepped in
Speaker 1: and you killed it and we miss having you around.
Speaker 1: So it's great whenever you stop by, you bring sunshine
Speaker 1: to be around the NFL podcast. Well, I miss you, guys,
Speaker 1: and anytime anytime you guys need me, just no Thursdays
Speaker 1: any other And it is funny like last time, you're
Speaker 1: on our show. A couple of weeks ago you talked
Speaker 1: about inviting us over your house, but that hasn't happened yet.
Speaker 1: But you know, no big deal. Next weekend, market down,
Speaker 1: we're social distancing. It's gonna be fine. All right, Great.
Speaker 1: This is the Around the NFL Podcast, presented by the
Speaker 1: United United States Marine Corps. My name is Dan Hanson.
Speaker 1: Signing a Whore, the Quiet Storm, the Old Boss, the
Speaker 1: Tiny Box, and the Great Ricky Hollywood behind the virtual
Speaker 1: glass until Sunday Night. S