Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're ready to talk about
Speaker 1: the best division in football. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm in
Speaker 1: the Chris Wesseling podcast studio for the first time in
Speaker 1: a minute with Jordan Rodrigue. It is nice to be
Speaker 1: here together. It is nice to reach the end of
Speaker 1: the road on our division preview series. Do you agree, Jordan?
Speaker 1: With me positing this is the best division in football.
Speaker 2: I think it is because, like I mentioned, there's no
Speaker 2: dangling participles of teams here.
Speaker 3: There's no sort of just like, and then there's this team.
Speaker 1: There's like... I mean, you can say the name Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 3: Yeah, or Raiders.
Speaker 1: Or Raiders. I think the other options would be the
Speaker 1: Western divisions.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 1: Those would be the three best divisions. But... Maybe the
Speaker 1: NFC West has the best teams at the top. When
Speaker 1: I say best division, I want quality like you're saying throughout.
Speaker 1: Any team could finish first. Any team could finish fourth.
Speaker 1: Could any one of these teams make the Super Bowl?
Speaker 1: We'll dive into that later. Jordan Rodriguez says she has
Speaker 1: a surprising division winner. And I don't know who that
Speaker 1: would be.
Speaker 3: I already forgot.
Speaker 1: I mean, at the end of the show, you're going
Speaker 1: to have to remember. Here's what we do. Every division preview.
Speaker 1: And this is our eighth. 12 minutes on the board.
Speaker 1: Bunch of different categories. And at the end of the preview,
Speaker 1: we will pick the order of the division. Let's start
Speaker 1: with the Chicago Bears alphabetically by city. They haven't moved
Speaker 1: cities yet. Gary would come in third alphabetically or second alphabetically,
Speaker 1: but Chicago is first. What is bringing you joy about
Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears?
Speaker 3: Self-awareness, Greg.
Speaker 2: And that is the self-awareness of head coach Ben Johnson,
Speaker 2: who might seem a little scary and Terminator-like at times,
Speaker 2: but he's very, very self-aware.
Speaker 3: His comments..
Speaker 2: About being the quote unquote top regression candidate were not
Speaker 2: just a rebuttal to Liam Cohen's beef of the week.
Speaker 2: It was actually a nod to how splash moment or
Speaker 2: high leverage moment that the Bears were actually dependent on
Speaker 2: throughout the 2025 season and why playing sustainably is going
Speaker 2: to be more into what they need to do in 2026.
Speaker 2: I liked how self-aware he was. It wasn't even like a...
Speaker 2: you know, oh, I'm into the analytics or anything like that.
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe he reads the FTN Almanac, which was
Speaker 2: a great publication that is released every summer. But for me,
Speaker 2: it was like, oh, yeah, no, you're very clear on
Speaker 2: what needs to happen for this team moving forward.
Speaker 1: I love an offseason priority. That makes sense. Because this
Speaker 1: has been the message from him from March on, specifically
Speaker 1: with Caleb Williams, that, you know, we need to start
Speaker 1: hitting the singles. We need to start playing better in
Speaker 1: the first and second quarter so we don't need the drama.
Speaker 1: And yet, where you say self-awareness, you could flip it
Speaker 1: and read your colleague Dan Pompei's article with Ben Johnson
Speaker 1: and say bravado. I mean, he also wants to be
Speaker 1: the best offense in NFL history. I mean, who doesn't?
Speaker 3: It's okay to have goals.
Speaker 1: Sure. But the way he's saying it is like, I
Speaker 1: don't just want to be the best offense. I want
Speaker 1: to be the best offense in history. I know what
Speaker 1: the numbers are. I know that it's not just total points.
Speaker 1: I want to beat them in points per game. I mean,
Speaker 1: they got some issues, but to have that kind of chutzpah,
Speaker 1: I would say we've got the division leading amount of
Speaker 1: chutzpah among the head coaches. We've got the two teams
Speaker 1: that lead the league in fourth downs, like in terms
Speaker 1: of going for it. I think LeFleur and Kevin O'Connell,
Speaker 1: plenty of chutzpah there, but yeah, I love the bravado.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 2: I love that all of these guys ended up in
Speaker 2: the same division together and they all have to play
Speaker 2: each other because it's like now Sean McVay and Kyle
Speaker 2: Shanahan are like, oh, we're friends, da, da, da, da, da,
Speaker 2: in the NFC West. But this is like, no, I
Speaker 2: would prefer to chop that guy's head off in the
Speaker 2: NFC North.
Speaker 3: And that's one of the things that's bringing me joy.
Speaker 1: Most important non-quarterback. I'll go first with Colston Loveland.
Speaker 3: Dang, that's who I wrote. And then I put something else,
Speaker 3: but yes, continue.
Speaker 1: Okay. Well, that's good that you put something else. Cause
Speaker 1: I don't want, that's the only reason I took it
Speaker 1: first is because that's the one I really wanted. You know,
Speaker 1: when he says the goal of, of being the best
Speaker 1: offense ever, that seems crazy. When like Khalif Raymond or
Speaker 1: rookie Xavion Thomas is your third receiver. There's pretty major
Speaker 1: questions at left tackle at center and You want Caleb
Speaker 1: to get better. The talent doesn't speak to that level
Speaker 1: of play. But Ben Johnson's play calling and the ascension
Speaker 1: of his young players could make it happen. But all
Speaker 1: those receivers are put down in the order because Colston
Speaker 1: Loveland is the one. And for them to reach the
Speaker 1: levels that I think Ben Johnson needs to hit. I
Speaker 1: think Colston Loveland has to be, if not the best
Speaker 1: tight end in the league, like right there in that conversation.
Speaker 1: And he is the guy I think they're building the
Speaker 1: offense through other than Caleb Williams. He showed down the
Speaker 1: stretch last season for a rookie tight end. He can
Speaker 1: handle that. I think he was almost at that level.
Speaker 1: It's really just doing it again and building on what
Speaker 1: he did a year ago.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I love it too, because they've declared their intent
Speaker 2: really with the Also, how they went out and drafted
Speaker 2: and they're going to have as many tight ends as
Speaker 2: possible up because they're going to build the plane out
Speaker 2: of Colston Loveland in the run and the pass game.
Speaker 2: And so I love that because this is one of
Speaker 2: the few teams in the NFL who I think could very,
Speaker 2: very capably move between those 11, 12 and 13 personnel
Speaker 2: packages when he's talking about wanting to be the best
Speaker 2: offensive all time and the most productive ever. If you
Speaker 2: can't basically blow the playbook wide open in this way,
Speaker 2: you are limited in some fashion and maybe wouldn't have
Speaker 2: that much of a chance to do it. This is
Speaker 2: gone are the days where you're going to be sticking
Speaker 2: in 11 the entire time or even 12 the entire time.
Speaker 2: Like this is a team led by Colston Loveland, who
Speaker 2: I suspect is going to be one of those, you know,
Speaker 2: I would call it in my educational experience, the F
Speaker 2: player team. for example, which basically can flip between multiple
Speaker 2: positions along the receiving surface and multiple positions along the
Speaker 2: running surface. And basically all of your strength of plays
Speaker 2: is dictated by wherever that person is on the field.
Speaker 2: To me, that is Colston Loveland. And he's one of
Speaker 2: the most exciting young players we have in football right now.
Speaker 1: Good backup in Cole Comet. Third round pick you alluded
Speaker 1: to at tight end and Sam Roush. So it's a
Speaker 1: deep room, but he's the most important guy. If we
Speaker 1: were doing preseason all pro teams, You know, maybe he's
Speaker 1: my second team tight end behind Trey McBride. I can't
Speaker 1: take out McBride right now, but we'll see. Who's your
Speaker 1: most important non-quarterback?
Speaker 3: Whoever the hell is playing left tackle.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: And really, to me, it's still a huge question mark.
Speaker 2: And it's a problem that it's still a huge question mark.
Speaker 2: They have four guys currently competing. And if and when
Speaker 2: Ozzy Trapilo ends up coming back from this injury after
Speaker 2: he's practicing in a very, very limited capacity.
Speaker 1: Second round pick who is believed to be the future.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 3: And played well when he got in the game.
Speaker 2: But now they've got so potentially by October, they'll have
Speaker 2: up to five guys competing for this left tackle spot.
Speaker 3: You know, Braxton Jones, I would think, would have.
Speaker 2: To be like the leader in the clubhouse, but it
Speaker 2: hasn't looked great for any of these guys. And the
Speaker 2: fact that it's still such an open battle is very,
Speaker 2: very concerning for me. But that becomes so, so important
Speaker 2: because that player, the run game, the pass game, all
Speaker 2: the things that Ben Johnson says he wants to do,
Speaker 2: it's going to really be a factor of whoever that
Speaker 2: guy is going to be. So I make him the
Speaker 2: most important right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that totally makes sense to me. And it's easier
Speaker 1: to hide one guy on your offensive line than it
Speaker 1: is to. So if Garrett Bradbury, who's their center, can
Speaker 1: hold up. And there's questions about him or their second
Speaker 1: round pick, Logan Jones, who might eventually be at center.
Speaker 1: You know, they're going to be he's between two great
Speaker 1: guards and Joe Tooney and Jonah Jackson. You have a
Speaker 1: great young right tackle. You gave huge money to like
Speaker 1: they have real pieces. Then maybe you can cover up
Speaker 1: one spot. If it ends up being two spots, then
Speaker 1: then the offense has a problem. Scheme dream. I always
Speaker 1: let you go first, except for when I don't, because.
Speaker 1: This is just where you feel the most joy.
Speaker 3: It is, yeah.
Speaker 2: Run game in year two for me. The two-back system
Speaker 2: in DeAndre Swift and Kyle Menungai, it took a couple weeks.
Speaker 3: Kyle Menung dude, as.
Speaker 1: We like to call him.
Speaker 2: It took a couple weeks for it to come to
Speaker 2: fruition the way that they wanted it to. Once it
Speaker 2: did and once it started rolling, it was like one
Speaker 2: of the most fun and most productive run games we've
Speaker 2: seen in like 2020 onward. And I think that that's
Speaker 2: going to be really fun when you think about what
Speaker 2: you talked about in terms of Colston Loveland and your
Speaker 2: most important player. in just creating and moving different gaps
Speaker 2: and attack points for the defense with a two-back system.
Speaker 2: So it's not just that you're throwing all of this
Speaker 2: pre-snap and at-snap movement and changing assignments at the defense
Speaker 2: in a system that on paper looks like it should
Speaker 2: be simple, but because Ben Johnson likes to throw these
Speaker 2: little wrinkles into it.
Speaker 3: Is not simple at all. Plus features really good players.
Speaker 2: And then now you're throwing multiple players to prepare for
Speaker 2: and multiple, um, skill guys also involved in it to
Speaker 2: prepare for. I just think this is going to be,
Speaker 2: I cannot wait to see your two of a run
Speaker 2: system like this is usually when it fully like, you know,
Speaker 2: reveals itself for what it's going to be. And I
Speaker 2: think they have a chance to be dominant.
Speaker 1: Are you a Swifty?
Speaker 3: I am a Swifty.
Speaker 2: I'm a Swifty.
Speaker 1: You like DeAndre?
Speaker 3: I'm a Swifty, yes. And I also am a Monong
Speaker 3: dude as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Swifty. DeAndre Swift. What a come up that Ben Johnson
Speaker 1: believes in him. I think at this time a year ago,
Speaker 1: I did not believe in him. And he looked really
Speaker 1: good in this offense. And he's a guy. I did
Speaker 1: my one and only fantasy draft on Monday night. And
Speaker 1: I was like, when he got taken near me, I
Speaker 1: was like, oh, I would have liked DeAndre Swift. I'm
Speaker 1: going to go things go wrong. if the defense like
Speaker 1: looks as bad as it looks, they are projected to
Speaker 1: be the worst defense in the league, according to DVOA,
Speaker 1: like in terms of efficiency. And that's because they were
Speaker 1: great on third down last year and terrible on first
Speaker 1: and second. And that tends to not be sticky at all.
Speaker 1: They turn the ball over like crazy. That tends to
Speaker 1: be not as sticky. Although Dennis Allen's had a pretty
Speaker 1: good career with having defenses that turn the ball over.
Speaker 1: But they lost Jaquan Brisker. They lost Nashawn Wright. They
Speaker 1: lost Kevin Byer. They lost Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. And then all
Speaker 1: the guys that are supposed to replace him. And this is,
Speaker 1: you know, such a nickel-heavy, man-heavy defense. Kyle Gordon's hurt.
Speaker 1: Tyreek Stevenson's hurt right now. Elijah Hicks, they said that
Speaker 1: wasn't a serious injury. He's been out a month. And
Speaker 1: then their big safety addition, who's Stacey Dales, our friend
Speaker 1: said Kobe Bryant was taking charge of that defense. That
Speaker 1: literally he was going to be their leader, their appointed leader.
Speaker 1: captain on the back end. He's out for the season.
Speaker 1: And so you're asking like a rookie Dylan Thienemann to
Speaker 1: carry a lot of weight. And just in general, I
Speaker 1: just don't know if they have the players, that linebacker either.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And the other thing they didn't do was change
Speaker 2: their front structure very much. They're basically saying we're going
Speaker 2: to roll with the guys that we have along this
Speaker 2: defensive line and trust that they continue to take a
Speaker 2: step forward. Well, one thing that goes unsaid in all
Speaker 2: of that commentary is that they were built back to front.
Speaker 2: They were really built, even though they let those defensive
Speaker 2: backs go and free agency and sign elsewhere and brought
Speaker 2: in new players, they still were built back to front.
Speaker 2: Dennis Allen was predicated. His system is predicated on like
Speaker 2: what I mentioned at the top high leverage plays where
Speaker 2: you're taking, where you're taking away the ball. Um, they
Speaker 2: were explosive to, or excuse me, they were susceptible to
Speaker 2: explosive pass plays, but they led the league in drives
Speaker 2: ending with turnovers and had the highest turnover rate of
Speaker 2: the 2020 so far. That's for our friends at the
Speaker 2: FTN football almanac. And so they're masters of the big moment, right?
Speaker 2: My things go wrong. If is attached to yours in
Speaker 2: that way. if that does not sustain a little bit better,
Speaker 2: if they're not better on first and second down, if
Speaker 2: they're not better against the run, if they're not so
Speaker 2: dependent on specifically turnovers in on the defensive side and
Speaker 2: then also on the offensive side, they were built around
Speaker 2: the big moment on offense as well. And I loved
Speaker 2: how good their run game really came along and looked.
Speaker 2: But in the passing game, we all remember the end
Speaker 2: of the game heroics and the flash stuff that really
Speaker 2: was exciting to watch. But getting more sustainable down-to-down play,
Speaker 2: staying more efficient down-to-down. One thing I appreciated about what
Speaker 2: this coaching staff and the players are doing is focusing
Speaker 2: more on end-of-half management, too. All of these things are very,
Speaker 2: very important to making sure you're not so dependent on
Speaker 2: splash and you can hit more doubles.
Speaker 1: And you just need guys who can win. And up front,
Speaker 1: that's a big concern. So it's Montez Sweat rushing the passer.
Speaker 1: And Bears fans could argue, and they're right. They're still
Speaker 1: built back to front. Jalen Johnson is a great in-his-prime cornerback.
Speaker 1: Kyler Gordon, they just need him to be healthy. You
Speaker 1: have a first-round pick in Thienemann. Stevenson, I don't think
Speaker 1: that's a long-term injury. So there's still hope that they
Speaker 1: can be a good secondary, but they're going to have
Speaker 1: to be because I don't think the rest of the defense...
Speaker 1: I never gave a scheme dream. I just forgot. And
Speaker 1: it's just kind of like, what's next level for Ben Johnson?
Speaker 1: You talked about the end. But they were third in
Speaker 1: pace last year. They were second in the league in
Speaker 1: going for it on fourth. It's improving Caleb's accuracy. Just like,
Speaker 1: what's the next step for Ben Johnson? Let's get to
Speaker 1: the ceiling and the floor as we wrap up every team.
Speaker 1: Do you think this team can make the Super Bowl?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2: I think their ceiling is repeat winners too, of the
Speaker 2: NFC North. That, that would be the ceiling for me. Um,
Speaker 2: I think the floor is third in the NFC North. Uh,
Speaker 2: I don't think they could have, to me, they're too
Speaker 2: well coached and too talented now in key areas and
Speaker 2: particularly loaded on offense to where they could really stumble
Speaker 2: far enough to finish last in the division. But I
Speaker 2: do think that their schedule is doing them obviously no favors.
Speaker 2: And that's one of the things that Ben Johnson was
Speaker 2: pointing to is I'm not usually like, oh, but the
Speaker 2: schedule kind of a thing before the guys actually are
Speaker 2: on the grass. But this is a tough schedule. It's
Speaker 2: the toughest schedule in terms of strength of opponent.
Speaker 1: It is a division where I'm going to pull a
Speaker 1: Jordan and say, I think the floor of every one
Speaker 1: of these teams is last in the division. I mean,
Speaker 1: which isn't even that hard to take when you see
Speaker 1: how close the division was last year.
Speaker 3: The old Rodriguez.
Speaker 1: Right. That I, I think, I think you could conceivably
Speaker 1: see any direction of this team. I don't think they're
Speaker 1: like the floor could fall out, but I think they
Speaker 1: could fall down to eight or nine wins. And maybe
Speaker 1: that's last place in this division. Like an eight win
Speaker 1: team might, might come in last place. In this division.
Speaker 1: It's possible. The schedule, you're absolutely right. They could all
Speaker 1: end up clustered in the middle. Let's get to the Lions,
Speaker 1: who I think hit their four last year. They only
Speaker 1: won nine games after winning 15 the year before. How
Speaker 1: about just Dan Campbell with a chip on his shoulder?
Speaker 1: That's bringing me joy. You know, we got a little
Speaker 1: bored with the Lions on some level. Like we understand
Speaker 1: that story. It was a bummer to see them take
Speaker 1: such a big step back. He knows the Ben Johnson
Speaker 1: divorce went bad. A lot of the things we attributed
Speaker 1: to Ben Johnson, like the trick plays and the total aggression,
Speaker 1: like they cranked it up last year in Detroit. If anything,
Speaker 1: they did it more to varying degrees. you know, degrees
Speaker 1: of success, their problems were really on the defense. So
Speaker 1: I just like Goff, Campbell, this group, which has been
Speaker 1: together so long, just having a little bit of FU
Speaker 1: energy to them this year. They're no longer the darlings.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I like having a little bit of the
Speaker 2: carrot at the end of the stick for a group
Speaker 2: like this too, where.
Speaker 3: They're not really... Of course, the goals are Super Bowl
Speaker 3: and all of these things.
Speaker 2: They're a little bit more battle-scarred, and I think the
Speaker 2: goal for them isn't just winning more, but also respect
Speaker 2: and making sure..
Speaker 1: They've seen some things.
Speaker 3: They've seen some things.
Speaker 1: They've had some heartbreak.
Speaker 3: They've seen some things.
Speaker 2: And Dan Campbell has really felt the, what did he say...
Speaker 2: it was a Nietzsche reference. First, you must burn to
Speaker 2: ash and walk through the other side. And I was like, Oh,
Speaker 2: so he's really going through some stuff.
Speaker 1: He's an emotional guy. And it means so much to him.
Speaker 1: It reminds me a little of what you documented so
Speaker 1: well with Sean McVay back a few years. Like if,
Speaker 1: if they struggle, like he, he's going to feel it,
Speaker 1: but I don't think they necessarily will. What's bringing you joy?
Speaker 2: Well, you kind of mentioned it. They're a feel your
Speaker 2: feelings team. And I love that. I love when we
Speaker 2: get these rare, uh, hard on their sleeves type of
Speaker 2: organizations and efforts. And I think that's what the Detroit
Speaker 2: Lions is. it's part of how they captivated the country
Speaker 2: as much as they did early on in the Dan Campbell,
Speaker 2: Brad Holmes era. And I think they still are that
Speaker 2: team and they still are capable of these things. And
Speaker 2: I like the idea of being a big feel your
Speaker 2: feelings group without having the weight and the heaviness of
Speaker 2: expectations on them and the looming specter of what had
Speaker 2: just happened to them the year before.
Speaker 1: And they weren't as bad last year as people think
Speaker 1: when you dig, like they could have easily been an
Speaker 1: 11 win type of team. Let's go to the most
Speaker 1: important non-quarterback. To me, I had two offensive options because
Speaker 1: ultimately I think it's an offensive team. Do you have
Speaker 1: either Blake Miller or Sam Laporta as one of your picks?
Speaker 3: No, I do not.
Speaker 2: But I see you, Blake Miller or Sam Laporta, and
Speaker 2: I raise you, Hank Fraley. the offensive line coach. It's
Speaker 2: not really cheating. You said we could, you said we
Speaker 2: could pick. So I went over.
Speaker 1: I've done like an offensive line coach in the past.
Speaker 2: I'm going, I'm going overarching because I think that we
Speaker 2: know we don't even have to say it at this point.
Speaker 2: It's like, we are, we all know this, but just
Speaker 2: to repeat it, Jared Goff is one of the best
Speaker 2: passers in the NFL when he's not pressured, when he
Speaker 2: is pressured, it falls off a cliff. So I feel like,
Speaker 2: first of all, this, this offensive line, the way that
Speaker 2: it is with Panay Sewell moving back over to the
Speaker 2: left side, Blake Miller, the rookie playing on the right side,
Speaker 2: obviously he's one of your most important players. And then
Speaker 2: making sure that juice Scruggs, who seems to be the
Speaker 2: lead off option at center here, um, because Cade Mays
Speaker 2: is already hurt and is not expected to be back
Speaker 2: until maybe October, if not a little bit later, that
Speaker 2: was their big free agent signing, um, to replace Frank
Speaker 2: Ragnow after Frank Ragnow retired. So like a lot has
Speaker 2: happened to this group, um, over the last several months,
Speaker 2: and they were below expectation of what we're used to
Speaker 2: seeing from them last season. And so Hank Fraley coming
Speaker 2: into this role, but then also doing some of the
Speaker 2: run game coordination as well. All of this is so, so,
Speaker 2: so important because when this team runs the ball well,
Speaker 2: and when it protects Jared Goff, they are damn hard
Speaker 2: to stop.
Speaker 1: Blake Miller, you mentioned, was the first round pick. He's
Speaker 1: going to play right tackle. If he's a solid starter
Speaker 1: and Sewell... takes to the transition well. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: a great way to start your offensive line. And the
Speaker 1: optimist case would be the offensive line wasn't that good
Speaker 1: last year. And they were top five in giving up
Speaker 1: pressure rate on early downs last year. And so there's
Speaker 1: room to improve. And their offense was still pretty good
Speaker 1: despite the offensive line problems. I'll go quickly on Laporta,
Speaker 1: who already has a hip injury. similar to my argument
Speaker 1: with Colston Loveland. He's not as dynamic, I don't think,
Speaker 1: in the running game, but he has improved. But I
Speaker 1: think the offense, like in Chicago, these two teams really
Speaker 1: mirror each other in a lot of ways, needs to
Speaker 1: be special. And I think Jamison Williams at wide receiver
Speaker 1: can take another step up. We know who Amon Ross St.
Speaker 1: Brown is. We know who Jameer Gibbs is. I think
Speaker 1: they need Laporta to get to special, They can still
Speaker 1: be really, really good, but that's an injury that's now
Speaker 1: been lingering for a long time. He's missed some time
Speaker 1: as a pro. He might not be ready for week one.
Speaker 1: I just think he puts them over the top where
Speaker 1: they could be top three, top five offense. I don't
Speaker 1: think they make sense as a team anymore. in terms
Speaker 1: of what they want to do, unless they're a top
Speaker 1: five offense. You go first on scheme dream. Yeah. As usual,
Speaker 1: you're always batting lead off.
Speaker 2: Well, it's nice that you set me up in a,
Speaker 2: in a positive way there, Greg, because Sam Laporta becomes
Speaker 2: really crucial to specifically what Drew Petzing likes to do
Speaker 2: and what he wants to do as an offensive coordinator.
Speaker 2: Drew Petzing is the former offensive coordinator in Arizona. What
Speaker 2: do you really like to do? And he's of the
Speaker 2: Kubiak specific tree. So there's some crossover between Kubiak, Gary
Speaker 2: Kubiak and Mike Shanahan. There's all these like, you know, replicas.
Speaker 1: Of all the, they all kept hiring each other and
Speaker 1: working for.
Speaker 2: Each other and having kids. And then those kids would
Speaker 2: hire each other and.
Speaker 1: Not with each other. That's medically impossible. Sure. Like biologically.
Speaker 2: Thank you for that. Very important clarification. Um, I don't
Speaker 2: think that our listeners would have found that to be
Speaker 2: as obvious unless you really explain that.
Speaker 1: You could adopt.
Speaker 2: Um, so, so, Drew Patsing is of the Kubiak system.
Speaker 2: And so he really appreciates tight ends and running the
Speaker 2: offense through focal points at tight end or heavier personnel.
Speaker 2: So a lot of 12 personnel, two tight ends or
Speaker 2: 13 personnel, three tight ends when they were in Arizona
Speaker 2: and then really establishing bits and bobs at receiver kind
Speaker 2: of around all of that. But those guys are the
Speaker 2: focal point. So without Sam Laporta, that becomes obviously very concerning.
Speaker 2: And then he has to change and evolve a little
Speaker 2: bit because Amon Ra is as skilled as they come.
Speaker 2: And so maybe they treat him maybe like a hybrid
Speaker 2: tight end or like a power slot, like our friend
Speaker 2: Nate Tice likes to see. I think that Drew Petzing
Speaker 2: is a really good fit for what Jared Goff likes
Speaker 2: to do. Some of the longer bootlegs and the keepers,
Speaker 2: some of the, a ton of the play action that.
Speaker 3: Will still remain the same.
Speaker 2: And I think that it's really a good thing that
Speaker 2: the Lions have an experienced play caller again.
Speaker 3: Those are the main.
Speaker 2: Benefits in the ads to me that I think are
Speaker 2: positive in terms of my scheme dream.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I wanted to just believe in Dan Campbell's ability
Speaker 1: to hire last year because he's been so good. But
Speaker 1: you look at great coaches that they're not all home runs.
Speaker 1: And it didn't work out last year. And it was
Speaker 1: as big a deal as everyone was making it out
Speaker 1: to be in the offseason. It took some time to
Speaker 1: get that offense going. My scheme dream is how much...
Speaker 1: does Kelvin Shepard, the defensive coordinator, evolve? They're a very
Speaker 1: dramatic team. They love to rush three. They love to
Speaker 1: rush six. Like, nothing in between. Like, big blitzes, top
Speaker 1: of the league. Only rushing three and dropping everyone back
Speaker 1: into coverage, most in the league. They have three linebackers
Speaker 1: on the field, most in the league. They don't have
Speaker 1: three good linebackers right now, so that's a little worrisome. Like,
Speaker 1: they're starting Devin White right now. That gets into my
Speaker 1: things go wrong if. Certainly, they don't play... nickel date,
Speaker 1: which is means five defensive backs on the field. They
Speaker 1: play that the least they love to have a big,
Speaker 1: you know, stack the box, stop the run. It's, it's
Speaker 1: just dramatic. And I think it's risky kind of like
Speaker 1: a Dennis Allen defense. Again, these teams are mirrors.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And so I think it's a boom or bust type
Speaker 1: of defense. So how does Kelvin Shepard year two calling
Speaker 1: plays play? Evolve, I think, is big. And that gets
Speaker 1: into like the things go wrong if for me, which
Speaker 1: is just the back seven of this defense linebacker and
Speaker 1: the secondary getting absolutely flamed on paper. This is a
Speaker 1: rough looking linebacker in defensive back group until the safeties
Speaker 1: get healthy. I would posit if you were just drafting
Speaker 1: talent and you go linebacker and and definitely the secondary
Speaker 1: before Joseph and you know, Branch get back. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's a bottom five group.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's a huge concern to me because Kirby Joseph and
Speaker 2: Brian Branch, they might miss into week one.
Speaker 3: We don't know. We don't really.
Speaker 1: Oh, I think so. Yeah. The hope is that maybe
Speaker 1: Branch in September, Joseph, who knows?
Speaker 3: We don't have like a real timeline.
Speaker 2: And obviously because of his legal situation, Terry and Arnold,
Speaker 2: who was depth at this point was released and he
Speaker 2: was more, you know, playing corner.
Speaker 3: But it's for me, you cannot.
Speaker 2: This this is incongruous of a group based on where
Speaker 2: football is right now. Like, They found this out and
Speaker 2: Kevin Shepherd even talked about this, this spring where they
Speaker 2: found out that you cannot play base the way that
Speaker 2: they played base defense. So the three linebackers on the field,
Speaker 2: you cannot play it this way when your division has
Speaker 2: such good tight end play. When so many players are
Speaker 2: in these mismatches coming either out of the slot and
Speaker 2: they're the tight end, or they are the gigantic receiver
Speaker 2: or the mismatch receiver placed in the slot.
Speaker 3: You can't play that way.
Speaker 2: What a lot of teams around the league are going
Speaker 2: to be doing this year is maybe staying in base
Speaker 2: to defend the run which is the two linebackers but
Speaker 2: they will also then put a buffalo nickel or a
Speaker 2: star player so a larger safety usually a safety who
Speaker 2: can cover in the slot so when they're saying it's
Speaker 2: base what they're really doing is playing base nickel so
Speaker 2: really what they have to be doing is loading up
Speaker 2: their defensive backfield with those players the problem greg that
Speaker 2: you mentioned and i know our listeners are screaming it
Speaker 2: into their phones right now.
Speaker 3: They don't have enough guys.
Speaker 2: They don't have enough guys because you really want like
Speaker 2: a Brian branch to play that position for you. And
Speaker 2: they are not healthy enough to play defense the way
Speaker 2: that they should be playing defense right now, particularly in
Speaker 2: this to compete in this division. And so I am very,
Speaker 2: very concerned about this because I think Kelvin Shepard has,
Speaker 2: has all the talent in the world, but those, those
Speaker 2: types of adjustments had to have happened. And then injuries
Speaker 2: are preventing them from maybe getting into the adjustments that
Speaker 2: that they really feel like they want to. And even
Speaker 2: when they go up against like a Minnesota, for example,
Speaker 2: which I think we'll get to this, we'll just live
Speaker 2: in 11 personnel, like which feels like a throwback at
Speaker 2: this point. You still need to be in sub packages
Speaker 2: more of the time to defend that kind of a look.
Speaker 2: And so I'm really, really concerned about this. This is
Speaker 2: my big time red flag. Things go wrong if, because
Speaker 2: I love what they're doing up front and their guys
Speaker 2: that have come along and Aiden Hutchinson is obviously a superstar,
Speaker 2: but the secondary is so concerning to me.
Speaker 1: The optimistic point of view is that Branch and Joseph
Speaker 1: are hopefully full go like back to who they are
Speaker 1: by the time games really matter for the Lions. This
Speaker 1: is a team where it's about the playoffs. They have
Speaker 1: a solid cornerback in DJ Reed who they gave a
Speaker 1: lot of money to, but we're a little disappointed by
Speaker 1: how he was last year. You know, after that, it's
Speaker 1: like Rakia Sin and Christian.
Speaker 3: Roger McCreary's back there.
Speaker 1: He's there. It's some like names you recognize. Avante Maddox.
Speaker 1: They just need to coach it up. But on paper,
Speaker 1: it's not the best looking group. For my lanyard, sometimes
Speaker 1: we do just like a little extra if we have time.
Speaker 1: Tyler Lacey is starting for this team at Edge. We
Speaker 1: had talked about like the Edge battle coming into camp.
Speaker 1: He was like a waiver pickup from Jacksonville originally. Right now,
Speaker 1: he's playing ahead of DJ Wanham and their second round pick,
Speaker 1: Derek Moore, who's reportedly looked pretty good. So they're a
Speaker 1: little deeper, but some surprising news there. And then also,
Speaker 1: I just wanted to point out their win total. And
Speaker 1: this brings us right to the ceiling floor of the
Speaker 1: Dan Campbell era. Just here are their total wins since
Speaker 1: he's coached. Three, nine, 12, 15, and then nine. So
Speaker 1: at no point in this run has any season that's
Speaker 1: followed been within three wins of the season before. You know,
Speaker 1: it's plus six, plus three, plus three, minus six, If
Speaker 1: this was like a SAT problem, like what would, what
Speaker 1: would be next? Minus three. Either way, if they keep
Speaker 1: this up, they're either winning 12 games or they're winning
Speaker 1: six games. I hope that doesn't.
Speaker 2: I was going to say it's all multiples of three too.
Speaker 2: So for me, I would, I probably, I'd say their ceiling,
Speaker 2: I would go.
Speaker 1: Back to 12. 12 feels right.
Speaker 2: And honestly, like, again, I hate that I became this
Speaker 2: person doing this exercise because I hate talking about the
Speaker 2: schedule before games are actually played. But the Lions are
Speaker 2: set up pretty nicely for this season. schedule in terms
Speaker 2: of strength of opponent and i i i picked them
Speaker 2: to finish first in the nfc north as their ceiling
Speaker 2: i think feasibly i could see that and i think
Speaker 2: we've already seen what their floor is it's nine wins.
Speaker 1: I agree i think the ceiling is yeah winning the
Speaker 1: division can this team make it to the super bowl
Speaker 1: with this defense in this conference It's tough, but I
Speaker 1: think so. I do think somehow they could find a way,
Speaker 1: but it feels more likely that their ceiling is like
Speaker 1: a division winner and like a conference title winner. And
Speaker 1: as it goes to the schedule, look, that's the benefit
Speaker 1: of losing those games down the stretch. They got the
Speaker 1: last place schedule, so a couple of their games are
Speaker 1: different than the other teams in their division. And I
Speaker 1: know the numbers say... that even like the Bears, they
Speaker 1: do have a harder, like those couple games are tough.
Speaker 1: But out of division, this division has the AFC South.
Speaker 1: I mean, NFC South, that's great. And they have the
Speaker 1: AFC East, which has two of the teams that you
Speaker 1: would be expected to be favored against. So this entire
Speaker 1: division does have a chance, I think, to do what
Speaker 1: they did a year ago, which is get close to
Speaker 1: having everyone over 500. Last year, it actually happened. That's
Speaker 1: very difficult, but I think it could happen for all
Speaker 1: four of these teams.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 2: Can I actually tell you my lanyard? I know we're
Speaker 2: out on time.
Speaker 1: Oh, no. Oh, wow.
Speaker 3: It's a hashtag noticing.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: I am hashtag noticing that a lot of their offensive
Speaker 2: line depth is not homegrown depth. It's a little bit
Speaker 2: of a drafting red flag to me, and they've had to...
Speaker 2: If you're drafting, you have to continue to funnel guys
Speaker 2: in there... Um, even if you are like a pretty
Speaker 2: top heavy team, I mean, you, we sort of joke
Speaker 2: about this when the 49ers sit there and they don't,
Speaker 2: They don't end up being able to play like their future,
Speaker 2: their left tackle of the future for X amount of years,
Speaker 2: but they still went out and got them. And so
Speaker 2: it's like juice Scruggs and Ben Barton and Seth McLaughlin,
Speaker 2: who's the backup backup center. And, and Larry Borum is
Speaker 2: backing up right. It's it's guys that they've gone out
Speaker 2: and acquired and that's fine, but I am hashtag noticing
Speaker 2: that there's not a lot of draft and develop depth
Speaker 2: along the offensive line. And when we look at the team,
Speaker 2: like the Los Angeles chargers, for example, that bit them
Speaker 2: in the butt in a big way last year.
Speaker 1: A lot of misses for Brad Holmes. A lot of
Speaker 1: hits and misses in terms of the recent drafts. Eric,
Speaker 1: as we go to break here, I just want you
Speaker 1: to adjudicate. You know, the buzzer had already gone off.
Speaker 1: We've been pretty loose with that, but going back to
Speaker 1: another category to talk backup offensive linemen, yay or nay?
Speaker 1: Is that okay?
Speaker 2: Freedom!
Speaker 1: I had my finger on that.
Speaker 4: The Canadian geese honking horn button, but I felt mean.
Speaker 1: I mean, we've gone eight division previews. I've had to
Speaker 1: hit it once.
Speaker 2: We kind of just, we've been like long haul truckers.
Speaker 3: You just got to give me the cup of coffee.
Speaker 2: I would have felt mean to be honest.
Speaker 4: Just throwing it at Jordan. Eighth division preview. And all
Speaker 4: of a sudden I'm like, Hey, nope, too much.
Speaker 1: I'll let the listeners decide what they think. We will
Speaker 1: be back in, in yes, the best division in football.
Speaker 1: And we will be talking about the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 1: after the break. This could have happened like 90 seconds ago.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, sorry you lost that 90 seconds.
Speaker 1: Back on NFL Daily. The Green Bay Packers are a
Speaker 1: team that's already given joy to Jordan Rodriguez in this
Speaker 1: month because she got to visit them, to hang out
Speaker 1: at Lambeau, to talk to Jordan Love. What specifically, I guess,
Speaker 1: are you going to highlight here about this team as
Speaker 1: we see the legend Steve Weiss coming back?
Speaker 3: Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1: We are working on securing him as our designated QB
Speaker 1: Island hitter. We're returning on Kibi Island soon.
Speaker 3: Can't wait.
Speaker 2: What is bringing me joy about the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 2: is Jordan Love. Honestly, because I think he is so
Speaker 2: poised to have. a truly incredible season. I think that
Speaker 2: as the season continues and if everybody stays healthy, which
Speaker 2: is our big caveat here, he will be talked about
Speaker 2: as an MVP candidate. And I just have to say,
Speaker 2: like being around him, I could really understand why people
Speaker 2: in that building talk about him the way that they do.
Speaker 2: He is so calm and, but it's not, it does
Speaker 2: not come without an edge. He reaches every person in
Speaker 2: that locker room. He has a, just this incredible poise
Speaker 2: and confidence. And it's like, it's not a, um, it's
Speaker 2: not a demeanor that is maybe a pushover and it's not,
Speaker 2: it's very, it's of himself, very sure of himself. And
Speaker 2: I think that that has had a positive effect on
Speaker 2: everybody in that building. And it certainly has impacted the
Speaker 2: receiver clarity that we're now seeing. We'll get to that
Speaker 2: in a minute, but he absolutely is going to be
Speaker 2: one of my favorite players to watch all season. I
Speaker 2: hope he has the season that I am expecting him
Speaker 2: to have because I think he's poised for truly great
Speaker 2: things this year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he plays like he presents as a person, which
Speaker 1: is just a cool cockiness. I mean, he's always played
Speaker 1: with crazy confidence in what he is willing to try.
Speaker 1: But I love that we have made it to this
Speaker 1: moment in his career where it does feel like all
Speaker 1: the learning under Aaron Rodgers, all the experience now that
Speaker 1: he's had over the last few years. Statistically, you know,
Speaker 1: he was there with the top five quarterbacks in the
Speaker 1: NFL last year on a rate basis. And yet, I
Speaker 1: do think they're going to need to crank him up
Speaker 1: a little bit, rely less on the running game, and
Speaker 1: to stay that efficient while just passing more. I mean,
Speaker 1: when I looked at his final numbers last year, I
Speaker 1: was kind of shocked at how little he threw the ball.
Speaker 1: And yet, my most important non-quarterback. He's going to be
Speaker 1: a man by the name of Luke Butkus. Not a
Speaker 1: lot of heat for their offensive line coach, Luke Butkus,
Speaker 1: even though he's done a great job over the last
Speaker 1: few years and his name is Butkus.
Speaker 2: I can't believe you gave me crap for having an
Speaker 2: offensive line coach when one team later, you also had
Speaker 2: an offensive line coach.
Speaker 1: I did refer to the fact I think I've had
Speaker 1: an offensive line coach at some point in the process
Speaker 1: and You know, this was it.
Speaker 2: Listeners, this is a little slice of life for me
Speaker 2: and Greg Rosenthal right now.
Speaker 1: Consistency. I need to work on that. They have done
Speaker 1: a great job of like, they'll figure it out. Every
Speaker 1: year there's questions about, okay, who's here? Who's there? This group? Oh,
Speaker 1: and then in the end, it's greater than the sum
Speaker 1: of their parts. They are second, and this is from
Speaker 1: the team, so of course it's going to be favorable,
Speaker 1: but it's just a fact. Since they hired Luke Buckus,
Speaker 1: who doesn't get a lot of pop as one of
Speaker 1: the top offensive line coaches, they're second in the NFL
Speaker 1: in sack percentage allowed, sacks high allowed last season, very
Speaker 1: high in percentage of explosive runs and passes. That's been
Speaker 1: a little more up and down while he's been there.
Speaker 1: So they've always managed to figure it out, and yet, like,
Speaker 1: you like... Zach, uh, Baco Morgan, uh, Baco, uh, I
Speaker 1: should have written it down. That was from memory. So I'll,
Speaker 1: I'll accept any criticism there at right tackle the former
Speaker 1: Zach Tom. And then Sean Ryan is a guy who
Speaker 1: had never played center before, but they loved what they
Speaker 1: saw and gave him a long-term contract.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 1: There's two spots that you feel pretty good about after that.
Speaker 1: It's trying out their former right, you know, left tackle
Speaker 1: first round pick Jordan Morgan for the first time at
Speaker 1: that position as a, as a pro. It's a lot
Speaker 1: of questions. It's a battle at guard. They might have depth, like,
Speaker 1: but they're figuring it out. They're figuring it out.
Speaker 3: Jagger Burton is going to probably take that guard spot.
Speaker 1: That's, that's one of the spots that's open and it's fine.
Speaker 1: But I just think to your Hank Fraley point before,
Speaker 1: like he, they've kind of relied on having a top
Speaker 1: 10 offensive line and on paper, like my guy, Luke
Speaker 1: got a lot of work to do.
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's going to be a huge part of what
Speaker 2: they do. It kind of goes hand in hand with
Speaker 2: my most important non quarterback. As we see Andrew Siciliano
Speaker 2: now outside the glass, this is fun.
Speaker 3: We have everybody visiting us.
Speaker 1: The season's about to start. Yeah. By the way, Luke Buckus,
Speaker 1: nephew of Dick Buckus, not the son, not the grandson,
Speaker 1: but the nephew of Hall of Famer Dick Buckus.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 1: Just wanted to get that in there.
Speaker 3: Big shoes to fill.
Speaker 2: Um, in terms of some of the things you mentioned
Speaker 2: with the run game, it was funny in talking to
Speaker 2: Maliflor at Packers camp. It was like, he sort of
Speaker 2: was sarcastically self-aware about how much he ran the ball,
Speaker 2: maybe overly ran the ball last year.
Speaker 3: He's like, well, and you know, I do tend to
Speaker 3: run the ball a lot.
Speaker 2: And I go, you know, and, and that's what one
Speaker 2: thing that they're going to have to really think about
Speaker 2: this year. It goes into my, one of my most
Speaker 2: important non-quarterbacks slash even things go wrong. If, and talking
Speaker 2: about Marshawn Lloyd, for example, the running back, um, who
Speaker 2: has not been hurt or has not been healthy for
Speaker 2: multiple years now, who they've had high expectations and the
Speaker 2: expectation of really a large level of productivity for them,
Speaker 2: but has just, hasn't been able to get on the
Speaker 2: field and had a clean training camp and an exciting
Speaker 2: training camp with Josh Jacobs still going through the process of,
Speaker 2: of potential suspension for some really, really serious legal issues.
Speaker 2: This is really, really important because he's also not just
Speaker 2: crucial depth for them. but he is their best. I
Speaker 2: would say their best zone runner that they have on
Speaker 2: this roster. And the way that Matt LaFleur likes to
Speaker 2: run his offense, the wide zone and the zone run
Speaker 2: specifically are directly tied to what they call their transportation schemes,
Speaker 2: which are the sweeps and the screens and all of
Speaker 2: the misdirection things that they like to do in order
Speaker 2: to make everything look like it could be either run
Speaker 2: or pass. So it's a huge element of their playbook.
Speaker 2: that is really predicated on a, to your point, the
Speaker 2: offensive line doing what it needs to do. And also
Speaker 2: this running back who they are taking a gamble on,
Speaker 2: even though he has not been healthy, um, for, for
Speaker 2: several years. And so to me, it's a lot of
Speaker 2: things at once it's scheme dream. It's most important on quarterback.
Speaker 2: It's offensive line, like you mentioned, but that's kind of
Speaker 2: the Packers for you. Their questions that they have are big,
Speaker 2: big questions.
Speaker 1: They are Marshawn Lloyd's been a guy who hasn't been
Speaker 1: able to stay healthy and I've watched every one of
Speaker 1: his preseason carries. He's kind of picking and choosing. He's
Speaker 1: had good holes to run through. I think he needs
Speaker 1: to be a little more decisive. I do wonder if
Speaker 1: they will look for a veteran or if they're confident
Speaker 1: in Josh Jacobs, who hasn't been healthy. Josh Jacobs faces
Speaker 1: five criminal charges, including strangulation and suffocation. It was a
Speaker 1: domestic disturbance initially. It's complicated how... whether they're charged and
Speaker 1: in investigation and allegations, but these are the initial charges, battery,
Speaker 1: domestic abuse, critical damage to a property, domestic abuse, disorderly
Speaker 1: kind of, it was a lot intimidation of a victim
Speaker 1: and whether the NFL waits for that legal process to
Speaker 1: wait out. I kind of hate that we're back in
Speaker 1: the place of the NFL that like if a video
Speaker 1: came out that showed Josh Jacobs, it would be the
Speaker 1: Ray Rice thing all over again. But because we don't
Speaker 1: see a video that, it doesn't get mentioned too much
Speaker 1: and that they're of course just going to play him. Um,
Speaker 1: but I think, I think it's fair to have some
Speaker 1: criticism of the Packers just being like, okay, that's fine. Uh,
Speaker 1: we're just going to move on from that. And also
Speaker 1: he just hasn't been healthy. So it's a complicated football
Speaker 1: and off field issue for Josh Jacobs, but that makes
Speaker 1: me think they should get another player in there either way. Just,
Speaker 1: just get it either way. My scheme dream. I'll go
Speaker 1: first this time. I say, it every time. Well, just
Speaker 1: how aggressive is Jonathan Gannon? What is Jonathan Gannon in 2026?
Speaker 1: Jonathan Gannon was the Cardinals head coach last year. He
Speaker 1: came from Philadelphia where he went back and forth based
Speaker 1: on the talent that he had of like, I'm just
Speaker 1: going to sit back and let everything happen and and
Speaker 1: hopefully let my offense cook. And then sometimes he was aggressive,
Speaker 1: you know, certainly in Arizona, he would, him and Nick
Speaker 1: Rallis were very creative. I think he's going to have
Speaker 1: to provide an advantage because you've mentioned on the show,
Speaker 1: they might have a pre Micah Parsons plan and a
Speaker 1: post Micah Parsons plan. Micah Parsons, their best player is
Speaker 1: coming off, you know, that serious ACL. And he had
Speaker 1: said week six, I believe it is against the Cowboys is,
Speaker 1: is probably the earliest he could get back. The schedule helps.
Speaker 1: early in the season at Minnesota at the jets versus
Speaker 1: Atlanta at the bucks in terms of offenses you face,
Speaker 1: like that's manageable for the defense. I'm not saying it's
Speaker 1: all easy overall teams, but you could survive that early
Speaker 1: portion of the season, but. On paper, they're going to
Speaker 1: need their coach to be coaching because I don't really
Speaker 1: see the pass rush.
Speaker 2: Well, it's such a dire situation to the level that
Speaker 2: they've already shown some of what they're going to rely
Speaker 2: on in the preseason. You don't see them playing as
Speaker 2: vanilla as some of these other teams in the preseason.
Speaker 2: You're seeing Jonathan Gannon blitz. He doesn't really like to blitz.
Speaker 2: Like I say, he hasn't tendencies, has not had tendencies
Speaker 2: towards blitzing too much. Now, what they have loved to
Speaker 2: do is have moved players. And so the combination of
Speaker 2: manufacturing pressure is going to be really, really important. And
Speaker 2: when I was at training camp was incredible. It was,
Speaker 2: it was a significant uptick in anything I'd ever seen
Speaker 2: from them, uh, in this era and anything I'd seen
Speaker 2: from Jonathan Gannon in his coaching style either. And then
Speaker 2: also leaning on the three safeties that they're going to start,
Speaker 2: which Evan Williams, Xavier McKinney, and Javon Bullard and Javon Bullard,
Speaker 2: who I just talked about the importance of like a
Speaker 2: Buffalo nickel or a star.
Speaker 3: To me would be that player.
Speaker 2: Although Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney can move around to this,
Speaker 2: to me, accidentally sets them up in the perfect, uh,
Speaker 2: meeting of the moment of where they need, how they
Speaker 2: need to be covering teams. Anyway, it just stinks for
Speaker 2: them that their pressure isn't going to be there right
Speaker 2: away unless it's manufactured. So for me, having those three
Speaker 2: safety looks and then keeping edge Cooper on the field
Speaker 2: in that quote unquote base nickel that I just talked about,
Speaker 2: that's their money plan to me because, and certainly their
Speaker 2: pre Micah Parsons plan because edge Cooper, uh, even though
Speaker 2: he'll play off ball, will still rush the passer. And
Speaker 2: then they'll have the extra defensive back to either cover
Speaker 2: or defend the run like they want to be able
Speaker 2: to do without having to overcomplicate it. Some of the
Speaker 2: pressure will be more complicated than we've seen when it's
Speaker 2: being designed.
Speaker 3: But I think this is such a.
Speaker 2: Simple solution to what is a huge problem for them.
Speaker 2: And I would hope that they don't overthink it or
Speaker 2: overcomplicate it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my things go wrong if is just asking a
Speaker 1: couple rhetorical questions. who is their best defensive lineman? It's
Speaker 1: like Devante Wyatt. They gave a contract to, so I
Speaker 1: guess he's probably it right now. You know, the other
Speaker 1: options would be Lucas Van Ness, Baylin Terrell. And then
Speaker 1: the other, the other question would be who is their
Speaker 1: best cornerback?
Speaker 3: Sissy.
Speaker 1: Brandon Cissé, second round pick.
Speaker 3: Like, I say it wrong every single time.
Speaker 1: A very boom or bust prospect, like who may or
Speaker 1: may not start, you know, it probably is starting.
Speaker 3: If he's healthy, he's going to start, I bet.
Speaker 1: But yeah, like if you're counting on a second round
Speaker 1: rookie to be your best cornerback.
Speaker 3: No, they have huge, huge issues.
Speaker 1: It's trouble.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought that up because they do have
Speaker 2: huge depth issues. And that's again, why I think they're
Speaker 2: just going to lean. They're going to totally funnel this
Speaker 2: entire plan through the safeties because they are really strong
Speaker 2: there and really depend on at least one of those
Speaker 2: players being a move player, like how I had mentioned,
Speaker 2: you know, back when I was reporting on this, that,
Speaker 2: that they use the Gannon use Buddha Baker, for example, um,
Speaker 2: which is not going to fix everything. but you can't
Speaker 2: expect to fix everything before Micah Parsons returns. And even
Speaker 2: then you might not be able to fix everything because
Speaker 2: corner to me is a huge, huge concern where I'm
Speaker 2: not as concerned anymore is at their receiver position. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Because not only did I see clarity in that group,
Speaker 2: but it also is showing up in the preseason as well.
Speaker 2: What clarity they have with Matthew Golden in a more
Speaker 2: defined role with Christian Watson playing the role that he
Speaker 2: seems very, very equipped and built for. I think Sky
Speaker 2: Moore makes this team. I mentioned the transportation schemes. And
Speaker 2: then I really actually appreciated what I saw from Savion Williams,
Speaker 2: who's been hurt, but he's big, he's fast, he's strong.
Speaker 2: I just think he could really contribute to this group
Speaker 2: if he's asked.
Speaker 1: Jaden Reed, still in the mix. The defined roles, like
Speaker 1: their route to being as good as they want to
Speaker 1: be is a... extremely efficient, and I think higher volume
Speaker 1: passing attack. They've already been efficient and love just being
Speaker 1: like an MVP candidate. Now going through the exercise, these
Speaker 1: three teams at the top of the division, if we're
Speaker 1: considering Minnesota in terms of looking at Vegas in terms
Speaker 1: of the odds are expected to come in fourth, they're
Speaker 1: all so similar. They all just need their defense to
Speaker 1: be good enough. I think the Packers have higher hopes eventually,
Speaker 1: but I don't know. They might all just cancel each
Speaker 1: other out a little bit where the ceiling is more of, yeah,
Speaker 1: they can win the division. It's a little hard to
Speaker 1: see this team making the Super Bowl. And the floor,
Speaker 1: I do think, is last place in this division, which
Speaker 1: would cause some real soul-searching for this organization. I..
Speaker 2: Think that their biggest weak spot is no longer going
Speaker 2: to be a weak spot in October when Micah Parsons
Speaker 2: comes back. And I think that with Micah Parsons and
Speaker 2: then someone who we didn't mention but absolutely should, Tucker Kraft,
Speaker 2: being back in the mix on this offense, this to
Speaker 2: me is one of the most high ceiling teams in
Speaker 2: this division. And certainly one of the most high ceiling
Speaker 2: teams in the NFL. That doesn't mean that they, that
Speaker 2: doesn't mean that they have.
Speaker 1: So you think they have a higher ceiling than the bears?
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 1: And then the, how about the lions? Uh, About Tide.
Speaker 3: About Tide.
Speaker 2: And that's why this division is hard. But that's the thing.
Speaker 2: It doesn't mean they don't have glaring weaknesses. It's just
Speaker 2: that I think that their best players are so much
Speaker 2: better than so many other best players. And with the quarterback,
Speaker 2: that to me makes them Super Bowl potential once everybody's back.
Speaker 1: I buy that. It's one of those divisions, like I said,
Speaker 1: you could tell me anything. Matt LaFleur has provided such
Speaker 1: a high floor for this team. I think that's underrated.
Speaker 1: Just contending each and every year, eventually figure that they'll
Speaker 1: break through. Then they really haven't, you know, they haven't
Speaker 1: had the real down year. And so I don't expect
Speaker 1: that to happen. I think this is a playoff team,
Speaker 1: but I think that about the first three teams. And
Speaker 1: I know when we get to the end of this
Speaker 1: month and are picking like our playoff teams, like it's
Speaker 1: hard to squeeze three teams from the same division unless
Speaker 1: you're keeping like the Seahawks or the Rams out, you know,
Speaker 1: you could do it. You could find a way to
Speaker 1: do it.
Speaker 3: What about the ultimate X factor? Trace Mack.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. Trace Mack. Talk about a gamer guy that
Speaker 1: was struggling in practice. You put them out there in
Speaker 1: the preseason and he looks like a Brandon Aubrey part two.
Speaker 1: Love it. Minnesota Vikings. Like I said, In Vegas, the
Speaker 1: odds are pretty close in this division, but they are,
Speaker 1: you know, it's kind of the big three. And then
Speaker 1: the Vikings, what is bringing you joy about this team?
Speaker 3: Brian Flores' contract extension.
Speaker 1: Oh, okay. I like that.
Speaker 3: Which is a kind of a deep, winter throwback.
Speaker 1: I forgot it ever happened.
Speaker 3: Exactly.
Speaker 2: I was going to say it really, really went under
Speaker 2: the radar and was sort of forgotten about. It was
Speaker 2: one of the best hires a team could make in
Speaker 2: the moment. And it has remained that because this, this group,
Speaker 2: which like doesn't let you down, like where you're supposed
Speaker 2: to think about, um, regression or things not being sticky,
Speaker 2: quote unquote, for, for defenses and certain things that like
Speaker 2: high volume pressure, uh, versus more, uh, conservative play, like
Speaker 2: things that are, are high variance versus not like Brian
Speaker 2: Flores just says, uh, Maybe we'll regress between like week
Speaker 2: seven and nine and then we're fine again. Like he
Speaker 2: really does not give a hoot about your regression.
Speaker 1: I love it. Not a word I think Brian Flores
Speaker 1: would use. Yeah, right.
Speaker 2: I'm working on the live calling. I'm working on not
Speaker 2: swearing as much.
Speaker 1: I think that's important. I think it's good for Eric
Speaker 1: as well.
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: So, um, but I, I just think it was such a, again,
Speaker 2: it went under the radar. I wanted to bring it
Speaker 2: up here. He has been such an asset for this
Speaker 2: group and he's going to have his work cut out
Speaker 2: for him this year with a couple of big personnel questions.
Speaker 3: On that side of the ball.
Speaker 1: Yeah. He, he is part of my things go wrong.
Speaker 1: If like him, not just being spinning some magic, but
Speaker 1: in terms of joy, it's just Justin Jefferson with a quarterback.
Speaker 1: And that's, that's, You know, a little bit of hope
Speaker 1: is built into me saying that. I believe that Kyler
Speaker 1: can feed him the ball, that Kyler can do enough.
Speaker 1: And if Kyler doesn't perform as well as Vikings fans want,
Speaker 1: I still think there's going to be a lot of
Speaker 1: highlights with Justin Jefferson. When Kyler... has had like real
Speaker 1: deal receivers. And he really hasn't that often in his career.
Speaker 1: If you look back, cause it was like the end
Speaker 1: of Fitzgerald, just like one year, he had that 1400
Speaker 1: yard year with Deandre Hopkins. And then Hopkins got hurt
Speaker 1: and kind of was never the same again. When Trey
Speaker 1: McBride emerged, it was catching 111 passes from Kyler. So
Speaker 1: he is not afraid to go to his best players.
Speaker 1: And if you think about Kyler's career and look at
Speaker 1: those Cardinals team, it is easily the deepest group of
Speaker 1: weapons and that he's ever had. And he's someone that's
Speaker 1: not afraid to throw it. So I think he's receiver friendly,
Speaker 1: whether like he's reading the defense and getting all the operations.
Speaker 1: and not making mistakes that's kind of what's going to
Speaker 1: determine if they win or lose but from a pure
Speaker 1: numbers and like enjoying watching on sunday i'm just happy
Speaker 1: to have the best receiver in football justin jefferson with
Speaker 1: a quarterback and yes that was uh you know just
Speaker 1: like the mildest of shots to Jamar Chaser and any
Speaker 1: other receiver that wants to believe that they're the best.
Speaker 1: I still stick with Justin.
Speaker 2: Well, I just can't wait to see him do his
Speaker 2: thing the way we know he can and not sort
Speaker 2: of have to bandaid over certain things that they struggled with. J.J. McCarthy,
Speaker 2: you know, at the at the wheel last season for me.
Speaker 2: this kind of goes into my, a little bit of
Speaker 2: my scheme dream.
Speaker 1: Go for it. Just do it.
Speaker 2: I have just my hot take about this group is
Speaker 2: that every other team in this division is going to
Speaker 2: load up and play heavier personnel all the time. And
Speaker 2: the Vikings should not, they should not do that. And
Speaker 2: I don't think they want to based on looking at
Speaker 2: their roster construction. It's Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Juwan Jennings.
Speaker 3: Like is this sneaky one of.
Speaker 2: The best three receiver groups in the NFL when you
Speaker 2: think about how high Justin Jefferson's ceiling is.
Speaker 3: And Juwan Jennings is a really, really solid receiver, too.
Speaker 1: It could be the best.
Speaker 2: A good to great one. And Jordan Addison, we've seen
Speaker 2: big potential from him, too. They will be and should
Speaker 2: be one of the rare teams that does live in
Speaker 2: 11 this year and actually bodes well for them because
Speaker 2: every other defense in the league is preparing for an
Speaker 2: onslaught of heavier personnels. And so getting the speed and
Speaker 2: the mismatches with these players is going to be, to me,
Speaker 2: kind of a little bit of a secret weapon. And
Speaker 2: it's where Kevin O'Connell wants to live there, too. He
Speaker 2: loves playing in 11.
Speaker 1: It's slept on how loaded this offense is if Kyler
Speaker 1: can deliver. I think Jordan Addison is very underrated. He's
Speaker 1: made some knuckleheaded decisions off the field with the speeding
Speaker 1: and everything like when he was young. And yet like
Speaker 1: he is better than his numbers say he is one
Speaker 1: of the better number twos in the league. I think
Speaker 1: Jennings is one of the better threes. They've said they've
Speaker 1: loved this camp from Miles Price, who is like an
Speaker 1: undrafted free agent, who I think is going to be
Speaker 1: a little bit of a factor. They even had, you know,
Speaker 1: they had Ty Felton third round pick a year ago
Speaker 1: is improving. And then TJ Hawkins is a year healthier.
Speaker 1: Hopefully he's obviously not as very peak, but him and
Speaker 1: Josh Oliver are a good combination when you need, want
Speaker 1: to use. the receivers. So like the tight end at receiver.
Speaker 1: So I like all that. And my scheme dream is
Speaker 1: the running side with Frank Smith. Actually, we've hit Frank
Speaker 1: Smith and their zone running. They want to do so
Speaker 1: much in the camp. I'm going to go back to
Speaker 1: Flores and just say it's rare to have so much continuity.
Speaker 1: I know they've lost some players. They got rid of
Speaker 1: Grenard because of finances. Harrison Smith retires. We'll see if
Speaker 1: he comes back. But it's pretty rare to have like
Speaker 1: a guy who is now has so many of his
Speaker 1: guys just year after year since he took over Flores
Speaker 1: and they were 24th in efficiency when he took over.
Speaker 1: 11 third second. I mean, this is an elite defense.
Speaker 1: And so his guys, I would include Josh Metellus, the safety,
Speaker 1: Byron Murphy, the cornerback, Andrew Van Ginkle. These are all
Speaker 1: guys they brought in. Blake Cashman. I mean, Eric Wilson
Speaker 1: is a linebacker. Flores is great identifying talent that's going
Speaker 1: to work because I think he's big on bringing these
Speaker 1: players in. They're not stars, but they get his system
Speaker 1: and they're all back together again.
Speaker 2: Well, and I even trust him to make the most
Speaker 2: with some of the personnel shuffling that they've had to do,
Speaker 2: because I loved the identification and wanting to bring in
Speaker 2: a guy like Jamal Adams, who if you're going to
Speaker 2: be a guy who is blitzing a lot and you
Speaker 2: are going to come only do that essentially for a defense,
Speaker 2: it's going to be the Brian Flores defense. And obviously
Speaker 2: he got hurt. So that was really unfortunate, but I
Speaker 2: always pay attention to, especially my colleague, Alec Lewis and
Speaker 2: some of the, the camp reports, because Alec is really
Speaker 2: good at saying the thing without overtly saying the thing,
Speaker 2: because PR would, you know, you know, What a lot
Speaker 2: of people don't know is the condition of the credential
Speaker 2: is you can't report certain scheme things if you're a
Speaker 2: beat writer, but you can hint at it. And Alec
Speaker 2: is so good at it. And he just has these
Speaker 2: little hints, sprinkles of players who it is very clear
Speaker 2: they are Flores guys. And it's this kid, Jacob Thomas,
Speaker 2: an undrafted free agent out of James Madison.
Speaker 1: Let's go.
Speaker 2: It was basically like running the show at safety at
Speaker 2: a certain point and commanding all the rotations of the
Speaker 2: funky stuff that they like to do. And I'm looking
Speaker 2: at James Madison and the history of that defense and
Speaker 2: how they overachieved. And I'm sitting there and I'm like..
Speaker 1: The Dukes.
Speaker 3: I'm like, oh, duh. Of course he's a Brian Flores guy.
Speaker 2: And I sit there and I love this about Brian
Speaker 2: Flores is that he can basically ID exactly what will
Speaker 2: work specific to his thing.
Speaker 1: And nobody..
Speaker 2: Else even knows what the hell that is because he,
Speaker 2: he has no tendencies. He's so hard to predict because
Speaker 2: he loves five man fronts or six man fronts. He
Speaker 2: loves dropping everybody. He loves blitzing on early downs or
Speaker 2: then sometimes not like it just, it's, it's fantastic. I'd
Speaker 2: like to see them continue to improve up front as well.
Speaker 2: It sounds like Dallas Turner is having an awesome camp.
Speaker 2: I know you love your guy, big citrus as well.
Speaker 1: Um, Dominique orange. I have Turner as my most important
Speaker 1: on quarterback.
Speaker 2: Okay, great.
Speaker 1: Cause I just think he, you know, he's a ascending
Speaker 1: third year pass rusher and they've had a history of
Speaker 1: really great pass rushes and they're thinner than they've been
Speaker 1: in the past. And so can he get to, I
Speaker 1: think he can definitely get to a Jonathan Grenard level.
Speaker 1: Can he get to like a, a Daniel Hunter back
Speaker 1: in the day type spicy type level where you're a
Speaker 1: top five to 10 passer? I don't know, but he's
Speaker 1: been an ascending player and I think they need him
Speaker 1: to be great. Yeah.
Speaker 3: I think, My things go wrong.
Speaker 2: If unfortunately has a lot to do with the position
Speaker 2: that somewhat ironically is always the biggest question with this team,
Speaker 2: with the head coach that has talked so much about
Speaker 2: developing quarterbacks and working with quarterbacks. And that is Kyler Murray.
Speaker 2: If we get a streaky Kyler Murray season.
Speaker 3: But it's not just Kyler.
Speaker 2: And I, and I appreciate what we've seen with them
Speaker 2: from the off season that they are working on rebuilding
Speaker 2: this run game with Aaron Jones, with Jordan Mason, who
Speaker 2: I think Jordan Mason is still a little bit underrated
Speaker 2: and this type of system, he can really thrive in it.
Speaker 2: But for me, trying to lift the floor as much
Speaker 2: as possible with a better run game and then adding
Speaker 2: Kyler to the mix as a runner is a really,
Speaker 2: really exciting concept. Not that he's going to be taking
Speaker 2: off on these zone reads all the time, but the
Speaker 2: threat of him taking off is so significant because of
Speaker 2: what he still can do. My biggest concern and question is,
Speaker 2: is he, if he's streaky, if we get eight or
Speaker 2: nine really, really good games, really good Kyler games, and
Speaker 2: then we get streakiness or potential injury, the rest of it,
Speaker 2: because if he's just there for, as of now of
Speaker 2: one year, they are going to push hard to try
Speaker 2: to maximize what he does. And I have concern about
Speaker 2: that on his body. Um, but we'll see, we will see.
Speaker 1: And I just, I really want to run more.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And I, but I really want to see this. I
Speaker 2: really want every, I want this to be a best
Speaker 2: case scenario because it's more fun for us. Because how
Speaker 2: fun would that be to see him extend plays and
Speaker 2: just like throw the ball the hell down the field
Speaker 2: to like a Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison? Like there's
Speaker 2: so much fun potential in what this offense can be.
Speaker 2: He's going to align from everywhere. It's just going to be,
Speaker 2: it's exciting to think about and I hope they can
Speaker 2: meet the potential.
Speaker 1: Huge year in his career. It's really, what direction is
Speaker 1: the rest of your career going to take year for
Speaker 1: him and possibly KOC? Because KOC, you know, things go wrong.
Speaker 1: If for me is like, if it's all just like
Speaker 1: a little too much, the, the natives are a little
Speaker 1: restless there in Minnesota and just there, there could be,
Speaker 1: can he handle any negativity? Can Kyler handle if, if
Speaker 1: it doesn't start great, I could just, it's such a
Speaker 1: tough division. I could just see things spiraling a little
Speaker 1: and being dramatic, but no, I like that Kyler. I
Speaker 1: was trying to think who's had a career like Kyler.
Speaker 1: And like, this is like, The inflection point. The best
Speaker 1: I could come up with while you were talking was
Speaker 1: Carson Palmer. Nice to know you were paying attention. No,
Speaker 1: I was listening, but I'm also thinking of like Kyle.
Speaker 1: I totally agree with what you're saying. Yeah. Because it's
Speaker 1: not Sam Darnold. Sam Darnold was more prototypical of what
Speaker 1: KOC wanted, but also like he hadn't been that guy
Speaker 1: before Minnesota. Kyler Murray is a number one pick is
Speaker 1: produced at a really high level and had MVP streaks
Speaker 1: in him, which is similar to Palmer for me. But
Speaker 1: think how much different we think of Carson Palmer because
Speaker 1: of the Arizona days. Can Kyler Murray have kind of
Speaker 1: his act two Arizona days where actually this turns into
Speaker 1: a three or four year really productive big number run?
Speaker 1: I think he has that in him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's if we're talking about floors and ceilings,
Speaker 2: I think that's Kyler's ceiling. And, you know, I just
Speaker 2: I hope that he stays healthy because I would like
Speaker 2: to see what he can do and how he's learned
Speaker 2: to maybe mitigate some of that streakiness he's run into
Speaker 2: that's not injury related. And what he can do when
Speaker 2: he has a great supporting cast. And like I mentioned,
Speaker 2: a higher floor. This is the one time a team
Speaker 2: is like, we're redoing our run game where I actually
Speaker 2: believe it.
Speaker 3: I truly do believe.
Speaker 2: That this, you know, including Kevin O'Connell, he said it
Speaker 2: for like three years and then it never quite took off.
Speaker 2: This is the year that I actually..
Speaker 1: It's going to be different even if it doesn't work.
Speaker 1: Hopefully it works. A little landing up here. The James
Speaker 1: Madison Dukes. I strongly considered going to James Madison at
Speaker 1: one point because my main... criteria was a warm city
Speaker 1: and that's not really a city there so that would
Speaker 1: that that hurt but i just wanted somewhere warm mostly
Speaker 1: was like the south i wasn't really thinking california but
Speaker 1: i thought i thought hard on james madison.
Speaker 2: You could give me 60 guesses and i wouldn't be
Speaker 2: able to guess where james madison is.
Speaker 1: I'm not even totally sure right now somewhere in virginia
Speaker 1: though for sure you think that's warm oh it's i
Speaker 1: mean compared to massachusetts pretty big difference yeah Where is it?
Speaker 1: Now I'm really... It's sad that at one point I
Speaker 1: obviously knew it well. The college. Big, big school. Harrisonburg. Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Speaker 1: Of course it's warm. What are you talking about?
Speaker 3: It doesn't... I thought it snows in Virginia.
Speaker 1: I mean, it like you have, you have a winter
Speaker 1: compared to certainly New Orleans or LA, the places I
Speaker 1: ended up. Ceiling floor, but it's still warmer.
Speaker 2: Uh, this is, this is not a team that I
Speaker 2: thought now I love their skill guys, but this was
Speaker 2: not a team that I thought, oh yeah, it's a given.
Speaker 2: I could totally see this team in the Superbowl. That
Speaker 2: was the one, this was the one that was a
Speaker 2: little sticky for me. Now I still, what's funny is
Speaker 2: I still see their ceiling as in the mix too much.
Speaker 3: Be leaders in this, in this.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's, that's not getting on the, you know,
Speaker 1: in the mix to be leaders. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: qualifiers there.
Speaker 3: Well, that's, I love, I love those.
Speaker 1: Put a number on it.
Speaker 3: I love those.
Speaker 1: So you think they can win the division?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Like that's their ceiling.
Speaker 3: I could see it.
Speaker 2: And if, again, if all the things we're talking about
Speaker 2: go right, like I could see it because they'll be
Speaker 2: able to do something different on offense than everybody else.
Speaker 1: Biggest variance team in this division to me could, I
Speaker 1: think they could make the Superbowl. I mean, it would
Speaker 1: be surprising, but I, I think their ceiling is quite high.
Speaker 1: I think the offense could be dramatically improved. And then
Speaker 1: if the defense is anywhere close, I do think the
Speaker 1: defense at some point, like it's, it's a risky type
Speaker 1: of defense. They could have a bad year. One of
Speaker 1: these years, like we've seen it with these types of coaches.
Speaker 3: That I'll believe it when I see it.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: But if they had a bad year, then this team
Speaker 1: could be seven and 10, you know, certainly, um, I
Speaker 1: like the Vikings.
Speaker 3: It's kind of one of those things.
Speaker 2: If I'm willing to believe that they're going to fix
Speaker 2: the run game after saying it so many years, I
Speaker 2: am also willing to believe, and in probably more enthusiasm,
Speaker 2: that Brian Flores is not going to have a bad year.
Speaker 1: Okay. I like that. And that probably would indicate you
Speaker 1: don't have them in last place. So I mentioned the odds.
Speaker 1: The odds are a little surprising. Just checked them. I
Speaker 1: think they're quite schedule related, but the Lions are the
Speaker 1: favorites in the division. The Packers are second. The Bears
Speaker 1: are third. And they're kind of equally spaced out, not
Speaker 1: that that close to each other. And the Vikings are
Speaker 1: not a distant fourth, you know, better than most fourth
Speaker 1: place teams. But there is a big gap, at least
Speaker 1: in terms of the odds. I will have you go
Speaker 1: first picking this order.
Speaker 3: One, two, three, four. I love picking so much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this might surprise you actually, Greg, because I put
Speaker 2: the Lions first.
Speaker 3: Okay. I put the Packers second.
Speaker 1: You said you were going to surprise me. I don't
Speaker 1: know if the Lions surprised me. You're right. I guess
Speaker 1: if I had to guess, I thought you were going
Speaker 1: to go Packers.
Speaker 3: No, I put the Packers second. I put.
Speaker 2: The Bears third. And I put the Vikings fourth. Now,
Speaker 2: that said... The first three teams I could see being
Speaker 2: in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: I know. I like the Bears, and yet I feel
Speaker 1: like I need to spice things up a little bit. Like,
Speaker 1: I want to put the Vikings maybe in the playoffs
Speaker 1: in some way. I don't feel good about any of
Speaker 1: this in this division.
Speaker 2: No matter what we pick, we're going to be wrong
Speaker 2: because it's that wild of a division.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 3: It's freedom.
Speaker 1: You don't know. That's true.
Speaker 3: Let go a little bit, you know?
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: I'll go Lions, Vikings, Bears, Packers.
Speaker 4: Out of all the division previews, that's going to be
Speaker 4: the graphic we put out.
Speaker 1: No, it's not.
Speaker 3: Please don't.
Speaker 2: Please don't because the Packers fans we know are extremely online.
Speaker 1: I like the Packers. I always pick the Packers to
Speaker 1: do well. I can't even abide by that. I'm flipping
Speaker 1: and I'm flipping the Packers at least putting the bears
Speaker 1: in last either way.
Speaker 3: The Bears last?
Speaker 1: Well, someone's got to be last if I put the
Speaker 1: Vikings second. Oh, I don't think the Bears are going
Speaker 1: to be last. I've gotten very chocked with these predictions.
Speaker 1: Ben Johnson's going to come for you.
Speaker 2: Think of the Ben Johnson stare and then see if
Speaker 2: you want to reconsider.
Speaker 1: Well, I am really hoping I'm wrong, at least statistically,
Speaker 1: because I went early with a Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland
Speaker 1: stack on my fantasy team. So I will be watching
Speaker 1: those Bears.
Speaker 2: See, this is what we call the Rosenthal hedge, where
Speaker 2: he picks someone and someone's going to get mad, except
Speaker 2: they can't really get mad because you guys were first
Speaker 2: on my fantasy team.
Speaker 1: I will try to make that the last time I
Speaker 1: talk about my fantasy team. It's come up three times today.
Speaker 1: Nobody wants to hear about your fantasy team. And yet
Speaker 1: we're going to be doing our fantasy preview later on
Speaker 1: this week. Hit that music. Good show, Jordan.
Speaker 3: It's good to be back in the studio.
Speaker 1: Also in the studio. is where you will be conducting
Speaker 1: a big-time interview. Quickly, tell them about it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we've got Adam Barry, assistant GM of the Philadelphia Eagles,
Speaker 2: coming up on Power Play.
Speaker 1: That is next. And then, yes, we're going to do
Speaker 1: another fantasy football preview later in the week. See you then.