Speaker 1: Be Around the NFL Podcast needs to get a lawyer.
Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Around the NFL Podcast.
Speaker 1: My name is Dan Hans is coming to you from
Speaker 1: a virtual room filled with some heroes. Mark Sessler, Greg Rosenthal.
Speaker 1: What is up, bullies? Ah, big week, big week in
Speaker 1: this great year? Oh why are you the way that
Speaker 1: you are? If you're you know, people are just listening
Speaker 1: to this through audio channels. But I just and we
Speaker 1: just watched Greg do something with his body. Um what
Speaker 1: was that? Greg? What were you doing there with your
Speaker 1: fists in your arms, just kind of moving them in
Speaker 1: an awkward way. I call that pure uncut sex. Yeah,
Speaker 1: whats It's one of the benefits of taping at home,
Speaker 1: Like we'll always look back at this year, Like remember
Speaker 1: that year they kept putting us on the network and
Speaker 1: we could just wear T shirts. Yeah, before they buried
Speaker 1: us when everyone went back to It's like when I
Speaker 1: got four arms like this, you know, you just want
Speaker 1: to show it off. You have to. You have to
Speaker 1: know it's demand and people are demanding it, so you do.
Speaker 1: It does remind me that there will be a time,
Speaker 1: hopefully not too far down the road, where we have
Speaker 1: a vaccine and and the government has stunned us all
Speaker 1: by rolling it out in a way that all of
Speaker 1: America benefits from it, and we move beyond this horrific plague.
Speaker 1: And then we get told maybe via email, maybe a
Speaker 1: secondary manager type, that we no longer have television programs,
Speaker 1: that we are no longer needed really on any level
Speaker 1: except for your cute little podcast. That time is coming.
Speaker 1: But I will take that trade off if it means
Speaker 1: that we don't have to wear masks outside anymore. You know,
Speaker 1: there's some good vaccine news coming up. People getting pretty
Speaker 1: optimistic about, you know, late into early spring that you
Speaker 1: know it could happen. So it's starting to have a
Speaker 1: little bit of alright. Week five. Week five in the NFL. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Week four was impacted by the coronavirus with a postponement,
Speaker 1: uh two post moments one game that got taken care
Speaker 1: of on Monday, and of course the Steelers and Titans,
Speaker 1: which was moved to the middle of the season. We're
Speaker 1: going to go through all the games that are going
Speaker 1: to be played Week five. We won't dig in obviously
Speaker 1: on the Bills and Titans, and that's for obvious reasons.
Speaker 1: At the time of this taping, there's just too much
Speaker 1: unknown out there, So what's the point of us pretending
Speaker 1: to games happening. We don't even know who's playing, who's available,
Speaker 1: if they're playing, so uh, don't get angry at us.
Speaker 1: Uh tytoons, excuse me, Titans fans, and I don't know.
Speaker 1: You might have a case there at this point, but
Speaker 1: what to bring it back? I mean, I like that
Speaker 1: about three cases right right? This is a this is
Speaker 1: a more clownish scenario that then, you know, dropping a
Speaker 1: week eight game to the Jaguars or something they've created
Speaker 1: total tumult. He said it. People, No, but I know
Speaker 1: what you're saying exactly anyway, So we're not gonna hit
Speaker 1: that game. But if it is indeed played, um, we
Speaker 1: will of course cover it on the Sunday night Flagship
Speaker 1: Show or hypothetically Monday night Tuesday Night. I don't know.
Speaker 1: It's all so crazy right now, but let's get into
Speaker 1: the rest of the game's folks, and we do it
Speaker 1: draft style, and Mark, uh, you just so happened to
Speaker 1: have the number one overall pick where you go, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go pick the Indianapolis called traveling to Cleveland to
Speaker 1: face the three and one Browns, and I am trying
Speaker 1: to remember a preview show in our long history where
Speaker 1: we had the Browns as the number one pick, I
Speaker 1: mean without me pulling some sort of shenanigans. That's that's
Speaker 1: been improbable in our in the run of our show.
Speaker 1: So how did we get here? I would point to
Speaker 1: someone named Paul de Podesta, the chief strategy officer of
Speaker 1: the Browns, who a year ago before they you're gonna
Speaker 1: mention the vibriss that originated somewhere else in the world
Speaker 1: and came here. Well, that's a factor too. But de
Speaker 1: Podesta pushed to hire Kevin Stefanski before they hired Freddy Kitchens.
Speaker 1: He pushed to hire Andrew Berry. And for the first
Speaker 1: time ever, we have a head coach in a GM
Speaker 1: that are married together without a lot of infighting and politics.
Speaker 1: And it is showing in this in this team right now.
Speaker 1: And they they asked a couple of the players, what
Speaker 1: do you think about Stefanski's play calling Darren Gutsy And
Speaker 1: we saw that against the Cowboys, a series of trick plays,
Speaker 1: the fifty yard run by Odell in a tough spot.
Speaker 1: I just think this is a different type of team
Speaker 1: than we've seen in Cleveland a really long time. And
Speaker 1: you know people can say, why doesn't Baker Mayfield, why
Speaker 1: is he throwing for three d yards a game? Well,
Speaker 1: you don't need him to right now. He has been
Speaker 1: tracked as the when you look at perfect ball location,
Speaker 1: PFF looks at this the number one quarterback right now.
Speaker 1: And I know that there are some plays that Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield would want back, but he is working well in
Speaker 1: this system. The run game is on fire. You know
Speaker 1: there are concerns that Nick Chub is not part of that.
Speaker 1: But Greg, I know that you've and studying a little
Speaker 1: bit of de Ernest Johnson who stepped in for now Yeah, right,
Speaker 1: and Kareem Hunt and Ernest Johnson and the rest of
Speaker 1: that cast did not skip a beat. Now that was
Speaker 1: against the Dallas defense. Now you're playing a defense that
Speaker 1: is shut down the run and done a lot of
Speaker 1: other ian caused a lot of other problems for teams
Speaker 1: that they've faced so far. So this is a good
Speaker 1: test for the Browns. Did you? And that was a
Speaker 1: love fest? Mark? And I'm happy for you, Mark, because
Speaker 1: that is as about as positive as you've been on
Speaker 1: a Brown's monologue since I've known you. Did you say
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield is the number one quarterback according to PF No, no, no,
Speaker 1: according to like perfect ball placement situations. It's a niche stat.
Speaker 1: But I'm gonna deep. I'm gonna dig deep for niche stats.
Speaker 1: Deep letter on Baker's case. Come on enough with that,
Speaker 1: because I think because I think, um, we're gonna see
Speaker 1: I don't think people are really saying, like, why isn't
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield throwing for three hundred yards? I think it
Speaker 1: all makes sense the way their game plan is playing out.
Speaker 1: But now Nick Chubb is on I R. So that
Speaker 1: does change a lot, and it does put more pressure
Speaker 1: on Baker. For example, hit that throw down the left
Speaker 1: sideline when Baker Mayfield or when Odell bails him out
Speaker 1: in the end of the Cowboys game. You're gonna need
Speaker 1: Baker to play at a higher level than he has. Well.
Speaker 1: They had about seven points when Nick Chubb left against
Speaker 1: the Cowboys, and they put up forty two in the
Speaker 1: final three quarters. I don't know where they find these guys.
Speaker 1: De Ernest Johnson just mowing over people, reminding Mark Sessler
Speaker 1: of of a young Kevin Mack. But you're not gonna
Speaker 1: do it this week against DeForrest Buckner. I mean, it'll
Speaker 1: be tough for you. Gotta try to run against this
Speaker 1: Colts team, and we don't know if Darius Leonard is
Speaker 1: gonna be out there, which to me is a huge factor.
Speaker 1: I thought when you said Mark though one guy changed
Speaker 1: at all, I thought you were gonna say Bill Callahan
Speaker 1: their offensive line. To me, he's the key, He's the key.
Speaker 1: There's suddenly the best offensive line in the league. These
Speaker 1: teams are bizarre there three and one, and with their
Speaker 1: quarterbacks not doing much. I mean Baker Mayfield's yards per attempt, Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's he's been accurate, he's been fine. It's still near
Speaker 1: the bottom of the league. And Philip Rivers, to me,
Speaker 1: has not particularly played well. If feel like I'm in
Speaker 1: bizarro land. I'm always defending Philip Rivers and his team
Speaker 1: is letting him down. And now I'm saying, I don't know,
Speaker 1: like he is being very careful with this throws, and
Speaker 1: yet he's still had plenty of turnover worthy plays. He's
Speaker 1: missed a lot of throws. There's not a lot of
Speaker 1: juice around him. Only Lamar Jackson and Kirk Cousins have
Speaker 1: thrown the ball less than these two quarterbacks Baker in
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers out of guys who have started four games.
Speaker 1: So it's bizarre. In in an offensive league, I sort
Speaker 1: of trust the Browns a little more because they seem
Speaker 1: more like the offensive team here. Mark Cesslo, you should
Speaker 1: lock up your Browns if you really believe in him.
Speaker 1: Well you know, I I've learned to touch the Browns
Speaker 1: in our lock exercise. But Greg, I'm with you because
Speaker 1: I don't think Cleveland is playing around Baker Mayfield. But
Speaker 1: when you watch this Cults team, you kind of get
Speaker 1: the sense that they're trying to ask Philip Rivers to
Speaker 1: do as little as possible, and I don't know if
Speaker 1: they have the offense to carry them that way. I mean,
Speaker 1: what is going on with t Y Hilton? When is
Speaker 1: he Is he deciding just to take the early autumn
Speaker 1: off when he be reignited into this attack? Not impressed
Speaker 1: so far with t Y Hilton. I think the Colts
Speaker 1: part of it has been the schedule and they haven't
Speaker 1: needed to ask Phil Rivers to carry them in a game.
Speaker 1: It could happen here because the Browns have been putting
Speaker 1: up points and I think will continue to happen. It
Speaker 1: did show me something with the Indie defense last week
Speaker 1: playing without Darius Leonard to shut down. Listen, the Bears
Speaker 1: are not very good on offense, but still to hold
Speaker 1: that team to three points late in the fourth quarter
Speaker 1: that they have more depth than they can keep it going.
Speaker 1: And I think, uh, this will be a real test
Speaker 1: for both teams. I think this is a good number
Speaker 1: one overall pick, mark, and it is a great sign
Speaker 1: for your Cleveland Browns that they are in the top
Speaker 1: of the show. Now, let's see what they can do
Speaker 1: with that. That and that's a great responsibility mark your
Speaker 1: Browns right now at the top of this show. It is.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know if I'm shouldering the responsibility.
Speaker 1: My job is to sit there and watch them and
Speaker 1: see how they perform. But I mean, they nearly gave
Speaker 1: me a heart attack at the end of the Cowboys games.
Speaker 1: So can we make these a little less dramatic? Possibly?
Speaker 1: All right, we'll see how it plays out. All right,
Speaker 1: I am up. It is a bit of a weird
Speaker 1: slate this week. Um, So it wasn't a game that
Speaker 1: jumped right out at me. So I will go with
Speaker 1: the Las Vegas Raiders traveling to Arrowhead to face the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: um and I thought the Chiefs performance on Monday night
Speaker 1: was interesting. They won because their defense showed it can
Speaker 1: still deliver a big performance even when it's shorthanded. You're
Speaker 1: missing Chris Jones, who is there, you know, best playmaker
Speaker 1: on the defensive line, and they still force four turnovers,
Speaker 1: uh and hold the opposition to ten points. Now that
Speaker 1: opposition is this game playoff the same way with Cam
Speaker 1: Newton behind center instead of Brian Hoyer and Jared Stidham.
Speaker 1: Probably not the same type of game, but I still
Speaker 1: think the outcome outcome would have been the same with
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes stepping in and making sure the Chiefs there
Speaker 1: win that game. So I think, on balance, even if
Speaker 1: you want to be like, oh, that was a bit
Speaker 1: of a bummer that the Chief's offense wasn't humming there
Speaker 1: in prime time, I think it was on balance a
Speaker 1: good sign for the Chiefs that they again showing that
Speaker 1: this is a well rounded team. It's just it's not
Speaker 1: just the Patrick Mahomes show. So I expect them to
Speaker 1: be in a really good spot here against the Raiders
Speaker 1: greg a Raiders team that showed for the second consecutive
Speaker 1: week that they can hang for a while with a
Speaker 1: team better than them, but they make too many mistakes
Speaker 1: to win these games outright, and they don't have a defense.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is the perfect recipe for the Chiefs
Speaker 1: to get right offensively. It feels weird that a four
Speaker 1: NO team who blasted the Ravens on Monday Night football
Speaker 1: needs to get right. But they are a little different.
Speaker 1: I mean, Mahomes is eighteenth and yards right now, like
Speaker 1: eighth and yards per a tempt that they're between six
Speaker 1: and eight. I mean, he's fine. I'm just saying they're
Speaker 1: not at the level that they were out a year ago.
Speaker 1: And he's playing well, and you know what gets you
Speaker 1: back to that level, a nice comfortable matchup versus this
Speaker 1: dreadful Raiders defense. I mean, they were thirty in the
Speaker 1: league last year in efficiency, thirty feet in the league
Speaker 1: this year. They don't do anything well. They missed tackles,
Speaker 1: they're not fundamental, they don't have much skills, they don't
Speaker 1: have a pass rush. The one thing I liked about
Speaker 1: them was in their secondary with Trayvon Mullen and our net,
Speaker 1: and now our net is hurt, and so this is perfect.
Speaker 1: Mahomes cooks the Chiefs. And I think John Gruden's head
Speaker 1: is about to explode because of this defense. He's never
Speaker 1: had a bad defense like this. He always had Monty
Speaker 1: Kiff and kind of propping him up in Tampa. Uh,
Speaker 1: this is a new experience, and you do wonder if
Speaker 1: he you know, I wouldn't be comfortable if I was employed,
Speaker 1: Uh in the you know, Raiders defensive coaching room right now.
Speaker 1: I think you're right, Gregg. And I mean I don't
Speaker 1: like to look at results from a year ago and
Speaker 1: beyond that, but there is something about this Chief's Raiders
Speaker 1: rivalry which is that it's not a rivalry and just
Speaker 1: hasn't been for so long. Derek Carr is Owen six
Speaker 1: in Kansas City, John Cruden is not beaten Mahomes and
Speaker 1: the Chiefs, and they haven't just simply lost. Look at
Speaker 1: some of the results. They have been sandblast by the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: So you know, we can talk about Kansas City site
Speaker 1: still finding its groove on offense, but their version of
Speaker 1: finding their groove is their four No, they're undefeated. They
Speaker 1: just hammered the Ravens a couple of weeks ago. I
Speaker 1: don't see a lot in their way this time. What
Speaker 1: I'd love to see is what happened to that Raiders
Speaker 1: offense from week one? What happened to Josh Jacobs. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's one of my favorite running backs. He's not been
Speaker 1: the same guy to ask a couple of weeks. I
Speaker 1: think he's playing fine, but he's not the central figure
Speaker 1: that he was right now. No, and you mentioned it, Dan, like,
Speaker 1: this is a team that if you want to be
Speaker 1: a frisky Raiders team, you have to be like the
Speaker 1: Patriots were a week ago. There they had an offensive
Speaker 1: penalty was their first all season. Okay, that's well coached
Speaker 1: right there. That's disciplined. The Raiders, to me, are a
Speaker 1: mistake prone outfit and you can't be that against Mahomes
Speaker 1: and the Chiefs. You're gonna get waxed. I thought it
Speaker 1: was a perfect kind of summation of where the Raiders are,
Speaker 1: which is a team that they're not a laughing stock
Speaker 1: by any stretch. But Darren Waller, their start tight end,
Speaker 1: gets the ball punched out of his hands by Josh Norman.
Speaker 1: The next play, uh, they go up top Uh Josh
Speaker 1: Allen and hits a fifty yard past the Digs to
Speaker 1: set up the game clinching touchdown breakdowns all over the place.
Speaker 1: So I the Raiders aren't there yet, and I do
Speaker 1: you You mentioned sand blasted mark, which is a wild
Speaker 1: way to explain it. So I'll go with like, I
Speaker 1: couldn't we lock games every week. I couldn't look in
Speaker 1: the mirror and and say, oh, I'm gonna lock up
Speaker 1: the Chiefs here, because this feels like the sand blaster
Speaker 1: event of the week where we could be, you know,
Speaker 1: a three touchdown difference. I don't like the Raiders chances
Speaker 1: of hanging in this game. Now you would, We would
Speaker 1: kick you off the show if you detended to lock
Speaker 1: up the Chiefs. It's just it's that's illegal, all right,
Speaker 1: show us something. They might get Trent Brown back though
Speaker 1: a big time right tackle, and they might get Henry
Speaker 1: Ruggs their first round draft pick on offense. So show
Speaker 1: us something and score some points. Right, that's another chef. See,
Speaker 1: we we challenge the Browns by making them first and say,
Speaker 1: you know, show us that you are worthy of that
Speaker 1: high placement of the show. Now, Raiders, we challenge you
Speaker 1: to make a competitive at Arrowhead. Greg you're up next
Speaker 1: in the draft. Uh, not their game. I'm gonna challenge
Speaker 1: a team. How about the Minnesota Vikings go to Seattle
Speaker 1: and put on a show for us on Sunday Night football.
Speaker 1: I think they can do it because the Vikings offense
Speaker 1: the last couple of weeks has taken major strides because
Speaker 1: of Justin Jefferson. He has played so well. I'm almost
Speaker 1: like afraid to talk about how well Justin Jefferson is playing.
Speaker 1: Like you watch those two games and you think, is
Speaker 1: he the number one receiver and Theland's number two? Like
Speaker 1: has he fully replaced Stefan Digs? Yet it sounds crazy
Speaker 1: because it's two games and you want to see more.
Speaker 1: But it's the way he's doing it, his yards after
Speaker 1: the catch, the way he gets the ball at the catchpoint.
Speaker 1: It's everything they were saying coming into the draft. It's
Speaker 1: everything that's making the Eagles fans crazy that they didn't
Speaker 1: wind up with this guy. And Dalvin Cook is running
Speaker 1: as hard as anyone. They're scoring over thirty points a game.
Speaker 1: Cousins is like in a totally different offense. They barely
Speaker 1: throw the ball, but no one throws it deeper more
Speaker 1: often than Kurt Kid because he Cousins, like what is happening.
Speaker 1: It's a totally different Vikings, right, I love I love
Speaker 1: a little kid, causey you know he this they should
Speaker 1: put up points everyone plays. You know what, I thought
Speaker 1: the same thing the past two weeks. The Vikings fixed
Speaker 1: themselves on offense, and I you know, there's too much
Speaker 1: talent there and you could get on Kirk Cousins for
Speaker 1: being flawed or a guy that can't get to the
Speaker 1: next level. But Kirk Cousins is gonna get you points
Speaker 1: and take you down the field for sixteen weeks of
Speaker 1: a regular season. So they've now fixed one side of
Speaker 1: the ball. Now they just gotta figure out how to
Speaker 1: make the defense competent and if they could do that,
Speaker 1: they will get back in the race. But I totally
Speaker 1: I'm with you that was on Justin Jefferson. That was
Speaker 1: a huge issue for them in the first three weeks
Speaker 1: of the season where they couldn't or the first two
Speaker 1: weeks of this season where it was clear that Cousins
Speaker 1: didn't know who to trust. Once the kid kid cause
Speaker 1: he showed that, uh, he could trust the rookie. Now
Speaker 1: that offense, the lids off the offense because you have
Speaker 1: two big time receivers and you know, quietly a top
Speaker 1: three running back in the whole league and Dalvin Cook. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they can be what they were last year. I mean
Speaker 1: it was the question of you you handed away Stefon Diggs.
Speaker 1: It wasn't. It wasn't you know, in any way of
Speaker 1: fleecing because you got picks back, and then this pick
Speaker 1: has worked out with Jefferson, So you can be what
Speaker 1: you were last year, especially when you have Dalvin Cook
Speaker 1: running for three d and forty five yards and three
Speaker 1: touchdowns over the last two weeks. I mean, this is
Speaker 1: an explosive offense when it wants to be, and you're
Speaker 1: you're facing a Seahawks pass rush that simply doesn't exist.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's a ghost pass rush. It's the worst
Speaker 1: in the league in many metrics. Jamal Adams is out
Speaker 1: of the mix. So this has potential shootout potential that
Speaker 1: the Vikings can be what they want to be. But
Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you something right now. I just think
Speaker 1: Seattle is a special team right now. And you know,
Speaker 1: the desert does not provide a lot of comfortable locks
Speaker 1: this week for us. But I have no shame in
Speaker 1: picking the Seattle Seahawks to lock this game up, to
Speaker 1: win it and take the Vikings. I like it. I
Speaker 1: mean that you're right there were It's weirdly a week.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of mismatches, and I think think this
Speaker 1: game is dangerous for Seattle. I trust them ultimately because
Speaker 1: they're so aggressive offensively. The drive at the end of
Speaker 1: the first half against Miami was unbelievable. I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna shame you know what I already can
Speaker 1: tell dan Is dan is getting I'm gonna be hearing
Speaker 1: about this from Damn right around our Sunday night show.
Speaker 1: I have no problems. I haven't said anything. Let it
Speaker 1: be staying. It's you, it's your tone, it's the way
Speaker 1: that you're not, you know, sort of shaking your head
Speaker 1: a little bit. The Viking. The Vikings defense is so bad.
Speaker 1: If you saw that drive that the Seahawks guys made
Speaker 1: at the end of that first half, they had twenty
Speaker 1: five seconds and they scored a touchdown against Miami. In
Speaker 1: the past, that would have been Brian Schottenheimer running into
Speaker 1: the line and running into halftime. Instead, they scored a
Speaker 1: touchdown in four plays like that is outrageous, and Minnesota's
Speaker 1: kind of showed nothing defensively where you actually think they'll
Speaker 1: get many stops. So you're right, Mark, this is a
Speaker 1: good pick. I feel good about Russell Wilson on pace
Speaker 1: for seventy five touchdowns at home against the worst past
Speaker 1: defense in the league, a team that's one and three.
Speaker 1: I feel like this is a good lock for you.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I well, you know your approval is something
Speaker 1: that I'm constantly seeking, So this this matters to me.
Speaker 1: Feeling good? All right, Greg, you're up next. That snakes
Speaker 1: to you, all right. Early games, I'm excited to see
Speaker 1: the first matchup of Lamar Jackson versus Joe Burrow Bengals Ravens.
Speaker 1: Isn't it fun that the Bengals are in games that
Speaker 1: we actually want to watch. I don't know if they
Speaker 1: can win this game, but I think they can slow
Speaker 1: down the Ravens. Like the Ravens are, it's tough to
Speaker 1: compare them to the two thousand nineteen Ravens, like that's
Speaker 1: unfair for any team, even Ravens. But they're not They're
Speaker 1: not the same. They're eleventh in efficiency right now. They
Speaker 1: don't have those long drives. I think the offensive line
Speaker 1: is not playing quite as well. They have the explosive place.
Speaker 1: I mean, you saw Lamar Jackson last week. He makes
Speaker 1: a couple of incredible throws and incredible runs and you
Speaker 1: don't worry about them that much against the Bengals defense
Speaker 1: that the numbers is a lot better this year. Um,
Speaker 1: but you think this is a game where they'll still
Speaker 1: do enough. But it's it's not the same feeling. And
Speaker 1: you do wonder if if it's familiar matchups, if it's
Speaker 1: tough defenses they're facing. But like that seven yard you
Speaker 1: know run that Lamar kind of does to the outside,
Speaker 1: that always felt like the easiest playing football, they're not
Speaker 1: getting that this year, and they're not getting the easy
Speaker 1: runs out of their running backs either. So now that
Speaker 1: they're heading into division play, I'm curious to see if
Speaker 1: this Bengals defense, which is played fairly well, can slow
Speaker 1: him down a little bit. I'm with you. I think
Speaker 1: it's an interesting matchup, and you're right, the Bengals are
Speaker 1: attractive to view for the first time and that I
Speaker 1: can remember in a long time, because Andy Dalton never
Speaker 1: really got it done for me. I'd imagine, though, if
Speaker 1: your defensive coordinator and we're going back to you know,
Speaker 1: February and March, and you have time to dissect film, well,
Speaker 1: what are you doing. If you're gonna face the Ravens
Speaker 1: in September October, then figure out ways to neutralize what
Speaker 1: they did last year. They were ahead of the curve
Speaker 1: and defenses catch up to some of this stuff. That said,
Speaker 1: I mean watching Lamar Jackson last week, he made a
Speaker 1: couple through was one to Marky Andrews, who still remains
Speaker 1: incredibly dangerous. That are just pinpoint accurate. So I think
Speaker 1: they can do more and more. I have no problem
Speaker 1: with them kind of working themselves out of a funk
Speaker 1: a little bit. This Ravens team, to me, I would
Speaker 1: consider it a Titanic upset if the Bengals snow slowed
Speaker 1: them this week. Am I wrong here? I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody's gonna pick Sincinni to win this game,
Speaker 1: but I I do feel the same way that Burrow
Speaker 1: makes them exciting Cincinnati. And you know what, Finally, Joe
Speaker 1: Mixon becomes a huge part of that offense. And it's
Speaker 1: kind of weird. It's the same weekend last weekend. Then
Speaker 1: he began the weekend in the hospital with a mysterious
Speaker 1: chess chest pains that he wondered if he got it
Speaker 1: from sleeping the wrong way. I've never had issues from
Speaker 1: sleeping on my chest that I've I've put my arm
Speaker 1: to sleep before. I've woken up with a short neck
Speaker 1: before from sleeping. But but like you know, put me
Speaker 1: in a hospital with a chest injury from sleeping. I
Speaker 1: don't know. But he was he was awesome. Uh. In
Speaker 1: Week four, he carried the offense three touchdowns over a
Speaker 1: hundred and fifth the total yards. And that's like a
Speaker 1: nice reminder, Hey, Joe Burrow doesn't have to go out
Speaker 1: and go at this alone with a bad offensive line
Speaker 1: and limited skilled talent on the outside. You have this
Speaker 1: all pro caliber running back behind you. So um, having
Speaker 1: Joe Mixon playing like Joe Mixon is huge uh for
Speaker 1: Cincinnati and makes them frisky in this game. And my
Speaker 1: thought on the Ravens is, yeah, maybe they're not humming
Speaker 1: like they did last year on offense, but they might
Speaker 1: not ever do that again. Lamar Jackson will play fifteen
Speaker 1: more years and never have a season like he had
Speaker 1: last year. That was just a blessed season. Uh. If
Speaker 1: he can do what they did last week, that will
Speaker 1: win nine out of ten weeks as well. So I
Speaker 1: feel good about the Ravens this week. But this could
Speaker 1: be an interesting game. Could be defensively, I think they
Speaker 1: have to be a little worried about their pass fresh too.
Speaker 1: They get no pressure without sending blitzes, and so this
Speaker 1: is a good test against Joe Burrow where you figure
Speaker 1: you shouldn't need to send the house to get to
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow in this offensive line. They played better against Jacksonville,
Speaker 1: but Baltimore, I know they're worried about that. They don't
Speaker 1: have guys that can win one on one, and I
Speaker 1: think against the better teams that can expose you. And
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow, I don't know he makes the right decisions.
Speaker 1: He might know where to throw against that blitz. He's
Speaker 1: got weapons to Higgins playing pretty well too. I mean
Speaker 1: I would say that the Bengals have helped pass rushes
Speaker 1: get right all seasons, so it could be arrow up
Speaker 1: for the Ravens on that front. All right, I am
Speaker 1: up next and I will select drumroll please Monday Night
Speaker 1: Football Chargers at Satan. Okay, So, uh, I really liked
Speaker 1: what I saw from the Saints against the Lions. You know,
Speaker 1: they fall behind fourteen nothing, uh and you're thinking, oh,
Speaker 1: this looks like a disaster shaping up and then they
Speaker 1: reel off five consecutive touchdowns and take control of that
Speaker 1: game and and win it and get kind of get
Speaker 1: their mojo back a little bit. I'm not saying all
Speaker 1: is right in New Orleans right now, but that is
Speaker 1: a win that I feel like I can get them going.
Speaker 1: I continue to think the handeringing around Drew Brees is
Speaker 1: a little bit absurd. Yes, he's not a downfield passer
Speaker 1: at this stage of his career, but they're putting up
Speaker 1: points and Michael Thomas is the best wide receiver of
Speaker 1: the league. He hasn't been anywhere near the field since
Speaker 1: Week one, and they've They've still been okay, and a
Speaker 1: big part of that is because Alvin Kamar is the
Speaker 1: best running back alive, with all due respect to Christian McCaffrey,
Speaker 1: who's injured right now, but Kamara, week after week is
Speaker 1: the best player on the field. And I think we're
Speaker 1: gonna just gonna continue to see this offense piling up
Speaker 1: points even if Drew Brees isn't hitting on fifty yard bombs.
Speaker 1: I don't know why everyone's so obsessed with the idea
Speaker 1: that Drew Brees has to hit on these long passes
Speaker 1: for the offense to be good because it doesn't. Well,
Speaker 1: I I just you know, I I'm with Dan in
Speaker 1: the sense that I think Breese right now is like
Speaker 1: an adjunct professor of Gridiron smarts, and he's leaning on
Speaker 1: you know, twenty years of dissecting film and in actual
Speaker 1: teams in real life, in real time, and guys like
Speaker 1: tray Kwon Smith stepped up a manual send Sanders finally
Speaker 1: appeared last week. Take a lot to go down fourteen
Speaker 1: nothing when they were up untill like you know, two
Speaker 1: three in the morning with their Corona scare and then
Speaker 1: turn around and it wasn't just it wasn't just that
Speaker 1: it was five straight touchdowns. It was long drives. They
Speaker 1: put drives together and completely beguiled the Lions. My one
Speaker 1: concern though, if you're the Chargers, is you loosed Austin
Speaker 1: Ekeler and they're running backs. Just Justin Jackson and Joshua
Speaker 1: Kelly come in and combined for fifteen carries for sixteen yards,
Speaker 1: greg and a killer fumble before the half against the Bucks.
Speaker 1: This isn't the Bucks defense against the run, but the
Speaker 1: Saints feel like they've got an advantage there on that front. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they have a lot of advantage. I'm worried. You're right.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Bucks are a historic rush defense last year,
Speaker 1: so that's not a shock. I think Joshua Kelly's fine,
Speaker 1: but I'm worried about Justin Herbert because I like this
Speaker 1: kid so much. I've enjoyed watching him. He's been my
Speaker 1: favorite part of the entire season. I mean, he is
Speaker 1: a kid. We're old, We're in. You've said that we're
Speaker 1: old fourteen times on the shows of our Think yourselves,
Speaker 1: what kind of midlife prices are you going through right now?
Speaker 1: I'm forty one. I'm embracing it. But this kid, and
Speaker 1: he's unbelievable. The touch, the accuracy, and it's almost like
Speaker 1: thinks have been going too well for him, and you
Speaker 1: worry about in prime time because he's not just playing well,
Speaker 1: he's carrying them. They're missing five defensive starters. They're not
Speaker 1: the same team without Chris Harris and Melvin ingram Uh
Speaker 1: and the rest of their starters, Derwin James. They're not
Speaker 1: the same without Austin Neckler. They didn't have Mike Williams
Speaker 1: last week, they didn't have the right side of their
Speaker 1: offensive line. We'll see how the injuries shake out this week.
Speaker 1: But you're playing a veteran team that's pretty um deep upfront,
Speaker 1: that's getting players back, and it just feels like it's
Speaker 1: it's asking Herbert an awful lot to carry them to
Speaker 1: your point on on the defense, like you're up against
Speaker 1: Tom Brady and the Bucks and you let that slip away,
Speaker 1: like stocked Chargers defense would not have done that. Well,
Speaker 1: that is true, but also Joshua Kelly putting the ball
Speaker 1: on the ground there at the end of the first
Speaker 1: killing killed him. That changed the entire game. It was
Speaker 1: would have been seven at the half. I believe they
Speaker 1: could have just kneeled on it and got out of
Speaker 1: there with that lead. They handed off at deep in
Speaker 1: their own zone, he coughs it up, Brady does what
Speaker 1: Brady does, and and then they took off from there.
Speaker 1: I just want to, you know, you feel for Tarrod
Speaker 1: Taylor or Tyrod Taylor, who is now just kind of
Speaker 1: disappeared and he's never coming back to the starting lineup
Speaker 1: barring an injury to Herbert at this point because the rookie,
Speaker 1: the kid has showed off that he deserves to be playing.
Speaker 1: But we aren't. We should be thankful that this Monday
Speaker 1: night game has juice because Tyrod Taylor against the Saints
Speaker 1: doesn't do much for me at all. A young Justin
Speaker 1: Herbert against the old Drew Brees, that's fun. But for
Speaker 1: all the reasons that I've stated earlier, I'm locking up
Speaker 1: the Saints here against Justin Herbert in prime time. I
Speaker 1: just think, uh, you know, he's got a little bit
Speaker 1: of a tall task ahead of him. Is that okay
Speaker 1: with you know? And if it helps Dan? Like I
Speaker 1: as you approved of my lock, which means a lot
Speaker 1: to me in reverse, I approve of yours. Greg, How
Speaker 1: do you feel it's fine? This is like a week
Speaker 1: where we're just hitting some four ft pots, moving on
Speaker 1: to moving on to the next one. Watch us all lose? Okay,
Speaker 1: time now for a road to victory presented by the
Speaker 1: United States Marine Corps. Mark Cecily, you're up, all right? Well,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with the Giants at Dallas. And this
Speaker 1: is a Newsy game. Damn. We already have some issues
Speaker 1: bubbling up in this one. Oh yeah. The Cowboys This
Speaker 1: from Mike Garretfolo and Jane Slater might be without Tyron Smith,
Speaker 1: their star left tackle. They're gathering medical opinions on his
Speaker 1: neck after a setback, and one option is being considered
Speaker 1: shutting him down for the season, according to A Garafolo
Speaker 1: and Jane Slater, So a killer development for the Cowboys
Speaker 1: who are already hurting. Yeah, it's it's really rough, and
Speaker 1: you know he hasn't really been healthy to begin with.
Speaker 1: And you saw what Myles Garrett and the Browns pass
Speaker 1: rush did to this offense last week. You know, there
Speaker 1: was that to drive stretch where the Cowboys head back
Speaker 1: to back fumbles which put them in a big hole.
Speaker 1: But outside of that, at this offense, your offensive line
Speaker 1: issues aside, this offense is unbelievable right now. I think
Speaker 1: Seedee Lamb is just morphing into a star before our eyes.
Speaker 1: Guys like Dalton Schultz. Uh. My thing though, is you
Speaker 1: just cannot They are almost an offense that cannot make mistakes.
Speaker 1: If their defense under Mike Nolan is going to continue
Speaker 1: to play the way that they've been playing, I mean,
Speaker 1: it looks like a unit that never really got off
Speaker 1: zoom meetings onto actual on field progressing. They are getting
Speaker 1: torn up now. I don't know if the Giants can
Speaker 1: take advantage of that, but if they can, I'd be
Speaker 1: really concerned about the Giants offense. Yeah, I don't know
Speaker 1: what to make of this Cowboys defense because I do
Speaker 1: think you can put it on the coach in the scheme.
Speaker 1: You know, you look at the Giants defense for instance,
Speaker 1: they they installed the new scheme and you try to
Speaker 1: keep it simple for your players, and you know what,
Speaker 1: their defense is a lot better this year without Tyrone Smith.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think this game becomes a little
Speaker 1: more dangerous for the Cowboys. That's devastating because we haven't
Speaker 1: really talked about why Ale Collins being likely out for
Speaker 1: the season, as Jeans later also broke, Yeah, big year
Speaker 1: for Jane Slater and tackle news in Dallas. I mean,
Speaker 1: they go from having the best tackle combination in the
Speaker 1: league to one of the worst, and it really it
Speaker 1: makes you think they're not gonna be able to keep
Speaker 1: up and keep getting into these shootouts if they're not
Speaker 1: as good up front. Dan, Yeah, the whole thing is
Speaker 1: crumbling for the Cowboys once again. It feels like it
Speaker 1: happens every year for different reasons. But when you factor
Speaker 1: in how bad this defense has been and now with
Speaker 1: the offensive line issues, it's just none of this points
Speaker 1: to a big rally come back to win another NFC
Speaker 1: East title. And you look at where Dallas is defensively,
Speaker 1: they're the worst in the league statistically in terms of
Speaker 1: points allowed. Well, the Giants are on the opposite end
Speaker 1: of the spectrumunt offense. Uh, nobody has been worse than
Speaker 1: them points wise this season. And I think that the
Speaker 1: heat is turned up here on Danny Dimes. And I
Speaker 1: know you don't want to judge a quarterback so quickly.
Speaker 1: He's just in his second season. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: just like the other team in the East, Rutherford doom Zone,
Speaker 1: the Jets, you have to make a decision with when
Speaker 1: you have a high first round pick coming and some
Speaker 1: real quarterback talent in the upcoming draft class, what are
Speaker 1: you gonna do with your quarterback? And we haven't seen
Speaker 1: a lot from Danny Domes since about the third quarter
Speaker 1: of Week one. If he doesn't get right and start
Speaker 1: putting up points against this Cowboys defense, it's gonna get
Speaker 1: louder and louder the buzz about what his future is
Speaker 1: this quickly In New York, They're gonna miss Pat Schermer
Speaker 1: at some point. It sounds crazy, but Giants fans have
Speaker 1: to look at what Danny Dimes was doing last year,
Speaker 1: and you saw a guy who was playing freely who
Speaker 1: I thought was exciting to watch. In the difference right
Speaker 1: now under Jason Garrett is he's indecisive. He's he's trying
Speaker 1: to avoid turnovers, but he's not doing the positive things
Speaker 1: Danny Dimes that is that at least made him intrigue.
Speaker 1: It's a tough watch on offense, and you're right if
Speaker 1: he can't get it done this week, Jason Garrett's gonna
Speaker 1: get a lot of heat. Cowboys fans are loving this
Speaker 1: having Garrett come into town this week. The one thing
Speaker 1: that I think the Giants are doing well is you
Speaker 1: know they had the Rams last We could under sixty
Speaker 1: yards rushing with about eight minutes to go in that game.
Speaker 1: They are a pretty solid defense against the run, and
Speaker 1: if you can take Zeke Elliott out of the affair,
Speaker 1: that will help a little bit. But I just it's
Speaker 1: I struggle to come up with the way where this
Speaker 1: game is a close nail biter in the fourth quarter,
Speaker 1: if Dallas is operating the way that you'd expect with
Speaker 1: their star players. I mean, Amari Cooper used to be
Speaker 1: this inconsistent guy, right he has been like the most
Speaker 1: maximized version of Amari Cooper we've ever seen. It's I
Speaker 1: don't know how Dallas here. I mean, I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: you could judge what the future of the Cowboys based
Speaker 1: on going against the giants in week five, but I
Speaker 1: I think because you're gonna see. My prediction here is
Speaker 1: even with all the stuff going on in front of
Speaker 1: Dak Prescott, he's gonna be airing it out and piling
Speaker 1: up yards and points. Again, I don't know if it's
Speaker 1: five hundred yards, but Cooper Gallop ceedee lamb. They are
Speaker 1: going to have their way with this giant secondary. So
Speaker 1: we'll see how it plays out. But Cowboys in a
Speaker 1: tough spot that was road to victory presented by the
Speaker 1: United States Marine Corps Mark Snakes, do you baby sneaks
Speaker 1: to me, I will go rams at Washington. I kind
Speaker 1: of want to see what happens with this Washington offense.
Speaker 1: Like we know that Dwayne Haskins is now been benched.
Speaker 1: Kyle Allen, the Kyle Allen of ex Panther's fame, if
Speaker 1: you want to call it that. From a Seattle goes
Speaker 1: in there, I mean, Kyle Allen to me, like I
Speaker 1: I fell in love with him early, had that game
Speaker 1: right out of the gate where he threw four touchdowns,
Speaker 1: no picks and looked like an aggressive down field thrower.
Speaker 1: But then he had stretches of incredible turnover scenarios that
Speaker 1: just completely deep six that team, and he wound up
Speaker 1: as the least deep, past deep, accurate deep passer in
Speaker 1: the league. So, you know, I don't know why the
Speaker 1: switch was made at this point other than they've completely
Speaker 1: given up on Dwayne Haskins and it's a tough situation
Speaker 1: for him. You're a second year quarterback under a completely
Speaker 1: new regime that by all accounts is ready to draft
Speaker 1: another quarterback next off season. So tough role. And Kyle
Speaker 1: All and to I, what's that hippie with your theory? Please?
Speaker 1: I have a theory. I think Ronrivert never liked Dayne Haskins,
Speaker 1: and it's his right, his decision. He I think he
Speaker 1: kind of had it in his mind, probably before he
Speaker 1: even took the job, when he was studying tape of
Speaker 1: last season He's like, Ah, this guy's no good. And
Speaker 1: then in a truncated training camp where he didn't, you know,
Speaker 1: wow him, and then start to the season, River already
Speaker 1: knows that this is his show and he's gonna want
Speaker 1: his quarterback, and he's kind of made that decision that
Speaker 1: Haskins is never gonna be his guy. So, uh, that's
Speaker 1: thanks for Haskins. But Greg also he's gonna he'll get
Speaker 1: a fresh start somewhere else next year. And getting out
Speaker 1: of Washington is not the worst thing in the world either. No,
Speaker 1: probably not, but I I expect he'll get another chance
Speaker 1: this year. I expect we'll see Alex Smith start at
Speaker 1: some point. Alex Smith was made the backup and Haskins
Speaker 1: will be number three, which is which is fascinating to me.
Speaker 1: I I don't think it's a big mistake to to
Speaker 1: bench Dwayne Haskins when he's not ready to play right now.
Speaker 1: We're in this weird era where you have to succeed
Speaker 1: right away and he's in his second year. It's like
Speaker 1: some quarterbacks can get better over time, like we've seen that.
Speaker 1: And I think if you watch Haskins play this year,
Speaker 1: including last week. I know people are kind of on
Speaker 1: them for benching him after a three yard game, but
Speaker 1: if you watch that game, his decision making him holding
Speaker 1: onto the ball forever, him missing some open throws. He
Speaker 1: has struggled, and so what's the point of putting out
Speaker 1: a quarterback that's not ready? Now? Is Kyle Allen gonna
Speaker 1: be any better? I have my doubts, but you can
Speaker 1: tell Scott Turner, their coordinator who was with Alan Um,
Speaker 1: has some belief in him. When when you see the
Speaker 1: rap sheet pregame report on you know, NFL game day
Speaker 1: morning Dan, like last week before the game, that's like
Speaker 1: they're considering benching Dwayne Haskins. It's like it's over, Like,
Speaker 1: don't even put him in that game. You've already made
Speaker 1: your decision. And I think that's fine, and I and
Speaker 1: I really believe Alan and probably Smith will struggle eventually too,
Speaker 1: and we'll Haskins will get one more chance. Well that
Speaker 1: that's fine, but that's not by design. It's because you're
Speaker 1: you're one of these teams with no quarterback essentially. I mean,
Speaker 1: it would be incredible to see Alex Smith play, though,
Speaker 1: I think that that would be one of the more
Speaker 1: They're ready for it right, doesn't make anybody else nervous.
Speaker 1: I just I mean, I hear that, but like he's
Speaker 1: been checked out by doctors and they asked that to
Speaker 1: Rivera and he said, look at if our doctors say
Speaker 1: that he can do what he can do it. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you're Haskins and you're at number three to meet,
Speaker 1: I don't know who a buyer would be, but are
Speaker 1: you potentially thinking about shopping Dwayne Haskins this season for
Speaker 1: next to nothing if he's been buried down at the
Speaker 1: number three position? I mean, it's just an unusual situation
Speaker 1: for a second year quarterback that should have more rope,
Speaker 1: I think. I mean, I I agree with Gregg, he's
Speaker 1: not playing well at all, But I mean, young quarterbacks play,
Speaker 1: they don't sit. They don't get relegated to third, the
Speaker 1: third spot at this point in it's very unusual. And uh,
Speaker 1: by the way, they did it again, Greg, the Washington
Speaker 1: football team down thirteen with four and a half minutes
Speaker 1: to go, facing a fourth and six at midfield, they
Speaker 1: punted that servera putting up that white flag again. But
Speaker 1: you have like akable four fourth down. Why are you
Speaker 1: putting the ball away? What are we doing here? He
Speaker 1: keeps it. He says he wants to play Alan because
Speaker 1: he sees there's an opportunity to go win the NFC East.
Speaker 1: And you know, it's funny they mentioned they kind of
Speaker 1: like the upcoming schedule. Well that that good upcoming schedule
Speaker 1: starts next week because you're playing the Rams this week,
Speaker 1: a very professional team. I'm just amazed that the Rams
Speaker 1: have like totally transition to the most run heavy team
Speaker 1: in the league. They are. They are the number one
Speaker 1: running team in the league according to Football Outsiders. And
Speaker 1: it's not just like, oh they're efficient, No, they're like
Speaker 1: running it every down. They're running it down your throat.
Speaker 1: It's a tougher matchup this week gainst Washington, but it's like,
Speaker 1: I think that's all you're gonna need to do against
Speaker 1: washing It. It's it's crazy that McVeigh has really gone
Speaker 1: this hard as like, even in neutral situations, we're gonna
Speaker 1: be running on second and ten and it's working pretty well.
Speaker 1: I mean, I would say this though they were asleep
Speaker 1: at the wheel against the Giants until the final like
Speaker 1: eight minutes of that game. I mean, it's and I
Speaker 1: trust the work work their way out of that, but
Speaker 1: that was not a good performance. I feel like those
Speaker 1: games happened to every team every once in ahime especially
Speaker 1: you kind of played down to the level of a
Speaker 1: team that stinks and the good teams find a way
Speaker 1: to get out of there with the w Yeah to
Speaker 1: your to your point, Greg. The rams top three running
Speaker 1: backs have all had at least twelve carries in a
Speaker 1: game uh this season through four weeks. So they're just
Speaker 1: like running it down the throat with all these different options.
Speaker 1: And what a blessing for the NFC West this year
Speaker 1: to get the NFC East on their schedule. The Rams
Speaker 1: are three and oh and I think they'll be four
Speaker 1: and oh after Sunday. All right, I am up next.
Speaker 1: Let us let us pray, all right, philadelp The Eagles
Speaker 1: at Pittsburgh Steelers, the Battle of Pennsylvania. iBOT. That has
Speaker 1: anybody done that yet? No, that's new. That's the key
Speaker 1: Stone State keyth Stone Scramble. All right. I'm excited to
Speaker 1: see the Eagles with some momentum if they could really
Speaker 1: start to roll here. I don't know where we're at
Speaker 1: right now with their skill players and if car and
Speaker 1: Wentz is going to have more help. But I did.
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed his performance with nothing on Sunday night,
Speaker 1: especially the deep shot to uh folk Caam. He just
Speaker 1: goes by his last name for me, what is it? Travis?
Speaker 1: Travis foam fallam uh. And now you have a chance
Speaker 1: to stack up some wins again in a terrible division.
Speaker 1: So I like the Eagles is the favorite in the
Speaker 1: NFC East and on the Steelers side and on the
Speaker 1: Steeler side of things, I don't know. Like Ben Roethlisberger
Speaker 1: was talking this week how he feels, you know, that
Speaker 1: they were kind of putting a tough spot here and
Speaker 1: he especially he's coming off this elbow injury and he
Speaker 1: felt like he was getting into a group. I get it.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's stinks. I mean, the Steelers just
Speaker 1: got caught up in this COVID madness. But at the
Speaker 1: same time, just like every other team has to do,
Speaker 1: you just have to roll and adapt. So we'll see
Speaker 1: if that makes a difference if they come out looking
Speaker 1: a little clunky. Uh that I like the Steelers in
Speaker 1: this game, but I think we have a nice competitive game.
Speaker 1: I love this as a value pick in the draft
Speaker 1: right now. Isn't it interesting that, like you get Mike
Speaker 1: Tomlin a week ago giving you really pretty badass quotes
Speaker 1: about the fact that listen, Corona, no Corona, the Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: Steelers are all business. We're gonna do whatever it takes
Speaker 1: no excuses and then playing according to type. Big Ben
Speaker 1: is sort of whining and complaining about it, and we
Speaker 1: didn't get our way, and it's like everyone's just kind
Speaker 1: of kind of roll with this. I feel like we
Speaker 1: haven't watched the Steelers and Ages, but to me, the
Speaker 1: one guy that stands out that's working on that team,
Speaker 1: Eric Ebron, has been a great fit for them. I
Speaker 1: just I'm watching the Eagles and Dan, I'm appreciate that
Speaker 1: you enjoyed the performance on Sunday night. I do not
Speaker 1: like boring teams. The Eagles to me, are like the
Speaker 1: most boring team out there right now. I'm not and
Speaker 1: they need to win me back over. I am tired
Speaker 1: of predicting them for the playoffs and everything else. Show
Speaker 1: me something. For two years in a row, they've been
Speaker 1: dull to the eyes. Carson Wentz is fun to watch it,
Speaker 1: and now he's kind of you know, he's starting to
Speaker 1: run a lot more. I mean, he's erratic, but you're
Speaker 1: not sure what you're gonna get. We don't know who's
Speaker 1: gonna play at receiver in this game for either team.
Speaker 1: We could get the Shawan Jackson and Alston Jeffrey back
Speaker 1: for the Eagles. Uh. Juju didn't practice, the Auntie Johnson
Speaker 1: didn't practice, So Ben should maybe be happy they got
Speaker 1: that week off because his receivers are still a little
Speaker 1: banged up. It's two really good pass rushes. Uh. The
Speaker 1: Eagles have that defensive line going right now. They're they're
Speaker 1: among the league leaders in sacks. They can bring waves
Speaker 1: of guys. But there's only one decent offensive line in
Speaker 1: this game, and that's Pittsburgh. So when you have Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: on defense, them coming after Carson Wentz with that blitz.
Speaker 1: You saw Stefan too. It had his best game in
Speaker 1: Week three before we lost the Steelers from the schedule
Speaker 1: for a week. And it's like they they are the
Speaker 1: team I think that can win with two pass rushers
Speaker 1: up front on any given play, more than any team.
Speaker 1: And going up against this Eagles line, which is so
Speaker 1: banged up. We don't know about Lane Johnson either. Uh.
Speaker 1: To me, that is a mismatch and that's why I'm
Speaker 1: locking up the Steelers. Like Okay, Okay, I like that.
Speaker 1: I think that's a solid lock. For as much as
Speaker 1: I kind of admire the moxie of Cars and Wentz
Speaker 1: and their ability to I mean that was a nice
Speaker 1: win on the road in prime time. To find a
Speaker 1: way to win in San Francisco with all those variables
Speaker 1: working against them, I think that this is going to
Speaker 1: be a tough task for them. I think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a very tough task. Um all right, up next
Speaker 1: Greg on the draft, I'll go Carolina Atlanta. I love
Speaker 1: this Panthers team. I uh, I'm kind of like you,
Speaker 1: Mark and that I am gonna totally crowned Matt Rule
Speaker 1: too early. Like I am so impressed with the coaching
Speaker 1: job that he's doing. Teddy Bridgewater is on pace for
Speaker 1: yards and that aide that's rising Dan, you know, Robby
Speaker 1: Anderson's on pace for fifteen hundred yards. Their defense after
Speaker 1: just I just kind of like assumed they were going
Speaker 1: to be a joke all year. Their rookies are playing
Speaker 1: pretty well, Derek Brown and yetur gross Matos. You know,
Speaker 1: I thought they were gonna be an embarrassment. I was
Speaker 1: thinking a lot in this game up to until I
Speaker 1: saw you guys kind of take it with some you know,
Speaker 1: Shorter puts here and decided I'm not gonna get as
Speaker 1: creative use. But I this Carolina team, what what an indictment.
Speaker 1: This would be of dan Quinn if Matt Rule goes
Speaker 1: in there with an underman team and that's coaching. Is
Speaker 1: there anything else? Is there anything else that we can
Speaker 1: indict poor dan Quinn for he's already I mean, he's
Speaker 1: a dog that's been kicked so many times. Like what
Speaker 1: what could we what could we learn now at this
Speaker 1: point to make us think less of where he's at? Well,
Speaker 1: how about out coach Matt Rule? Which tea people are
Speaker 1: not doing? They're just not doing it. I mean, who
Speaker 1: thought they were gonna knock off the Cardinals a week ago?
Speaker 1: I think it's also it's their coordinators, Joe Brady innovative
Speaker 1: on offense doing stuff. I mean that offense is so
Speaker 1: much better than it was a year ago. Phil Snow
Speaker 1: is an aggressive defensive coordinator. I really am into Mike
Speaker 1: davis Man. I know that he's he's moved around a
Speaker 1: little bit, but a lot of coaches love him. He
Speaker 1: has a little bit of mark Ingram to him, a
Speaker 1: little bit of maybe Pierre Thomas. I just see running
Speaker 1: backs of old I like his style. And you know,
Speaker 1: Reggie Bonafon has been helpful too. And you said it
Speaker 1: with like Anderson has been a perfect fit. I just
Speaker 1: think this offense is frisky. Teddy Bridgewaters playing as well
Speaker 1: as he ever has so to me, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: Atlanta's defense completely crumbled last week and You've got nothing
Speaker 1: from Julio Jones. You got nothing from Calvin Ridley. The
Speaker 1: offense fell apart, and it's like, if they're not scoring
Speaker 1: thirty five points in these games they're in, they're in
Speaker 1: a serious hot water. I mean literally nothing from Calvin
Speaker 1: Ridley and it didn't It makes you think about what
Speaker 1: is what's the future of Matt Ryan and this whole
Speaker 1: this whole regime because it feels like the wrecking balls
Speaker 1: coming to the Falcons at this point. And that is
Speaker 1: I mean to go from where they were up three
Speaker 1: and the Super Bowl, and I'm not going to relitigate that.
Speaker 1: Falcons fan's don't worry to where they are now. It's
Speaker 1: just been kind of a sad downward trajectory. Uh. They
Speaker 1: did get back to the playoffs and even won a
Speaker 1: game the next year, but ever since that, really it's
Speaker 1: been a bummer. I you know this narrative Sessler and
Speaker 1: now Greg's buying into it that he was the only
Speaker 1: one that was truly buying into Matt Rule. I mean,
Speaker 1: I love Matt Rule that higher. We had him on
Speaker 1: our show and he was awesome, and he was he's
Speaker 1: a Jersey guy and wait a minute, no, wait a second,
Speaker 1: And it was never like a situation like, oh, Matt
Speaker 1: Rule is not a good NFL coach. It was like,
Speaker 1: let's hold off putting him into Canton and he's held
Speaker 1: back to back wins, and that's nice. That's very nice.
Speaker 1: And I think they're making progress and they're ahead of
Speaker 1: where people thought they would be, including myself. But at
Speaker 1: no point was it like, oh, Matt Rule, he doesn't
Speaker 1: have a chance in this league. I don't think anyone
Speaker 1: was down on him. But I think it's difference in styles, damn,
Speaker 1: Because I if anything, if I, if I fault in
Speaker 1: any direction, it's falling in love with a coach before
Speaker 1: he's done anything and just riding that train and seeing
Speaker 1: where it goes. Right, I think you are someone you
Speaker 1: want to see a couple ten and six, eleven and
Speaker 1: five seasons before we start talking about Matt Rule in
Speaker 1: a certain way. It's just a different approach. Mine is
Speaker 1: equally faulty, but Matt Rule to me, it's about where
Speaker 1: he came before that, he's been a guy that's you know,
Speaker 1: overseen multiple reclamation projects. And you know, I remember reading
Speaker 1: a Peter King thing from June saying the Panthers of
Speaker 1: the team that probably has an excuse to go one
Speaker 1: and of team, they've got two coordinators that have never
Speaker 1: been at the NFL level. They've got a bunch of
Speaker 1: guys on defense who were living in a college dorm
Speaker 1: a year ago, and he's he's turned them into something
Speaker 1: interesting very quickly. So it only adds to his stock
Speaker 1: in my mind. Yeah, I like to get back for
Speaker 1: defensive starters, by the way, in this game. I mean
Speaker 1: in dan Quinn's defense. He was missing six defensive starters
Speaker 1: last week. It looks like four of them are back,
Speaker 1: like three in the secondary in Tach McKinley. So it's
Speaker 1: it's not quite as easy a matchup for Carolina as
Speaker 1: it was for Green Bay. Alright, Greg, it snakes to you,
Speaker 1: my friend. Alright, let's go with the late afternoon game.
Speaker 1: What do we got. Let's go forty nine Ers Dolphins.
Speaker 1: The cavalry is arriving for this. You know, practiced this
Speaker 1: week with Jimmy g on the field and raheem moosted
Speaker 1: on the field and Debot and Kittle and Ayu or
Speaker 1: ayak they're now calling him. I like that one. I
Speaker 1: like that. So the first time they've been on the
Speaker 1: field together period, like including practices, uh, this entire season,
Speaker 1: and they're still banged up defensively, especially in the secondary,
Speaker 1: And that makes you think that Ryan Fitzpatrick can do
Speaker 1: just enough to remind you that the Dolphins are well coached,
Speaker 1: but then lose a close game. But man, Jimmy G
Speaker 1: has to love how how it worked out. I mean,
Speaker 1: it would have it would like them to win the game.
Speaker 1: But it's like, all right, you can quiet down with
Speaker 1: the talk. I'm gonna re enter the lineup against this
Speaker 1: Dolphins defense, which is no better, by the way than
Speaker 1: the day Brian Flores arrived and I got all my
Speaker 1: guys back, and now I'm gonna go put up some points.
Speaker 1: Beautifully set up for Jimmy G's arrival. I mean, because
Speaker 1: there is it is not talked about this earlier in
Speaker 1: the week, but it's like, you don't like to just
Speaker 1: put a loss on one player. But Nick Bolins lost
Speaker 1: that game. On Sunday at the Eagles had no business
Speaker 1: win in that game, but Mullins refused to let the
Speaker 1: Niners win it, and so that puts them in a
Speaker 1: situation now where Jimmy g again looks like the Golden Boy,
Speaker 1: and there's no question or controversy. He doesn't have to
Speaker 1: look over his shoulder if he has a couple of
Speaker 1: bad weeks out of the gate coming back slow, because
Speaker 1: they're not gonna say, oh, maybe Nick Mullins is the
Speaker 1: answer after what happened on Sunday Night football. So I
Speaker 1: agree with you. I think it's a great spot for
Speaker 1: the Niners where they're getting healthy, gets a Dolphins team that, yes,
Speaker 1: they're frisky, you got fits magic. I agree Brian Flores
Speaker 1: has done a nice job overall there, but this also
Speaker 1: looks like a team that could travel across the country
Speaker 1: and just get she lacked by a San Francisco team
Speaker 1: that has a lot more talent. Yeah, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think it's it's also the winner is Kyle Shanahan not
Speaker 1: having to answer questions or go through the rigamarole which
Speaker 1: quarterback deserves to start clean? You're right, it just cleans
Speaker 1: that board. I mean, I when I look at the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: I guess the frisky I mean, I don't know. This
Speaker 1: seems sort of like been in every game they are
Speaker 1: bether than the Patriots game. They've been in every game
Speaker 1: against some good teams. I think they're well coached. I mean,
Speaker 1: we all are on the Brian Flores thing. I'm just wondering, like,
Speaker 1: how long until you give to a chance to play?
Speaker 1: I mean, what what if to Ah could flip the
Speaker 1: switch and turn them from frisky to winning some of
Speaker 1: these games like being close as nice? But that's that's
Speaker 1: better at their problem though, he they say to uh
Speaker 1: isn't ready for whatever. And if they say that this
Speaker 1: is this is Ryan Fitzpatrick's final start because he isn't ready,
Speaker 1: turns to He's starting this Sunday very quickly in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Here's the thing, though, You're gonna put him behind And
Speaker 1: this is where I think I'd be a little worried
Speaker 1: if I'm a Dolphins fan. You're gonna put him behind
Speaker 1: two tackles, including your first round pick, by the way,
Speaker 1: who are ranked in the bottom ten of PFF qualifiers.
Speaker 1: The whole point of this season is to find some
Speaker 1: players and some young players, and I'm looking around, you're
Speaker 1: gonna get Byron Jones back. He was a nice free inside.
Speaker 1: I'm looking around and who is it right now? You
Speaker 1: know it's it's sicky, it's Isaiah Ford, Like, who are
Speaker 1: you getting excited about that that you're taking with some
Speaker 1: of these draft picks. You had three first round picks.
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson struggled. I know it's early, but Igbanogeny struggled.
Speaker 1: He was another first round pick. I know it's early,
Speaker 1: it's like you you want to start fighting these young players,
Speaker 1: including like two is not gonna like he's a football player.
Speaker 1: He was drafted to a football team to be their
Speaker 1: football quarterback. Like, I understand you're probably not going to
Speaker 1: put him into an ideal situation. But the days of,
Speaker 1: you know, putting him a guy on the bench for
Speaker 1: a year and and building up a better situation around him,
Speaker 1: I feel like that's a bygone era in the league,
Speaker 1: right And it's nice to be Brian. You can save
Speaker 1: for two straight years. We're not gonna put our I mean,
Speaker 1: if you're Brian Flores, though, it's like, how how much
Speaker 1: time is he given to show us what the Dolphins
Speaker 1: really are? I mean, I get I'm more of a
Speaker 1: fan of your three every quarterback into the fire. But
Speaker 1: he's got to start soon. Nobody thought Justin Herbert was ready. Right,
Speaker 1: it's fair do alright, I am up. I believe hamana
Speaker 1: hammahamma I And you know, let me tell you something.
Speaker 1: The Jets are on the board, but Sam Donald is
Speaker 1: not playing this week. I have no interest in watching
Speaker 1: the Jets. This Jets team, with this coaching regime, without
Speaker 1: the quarterback, who's the only kind of piece that we're
Speaker 1: trying to work out right now, that game means nothing
Speaker 1: to me. Take the slate off because I'm not picking
Speaker 1: the game. Denver at New England is my next. I need,
Speaker 1: I need a four pm game. Greg. I'm not taking
Speaker 1: it from you. I know you're gonna watch it either way,
Speaker 1: but now I'm not gonna watch it. I'm attentionally passing.
Speaker 1: I don't like watching them live every week. This is
Speaker 1: one I'm I'm fine a little game pass. You can,
Speaker 1: you know, luxuriate a little bit with all right? Good,
Speaker 1: so everybody wins. The cooperation between the Broncos at the Patriots.
Speaker 1: Obviously Cam Newton everything is upside down with his his
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen positive test, But you still gotta like their
Speaker 1: chances here. Um, Brian Hoyer is not starting. That's the
Speaker 1: only thing I can tell you with certainty. And uh,
Speaker 1: we're gonna see. Well you don't know that. Well do
Speaker 1: you think? Do you think after what we saw on
Speaker 1: Monday night? Bill Belichick is gonna be like, you know what,
Speaker 1: anyer is still my guy, unless he's really trying to
Speaker 1: stick it to the media, which he's been known to do,
Speaker 1: uh in the past. So Damian harrisk is a guy
Speaker 1: Greg that I know you liked what you saw from
Speaker 1: him last week. This is a bit of a weird game.
Speaker 1: You got uncertainty at the quarterback position all over the place.
Speaker 1: But you imagine the Patriots can take care of business
Speaker 1: in their building. I'm a little shocked how heavily, Um,
Speaker 1: the Patriots are favored in this game. Uh, it's a
Speaker 1: lot of faith. So we don't we don't know that
Speaker 1: the matchup could be Drew Lock versus Cam Newton. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's no no one said that Cam Newton is definitely
Speaker 1: out and the way they do the test if he
Speaker 1: was asymptomatic, I haven't ruled it out mentally. The Patriots,
Speaker 1: you know, as we're taping this, haven't been back in
Speaker 1: their facility, so Hoyer didn't practice before last week start.
Speaker 1: It's possible after Stephon Gilmour's test, and we haven't done
Speaker 1: a podcast um since uh Stephon Gilmore tested positive, it's
Speaker 1: possible the Patriots aren't allowed to practice this week either.
Speaker 1: Hoyer didn't practice before that one, so the matchup could
Speaker 1: be locked. Versus Hoyer could be locked, versus Stidham could
Speaker 1: be locked, versus Cam could be Brett ripping against any
Speaker 1: one of those three. We don't really know. Lock Drew
Speaker 1: Lock has been at practice for the Broncos. That obviously
Speaker 1: changes the entire complexion of this game. That them playing
Speaker 1: without stuff on Gilmore changes their defense. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: all just so messy. Yes, in fact, it's so messy.
Speaker 1: I don't even think we should really talk too much
Speaker 1: more on this game unless someone has another effect ed
Speaker 1: before we move on. I'm just gonna say that the
Speaker 1: the Broncos defense has been really competitive and playing well.
Speaker 1: That the Jets game wasn't like their best game. But
Speaker 1: if it is Stidham or Hoyer, they have been so
Speaker 1: competitive each game and there's no Gilmore like I think
Speaker 1: Bill Belichick is legitimately worried about what a Vic Fangio
Speaker 1: defense could do against Hoyer or something Stidham up next.
Speaker 1: Mark Sessler, all right, well, I will take what is
Speaker 1: nothing less than a bullet to the chest going Cardinals Jets.
Speaker 1: I guess I'm gonna take this Jets game. I don't
Speaker 1: like what you did to me there, but now I
Speaker 1: I am going to do it. And I I like
Speaker 1: watching um things just burned to the ground, right and
Speaker 1: and that's what's happening with the Jets a little bit.
Speaker 1: But it doesn't make me um happy at all. For you, Dan,
Speaker 1: so I you know I'm not taking any place. It
Speaker 1: sounds like a real bittersweet Sunday of viewing coming up
Speaker 1: for you. It's, uh, you know, that may not be
Speaker 1: something I'm zoned in on snap after snap, but I
Speaker 1: would say if if you're the Cardinals, you've got to
Speaker 1: get out of a funk. I mean, where we were
Speaker 1: with them two weeks ago, it was all Listen, we
Speaker 1: spent all offseason hyping up the Cardinals, and there's one
Speaker 1: of those rare teams that hits the scene and does
Speaker 1: everything we expected. And they're super frisky and they're gonna
Speaker 1: potentially win the NFC West or slide them right into
Speaker 1: a wild card and then they lose two in a row,
Speaker 1: and I you know, I look watching them against Carolina
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray like through the air, they just seem a
Speaker 1: little bit lost to me. I mean, it's essentially the
Speaker 1: ball is going to DeAndre Hopkins um at incredible amounts
Speaker 1: and in very few other people. I don't think Kenyan
Speaker 1: Drake is get is giving us everything that we thought
Speaker 1: from Kenyan Drake at this point, and I'm just wondering
Speaker 1: our people catching up to Cliff Kingsbury's offense a little bit.
Speaker 1: Are these parts just not necessarily working together? I mean again, though,
Speaker 1: like we've talked about the Jets, to be real, it's
Speaker 1: hard to scout teams that play the Jets because of
Speaker 1: what they've been this season, which is next to nothing.
Speaker 1: So I would be surprised if Arizona can't go into
Speaker 1: MetLife and do what they want to do in this game.
Speaker 1: The Jets defense has not been a total disaster, but
Speaker 1: I don't think. I mean, they're coming off a game
Speaker 1: where they've been getting killed all season, uh pass and
Speaker 1: the run, and we're coming off a game people are wondering,
Speaker 1: why isn't Adam Gates fired yet Well, and I'll give Greg,
Speaker 1: I'll give you shout out on this one because you
Speaker 1: pounded the drum on this in the past. Is that
Speaker 1: Greg Williams is having another one of those a tenure
Speaker 1: is where he's excellent one year and then dog poop
Speaker 1: the next and six personal fouls against the Broncos by
Speaker 1: the defense in addition to not being able to figure
Speaker 1: out a way to stop Brett Rippy and beyond those
Speaker 1: I know it's Brett Rippon, beyond those interceptions, just a
Speaker 1: weird game on Thursday night. You can't fire Adam Gates
Speaker 1: and then promote Greg Williams Sean Jefferson, I mean, I
Speaker 1: promote their assistant head coach, but promote their special teams coach. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but you need to have and if nothing else, Adam
Speaker 1: Gates has experience. The team's going nowhere. Uh, you can't
Speaker 1: just like take somebody and make him the head coach
Speaker 1: for twelve games that has no experience. Things could get
Speaker 1: even more embarrassing. Why not? I mean, it gives him
Speaker 1: at the point that it's humane. I think it's at
Speaker 1: the point where it's humane. If they lose. This is
Speaker 1: like a lose lose, because if Flacco plays well and
Speaker 1: they and they like won this game, that would almost
Speaker 1: be bad for the Jets. It makes him darned to
Speaker 1: look bad. But yeah, I think it's humane. If you've
Speaker 1: made the choice to move on from Gates, which I
Speaker 1: would imagine they are, just put Sean Jefferson and he's
Speaker 1: been a coach for sixteen years, easy assistant head coach.
Speaker 1: I give him experience. I think he would like that.
Speaker 1: Or Joe Vett or or Boyer, their special team's coach
Speaker 1: has done a good job. I don't know, Like, what's
Speaker 1: the point of keeping that's a fair point. I just
Speaker 1: as long as and don't put anything past the New
Speaker 1: York Jets if their organizational feeling on this is it's
Speaker 1: Greg Williams or Adam Gays. I am fine with keeping
Speaker 1: getting Gates there until New Years. Even then move right.
Speaker 1: The only thing though, if you really want to go out.
Speaker 1: One thing that the Panthers did this last year with
Speaker 1: Matt Rule was they got rid of Ron Rivera and
Speaker 1: they started the process of vetting and looking at candidates early.
Speaker 1: And if you're the Jets, you don't want to get
Speaker 1: caught not getting the guy you want, so you can
Speaker 1: do that while Adam Gays is still the head coach.
Speaker 1: You can. But I mean, I think it's a clear
Speaker 1: for with candidates that are out there, some of them
Speaker 1: are not gonna want to talk to you with a
Speaker 1: head coach in place. And I think it a game
Speaker 1: the Cardinals. This is a huge decision. What New York does.
Speaker 1: This is Sam Donald's career, Like, you cannot go get
Speaker 1: this wrong and higher the next Ballyhood version of Adam Gates,
Speaker 1: who is just simply Adam Gates. You gotta nail this thing.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna call Joe Brady is the next Jets coach
Speaker 1: or Bill O'Brien one or the other. Greg What we're
Speaker 1: gonna trade for Matt Rule You almost had him before.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying it's a big game for the Cards.
Speaker 1: The Cards just lost the Lions and the Panthers, and
Speaker 1: the Panthers game was convincing. That was a beat down.
Speaker 1: They have to win this game. They're not take advantage
Speaker 1: of this easy schedule and they're beautiful. You're they're passing game.
Speaker 1: You're right, is a mess and if we're if we're
Speaker 1: totally honest about it, it's never been above average since
Speaker 1: Cliff Kingsbury and Murray has been there as a passing game.
Speaker 1: I think it'll get there, but like it's been a
Speaker 1: good running game, they're just not there yet. I think
Speaker 1: they will in time, but they're they're tough to watch
Speaker 1: right now. It's funny, much more reliant on they gotta win.
Speaker 1: They gotta win this game. You gotta win this game.
Speaker 1: If they lose it, it's a tire fier. There's they
Speaker 1: were more reliant on Kyler Murray running than Baltimore is
Speaker 1: with Lamar. I mean it's and it's like that's there's
Speaker 1: quarters at a time where that's the throwing the differences.
Speaker 1: Murray is just scrambling. The difference is they're not even
Speaker 1: calling those plays. It's Murray just scrambling, right, He's getting
Speaker 1: them out of jams. So it's it's funny how quickly
Speaker 1: things change, because two weeks ago, the entire story was
Speaker 1: Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray are leading a revolution, and
Speaker 1: now we're asking these questions. That's just funny exactly. That's sports.
Speaker 1: That's football. Have one more game, Mark Seessler, close it out, alright,
Speaker 1: we've got what am I I feel like I've wedded
Speaker 1: to total disaster scenarios. This week, I got the Texans, like,
Speaker 1: you know, fresh off of firing Bill O'Brien. Well, you
Speaker 1: know what, they played Jacksonville. So there's a little something
Speaker 1: alike there this game. To me, I guess it's like, no,
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm just done, prim I'm just done
Speaker 1: with I'm done with the Texans and I and I
Speaker 1: do feel a little annoyed because I have a bunch
Speaker 1: of games here with teams that I would like watch
Speaker 1: last on game pass. So give him. That's a good move.
Speaker 1: And if he's watching this, I will not do that,
Speaker 1: but then behind the scenes, that's exactly what I'll do.
Speaker 1: I to me, it's it's I want to just get
Speaker 1: more of an idea of what what Gardner Minshew is
Speaker 1: because I think it's fair at this point, whether you're
Speaker 1: a minshu Vian or not, to say that this is
Speaker 1: a streaky quarterback in a streaky offense. I I like
Speaker 1: him overall, but it's tough to say this is this
Speaker 1: is the guy that you're gonna base years off of
Speaker 1: um with what we're seeing, because it just seems to
Speaker 1: be up and down. I think that he the offense
Speaker 1: was completely different when DJ Shark was not in there,
Speaker 1: it's compared to when he is. I think that they're
Speaker 1: passing game runs around him entirely. I don't know, it's
Speaker 1: like it to me. The Jacksonville Jaguars, like are, are
Speaker 1: a more interesting offense to watch than the Texans have been.
Speaker 1: I know that, like I like to. But they're the
Speaker 1: best group in this game. The Jaguars offense, I don't
Speaker 1: even think there's a question they're a good offense. I
Speaker 1: don't think they're a good team. Um. I think they
Speaker 1: moved the ball pretty well, that they they're on time
Speaker 1: with their throws. Like I, I expect them to put
Speaker 1: up a lot of points. But I think they're probably
Speaker 1: the worst defense in the league. And man, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of bad defenses, so you look, the Texans could
Speaker 1: be in that mix. I don't think they're quite there.
Speaker 1: I would put the Jaguars as the very worst. If
Speaker 1: you look at the quarterbacks the Jaguars have played, all
Speaker 1: of them have had their best game by far against
Speaker 1: the Jaguars. Joe Burrow finally gets off and gets protected
Speaker 1: against the Jaguars. Ryan Fitzpatrick, you know, you know, takes
Speaker 1: it back on Thursday Night football and shows his chest
Speaker 1: there against the Jaguars. The only game where Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: went up and down the field was against the Jaguars.
Speaker 1: The Titans put a thirty three points. This defense is
Speaker 1: terrible and the Texans offense is not terrible, so this
Speaker 1: should be a nice little Hey, we got rid of
Speaker 1: Bill O'Brien. We want to show you that everyone's happy
Speaker 1: under Uncle Romeo Cornell. Let's go get a victim. I
Speaker 1: came very I came this close to locking up the
Speaker 1: Texans based on the no Brian factor at play here.
Speaker 1: And there was the report this week that J. J. Watt,
Speaker 1: who's the face over there with Deshaun Watson, was in
Speaker 1: a shouting match of some kind with O'Brien a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago in practice that led to O'Brien losing
Speaker 1: the team for goods. So Romeo is like we we
Speaker 1: talked about with Seth Paine, who covers Houston Sports down
Speaker 1: there in Texas. Romeo is that guy that everybody likes it,
Speaker 1: just hangs around and he's he's down with emotions, he's
Speaker 1: cool with promotions. Uh So, he's just somebody that everybody
Speaker 1: roots for and wants to play hard. For uh, it
Speaker 1: feels like a perfect spot for a winless team that's
Speaker 1: not an oh and sixteen team the to get right
Speaker 1: against a deeply flawed Jaguars team with up and down
Speaker 1: offense and a truly dreadful defense. So, I mean, the
Speaker 1: Jaguars are on pace to set franchise worst marks for
Speaker 1: points allowed per game, yardage per game. We are not
Speaker 1: that far away from Saxonville. I mean, I know it
Speaker 1: feels that way, but that was like three seasons ago,
Speaker 1: and it's gotten from that point to here, which is
Speaker 1: such an organizational failure, uh that I don't know what
Speaker 1: else to say. I would say though, they I mean
Speaker 1: their defense last year, remember how teams were running on them,
Speaker 1: literally destroying them on the ground. So they've been a
Speaker 1: bad defense for a while. There is one insanely annoying
Speaker 1: nuggets to me, and it happened late, you know, late yesterday,
Speaker 1: that this Jack easter Be character is now essentially anointed
Speaker 1: himself general manager. I mean, this is one of the
Speaker 1: most absurd things that has happened in the National Football
Speaker 1: League in my entire life. This power hungry individual is
Speaker 1: the most magnuvaliant in person, and it's sorry it's not
Speaker 1: just this guy. This is this is the This is
Speaker 1: the kind of thing that drives me nuts. This guy
Speaker 1: who was essentially a culture coach for the Patriots is
Speaker 1: now the general manager of the Texans. I don't trust anything.
Speaker 1: Even even worse than that. They say, well, don't worry
Speaker 1: about it. Um, the plan is he'll take a step back.
Speaker 1: We're gonna hire a GM. Well guess who's hiring that GM,
Speaker 1: old Jack Easter give me a break by the you
Speaker 1: are hey if the tech I feel like the Texans ownership.
Speaker 1: This is a case where the media does sometimes matter.
Speaker 1: I think the media has a chance in Houston, and
Speaker 1: they might just do it to Bury Easter be enough
Speaker 1: and this plan enough, and I'm gonna help as much
Speaker 1: as I can over the next three months. Um that
Speaker 1: this is a bad idea because you have Deshaun Watson,
Speaker 1: you have that, you have the stadium, you have everything.
Speaker 1: You've got cash like they always have the most cash
Speaker 1: of any team other than like the Cowboys. You got
Speaker 1: it all. And if i'm Eric b enemy, for instance,
Speaker 1: I'm not taking a job with Jack easterby I would
Speaker 1: tell my agent if I'm the enemy, and you don't
Speaker 1: do this publicly. You tell your agent to tell them
Speaker 1: I don't want to do the interview if Easterby's running it,
Speaker 1: and you know you enough people from the league, you know,
Speaker 1: start whispering like that, and who knows people you people
Speaker 1: got Bill O'Brien fired. I'm sure you could do this
Speaker 1: as well. It's him as a person at all, but
Speaker 1: he's an evil as a dragon in a medieval tale.
Speaker 1: So let's run him out of town as well. Past
Speaker 1: the same process or jets took. That's how you got,
Speaker 1: you know, Adam Case and not talk about hit back
Speaker 1: at me, No, but you talk about a progress stopper.
Speaker 1: I mean, Jack Easterby lodged in your front office is
Speaker 1: a progress stopper. If you're trying to get a candidate
Speaker 1: worth as salt, blind faith in your leaders or anything
Speaker 1: will get you killed. Bruce Springsteen, Texans fans, Texans players
Speaker 1: take note. What a way to end it, all right? Weird?
Speaker 1: I hope, I hope Holly Easterby, daughter of Jack Easterby,
Speaker 1: is not a podcast listener. Blinds and packers are off.
Speaker 1: We didn't even on We didn't touch on Tennessee, uh
Speaker 1: and Buffalo for obvious reasons. But we will be back
Speaker 1: on Sunday. The only thing we can tell you, actually,
Speaker 1: I can't even tell you this. We we presume that
Speaker 1: we will be back on Sunday night for the flagship
Speaker 1: programing around the NFL podcast. Uh that is the plan.
Speaker 1: Uh so please, if that is indeed the case, check
Speaker 1: out that show to recap. That recaps every show we
Speaker 1: just talked about here. Uh, thank you to everybody for watching.
Speaker 1: This is Dan hands As signing off for the Quiet Storm,
Speaker 1: the Old Boss, Rooky Hollywood behind the virtual Glass until Sunday.
Speaker 1: speA