Richard Sherman Podcast - NFL Week 1 Reactions: Brock Purdy Proves Himself vs Seahawks, Packers’ Statement Win, Chargers Stun Chiefs & More

Richard Sherman breaks down all the action from NFL Week 1, starting with the Sherman Bowl as the 49ers beat the Seahawks behind Christian McCaffrey’s big day and Nick Bosa’s game-clinching play despite Brock Purdy’s struggles and George Kittle’s injury. Sherman also reacts to the Packers’ statement win over the Lions with Micah Parsons wreaking havoc, Justin Herbert outdueling Patrick Mahomes as the Chargers upset the Chiefs, Geno Smith throwing for 350+ yards in a Raiders win, Aaron Rodgers leading the Steelers past the Jets, Daniel Jones’ shocking debut with the Colts, Russell Wilson’s struggles with the Giants, and why Patrick Surtain has cemented himself as the NFL’s top shutdown corner.

19:30 Lions vs Packers 

27:41 Chiefs vs Chargers 

36:31 Raiders vs Patriots

40:50 Steelers vs Jets  

46:06 Colts vs Dolphins

51:47 Commanders vs Giants

59:27 Cardinals vs Saints 

1:01:06 Rams vs Texans

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast. We're here finally
the first Sunday of the season, and it was a
doozy some great early games, but you know, the game
I'm ready to talk about, Mitchell, is the Sherman Bowl,
the San Francisco forty nine Ers at the Seattle Seahawks,
the game I've been looking forward to. You notice that

(00:26):
I haven't really been wearing the hats, Mitchell, because I
was going to let to the winner goes the spoils.
Mitchell and the San Francisco forty nine Ers pull out
a win and a hard fought defensive battle. I loved
what I saw from both teams, and I know you
your Detroit Lions took a tough loss. But hanging there, Mitchell.
It's a long season.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
I'm hanging in there. But Richard, let's talk about these
Niners and seahawkss I know you were looking forward to
this game, and hey, the forty nine ers, you know what,
rightfully saw you wear their cap. I know the Seahawk
fans are gonna be saying, hey, why is Richard wearing
this the forty nine ers cap? But to the winner
go the Spoils and Richard, there is a lot to

(01:08):
talk about in this game. Let's start Brock Purdy in
his performance.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
What did you.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Think about how he handled this game? Seventeen to thirteen.
Not your typical running gun game that we would expect
out of these foes, but the forty nine ers get
to win and it's important for him.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Mitchell, I was concerned, and I was concerned coming into
this game. I thought it would go about how it went,
my greatest concern being the health of the San Francisco
forty nine ers and how it would it was on
the edge of a knife, and of course, right on
Q George Kittle having a dominant first quarter, not dominant

(01:52):
first drive, looks like, oh my god, he's another all
pro season loading and it still probably will be. Then
a ham string injury takes him out and you're like,
oh my god. Okay, so without George, what are we
gonna do? And that was the big question. After that
first touchdown drive, the team stalled in a big way.
They leaned on Christian McCaffrey, who had a really, really

(02:15):
phenomenal game. I think they said his twenty maybe I
forget what number, but the game with fifty yards receiving
and maybe forty first fifty yards, kept receiving in frixty
yards rushing, tying Marshall Falk during his time. But I thought,

(02:37):
if they lose George Kettle, where are they gonna go
with the football? Ricky Persoll had a solid game, had
a really good game, actually, but you need other places
to put the ball. Juwan Jennings caught two passes, had
five targets, but also got banged up in the game.
And I was thinking to myself, this is the scenario
I think that helps the Seattle Seahawks pull this game out.
That's the scenario in which I thought the Seattle Sea

(03:00):
walking away with the victory. They were at home, they
got the crowd into it. Their defense played a phenomenal game.
Picked off brock Purty twice in this ball game, and
after those two interceptions, my concern level for the way
brock Perry was playing was really high because he was
just trying to make a play for his team. When
you don't have the weapons out there, you don't have

(03:21):
guys separating, you're gonna try to make happen with the
guys that you have. And even the touchdown tochancs oh,
I was holding my breath. I was holding my breath
for both ways. Because Tarik Wooland, who I loved to death,
was standing right there in position to make a play
in this game. I think that would have been the
dagger that ended this game. That would have been the

(03:42):
backbreaker Dareek wooland back of the end zone. I thought
when Brock Purty sighed on that thing today, back of
the end zone, I thought, Oh, either he's throwing it
away or this is a book like this is gonna
be his third pick of the day. And what happened
was It's one of those things, Mitchell, that I try
to that you can't coach, and it's hard to explain

(04:02):
to these two kids sometimes, the sense of urgency that
it takes in the National Football League when you want
to be great, you have to like it's such a
sense of urgency and a sense of desperation you gotta
play with. Like when that ball's in the air, mental,
it's not like I'm gonna wait for my food to
get to my plate. I gotta go hunt it. I
can't wait for the ball to get to my hands.
I'm on defense. He' not throwing the ball to me.

(04:24):
I gotta go get it. Like it's rarely gonna be
a time where somebody goes and jumps in front of
me and grabs a book because it grabs the paths
in front of me. It probably has happened, but it's
not because I'm not just like desperate and scratching and
clawing and doing everything I can to go get that ball.
It's because they knew where it was coming, they knew
the play, et cetera, and they went downhill in that play.

(04:49):
You can't wait for it, You cannot wait for the football,
and conscious you know, went out there and grabbed the football.
It was unfortunate they had to double move late in
the game. Ricky Pursol on the it looked like a
seven pump, you know, the same play I was talking
about on on Cam Hayward's podcast that that Calvin Johnson

(05:10):
ran first play of the game when we played Detroit
that year, seven pump and it looked like Terreek Woolan
was in great Reek was in great position. He was
in phenomenal position. And then he stuttered and if that's
the point he lost that rep. He looked like he
just misjudged the ball a little bit. He took two
sutter steps and that was it. If he would have

(05:32):
just kept his momentum, kept his stride going, I think
he has a chance to book that football. I think
he has a chance to pick that football off. So
he could have picked that one. He could have picked
the one in the Enzo. And those are the little things.
Those are when you talk about a game of inches,
and those those critical moments, those are the plays he
had a He had a great play earlier in the
game on a touchdown and what appeared to be a

(05:53):
touchdown on a on an out or seven route to
Ricky Pursol and he got it by a tip by
a tip of his fingertips, same corner I tipped the
football with. It was beautiful. But but you got to
keep that up. And that's that's the growth of him
as a as a player and for this defense, because
I thought this defense of Seattle Seahawks defense played a
phenomenal game. I thought the d line was aggressive, they

(06:16):
were assertive. DeMarcus Lawrence was all over the place. He
showed his value Ernest Jones with the interception, but also
a ton of run stops. Tarrese Knight was all over
the field, Kobe Bryant a huge stops, Julian Love blocks
a field goal, and and and you know, uh Witherspoon
was all over place, nick Emm and Warri went out

(06:38):
with a knee injury early, but he looked like he
was uh set set for a good game. So you
saw a lot of positive things from that defense. The
concern is on the offensive side for the Seattle Seahawks,
where it just seemed like they were a little bit
too conservative when they had to have it and they
had to push the ball down the field. Sam Donald
let off a beautiful plass pass to JSN to Jackson

(07:01):
Smith and Jig but beautiful forty one yard game, and
that leaves you questioning, why where was this earlier? Where
were these explosive passes early? Why didn't you push the
ball down the field earlier? And I know when you
have a defensive head coach and you're a defensive team,
you say, hey, we just don't want to make a mistake.
You don't want to make a mistake, you don't want
to lose the game that way. But you also have

(07:21):
to trust that, hey, all the work these guys have
put in, they're gonna get it done. And you got
to lean on those guys. I thought that was a
phenomenal play. I thought the real critical play for the
Seattle Seahawks offense that I thought lost the game and
that it was the drive before the final drive of
the game for them, And the play was the pass

(07:42):
to Cooper Cup on third down where it looked like
he could have like he got knocked out of bounds
and it looked like he could have maybe reached the
ball over and gotten it and you see receivers do
that all the time and gotten that first down. He didn't.
It was forced down in less than a yard. Those
are the coaching decisions where you that make her break.
Coaches like, hey, you could go for that and say,

(08:04):
hey they got stopped and man, that lost in the game.
Or you go for that right there, and that's the
decision that wins you the game. But when you're conservative
and you go for three and then the other team
turns around and goes down the field and scores a touchdown,
then you come back and you drive the ball down
the field, force fumble and it doesn't go your way,
then everybody second guess is that decision anyway? And say

(08:25):
what it was less than a yard. Your defense has
been playing phenomenal, why wouldn't you go for it there?
At worst, you believe your defense can stop them, And
in Bescu scenario, you get it. You get the first,
you run the clock down to almost nothing, kick a
field gold, and you win the game. So I think

(08:46):
it's just a good, great learning experience, and that's how
great teams are built. You learn from these moments. But
on the opposite side, for the San Francisco forty nine ers,
what a game. Welcome back Robert Sala. Welcome back Robert Salah.
It was beautiful. It was a beautifull defensive game. The
young guys learned. I mean they had a rub, a
bit of a rough first drive. A lot of the
yards and success that Seattle Seahawks had came on that

(09:09):
first year drive. They drove right down the field. Obviously
they had the help of a penalty, but so did
the San Francisco forty nine ers in their first drive.
But they didn't they didn't get to stop. They went
to the sideline, made the necessary adjustments and they got stops.
Fred Warner was all over the field. Dee Winters looked incredible,

(09:30):
great open field tackle on k nine in the open field.
Multiple times. He was flying around, seeing was flying around
Diamedoor or Leonors, was throwing people over the pal got
a penalty, but he was setting a tone. And on
the defensive line, you've just seen everybody just being stout,
doing their job, being where they're supposed to be tackling
now they're supposed to tackle and Ernardo Green he gave

(09:51):
up the forty one yard to JSN, but I thought
he played a solid game. Outside of that, I thought
he tackled well. I thought up In Stout did a
good job for a rookie in his first time playing.
He had that pass interference that pushed the ball to
the one yard line on fourth down for the Seattle Seahawks.
But I thought he played a really solid game. And
I think this gave the fans for both teams a

(10:14):
lot of confidence that their defenses are legit, their coordinators,
their schemes, their players are legit, and they made necessary plays.
Both teams got to turn over to San Francisco forty
nine ers Nicholas John Bosa. That's the difference between good
and great teams is closers closers, and that's what any

(10:35):
coach would tell you you have to close out games,
and Nicholas john Bosa is the closer. Mitchell he back
to back great plays in that game. I think he
had a TfL to play before the next play pushes
Abe Lucas into the quarterbacks lap, literally into sam Donold's arm,
ball pops out. He recovers it. Game ball game. Seattle

(10:57):
Seahawks were in scoring position, had all the momentum, all
the control, and bang game over. You need your big
time players to make big time plays in big time moments.
And guess what that is why they pay him the
big bucks. Well, this is.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
Why they call it the Sherman Bowl. Richard, You've done
a lot of talking on this game, and I love it.
We got to talk about Jake Moody. This kicking situation
in forty nine er territory is dicey, to say the least.
Jake Moody all last year we talked about it, and
he struggled immensely, and he was great at the University

(11:32):
of Michigan. As much as I hate U of M
he was phenomenal. And Richard, it's like he comes to
the NFL and forgets out of kick. He clanked one's
Clake went off the post twenty seven yarder and then
gets another one blocked. At what point there's a forty
nine Ers organization say hey, enough's enough. There's enough good
kickers in the free agent market that could probably do

(11:55):
a hell of a lot better job than this kid.
Your thoughts on Jake Moody, because I know the forty
nine Ers fan base is wondering one and off is
going to be enough.

Speaker 1 (12:06):
This has to be it, Mitchell, Yeah, I mean I
thought I thought it before. I thought that in the preseason,
I thought it last year. I always think it because
because it's not acceptable for the position, like seventy six
percent for a kicking and the National Football League is horrible.
That's a career, that's his career. He's a career forty

(12:27):
five of fifty nine, not including what happened today, So
he'd be forty six of sixty two if you included
what happened today. And mind you, one of them got blocked,
but that comes down to certain operation times and everybody
factors into that. But they got to block better, he
got to kick better. But it's it's just an unacceptable thing.

(12:47):
It's an unacceptable reality of the sport. That you're a professional.
It's like a quarterback throwing for fifty percent, Like eventually
you got to replace him, not because he's a bad person,
not because you hate him, not because because there's a
standard that you expect. There's an expectation of the job.
You got to be a pro. And kickers are held
they're a specialist. That's why they call him specialists. You

(13:10):
have a special set of skills. Your special set of
skills are kicking the ball through the uprights and anything
under forty yards. You're expected to be perfect. Is that
fair or not fair? I don't know, but that's what
the expectation is in the National Football League, and most
of the kickers in the National Football League under forty
yards are pretty much perfect. He's not, and he hasn't

(13:34):
been under forty. Under forty he's almost perfect. He's a
what is that sixteen thirty? He's almost perfect. He's almost perfect.
He's twenty eight. Before today he was twenty nine to thirty,

(13:58):
and then today he misses a Clinton. I think it
was what was that twenty eight yards? Thirty eight yard,
tenty seven yards, twenty seven yard? You can't have it
like those are things that your head coach. Your head
coach should never go into a game thinking he has
to go for it on fourth down because he doesn't
think his kicker is gonna make the kick. If that's

(14:21):
a mindset, if that's something that your head coach has
to put in his subconscious, even under forty yards, seems
like they need to get somebody else to do the job. Unfortunately,
and I understand he used the third round pick on him.
I thought that was unnecessary. I don't think anybody was like, man,
we gotta get this guy, don't. We're gonna get him
before the Niners get him. Like, I don't think you

(14:43):
ever have to do that for a kickers. There are
a lot of people with a great leg. We're talking
about guys that literally learned how to kick in the
last couple of years. And in our professional kickers right now,
I'm like the kicker for Jake for Detroit. What's his
name is, Jake Bates? Jake Bates. Wasn't he Where was

(15:05):
he working before he got the jump?

Speaker 2 (15:06):
He was working. He is plucking groceries, Richard, and then
he goes and then he goes to the USFL and
all of a sudden he's kicking the ball sixty plus
yards for field goals. This is what I'm talking about.
I mean, we've talked about it. Off are a thousand times.
The kid from Hawaii walked off your university, Stanford University.

(15:28):
You're you're alma mater, Richard, and the kid you learned
how to kick off a YouTube. And here we are
in the NFL and you're drafting Jake Moody in the
third round. To have this level of acceptance, I'm calling
it quits on him. And it's not comes I'm a sparty,
it's just because I'm pragmatic. I mean, let's be real here,

(15:52):
it's time. But Richard, let's let's before we move on
from this game, I want to I want to get
your impressions on Sam Darnold. Obviously this is a new
territory for him, and he targeted JS on a lot.
He was sixteen of twenty three for one hundred and
fifty yards. One hundred and twenty four of that went
to JS. And Richard, this is not Minnesota. You don't

(16:18):
have the plethora of weapons that you had there. You
got Jackson Smith and Jigba and a little bit older
Cooper Cup. I mean, what are your thoughts on Sam
Darnold's first impression with the Seattle Seahawks.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
I thought he did solid. I didn't think he made
any egregious mistakes. I don't think he held the team back.
I think there was a bit of a conservative notion
and pushing him out there and pushing the ball down
the field, which I don't understand, and I wanted to
see him push the ball down the field more. They
had success when he did it. But bringing in Cooper

(16:54):
Cup when you had JSN didn't seem like a great
call to me initially because they're similar. You know they're similar.
You want him in the slot, you want them to
win on third down. You think those are the guys
that they're gonna win inside for you. And you can't
target them both. You can't have look at them both.
You can't usually keep them both on the same side.
So then it leads to what you had today where

(17:15):
you're saying, hey, j c En is our guy. Cooper's
obviously are two, but the plays that we would throw
it to Cooper, Jsn's running those plays, and so it
kind of it kind of negates him in a way
and all the things that make him special. It was
similar to what happened to him and in LA with
the Rams. It's because Poka Nikua does those things, the

(17:39):
things that made Cooper Cup really special and and thrive
and all those slots and how he how great he
is in a a short area of quickness. They have
somebody else to do that job, and somebody else who
they want to throw the ball to. So then you
have to find something else for him to do. And
he's not necessarily an outside receiver and X that you
just put out there one on one back side and

(18:00):
expect him to win on go routes and comebacks. I'm
sure he could do that, but that's not what he's
done in this league. And so I think they're gonna
have to find another way to get him involved, another
way to utilize him in JSN together, whether that's rotating
them in or putting JSN on the outside and letting
Cooper work on the inside, or whatever the case may be.
But he's gonna need to be more productive than he

(18:22):
was in this game, and he's gonna need to be
targeted more than he was in this game if you're
gonna have the kind of offensive success that this offense
is capable of. You're gonna have to find a way.
And and this is why you you your concern level
when you move a DK Metcalf goes up because he's
a he's a true X receiver, a true X receiver backside, Hey,

(18:47):
one on one, we're throwing go routes, We're throwing hitches,
we're throwing slants like we know, that's where we're going
with the football. And when you don't have that, they
can bracket JSN, they can they can cloud it, they
can zone, they can three over four or you know
what I mean, four over three or two over three, etc. Etc.
They can find a way to put more guys over
JSN and over Cooper Cup than you have and so

(19:10):
you can't just isolate him in the way that you
could when you have a true X receiver on the backside.
So I think this offense has a lot of room
to grow. I think they executed their game plan solid
versus a really talented defense with a few all pros.
And I think they're continuing to learning, going to continue
to learn and continue to elevate, and I look forward

(19:30):
to seeing them next week.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
Let's talk about the Detroit Lions against the Green Bad Packers.
This loss for the Detroit Lions was demoralizing. Richard, We're
coming into a season where everyone in the national media,
local media, whatever you want to talk about, they're all
talking about the same thing, and that's the loss of

(19:52):
both the coordinators. Aaron Glenn, you know, great showing, albeit
in a loss with the Jets. You can see the
identity of the Jets have shifted. Ben Johnson. We've got
to see him perform with the Chicago Bears. But you know,
we thought, hey, you know, under this Dan Campbell regime,

(20:12):
the next man up mentality has always stayed in place.
And defensively, I wouldn't call it an issue. I mean,
they didn't play the best, especially in the first half.
Second half seemed to tighten up a bit. But what
was most eye opening to me was offensively. I mean,
this is a team that was known for. First off,
you have so many offensive weapons. I don't have to

(20:34):
name them, but I will. I mean, I'm on Wrestling Brown,
Jamison Williams, Jamier Gibbs, David Montgomery, Sam Laporta, you know,
just to name a few, and you don't utilize these guys.
Jamiir Gibbs had ten receptions for thirty one yards Richard,

(20:55):
I'm pretty sure I could go out there and do
that same workload.

Speaker 1 (20:59):
I mean, and it.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
Started from the first possession of the game. You saw it,
and it was like, why aren't these guys taking shots downfield?
They never took a single shot down field until the
game was out of control. And this is not the
Detroit Lions that were used to over the last two
three years. This was teams that were taking shots, the

(21:22):
mid range shots, the long range shots, and you didn't
see it at all. And I don't know if it's
a situation where, hey, we lost Frank Reig. Now you know,
we lost a Zeitler to the Tennessee Titans, you know,
the our offensive guard. You know, we're replacing two guys
on the interior. But the Packers are good, and I'm

(21:46):
not going to understate that by any means. Their pass
rush is very sound. They got a very good defense.
But to me, this looks like a game where the Lions, frankly,
they've been in this ever since Dan Gamble took him over.
They have not been playing their starters in preseason. And
if there was ever any season to do that, it
seems to me like it would be this season because

(22:06):
they looked ill prepared, especially on the offensive side of
the ball. Richard, I want to hear your thoughts because
I'm not in this situation right now where I'm saying, Hey,
the season's over, because I do believe that the Lions are
gonna get a lot better.

Speaker 1 (22:20):
It's only up from here. They played their their.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
D football, a D minus football game today. They're only
going to get better. But at what point, you know,
what are your thoughts on this game? Are the Lions?
How scared should I be? I guess is my question
for you?

Speaker 1 (22:39):
Scared? If we're talking to panic meter and we're saying
one through teen, I would say it's four five on
panic the first game of the season, and there were
some positives there. Defensively, I thought, I thought if AZELONEI
intercepts that Eric passed from from Jordan Love, I think

(23:02):
that changes the game substantially, and we're having a whole
different conversation. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't feel like
their defense, their offense was just rolling down the field
and just having their way, which with the Detroit Lions defense,
I didn't. I didn't think that at all. I didn't
see that. I didn't feel that. I thought they held
their own. I thought they made some plays. I thought
there was a few plays they left out there. But

(23:24):
I thought offensively, what the Green Bay Packers focused on
this offseason, and obviously Layton to the offseason up until
last week is pass rush. They saw that the way

(23:45):
people had success against the Detroit Lions and beat them
when they did the very few times they beat him
last year, they hit Sam I mean, hit Jared Golf
early and often, they got pressure, and they got it
with four. They didn't that blits him. They didn't send
all these exotic pressures. They got there with four. They
covered well in the back end. But they found a

(24:08):
way that they said, Hey, we're gonna build this team
to beat the Detroit Lions. We're gonna create a ferocious
pass rush with four guys swarming, have a great rotation.
They have a great rotation of guys that were eighth
in sacks last year, and so adding Michaeh. Parsons, even
in the limited role that he was in today, made
a difference. Like Rashan Gary with a sack and a half,

(24:29):
Wyatt I think had a sack, and then of course
Michael Parsons late in the game finds a way to
get a sack, and as he gets more comfortable rushing
with these guys, I'm sure it'll get even better. But
they built themselves these defensively to cause this great offensive
line that you've built over the years problems. And that's
that's where things are getting murky because people are talking

(24:51):
about the coordinators, which is which is solid, but the
team isn't isn't drastically different. That offensive line did not
play as well as they used he played today, and
that's been such a strength of this offense for the
last couple of years that you almost you almost stopped
thinking about it. You're like, hey, they're gonna open up
holes for Jamior Gibbs in Montgomery. They're gonna they're gonna

(25:12):
give Jared Goff time to go execute. And they didn't today.
He was under duress a lot of the times. I
think he got sacked, but he got sacked three or
four times. He got sacked four times in this game.
He didn't turn the ball over. It was It wasn't
an awful game by any stretch of imagination, but the
Green Bay Packers showed they are a really, really good team.
And I told you Michael Parsons hit them from being

(25:34):
a really good team to condenders, and they showed that
against a team that was the one seed last year. Like, hey,
these guys are for real, they are legitimate, and they
should be treated accordingly. They will be in by top
five this week. Harris Stands were very upset. They deserve it,
but you gotta earn it on the field, and you
can't just say on paper we looked like this, and

(25:55):
we should have looked like this, and they earned it
on the field. And the same week this and concern
that I had for them before about winning a Super
Bowl I have for them now. And that's a quarterback position.
Not because he's not talented enough, not because he's not
doesn't have all the things that could do it. It's
because sometimes his decision making and his mechanics just don't

(26:19):
seem right. He's backing up, backing up, backing up off
his back foot lobs a pass that should have been
intercepted by Azeloni and been a huge playing the ball game,
but it gets dropped and everybody forgets about it. But
those are the plays that have been an achilles heel
to this Green Bay Packers team, even with the really
good defense and its calls issues when they've had defensive

(26:43):
success or when their defense has had a little bit
of an off game, he can't necessarily take them to
the next step. And so hopefully this game is the
first steps of him having that maturity. They have all
the weapons they need. They drafted him more weapons, they
got Josh Jacobs. They have all the dreadians to have
a really great offense. They just have to put it together. No,

(27:05):
their offensive line looked really good today too, by the.

Speaker 2 (27:07):
Way they did, And I got it tip of the
cap to the greenback Packers. I mean, they really put
it all together. They look like a much better team
this year. And I hate to say it, but I
see him. You know, at this point, I don't want
to be a Monday Morning quarterback, but they got to
be the favorite to win the division right now. They

(27:27):
just looked like the better team. They got it together defensively.
The Lions have a lot to clean up, and they
got to clean it up quick going into Chicago. You
hate to see him going on too, especially against division
rivals start off the season.

Speaker 1 (27:41):
Richard, Let's take it.

Speaker 2 (27:42):
To the Friday night game. It was cool to see
football on Friday night, and especially in Brazil, the Chiefs
probably didn't like it. Though the Chiefs played the Chargers,
they took a loss, and you do not see the
Chargers beating the Kansas City Chiefs often. It's the first
time they beat him since twenty twenty one, and they
beat up pretty convincingly. It looks like they controlled most

(28:03):
of that game. I mean, Patrick Mahomes and this team
has been so dominant for years. It just seems like
no matter what happens, the Chiefs win. And here we
are the start of the season, them going oh to one,
and then next week they played the Philadelphia Eagles. This

(28:23):
team could be facing oh to two, and I don't
want to speak it into existence, but they could very
much so be looking at an oh and two start
the first time since God knows when, Richard, How concerned
would you be if you're a Kansas City Chiefs fan
right now?

Speaker 1 (28:44):
Again, I think if it's a one through team, I'm
at a five because I've fallen in this trap before
Washington Kansas City Chiefs. I've I've done it. I would
not lie. They've been in a Super Bowl five in
the last six years, and and they've had starts like this.
They've had starts where they just looked like god awful,
and you're like, what weapons do they have? How are

(29:06):
they gonna be expected to make it to the super Bowl?
They limp and their way through the season, they lax
a days of cool. They don't look that great offensively,
their defense is looking dominant, or vice versa. Their defense
isn't looking the best and their offense looks dominant. Our
Patrick Mahomes is doing a lot of interceptions early and
you think, oh man, he's lost it. They figured him out,

(29:27):
and then they make a late run in December. They
whether they're the one seed or the five seed in
a wild card, they run through the playoffs, whether they're
home in our way, they find a way to win
and find a way to win. Even in the game,
I thought they were thoroughly dominated. You look at the
final score and it's twenty one to twenty seven, and
it could have been closer than that because the Chiefs

(29:49):
were in scoring range and they kicked the field goal
because they thought they could get it back and they
thought they wouldn't have enough time otherwise. I think they
score right there, and then it's twenty four to twenty
seven at the end into the game, final score, and
you're talking about a game that got dominated. So I'm
not panicking if I'm those fans, but what I am
if I'm the LA Chargers and I'm their fans, I'm

(30:11):
feeling ecstatic because this is the Justin Herbert that everybody's
talked about, and everybody thought he would be everybody when
he came out of Oregon, and he was one of
the most heralded prospects, one of them. The generational talents,
the arm talent, the athleticism, the speed, the size, the IQ,
the brainiac. I lost to him in a chess match. Mitchell,

(30:32):
we had a chess tournament and I had him dead
to rights. I lost on time. But we're gonna talk
about that in another day. But a brilliant mind in
a very quick process or with great accuracy and all
those other things, but there was always something holding him back.
And it's two playoff games. He hasn't necessarily played well.
Had four interceptions in one. I thought he had three

(30:53):
interceptions last year, And so those are the those were
the criticisms, and they were rightful. So and everybody on
the other side, the Charger side, is like he doesn't
have the weapons. He doesn't have this, he doesn't have that.
And you look up in this game and it's pretty
much the same weapons, the same cast of characters. They
brought Keenan Allen back, a Charger great, and they brought

(31:17):
a you know, Najie Harris. They drafted Marin Hamsen Hampton, Yep,
they drafted Hampton. But I'm not saying those guys are
like you brought in a number one All Pro receiver.
Quentin Johnson. Looks really good now all of a sudden,
he's playing like he was capable of playing. Lab McConkie
looked good last year, looks good this year. But it's

(31:40):
Herbert and his ability to elevate the guys around him
that really shined in this game. And his legs and
decision making and confidence and oh it was all there.
Mitchell was all there on display. And you talk about
a top five quarterback when you look at this game
and you watch how he played. Sure he took the
three sacks, but you know, when you lose uh, your

(32:02):
you're All Pro tackle and for the season before before
the season starts, you're gonna have some some issues on
the offensive line. I'm sure they'd be feeling really good
if they had Rashaun Slater on that side, you know,
protecting him with Joe all but unfortunately they lost him
for the season. But I thought, this Justin Herbert, maybe
it's Jim Harball and everything that he's great. They call

(32:24):
him the quarterback whisper they had. He has Trey Lance
looking great, But this is the best Justin Herbert has looked,
at least against the Kansas City Chiefs, I think in
his time with the LA Chargers.

Speaker 2 (32:35):
No question about it. And I don't know what it
is with Jim Harbaugh as much as I do, not
like the guy being a uf M guy and me
being as sparty, but like, if Justin Herbert plays this
level of football week in week out, it's gonna be
hard to keep him out of the MVP conversation. Honestly, Richard,
I mean, and this this Chargers team, this LA Chargers

(32:56):
team looks like they could be top of that. Honestly,
when they played this way and you look at the
additions they made it. I know it might have been
a late edition with an older wide receiver, but the
reality is Keenan Allen is used to this team. He's
used to this environment. Bringing him back. I feel like
it adds an extra safety blanket for Justin Herbert. And

(33:18):
you saw that, and he saw Quintin Johnson ball out.
I mean, I know the guy is not the most
sure handed receiver, but in terms of making big plays,
he did just that. And then Lad mcconkee, who I mean,
this is Wes Welker reincarnate for the LA Chargers. You
gotta love to see it. Kansas City Chiefs. When I

(33:42):
leave this game, I'm worried. If I'm a Chiefs fan,
I'll just leave it at that, especially when you go
to play the Eagles. Richard, we got to talk about
these Las Vegas Raiders against it.

Speaker 1 (33:53):
Wait wait, wait, wait wait, because I can't. I can't
leave without talking about talk your talk. The defense, Mitchell.
The for the LA Chargers, they play, they they've always
been a really talented group. But they played lights out.
They were swarming, they were all over the place. They
played with confidence, they executed. There's not enough positive things

(34:14):
to say about what they did. And if they continue
to play like that, I watched a doubt. I mean,
the Denver Broncos today against the Tennessee Titans, they did
not look great offensively. Their defense looked really solid against
the Tennessee Titans offense that is young and inexperienced with
a rookie quarterback who I expect to do really well
in this league. But I think the Chargers are in

(34:36):
a driver's seat, especially with this win against the Kansas
City Chiefs. I think defensively offensively, they're showing that they
are they right now are the class that is division
until proven otherwise. I think the Raiders looked good Gino
Smith three hundred yards passing in New England, which is
a tough place to play. I touchdown in a win, sure,

(34:58):
But the way the Chargers look on both sides of
the ball well.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
Coached Derwin Richard Derwin James, that's the name I want
to throw out there. The most sure tackling safety in
the league. Derwin James has always had that skill set
for them, But him being healthy this Chargers teams something
to look after. I think we got to put a

(35:22):
pin in this team because there's somebody that I think
makes some noise, especially in the division.

Speaker 1 (35:28):
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Speaker 2 (36:29):
Today, let's talk Pete Carroll. This Las Vegas Raiders team.
I know it's there against the New England Patriots, but
the reality is expectations were a little bit higher for
the Patriots this year. They go on the road, they
get a win, Gino Smith throws for three hundred and
sixty two yards. He got comfortable real quick. He found

(36:50):
his favorite wide out, the tight end brock Bowers and
and you see Jacoby Myers getting involved. You gotta love
what you saw week one on from this offense with
the Raiders. I mean, your thought's on Geno and Pete Carroll.

Speaker 1 (37:09):
This is what I thought it would be for them
when I talked about the Raiders and people kept asking me,
how you think Pete's gonna do. I think Pete's gonna
do great because Pete's not trying to reinvent the wheel.
He has a proven system that works. It's like building
a car. Have cars changed since nineteen whatever when they
were first invented and people started driving. Sure, but the

(37:32):
fundamental four wheels, an engine, a radiator, a gas tank,
Mitchell has not changed very much. Now people change the
outer layer and put the fancy it interior, the new
leather and the new electronics, but the foundational design of
a car has not changed a lot. And so when

(37:53):
people say, oh, Pete Carroll isn't keeping up with the times,
He's still running that old system that nobody runs. It's
sad out it sound as ever, and you could see
it in that in that Raiders defense, they're not giving
up a ton rushing. They're right there where they're supposed
to be. It's a bend, but don't break. They're they're swarming.
They're playing really fast. You got guys where they're supposed

(38:15):
to be. They got an interception in the game, they
got four sacks in the game, and they're playing smart football.
Then offensively, you see Geno Smith, who can deal. I
know people thought, oh, it's just a fluke in Seattle
and he had that one year. No, mentally, he's figured
it out. He's processing. He's a great processor in the NFL,

(38:40):
and it shows weekend and week out. He was dealing
to these tight ends, both Mayor and Bronck ball powers. Uh.
He also had some cool passes to Uh, you just
said his name, Jacoby Myers. Jacoby Myers. Sorry, he had
some great players to Jacob, but he just looks like

(39:01):
he's in command. I know last year everybody was down
on him. I thought the offensive line he was playing
behind just just didn't have enough. They were beat up,
they were injured, had some holes, had some issues. But
when he has time, Gino Smith can deal. And even
on the interception today to Brock Powers, it hit brought.

(39:21):
It appeared to me like it hit brock Powers hands
got tipped up in the air, intercepted. It didn't seem
like it was one of those passes where he, hey,
Gino just threw it to the other team, or he
just made a bad read, or he just ball slipped
out his hand. I thought it was a solid pass.
Maybe he forced it into a little tight coverage, and
you know, it was a contested catch. But I didn't
think it was a bad decision overall. And I think

(39:42):
three hundred and sixty two yards on this defense, I
feel good about that. I'm sure Raiders fans feel real confident.
I thought their defense played really well. And I think, again,
Pete Carroll is not going to be out of many
of these games. You're not gonna find many games where
Pete Carroll just gets oh, their team gets beat by
two touchdowns or three touchdowns. Like even when we weren't

(40:03):
a great team, we didn't lose by much. If we lost,
it's we're within one score. By the end of the game,
we're in, we're in striking Wainge, we're fighting, And I
think he has all the pieces that he needs to
make these plays and continue to make a run even
with this defense not as technically talented as as the
rest of the league. He knows what the guy, the

(40:23):
guys that he needs, and he's gonna make it work.
And I think the Raiders are going to surprise people
this year. I think they're gonna be solid. I think
they're gonna be fighting for that seventh seed.

Speaker 2 (40:32):
I love to see it, man. I mean the Raiders,
whether they're gonna be contenders or not, I don't think
they'll be that. But above anything, I think they're going
to be a solid competitor throughout. And a team that
caught me really by surprise, Richard, and a player that
caught me really by surprise. Pittsburgh Steelers Aaron Rodgers. This

(40:56):
game right here the New York Jets. When you look
at this game, it'sburg against the Jets. What do you
think of, Richard? I don't know if I want to
watch it, Richard, this might have been the game of
the day. I mean, you want to talk about an
absolute shootout, thirty four to thirty two, Steelers beautiful win.

(41:20):
Late Aaron Rodgers, who is this guy? Two hundred and
forty four yards four tds, and he found himself a
new target in DK Metcalf that he appears to love.
But he was spreading that football around. You saw Calvin
Austin get involved. I mean, you gotta be curious to
see what they do in the running game. They were
getting everyone involved with that. I mean, what are your

(41:43):
expectations of the Pittsburgh Steelers after this win.

Speaker 1 (41:50):
I think they're gonna be in the mix. This is
the first time in a long time that they've had
a great quarterback. And not to say Aaron is playing
necessarily in the spot where he's at his prime. Obviously
he's past his prime. He's pasted all that. But Ben Roethlisberger,
they had great quarterback, took them to super Bowls. One

(42:10):
super Bowl. Aaron can do it. And you saw some
vintage play from Aaron Rodgers, some of the risk flicks,
the famous wrist flicks that just looks so beautiful on
the run rolling out, he looked as mobile as he's looked.
You know, you didn't see any any lingering effects from
the achilles injury. Sure, he took some sacks, he took

(42:32):
some hits, He kept throw pushing. Where's that head Richard
big hit. He took a big leg, Let's not mistake that,
no question about it. And he but he's from that
old guard. He's from that old guard of quarterbacks. And
we always talk about the new guys, the Herberts, the
Josh Allens, the Lamar Jackson's, the Pat Mahole, But with

(42:53):
that old guard, the Drew Brees, Tom Brady, the the
Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, I mean even flaccos, from that
old guard of quarterbacks that just before the rules totally changed,
they played a different game. He was playing in the
two thousands and so, so he's a tough quarterback. He's

(43:13):
still wearing a shut helmet mental and he's wearing an
illegal helmet. I don't think. I don't think the league
allows anybody else to wear that helmet but him because
he's grandfathers and I'm pretty sure he has to sign
a waiver to wear it because that helmet is not
it does not pass the safety tests that a lot
of these helmets must pass in the NFL to be used.
That's how old school Aaron Rodgers is. He still wears

(43:34):
the one chin strap, I mean all of it. But
for him to have the game that he had for
the Pittsburgh Steers Stellers. I know they're what they've just
seen from their offense for the last couple of years.
It's just been an eemick. It's been defensive game after
defensive game after defensive game, and to see your defense
kind of struggle you don't see many times they're giving

(43:57):
up thirty two points and feeling good about that. It's
a lot of money on that defense. Mitchell, you're paying
twenty seven million to Jalen Ramsey at the corner. I
think you're paying ten. In the sleigh, you're paying Heyward
close to thirty. You're paying what forty? You know you're
not expecting to give up thirty two points, but when
you do, and you have a quarterback who can get

(44:19):
you out of it and win the game. In the
game winning field goal, did you see it from Boswell? Mitchell?
I did. That wasn't a gimmey from the logo. That
was not a gimmey. They were on the logo game
winner from the logo. I mean they just had to

(44:39):
be ecstatic. And another person I was ecstatic for was
justin Field. Oh yes, what a game for him? What
a game for Justin Field's got to show his true talent,
and what he got to show was who he has
been in at Ohio State and what they drafted. And
sometimes you need to change of scenery and Aaron Rodgers,

(44:59):
they they literally flipped scenes and both of them are
thriving in their new situations. You can see how Aaron
Glenn wants to use him with his legs, with his arm,
Breise Hall continuing to thrive. You see the passing game
open up Garrett Wilson. He's hitting Garrett Wilson in stride.
You can see their chemistry for many years at OSU.

(45:23):
That was really cool to see just a team maximizing
the strengths and talent of their team, of their players,
of their personnel. He had two touchdowns rushing, one passing touchdown,
Gary Wilson, seven catches for ninety five yards, and it
was great to see. Quinn Williams made huge plays in
this ball game. Put a lot of pressure on Aaron Rodgers.

(45:43):
Huge hits on Aaron Rodgers TFLs. He continued to show
what makes him special. But this was a barn burner
and I think this showed very positive promise for both
of these offenses. These quarterbacks. Another quarterback. Not to leave
this game without putting a ribbon on it, but this
was great. The Pittsburgh Steelers won. I think they're gonna

(46:04):
be competitive in the North. But Daniel Jones a quarterback
who who's been much maligned, and I've had enough negative
things to say to fill up a cavern with because
he hasn't played well. And sometimes you can't tell if
it's the player just not being good enough or the
situation that he's in not being good enough. You really

(46:27):
it's hard to figure it out. But today it looks
like he's in the perfect situation with the Indianapolis Coats,
both running and passing. He took a shot from Matthew
Judon in that game early in the first quarter, and
I thought that was it for him. I thought he
was gonna be in concussion protocol and he was gonna

(46:48):
be We're gonna be looking at somebody else played quarterback
for the Indianapolis coach. But he did something that no
quarterback in the last fifty years has done. None of
the greats. No Tom brad not Aaron Rodgers, not Peyton Manning,
not Drew Brees, not Montana, not Lway, not any of them, Mitchell,

(47:08):
Daniel Jones did it. He led seven straight scoring drives.
Not one drive did he line up under center that
they did not get points. That's never happened before. It's
look it up.

Speaker 2 (47:23):
It's wild to think about, but I mean, we've had
the case studies in front of us for the last
five years. Right You saw Baker Mayfield jump from Cleveland
to Carolina to Tampa Bay and now he's become one
of the bigger and better quarterbacks in this league. We've
seen it with Sam Darnold doing the same kind of thing,

(47:44):
going from the Jets to Carolina to San Francisco to Minnesota.
You know where he finds his promised land and gets
his big payday and then ends.

Speaker 1 (47:53):
Up with Seattle.

Speaker 2 (47:54):
Maybe the change of scenery is a good thing from
Daniel Jones, Richard, I mean, because this looked like he
was in total command of this offense. And I'm not
gonna lie to you. I did not think in my
wildest dreams that the Dolphins were gonna lose this game.
I know they had a rough preseason, I know Detroit
smacked them around pretty good and joint practices up here

(48:16):
in Detroit, But I thought the Dolphins with everything they
got two with Tyreek, with Jalen Waddle, you know that
they would go out there and get the win. But
this was not even close. And it was from the onset.
Daniel Jones set the tone and they were nasty. I
mean that the Indianapolis Colts. I don't want to speak

(48:37):
too soon, but if Daniel Jones keeps playing this level
of football, this division for the Indianapolis Colts could look
very promising.

Speaker 1 (48:47):
No question about it. I mean, this is a huge surprise.
The Miami Dolphins looked like a disas terrible. I mean,
you talk about to a tongue of II Lowe, who
was at times in his career a fringe top ten quarterback,
and debate with somebody else because he played good football
dead and he looks like a totally different guy. He

(49:11):
looks shell shocked. He almost looks like he did his
rookie year when he had just first started getting in
there and getting reps. When they replaced my guy Ryan
Fitzpatrick during Floores his tenure with the Miami Dolphins, where
it just didn't look like the system worked for him. Well,
you're in the same system that you've been in. You
got your money. You've been consistent. Tyreek Keel was in

(49:32):
the lineup, Waddle's in the lineup. You have your weapons,
a chains in the lineup. What's holding him back? And
maybe the offensive line didn't block that great. Maybe that
there's you know, pieces of that there. But like he's
been the last few years, so decisive, so quick, like
he's he's been quick, quick release. You know when you

(49:55):
talk about time to release, he's been among the league
leaders and getting the ball out quick. In this game,
he just was holding on to it. He looked vexed,
he looked for plex And I know Lou and Roma's
defense is complicated. It's you know, he throws a lot
of different exotic looks out there. I know it didn't
always work out in Cincinnati, but he was working with

(50:18):
a bear cupboard out in Cincinnati. It looks like he
has this Indianapolis coach defense playing great football. Multiple interceptions today,
force fumbles. I mean, they were flying around. They looked
like a confident bunch and they were just feeding off
the offense. You look about both sides of it and
you think, hey, this Indianapolis coach team, all of a
sudden looks like a very complete team. And now what

(50:39):
is this AFC South looking like? Who when you thought
it was a foregone conclusion that it was going to
the Houston Texans who just lost it to the LA Rams,
Today it looks like the Indianapolis coach will be factoring
in on that. They will be a big factor in that.
And that's when you start to get get concerned about
a lot of other things going on. But Daniel Jones

(51:01):
looks like he found a good system, a good fit
for his talent. His skill set ran for two touchdowns
today through four another touchdown, looked comfortable, accurate, confident, all
the things that you rarely could ever say about him
when he was with the New York Giant.

Speaker 2 (51:17):
That change of scenery could have done the best thing
ever for Daniel Jones' career. There might have been a
reason he was drafted to top ten because there were
so many people that debated it and said, there's no
way this guy's not a first round pick to begin with,
but he certainly looked like it tonight. Kudos to the
Indianapolis Colts for taking a shot on him and saying, hey,
Anthony Richardson, you're gonna have to take a back seat

(51:39):
to him. To begin the year because it looks like
they might have found their guy finally. And Inneapolis, Richard,
we got to talk about the Washington Commanders and the
New York Giants. I mean, there's a lot of question
marks around this New York Giants team, as there should be,
namely at the quarterback position. A guy you played with
for a number of years, Russell Wilson steps on center

(52:00):
for the New York Giants. Not that great of a game,
you know, a little bit underwhelming. I guess what you
would expect to see from Russell at this point in
his career, but it seemed like he was a bit
conservative with the football, didn't give his team a whole
lot of chances. He ended up losing twenty one to six.
Russell is seventeen of thirty seven for one sixty eight.

(52:22):
That is an abysmal performance for Russell Wilson. I got
to hear your thoughts, man, as he steps into the
rains in New York.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
Now you you knew when he and people will keep
you know they feel how they feel about how I
feel about Russell Wilson. I just I just tell the truth, guys.
I don't there's not an emotional aspect of it to
me that people think he just hasn't played well in
these with any systems, with these new teams. And it's fine,

(52:55):
but this offensive line didn't give him a lot of
time today. They didn't get it wasn't a great opportunity
for him to have success. I thought the Washington commanders
did a great job with coverage, exotic looks putting pressure
on him. They also controlled the clock. They ran the
ball well. But I thought he was conservative with the football.

(53:19):
He didn't want to push the ball down the field
unless it was an obvious one on one situation with neighbors.
I thought, I don't know. I thought he looked like
he normally looks. He checked the ball down and looked
for yak. They tried to throw some screens and things
like that, but I didn't think he wanted to put
the ball in danger very often. I don't think he

(53:41):
took a lot of quote unquote risks that would have
given him his team a chance, would would have given
him a chance to turn the ball over, or given
his team a chance to make a huge play. He
was seventeen of thirty seven, so they threw the ball out.
He just didn't he didn't complete a lot of those passes. Obviously,
he was only set twice, but I thought there were
other opportunities he had to be sacked where you know,

(54:04):
he either got out of it or threw the ball
away or something like that. But I think they're gonna
have to make a decision on whether they want to
put Jackson Dart in and start letting him develop. I
know they don't feel great about this offensive line, but
Jackson Dart was very productive in the preseason. He looked
like a guy who executes the offense really well. And
you just don't want to fall into too deep of

(54:26):
a hole during the season where you start to where
the rest of the team starts to say, hey, this
is just another bad season and start mailing it in.
You know, your own one. You still got a chance,
you still got confidence. You still have a really good
defensive line that I thought could have played better. But
you were going against a team that played in the
NFC Championship last year, and to Watchton Commanders, they have

(54:47):
a really good defense, they're really talented, they're really veteran.
I thought Latimore is a good player. Obviously, our guy
friend of the program, Bobby Wagner, one of my best
friends is playing really good football. Steal to this day,
Deebo Samuel love to see it. Tyshawn had a touchdown,
a rushing touchdown nineteen yards for this team. He was

(55:09):
their leading receiver in this game. I thought he had
a tremendous impact and get everything he could. Obviously, you
could see the rush there for Terry McLaurin his connection
with Jayden Daniels. But I thought Jayden Daniels played a
really good game, was accurate and made great decisions sixty
eight yards. Russian was in command of it. But I
think in order for them to take the next step,

(55:31):
you're gonna have to see if Jackson Dart is the guy.
I know you brought Russ in because you weren't sure
what you're gonna get in the draft and who you
were gonna get. But I think with Malik Neighbors and
you could see his frustration on the sideline during this game,
something is gonna have to change. If you're just gonna
have to tell Russ, hey, you're gonna have to put
the ball up. You're gonna have to give him a shot.

(55:51):
You're gonna have to keep giving him opportunities and push
the ball out. You can't just throw it away or
hold on to the football. You gotta give these guys
a chance win or lose. You know, this isn't gonna
be a great offense with him playing in a conservative
way like he has. When you have a generational defense
or phenomenal defense like he's had in a lot of

(56:13):
the games that he's won, then sure you can play
not to lose the game. You can play check the
ball down, a few big plays here and then in
the fourth quarter, take a few shots and still win
the ball game. You can turn the ball over, still
depend on your defense and win the ball game. But
when your defense isn't playing well or you don't have
the weapons, they're gonna need him to elevate this team more.

(56:34):
They're gonna need him to take those opportunities and really
showcase his talent to elevate them, a showcase his connection
with neighbors, to really elevate this team and to win
games like this. I thought they they stayed stuck around
in this ball game. It was six to fourteen for
a really long time. I mean, their defense kept them
in it, and their offense just never made the plays necessary.

(56:55):
They you know, they kept sticking around it. If you
would have looked up and saw six to fourteen, six
six to fourteen, like, hey, they can just make a
play somewhere and you can win this game. And I
thought they could possibly steal one on the road in Washington.
But I think if it happens like this again next week,
I think they're gonna have to make a decision to
go with Jackson Dart because they're gonna have how much

(57:16):
time does Brian Dape does they both have left?

Speaker 2 (57:19):
He's got very millennimal time left. That's the reality of it.
I mean you look at the performance Daniel Jones had
today in Indianapolis if he were at the Helm at
New York. I mean this in this game because the
defense gave him a shot, you know, only giving up
twenty one points. And like you said, they were in it.
It's not like they were out of it if you
had a more competent And that's why I love the

(57:40):
Jameis Winston signing this offseason. I know the guy's got
a lot of quirks, but I loved me some Jameis Winston.
I would not mind him at all in Detroit as
a backup quarterback. The reality is this guy gives his
receivers ample opportunity. Whether it ends up in the opposition's
hand or not, is a story that you know he
probably doesn't want written. But I promise you I think

(58:02):
Melik Neighbors would prefer him at quarterback. I'm telling you
that if you ask Melik Neighbors who he wants a quarterback,
I would assume it would be Jameis Winston because he
gives these guys opportunities. And that's what I think the
New York Giants need. They need someone who's gonna give
their receivers, give their skill position players an opportunity. I

(58:23):
just don't know if Russell's a guy.

Speaker 1 (58:26):
They're not good enough to play the brand that exactly
Russell plays exactly. They're not a good enough team they
to play the brand that Jamis plays. They're they're fine
because it's gonna be it's gonna be a feast or famine.
Like he's either gonna throw for three hundred and four
tds and everybody's gonna eat, or he's gonna throw five interceptions.

(58:47):
You're gonna lose anyway by three touchdowns, and it is
what it is. But your receivers are gonna get opportunities.
The ball is gonna be pushed down the field, the
offense is gonna be executed that the risks are gonna
be taken, and you're gonna see that. I don't know
what you're gonna get up, Jackson Dart. He's a rookie.
He played well in the preseason. He executed the offense
in the preseason, but the regular season could be totally different.
But I don't think playing a conservative, Hey, we're gonna

(59:10):
chick the ball down. I'm gonna throw it to the
swing and he's gonna get me five or six yards.
If we got Molik Nighbors one on one, I'll put
it up. But if he's not one on one, I'm
probably not gonna try it. Like I don't think with
a team like this who need a boost, that's gonna
get it done. No, it's not.

Speaker 2 (59:27):
Let's talk about the Cardinals. There's not much to talk
about here. They played the Saints. I don't know what
to expect to the Saints. They kept it somewhat closely,
had an opportunity down the stretch to tie the game
up late and naturally didn't. The Cardinals go on the road,
get a win. Kyler Murray looked somewhat impressive, albeit his
stat line didn't look great. I know he was sick
coming into this game. Marvin Harrison Junior finally looked like

(59:50):
he was a top ten pick that he was. Your
thoughts on this Arizona Cardinals team, especially in the NFC
West Division, do you have any you know, hesitation when
it comes to the San Francisco forty nine ers thel Seahawks.
What is this opposition like in the Arizona Cardinals.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Well, I mean, I like the Arizona Cardinals and what
they they do defensively. I mean, I just think the
Saints aren't a great team right now. You know a
lot of people have them picking in the top of
the draft next year, which means they're having an awful season.
So a twenty to thirteen ball game against the Saints
when the Saints had a chance in the red zone
to tie this game at the end of the game,

(01:00:31):
and I don't know if you feel great about it.
Coder Murray was sacked five times, Marvin Harrison made some
huge plays and you feel great about that. Buddha Baker,
their most consistent player over the years, continues to be
that I don't think this game really gives us much
about who the Cardinals are. We're gonna see them, We're
gonna have to see them in the division. Versus the Rams,
versus the Seahawks versus the San Francisco forty nine is

(01:00:54):
for us really assess how strong this team is. But
a win is a winning the National Football League. And
they won this game. They found a way to get
it done. But I don't think this game told us anything.

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
And then we got to look at the La Rams.
I mean they get to win albeit and you know,
nothing fascy or flashy. I mean they won fourteen to nine.
Pooka the cool got absolutely smoked, and so did Devonte Adams.
I mean, you saw that hit with Derek Stingly Junior
just getting bent over. It was just a nasty, gruesome hit.

(01:01:30):
You gotta look at it and see this Rams team
and say, wow, we're lucky to even walk away from
this game with both of our top wideouts still able
to play next week. It's a big win for them.
The grand scheme of things. The Houston Texans are no
easy opponent, and they get they get a home win
against them, And your thoughts on stafford A relatively impressive game.

(01:01:51):
Two hundred and forty five yards passing with a touchdown,
poking to cool ten receptions for one hundred and thirty yards.
Your thoughts on this La Rams team.

Speaker 1 (01:02:01):
Well, they're they're you know, in time you have Stanford
Stafford out there, you're gonna have a chance, you know.
But I thought they battle. I thought this was a gritty,
grimy game where they had the scratch and claw. But
it just shows their poise, their metal against a Houston
Texans team that is expected to be really competitive on

(01:02:22):
the AFC side, a really good defense, really great defensive
line and pass rush. They got three sacks today. A
quarterback who's who's considered one of the top of the
National Football League, at least the top ten quarterback in
the National Football League, and they held this team to
attend to nine points. They held them nine points. They

(01:02:43):
held Stroud to one hundred and eighty or eight yards passing,
no touchdowns and interception, and they sacked them three times.
I think you have to get this defense a lot
of credit in the interception, I mean by Durant. By Durant,
it was incredible. I don't know if you saw it, Mitchell,
but it was a side grabbed barely got his feed in.
It looked like the receiver might have called it. He

(01:03:04):
took it off the receiver's hands. It was a beautiful play.
But you got to give this defense a lot of credit.
They weren't expected to be anything super special. Their d
line has a lot of talent, obviously, Jared versus the
name household name these days, and again they gave the
Philadelphia Eagles all they could handle in that divisional game
in the snow in Philadelphia. And if again, if it

(01:03:27):
wasn't for Jalen Carter and the play he made it
at the end of that game, we may have been
having a different NFC Championship game between the Washington Commanders
and the LA Rams, And who knows how that would
have went and how the Super Bowl would have changed accordingly,
but it didn't. But you're just talking about how competitive
this team is. You talked about how great Sean McVay

(01:03:49):
and their defensive coordinator Chris Shula have been and just
maximizing the talent that they have. And I think that's
what the definition, I mean, that's what defined this game.
James Stafford continues to find a way to get things done.
But that defense is really what we won this guy.

Speaker 2 (01:04:07):
And finally, Richard, we got to talk about Pat Sartan.
I mean, we can talk about the game if you want.
Denver took down the Tennessee Titans, but Pat Certan it
did not allow a catch as the nearest defender on
thirty four defensive snats for the eighth time in his career.
I know you respect him as a player, but how
good is this guy? I mean, break him down for

(01:04:28):
our audience here, because you are the perfect person to
talk to about cornerback play in this league.

Speaker 1 (01:04:37):
I tried to explain it many times before. He's just
the most sound, technically, the best in moments, and you
talk about it. If you talk about the balance of
a cornerback his press coverage, How great is he at
press coverage? We would say Patrick stan is ninety eight?
How great is his off coverage? If you talk about
Patrick Shtan, you're talking about like a ninety eight. How

(01:05:01):
great is he at tackling? Again, he's very sound, I'd
say ninety two, very fast, very athletic, great ball skills.
He's just a guy that has a high IQ. He's
tailor made to cover people. Mitchell, you could. I'm surprised
his father didn't put Blanket in there as his nickname Mitchell,
because he's always so covering guys so well. He's always there,

(01:05:23):
he always near. He got one target today and he
batted it down. The reason he won't have the high
interception numbers is because they won't continue to target him.
They'll go at Riley Moss or anybody but Pastrick Surtam
because of how great he is. And it's regardless of
who the number one receiver is. He was on Calvin
Ridley twenty seven of his thirty two routes. Obviously, Galvin

(01:05:46):
Ridley didn't have a great game, and he's the best
the National Football League has to offer right now at
the cornerback spot. I think if they go to the
Olympics and have seven on seven and do all that,
he's going to be involved in it. And I would imagine,
whoever you are, you better bring Patrick sartin. He's the
best cover corner in the National Football League. And I
think again when you talk about just looking at his tape,

(01:06:09):
his tape will be used to teach corners how to
play the position for years to come. I'm talking about
press off the patience, his step replaced his soft shoe.
He's just an incredibly technical corner who also is really
athletic and and as a gamer, he plays well on

(01:06:30):
game day. I got to go through the all twenty
two to really break down the specific coverages that they're running.
But they're running a lot of man coverage. That's what
Vance Joseph likes to run. That's the corners that he employs.
That's the defense that they that they employ majority of
the time. So I wouldn't guess that he's in zones
or any anything like that. He's playing man and man

(01:06:51):
coverage and he's striving. He's again the class of the NFL.
He's the reigning defensive Player of the Year. There's not
enough positive things to say about.

Speaker 2 (01:07:00):
Well, Richard. That was week one. I mean, it was
great to be back. First and foremost, we love you guys.
We appreciate you tuning in every week. Richard. I know
you're gonna be out here weekend and week out. We
got Darius big Place Sligh joining the podcast here weekly.
We're gonna have another host to guests. How excited are you,

(01:07:20):
Richard Sherman to be back here with the Richard Truman Podcast.
We've been talking a lot, or you have been talking
a lot this offseason when we finally got some real
games to talk about. How pumped are you to have
Week one upon us now?

Speaker 1 (01:07:36):
I'm incredibly excited, and I'm thankful for every single one
of you that tuned in and listen to me every
single week. I really appreciate you from the bottom of
my heart for supporting this dream and my ambition to
speak this game and to incite to it and inject
by knowledge an opinion on all of you wonderful people.

(01:07:57):
I really appreciate it. I think this is gonna be
a fantastic I love it. For the teams that won.
If your team loss, don't lose hope, all is not lost.
All just about every team and minus the Miami Dolphins
that was good, showed some promise, showed some positive things,
showed some things that their team can build on. One
loss does not end the season. One win doesn't guarantee

(01:08:17):
you a Super Bowl. So keep hope alive. It's gonna
be a phenomenal year and I cannot wait. Make sure
you hit that sub button if you knew, stay with
us all season long, because we're gonna be providing incredible
NFL inside all season long. We're gonna have some Pittsburgh
Steelers inside when Big Plays site because I got some
questions in that game. I know they're gonna feel good

(01:08:39):
about the win, but I know Big Play they don't
want to give up thirty two points, a lot of
money on that defense. So I can't wait to talk
to Big Play about that game, the big hit by
Jalen Ramsey, all those great things going forward. Stay tuned