Nick Wright reacts to Jalen Hurts being ranked the 9th best QB according to NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. Is Hurts being disrespected after winning the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles? Later, Nick ranks his top 10 QBs in the NFL including the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson, and Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen. Later, Nick shares his favorite futures bet ahead of the 2025 NFL season including why he's all-in on Geno Smith, Pete Carroll, and the Las Vegas Raiders. Later, Nick breaks down why he has his doubts about Dan Campbell, Jared Goff, and the Detroit Lions following their 15-2 record last season. Lastly, Nick reacts to Patrick Mahomes saying the Kansas City Chiefs offense must get more aggressive downfield during the 2025 NFL season. Nick breaks down what has held back the Chiefs offense from being as explosive as it used to be and whether he expects Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Andy Reid, and co. to return to their old form. #Volume
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
So the yearly top tens have come out of First off,
we've got the quarterbacks. So executive coaches and scouts all
vote on this. Patrick Mahomes, your guy was at number one.
Weirdly enough, Jalen Hurts was number nine. Nick Sirian, Who's
asked about this and if Philly carried Jalen Hurts to
the Super Bowl Syrian and called bs So, what is this?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Is this disrespectful?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Obviously Hurts his two Super Bowl appearances in the last
three years, thirty seven to ten in the last three seasons.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
What's going on with that? Justin Hurt?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
So, I do think it's Yeah, So I do think
it's disrespectful, and I think that people have to be
willing to move their opinion based on things that happen
after you have formed your opinion. It is totally fine.
(01:03):
And this is maybe self serving of me to say,
because I'm going to describe kind of my opinion evolution
on Jalen Hurts. I think it is totally fine to
be like, Listen, there were times last season that I
thought the weak link of the Philadelphia Eagles offense was
(01:25):
their quarterback. That and that can be. That was actually
the exact, that exact opinion of mine. It was the
subject of the animated more than a little awkward conversation
(01:46):
I had the night before the Super Bowl with or
two nights for the Super Bowl, one of them with
Jalen's mother, when she confronted probably too strong, proached me
and I at first didn't If you guys didn't hear
the story. We were at a super Bowl party. I'm
(02:07):
standing there. A woman walks up and she's like, to
ask you a question. I said yeah, and she was like,
why do you talk so bad about Jalen Hurts? And
then I'm like, well, I don't know that I talk
bad about him, and she's like, no, you do. And
then you know, I give my defense of my takes.
She comes back, and then about six seven minutes into it,
(02:28):
I say, miss may I may I ask you a
question and she said yes. I said are you Jalen's mother?
And she said yes. And I was like, oh boy,
we're in a We're in a trickier spot than I
had thought. And one of the things that I said
to her. I was like, listen, I just I want
you to know the things I have said and the
(02:49):
things I haven't said, right for good or for bad.
I was like, and something I have said that I'm
sure you would think is totally unfair, as I did
call him the weak link of the Philly offense. I
was like, now, contextually, you should know. I did say
that within the framework of they have a top three
(03:13):
offensive line, a top three receiving corps, and a top
one but top three running back. So if he just
simply is not a top three quarterback in that framework,
he would be the weak link because everyone else is.
But it so it wasn't that was going the weak
link of a bad team. However, I was saying last
(03:37):
year that I thought they were going to get in
a spot demons when they had to throw the football
and they weren't going to be able to throw the
football like those That was and so that and I
would have last year had Jalen Hurts pretty firmly outside
of my quarterback top ten, I absolutely would have. I
(03:59):
don't think it is at all contradictory to then say.
But then I watched the NFC Championship game and the
Super Bowl, and his performance in those two games by
(04:19):
itself made me totally reevaluate, and his consistent ability to
play his best in the biggest sponse, which is the
most valuable trait a quarterback can have made me reevaluate.
(04:42):
And so I think people far too often get tied
and married to their prior opinions. Coward's the best at
not doing this, and you know, shamelessly is the wrong word,
but almost like he he will have a adamant, strong,
(05:06):
vociferous opinion and a week later be like.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
Change my mind, like and right, and that's what he says.
He's like, I got new information and so and I
think that. So again, we've got to be careful about
what we've said and whether so if I said and
(05:30):
I did not, but if someone has said, I'm telling
you this player will never be a top five quarterback,
then it is a little tougher. You can still come
back and be like I was wrong, you know, but
it's it's a little tougher.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I don't think people at this point are fairly evaluating
Jalen Hurts based on he's a bit to play his
best in the biggest spots. And I think that that
should whatever credit that people want to take away from him,
(06:14):
I think fairly because he is not a guy that,
over the course of a season, if you built the
offense around Jalen Hurts passing game, I don't think you'd
have an elite offense. And I do think that's fair
to ding him.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
For I don't think that the negative credit he gets
for that, what I believe is a fact should outweigh
the positive credit for the fact that we've seen him
now on two deep playoff runs and you can't point
to a single game on those two deep playoff runs
(06:59):
where you're like, Hurts wasn't good enough for them to win.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Hurts didn't do enough, like you just can't. And he
had to go two years ago toe to toe with
Patrick in a Super Bowl. He had the one fumble,
which is why I thought Patrick outplayed him, but still
he played an A minus level game. The offense scored
thirty five points, he accounted for four touchdowns, and then
(07:28):
last year he had to go toe to toe with
Jade and Daniels in a playoff game when Daniels was
the hottest quarterback in the league. Phillies offense scores fifty
five points, and then in the Super Bowl he has
the fourth and five pass down the sideline. He wait,
I think it was the NFC Championship game he had
(07:49):
the fourth and five pass down the sideline. The Super
Bowl was the kill shots start of the second half.
He was great. And so go ahead, Pal.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So where would you have him?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
You because you said you had the outside of the
top ten last year.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
With the information that you have, now, where would you
have them?
Speaker 1 (08:06):
So I have a I've developed a new opinion on
how we have to rank the quarterbacks. I don't think
that it is fair anymore to say it's a big
(08:27):
four and then we can debate after that that because
so here's to me where I'm at going into and
it can obviously change when a new season comes, like
the new season has to matter. I believe the top
(08:49):
three has to be in this order. Patrick Josh Lamar.
I think that is the only because what is the
knock on Lamar? And at this point there's only one left.
(09:11):
He does not play his best in the postseason, and
I'm not gonna harp on that. I think that is
you know, two years ago, folks were mad at me.
I was making too big of a deal of it
last year, folks were annoyed with me. I was making
too big of a deal with it going into this year, folks,
But grudgingly without saying it's like, okay, yeah, Nick klocked
(09:32):
this the whole time that it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Was, and he showed so different. I was just about
to say Lamar didn't play badly. Though Lamar played pretty well.
He might have had a rough first half, but oh yeah,
I mean.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
The rough first half the cost of the game. But
it was still I mean, you're right, it wasn't. It
wasn't as bad as some of the other But again,
this is what I'm what I'm about to say here
is actually a defensive Lamar. The point I'm making is this, Demonse,
I do not think it is fair to penalize Lamar
so much for bad playoff performances that he drops beneath
(10:07):
the player who has not been in the playoffs the
last two years, in Joe Burrow, Like, for all we know,
Joe Cool had his Emperor has no clothes moment with
the playoff loss to Patrick Mahomes, and from now on
(10:27):
in the playoffs, Burrow is just gonna be a shaking
shell of himselself. But we haven't seen it because he
hasn't been in the playoffs since then. Now, to be clear,
I think the odds of that are almost zero percent
that Burrow all of a sudden is gonna freak out
in the playoffs. My point is you can't say Lamar
(10:48):
playing poorly in the playoffs is worse than a guy
not even getting to the playoffs. You just can't. And
one of the other reasons that two years ago I
had Burrow ahead of firmly was Lamar's injury risk. Lamar
the last two years, aside from his annual bout with
(11:10):
the flu, Lamar has been incredibly durable and Joe's miss
time and been banged up. So I think it has
to and the I don't think I need to defend
Mahomes being number one. But the argument against him is
(11:31):
he hasn't had the last two years gaudy regular season numbers.
The problem is anyone you want to put up against him,
he then has played in the playoffs and thoroughly outplayed
and beatn them. So it's not just his team has won.
He has played better than Josh in both the playoff
games the last two years. He has played better than Lamar.
(11:53):
He has so it's just not it's Mahomes has to
be won. I think Josh right, now, do you demand
you're the Lamar guy. Do you think it's fair to
have Josh two?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah, you do. I think it's fair like that, think
it's I think it's pretty close. But yeah, and then
Lamar after.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Its and then Lamar three, right, and last you know,
Josh one MVP. Lamar could have Josh. You know the
So I that's where. So here's my point and the
reason I said all of that. I think it is fair.
(12:32):
If somebody says Joe Burrow's four, by the way, I
probably agree with him for the record. But if somebody
says Demanse Jalen Hurts is four, and what you're losing
in the prolific stats Joe Burrow gives you, you're adding
(12:53):
in toughness, availability, the push push, and huge playoff moments.
And Joe's biggest accomplishment ever is being one and one
against Patrick in AFC Championship games, and Jalen's one and
one against Patrick in Super Bowls. So the point I'm
(13:14):
trying to make is when you say it's a big four,
you're saying you can't argue anyone outside of that top
four is better than anyone in it. And I don't
think you can make a credible argument, even with all
the flowers I've given to Jalen Hurts right now, that
(13:36):
Jalen's better than Lamar, Josh or Patrick. I do think
you can make an argument over Joe, and I love Joe,
but he's he starts here slowly. He does have now
Jalen has this as well, obviously, embarrassment of riches on
the outside catching the ball. And I do think that
(13:59):
there is a he probably has. The fact that Josh,
Patrick and Lamar are three of the most dynamic and
successful rushing threats the position has ever seen has to count.
(14:20):
And people might say Nick Patrick's not in that class,
not in the regular season, but if you look at
quarterback career yards per carry, playoff yard rushing yards, playoff
rushing touchdowns, if you remove Neil Downs, Patrick's right there,
and he's had iconic you know, so that he's kind
of more tactical with choosing yeah, say it again.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
He's more tactical with when he chooses yes well, And.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I just don't he's not as fast as Lamar and
he's not as bruising and big as Josh, so he
has to be more. So if you're here, is what
my ranking would look like. If I were doing it,
I would go one Patrick, two, Josh three, Lamar four,
(15:17):
Joe five, Stafford six, Jalen Hurts seven with an asterisk
of it's probably too early, but I give it to him,
Jaden Daniels eight, Baker And then it gets trickier.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
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Speaker 2 (17:19):
NFL is a month away, so it's time to talk futures.
Is there anything that you see on the horizons that
you like division super Bowl winner yards.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Listen, We're gonna do our full blown gambling show, you know,
late August, and it really when if you're new to
the pod this year, you know, in the last few months,
football's when we really cook. We got our gambling shows.
We got a lot. Demon's a is dialed where I'm
still by the way, Connor and Paul out are friends
(17:55):
with the Volume and with DraftKings. If we could send
DraftKings this official on the record plea, I do not
we by the way I'm putting this out there. This
is this is what we would call a value. Add
I don't want a single extra dollar in our wonderful
partnership with DraftKings. Is that what I'm looking for? But
(18:18):
if we could, in addition to in football season, when
you know I'll give you my five plays of the week,
if we could also have a bonus thing and maybe
even create a cool little graphic like we have for
mine one teaser a week. We have to come up
with a snappy name for it. But if people don't
know Demons, last year, I think hit like seven in
(18:40):
a row. He's turned into a bit of a teaser expert.
If we could have somewhere, I don't care if it's buried.
I don't care if you have to click seventeen different
links to get into it. Somewhere on there Demands's NFL
Teaser of the Week. It would really be a special
moment for this podcast. So all that that's coming, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I mean, that'd be like my one of my greatest
achievements outside hidden seventy threes in a row one time done.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Oh yeah, we did that to a sidebar.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
We can get to that in a minute.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
But uh, it would be great, And it would also
be awesome for some of Demonse's high school and college
buddies who are regular DraftKings users for them to be
scrolling and to see the Demands teaser. It would really
it would. It would be awesome. And so we're pulling
over the In the meantime, there is one bet that
(19:38):
I think the odds are going to shift because I
think this team is going to become a popular sleeper pick.
And I have no loyalty if you will when it
(19:58):
comes to gambling, now, I obviously will. There are certain
things I won't do, like I won't bet against the
Chiefs but it doesn't mean I bet on the Chiefs
every time. A couple years ago, I told you guys
one of my favorite preseason win totals was the Broncos
(20:18):
over five and a half wins. I can't stand the Broncos,
and by the way, I think they're one of the
most overrated teams in the league this year. It actually
kind of plays into why I like this bet, but
I thought that they were great value over five and
a half wins. They ended up winning I think eight games,
the sixth longest odds of any team to make the playoffs,
(20:45):
far worse odds than the Panthers, better odds than only
the Titans, the Jets, the Giants, the Saints, and the
Browns are a team that I believe is going to
make the play playoffs, and I believe these odds are
going to it. Between now and the start of the year,
drop from plus three point thirty to like plus two ninety.
(21:10):
And that is the Las Vegas Raiders. The Las Vegas
Raiders going from a head coach in Antonio Pierce that
was just out of his depth to Pete Carroll going
from maybe the worst quarterback situation in the league to
Gino Smith with Brock Bowers in year two and Ashton
(21:34):
genty in year one and Carol coaching up that secondary
and a last place schedule that includes games against. This
is not just all strength of schedule games, but on
the Raiders schedule are the Patriots, the Titans, the Browns,
the Giants. The I skipped over a couple, Oh well,
(21:58):
ones that I won't think are easy, but you guys
might the Bears, the Jags, the Texans late in the year,
a team that I worry about a bit, four games
against maybe these slightly overrated Chargers and the considerably overrated Broncos.
(22:24):
Did I mention the Colts game in there? They have
on their entire schedule aside from the Chiefs game. Oh,
they play the Cowboys. Like here's the Raiders' schedule Patriots, Chargers, Commanders, Bears, Colts, Titans, Chiefs, Jags, Broncos, Cowboys, Browns, Chargers, Broncos, Eagles, Texans, Giants, Chiefs.
(22:47):
They have three monster games Chiefs and Eagles, five simple
games in my opinion, and then nine we'll see games
that team absolutely can get to nine or ten wins
and sneak into the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
And if the Chiefs are in a good state of
that year at that time of the year, it could
be a free game for them.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Well that's the other thing. If you are in the
AFC West, you always hope that one of your two
Chiefs games is that week seventeen Chiefs game because about
half the time the Chiefs are resting people that week.
(23:34):
Half the time they got to go for it, like
it could be bad that where oh man, the Chiefs
need this game for you know, playoff positioning. But about
half the time they have everything locked.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
The Chiefs pretty well anyways too, I feel like.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Sometimes yeah, yeah, And they beat them on Christmas two
years ago. So the Raiders plus three point thirty to
make the playoffs. That is my early first NFL season long.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Bet Lions are confident.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
This is the year that they get over the hump,
with David Montgomery calling it their year of reckoning.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
How do you see this season going for Detroit?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I'd be a little nervous, Demons. So here's so listen.
I don't think I think they have too much talent
to be bad. But here are the to me ominous signs,
so to speak. First one is one that always matters.
(24:39):
Lost both coordinators like that is one that during a
season when a team is struggling, we're like, oh, change coordinators,
but we don't do a good enough job in the
off season of you know what I mean reminding folks
lost Aaron Glenn, lost Ben Johnson, so that to me
is first concern. Second concern, their center retired. They lost
(25:04):
their best guarden free agency, so it looks like they're
gonna slide their worst offensive lineman who was their right
guard last year, whatever guard Zeitler wasn't over to center,
and then be starting a second year, sixth round pick
and probably a rookie second round pick at their two
(25:25):
guard spots. So they where offensive line has been maybe
their single biggest position of strength as of you know
in this Jared Goff Dan Campbell era, now that interior
of the offensive line might be the biggest weakness of
(25:46):
the team, and that can nothing makes Jared Goff go
from man. Jared Goff has been really good to pumpkin mode,
like up the middle pressure because he just doesn't have
the athleticism to escape or be creative. If it's on
time and it's what it's supposed to see, he's really good.
(26:07):
But if you can get pressure on him up the middle,
it can be really deadly for him. And so that's
a concern. The tougher division this year, to me is
I shouldn't say tougher because last year it was really good.
Vikings were excellent, Packers were good. But again, another tough division.
(26:28):
That's concerning. And here's the other piece, demanse for a
team last year that was fifteen and two, here's they're
opening seven games, which is before thereby at the Packers
home for the Bears, Ben Johnson at the Ravens home
(26:51):
for the Browns, layup at Sincy at the Chiefs, home
for the bucks Man. And by the way, it's just
a schedule that you never can take a breath like.
There's their first seven, then a bye week, then home
for Tampa, home for the Vikings, at the Commanders, at
(27:14):
the Eagles, home for the Giants, Okay, home for the Packers,
home for the Cowboys at the Rams, home for the Steelers, Okay,
at the Vikings, at the Bears. And so could I
see the Lions going from fifteen to two and the
one seed to ten and seven in a wild card? Absolutely?
(27:36):
And so I think they're good. I think they're talented,
Gibbs is a star. Having Hutchinson back will be great,
but I don't look. I think the Lions losing both coordinators,
the loss of the offensive linemen that they've had. I
(27:59):
still feel like I'm not as big on Jamison Williams
as maybe others are. I wonder how that horrific playoff
game has sat with golf all off season. I wonder
how back to back years of just gut punch postseason losses,
you know, has sat with them. All of that is
(28:20):
concerning to me. And in that loss last year was
we had a graphic on the TV show yesterday of
number one seeds the last decade to lose their first
home playoff game, and it was the the Cowboys Dax
rookie year, the Ravens Lamar's first year as a full
(28:45):
time starter, the Titans with Tannehill, and the Packers with
Aaron Rodgers in that his second to last year there
in the crazy like thirteen to ten game or whatever
in the snow against San Francisco. So, by the way,
(29:05):
three of those teams the next year missed the playoffs.
The Ravens made the playoffs and lost in the divisional round.
Like so you have a seventeen point lead in the
conference championship game. You blow it. You come back the
next year, you're even better. You're the one seed, and
a rookie quarterback comes to your stadium and waxes you
and your quarterback plays his worst game in a couple
of years. That's all ominous if you ask me for
(29:30):
the Lions. Uh do you think that's fair? I know
you think you thought I'm a little too low on
the Lions historically.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Oh well, no, I do think that. I mean you
said they lost their their interior alignment. But just just
Jerick Goff as well, Like I thought, it's like a
I don't want to say ominous, but limitation to win
in the super Bowl, That's what it sounds like they're
talking about. And like you need to see him, you know,
win that playoff game or do just like that was
a rookie that you got that done too by But but.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Yeah, and it was and it was I mean Washington
just they were outlast them that game. Yeah, I mean,
and that was the Lion. Now, the Lions defense was
devastated by injury, and we know that. But I also
I am a little worried what version of Aiden Hutchinson,
we're going to see at least at the beginning of
the year. So I think all that's fair. Hey guys
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Speaker 2 (31:13):
So Mahomes has come out and said that he once
can see to get back to that deep passing game.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Here's what he had to say.
Speaker 7 (31:20):
I think that for me, I got to be better
at throwing the ball down the field. I mean obviously
that we weren't good enough there. We've had success in
prior years, with these last few years, we haven't done that.
And in order for our offense to be great, you
have to be able to complete those passes. It opens
up everything else, and so the teams are going to
challenge us that the line of scrimmage. If teams are
going to challenge us fill the ball deep, we have
to show that we can do that. And if we
can do that, it first starts with me and giving
(31:40):
guys chances. But if we can do that, I think
it's going to really open up the offense and make
us a better team in general.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
So with the combination of him saying that an Xavier
worthies comments from a little bit ago, if they can't
do it this year, is it time to sound the
alarm is a little bit of a problem because it's
clear that they want to do it.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Yeah, I think that's fair that if they can't, So
it's it's very interesting. So let me kind of go
through the timeline of the Mahomes what we on. First things,
first call light show and the Mahomes eras right. So
(32:21):
obviously twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, twenty twenty one.
It's just laser show, throwing deep, you know all this stuff.
Twenty twenty one ends with overtime against the Bengals. Mahomes
(32:43):
throws deep to Tyreek Kill, hits Tyreek in the hands
on third and long, and Tyreek pops it in the air.
Bengals pick it off. Bengals go to the Super Bowl.
Then Tyreek gets traded twenty two two with a Juju
Smith led receiving corps along with obviously Travis Kelce. Patrick,
(33:08):
Mahomes throws for more yards in a single season than
any player in the history of the league. Is the
first player to win League MVP and Super Bowl MVP
in the same season since Kurt Warner and the Chiefs
win their second Super Bowl, scoring thirty eight points against
the league's number one defense in the Super Bowl. Okay,
(33:29):
that year, they were a prolific offense, but it was
a lot of short stuff. It wasn't so much bombs
because they adn't have the personnel, but the yardage and
touchdowns and scoring was crazy, so nobody really paid attention
to it. Twenty twenty three, there is and obviously, I
(33:54):
don't know if I said this part. They trade Tyreek Hill,
you know, after twenty twenty one, and so the off
and changes in that regard. Twenty twenty three, the Chiefs have,
you know, their first bad two months of the Mahomes ear.
They lose five out of eight. I think it was
(34:14):
they have to play on the road. The receivers, you know,
set records for drops. And then despite that, Mahomes plays
a perfect postseason, culminating in and back to back drives
in the Super Bowl at the end of regulation and
(34:36):
then in overtime that are just surgical dink and dunk
short passes up the field resulting in the walk off touchdown.
Right then last year happens, and last year is a
little bit of everything. Beginning of the year, demanse Mahomes
(34:56):
was just off. If you remember, it was like five
games in a row where he threw a pick, but
they were they weren't unlucky picks. They weren't all like
he was trying to do too much. It was like
where were you throwing it? Like what did you see that?
Speaker 7 (35:14):
You know?
Speaker 1 (35:15):
It was it was very un Mahomes like. But they
won all the games anyway, They then they went into
last year saying we're gonna have, you know, a legitimate
receiving corps again. They signed Hollywood Brown, they really liked
what Rashie Rice was doing. At the end of the year,
they draft Xavier Worthy and then by week four, Hollywood
(35:39):
Brown's been out, hasn't played for him yet, Rashid blows
out his knee, and Xavier Worthy, God love him. But
at that time of the year, if you remember, couldn't
figure out where the out of bounds line was on
the field. They when they did go deep Mahomes throw it,
he would catch it and then he'd have a foot
out of bounds or not, you know, not get his
feet in whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
On.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
So you had Mahomes struggling for the first time in
his career of his own doing. You had the most
injured receiving corps in football where they have to bring
Juju back after he gets cut from the Patriots. You
also have a rotation at your left tackle position and
(36:23):
the Chiefs worst tackle play of the Mahomes era. And
then you also have on top of all of it,
this quest for a three peat and this odd season
where the defense kept as long as the offense didn't
kill him, and even when the offense did kill him,
(36:44):
the defense kept him in every game. And then Mahomes
was Mahomes late, and it seemed like he was just like,
you know what, I don't want to get I can't
trust the offensive line, Kelsey's getting older. Yeah, all of
this and I'm just gonna dink and dunk and I'm
(37:05):
not gonna take any all of that. So it was
a perfect storm of a boring offense for a fifteen
to one team, and that the scene, by the way,
to change immediately come to the playoffs when they put
up big numbers against Houston and Buffalo and then all
fell apart in.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
The Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
So all of those things, to me had to happen.
The pressure of going for the three peat, the rotation
at left tackle, the wide receiver, injuries, Mahomes, and again
Fairs Fair. I would imagine of Mahomes' entire career, the
(37:44):
off season where he was, maybe if we were to
rank him from most dialed into least, I would imagine
the offseason after the back to back championships. Nobody, you know,
the everybody thought we were drawing dead, couldn't win on
the road, and then I clipped everyone. And by the way,
(38:08):
my best friend is now dating the world's most famous
woman and we're all partying together, you know what I mean.
And maybe there was a little feeling of nothing could
go worse than last year in twenty twenty three for us,
and we won the Super Bowl anyway, you know, So
all of that to me led to the offense that
(38:29):
we saw. So I would think and I would hope
that none of these things apply this year. So how
(38:49):
dialed in will Mahomes be?
Speaker 3 (38:51):
Well?
Speaker 1 (38:53):
How dialed in has he been in the few seasons
that haven't ended in massive success? Cut his hair twenty
cut his hair, but also twenty eighteen, lost in the playoffs.
The next year, came back one league MVP twenty twenty,
got the craft kicked out of him in the Super Bowl,
(39:18):
came back and was awesome, and then had you know,
that bad half against Cincinnati and at the end of
the AFC Championship game, and came back in twenty twenty
two and had one of the greatest seasons any quarterbacks
ever had. So I think Mahomes will be dialed I
think the Chiefs getting Josh Simmons at pick thirty two
(39:40):
as a potential franchise left tackle is as big of
an offseason move as any team made. Xavier Worthy came
into his own at the end of the year. Hollywood
Brown is now healthy, they will at some point have
Rashie back, and it feels like Kelsey should a little
sprier than last year. All of the and I didn't
(40:04):
even mentioned last year the Chiefs were down to their
fourth string running back so quickly they had to bring
back Kareem Hunt. So, you know, barring a spate of
injuries or me being wrong about Simmons, I say all
that to say, yeah, if the offense is mediocre and
(40:27):
boring again, then yeah, I probably where would I sound
the alarm, Probably the coordinator, because I don't think anyone's
gonna think like, oh, Mahome's not good anymore. And so
but I don't think that's gonna happen. And I think
that there was and it was such a weird thing
(40:49):
demands last year because it was it would have been
the offense was not playing great, Mahomes was not playing
as best, they had all these issues, but they had
the best record in the league every single week of
the season, so it would have kind of felt weird
to be like, let's change it up significantly, you know
(41:09):
what I mean. What they were doing was working and
they were peaking at the end of the year, and
then it all came crashing down in the suit say
it again.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
That was a big debate, like them playing all those
close games. It was like, well, what's going on? But
I mean that because you said that you have put
it on the coordinators if you had to make an
accountability pie on who was responsible, like if the on
the deep game.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Yeah, so I mean, you know, to be clear, I'm saying,
if it happens again, I would put it maybe on
the coordinator because so last year, to me, the single
biggest calprit was actually the tackle play. So that's because
Mahomes just didn't get people and say the receivers got hurt,
and that's true, but I've seen Mahomes when he has
(41:55):
time throwing bombs to Justin Watson and DeMarcus Robinson. So
I would say the biggest slice goes to the tackle play,
which is why they made a big investment in that.
In their biggest offseason signing was Jalen Moore and they
drafted Josh Simmons in the first round. The second biggest
reason would be the Rashi rice injury and the other
(42:17):
receiver injuries. The third biggest to me would be Mahomes
not being as sharp as he wanted at the beginning
of the year, And the fourth biggest would be just
kind of the building pressure of the three people
Welcome to the best of the week for What's Right
with Nick Right the best takes in moments from this
week on the show. Enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
So the yearly top tens have come out of First off,
we've got the quarterbacks. So executive coaches and scouts all
vote on this. Patrick Mahomes, your guy was at number one.
Weirdly enough, Jalen Hurts was number nine. Nick Sirian, Who's
asked about this and if Philly carried Jalen Hurts to
the Super Bowl Syrian and called bs So, what is this?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Is this disrespectful?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Obviously Hurts his two Super Bowl appearances in the last
three years, thirty seven to ten in the last three seasons.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
What's going on with that? Justin Hurt?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
So, I do think it's Yeah, So I do think
it's disrespectful, and I think that people have to be
willing to move their opinion based on things that happen
after you have formed your opinion. It is totally fine.
(01:03):
And this is maybe self serving of me to say,
because I'm going to describe kind of my opinion evolution
on Jalen Hurts. I think it is totally fine to
be like, Listen, there were times last season that I
thought the weak link of the Philadelphia Eagles offense was
(01:25):
their quarterback. That and that can be. That was actually
the exact, that exact opinion of mine. It was the
subject of the animated more than a little awkward conversation
(01:46):
I had the night before the Super Bowl with or
two nights for the Super Bowl, one of them with
Jalen's mother, when she confronted probably too strong, proached me
and I at first didn't If you guys didn't hear
the story. We were at a super Bowl party. I'm
(02:07):
standing there. A woman walks up and she's like, to
ask you a question. I said yeah, and she was like,
why do you talk so bad about Jalen Hurts? And
then I'm like, well, I don't know that I talk
bad about him, and she's like, no, you do. And
then you know, I give my defense of my takes.
She comes back, and then about six seven minutes into it,
(02:28):
I say, miss may I may I ask you a
question and she said yes. I said are you Jalen's mother?
And she said yes. And I was like, oh boy,
we're in a We're in a trickier spot than I
had thought. And one of the things that I said
to her. I was like, listen, I just I want
you to know the things I have said and the
(02:49):
things I haven't said, right for good or for bad.
I was like, and something I have said that I'm
sure you would think is totally unfair, as I did
call him the weak link of the Philly offense. I
was like, now, contextually, you should know. I did say
that within the framework of they have a top three
(03:13):
offensive line, a top three receiving corps, and a top
one but top three running back. So if he just
simply is not a top three quarterback in that framework,
he would be the weak link because everyone else is.
But it so it wasn't that was going the weak
link of a bad team. However, I was saying last
(03:37):
year that I thought they were going to get in
a spot demons when they had to throw the football
and they weren't going to be able to throw the
football like those That was and so that and I
would have last year had Jalen Hurts pretty firmly outside
of my quarterback top ten, I absolutely would have. I
(03:59):
don't think it is at all contradictory to then say.
But then I watched the NFC Championship game and the
Super Bowl, and his performance in those two games by
(04:19):
itself made me totally reevaluate, and his consistent ability to
play his best in the biggest sponse, which is the
most valuable trait a quarterback can have made me reevaluate.
(04:42):
And so I think people far too often get tied
and married to their prior opinions. Coward's the best at
not doing this, and you know, shamelessly is the wrong word,
but almost like he he will have a adamant, strong,
(05:06):
vociferous opinion and a week later be like.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
Change my mind, like and right, and that's what he says.
He's like, I got new information and so and I
think that. So again, we've got to be careful about
what we've said and whether so if I said and
(05:30):
I did not, but if someone has said, I'm telling
you this player will never be a top five quarterback,
then it is a little tougher. You can still come
back and be like I was wrong, you know, but
it's it's a little tougher.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I don't think people at this point are fairly evaluating
Jalen Hurts based on he's a bit to play his
best in the biggest spots. And I think that that
should whatever credit that people want to take away from him,
(06:14):
I think fairly because he is not a guy that,
over the course of a season, if you built the
offense around Jalen Hurts passing game, I don't think you'd
have an elite offense. And I do think that's fair
to ding him.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
For I don't think that the negative credit he gets
for that, what I believe is a fact should outweigh
the positive credit for the fact that we've seen him
now on two deep playoff runs and you can't point
to a single game on those two deep playoff runs
(06:59):
where you're like, Hurts wasn't good enough for them to win.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Hurts didn't do enough, like you just can't. And he
had to go two years ago toe to toe with
Patrick in a Super Bowl. He had the one fumble,
which is why I thought Patrick outplayed him, but still
he played an A minus level game. The offense scored
thirty five points, he accounted for four touchdowns, and then
(07:28):
last year he had to go toe to toe with
Jade and Daniels in a playoff game when Daniels was
the hottest quarterback in the league. Phillies offense scores fifty
five points, and then in the Super Bowl he has
the fourth and five pass down the sideline. He wait,
I think it was the NFC Championship game he had
(07:49):
the fourth and five pass down the sideline. The Super
Bowl was the kill shots start of the second half.
He was great. And so go ahead, Pal.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So where would you have him?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
You because you said you had the outside of the
top ten last year.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
With the information that you have, now, where would you
have them?
Speaker 1 (08:06):
So I have a I've developed a new opinion on
how we have to rank the quarterbacks. I don't think
that it is fair anymore to say it's a big
(08:27):
four and then we can debate after that that because
so here's to me where I'm at going into and
it can obviously change when a new season comes, like
the new season has to matter. I believe the top
(08:49):
three has to be in this order. Patrick Josh Lamar.
I think that is the only because what is the
knock on Lamar? And at this point there's only one left.
(09:11):
He does not play his best in the postseason, and
I'm not gonna harp on that. I think that is
you know, two years ago, folks were mad at me.
I was making too big of a deal of it
last year, folks were annoyed with me. I was making
too big of a deal with it going into this year, folks,
But grudgingly without saying it's like, okay, yeah, Nick klocked
(09:32):
this the whole time that it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Was, and he showed so different. I was just about
to say Lamar didn't play badly. Though Lamar played pretty well.
He might have had a rough first half, but oh yeah,
I mean.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
The rough first half the cost of the game. But
it was still I mean, you're right, it wasn't. It
wasn't as bad as some of the other But again,
this is what I'm what I'm about to say here
is actually a defensive Lamar. The point I'm making is this, Demonse,
I do not think it is fair to penalize Lamar
so much for bad playoff performances that he drops beneath
(10:07):
the player who has not been in the playoffs the
last two years, in Joe Burrow, Like, for all we know,
Joe Cool had his Emperor has no clothes moment with
the playoff loss to Patrick Mahomes, and from now on
(10:27):
in the playoffs, Burrow is just gonna be a shaking
shell of himselself. But we haven't seen it because he
hasn't been in the playoffs since then. Now, to be clear,
I think the odds of that are almost zero percent
that Burrow all of a sudden is gonna freak out
in the playoffs. My point is you can't say Lamar
(10:48):
playing poorly in the playoffs is worse than a guy
not even getting to the playoffs. You just can't. And
one of the other reasons that two years ago I
had Burrow ahead of firmly was Lamar's injury risk. Lamar
the last two years, aside from his annual bout with
(11:10):
the flu, Lamar has been incredibly durable and Joe's miss
time and been banged up. So I think it has
to and the I don't think I need to defend
Mahomes being number one. But the argument against him is
(11:31):
he hasn't had the last two years gaudy regular season numbers.
The problem is anyone you want to put up against him,
he then has played in the playoffs and thoroughly outplayed
and beatn them. So it's not just his team has won.
He has played better than Josh in both the playoff
games the last two years. He has played better than Lamar.
(11:53):
He has so it's just not it's Mahomes has to
be won. I think Josh right, now, do you demand
you're the Lamar guy. Do you think it's fair to
have Josh two?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah, you do. I think it's fair like that, think
it's I think it's pretty close. But yeah, and then
Lamar after.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Its and then Lamar three, right, and last you know,
Josh one MVP. Lamar could have Josh. You know the
So I that's where. So here's my point and the
reason I said all of that. I think it is fair.
(12:32):
If somebody says Joe Burrow's four, by the way, I
probably agree with him for the record. But if somebody
says Demanse Jalen Hurts is four, and what you're losing
in the prolific stats Joe Burrow gives you, you're adding
(12:53):
in toughness, availability, the push push, and huge playoff moments.
And Joe's biggest accomplishment ever is being one and one
against Patrick in AFC Championship games, and Jalen's one and
one against Patrick in Super Bowls. So the point I'm
(13:14):
trying to make is when you say it's a big four,
you're saying you can't argue anyone outside of that top
four is better than anyone in it. And I don't
think you can make a credible argument, even with all
the flowers I've given to Jalen Hurts right now, that
(13:36):
Jalen's better than Lamar, Josh or Patrick. I do think
you can make an argument over Joe, and I love Joe,
but he's he starts here slowly. He does have now
Jalen has this as well, obviously, embarrassment of riches on
the outside catching the ball. And I do think that
(13:59):
there is a he probably has. The fact that Josh,
Patrick and Lamar are three of the most dynamic and
successful rushing threats the position has ever seen has to count.
(14:20):
And people might say Nick Patrick's not in that class,
not in the regular season, but if you look at
quarterback career yards per carry, playoff yard rushing yards, playoff
rushing touchdowns, if you remove Neil Downs, Patrick's right there,
and he's had iconic you know, so that he's kind
of more tactical with choosing yeah, say it again.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
He's more tactical with when he chooses yes well, And.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
I just don't he's not as fast as Lamar and
he's not as bruising and big as Josh, so he
has to be more. So if you're here, is what
my ranking would look like. If I were doing it,
I would go one Patrick, two, Josh three, Lamar four,
(15:17):
Joe five, Stafford six, Jalen Hurts seven with an asterisk
of it's probably too early, but I give it to him,
Jaden Daniels eight, Baker And then it gets trickier.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Did you say golf already? Did you say golf?
Speaker 1 (15:46):
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Speaker 2 (17:19):
NFL is a month away, so it's time to talk futures.
Is there anything that you see on the horizons that
you like division super Bowl winner yards.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Listen, We're gonna do our full blown gambling show, you know,
late August, and it really when if you're new to
the pod this year, you know, in the last few months,
football's when we really cook. We got our gambling shows.
We got a lot. Demon's a is dialed where I'm
still by the way, Connor and Paul out are friends
(17:55):
with the Volume and with DraftKings. If we could send
DraftKings this official on the record plea, I do not
we by the way I'm putting this out there. This
is this is what we would call a value. Add
I don't want a single extra dollar in our wonderful
partnership with DraftKings. Is that what I'm looking for? But
(18:18):
if we could, in addition to in football season, when
you know I'll give you my five plays of the week,
if we could also have a bonus thing and maybe
even create a cool little graphic like we have for
mine one teaser a week. We have to come up
with a snappy name for it. But if people don't
know Demons, last year, I think hit like seven in
(18:40):
a row. He's turned into a bit of a teaser expert.
If we could have somewhere, I don't care if it's buried.
I don't care if you have to click seventeen different
links to get into it. Somewhere on there Demands's NFL
Teaser of the Week. It would really be a special
moment for this podcast. So all that that's coming, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I mean, that'd be like my one of my greatest
achievements outside hidden seventy threes in a row one time done.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Oh yeah, we did that to a sidebar.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
We can get to that in a minute.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
But uh, it would be great, And it would also
be awesome for some of Demonse's high school and college
buddies who are regular DraftKings users for them to be
scrolling and to see the Demands teaser. It would really
it would. It would be awesome. And so we're pulling
over the In the meantime, there is one bet that
(19:38):
I think the odds are going to shift because I
think this team is going to become a popular sleeper pick.
And I have no loyalty if you will when it
(19:58):
comes to gambling, now, I obviously will. There are certain
things I won't do, like I won't bet against the
Chiefs but it doesn't mean I bet on the Chiefs
every time. A couple years ago, I told you guys
one of my favorite preseason win totals was the Broncos
(20:18):
over five and a half wins. I can't stand the Broncos,
and by the way, I think they're one of the
most overrated teams in the league this year. It actually
kind of plays into why I like this bet, but
I thought that they were great value over five and
a half wins. They ended up winning I think eight games,
the sixth longest odds of any team to make the playoffs,
(20:45):
far worse odds than the Panthers, better odds than only
the Titans, the Jets, the Giants, the Saints, and the
Browns are a team that I believe is going to
make the play playoffs, and I believe these odds are
going to it. Between now and the start of the year,
drop from plus three point thirty to like plus two ninety.
(21:10):
And that is the Las Vegas Raiders. The Las Vegas
Raiders going from a head coach in Antonio Pierce that
was just out of his depth to Pete Carroll going
from maybe the worst quarterback situation in the league to
Gino Smith with Brock Bowers in year two and Ashton
(21:34):
genty in year one and Carol coaching up that secondary
and a last place schedule that includes games against. This
is not just all strength of schedule games, but on
the Raiders schedule are the Patriots, the Titans, the Browns,
the Giants. The I skipped over a couple, Oh well,
(21:58):
ones that I won't think are easy, but you guys
might the Bears, the Jags, the Texans late in the year,
a team that I worry about a bit, four games
against maybe these slightly overrated Chargers and the considerably overrated Broncos.
(22:24):
Did I mention the Colts game in there? They have
on their entire schedule aside from the Chiefs game. Oh,
they play the Cowboys. Like here's the Raiders' schedule Patriots, Chargers, Commanders, Bears, Colts, Titans, Chiefs, Jags, Broncos, Cowboys, Browns, Chargers, Broncos, Eagles, Texans, Giants, Chiefs.
(22:47):
They have three monster games Chiefs and Eagles, five simple
games in my opinion, and then nine we'll see games
that team absolutely can get to nine or ten wins
and sneak into the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
And if the Chiefs are in a good state of
that year at that time of the year, it could
be a free game for them.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Well that's the other thing. If you are in the
AFC West, you always hope that one of your two
Chiefs games is that week seventeen Chiefs game because about
half the time the Chiefs are resting people that week.
(23:34):
Half the time they got to go for it, like
it could be bad that where oh man, the Chiefs
need this game for you know, playoff positioning. But about
half the time they have everything locked.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
The Chiefs pretty well anyways too, I feel like.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Sometimes yeah, yeah, And they beat them on Christmas two
years ago. So the Raiders plus three point thirty to
make the playoffs. That is my early first NFL season long.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Bet Lions are confident.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
This is the year that they get over the hump,
with David Montgomery calling it their year of reckoning.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
How do you see this season going for Detroit?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I'd be a little nervous, Demons. So here's so listen.
I don't think I think they have too much talent
to be bad. But here are the to me ominous signs,
so to speak. First one is one that always matters.
(24:39):
Lost both coordinators like that is one that during a
season when a team is struggling, we're like, oh, change coordinators,
but we don't do a good enough job in the
off season of you know what I mean reminding folks
lost Aaron Glenn, lost Ben Johnson, so that to me
is first concern. Second concern, their center retired. They lost
(25:04):
their best guarden free agency, so it looks like they're
gonna slide their worst offensive lineman who was their right
guard last year, whatever guard Zeitler wasn't over to center,
and then be starting a second year, sixth round pick
and probably a rookie second round pick at their two
(25:25):
guard spots. So they where offensive line has been maybe
their single biggest position of strength as of you know
in this Jared Goff Dan Campbell era, now that interior
of the offensive line might be the biggest weakness of
(25:46):
the team, and that can nothing makes Jared Goff go
from man. Jared Goff has been really good to pumpkin mode,
like up the middle pressure because he just doesn't have
the athleticism to escape or be creative. If it's on
time and it's what it's supposed to see, he's really good.
(26:07):
But if you can get pressure on him up the middle,
it can be really deadly for him. And so that's
a concern. The tougher division this year, to me is
I shouldn't say tougher because last year it was really good.
Vikings were excellent, Packers were good. But again, another tough division.
(26:28):
That's concerning. And here's the other piece, demanse for a
team last year that was fifteen and two, here's they're
opening seven games, which is before thereby at the Packers
home for the Bears, Ben Johnson at the Ravens home
(26:51):
for the Browns, layup at Sincy at the Chiefs, home
for the bucks Man. And by the way, it's just
a schedule that you never can take a breath like.
There's their first seven, then a bye week, then home
for Tampa, home for the Vikings, at the Commanders, at
(27:14):
the Eagles, home for the Giants, Okay, home for the Packers,
home for the Cowboys at the Rams, home for the Steelers, Okay,
at the Vikings, at the Bears. And so could I
see the Lions going from fifteen to two and the
one seed to ten and seven in a wild card? Absolutely?
(27:36):
And so I think they're good. I think they're talented,
Gibbs is a star. Having Hutchinson back will be great,
but I don't look. I think the Lions losing both coordinators,
the loss of the offensive linemen that they've had. I
(27:59):
still feel like I'm not as big on Jamison Williams
as maybe others are. I wonder how that horrific playoff
game has sat with golf all off season. I wonder
how back to back years of just gut punch postseason losses,
you know, has sat with them. All of that is
(28:20):
concerning to me. And in that loss last year was
we had a graphic on the TV show yesterday of
number one seeds the last decade to lose their first
home playoff game, and it was the the Cowboys Dax
rookie year, the Ravens Lamar's first year as a full
(28:45):
time starter, the Titans with Tannehill, and the Packers with
Aaron Rodgers in that his second to last year there
in the crazy like thirteen to ten game or whatever
in the snow against San Francisco. So, by the way,
(29:05):
three of those teams the next year missed the playoffs.
The Ravens made the playoffs and lost in the divisional round.
Like so you have a seventeen point lead in the
conference championship game. You blow it. You come back the
next year, you're even better. You're the one seed, and
a rookie quarterback comes to your stadium and waxes you
and your quarterback plays his worst game in a couple
of years. That's all ominous if you ask me for
(29:30):
the Lions. Uh do you think that's fair? I know
you think you thought I'm a little too low on
the Lions historically.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Oh well, no, I do think that. I mean you
said they lost their their interior alignment. But just just
Jerick Goff as well, Like I thought, it's like a
I don't want to say ominous, but limitation to win
in the super Bowl, That's what it sounds like they're
talking about. And like you need to see him, you know,
win that playoff game or do just like that was
a rookie that you got that done too by But but.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Yeah, and it was and it was I mean Washington
just they were outlast them that game. Yeah, I mean,
and that was the Lion. Now, the Lions defense was
devastated by injury, and we know that. But I also
I am a little worried what version of Aiden Hutchinson,
we're going to see at least at the beginning of
the year. So I think all that's fair. Hey guys
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Speaker 2 (31:13):
So Mahomes has come out and said that he once
can see to get back to that deep passing game.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Here's what he had to say.
Speaker 7 (31:20):
I think that for me, I got to be better
at throwing the ball down the field. I mean obviously
that we weren't good enough there. We've had success in
prior years, with these last few years, we haven't done that.
And in order for our offense to be great, you
have to be able to complete those passes. It opens
up everything else, and so the teams are going to
challenge us that the line of scrimmage. If teams are
going to challenge us fill the ball deep, we have
to show that we can do that. And if we
can do that, it first starts with me and giving
(31:40):
guys chances. But if we can do that, I think
it's going to really open up the offense and make
us a better team in general.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
So with the combination of him saying that an Xavier
worthies comments from a little bit ago, if they can't
do it this year, is it time to sound the
alarm is a little bit of a problem because it's
clear that they want to do it.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Yeah, I think that's fair that if they can't, So
it's it's very interesting. So let me kind of go
through the timeline of the Mahomes what we on. First things,
first call light show and the Mahomes eras right. So
(32:21):
obviously twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, twenty twenty one.
It's just laser show, throwing deep, you know all this stuff.
Twenty twenty one ends with overtime against the Bengals. Mahomes
(32:43):
throws deep to Tyreek Kill, hits Tyreek in the hands
on third and long, and Tyreek pops it in the air.
Bengals pick it off. Bengals go to the Super Bowl.
Then Tyreek gets traded twenty two two with a Juju
Smith led receiving corps along with obviously Travis Kelce. Patrick,
(33:08):
Mahomes throws for more yards in a single season than
any player in the history of the league. Is the
first player to win League MVP and Super Bowl MVP
in the same season since Kurt Warner and the Chiefs
win their second Super Bowl, scoring thirty eight points against
the league's number one defense in the Super Bowl. Okay,
(33:29):
that year, they were a prolific offense, but it was
a lot of short stuff. It wasn't so much bombs
because they adn't have the personnel, but the yardage and
touchdowns and scoring was crazy, so nobody really paid attention
to it. Twenty twenty three, there is and obviously, I
(33:54):
don't know if I said this part. They trade Tyreek Hill,
you know, after twenty twenty one, and so the off
and changes in that regard. Twenty twenty three, the Chiefs have,
you know, their first bad two months of the Mahomes ear.
They lose five out of eight. I think it was
(34:14):
they have to play on the road. The receivers, you know,
set records for drops. And then despite that, Mahomes plays
a perfect postseason, culminating in and back to back drives
in the Super Bowl at the end of regulation and
(34:36):
then in overtime that are just surgical dink and dunk
short passes up the field resulting in the walk off touchdown.
Right then last year happens, and last year is a
little bit of everything. Beginning of the year, demanse Mahomes
(34:56):
was just off. If you remember, it was like five
games in a row where he threw a pick, but
they were they weren't unlucky picks. They weren't all like
he was trying to do too much. It was like
where were you throwing it? Like what did you see that?
Speaker 7 (35:14):
You know?
Speaker 1 (35:15):
It was it was very un Mahomes like. But they
won all the games anyway, They then they went into
last year saying we're gonna have, you know, a legitimate
receiving corps again. They signed Hollywood Brown, they really liked
what Rashie Rice was doing. At the end of the year,
they draft Xavier Worthy and then by week four, Hollywood
(35:39):
Brown's been out, hasn't played for him yet, Rashid blows
out his knee, and Xavier Worthy, God love him. But
at that time of the year, if you remember, couldn't
figure out where the out of bounds line was on
the field. They when they did go deep Mahomes throw it,
he would catch it and then he'd have a foot
out of bounds or not, you know, not get his
feet in whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
On.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
So you had Mahomes struggling for the first time in
his career of his own doing. You had the most
injured receiving corps in football where they have to bring
Juju back after he gets cut from the Patriots. You
also have a rotation at your left tackle position and
(36:23):
the Chiefs worst tackle play of the Mahomes era. And
then you also have on top of all of it,
this quest for a three peat and this odd season
where the defense kept as long as the offense didn't
kill him, and even when the offense did kill him,
(36:44):
the defense kept him in every game. And then Mahomes
was Mahomes late, and it seemed like he was just like,
you know what, I don't want to get I can't
trust the offensive line, Kelsey's getting older. Yeah, all of
this and I'm just gonna dink and dunk and I'm
(37:05):
not gonna take any all of that. So it was
a perfect storm of a boring offense for a fifteen
to one team, and that the scene, by the way,
to change immediately come to the playoffs when they put
up big numbers against Houston and Buffalo and then all
fell apart in.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
The Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
So all of those things, to me had to happen.
The pressure of going for the three peat, the rotation
at left tackle, the wide receiver, injuries, Mahomes, and again
Fairs Fair. I would imagine of Mahomes' entire career, the
(37:44):
off season where he was, maybe if we were to
rank him from most dialed into least, I would imagine
the offseason after the back to back championships. Nobody, you know,
the everybody thought we were drawing dead, couldn't win on
the road, and then I clipped everyone. And by the way,
(38:08):
my best friend is now dating the world's most famous
woman and we're all partying together, you know what I mean.
And maybe there was a little feeling of nothing could
go worse than last year in twenty twenty three for us,
and we won the Super Bowl anyway, you know, So
all of that to me led to the offense that
(38:29):
we saw. So I would think and I would hope
that none of these things apply this year. So how
(38:49):
dialed in will Mahomes be?
Speaker 3 (38:51):
Well?
Speaker 1 (38:53):
How dialed in has he been in the few seasons
that haven't ended in massive success? Cut his hair twenty
cut his hair, but also twenty eighteen, lost in the playoffs.
The next year, came back one league MVP twenty twenty,
got the craft kicked out of him in the Super Bowl,
(39:18):
came back and was awesome, and then had you know,
that bad half against Cincinnati and at the end of
the AFC Championship game, and came back in twenty twenty
two and had one of the greatest seasons any quarterbacks
ever had. So I think Mahomes will be dialed I
think the Chiefs getting Josh Simmons at pick thirty two
(39:40):
as a potential franchise left tackle is as big of
an offseason move as any team made. Xavier Worthy came
into his own at the end of the year. Hollywood
Brown is now healthy, they will at some point have
Rashie back, and it feels like Kelsey should a little
sprier than last year. All of the and I didn't
(40:04):
even mentioned last year the Chiefs were down to their
fourth string running back so quickly they had to bring
back Kareem Hunt. So, you know, barring a spate of
injuries or me being wrong about Simmons, I say all
that to say, yeah, if the offense is mediocre and
(40:27):
boring again, then yeah, I probably where would I sound
the alarm, Probably the coordinator, because I don't think anyone's
gonna think like, oh, Mahome's not good anymore. And so
but I don't think that's gonna happen. And I think
that there was and it was such a weird thing
(40:49):
demands last year because it was it would have been
the offense was not playing great, Mahomes was not playing
as best, they had all these issues, but they had
the best record in the league every single week of
the season, so it would have kind of felt weird
to be like, let's change it up significantly, you know
(41:09):
what I mean. What they were doing was working and
they were peaking at the end of the year, and
then it all came crashing down in the suit say
it again.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
That was a big debate, like them playing all those
close games. It was like, well, what's going on? But
I mean that because you said that you have put
it on the coordinators if you had to make an
accountability pie on who was responsible, like if the on
the deep game.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Yeah, so I mean, you know, to be clear, I'm saying,
if it happens again, I would put it maybe on
the coordinator because so last year, to me, the single
biggest calprit was actually the tackle play. So that's because
Mahomes just didn't get people and say the receivers got hurt,
and that's true, but I've seen Mahomes when he has
(41:55):
time throwing bombs to Justin Watson and DeMarcus Robinson. So
I would say the biggest slice goes to the tackle play,
which is why they made a big investment in that.
In their biggest offseason signing was Jalen Moore and they
drafted Josh Simmons in the first round. The second biggest
reason would be the Rashi rice injury and the other
(42:17):
receiver injuries. The third biggest to me would be Mahomes
not being as sharp as he wanted at the beginning
of the year, And the fourth biggest would be just
kind of the building pressure of the three people
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