September 30, 2026 • 48 mins
Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel dive in with the Power Rankings and why Bobby still believes in a team with losing record. Matt explains why the Bills are a special team that wins despite their mistakes. Which undefeated team will be under the microscope in the next 2 weeks? Bobby also delivers his QB Rankings with a surprise #5. Matt gives his thoughts on what's wrong with the Chargers and the Patriots. Bobby quizzes Matt on 'Is It Real?' including the Vikings, Bucs, and Texans.
Fmr NFL DT Gerald McCoy drops by to discuss the struggles of the Bucs and the future of Baker Mayfield. Gerald thinks the Cowboys have looked much better on paper than they do on the field. Gerald reveals his strongest divisions and which teams still have a chance despite their records.
Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is
a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We got lots to say. We got lots to say.
We're glad you're here and we hope you stay because
we got lots to say.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Yeah, we got lots to say.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Now here's Bobby and Matt.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
All right, welcome to the show. That's Matt Castle. That's
kickoff Kevin and Brandon Ray.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
And I'm Bobby. How are you, buddy? I'm doing great.
Doing great. Love this weather. We finally got a week
where 70s, 80s, you could walk outside without sweating profusely.
It's been pretty nice.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
I think we're there though now. I hope that we're there.
I think we're there.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I did see that it's been the hottest quick weather
minute with Matt and Bobby. It's been the hottest summer
in 130 years just around the country since they've began
keeping the data.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
So we're not crazy. I thought it was because we
were old, but we're not.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
We still might be getting older.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
And older, but still it's the hottest statistically speaking that
it's ever been.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Didn't you hear about this heat dome that was stuck
over Tennessee, that it was hotter here than it was
in the Sahara desert. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
I just expect the South for it to just, I
don't expect to have that water.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It's been, it's been terrible, but, uh, okay. And that's
been the weather minute with Matt and Bobby.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
You're welcome. You want my power rankings? Hell yes, I
want your power rankings. I look forward to this every
single week. Let me guess one team that might be
on it. Deservedly so this time.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Just take a shot, though. What's the one team you
think will make the list?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Oh, I know the Chiefs are making the list. Okay,
we'll see.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Here we go at number five with a 1-2 record,
the Rams.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Ooh!
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
They had that game last week against the Broncos. They
were in control of the game, and then a few
picks here and there, and Broncos played much better in
the second half, but I don't hate it.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
They have the Eagles next. Bad Eagles loss, too. But
they have the Eagles next, but they had no Puka.
They have no Myles Garrett. Sometimes when your gunslinger slings
and you don't have all the weapons, things happen. I'm
still putting the Rams at number five. It's the first
time I've ever had a below 500 team in my
power rankings.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, well, it's only week three too. So I'm a
firm believer in this team as well. All the preseason
hype and all that, they haven't lived up to that
at this point. But Sean McVay, you got Matthew Stafford,
MVP from last season. They're going to figure it out
and they're going to be all right.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
We've seen this before and they know what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
So, yeah, number four, I have the team that just
beat the Rams, the Denver Broncos.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
They are 2-1. They'll play the 49ers next. Bo Nix
just doesn't quit.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
He doesn't, and it seems like he's having one of
those games, especially in the first half where things aren't
going well, and you're starting to question, wait, is he
that dude? And then... It's the second half of games
where he comes alive and starts making play. Every game.
Every play.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Every game, Bo Nix. Like, it's over, and here he comes.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Bo Nix is what you want your quarterback to be,
almost like the goldfish that forgets earlier.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
100%.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It's like what you want your cornerback. Bo Nix has
the quarterback brain of what you want your cornerback to be. Like,
who cares he got burned the last three times? Like,
he still believes he's the man, and he's still moving
forward like that. it's quite remarkable to see him continue
to win like this. And it's happened so many times
that I believe he is that guy. If it happens
a couple of times, I don't believe he's that guy.
(03:41):
He may have just gotten lucky. He's done this little
song and dance so many times and they've won the
game that I think he's the guy, but now we
just got to get him to be the first half guy.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Can you imagine if he played all four quarters like that?
He wouldn't need to come back every game. We wouldn't
be calling him the goldfish or all that stuff. His
resiliency factor is top-notch, and that comes with maturity, probably
more maturity than you'd expect a second-year or third-year guy
to have.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
He was 31 when he was drafted.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
That's right. He is pushing my age. But at the
same time, if he can finally put it together and
get started early in games, they're going to be a
menace to deal with.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
At number three, the Buffalo Bills at 3-0, and they
have a cupcake next with the Patriots.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Patriots, man.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Right here. We can say hey, but it's not looking good, dude.
Anytime you go down to Jacksonville and you get stomped,
your head stomped in 35 to 6 or whatever it was,
Drake May looks out of sorts, but we're not talking
about them. We are talking about the Bills.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
We're talking about the Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills that even
when it's not hitting on all cylinders, it still hits
to the level of almost no one else.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
There was.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I would say a hiccup or two.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
A hiccup or two? They had five turnovers.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
They were awful. A hiccup or five. They were awful.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
They were awful. And that was one of the worst
games I've seen Josh Allen play in a long period
of time. But again, when you have him on the
team at any point, this doesn't matter. It's just about opportunities.
Sooner or later, they're going to get it figured out.
And Josh Allen's that dude.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
He is that dude.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
He's so good. He's that dude. But he was pretty
bad for a lot of Sunday.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Have you spent any time with him as a person?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I haven't. I haven't had an opportunity to meet him before.
He's a guy that... Do you want to?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Josh, come in.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Josh, where are you?
Speaker 4 (05:21):
This is your minute.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And now you're guest on today's show. No, he's not.
He's not even coming on. I haven't, but I've got
nothing but respect for him. Obviously, not just the way
he plays the game, but how he handles himself and...
just everything about him. He's a true leader and that
city has embraced him like nobody's business since Jim Kelly, right?
He's truly the epitome of what a franchise quarterback is.
(05:42):
Fun fact, him and Jim Kelly, same amount of Super Bowls. Wins.
True statement.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
They're doing a documentary on the Buffalo Bills that's basically
the fans going, please let us win a Super Bowl
in our lifetime.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yes. I mean, I think that that would be Incredible,
because their fan base is pretty unique and special, loyal,
all those things. I was there for a cup of
coffee for three weeks before I got traded, but it's
a special place in terms of that. If they can
finally bring home a Super Bowl, can you imagine that city?
It would be unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
I just picture in the wintertime around the facility, there's
just soup everywhere.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
A lot of soup, a lot of grilled cheese and soup. Yeah.
You want the tomato soup or the veggie soup today?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
And number two, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
The Kansas City Chiefs, I can't. Can't say that I
blame you.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Kenneth Walker is really good.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
And I think my, I won't say fear, but I
think my concern was he was never the feature back.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
He was one of the two feature backs.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And can he actually be the bell cow, for lack
of a better term? And he's being that. He's being
that easily. And he's actually really good. And it's cool
to see him actually be able to get into rhythm
as a running back. Because I can only imagine if
you're you know, him and Charbonnet in Seattle, just when
you get on, your buddy's going in instead. It's got
(07:01):
to be difficult to just develop any sort of rhythm
whenever you're only playing half or, you know, three-fifths of
the game.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, and that was what happened when I was with
the Tennessee Titans. We had DeMarco Murray, who was our
starting running back, and then Derrick Henry was drafted that year.
And they're splitting up their carries and both of them
are workhorses, right? The more carries they get, the better
they become. And that was a frustrating thing for Derek
Henry that first year was he's like, dude, I need
more touches because you get in the flow of the
(07:27):
game and then you just wear down your opponent as
that game goes on. It's one thing to be said
about keeping these guys healthy and fresh, especially at that
running back position. But There are certain guys that just
perform better the more you give them the ball. And
he's shown without a doubt that he's a number one
running back and going to be a war daddy for him.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
At number one, the San Francisco 49ers.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
They are 3-0.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
And what's funny is the highlight was that Debo hook
and ladder.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That was sweet. Great play design.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
It was fun to watch. It was early in the game.
That was the only time he touched the ball. They
have so many weapons. I know I say this every week.
That was the only, I think it's the only reception
he had. And it wasn't even a real reception. It
was kind of a run.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Here, go run the ball down the sideline.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
This between McCaffrey and Debo and Brock Purdy is playing
out of his mind.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Out of his mind. If you were to crown an
MVP right now, Brock Purdy, in my opinion, is playing
as good as any quarterback, the best of any quarterback
in the NFL. His accuracy, his timing, anticipation, all those
things are incredible. The one thing I worry about with
the 49ers is and it's plagued them so many times
over these last few years, is injuries. Again, Mike Evans
goes out. Greenlaw went out. Bosa's got the calf strain.
(08:40):
If they can stay healthy enough where they're not losing
their dudes, this is a team that easily could win
that division.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
So they're playing the Broncos next week. That's going to
be a fun one. It'll be a measuring stick game,
as they like to say.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
For both. For both.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I didn't put the Raiders in, even though they're 3-0.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah. I think a lot. I wanted to.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I'm rooting for them now.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah, I'm pretty fired up for their start. And Clint
Kubiak and Kirk Cousins obviously is playing out of his mind.
Brock Bowers is back. Another weapon on that. Defense is
playing well. They're just collectively playing well. But these next
three weeks will tell us a lot. They've got the
Chiefs next week. And then they've got two other good
opponents coming up. And we can look that up. But
the next three weeks will tell us more about where
(09:22):
this team's truly at.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Do you want a... Bonus power ranking.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Please, give me a bonus.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Top five quarterbacks so far in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Okay, can I guess?
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, go ahead. Okay, Brock Purdy. Well, are you going
to try to guess the number one? Geno Smith's got
to be up there.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Who knows?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
You never know about me and Wild Card. I'm crazy.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Hey, look at me. I'm crazy.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
I'm crazy, Bobby. If I can guess your weight, I'll
eat this hat.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Josh Allen, Geno Smith, Brock Purdy. Trevor Lawrence. That's where
I'm going. Okay. You're done? Yeah, I'm done. I could
keep guessing. At number one.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Let me tell you all, 32 quarterbacks. Brock Purdy, 49ers.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Thank you. 3-0.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
3-0, 789 in the air, nine passing touchdowns, one interception,
and he's throwing at 72% completion rate.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
That's a good stat line right there.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
And also, he just looks confident.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Oh, he looks awesome.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Like he's not thinking, like he's in flow state.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, and I think that comes with time on task,
reps being in the same system, and then, just the
way that he anticipates, because he doesn't have the strongest arm.
That's what everybody was complaining about. Well, is this guy
really it, this, that, and the other? But when you
watch him actually play the position of quarterback, his processing ability,
seeing the field, and getting the ball where he needs
to put it, it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And number two, Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, 3-0. He's already
got six rushing touchdowns. To see that list that he's
moving up, of the all-time rushing leaders is hilarious because he's.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
The only quarterback.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
And not only that, he's going to take over. He's
going to be number one at some point.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Who is number one right now?
Speaker 4 (10:55):
I believe it's Emmitt, right?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Emmitt Smith?
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Is it really?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
If they get close, Josh Allen just runs it in.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
And to even watch them sneak last week, it was
a sort of a tush push, but it wasn't straight ahead.
He like darted over the left tackle between the tackle
and guard.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
And he's also, you know, 225, 230 pounds.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
40 pounds.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Dude's a big dude.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Okay, there you go.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
You correct him about five pounds.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You feel good? You feel good, big man? I feel
so much better about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 215, 220, 225, 230, 240, bro.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
So the only reason he's at two right now is
because he threw two interceptions against the Chargers.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
That wasn't the greatest Josh Allen or Buffalo game, but
they won, and that's it.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
And number three, Lamar Jackson. The Ravens are two and one.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Just last week, 15 of 22 passing touchdowns and 50
rushing yards. He's actually making defenses speculate pass or run.
There was a while when he was only running, and
then it became, well, I'm only going to pass and
stay in the pocket to prove to people that I
don't have to run. And now I think he's back
to that, I'm just going to do what feels good,
Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
And that's the most dangerous Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah, and I think that the way this offense is
set up, and I can't remember the offensive coordinator right now,
but they're also doing some stuff on their center. They're
setting up play action. They're playing to his strengths where
he doesn't feel like he has to run all the time.
But then in the biggest moment of that game last week,
and his boy Zay Flowers was back, which was a
huge boost for that offense as well. I mean, it
was textbook, end of the game, deep in, hit it,
(12:25):
call the timeout, set up the field goal. So, I mean,
Lamar's been exceptional his entire career, and he continues to
get better.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
I do factor in late game execution.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Do you?
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah, that's why I moved up his five.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Okay, cool. I was hoping for that.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
And number four. Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs were 3-0.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
He threw for 382 and three touchdowns against the Colts,
which I think the Colts are a little better than
we thought they were going to be. They're 3-0. They're unbeaten,
so that obviously matters. And Miami, they had a little
bit more of a dog in them than I thought
they would. And I know that the Chiefs won, and
they ended up covering, but that game felt like Miami
was actually trying.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Well, they had them backed up in their own area
and has that sack in the end zone, or... hits
him disrupts the play incomplete pass they're gonna have to
punt and give him the ball back and this is
before the game got two scores ahead where they're gonna
be in a really good position there but they called
roughing the passer because he landed on him so i
mean they they were scrappy all day long and i
(13:26):
know that eventually the chiefs got those two scores but
it was much closer than what that score reflects.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Mahomes is playing well enough to win every week, and
I keep him at 4-1 because he's Patrick Mahomes, and
2 because I think he's just going to do what
it takes to win. This wasn't a complete numbers pick
by me. I just got to have the Chiefs in
the top 5, obviously.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Obviously.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
I'm not even a Chiefs fan. I don't know how
I've cornered myself.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
You always say that.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
I know.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I'm really starting to think that that You were a chief.
I wasn't. I know, but I think that you always
bring them up. I think you've got a little... I
like the red, though. I do like the red. Yeah,
you do, because you can see it.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
I don't like the yellow, though, with the red. No,
the yellow's... And we don't take colorblind shots.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
And number five, I have Jared Goff. Jared jumped into
your top five, huh? Eight passing touchdowns, no interceptions.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I didn't know until I started digging through. He has
no picks. Detroit has scored 31 points in every game.
Even when they lost that game to Buffalo, they scored...
900 points. They just didn't have any healthy defensive backs.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Didn't stop anybody. Yes.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
And so he went 16 for 16 against Jets blitzes
this past week. So, which you would know more than
I would. If he's doing that, he knows what's happening
before it happens.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
100% because he's also one of those guys that's not
very mobile, right? And he's going to play from within
the pocket. So what do you have to do? And
you have to be an expert at it is you've
got to be able to recognize what the defense is doing,
have a plan to get the ball out when they're
blitzing you. and you understand it, and to have those
type of stats, that means you're on top of the
game plan, you have full mastery of it, and you've
(15:13):
got command of what you're doing out there.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
16 for 16 against Boots.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Outstanding.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
That's not just him flicking it, that's him knowing where
he's going to go because of who's coming at him
right in that moment.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Right, and that's when you actually hurt defenses too, is
when they bring pressure, and either you're able to pick
it up or are able to process it and get
the ball out to the receiver. Well, now they've got
less defenders at the second level, potentially at the third level,
and that's when big plays happen.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
What's on your mind right now, NFL-wise? Neal Castle's brain.
We've had, what, three weeks now of NFL? Like, what's
tickling you? I mean, we talked about a lot of it.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I mean, I think that what's so interesting about the
first three weeks is I believe that a lot of
teams are still figuring out identity, right? They don't truly know.
The first week's always an outlier. And then the second week,
you kind of have more of an understanding. Third week, it's...
you're starting to figure it out. But for some of
these teams, either the Rams or the Chargers or teams
(16:07):
like that, that maybe their record, the Chargers have been god-awful.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
And it just gets worse schedule-wise.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
The schedule-wise, we talked about it last week. I think
the first nine games, none of them are easy outs.
And the way that they're playing right now, it doesn't
look like they'll win any of those games. And everybody
thought this marriage between Herbert and Mike McDonald and all
these guys, McDaniel? No, McDonald.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Old McDonald might.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Be a better fit, to be honest with you. Oh,
that is frustrating.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Obviously, I know McDaniel's OC there, but I haven't really
thought about that as maybe a reason.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
that they aren't playing as well.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Well, I think that all the focus goes to Justin
Herbert because everybody considers him a top five, top 10 quarterback.
He's got all the talent in the world, just has
not lived up to expectations at this point. But he's
not getting a lot of help either on the outside.
The offensive line's not blocking well. They just look out
of sorts. And everybody just thought this mastermind would come
(17:07):
in and the offense would look completely different. But they
have not been able to produce points.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
They.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
have turnover issues, and he does not look comfortable.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Any chance that a new offensive coordinator comes in and
overcomplicates things? Did you ever have that happen with you
where someone came in and wanted to put their whole
system in and maybe that was a little premature to
do that?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
There is, but I mean, the hard part, I think
anytime you're switching over to a new offense is one,
you have a whole offseason where you got to learn it.
And then every single week, you got to create a
game plan that goes up against the opponent you're playing.
And you can't just go in there and say, Hey, this,
this is what we run. This is how we do it.
And that's it. You have to be able to create mismatches.
(17:49):
You have to take advantage of certain players or looks
or fronts and be prepared that way. So you never
want to go into a game with less bullets, right?
You want to go in saying, okay, if we need this,
we've got X, Y, and Z here on the call sheet.
So I think the hardest one for me to learn
when there was a transition was when North Turner came
to the Minnesota Vikings, because Their terminology was so drastically different.
(18:13):
They were the number system, right? 595 was come back, seam,
come back, and you tag the F with something like
F option. That was foreign to me, how they called
their formations, their motions, all that. So I had to
work in the offseason, but that's what's to be expected.
If you're a professional quarterback, you got to study, you
got to do all the things you got to do.
So by the time you get to season, you're actually
(18:35):
prepared and it becomes... second nature when you're hearing the
call and it's coming in so that you can go
out there and execute.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Also, as far as the Chargers go, like, Quentin Johnson
has got to catch the ball.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Like, he had some drops the last couple of years
that kept him from probably being a mid-tier or above
wide receiver, but when you're losing like that, you've got
to make those simple plays.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
Yeah, help your guy out. Yeah, the schedule again. Next week, Seattle.
This is who the Chargers are playing at 0-3.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Seattle next week, Denver after that, Kansas City after that,
the Rams after that, the Texans after that, which maybe
they can beat the Texans.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Texans? Yeah. But they're also, I'll say this about Texans,
they're getting back Tank Dell and their other wide receiver
as well, I forget.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
Well, Nico Collins didn't play.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, so Nico Collins, Tank Dell are both coming back,
which will give a huge boost to this offense that
needs it.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Then they play Baltimore. It's just a tough run.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Tough run. Tough schedule. When that schedule came out, they
probably were like, Oh, my God.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Yeah, we'll win the first three. At least the first two.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Please, please let us win a few.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
And then we'll go from there. What's wrong with you
guys as Patriots?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
You know, offensively, it's interesting because I thought this was
just going to be a year in which they're going
to grow. Obviously, you could point to the excuse of, well,
they don't have a true number one right now with A.J. Brown,
Michael Winnu, the right guard. got hurt. But injuries happen,
as we are seeing all around the league, and that's
not an excuse. They just don't look like they're in
(20:02):
great rhythm. They're not running the ball very successfully. Drake May,
you know, the ball slips out of his hand, which
is awful. I've had it happen before. Luckily, I jumped
on it. but it looks worse when it's a turnover.
And then some of the interceptions, like the one in
the back of the end zone, he's trying to make
a play. The guy turns, the DB turns his back.
And that's sometimes an indicator for us, like throw it
(20:24):
back shoulder. See, DB then, as soon as he sees
that and he starts to commit to the throw, turns
around and it looks awful. And then the other one,
Travis Hunter, the wide receiver is running a stutter comeback.
So basically he's stuttering at five yards, making it look
like a hitch and go, but he never gets that guy's,
and he never gets Travis's shoulders turned. So then Travis
(20:44):
is in great position to collapse on the ball and
another interception. So, I mean, when it rains, it pours, right?
And right now the turnovers is a major issue. If
you're not weighing the turnover battle, I don't know what
the percentage is, but it's really hard to win games.
And collectively, they're just not getting it done. And Jacksonville,
you got to give them a lot of credit. They're
a good football team, but it's just from an offensive standpoint,
(21:06):
they haven't had a ton of explosives. They're not, in
sync in terms of their mix and matching in terms
of quick game versus run game and all these different components.
Let's play.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Is it real?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Is it real? I love, is it real?
Speaker 4 (21:22):
So after three weeks, there are some records and nobody expected.
Is it real? The Raiders three and Oh, Oh, it's real.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
It's real. I think that, you know, there was low expectations.
Nobody's talking about this team. You don't know, but when
you look at what they did this off season and
who they brought in, You say, okay, they should be
much more competitive. And who they kept. And who they
kept as well. Yeah, Crosby could have been in Baltimore
right now. Heck, he was. He was in Baltimore.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Then they fudged his physical.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
No, no, thank you. We're going to take Hendricks, right?
So the fact that they were able to keep Max
was a huge, huge keep. But then you've got a quarterback...
that is a competent quarterback, understands the system, running it well.
You get Brock Bowers back. This is a good football team.
And Bowers is awesome. He's so good.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
He's so good.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
He's so good. You can line him up anywhere. He's
a mismatch nightmare for teams.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
The next three games for the Raiders are the Chiefs, L,
Patriots win, Bills, L. Does it hurt when I say
Patriots win? I just said that to kind of dig
a little bit on you.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
You're not digging on me. I'm not on the team
right now.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Yeah, but you're a Patriot. You got to keep it real, right?
You got to keep it real.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Right now, it looks like the Patriots could get beat
by anybody in the league. I mean, that's the unfortunate
part about it. I think that it's pretty cool, though,
that they are going to have a divisional matchup against
the Chiefs, the big dogs. And for the first time
I heard since 1960, the merger of the league or
something like that, that both these teams are 3-0 to
(22:50):
start the season. It's pretty crazy what Kubiak's accomplished. And
you know that.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
They're going to be up for this game, right? They're
going to have every trick.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Play, this, that, and the other, ready to rock and
roll in this game because this, to them, is a
Super Bowl, right?
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Kind of.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Not a Super Bowl at all, but they're not going
to have a halftime show. But I'm saying for... It's
a big game for them. They haven't been in a
lot of big games recently. Would they win two games
last year?
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Yeah, I mean, the only big game is the season opener.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
Otherwise, who gives a crap? Okay, next up.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Is it real?
Speaker 4 (23:24):
The record of the Minnesota Vikings, 3-0.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Are they a team that deserves to have a 3-0 record?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
I'm shocked that they are 3-0. I think it's because
of their defense. Their defense has 14 sacks on the year.
They're only giving up 13 points a game. Brian Flores
is one of the best to do it in the NFL.
And that's what's winning them games right now. Their offense
has got a long way to go. And if they
can catch up offensively, they're going to be a tough
(23:52):
out against any team in the NFL because of that defense.
That defense is going to keep them in ballgames. And
so it's not, it was surprising to me that they
are 3-0, especially when your starting quarterback goes down in
the first quarter of the first game. I did not
anticipate Wentz going out there and dominating the second half
of that game against Green Bay, who, to start the season,
(24:14):
everybody had high expectations for. They haven't lived up to it.
But then you look at these last two games, and
it's really been the defense that has won those games
for them.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
The Texans, 0-3. Is that who they are?
Speaker 2 (24:27):
I don't feel that's who they are. I feel like
that there's been some issues, obviously, with injuries on the
outside that has affected them offensively. But their offense is...
played pretty well. The defense was a surprising part for
me throughout the early part of this season because, as
we talked about, if you were to do a preseason
(24:48):
rank on defense, it's Seattle, it's Houston. Those are the
two top defenses that we saw last year. And this year,
they haven't lived up to the expectation that everybody set forth.
And so I think that they're going to get it together.
They're going to figure it out. CJ Stroud's playing... Pretty
good football and pretty consistent football, but I think now
(25:10):
that they have some weapons on the outside, they're going
to be much tougher to deal with on the offensive
side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
And finally, the 0-3 Buccaneers.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yeah, man, you watch the Buccaneers, and it's just interesting
because I think that they've got issues on their offensive line.
They're not protecting well. Baker's getting hit a lot. And defensively,
it's another team that you'd think would be really strong,
but they're giving up enough points to where it just...
doesn't look good you know so they are definitely an
(25:40):
0-3 team right now and playing like.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
It luckily they're in a conference that fares well for
an 0-3 team or a 1-2 team.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
I was gonna say they're still in the mix and
that feels good.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I think they're a game out maybe and Baker's out
three weeks though right yeah three weeks Jalen Daniels the
Kansas quarterback is gonna start and that's gonna be interesting
Because he's a different style quarterback now.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I mean, I was a big fan of his in college.
He can throw it, but he's a special athlete. So
I'll be interested to see how this offense changes and
what they're able to do. Because, again, when you have
somebody that hasn't started games before and you put a
young kid in there, you want to modify that playbook,
see what he likes. But it's going to be a
feeling out period, too, because you don't really know. Preseason...
(26:25):
Tells you a little bit, but it doesn't tell you
a lot.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
But their offensive line has been horrendous.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Horrendous.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
So you're bringing a guy, again, that has no experience,
but also, Baker Mayfield was running for his life.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
Every play. Like, he didn't have time to do anything.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Right.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
And so now you're going to do that with a
quarterback with no experience? Seems like tough treading.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah, and maybe he can out-athlete them. You know, that's
one of the prime benefits of these type of quarterbacks
that are mobile, can get themselves out of trouble, is...
Protection breaks down and he can hurt you with their legs.
And so that'll be interesting to see how they approach it.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
What do you think about J.J. McCarthy going to the Giants?
You think he starts immediately?
Speaker 2 (27:05):
No. I think it's a win-win situation for him and
for Minnesota because obviously he's sitting there third on the
depth chart. They kind of already had wrote him off
and a trade opportunity came up. They trade him. But
this is another fresh start for J.J. McCarthy that obviously
needed it. And it's a situation where when you look
at the makeup of this team with Scadaboo, who can
(27:26):
run the football, they've got a solid offensive line, they've
got weapons on the outside, pretty good defensive unit as well,
that maybe two weeks, three weeks from now after he
gets there, absorbs a little bit of this offense and
potentially gets a chance to play, that he gets on
the field and is able to rewrite his story like
we've seen time and time again, whether it's Geno Smith
(27:48):
or Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold. guys that have just
kind of been written off and said that if for
whatever reason they weren't ready to play early, but he's
only 24 years old. You know what I mean? He's
basically an identical replica of what Jackson Dart is. They're
both 24 years old. They're about the same size. They
have a little bit of mobility. They've had success in college,
(28:09):
played a lot of football. Now it's can they get
the best version of him out of them?
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Joining us now is former NFL defensive tackle, Gerald McCoy,
six time pro bowler, former first team, all pro and
longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneer star, who is now an NFL
network analyst.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Appreciate you hopping on. Good to see you.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I appreciate y'all having me.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
Um, I'm from Oklahoma where we were taught, at least
Gerald and his house was taught. Anytime anybody invites you
to the house, uh, You tell them thank you. And
you tell them how much you appreciate their being there.
Because I know this is y'all's comfort zone. And it's
hard to invite people into your comfort zone. But you
guys have invited me into your comfort zone. And I'm
(29:07):
very appreciative of it. Thank you so much, man.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
That was the best, like warm welcoming we've ever had
by a guest. Most guests are like, all right, hurry
up with the questions, but no, we say, thank you
for coming on. I mean, you spent nine seasons with
Tampa Bay right now. Obviously they're off to that. Oh,
and three start. What would you say is the biggest
issues right now for Tampa Bay?
Speaker 3 (29:29):
Oh, well, A lot of people can point to a
lot of different things, but this is what I'll say.
If I look at something that's been a, I guess,
average at best or been a problem over the past
couple of years, I wouldn't point to it.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
To that. And that's defense.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
The reason you draft a Reuben Bain is so you
can be able to rush the passer. And they still
haven't been arrested past. So it's not, there's like, that's
something new. What is new is how stagnant and out
of sync our offense looks. And, uh, I don't know
the reason why. Um, but what I do know is,
(30:07):
is it doesn't look good. And, um, Baker got everything
he asked for because he said that I'm a franchise quarterback.
They've told me I'm a franchise quarterback, but the thing
is people use words so loosely and I love bake
to death.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
So this is not a shot at Baker.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
What I'm saying is, is when he said he's a
franchise guy, I think people forget that franchise guy holds
a lot of weight. Franchise quarterback doesn't mean, that I'm
the starter for a number of years. What a franchise
quarterback is, is if I don't play well, if I'm
(30:47):
not in his lineup, most things fall apart. It's going
to be very hard for us to take Josh Allen
off Buffalo. Hey, Patrick Mahomes off the Chiefs. Take Lamar
Jackson out. Take Joe Burrow off Cincinnati. Like, if you
take these guys out of the lineup.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
It's like, well, great.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
We're going, I don't know. And that's what's happening right
now with the books. Baker said he's a franchise guy
and it's looking like it. He's not playing well. Everything
is falling apart. So I don't know why that's happening.
Our O-line is not playing great. running the ball is a...
Baker's a really good play-action quarterback, and if they can't
(31:27):
run the ball, and if he doesn't have time to
really get in his mode, then it's going to be tough.
But even week two, man, he was just missing throws
that he normally gets.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Didn't take care of the ball week one.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
It's a number of different reasons, but offensively, that's the
biggest surprise for me.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Well, now Baker has a dislocated thumb, and he's going
to miss a few weeks, so... What does the offense
have and need to do now in order to be
competitive without the franchise guy?
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Other guys around got to step up, man.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Like, you know, it's a team game. This ain't tennis.
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Like, this is a team game where the franchise guy
is not.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
There, but other people have to step up.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
If we know that Baker's not here because what made Baker–
Last year be in the early time of the season
be talked about as, hey, this guy's playing like an
MVP right now. If we had to pick an MVP,
you can't talk about that person. Talk about who the
MVP without bringing up Baker Mayfield. All the heroics come
(32:30):
from behind wins the fourth quarter.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Things he was doing. You don't have that right now, okay?
Speaker 3 (32:37):
So you don't have the luxury of a guy who
can make us look better than we have been playing.
So we just got to be better. O-line, we have
to hold up, okay? We have to hold up and
pass pro. Zach Robinson, you got to draw it up.
You just have to. Like, you just see what Ben
Johnson just did with the Chicago Bears. Case Keenum played great.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Yes, he did.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
But Ben Johnson was a big part of that. The
plays he was drawing up, he knew what he had,
and he made it easy.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
On his quarterback.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
But the other guys around him stepped up. So receivers
got to get open, man. We got to create separation.
We got to find a semblance of a run game
so we can get some play action going, get some
easy throws. We can't have so many drops. We got
to take care of the ball. It's a lot going on,
but everybody's got to step up their play. That's the NFL.
This is what happens.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I think 11 quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
it last season played all 17 games this is what
the nfl has become so um guys just gotta step up.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
You know when you think about the locker room i've
been part of all in three teams to start the
season but is there some saving grace mentally for a
team like tampa bay because they're really only one game
back in a division that's still wide open maddie you
said it the division The division is the same and gracious.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Hey, man, listen, I don't play no more, so I
ain't got to be politically correct. The NFC South is
not very good.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
It's out of trash.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
If we're being honest, if we rank in the divisions,
the NFC South is like.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
We're going to talk about a whole bunch of teams
before we bring these guys up. Really think about it.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Everybody was going through something just to start the season,
like injuries or we don't know this roster or we
can't figure this out and this and this. Tampa was
the most intact team ever. minus Baker wanting to get paid,
Vito wanting to get paid. NFC South is just a mess.
So all you have to do is play.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
The next game, man. Play the next game.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
And look, lo and behold, you got another division that's
all flipped upside down.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
You got one of their opponents coming in. They look terrible, too. So, hey,
you got the Packers coming into town.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
If any game is the game... to try and get
back on track, this is the one. Because you got
another team who has no identity. We have no idea
what they good at. They just got beat on by
a team in our division. So if they got beat
on by a team in our division, I'll be thinking, fellas,
if any week is the week, this is the one.
(35:11):
Can we please get back on track?
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Let's move over to the Dallas Cowboys. Everybody has an opinion.
What is your opinion on Dallas through three games?
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Oh, we have to stop. Judging teams based off what
it looks like on paper. We have to make people
show us what they are before we crown them, including
people in the building. Like, you can't call yourself Gotti,
the greatest offense there is, I guess is.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
What Dak called it, and you haven't earned it.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Like, I sit on a panel with Kurt Warner, and
they didn't give themselves the name the greatest short turf.
Somebody else gave them that name. They didn't crown themselves this.
And then defensively, we've seen all of the names and
all of the pieces they put in place and say, hey, man,
I'm Shane Burke. I felt victim to it as well. Man,
(35:58):
look at who they have on defense, man. This thing
can work out of the Dallas Cowboys can be. And
that ain't what we've got up front. The reason I
said that the defense would be really good is because
they had two established guys in the middle.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
And Matt, you know this.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Quarterbacks hate having dominant defensive tackles right in your face
all game.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
You hate that because it's right here. Like that's my window.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
If I turn my back on a play action, go
through my fake and I turn around, there's a guy
in my face already.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
It's like, what the heck, man? Like I didn't even
get out.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
If I get in my drop and there's a guard
or a center being pushed in my face, now I
got to.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Push off him, step to the side and slap. That's
my window.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
So even if I hand the ball, I know the
running back, especially if we run a zone or a stretch,
I'm reading the three technique. If he's upfield, making that
running back make a decision before he wants to is
That's annoying for an offense. And the Cowboys had two
guys that were able to do that. But whatever they
decided to do, what Christian Parker decided to do, is
(37:04):
just not what he should be doing. You have Kenny Clark,
who's an established nose guard. He's been dominant as a
nose guard. Quentin Williams has been dominant as a three technique.
And you're making them play left and right instead of
allowing Kenny.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
To be the nose and to go left and right.
and Quinton to get up and move, now you.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Have guys coming off the bench who are backup D
tackles who end up playing at the three technique. When
Quinton gets pushed to the five, when you have a
three D tackle set, they all over the place. Jason Barham,
you just seen how talented he is. You just seen
how good this kid can be versus Baltimore. And he's
(37:44):
a rookie doing that. Imagine if you gave him one
established assignment.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
This is your role.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
This is what you're doing as defense instead of giving
him 17. And that's just what we see right now.
Like they all over the place defensively. And then when
they are in place, they just not playing that physical
brand of football anymore. that they should be playing so
uh the cowboys are hit or miss right now like
they just lost in the most cowboy way you could
(38:11):
lose this is the baltimore race i was sitting there
like i said that uh in our work group message
and then my boy texts me gee that's the most
cowboy thing ever i was like see we all see
it you know that's this i don't know cowboys are
hit or miss right now.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Do you think that they're still a contender, considering what
we saw from Philly this Monday night, what we saw
from the Giants? Obviously, they've got a quarterback issue. Where
do you think their ceiling is? Um... True.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Before, I said if this defense is middle of the pack,
a little higher than that, then that ceiling was a suit.
They could get all the way to the Super Bowl
because of all the rest of the NFC. But how
the NFC look right now, they not out of it
because in their division, their division is all over the place.
I just told you about the NFC South. The North
(39:21):
is all over the place. The West is the only
division where it's like, hey, they might be, you know,
because you got, but the Rams is lost again. OK,
the 49ers, they're winning the division.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
The Seahawks just lost to the Commanders. It's like.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
Y'all got y'all started back and still lost they are
not out of this by any means it's so early
in the season we don't know who's who yet we
don't know who's real who's fake i've seen so much
football man they could have a turnaround and then go
get on a roll like that this could is that
could very easily happen especially in the NFC, and definitely
(39:57):
in A Division. So, I mean, they not out of it,
pushing all the way to, you could have an AFC,
I mean, an NFC West, NFC Championship, but Dallas would
be right there.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
They have an opportunity to still be right there.
Speaker 4 (40:11):
Now that you're working for the NFL, do you watch
games a lot different?
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Do I watch games different? No, I still watch it
like football player. No.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
I talk about it different because I have to Like
this is the best to me.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I'm very blessed and honored to be on network TV.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
But this here is the best way or what I
enjoy most when I get to talk football, because I'm
very long winded, if you haven't seen, because I like
to paint pictures. It's hard to do that on network
TV because you get 45 seconds to say everything I
just said, you know, and I enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
But I still watch the games the same. Like, I
don't watch the games for enjoyment. I'm watching what I'm watching.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I'm watching the D-line, and I'm looking to hear, look
at that formation.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I still watch it like a football player. My question
would be, right now, who do you think has the
strongest division? Would you go, I mean, because I look
at AFC West and you got the Chiefs. You've got
the Raiders 3-0, which are pretty surprising, but you also
got the Broncos at 2-1. Would you say that you
would agree that the AFC West was probably the strongest
(41:19):
of all the divisions right now?
Speaker 3 (41:21):
I would still go the NFC West. I know the
Seahawks had a little drop-off. versus the Commanders, but I
think people will be forgetting Marcus Mariota is not, he's
not sorry. He's not weak, and their roster is not bad. Shoot,
Jayden Daniels, the way he was playing, they could have
beat the Cowboys.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
They wasn't out of their game. You know what I'm saying? So,
I just.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
Believe that the Rams, they lost to a really good
Broncos team. The Raiders, the teams they beat, I don't know.
I mean, if we're going off record, yes, the AFC West.
But by year's end, I believe the NFC West is
the best division.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
What do you see in a guy like Josh Allen
that excites you?
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Josh Allen's just a playmaker, man. He's just a football player.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Like, you know you're going to get something exciting out
of him when you turn on the games.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
I was just thinking about that today, man. I'm a
huge KD fan.
Speaker 3 (42:22):
And I was like, man, I can't wait to watch
him play basketball because.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
I know I'm going to get.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
Some exciting, like just the pure art, his ability to
score the basketball.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Is just great to watch.
Speaker 3 (42:33):
And when I watched Josh Allen, you just watching a
football player, he's really good at just playing football. You know,
it ain't just, uh, His ability to play the quarterback
position at a high level. He's really good at football.
You see him do certain things. It's like, man, that's
(42:54):
just him being a playmaker. That has nothing to do
with his quarterback ability. And that's what I.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
Like about Josh, man. He's just playing to the end.
He's just exciting to watch. Who do you think is
the best defense in the league right now? Defense? Man,
that's tough.
Speaker 3 (43:13):
Cause the defenses that I expected to be really good.
I'm not like Houston. Who do I want to go with?
So it is tough, man. It's tough because all the
defenses that like you would say, okay, Seattle, but then
they just give, they diverse the commanders. And then, uh,
(43:35):
Kansas City's been really good, but then you see them
going toe-to-toe with Miami. It's like, bro, what the heck
just happened? You know, Denver, they did what they did
versus Kansas City. But then they come back versus the
Jaguars and play well. But then Matthew Stafford walked down
(43:56):
the field whenever he felt like it. He just couldn't
finish it. Man, this is tough.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
I'm going to go with Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Right now, because of Spags, they can rest the passer.
They can cover in the back end. And when the
game is on the line, I know I can depend
on Spags to draw it up. So I'm going to
go with Kansas City right now. But it's a toss-up
because Cincinnati was playing great. And then we've seen what
happened with them. But just over the first three games,
(44:28):
I know that– Kansas City gave up the 30 points
versus the Colts, but I just still feel like top
to bottom, I'm going to go with Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Denver's probably a close second, though.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
Gerald, really appreciate the time. Thanks so much for hanging
out with us.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Huge success to you in your career now that you've
shifted gears and you're talking about it.
Speaker 4 (44:51):
You're living it differently, but we really appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
All right, thanks, man. I appreciate y'all having me on
anytime y'all need me.
Speaker 4 (44:58):
All right, Gerald McCoy, everybody.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Thank you, Jared. Thank you. All right, fellas.
Speaker 4 (45:02):
All right, before we wrap up, let's do a situational awareness.
I'll go first. Your team loses a close game, but
you played well as the quarterback.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
Oh, then I feel great.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Can you leave the stadium feeling good about how you
played after the loss?
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Well, it's that happy medium, right? Because obviously, first and foremost,
it's about team. So you feel... Terrible that you lost
the game. And sometimes those are the most difficult ones
to get over because you could have won a game
and you put yourself in a position and you just didn't.
And you know that wins or winning, winning football is
what it's all about. So you feel bad about that,
(45:39):
but you also, if you've played well and did everything
that you can do, you can be proud about your performance.
You're not going to be happy that you lost, but
you can be proud about it and say, now I've
got to replicate that week in and week out and
be consistent.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
I bring that up because Dak threw for 276. He
did help Dallas rally late, but the Cowboys still lost
to Baltimore. That was a good game. I think both
teams deserve to be there. I think Dak played well.
I think Dak's playing well consistently. But that's what kind
of spurred that question.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yeah, it's tough because Dallas had opportunities throughout the game.
I mean, their first and goal. And they're not able
to punch it in there. You got to settle for
a field goal. Then they're cross midfield there. It's third
and short. They go for it twice, get stuffed, turn
over the ball. Then you're down there in the red
zone late. And you have an offsides penalty. But then
(46:27):
whatever that was at the end with the miscommunication between
him and Perkins, I don't know if it was a
ball that they said, hey, just toss it out of
bounds and settle for the field goal. But there was
plenty of opportunities for them to take control of that game.
And that's the most frustrating part about it is when
you're in a game like that and you feel like
you had every opportunity to win it. And then at
(46:48):
the end, Lamar makes the play to do it and
they're able to kick the field goal. Those are really
difficult to swallow.
Speaker 4 (46:54):
All right, hit me with a one.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
All right, you drafted a rookie running back in fantasy
and expected big things, but he struggled through the first
three weeks. At what point do you bench him? I don't.
I ride. You're going to ride dirty with him.
Speaker 4 (47:08):
I ride the whole time.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
But you always have a backup running back.
Speaker 4 (47:12):
Yeah, I do, but I ride. If I'm drafted you early,
we're riding. Unless you're injured, we're riding.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Who's your running back right now? Derrick Henry.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
Derrick Henry.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Oh, well, then you're golden.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
He's been killing it, actually. And that was the 12th
pick in our league out of 12.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Were you shocked that the Dallas Cowboys stuffed him? I was.
I was, too.
Speaker 4 (47:30):
I was shocked.
Speaker 1 (47:31):
And it was, you know, you know this as well
as I do.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
It was way more about that linebacker getting through.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4 (47:37):
And Derek Henry had nowhere to go as soon as
he got the ball.
Speaker 2 (47:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (47:40):
Stopped in the yard in the backfield. I was shocked.
Speaker 1 (47:42):
And that game was wild because as it was ending,
that was right around bath time for our baby. And
I do the bath with Billy. And so I had
taken her in and there were seven seconds left. So
I was just going to start the bath and then
put it on my phone and watch overtime. I never
saw the end of the game.
Speaker 2 (47:58):
Oh, you didn't see it?
Speaker 4 (47:59):
No, I went back. and they were celebrating.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
Yeah wait what what the hell happened.
Speaker 1 (48:05):
That's exactly yeah i missed it all because i thought
with seven seconds left surely they're not going to be
able to run up a long play get out of
bounds and then kick a field goal and they did.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
The kickoff too they kick it into the end zone
what are we doing there were a lot of things
there there's so many things a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
That shot hammer's probably looking in the mirror going if
i just would have kicked it to the three, the five,
or if we would have touched him when he, or
wouldn't have touched him when he went down with the ball,
you know, on the reception.
Speaker 4 (48:30):
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
Guys for listening. We appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (48:33):
If you guys are watching on YouTube, thanks for watching.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
If you're listening on podcast, we really appreciate that too.
Speaker 4 (48:38):
Back again next week. That's Matt Castle.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
That's kickoff Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. I'm Bobby Jones.
Speaker 4 (48:42):
We've had lots to say. We'll see you guys next week.
Speaker 2 (48:44):
Bye everybody.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is
a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is
a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We got lots to say. We got lots to say.
We're glad you're here and we hope you stay because
we got lots to say.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Yeah, we got lots to say.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Now here's Bobby and Matt.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
All right, welcome to the show. That's Matt Castle. That's
kickoff Kevin and Brandon Ray.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
And I'm Bobby. How are you, buddy? I'm doing great.
Doing great. Love this weather. We finally got a week
where 70s, 80s, you could walk outside without sweating profusely.
It's been pretty nice.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
I think we're there though now. I hope that we're there.
I think we're there.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I did see that it's been the hottest quick weather
minute with Matt and Bobby. It's been the hottest summer
in 130 years just around the country since they've began
keeping the data.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
So we're not crazy. I thought it was because we
were old, but we're not.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
We still might be getting older.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
And older, but still it's the hottest statistically speaking that
it's ever been.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Didn't you hear about this heat dome that was stuck
over Tennessee, that it was hotter here than it was
in the Sahara desert. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
I just expect the South for it to just, I
don't expect to have that water.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It's been, it's been terrible, but, uh, okay. And that's
been the weather minute with Matt and Bobby.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
You're welcome. You want my power rankings? Hell yes, I
want your power rankings. I look forward to this every
single week. Let me guess one team that might be
on it. Deservedly so this time.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Just take a shot, though. What's the one team you
think will make the list?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Oh, I know the Chiefs are making the list. Okay,
we'll see.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Here we go at number five with a 1-2 record,
the Rams.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Ooh!
Speaker 1 (01:51):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
They had that game last week against the Broncos. They
were in control of the game, and then a few
picks here and there, and Broncos played much better in
the second half, but I don't hate it.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
They have the Eagles next. Bad Eagles loss, too. But
they have the Eagles next, but they had no Puka.
They have no Myles Garrett. Sometimes when your gunslinger slings
and you don't have all the weapons, things happen. I'm
still putting the Rams at number five. It's the first
time I've ever had a below 500 team in my
power rankings.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, well, it's only week three too. So I'm a
firm believer in this team as well. All the preseason
hype and all that, they haven't lived up to that
at this point. But Sean McVay, you got Matthew Stafford,
MVP from last season. They're going to figure it out
and they're going to be all right.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
We've seen this before and they know what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
So, yeah, number four, I have the team that just
beat the Rams, the Denver Broncos.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
They are 2-1. They'll play the 49ers next. Bo Nix
just doesn't quit.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
He doesn't, and it seems like he's having one of
those games, especially in the first half where things aren't
going well, and you're starting to question, wait, is he
that dude? And then... It's the second half of games
where he comes alive and starts making play. Every game.
Every play.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Every game, Bo Nix. Like, it's over, and here he comes.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Bo Nix is what you want your quarterback to be,
almost like the goldfish that forgets earlier.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
100%.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It's like what you want your cornerback. Bo Nix has
the quarterback brain of what you want your cornerback to be. Like,
who cares he got burned the last three times? Like,
he still believes he's the man, and he's still moving
forward like that. it's quite remarkable to see him continue
to win like this. And it's happened so many times
that I believe he is that guy. If it happens
a couple of times, I don't believe he's that guy.
(03:41):
He may have just gotten lucky. He's done this little
song and dance so many times and they've won the
game that I think he's the guy, but now we
just got to get him to be the first half guy.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Can you imagine if he played all four quarters like that?
He wouldn't need to come back every game. We wouldn't
be calling him the goldfish or all that stuff. His
resiliency factor is top-notch, and that comes with maturity, probably
more maturity than you'd expect a second-year or third-year guy
to have.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
He was 31 when he was drafted.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
That's right. He is pushing my age. But at the
same time, if he can finally put it together and
get started early in games, they're going to be a
menace to deal with.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
At number three, the Buffalo Bills at 3-0, and they
have a cupcake next with the Patriots.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Patriots, man.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Right here. We can say hey, but it's not looking good, dude.
Anytime you go down to Jacksonville and you get stomped,
your head stomped in 35 to 6 or whatever it was,
Drake May looks out of sorts, but we're not talking
about them. We are talking about the Bills.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
We're talking about the Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills that even
when it's not hitting on all cylinders, it still hits
to the level of almost no one else.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
There was.
Speaker 4 (04:46):
I would say a hiccup or two.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
A hiccup or two? They had five turnovers.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
They were awful. A hiccup or five. They were awful.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
They were awful. And that was one of the worst
games I've seen Josh Allen play in a long period
of time. But again, when you have him on the
team at any point, this doesn't matter. It's just about opportunities.
Sooner or later, they're going to get it figured out.
And Josh Allen's that dude.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
He is that dude.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
He's so good. He's that dude. But he was pretty
bad for a lot of Sunday.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Have you spent any time with him as a person?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I haven't. I haven't had an opportunity to meet him before.
He's a guy that... Do you want to?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Josh, come in.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Josh, where are you?
Speaker 4 (05:21):
This is your minute.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
And now you're guest on today's show. No, he's not.
He's not even coming on. I haven't, but I've got
nothing but respect for him. Obviously, not just the way
he plays the game, but how he handles himself and...
just everything about him. He's a true leader and that
city has embraced him like nobody's business since Jim Kelly, right?
He's truly the epitome of what a franchise quarterback is.
(05:42):
Fun fact, him and Jim Kelly, same amount of Super Bowls. Wins.
True statement.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
They're doing a documentary on the Buffalo Bills that's basically
the fans going, please let us win a Super Bowl
in our lifetime.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yes. I mean, I think that that would be Incredible,
because their fan base is pretty unique and special, loyal,
all those things. I was there for a cup of
coffee for three weeks before I got traded, but it's
a special place in terms of that. If they can
finally bring home a Super Bowl, can you imagine that city?
It would be unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
I just picture in the wintertime around the facility, there's
just soup everywhere.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
A lot of soup, a lot of grilled cheese and soup. Yeah.
You want the tomato soup or the veggie soup today?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
And number two, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
The Kansas City Chiefs, I can't. Can't say that I
blame you.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Kenneth Walker is really good.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
And I think my, I won't say fear, but I
think my concern was he was never the feature back.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
He was one of the two feature backs.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And can he actually be the bell cow, for lack
of a better term? And he's being that. He's being
that easily. And he's actually really good. And it's cool
to see him actually be able to get into rhythm
as a running back. Because I can only imagine if
you're you know, him and Charbonnet in Seattle, just when
you get on, your buddy's going in instead. It's got
(07:01):
to be difficult to just develop any sort of rhythm
whenever you're only playing half or, you know, three-fifths of
the game.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah, and that was what happened when I was with
the Tennessee Titans. We had DeMarco Murray, who was our
starting running back, and then Derrick Henry was drafted that year.
And they're splitting up their carries and both of them
are workhorses, right? The more carries they get, the better
they become. And that was a frustrating thing for Derek
Henry that first year was he's like, dude, I need
more touches because you get in the flow of the
(07:27):
game and then you just wear down your opponent as
that game goes on. It's one thing to be said
about keeping these guys healthy and fresh, especially at that
running back position. But There are certain guys that just
perform better the more you give them the ball. And
he's shown without a doubt that he's a number one
running back and going to be a war daddy for him.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
At number one, the San Francisco 49ers.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
They are 3-0.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
And what's funny is the highlight was that Debo hook
and ladder.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
That was sweet. Great play design.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
It was fun to watch. It was early in the game.
That was the only time he touched the ball. They
have so many weapons. I know I say this every week.
That was the only, I think it's the only reception
he had. And it wasn't even a real reception. It
was kind of a run.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Here, go run the ball down the sideline.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
This between McCaffrey and Debo and Brock Purdy is playing
out of his mind.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Out of his mind. If you were to crown an
MVP right now, Brock Purdy, in my opinion, is playing
as good as any quarterback, the best of any quarterback
in the NFL. His accuracy, his timing, anticipation, all those
things are incredible. The one thing I worry about with
the 49ers is and it's plagued them so many times
over these last few years, is injuries. Again, Mike Evans
goes out. Greenlaw went out. Bosa's got the calf strain.
(08:40):
If they can stay healthy enough where they're not losing
their dudes, this is a team that easily could win
that division.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
So they're playing the Broncos next week. That's going to
be a fun one. It'll be a measuring stick game,
as they like to say.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
For both. For both.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I didn't put the Raiders in, even though they're 3-0.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yeah. I think a lot. I wanted to.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I'm rooting for them now.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yeah, I'm pretty fired up for their start. And Clint
Kubiak and Kirk Cousins obviously is playing out of his mind.
Brock Bowers is back. Another weapon on that. Defense is
playing well. They're just collectively playing well. But these next
three weeks will tell us a lot. They've got the
Chiefs next week. And then they've got two other good
opponents coming up. And we can look that up. But
the next three weeks will tell us more about where
(09:22):
this team's truly at.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Do you want a... Bonus power ranking.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Please, give me a bonus.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Top five quarterbacks so far in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Okay, can I guess?
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Yeah, go ahead. Okay, Brock Purdy. Well, are you going
to try to guess the number one? Geno Smith's got
to be up there.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Who knows?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
You never know about me and Wild Card. I'm crazy.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Hey, look at me. I'm crazy.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
I'm crazy, Bobby. If I can guess your weight, I'll
eat this hat.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Josh Allen, Geno Smith, Brock Purdy. Trevor Lawrence. That's where
I'm going. Okay. You're done? Yeah, I'm done. I could
keep guessing. At number one.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Let me tell you all, 32 quarterbacks. Brock Purdy, 49ers.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Thank you. 3-0.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
3-0, 789 in the air, nine passing touchdowns, one interception,
and he's throwing at 72% completion rate.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
That's a good stat line right there.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
And also, he just looks confident.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Oh, he looks awesome.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Like he's not thinking, like he's in flow state.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, and I think that comes with time on task,
reps being in the same system, and then, just the
way that he anticipates, because he doesn't have the strongest arm.
That's what everybody was complaining about. Well, is this guy
really it, this, that, and the other? But when you
watch him actually play the position of quarterback, his processing ability,
seeing the field, and getting the ball where he needs
to put it, it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And number two, Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, 3-0. He's already
got six rushing touchdowns. To see that list that he's
moving up, of the all-time rushing leaders is hilarious because he's.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
The only quarterback.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
And not only that, he's going to take over. He's
going to be number one at some point.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Who is number one right now?
Speaker 4 (10:55):
I believe it's Emmitt, right?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Emmitt Smith?
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Is it really?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
If they get close, Josh Allen just runs it in.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
And to even watch them sneak last week, it was
a sort of a tush push, but it wasn't straight ahead.
He like darted over the left tackle between the tackle
and guard.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
And he's also, you know, 225, 230 pounds.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
40 pounds.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
Dude's a big dude.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Okay, there you go.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
You correct him about five pounds.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You feel good? You feel good, big man? I feel
so much better about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 215, 220, 225, 230, 240, bro.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
So the only reason he's at two right now is
because he threw two interceptions against the Chargers.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
That wasn't the greatest Josh Allen or Buffalo game, but
they won, and that's it.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
And number three, Lamar Jackson. The Ravens are two and one.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Just last week, 15 of 22 passing touchdowns and 50
rushing yards. He's actually making defenses speculate pass or run.
There was a while when he was only running, and
then it became, well, I'm only going to pass and
stay in the pocket to prove to people that I
don't have to run. And now I think he's back
to that, I'm just going to do what feels good,
Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
And that's the most dangerous Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah, and I think that the way this offense is
set up, and I can't remember the offensive coordinator right now,
but they're also doing some stuff on their center. They're
setting up play action. They're playing to his strengths where
he doesn't feel like he has to run all the time.
But then in the biggest moment of that game last week,
and his boy Zay Flowers was back, which was a
huge boost for that offense as well. I mean, it
was textbook, end of the game, deep in, hit it,
(12:25):
call the timeout, set up the field goal. So, I mean,
Lamar's been exceptional his entire career, and he continues to
get better.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
I do factor in late game execution.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Do you?
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah, that's why I moved up his five.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Okay, cool. I was hoping for that.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
And number four. Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs were 3-0.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
He threw for 382 and three touchdowns against the Colts,
which I think the Colts are a little better than
we thought they were going to be. They're 3-0. They're unbeaten,
so that obviously matters. And Miami, they had a little
bit more of a dog in them than I thought
they would. And I know that the Chiefs won, and
they ended up covering, but that game felt like Miami
was actually trying.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Well, they had them backed up in their own area
and has that sack in the end zone, or... hits
him disrupts the play incomplete pass they're gonna have to
punt and give him the ball back and this is
before the game got two scores ahead where they're gonna
be in a really good position there but they called
roughing the passer because he landed on him so i
mean they they were scrappy all day long and i
(13:26):
know that eventually the chiefs got those two scores but
it was much closer than what that score reflects.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Mahomes is playing well enough to win every week, and
I keep him at 4-1 because he's Patrick Mahomes, and
2 because I think he's just going to do what
it takes to win. This wasn't a complete numbers pick
by me. I just got to have the Chiefs in
the top 5, obviously.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Obviously.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
I'm not even a Chiefs fan. I don't know how
I've cornered myself.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
You always say that.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
I know.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I'm really starting to think that that You were a chief.
I wasn't. I know, but I think that you always
bring them up. I think you've got a little... I
like the red, though. I do like the red. Yeah,
you do, because you can see it.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
I don't like the yellow, though, with the red. No,
the yellow's... And we don't take colorblind shots.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
And number five, I have Jared Goff. Jared jumped into
your top five, huh? Eight passing touchdowns, no interceptions.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I didn't know until I started digging through. He has
no picks. Detroit has scored 31 points in every game.
Even when they lost that game to Buffalo, they scored...
900 points. They just didn't have any healthy defensive backs.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Didn't stop anybody. Yes.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
And so he went 16 for 16 against Jets blitzes
this past week. So, which you would know more than
I would. If he's doing that, he knows what's happening
before it happens.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
100% because he's also one of those guys that's not
very mobile, right? And he's going to play from within
the pocket. So what do you have to do? And
you have to be an expert at it is you've
got to be able to recognize what the defense is doing,
have a plan to get the ball out when they're
blitzing you. and you understand it, and to have those
type of stats, that means you're on top of the
game plan, you have full mastery of it, and you've
(15:13):
got command of what you're doing out there.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
16 for 16 against Boots.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Outstanding.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
That's not just him flicking it, that's him knowing where
he's going to go because of who's coming at him
right in that moment.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Right, and that's when you actually hurt defenses too, is
when they bring pressure, and either you're able to pick
it up or are able to process it and get
the ball out to the receiver. Well, now they've got
less defenders at the second level, potentially at the third level,
and that's when big plays happen.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
What's on your mind right now, NFL-wise? Neal Castle's brain.
We've had, what, three weeks now of NFL? Like, what's
tickling you? I mean, we talked about a lot of it.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I mean, I think that what's so interesting about the
first three weeks is I believe that a lot of
teams are still figuring out identity, right? They don't truly know.
The first week's always an outlier. And then the second week,
you kind of have more of an understanding. Third week, it's...
you're starting to figure it out. But for some of
these teams, either the Rams or the Chargers or teams
(16:07):
like that, that maybe their record, the Chargers have been god-awful.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
And it just gets worse schedule-wise.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
The schedule-wise, we talked about it last week. I think
the first nine games, none of them are easy outs.
And the way that they're playing right now, it doesn't
look like they'll win any of those games. And everybody
thought this marriage between Herbert and Mike McDonald and all
these guys, McDaniel? No, McDonald.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Old McDonald might.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Be a better fit, to be honest with you. Oh,
that is frustrating.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Obviously, I know McDaniel's OC there, but I haven't really
thought about that as maybe a reason.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
that they aren't playing as well.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Well, I think that all the focus goes to Justin
Herbert because everybody considers him a top five, top 10 quarterback.
He's got all the talent in the world, just has
not lived up to expectations at this point. But he's
not getting a lot of help either on the outside.
The offensive line's not blocking well. They just look out
of sorts. And everybody just thought this mastermind would come
(17:07):
in and the offense would look completely different. But they
have not been able to produce points.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
They.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
have turnover issues, and he does not look comfortable.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Any chance that a new offensive coordinator comes in and
overcomplicates things? Did you ever have that happen with you
where someone came in and wanted to put their whole
system in and maybe that was a little premature to
do that?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
There is, but I mean, the hard part, I think
anytime you're switching over to a new offense is one,
you have a whole offseason where you got to learn it.
And then every single week, you got to create a
game plan that goes up against the opponent you're playing.
And you can't just go in there and say, Hey, this,
this is what we run. This is how we do it.
And that's it. You have to be able to create mismatches.
(17:49):
You have to take advantage of certain players or looks
or fronts and be prepared that way. So you never
want to go into a game with less bullets, right?
You want to go in saying, okay, if we need this,
we've got X, Y, and Z here on the call sheet.
So I think the hardest one for me to learn
when there was a transition was when North Turner came
to the Minnesota Vikings, because Their terminology was so drastically different.
(18:13):
They were the number system, right? 595 was come back, seam,
come back, and you tag the F with something like
F option. That was foreign to me, how they called
their formations, their motions, all that. So I had to
work in the offseason, but that's what's to be expected.
If you're a professional quarterback, you got to study, you
got to do all the things you got to do.
So by the time you get to season, you're actually
(18:35):
prepared and it becomes... second nature when you're hearing the
call and it's coming in so that you can go
out there and execute.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
Also, as far as the Chargers go, like, Quentin Johnson
has got to catch the ball.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Like, he had some drops the last couple of years
that kept him from probably being a mid-tier or above
wide receiver, but when you're losing like that, you've got
to make those simple plays.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
Yeah, help your guy out. Yeah, the schedule again. Next week, Seattle.
This is who the Chargers are playing at 0-3.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Seattle next week, Denver after that, Kansas City after that,
the Rams after that, the Texans after that, which maybe
they can beat the Texans.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Texans? Yeah. But they're also, I'll say this about Texans,
they're getting back Tank Dell and their other wide receiver
as well, I forget.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
Well, Nico Collins didn't play.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, so Nico Collins, Tank Dell are both coming back,
which will give a huge boost to this offense that
needs it.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Then they play Baltimore. It's just a tough run.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Tough run. Tough schedule. When that schedule came out, they
probably were like, Oh, my God.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Yeah, we'll win the first three. At least the first two.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Please, please let us win a few.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
And then we'll go from there. What's wrong with you
guys as Patriots?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
You know, offensively, it's interesting because I thought this was
just going to be a year in which they're going
to grow. Obviously, you could point to the excuse of, well,
they don't have a true number one right now with A.J. Brown,
Michael Winnu, the right guard. got hurt. But injuries happen,
as we are seeing all around the league, and that's
not an excuse. They just don't look like they're in
(20:02):
great rhythm. They're not running the ball very successfully. Drake May,
you know, the ball slips out of his hand, which
is awful. I've had it happen before. Luckily, I jumped
on it. but it looks worse when it's a turnover.
And then some of the interceptions, like the one in
the back of the end zone, he's trying to make
a play. The guy turns, the DB turns his back.
And that's sometimes an indicator for us, like throw it
(20:24):
back shoulder. See, DB then, as soon as he sees
that and he starts to commit to the throw, turns
around and it looks awful. And then the other one,
Travis Hunter, the wide receiver is running a stutter comeback.
So basically he's stuttering at five yards, making it look
like a hitch and go, but he never gets that guy's,
and he never gets Travis's shoulders turned. So then Travis
(20:44):
is in great position to collapse on the ball and
another interception. So, I mean, when it rains, it pours, right?
And right now the turnovers is a major issue. If
you're not weighing the turnover battle, I don't know what
the percentage is, but it's really hard to win games.
And collectively, they're just not getting it done. And Jacksonville,
you got to give them a lot of credit. They're
a good football team, but it's just from an offensive standpoint,
(21:06):
they haven't had a ton of explosives. They're not, in
sync in terms of their mix and matching in terms
of quick game versus run game and all these different components.
Let's play.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Is it real?
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Is it real? I love, is it real?
Speaker 4 (21:22):
So after three weeks, there are some records and nobody expected.
Is it real? The Raiders three and Oh, Oh, it's real.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
It's real. I think that, you know, there was low expectations.
Nobody's talking about this team. You don't know, but when
you look at what they did this off season and
who they brought in, You say, okay, they should be
much more competitive. And who they kept. And who they
kept as well. Yeah, Crosby could have been in Baltimore
right now. Heck, he was. He was in Baltimore.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
Then they fudged his physical.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
No, no, thank you. We're going to take Hendricks, right?
So the fact that they were able to keep Max
was a huge, huge keep. But then you've got a quarterback...
that is a competent quarterback, understands the system, running it well.
You get Brock Bowers back. This is a good football team.
And Bowers is awesome. He's so good.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
He's so good.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
He's so good. You can line him up anywhere. He's
a mismatch nightmare for teams.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
The next three games for the Raiders are the Chiefs, L,
Patriots win, Bills, L. Does it hurt when I say
Patriots win? I just said that to kind of dig
a little bit on you.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
You're not digging on me. I'm not on the team
right now.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Yeah, but you're a Patriot. You got to keep it real, right?
You got to keep it real.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Right now, it looks like the Patriots could get beat
by anybody in the league. I mean, that's the unfortunate
part about it. I think that it's pretty cool, though,
that they are going to have a divisional matchup against
the Chiefs, the big dogs. And for the first time
I heard since 1960, the merger of the league or
something like that, that both these teams are 3-0 to
(22:50):
start the season. It's pretty crazy what Kubiak's accomplished. And
you know that.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
They're going to be up for this game, right? They're
going to have every trick.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Play, this, that, and the other, ready to rock and
roll in this game because this, to them, is a
Super Bowl, right?
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Kind of.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Not a Super Bowl at all, but they're not going
to have a halftime show. But I'm saying for... It's
a big game for them. They haven't been in a
lot of big games recently. Would they win two games
last year?
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Yeah, I mean, the only big game is the season opener.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
Otherwise, who gives a crap? Okay, next up.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Is it real?
Speaker 4 (23:24):
The record of the Minnesota Vikings, 3-0.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Are they a team that deserves to have a 3-0 record?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
I'm shocked that they are 3-0. I think it's because
of their defense. Their defense has 14 sacks on the year.
They're only giving up 13 points a game. Brian Flores
is one of the best to do it in the NFL.
And that's what's winning them games right now. Their offense
has got a long way to go. And if they
can catch up offensively, they're going to be a tough
(23:52):
out against any team in the NFL because of that defense.
That defense is going to keep them in ballgames. And
so it's not, it was surprising to me that they
are 3-0, especially when your starting quarterback goes down in
the first quarter of the first game. I did not
anticipate Wentz going out there and dominating the second half
of that game against Green Bay, who, to start the season,
(24:14):
everybody had high expectations for. They haven't lived up to it.
But then you look at these last two games, and
it's really been the defense that has won those games
for them.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
The Texans, 0-3. Is that who they are?
Speaker 2 (24:27):
I don't feel that's who they are. I feel like
that there's been some issues, obviously, with injuries on the
outside that has affected them offensively. But their offense is...
played pretty well. The defense was a surprising part for
me throughout the early part of this season because, as
we talked about, if you were to do a preseason
(24:48):
rank on defense, it's Seattle, it's Houston. Those are the
two top defenses that we saw last year. And this year,
they haven't lived up to the expectation that everybody set forth.
And so I think that they're going to get it together.
They're going to figure it out. CJ Stroud's playing... Pretty
good football and pretty consistent football, but I think now
(25:10):
that they have some weapons on the outside, they're going
to be much tougher to deal with on the offensive
side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
And finally, the 0-3 Buccaneers.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Yeah, man, you watch the Buccaneers, and it's just interesting
because I think that they've got issues on their offensive line.
They're not protecting well. Baker's getting hit a lot. And defensively,
it's another team that you'd think would be really strong,
but they're giving up enough points to where it just...
doesn't look good you know so they are definitely an
(25:40):
0-3 team right now and playing like.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
It luckily they're in a conference that fares well for
an 0-3 team or a 1-2 team.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
I was gonna say they're still in the mix and
that feels good.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I think they're a game out maybe and Baker's out
three weeks though right yeah three weeks Jalen Daniels the
Kansas quarterback is gonna start and that's gonna be interesting
Because he's a different style quarterback now.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I mean, I was a big fan of his in college.
He can throw it, but he's a special athlete. So
I'll be interested to see how this offense changes and
what they're able to do. Because, again, when you have
somebody that hasn't started games before and you put a
young kid in there, you want to modify that playbook,
see what he likes. But it's going to be a
feeling out period, too, because you don't really know. Preseason...
(26:25):
Tells you a little bit, but it doesn't tell you
a lot.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
But their offensive line has been horrendous.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Horrendous.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
So you're bringing a guy, again, that has no experience,
but also, Baker Mayfield was running for his life.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
Every play. Like, he didn't have time to do anything.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Right.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
And so now you're going to do that with a
quarterback with no experience? Seems like tough treading.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Yeah, and maybe he can out-athlete them. You know, that's
one of the prime benefits of these type of quarterbacks
that are mobile, can get themselves out of trouble, is...
Protection breaks down and he can hurt you with their legs.
And so that'll be interesting to see how they approach it.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
What do you think about J.J. McCarthy going to the Giants?
You think he starts immediately?
Speaker 2 (27:05):
No. I think it's a win-win situation for him and
for Minnesota because obviously he's sitting there third on the
depth chart. They kind of already had wrote him off
and a trade opportunity came up. They trade him. But
this is another fresh start for J.J. McCarthy that obviously
needed it. And it's a situation where when you look
at the makeup of this team with Scadaboo, who can
(27:26):
run the football, they've got a solid offensive line, they've
got weapons on the outside, pretty good defensive unit as well,
that maybe two weeks, three weeks from now after he
gets there, absorbs a little bit of this offense and
potentially gets a chance to play, that he gets on
the field and is able to rewrite his story like
we've seen time and time again, whether it's Geno Smith
(27:48):
or Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold. guys that have just
kind of been written off and said that if for
whatever reason they weren't ready to play early, but he's
only 24 years old. You know what I mean? He's
basically an identical replica of what Jackson Dart is. They're
both 24 years old. They're about the same size. They
have a little bit of mobility. They've had success in college,
(28:09):
played a lot of football. Now it's can they get
the best version of him out of them?
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Joining us now is former NFL defensive tackle, Gerald McCoy,
six time pro bowler, former first team, all pro and
longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneer star, who is now an NFL
network analyst.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Appreciate you hopping on. Good to see you.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
I appreciate y'all having me.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
Um, I'm from Oklahoma where we were taught, at least
Gerald and his house was taught. Anytime anybody invites you
to the house, uh, You tell them thank you. And
you tell them how much you appreciate their being there.
Because I know this is y'all's comfort zone. And it's
hard to invite people into your comfort zone. But you
guys have invited me into your comfort zone. And I'm
(29:07):
very appreciative of it. Thank you so much, man.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
That was the best, like warm welcoming we've ever had
by a guest. Most guests are like, all right, hurry
up with the questions, but no, we say, thank you
for coming on. I mean, you spent nine seasons with
Tampa Bay right now. Obviously they're off to that. Oh,
and three start. What would you say is the biggest
issues right now for Tampa Bay?
Speaker 3 (29:29):
Oh, well, A lot of people can point to a
lot of different things, but this is what I'll say.
If I look at something that's been a, I guess,
average at best or been a problem over the past
couple of years, I wouldn't point to it.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
To that. And that's defense.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
The reason you draft a Reuben Bain is so you
can be able to rush the passer. And they still
haven't been arrested past. So it's not, there's like, that's
something new. What is new is how stagnant and out
of sync our offense looks. And, uh, I don't know
the reason why. Um, but what I do know is,
(30:07):
is it doesn't look good. And, um, Baker got everything
he asked for because he said that I'm a franchise quarterback.
They've told me I'm a franchise quarterback, but the thing
is people use words so loosely and I love bake
to death.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
So this is not a shot at Baker.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
What I'm saying is, is when he said he's a
franchise guy, I think people forget that franchise guy holds
a lot of weight. Franchise quarterback doesn't mean, that I'm
the starter for a number of years. What a franchise
quarterback is, is if I don't play well, if I'm
(30:47):
not in his lineup, most things fall apart. It's going
to be very hard for us to take Josh Allen
off Buffalo. Hey, Patrick Mahomes off the Chiefs. Take Lamar
Jackson out. Take Joe Burrow off Cincinnati. Like, if you
take these guys out of the lineup.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
It's like, well, great.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
We're going, I don't know. And that's what's happening right
now with the books. Baker said he's a franchise guy
and it's looking like it. He's not playing well. Everything
is falling apart. So I don't know why that's happening.
Our O-line is not playing great. running the ball is a...
Baker's a really good play-action quarterback, and if they can't
(31:27):
run the ball, and if he doesn't have time to
really get in his mode, then it's going to be tough.
But even week two, man, he was just missing throws
that he normally gets.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Didn't take care of the ball week one.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
It's a number of different reasons, but offensively, that's the
biggest surprise for me.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Well, now Baker has a dislocated thumb, and he's going
to miss a few weeks, so... What does the offense
have and need to do now in order to be
competitive without the franchise guy?
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Other guys around got to step up, man.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Like, you know, it's a team game. This ain't tennis.
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Like, this is a team game where the franchise guy
is not.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
There, but other people have to step up.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
If we know that Baker's not here because what made Baker–
Last year be in the early time of the season
be talked about as, hey, this guy's playing like an
MVP right now. If we had to pick an MVP,
you can't talk about that person. Talk about who the
MVP without bringing up Baker Mayfield. All the heroics come
(32:30):
from behind wins the fourth quarter.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Things he was doing. You don't have that right now, okay?
Speaker 3 (32:37):
So you don't have the luxury of a guy who
can make us look better than we have been playing.
So we just got to be better. O-line, we have
to hold up, okay? We have to hold up and
pass pro. Zach Robinson, you got to draw it up.
You just have to. Like, you just see what Ben
Johnson just did with the Chicago Bears. Case Keenum played great.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Yes, he did.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
But Ben Johnson was a big part of that. The
plays he was drawing up, he knew what he had,
and he made it easy.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
On his quarterback.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
But the other guys around him stepped up. So receivers
got to get open, man. We got to create separation.
We got to find a semblance of a run game
so we can get some play action going, get some
easy throws. We can't have so many drops. We got
to take care of the ball. It's a lot going on,
but everybody's got to step up their play. That's the NFL.
This is what happens.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I think 11 quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
it last season played all 17 games this is what
the nfl has become so um guys just gotta step up.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
You know when you think about the locker room i've
been part of all in three teams to start the
season but is there some saving grace mentally for a
team like tampa bay because they're really only one game
back in a division that's still wide open maddie you
said it the division The division is the same and gracious.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Hey, man, listen, I don't play no more, so I
ain't got to be politically correct. The NFC South is
not very good.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
It's out of trash.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
If we're being honest, if we rank in the divisions,
the NFC South is like.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
We're going to talk about a whole bunch of teams
before we bring these guys up. Really think about it.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Everybody was going through something just to start the season,
like injuries or we don't know this roster or we
can't figure this out and this and this. Tampa was
the most intact team ever. minus Baker wanting to get paid,
Vito wanting to get paid. NFC South is just a mess.
So all you have to do is play.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
The next game, man. Play the next game.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
And look, lo and behold, you got another division that's
all flipped upside down.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
You got one of their opponents coming in. They look terrible, too. So, hey,
you got the Packers coming into town.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
If any game is the game... to try and get
back on track, this is the one. Because you got
another team who has no identity. We have no idea
what they good at. They just got beat on by
a team in our division. So if they got beat
on by a team in our division, I'll be thinking, fellas,
if any week is the week, this is the one.
(35:11):
Can we please get back on track?
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Let's move over to the Dallas Cowboys. Everybody has an opinion.
What is your opinion on Dallas through three games?
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Oh, we have to stop. Judging teams based off what
it looks like on paper. We have to make people
show us what they are before we crown them, including
people in the building. Like, you can't call yourself Gotti,
the greatest offense there is, I guess is.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
What Dak called it, and you haven't earned it.
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Like, I sit on a panel with Kurt Warner, and
they didn't give themselves the name the greatest short turf.
Somebody else gave them that name. They didn't crown themselves this.
And then defensively, we've seen all of the names and
all of the pieces they put in place and say, hey, man,
I'm Shane Burke. I felt victim to it as well. Man,
(35:58):
look at who they have on defense, man. This thing
can work out of the Dallas Cowboys can be. And
that ain't what we've got up front. The reason I
said that the defense would be really good is because
they had two established guys in the middle.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
And Matt, you know this.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Quarterbacks hate having dominant defensive tackles right in your face
all game.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
You hate that because it's right here. Like that's my window.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
If I turn my back on a play action, go
through my fake and I turn around, there's a guy
in my face already.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
It's like, what the heck, man? Like I didn't even
get out.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
If I get in my drop and there's a guard
or a center being pushed in my face, now I
got to.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Push off him, step to the side and slap. That's
my window.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
So even if I hand the ball, I know the
running back, especially if we run a zone or a stretch,
I'm reading the three technique. If he's upfield, making that
running back make a decision before he wants to is
That's annoying for an offense. And the Cowboys had two
guys that were able to do that. But whatever they
decided to do, what Christian Parker decided to do, is
(37:04):
just not what he should be doing. You have Kenny Clark,
who's an established nose guard. He's been dominant as a
nose guard. Quentin Williams has been dominant as a three technique.
And you're making them play left and right instead of
allowing Kenny.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
To be the nose and to go left and right.
and Quinton to get up and move, now you.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Have guys coming off the bench who are backup D
tackles who end up playing at the three technique. When
Quinton gets pushed to the five, when you have a
three D tackle set, they all over the place. Jason Barham,
you just seen how talented he is. You just seen
how good this kid can be versus Baltimore. And he's
(37:44):
a rookie doing that. Imagine if you gave him one
established assignment.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
This is your role.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
This is what you're doing as defense instead of giving
him 17. And that's just what we see right now.
Like they all over the place defensively. And then when
they are in place, they just not playing that physical
brand of football anymore. that they should be playing so
uh the cowboys are hit or miss right now like
they just lost in the most cowboy way you could
(38:11):
lose this is the baltimore race i was sitting there
like i said that uh in our work group message
and then my boy texts me gee that's the most
cowboy thing ever i was like see we all see
it you know that's this i don't know cowboys are
hit or miss right now.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Do you think that they're still a contender, considering what
we saw from Philly this Monday night, what we saw
from the Giants? Obviously, they've got a quarterback issue. Where
do you think their ceiling is? Um... True.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Before, I said if this defense is middle of the pack,
a little higher than that, then that ceiling was a suit.
They could get all the way to the Super Bowl
because of all the rest of the NFC. But how
the NFC look right now, they not out of it
because in their division, their division is all over the place.
I just told you about the NFC South. The North
(39:21):
is all over the place. The West is the only
division where it's like, hey, they might be, you know,
because you got, but the Rams is lost again. OK,
the 49ers, they're winning the division.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
The Seahawks just lost to the Commanders. It's like.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
Y'all got y'all started back and still lost they are
not out of this by any means it's so early
in the season we don't know who's who yet we
don't know who's real who's fake i've seen so much
football man they could have a turnaround and then go
get on a roll like that this could is that
could very easily happen especially in the NFC, and definitely
(39:57):
in A Division. So, I mean, they not out of it,
pushing all the way to, you could have an AFC,
I mean, an NFC West, NFC Championship, but Dallas would
be right there.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
They have an opportunity to still be right there.
Speaker 4 (40:11):
Now that you're working for the NFL, do you watch
games a lot different?
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Do I watch games different? No, I still watch it
like football player. No.
Speaker 3 (40:20):
I talk about it different because I have to Like
this is the best to me.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I'm very blessed and honored to be on network TV.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
But this here is the best way or what I
enjoy most when I get to talk football, because I'm
very long winded, if you haven't seen, because I like
to paint pictures. It's hard to do that on network
TV because you get 45 seconds to say everything I
just said, you know, and I enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
But I still watch the games the same. Like, I
don't watch the games for enjoyment. I'm watching what I'm watching.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I'm watching the D-line, and I'm looking to hear, look
at that formation.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I still watch it like a football player. My question
would be, right now, who do you think has the
strongest division? Would you go, I mean, because I look
at AFC West and you got the Chiefs. You've got
the Raiders 3-0, which are pretty surprising, but you also
got the Broncos at 2-1. Would you say that you
would agree that the AFC West was probably the strongest
(41:19):
of all the divisions right now?
Speaker 3 (41:21):
I would still go the NFC West. I know the
Seahawks had a little drop-off. versus the Commanders, but I
think people will be forgetting Marcus Mariota is not, he's
not sorry. He's not weak, and their roster is not bad. Shoot,
Jayden Daniels, the way he was playing, they could have
beat the Cowboys.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
They wasn't out of their game. You know what I'm saying? So,
I just.
Speaker 3 (41:45):
Believe that the Rams, they lost to a really good
Broncos team. The Raiders, the teams they beat, I don't know.
I mean, if we're going off record, yes, the AFC West.
But by year's end, I believe the NFC West is
the best division.
Speaker 4 (42:06):
What do you see in a guy like Josh Allen
that excites you?
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Josh Allen's just a playmaker, man. He's just a football player.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Like, you know you're going to get something exciting out
of him when you turn on the games.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
I was just thinking about that today, man. I'm a
huge KD fan.
Speaker 3 (42:22):
And I was like, man, I can't wait to watch
him play basketball because.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
I know I'm going to get.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
Some exciting, like just the pure art, his ability to
score the basketball.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Is just great to watch.
Speaker 3 (42:33):
And when I watched Josh Allen, you just watching a
football player, he's really good at just playing football. You know,
it ain't just, uh, His ability to play the quarterback
position at a high level. He's really good at football.
You see him do certain things. It's like, man, that's
(42:54):
just him being a playmaker. That has nothing to do
with his quarterback ability. And that's what I.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
Like about Josh, man. He's just playing to the end.
He's just exciting to watch. Who do you think is
the best defense in the league right now? Defense? Man,
that's tough.
Speaker 3 (43:13):
Cause the defenses that I expected to be really good.
I'm not like Houston. Who do I want to go with?
So it is tough, man. It's tough because all the
defenses that like you would say, okay, Seattle, but then
they just give, they diverse the commanders. And then, uh,
(43:35):
Kansas City's been really good, but then you see them
going toe-to-toe with Miami. It's like, bro, what the heck
just happened? You know, Denver, they did what they did
versus Kansas City. But then they come back versus the
Jaguars and play well. But then Matthew Stafford walked down
(43:56):
the field whenever he felt like it. He just couldn't
finish it. Man, this is tough.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
I'm going to go with Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Right now, because of Spags, they can rest the passer.
They can cover in the back end. And when the
game is on the line, I know I can depend
on Spags to draw it up. So I'm going to
go with Kansas City right now. But it's a toss-up
because Cincinnati was playing great. And then we've seen what
happened with them. But just over the first three games,
(44:28):
I know that– Kansas City gave up the 30 points
versus the Colts, but I just still feel like top
to bottom, I'm going to go with Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Denver's probably a close second, though.
Speaker 4 (44:42):
Gerald, really appreciate the time. Thanks so much for hanging
out with us.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Huge success to you in your career now that you've
shifted gears and you're talking about it.
Speaker 4 (44:51):
You're living it differently, but we really appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
All right, thanks, man. I appreciate y'all having me on
anytime y'all need me.
Speaker 4 (44:58):
All right, Gerald McCoy, everybody.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Thank you, Jared. Thank you. All right, fellas.
Speaker 4 (45:02):
All right, before we wrap up, let's do a situational awareness.
I'll go first. Your team loses a close game, but
you played well as the quarterback.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
Oh, then I feel great.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Can you leave the stadium feeling good about how you
played after the loss?
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Well, it's that happy medium, right? Because obviously, first and foremost,
it's about team. So you feel... Terrible that you lost
the game. And sometimes those are the most difficult ones
to get over because you could have won a game
and you put yourself in a position and you just didn't.
And you know that wins or winning, winning football is
what it's all about. So you feel bad about that,
(45:39):
but you also, if you've played well and did everything
that you can do, you can be proud about your performance.
You're not going to be happy that you lost, but
you can be proud about it and say, now I've
got to replicate that week in and week out and
be consistent.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
I bring that up because Dak threw for 276. He
did help Dallas rally late, but the Cowboys still lost
to Baltimore. That was a good game. I think both
teams deserve to be there. I think Dak played well.
I think Dak's playing well consistently. But that's what kind
of spurred that question.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
Yeah, it's tough because Dallas had opportunities throughout the game.
I mean, their first and goal. And they're not able
to punch it in there. You got to settle for
a field goal. Then they're cross midfield there. It's third
and short. They go for it twice, get stuffed, turn
over the ball. Then you're down there in the red
zone late. And you have an offsides penalty. But then
(46:27):
whatever that was at the end with the miscommunication between
him and Perkins, I don't know if it was a
ball that they said, hey, just toss it out of
bounds and settle for the field goal. But there was
plenty of opportunities for them to take control of that game.
And that's the most frustrating part about it is when
you're in a game like that and you feel like
you had every opportunity to win it. And then at
(46:48):
the end, Lamar makes the play to do it and
they're able to kick the field goal. Those are really
difficult to swallow.
Speaker 4 (46:54):
All right, hit me with a one.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
All right, you drafted a rookie running back in fantasy
and expected big things, but he struggled through the first
three weeks. At what point do you bench him? I don't.
I ride. You're going to ride dirty with him.
Speaker 4 (47:08):
I ride the whole time.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
But you always have a backup running back.
Speaker 4 (47:12):
Yeah, I do, but I ride. If I'm drafted you early,
we're riding. Unless you're injured, we're riding.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Who's your running back right now? Derrick Henry.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
Derrick Henry.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Oh, well, then you're golden.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
He's been killing it, actually. And that was the 12th
pick in our league out of 12.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Were you shocked that the Dallas Cowboys stuffed him? I was.
I was, too.
Speaker 4 (47:30):
I was shocked.
Speaker 1 (47:31):
And it was, you know, you know this as well
as I do.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
It was way more about that linebacker getting through.
Speaker 2 (47:36):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4 (47:37):
And Derek Henry had nowhere to go as soon as
he got the ball.
Speaker 2 (47:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (47:40):
Stopped in the yard in the backfield. I was shocked.
Speaker 1 (47:42):
And that game was wild because as it was ending,
that was right around bath time for our baby. And
I do the bath with Billy. And so I had
taken her in and there were seven seconds left. So
I was just going to start the bath and then
put it on my phone and watch overtime. I never
saw the end of the game.
Speaker 2 (47:58):
Oh, you didn't see it?
Speaker 4 (47:59):
No, I went back. and they were celebrating.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
Yeah wait what what the hell happened.
Speaker 1 (48:05):
That's exactly yeah i missed it all because i thought
with seven seconds left surely they're not going to be
able to run up a long play get out of
bounds and then kick a field goal and they did.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
The kickoff too they kick it into the end zone
what are we doing there were a lot of things
there there's so many things a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
That shot hammer's probably looking in the mirror going if
i just would have kicked it to the three, the five,
or if we would have touched him when he, or
wouldn't have touched him when he went down with the ball,
you know, on the reception.
Speaker 4 (48:30):
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (48:31):
Guys for listening. We appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (48:33):
If you guys are watching on YouTube, thanks for watching.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
If you're listening on podcast, we really appreciate that too.
Speaker 4 (48:38):
Back again next week. That's Matt Castle.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
That's kickoff Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. I'm Bobby Jones.
Speaker 4 (48:42):
We've had lots to say. We'll see you guys next week.
Speaker 2 (48:44):
Bye everybody.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is
a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Bobby Bones
Amy Brown
Lunchbox
Eddie Garcia
Raymundo
Mike D
Abby Anderson
Scuba Steve
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