October 22, 2025 • 42 mins
Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Jourdan Rodrigue, Patrick Claybon and Steve Wyche to preview the late window Week 8 action starting with the Commanders at the Chiefs (02:35) followed by Cowboys at Broncos (11:06), Packers at Steelers (18:45), Titans at Colts (27:35), and Buccaneers at Saints (34:42).
Note: time codes approximate.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're never quite done talking
about the Dolphins and the falcons. If you happen to
listen to our preview who should of the early slate
of games. It was such a good back and forth.
These ball heads, I don't know, ball Knower's football heads.
They just freezing. They just kept talking about Dolphins, falcons
(00:30):
and how many intriguing angles. And that's just how much
we love ball, you know, how much we love it.
How much We're actually gonna go back and talk about
the Dolphins again because let's just say, I'm the host
of this show, and I wanted to get this Quinn
viewer's throw from last week's game as an official nominee
(00:50):
for Throw of the Year, because Okay, sometimes in your life,
you're watching late into the fourth quarter of a Brown
Dolphins thirty one to six game, and you're questioning what
am I doing with my.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Life in the middle of the week, and then Quinn
Yours steps up while he's getting absolutely leveled and throws
the ball fifty yards down the field on a diamond.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
D Estridge d Eskridge makes an incredible catch on the sideline,
and you think, I don't care who the names are.
I don't care about the situation. That's a Throw of
the Year nominee, Quinn yours.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I was so skeptical when you brought it up.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Greg, put it on again. If you're watching on YouTube,
it's it's there.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
I support this nomination.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, it was a totally preposterous throw, like he is
getting absolutely hammered.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
The protection on the blitz was horrible. It's just a
beautiful watch this. Oh you're not gonna oh, I'm gonna
fork with He just forklifted my guy right through.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And that's Dwayne aka d Estridge, who's you know, just
trying to hang on to his NFL career making it
a nice contesting catch.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
I mean, the jersey numbers every catch that's a Dwayne ketch.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Other than his helmet not getting turned around. Is that
not the Ron Fitzpatrick.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
No, look, it's very similar. It's very similar. Maybe even
a few extra air yards on that. We'll have to
get next gen.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Game the film room in the offensive line when that
left guard because he got forklifted and dumped in a.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Hand that was our friend seven.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, he's had a rough season, a lot of rough seas.
I mean, that's okay. That's how much we love ball.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Baby, that's about the Dolphins, as we bid, farewell to
our early games and go ahead to almost as late
as you can get some Monday night football Washington at
Kansas City, where, oh my goodness, Greg the commander's dealing
with some injuries. Not going to have Jaden and Daniels
in this one. And do you remember the time when
(02:51):
we were concerned about the Kansas City Chiefs. They have
the perfect weekend. The rest of the division loses, including
a team that they blew out. They're now favored by
ten and a half. They got Rashid Rice, they got
Joe and troy On McCall forty seven and a half
the over under. It's the Chiefs are going back to
the super Bowler.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I would pick them if I have to pick a team.
And I know power rankings are are what they are,
they're just opinions, but I mean they would be my
number one on the power ranking. Would if you're not
just judging off if you're judging off record alone, then
then what's the point of a power ranking. I'm just
saying I saw a few and they're not like not
in the top five or not in the top town.
It's like they would they would be my number one.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Name and shame.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I'm not going to do that. Oh, I'm not going
to do that because either they either we work with them.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, no.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Wondering Ye, no, I don't know Eric would do at homes.
I wouldn't do that for Eric. I don't know his
right now.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I just really appreciate the mental picture of just Greg
just like you know, seven screens open all around him,
a different power rankings is up on every single screen.
He's taking notes furiously, not at all, it was not
at all. They self destruct when he's done.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I'm told reliably. Ed Holmes got him at three, so
that's respectable. I think, still not one now. I remember
I was at the huddle about thirty minutes before we
started taping on Blue Sky, and I believe I saw
the Pro Football Talk power rankings underrate the Kansas City
Chiefs severely. So you asked for names. I had to
make sure I got it right. The Commanders are massive
(04:26):
underdogs in this game, but they will be getting Deebo
Samuel and Terry McLaurin back, according to dan Quinn. Dan
Quinn also said at this point last week, though, that
he thought Terry McLaurin was going to be back, so
you just never know how these injuries are going to heal.
But he does say they will practice fully. That gives
them a chance on offense because Mariota did not look
good last week when he came in, but his other
(04:46):
starts this year he has run the offense well. If anything,
I think there's been more issues with that Commander's defense.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Well, it's been the defense, I mean, and Jordan pointed
us out last week. They're having to do some things
with Frankie Louva to compensate, so he's playing more on
the edge and the middle of their defense is getting tagged.
It is. It's really where she and Louvu like teams like, Okay,
he's over here on the right side of the defense,
where's gonna go away from him? Yeah, we're gonna pin
Bobby Wagner or pin whomever back. And that's that. Now
(05:15):
they're without Dorn's Armstrong as well, who's had a pretty
good season. That is my concern with the way Kansas
City is playing, the way that they can take advantage
of the middle of the defense with the tight end,
because Washington really doesn't have a matchup with the tight end.
Now he can go deep and just Mahomes on the move. Yeah,
(05:36):
the way he can fluster some of the way some
of the defensive structures Washington's playing, It's gonna be tough sled.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
I'm almost more surprised to see the Commanders play the
game plan that they played against the Cowboys versus what
they might have to do this week, because Louv, like, listen,
I know Dak can run when when he and when
he does, he could pick up some yards and all
this stuff, but it's not scrambling like Patrick Mahomes can
scramble and make magic happen. And what they were doing
with Frankie Louvu was really almost like spying him in
(06:04):
certain ways against Dak Prescott, and he was just basically
they were taking away their own mathematical advantage by doing
that some of the time because Dak doesn't Dak sees
him and he just doesn't care. He's like, Okay, you're
over on that side of fields, are like hovering in
the nether region here in the flat, and so this
is just like you don't so we can dictate all
of our other stuff just kind of away from where
(06:24):
you are and now they only have ten guys against
our skills, and like that's where I think I was
just it was odd. And then there was a Javante
Williams run last week that showed me exactly how teams
are going to try to take away Bobby Wagner if
they have a patient enough runer. I don't know if
Pacheco is a quote unquote patient enough runner, but he
can make things happen. Where Javonte Williams saw everyone crashing
(06:45):
down into the middle, he waited a half second and
then he bounced, and he bounced into it a new lane.
And Bobby Wagner, who is sure tackler, great run defender,
was absolutely crushed into his own blocking in front of
him and was not in the right place. And this
is what you can do this mathematically over and over.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Bears did the same thing at the end of the game.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Yeah, same thing I'm concerned about. And they're older in
spots and they look slower, and it's like not for
a lack of effort that Marshawn Lattimore had just like
a miserable day against George Pickens. Now this is not
the same thing, but it's a lot of speedy coming
at this Washington Commander's defense, and you guys know, I
love this Commander's team. I have so much optimism for
them for the short term and the long term future.
(07:26):
They're well coached, their scheme well, they've got the quarterback
of the President in the future always injured right now.
But I just think this is when we really start.
This defense outplayed its roster last year a little bit,
even though they struggled at times. Now you're starting to
see the real problems with building a team like this.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
I do think the matchup, at least for Marshawn Lattimore,
who was in a situation where you like to hand fight,
you know, yeah, George Pickens famously Mike Evans like that.
There's situations where the hand fighting, yeah, be a detriment.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
He'll bite you right.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Where I feel a little more confident.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Oddly enough, considering the speed mismatch with Marshaun Lattimore playing
you know, up close and tight coverage with guys like
Worthy or maybe Rice if they decided to send them
deep maybe Hollywood Brown where it gets a little bit better,
but losing Dorance Armstrong where he has twenty five pressures
this season it's nine more than any other Commander's defender,
(08:18):
and like, you're not getting to my homes like Rahi
Rice only ran sixteen routes last week and he got
ten targets.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, that was a clear point that they were going
to throw the ball.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
So like they were just picking and choosing what they
got to do against the Raiders, who might not be
a real football team. So we get a chance to
see what it really looks like with Rice back this
he can a hand fight and though juju, I.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Mean juju is like wide receiver six Branch. Yeah, kind of.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Happy birthday to Brian Branch, by the way, who's celebrating
a birthday.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
I was still on trying to come off with a
chip Kelly.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
That was a good.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Juju, and the Chiefs defense got as close to a
bye as you can possibly have. Looking at the snap numbers,
we's this true. Chris Jones had twenty two snaps that
led the defensive lineman like Krloftis had eighteen. Like they
essentially played like a first quarter of a game against
the Raiders. So they're rested, they're ready to go. You
(09:15):
know who's happy that Rashi Rice and Worthy and Hollywood
Brown are playing now the second game ever together. And
this isn't, by the way, like Rookie Rice or Rookie Worthy.
They're better versions of those guys. Travis Kelce like, oh yeah,
he's suddenly locking right like that, you don't have to
worry about him. And I actually think like Taekwon Thornton
(09:36):
delivering early in this season was like a big foundational
piece for this offense. For instance, the Commanders have given
up more than fifty plus plays than any team in
the league, and the Chiefs are one of the most
explosive teams in the league. Now, like you have to
cover him. You mentioned you know, they're not totally benching
Taekwon Thornton, so like he's not maybe gonna have a
huge volume number, but it's like you have to worry
(09:57):
about Taekwon Thornton while you're worrying about everything else in
the MVS.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Hope he dropped right where it's like, all right, we're
going to cover these guys up and maybe maybe he'll
put that one on the turf.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
They need to get back. They if they could win
this game, it'll be that their run game and Bill
and everything gets back a little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Get having Deebo McLaurin back. I was at the game
against the Raiders when Marcus started that game, and he's
so comfortable getting the ball to Debo and Terry mclaur
and that that'll help.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Yeah, And I think back to Marcus Mariner catching his
own touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Ye come in a bygone era, Arthur Smith.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Those days, it's all the parallel that was true.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Those were back in the the Mariota Winston Wars of
like twenty and fifteen to eighteen weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
I think of that.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
We try not to talk about those. It was like
a tough time for a lot of people.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Greg Greg sent me a clip of us from NFL
Network up to the minute talking about the Titans, the
exotic smash mouth Titan.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, a young young Greg.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And he looked he was so young.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
You've been younger Patrick back in the day.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
If I had only known then up to.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
The men rest in Peace, another ghost of a show.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Grank May wasn't even in Greg's life yet. He was
like in middle school.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
A great game opportunity where it's a force versus object game.
The Dallas Cowboys on the road taking on the Denver Broncos,
who are really good in the fourth quarter last week.
We'll forget the first three. The Broncos favor Jordan by
three and a half. The over under is fifty and
a half. You know, CBS loves it because it's Jim
and Tony on the call. The quantum superposition, that is
(11:29):
the twenty twenty five Broncos, which one shows up against
Dak and company?
Speaker 4 (11:32):
This has Game of the Week potential to me. Actually,
I really think that I don't think we saw anything
to sway any sort of opinion on Bonnicks from this
last game. Honestly, better or worse. It just he just
is playing the way he's playing right now. Now. I
did see improvement from the Dallas Cowboys on defense, and
I think they're starting to play a little bit more.
(11:54):
What have we got to lose mode and a little
bit I want to say desperation ball a little bit
because they were wasting such a significant and extraordinary season
by Dak Prescott that last week looked more like a
full complimentary team than we have seen the Cowboys look
all year this year, and they are so fun on offense,
(12:17):
and I think that this that's why this has such
big game potential because it's Broncos games this year. Something
weird always happens, very much so last week, but weird
stuff has happened in so many of these games. And
you know, Sean Payton is like wanting to kind of
just just keep rolling and kind of keep like trying
to be in his bag and all these things and
capture that feeling that they all had at the end
(12:39):
of last game and certainly in that fourth quarter. And
you know, Dallas is like really really good vibes with
CD and George Pickens back against these two corners in Denver.
I just I love this game. Actually I want this
game if you will allow me to.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I'm not sure what the assignment deals are. Sometimes Shook
has already been assigned a game for his writing, so
that all plays into It's very complicated. I love the
number complicated well because he already was assigned it. If
he's got this game, you don't got it. Otherwise pretty simple, Yeah,
we got well. Also, you know, maybe Patrick really wants it.
(13:13):
You know what if he fights you.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
For it, I fight I fight for this podcast.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You're too nice here. See Patrick's too nice. He just
allows whatever to happen.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
You you weren't brief for that for that possibility, right,
you got Justin Fields. Folks want it?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Yeah, end up watching Justin Fields play like somehow like it.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I would love a Nathan Peterman game.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Maybe he always is the on some practice squad. You're
just like, really Peterman? Still, I love the number in
this game going over fifteen and a half because the
Broncos defense is a little overrated. Let's be like, I
don't think that's a hot take. Let's clip it all. No,
let's not okay the fear.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Sorry, Nick omnist, respect, Let's me and Kyle Shanahan all
mist respect.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
They've played three games this year where they gave up
at least twenty five first downs. They've been they were
pretty well dominated by the Colts offensively, which is a
great offense. But you don't expect, you know, the Giants
to put up twenty six first downs almost four hundred
yards on your defense and call you like a dominant defense.
(14:25):
I think that got a little lost in that game
that you know, they had no real answers in terms
of their pass rush and they were going up against
a good offensive line. The Cowboys maybe aren't as good
all I all I'm saying is if you're going up
against maybe the most balanced offense in the league, I
don't think they're gonna Maybe they make a few big plays,
but I don't think they're going to keep this score down.
I think it's going to be a fun score fest
(14:46):
back and forth.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Well, I mean Dallas going to put point top. You
know Jordan has mentioned did ceedee lamb. I love the
fact and we're start people started to finally starting talking
about more his crossing route ability, just catching it and going.
He is no fear is his yack. He's such a
fun player. But we also have the safety for the
Broncos will knock your teeth loose, and so you know
(15:08):
that's interesting. Remember Denver once again is not gonna have
Drake Greenlaw suspended for this for going after an official.
So we'll see how this how this defense shakes out.
I think Denver's offense, though Boone nicks if he can
figure out for how to play in the first half,
I don't understand why they don't move him more. Well,
I on the move and he's pressing the line of
(15:30):
scrimmage and putting the defender in conflict.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I think I know why, Like right here.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Look, they're putting the defender in conflict. That's a tipball.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
But I think I know why, And actually I have
a theory about this. I don't know that. It's not
based on any fact. It's more observational and psychological. But
there's been a couple early in the season, there are
a couple of games where they did they booted him
out and they rolled him out, and then he went
on the move. He held the ball forever. You could
hear internally his mind screaming at him, saying, throw it now,
throw it now, throw now. Miss Courton's setting on a
(15:57):
big potential touchdown, and then missed him again, booting to
the other side, rolling out to the other side. And
I think that's a Sean Payton thing. If you do
this and you like, fine, you don't get any play action, Fine,
you don't get any I'm withholding. I'm withholding the legs
from you as a punishment until you've earned them again.
Like that's kind of you know, it's very psychologically farcical,
(16:19):
but you know there might be something to it.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
They got so predictable with the short stuff though last
week that I didn't think. I thought that was one
of bo Nix's better games overall. The biggest problem they
had was he had like six or seven passes bad
at the line because the Giants knew all week all
they're doing are these screens and these bubbles and just
everything is just short, short chart and they were just like,
don't even bother and just knock it down. And he
(16:41):
just kept knocking it down and kept killing drives over
and over.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
It was, to Jordan's point, like maybe it is frustration where.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Coaches don't play running backs for less.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
Like takes takes the ball out of his quarterback's hands
weirdly for the majority of the game. And then like
in those last couple of drives, you see Bo trust
Marvin down the side. Yeah, trust Courtland Sutton down the
sideline on throws where earlier in the season he's trying
to put the ball in the absolute perfect place and
flash the cannon and missed them deep. He left the
throw to Marvin Mems like four yards short, and Mems
(17:12):
just went up and made that play. And I gotta
have it moment, and I think that you can do that,
you can test this particular secondary, but with them play
more man, it's like, what's which version is this?
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Is this the.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
Jadevian Clowney getting three pressures in a sack and we're
getting great cutaways of Madge on.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
The Now, they're going to get destroyed.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
They can't play man against this group of receivers.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
They against this offensive line either, and they're not gonna
have Trevon Diggs. It sounds like he had a concussion
some sort of accident at his home and he is
not a practice on Wednesday. Also, the Javante william I
mean revenge game, right is this?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Yeah? I was who is going to drop that a
little bit? I'm shocked that Greg beat me to it.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I know you've been on them the entire Jean Payne
pointed out, I don't know what his parameters were here,
but he cited us to stick that teams are two
and seventeen after having some sort of big comeback in
the fourth quarter of the week before. I don't know what.
I don't know what the parameters were. I'm a little
skeptical of this.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Stap in all of those.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, so he was, but he was just saying that
that there's a natural letdown.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
He's kind of psycho out the gamblers.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Yeah, he was just saying like, don't don't get too high.
I guess man, I love this game in Denver. I
don't know who I'm going to pick.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Hey, what about the Russell Wilson shade?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
That was nice though I wanted to clap back by
the way, Yeah, he broke he broke character. Yes he
did in a good way. I love it.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
I like the theories that people had that Siarra wrote.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
It for him.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Ooh, I you know what, I love it.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
That's a legit.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
That's a legit in every way. If so, that's right that.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
He is out there.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
It's time for the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. Let's
go places Sunder Night Football. The Green Bay Packers are
three point favorites at the Pittsburgh Steelers, who got TNFU
last week. Joe Flacco. The over under is forty five
and a half. It's Soday Night Football, so it's Mike
and Chris shout out to Italy.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Steve on the call.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
The Packers can they can they finish a team that
they're better than this year?
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Five woo. It's a good one.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Big week for the Italian Americans. NBA on NBC with
Tourrico was great. It was big now here it is
here Stallion.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
He's gonna be in Pittsburgh. This is an intriguing matchup
to me because Green Bay's offense, Josh Jacobs just continues.
I love him. He's just one of my favorite players.
Every week he's got some type of sickness whatever and
just goes out and does it. Puts a team on
his back when he has to. And this is one
(19:46):
with Green Bay's receiver speed where you can see Jalen
Ramsey gambling because he starting to play. He started to
play some football, like Jalen starting last week. Play he
got he got cooked a couple times last week, but
he's made him place too. But this is one where
I think there's the speed of the wide receivers agree
Bay might be the difference.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
I could see that. And I thought the Steelers' coaching
staff was a big reason they lost that game. Like
Joe Flacco knew what was happening before it happened, because
it's the same stuff that's been happening. For some reason,
they thought, hey, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey go to work.
Like even after the first half of that game, they
came out in the second half and they're like, hey,
go to work, guys. It's like, that's not who Jalen
Ramsey is anymore.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
But look, go back to last year when these teams
played the forty four to thirty eight shootout that Pittsburgh
ended up winning because rush, I think through four or
five touchdowns. But Cincinnati knows how to play offensively against Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
That's fair. And so this this week is different with
Green Bay. And you know, we don't get into the
narratives too heavily. Something just one though, but it is
pretty amazing. It's one of I think one of the
ten greatest quarterbacks that's ever played this game. At his
highest level, he still probably would be my pick as
like at his very peak until Mahomes, Like I think
(20:55):
Mahomes has an argument he's the best quarterback I've ever
seen at his very peak. Aaron Rodgers playing again the
team that he was with for eighteen years, and you know,
if nothing else, that man is petty and has got
to have some salty feelings about how it ended in everything,
And I love it because he's playing as well as
you could have possibly expected, better than I expected coming
(21:18):
into the year, showing a little more confidence in his
mobility and willingness to stand in just a little bit more.
It's not like his numbers against pressure are great, but
I think he's liking what his offensive line is doing
for him, and you feel like he might have something
here where. If it's a high scoring game, I can
imagine it going back and forth like he did with
Laco last week.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
This game. I know this sounds kind of crazy, but
a game like this with the personalities involved with as
veteran and tenured of coaches on either sideline who know
each other so well, going back decades of coaching, not
just as head coaches, with this quarterback who at one
point when Matt Lafleur took over in Green Bay, on
(22:00):
a call on a zoom call with Matt Lafleur and
some of the assistant coaches for hours and days sifting
through every single line in the existing playbook and also
in Mattlaflor's playbook that he brought over from Tennessee and
from Los Angeles, and picking and choosing what plays they
were going to run together, what plays they were going
to try to tweak to do more of what Aaron wanted,
(22:21):
What plays they were going to try to tweak to
do and more of what Matt wanted and basically having
it just having laying it all literally laying it all
out on the table and going in grouping by grouping,
personnel by personnel, play by play, and that type of
meticulousness and type A from both of these people. This
is going to be a game where we're going to
see some cool easter eggs if we know what we're looking,
(22:44):
if we're going to try to look for some of
these things. This is a guy who plays and sends
a message with how he plays and the types of
things he does, all the gestures, the hand gestures he makes,
and all of the talking back and forth depending on
the situation that scenario and the the looking to the
sideline and the gesturing, but also the types of plays.
And Matt Lafleur is the same exact way. He's what
(23:06):
I would call a heart on the sleeve play caller,
where they're showing you Greg's talked about it a lot
with the game script, but they're showing you exactly what
they think of you and what they think and what
they wanted the subliminal message they know that the football
people on the other side will pick up not necessarily
the viewer. This game is going to be full of them.
I cannot wait. I love this game.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Look at the edge hushers in this game. That's another
storyline this too. You know you got high Smith and
JJ on one side, then you got Withshan Gary and
that other guy you know from Dallas. He's okay, who
just is absolutely just playing at another level right now,
who may now take away one of the top Steelers threats,
which is oddly enough, Darnell Washington iBOT that who may
(23:44):
have to stand and help on both of those guys
where he's also been good, And I think it kind
of takes away because of the late stage Rogers dictating
to wide receivers and making the lines of if you
take those guys off the field because he got so
many tight ends, then you can't necessarily do all of
those things.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
And it kind of gets like late stage Rogers right
exactly where Arthur Smith would like him to be, just
by purely changing the personnel on the field.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
We saw three tight ends he.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Too though, man and like yeah, he's like hand signaling
to Darnell who was lined up out wide where it
looks like the Green Giant like standing on some soup
can out there. They didn't link up there, but they
target the wide receivers at one of the lowest rates
of the NFL. And I think about how good the
coverage has been in the secondary for Green Bay, like
Kashawn Nixon and all those guys were like, maybe they
(24:34):
they aren't run support this week.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, it's going to be a test for the Packers
offensive line, which overall looked better last week. They are healthier.
Did we just have a small earthquaker? Am I crazy? No,
It's probably just I moved my chair. That's probably it.
You know, we're just always on alert. They looked better
last week, but this is a different pastors. The problem
is like, well, Mike Tomlin even like have the best
(24:59):
pass sure on the team on the field. It was
a little insane last week, Like at the end of
that game, it's like they're still in me in coverage
and Nick Krbriggs, the best passers is literally not on
the field. And that's why I think the Packers are
gonna win this game. I think they've been really close
to putting together more of a complete performance. If they
can pressure Jordan Love, that is the recipe. He hasn't
been great against pressure this year. But I like the
(25:21):
coaching matchup for Matt Lafleur over this Steelers defense and
for them to put up a big number and challenge
Aaron Rodgers to match up. I mean, I was thinking
of making this my Survivor pick Listen.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
I know there's a ton of respect. I know there's
a ton of respect, and they're gonna everyone's going to
say the right things. But how delicious for Matt Lafleur
if he can dial up these explosive plays the Steelers
are giving up in big fistfuls and bunches here lately.
You can dial up these explosives and the quarterback on
(25:54):
the other sideline, his former quarterback and collaborator is helpless
to do anything about it. Here.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Something to add to that into dialing up plays of
all the tight end talk we're talking about for Pittsburgh
Tucker Craft. When you talk to defensive coordinators round the NFL,
they will tell you every game he scares them more
than anyone on their team because he's huge, he can run,
he can block. He's like a bigger George Kittle. And
the way these defensive coordinators talk about him is like
(26:21):
that's the guy we don't have an answer for, and
you're seeing it show up week after week.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Yeah, some of the numbers are surprising. That the Packers
have created like the smallest separation in terms of their
receivers as it will almost any team in the league,
which is surprising. Especially I've been watching you know how
it looked last week. I thought Lafleur had at a
really good game. But Tucker Kraft is the guy you
worry about. Shout out to Jalen Warren. By the way,
I do want to ask before we take a break,
whether Patrick you're ready to take the l on years
(26:50):
long of hate of Jalen Warreon because that man is
making someone miss every time he's got the ball.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah. Shout out to Jalen Warren on making making that
guy miss. I'm sure the home runs are eventually gonna.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Not a big come run hitter, but this season I
feel like if you look at it, like his misstackle
rate and everything, it's there with the best running.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Backs in the league.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
I'm just sicking taking the bait.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Like the Mariota Winston wars of fifteen, the Jalen Warren
Naja Harris wars.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
All Right, Still maybe Gregor and are going to take
a long term Kenny g Jalen Warren prop here.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Okay, let's do it. Let's come back and we will
wrap up these late games in just a few minutes.
Heavy icon, I mean he's been playing well playing Greg
loves j.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
That was the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. Let's go places.
Toyota is all in all season with another year of
Toyota Game Day Giveaways, giving football fans the chance to
win big every week of the NFL season. Terms of
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Speaker 6 (27:56):
No purchase necessary, void We're prohibited Ends two eight twenty six.
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Speaker 1 (28:12):
Back on NFL Daily, one of the biggest mismatch of
the season is Titans Colts coming up, and you just
mentioned poor Mike McCay got me thinking, I have a
question for you, Steve that I don't know the answer to.
What kind of pay bump do you get when you
get the interim head coaching situation. Is that a negotiation?
How do we No, No, it's a.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
It's probably different in Tennessee than it would be for
like the ramp.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Okay, but it's a bump.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
I mean, now, depending let's just say Mike McCoy, I
don't know what he's making. Let's say he's making four
five hundred thousand dollars. Okay, as YOCI, he's probably gonna
double that. He was, especially at the point of the season.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Where technically he was like a either a position coach
or a senior offensive consult He wasn't even quarterbacks. He
was not the OC technically.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
But yeah, and most teams don't take a coordinator out
of position if they need the person to to call
the plays and whatnot. But no, he's probably gonna get too,
you know, double the bump.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
I would think it's like that daddy's buying better Christmas
presents this year out of nowhere. Just a little foundin
money for Mike McCoy.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
If it's not already in the contract you sign at
the start of your tenure, it has to be renegotiated
by the agent, and sometimes that leads to different decisions
being made by teams. Yes, as who is going to
actually be their interim head coach? And it is wild.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
It is why Maybe that's how Joe Vitt got two
different interim head coaching jobs in his storied career.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Oh, that's not how we got one of them. That's
a rough one.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
You don't get the job because because of your agent,
who's allegedly there to get you more money, but he
doesn't get you a job purely, Yeah, purely because of
the person.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
That they are. That's that's a rough one. You got
to know the owner.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
One of my favorite Patrick rivalries is Patrick's versus all agents.
And I support you in this. Thank you, Gret, Yes,
thank you.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Oh they're back.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Yeah, my apologies.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Jalen Warren.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
Yes, I'd much rather have this discussion because I might
be wrong on Jalen Warren. Sorry, Drew, we're going too long.
The Tennessee Titan at the Indianapolis Colts, who were favored
by fourteen points. Craig Ross, it's all the overheers forty
seven and a half of the folks, and we agree
that most of those will be scored by the Indianapolis Colts.
Best offensive football Andrew kettle On Charles Davis the best
person in the world. Jason mccordy on the call, The
(30:16):
coach firing bump came for like a quarter.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Maybe do they get more of it against the Colts?
Speaker 1 (30:23):
I hope. So it actually did look like they played
at a faster tempo. They're talking about practicing at a
faster tempo, some more deep over type of routes that
cam Ward looks good on those first two drives. He
looked great. So they get rid of Tyler Lockett. He
asked to be released, but he was essentially bench for
Jamari DK. I do like that they tried to make
(30:43):
some changes. Ultimately, it's a personnel thing that they're two
tackles JC Latham and Dan Moore, which they have a
lot invested in, really struggled in that game last week
and have really struggled in general, and there's only so
much you can do schematically, I think to fix the
personnel problems they have.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
I know exactly, and I know this sounds kind of crazy,
but at this point the season is sort of just
like it's sunk, right and they've got to hire a
new coaching staff. So right now, the most important thing
that Mike McCoy can do along with that front office collectively,
whoever's making decisions for real can sit there and say, Okay,
can we win with X player in why type of way?
(31:21):
Can we win with why player in X type of way?
Mix things up a lot. I will have no surprise
at all to see them mix things up quite a
bit over the remaining stretch of the season because they're
trying to figure out who to keep and who to.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Let go of.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Because if you fire the head coach like this and
you make it clear that it's roster oriented and there
wasn't enough improvement all the things that they said, you
have to figure out. Okay, if you can play in
this type of way, that we might go this direction
for a coach, Okay, then let's see who sticks with this,
who fits, and what we might need to do. This
is like, I know, it sounds like sad, right, but
(31:57):
that's exactly what a good organization would do right now,
is to see try a bunch of different types of
things and see who excels in certain concepts that you
think you might be gravitating toward for the future of
your team, and figure out who you're getting rid of
and who you're keeping well.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
And this is also about the development of cam Ward. Look,
they just went through this with Will Levis. I mean
the fact that they're going through this again on such
a short calendar and trying to develop your quarterback and
see if he's the guy to Organizationally, they.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Throw a lot with will Lewis, right, But.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
I'm just saying that is a red flag.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
I mean, Will Levis is looking like a genius for
kind of opting out of this season.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
Well, he broke his shoulder or whatever. That's fair.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
They thought they thought he was going to fight through
it or something.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Yeah, sorry, dedlift bar crushed it until it was right here.
But I'm more interested in the Colts because you talk
to a lot of teams. How do we faire when
there's expectations. There were no expectations of the Colts. Now
they came out and they look really strong against the
Chargers running the ball in a highly competitive game. This
is a game fourteen points right, a fourteen point favorite.
(32:57):
How do they faire in terms of keeping their focus
against the opponent who they should run off the field.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
And they did once this is a rematch. They put
up a forty burger on the Titans. It was thirty
four to thirteen like until late in that game. So
they've passed every test like that. They just seem to
love playing together. Fu Man and we talked about him
at length on the show with Colleen wolf On on Tuesday.
I just love like the Bordolini center Quentin Nelson combination,
(33:26):
Like they look really smart self scouting that they waved
goodbye to Will Fries and Ryan Kelly with their replacements there.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
Yeah, everything is working. And also ten targets for Alec
Pierce there it is against the Chargers. They were all
deep shots too. Yeah, and clear shout out to the
film watchers on YouTube and TikTok pointing out that they
put the they saw on tape the Dolphins putting the
cover three defender in conflict and so they went right
at him with Alec Pearce in a huge homes which
(33:55):
is you know, it just makes everything better.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Just get more balls.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
Alex Pierce doesn't lead the NFL and yards per catching
him work because they're throwing in the ball more. Now
it's Taekwon Thornton.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
I also want to point out that on the screen
as you're watching some of these cold Chargers highlights. That
touchdown passed that Daniel Jones threw to Tyler Warm a
lot like a no look past to me. And I
noticed it because he has a very intense gaze and
when it's not looking in the direction you think it's
going to be looking in, you definitely notice it.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
How much fun is he having?
Speaker 4 (34:24):
Oh, I'm sure he's night and day. I love this.
I love this for lu Ana Rumo, who is scheming
and coaching. I mean, he's got a great group first
and foremost, and these players are really bought in to him,
and they seem like they're all playing for each other,
even when they've had injuries and deficiencies and different especially
on the perimeter, like they really are playing for each other,
(34:44):
you can tell. And he's doing smart things with them.
He's mixing his coverages a lot, he's rotating his coverage,
he's confusing the quarterbacks, and it's it's fun for everybody.
You could tell how excited Greg you brought it up
in the show yesterday with Colleen, Like they're so excited
to get back out there and play football, like both
sides of the ball, all three phases. They're so excited
to be out there and that's the sign of a
(35:04):
team that can sustain this type of juice.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
No Josh Simmons, by the way, in this game for
the Titans, so a tough assignment.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
Gets gets tougher.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Jeffrey Simmons, Jeffrey Simmons as perhaps you.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Know he might he and Calvin Ridley might be heading elsewhere.
Will head elsewhere and go to.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
A team that was having so much fun, but the
fun is starting to slow down a little bit. The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are four and a half point favorite,
Jordan going on the road to take on the division
rival New Orleans Saints the over under his forty six
and a half Kenny Albert Jonathan Vilma. There we're not
expecting Mike Evans for most of the rest of the season.
A nasty fall in which he breaks his collar bone
and as a concussion on the same play, like clearly
(35:41):
motionless on the field. It was horrible to see the
streak's going to end. But Baker is always ready to fight,
even before the game here, how do you see this
one going?
Speaker 4 (35:51):
And Baker had an awful game too, And I did
get some I did get some posts sent my direction.
Wondering the status of baker Ball was at this juncture, sputtering, sputtering.
I would say I still have faith. I still believe baker.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Ball, Cape sun rolling.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Benney.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Filibustering, because I knew that jarring, ear shattering drop was coming.
But it's it. I mean, this was by far. This
was their worst game on offense for sure last week.
And I do think that they bounce back despite again
suffering for pretty depressing injuries. But their offensive line, They've
got their offensive lineman. You know, Saints can't really get
(36:35):
a pass rush. Saints are showing up in spurts and
fits on defense and on offense, but nothing consistent. You
really need this game and a kind of a morale
boost if you're Tampa Bay.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
I think this is a dangerous game in the division
coming off of a game like that. And you know
who won't let you know, anyone get too easy. It's
Baker Mayfield. He knows what kind of rivalry it is.
Bucks and Saints.
Speaker 7 (37:00):
Hasn't exactly been clean play from their part when we
play them.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
It's a physical game.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
It is what it is.
Speaker 7 (37:07):
You expected division rifle. Yeah, not much else say besides
the fact I don't like him.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
Oh he is so bad, so bad sometimes, Like I
was thinking about the long run that he had a
few weeks ago, and then he looks for to fend
his shoulders.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Yes, this is the verbal version of that.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
He's so back. I think, don't pick them this week.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
I didn't pick him last week.
Speaker 4 (37:31):
I know, but I'm just saying I spent the first
half thinking it was your fault, and then you texted
me on promise.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I never picked him in the end.
Speaker 4 (37:37):
Just don't pick him.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
This is their bye week coming up, and uh yeah,
I just think it's such a difference if they can
win this game. Todd Bowles made some pretty big changes
on the defense last week, like Jacob Parrish is now
kind of a slot only player, and then they like
what they see out of the rookie Benjamin Morrison who's
coming in with Jamel Dean. I mean that's great. But
if we're talking about potential trades, I know they signed
(38:00):
Son Reddick before the season. He's now going to be
out for a few weeks. Yeah, he hasn't given them much.
They could really use another pass rusher. Maybe this isn't
the week that that gets them, but I think Rattler
it does pass My baseline NFL starting quarterback tests where
if you give Ratler time, he'll deliver. I know he's
coming off his worst game of the season. He was
(38:20):
due to have a bad one. He really had been
so consistent before that, So I wouldn't be surprised if
the Saints' offense rebounds a little bit here and gives
them trouble.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Yeah, I'm with you on this. This is gonna be
I like the four and a half mark right here,
because one for as long as I've been carving the NFL,
the Saints played Tampa tough. It does not matter if
it's Drew Brees, if it's against James, it doesn't matter.
It is always a very good match of whoever's coaching them.
Every time they play, it's a very tough game. And
(38:48):
that game against Detroit, we can see this. Hell, they're
gonna they're gonna bounce back. That was an emotional training
game for them to see Mike Evans go down like that,
For them to put as much into it and not
play well. I mean they played, they competed like hell,
but they did not play well. This is this could
be a tough game for them to emotionally gather themselves.
Look at their run of games. If they just played
(39:10):
they played the Fegal, the Eagles at Seattle, San Francisco,
and at Detroit.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
Yeh wait for the buye Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
I mean this is one where it's like, okay, let's
just hang on. Let's hang on to get there. So
this could you know. I'm not gonna say it's not
say gaming an upset game, but this is this is
one I keep my eye out for. It's gonna be
a tough game.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
I might have to assign myself this, you know, it
was like a little dirty South.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
By the way, did you see the new two lane
uniforms that they're gonna break out?
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Incredible?
Speaker 3 (39:36):
I will that might be the greatest uniforms ever.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Thank you, Thank you Steve for pointing that out before
I could even do that.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
I mean, those are spectacular.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
I have never wanted to buy a helmet. So the helmet,
the helmet, the Uptown City edition. We might not be
a Power five school, we might have gone like twenty
years between like having decent football teams, but they're six
and one now and they got the cleanest uniform in
the entire college football. Put us in the playoff for.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
That, then your coach goes to Penn State.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
They're probably the coach is probably going somewhere, but they
held on to him for one more year, and they're
right there also receiving votes George twenty eighth right now.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Joe Brady's going to Penn State.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Matt Roll's going to Penn State.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
I hope, I hope so because you know, I can't,
I can't make fun of the game. Eric, the Bills
fans want Joe Brady gone. I think sneakily, weirdly, they
don't know.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
If you dip into Bills Twitter at any point or
Bill's Blue Sky at any point, you see some things.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
They're manifesting a j Brown Trades right now on Bill Twitter.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
A lot of crazy things are happening out there. We
stole our coach from Troy, from the Troy coroach, so
it happens. It's a feeding system, and the capitalism cleds
for us all one day. Let's take Yes, it's a
little break.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
It's about to.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
We will be back for a fun Thursday night football game.
We need to survive, Greg, Oh my gosh, we need
to survive. We've survived as a team. We did a
great job last week picking the most one sided game
in the NFL this season, that was Chiefs Raiders. If
I wanted to feel alive, I would take the Packers
(41:18):
this week over the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
But that goes again, I didn't you want to feel
alive last week?
Speaker 1 (41:22):
If not much about just going with the vibes in
the in the how the wind is blowing in my
in my emotions at the time. But that doesn't really
make sense. We could take the Chiefs.
Speaker 5 (41:33):
I want to know how confident Steve I know we
can on taking the Falcons.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
I knew we were going to go there.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Let's make the easy pick.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
I'm almost I'm almost more confident. I'm almost more confident
go out Cincinnati over the Jets. I didn't want to
save the Colts for more difficult.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
You never mean it is my philosophy, even though I
just said, let's get frisky, never save. Ok this is
going to be the most the Colts are favored all season, right,
I'm trying to we're trying to win the game here
for We're going to make it a Week nineteen cold cident.
Speaker 5 (42:06):
In week in Week seventeen. I'm gonna be like Greg,
we could have we could have had that right now,
but no.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
It's a fair point. We will be back on Thursday night.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
I'll be there. I'll be at so fuck.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
That's awesome. Chargers and Vikings. Of course, we also have
the Pick Show, me and Cynthia Freelan picking games against
the spread. That's coming up. It's like I like live.
I live in the Chris Westling podcast studio. Get me
a cot. See you guys next time you sport.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
Jalen Warren love, I love just Lord
Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're never quite done talking
about the Dolphins and the falcons. If you happen to
listen to our preview who should of the early slate
of games. It was such a good back and forth.
These ball heads, I don't know, ball Knower's football heads.
They just freezing. They just kept talking about Dolphins, falcons
(00:30):
and how many intriguing angles. And that's just how much
we love ball, you know, how much we love it.
How much We're actually gonna go back and talk about
the Dolphins again because let's just say, I'm the host
of this show, and I wanted to get this Quinn
viewer's throw from last week's game as an official nominee
(00:50):
for Throw of the Year, because Okay, sometimes in your life,
you're watching late into the fourth quarter of a Brown
Dolphins thirty one to six game, and you're questioning what
am I doing with my.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Life in the middle of the week, and then Quinn
Yours steps up while he's getting absolutely leveled and throws
the ball fifty yards down the field on a diamond.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
D Estridge d Eskridge makes an incredible catch on the sideline,
and you think, I don't care who the names are.
I don't care about the situation. That's a Throw of
the Year nominee, Quinn yours.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I was so skeptical when you brought it up.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Greg, put it on again. If you're watching on YouTube,
it's it's there.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
I support this nomination.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, it was a totally preposterous throw, like he is
getting absolutely hammered.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
The protection on the blitz was horrible. It's just a
beautiful watch this. Oh you're not gonna oh, I'm gonna
fork with He just forklifted my guy right through.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And that's Dwayne aka d Estridge, who's you know, just
trying to hang on to his NFL career making it
a nice contesting catch.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
I mean, the jersey numbers every catch that's a Dwayne ketch.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Other than his helmet not getting turned around. Is that
not the Ron Fitzpatrick.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
No, look, it's very similar. It's very similar. Maybe even
a few extra air yards on that. We'll have to
get next gen.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Game the film room in the offensive line when that
left guard because he got forklifted and dumped in a.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Hand that was our friend seven.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, he's had a rough season, a lot of rough seas.
I mean, that's okay. That's how much we love ball.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Baby, that's about the Dolphins, as we bid, farewell to
our early games and go ahead to almost as late
as you can get some Monday night football Washington at
Kansas City, where, oh my goodness, Greg the commander's dealing
with some injuries. Not going to have Jaden and Daniels
in this one. And do you remember the time when
(02:51):
we were concerned about the Kansas City Chiefs. They have
the perfect weekend. The rest of the division loses, including
a team that they blew out. They're now favored by
ten and a half. They got Rashid Rice, they got
Joe and troy On McCall forty seven and a half
the over under. It's the Chiefs are going back to
the super Bowler.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
I would pick them if I have to pick a team.
And I know power rankings are are what they are,
they're just opinions, but I mean they would be my
number one on the power ranking. Would if you're not
just judging off if you're judging off record alone, then
then what's the point of a power ranking. I'm just
saying I saw a few and they're not like not
in the top five or not in the top town.
It's like they would they would be my number one.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Name and shame.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I'm not going to do that. Oh, I'm not going
to do that because either they either we work with them.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, no.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Wondering Ye, no, I don't know Eric would do at homes.
I wouldn't do that for Eric. I don't know his
right now.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I just really appreciate the mental picture of just Greg
just like you know, seven screens open all around him,
a different power rankings is up on every single screen.
He's taking notes furiously, not at all, it was not
at all. They self destruct when he's done.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
I'm told reliably. Ed Holmes got him at three, so
that's respectable. I think, still not one now. I remember
I was at the huddle about thirty minutes before we
started taping on Blue Sky, and I believe I saw
the Pro Football Talk power rankings underrate the Kansas City
Chiefs severely. So you asked for names. I had to
make sure I got it right. The Commanders are massive
(04:26):
underdogs in this game, but they will be getting Deebo
Samuel and Terry McLaurin back, according to dan Quinn. Dan
Quinn also said at this point last week, though, that
he thought Terry McLaurin was going to be back, so
you just never know how these injuries are going to heal.
But he does say they will practice fully. That gives
them a chance on offense because Mariota did not look
good last week when he came in, but his other
(04:46):
starts this year he has run the offense well. If anything,
I think there's been more issues with that Commander's defense.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Well, it's been the defense, I mean, and Jordan pointed
us out last week. They're having to do some things
with Frankie Louva to compensate, so he's playing more on
the edge and the middle of their defense is getting tagged.
It is. It's really where she and Louvu like teams like, Okay,
he's over here on the right side of the defense,
where's gonna go away from him? Yeah, we're gonna pin
Bobby Wagner or pin whomever back. And that's that. Now
(05:15):
they're without Dorn's Armstrong as well, who's had a pretty
good season. That is my concern with the way Kansas
City is playing, the way that they can take advantage
of the middle of the defense with the tight end,
because Washington really doesn't have a matchup with the tight end.
Now he can go deep and just Mahomes on the move. Yeah,
(05:36):
the way he can fluster some of the way some
of the defensive structures Washington's playing, It's gonna be tough sled.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
I'm almost more surprised to see the Commanders play the
game plan that they played against the Cowboys versus what
they might have to do this week, because Louv, like, listen,
I know Dak can run when when he and when
he does, he could pick up some yards and all
this stuff, but it's not scrambling like Patrick Mahomes can
scramble and make magic happen. And what they were doing
with Frankie Louvu was really almost like spying him in
(06:04):
certain ways against Dak Prescott, and he was just basically
they were taking away their own mathematical advantage by doing
that some of the time because Dak doesn't Dak sees
him and he just doesn't care. He's like, Okay, you're
over on that side of fields, are like hovering in
the nether region here in the flat, and so this
is just like you don't so we can dictate all
of our other stuff just kind of away from where
(06:24):
you are and now they only have ten guys against
our skills, and like that's where I think I was
just it was odd. And then there was a Javante
Williams run last week that showed me exactly how teams
are going to try to take away Bobby Wagner if
they have a patient enough runer. I don't know if
Pacheco is a quote unquote patient enough runner, but he
can make things happen. Where Javonte Williams saw everyone crashing
(06:45):
down into the middle, he waited a half second and
then he bounced, and he bounced into it a new lane.
And Bobby Wagner, who is sure tackler, great run defender,
was absolutely crushed into his own blocking in front of
him and was not in the right place. And this
is what you can do this mathematically over and over.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Bears did the same thing at the end of the game.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Yeah, same thing I'm concerned about. And they're older in
spots and they look slower, and it's like not for
a lack of effort that Marshawn Lattimore had just like
a miserable day against George Pickens. Now this is not
the same thing, but it's a lot of speedy coming
at this Washington Commander's defense, and you guys know, I
love this Commander's team. I have so much optimism for
them for the short term and the long term future.
(07:26):
They're well coached, their scheme well, they've got the quarterback
of the President in the future always injured right now.
But I just think this is when we really start.
This defense outplayed its roster last year a little bit,
even though they struggled at times. Now you're starting to
see the real problems with building a team like this.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
I do think the matchup, at least for Marshawn Lattimore,
who was in a situation where you like to hand fight,
you know, yeah, George Pickens famously Mike Evans like that.
There's situations where the hand fighting, yeah, be a detriment.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
He'll bite you right.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Where I feel a little more confident.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Oddly enough, considering the speed mismatch with Marshaun Lattimore playing
you know, up close and tight coverage with guys like
Worthy or maybe Rice if they decided to send them
deep maybe Hollywood Brown where it gets a little bit better,
but losing Dorance Armstrong where he has twenty five pressures
this season it's nine more than any other Commander's defender,
(08:18):
and like, you're not getting to my homes like Rahi
Rice only ran sixteen routes last week and he got
ten targets.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, that was a clear point that they were going
to throw the ball.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
So like they were just picking and choosing what they
got to do against the Raiders, who might not be
a real football team. So we get a chance to
see what it really looks like with Rice back this
he can a hand fight and though juju, I.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Mean juju is like wide receiver six Branch. Yeah, kind of.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Happy birthday to Brian Branch, by the way, who's celebrating
a birthday.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
I was still on trying to come off with a
chip Kelly.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
That was a good.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Juju, and the Chiefs defense got as close to a
bye as you can possibly have. Looking at the snap numbers,
we's this true. Chris Jones had twenty two snaps that
led the defensive lineman like Krloftis had eighteen. Like they
essentially played like a first quarter of a game against
the Raiders. So they're rested, they're ready to go. You
(09:15):
know who's happy that Rashi Rice and Worthy and Hollywood
Brown are playing now the second game ever together. And
this isn't, by the way, like Rookie Rice or Rookie Worthy.
They're better versions of those guys. Travis Kelce like, oh yeah,
he's suddenly locking right like that, you don't have to
worry about him. And I actually think like Taekwon Thornton
(09:36):
delivering early in this season was like a big foundational
piece for this offense. For instance, the Commanders have given
up more than fifty plus plays than any team in
the league, and the Chiefs are one of the most
explosive teams in the league. Now, like you have to
cover him. You mentioned you know, they're not totally benching
Taekwon Thornton, so like he's not maybe gonna have a
huge volume number, but it's like you have to worry
(09:57):
about Taekwon Thornton while you're worrying about everything else in
the MVS.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Hope he dropped right where it's like, all right, we're
going to cover these guys up and maybe maybe he'll
put that one on the turf.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
They need to get back. They if they could win
this game, it'll be that their run game and Bill
and everything gets back a little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Get having Deebo McLaurin back. I was at the game
against the Raiders when Marcus started that game, and he's
so comfortable getting the ball to Debo and Terry mclaur
and that that'll help.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Yeah, And I think back to Marcus Mariner catching his
own touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Ye come in a bygone era, Arthur Smith.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Those days, it's all the parallel that was true.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Those were back in the the Mariota Winston Wars of
like twenty and fifteen to eighteen weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
I think of that.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
We try not to talk about those. It was like
a tough time for a lot of people.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Greg Greg sent me a clip of us from NFL
Network up to the minute talking about the Titans, the
exotic smash mouth Titan.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Yeah, a young young Greg.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And he looked he was so young.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
You've been younger Patrick back in the day.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
If I had only known then up to.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
The men rest in Peace, another ghost of a show.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Grank May wasn't even in Greg's life yet. He was
like in middle school.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
A great game opportunity where it's a force versus object game.
The Dallas Cowboys on the road taking on the Denver Broncos,
who are really good in the fourth quarter last week.
We'll forget the first three. The Broncos favor Jordan by
three and a half. The over under is fifty and
a half. You know, CBS loves it because it's Jim
and Tony on the call. The quantum superposition, that is
(11:29):
the twenty twenty five Broncos, which one shows up against
Dak and company?
Speaker 4 (11:32):
This has Game of the Week potential to me. Actually,
I really think that I don't think we saw anything
to sway any sort of opinion on Bonnicks from this
last game. Honestly, better or worse. It just he just
is playing the way he's playing right now. Now. I
did see improvement from the Dallas Cowboys on defense, and
I think they're starting to play a little bit more.
(11:54):
What have we got to lose mode and a little
bit I want to say desperation ball a little bit
because they were wasting such a significant and extraordinary season
by Dak Prescott that last week looked more like a
full complimentary team than we have seen the Cowboys look
all year this year, and they are so fun on offense,
(12:17):
and I think that this that's why this has such
big game potential because it's Broncos games this year. Something
weird always happens, very much so last week, but weird
stuff has happened in so many of these games. And
you know, Sean Payton is like wanting to kind of
just just keep rolling and kind of keep like trying
to be in his bag and all these things and
capture that feeling that they all had at the end
(12:39):
of last game and certainly in that fourth quarter. And
you know, Dallas is like really really good vibes with
CD and George Pickens back against these two corners in Denver.
I just I love this game. Actually I want this
game if you will allow me to.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I'm not sure what the assignment deals are. Sometimes Shook
has already been assigned a game for his writing, so
that all plays into It's very complicated. I love the
number complicated well because he already was assigned it. If
he's got this game, you don't got it. Otherwise pretty simple, Yeah,
we got well. Also, you know, maybe Patrick really wants it.
(13:13):
You know what if he fights you.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
For it, I fight I fight for this podcast.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You're too nice here. See Patrick's too nice. He just
allows whatever to happen.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
You you weren't brief for that for that possibility, right,
you got Justin Fields. Folks want it?
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Yeah, end up watching Justin Fields play like somehow like it.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I would love a Nathan Peterman game.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Maybe he always is the on some practice squad. You're
just like, really Peterman? Still, I love the number in
this game going over fifteen and a half because the
Broncos defense is a little overrated. Let's be like, I
don't think that's a hot take. Let's clip it all. No,
let's not okay the fear.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Sorry, Nick omnist, respect, Let's me and Kyle Shanahan all
mist respect.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
They've played three games this year where they gave up
at least twenty five first downs. They've been they were
pretty well dominated by the Colts offensively, which is a
great offense. But you don't expect, you know, the Giants
to put up twenty six first downs almost four hundred
yards on your defense and call you like a dominant defense.
(14:25):
I think that got a little lost in that game
that you know, they had no real answers in terms
of their pass rush and they were going up against
a good offensive line. The Cowboys maybe aren't as good
all I all I'm saying is if you're going up
against maybe the most balanced offense in the league, I
don't think they're gonna Maybe they make a few big plays,
but I don't think they're going to keep this score down.
I think it's going to be a fun score fest
(14:46):
back and forth.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Well, I mean Dallas going to put point top. You
know Jordan has mentioned did ceedee lamb. I love the
fact and we're start people started to finally starting talking
about more his crossing route ability, just catching it and going.
He is no fear is his yack. He's such a
fun player. But we also have the safety for the
Broncos will knock your teeth loose, and so you know
(15:08):
that's interesting. Remember Denver once again is not gonna have
Drake Greenlaw suspended for this for going after an official.
So we'll see how this how this defense shakes out.
I think Denver's offense, though Boone nicks if he can
figure out for how to play in the first half,
I don't understand why they don't move him more. Well,
I on the move and he's pressing the line of
(15:30):
scrimmage and putting the defender in conflict.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I think I know why, Like right here.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Look, they're putting the defender in conflict. That's a tipball.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
But I think I know why, And actually I have
a theory about this. I don't know that. It's not
based on any fact. It's more observational and psychological. But
there's been a couple early in the season, there are
a couple of games where they did they booted him
out and they rolled him out, and then he went
on the move. He held the ball forever. You could
hear internally his mind screaming at him, saying, throw it now,
throw it now, throw now. Miss Courton's setting on a
(15:57):
big potential touchdown, and then missed him again, booting to
the other side, rolling out to the other side. And
I think that's a Sean Payton thing. If you do
this and you like, fine, you don't get any play action, Fine,
you don't get any I'm withholding. I'm withholding the legs
from you as a punishment until you've earned them again.
Like that's kind of you know, it's very psychologically farcical,
(16:19):
but you know there might be something to it.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
They got so predictable with the short stuff though last
week that I didn't think. I thought that was one
of bo Nix's better games overall. The biggest problem they
had was he had like six or seven passes bad
at the line because the Giants knew all week all
they're doing are these screens and these bubbles and just
everything is just short, short chart and they were just like,
don't even bother and just knock it down. And he
(16:41):
just kept knocking it down and kept killing drives over
and over.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
It was, to Jordan's point, like maybe it is frustration where.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Coaches don't play running backs for less.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
Like takes takes the ball out of his quarterback's hands
weirdly for the majority of the game. And then like
in those last couple of drives, you see Bo trust
Marvin down the side. Yeah, trust Courtland Sutton down the
sideline on throws where earlier in the season he's trying
to put the ball in the absolute perfect place and
flash the cannon and missed them deep. He left the
throw to Marvin Mems like four yards short, and Mems
(17:12):
just went up and made that play. And I gotta
have it moment, and I think that you can do that,
you can test this particular secondary, but with them play
more man, it's like, what's which version is this?
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Is this the.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
Jadevian Clowney getting three pressures in a sack and we're
getting great cutaways of Madge on.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
The Now, they're going to get destroyed.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
They can't play man against this group of receivers.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
They against this offensive line either, and they're not gonna
have Trevon Diggs. It sounds like he had a concussion
some sort of accident at his home and he is
not a practice on Wednesday. Also, the Javante william I
mean revenge game, right is this?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Yeah? I was who is going to drop that a
little bit? I'm shocked that Greg beat me to it.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I know you've been on them the entire Jean Payne
pointed out, I don't know what his parameters were here,
but he cited us to stick that teams are two
and seventeen after having some sort of big comeback in
the fourth quarter of the week before. I don't know what.
I don't know what the parameters were. I'm a little
skeptical of this.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Stap in all of those.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, so he was, but he was just saying that
that there's a natural letdown.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
He's kind of psycho out the gamblers.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Yeah, he was just saying like, don't don't get too high.
I guess man, I love this game in Denver. I
don't know who I'm going to pick.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Hey, what about the Russell Wilson shade?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
That was nice though I wanted to clap back by
the way, Yeah, he broke he broke character. Yes he
did in a good way. I love it.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
I like the theories that people had that Siarra wrote.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
It for him.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Ooh, I you know what, I love it.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
That's a legit.
Speaker 4 (18:41):
That's a legit in every way. If so, that's right that.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
He is out there.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
It's time for the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. Let's
go places Sunder Night Football. The Green Bay Packers are
three point favorites at the Pittsburgh Steelers, who got TNFU
last week. Joe Flacco. The over under is forty five
and a half. It's Soday Night Football, so it's Mike
and Chris shout out to Italy.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Steve on the call.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
The Packers can they can they finish a team that
they're better than this year?
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Five woo. It's a good one.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
Big week for the Italian Americans. NBA on NBC with
Tourrico was great. It was big now here it is
here Stallion.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
He's gonna be in Pittsburgh. This is an intriguing matchup
to me because Green Bay's offense, Josh Jacobs just continues.
I love him. He's just one of my favorite players.
Every week he's got some type of sickness whatever and
just goes out and does it. Puts a team on
his back when he has to. And this is one
(19:46):
with Green Bay's receiver speed where you can see Jalen
Ramsey gambling because he starting to play. He started to
play some football, like Jalen starting last week. Play he
got he got cooked a couple times last week, but
he's made him place too. But this is one where
I think there's the speed of the wide receivers agree
Bay might be the difference.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
I could see that. And I thought the Steelers' coaching
staff was a big reason they lost that game. Like
Joe Flacco knew what was happening before it happened, because
it's the same stuff that's been happening. For some reason,
they thought, hey, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey go to work.
Like even after the first half of that game, they
came out in the second half and they're like, hey,
go to work, guys. It's like, that's not who Jalen
Ramsey is anymore.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
But look, go back to last year when these teams
played the forty four to thirty eight shootout that Pittsburgh
ended up winning because rush, I think through four or
five touchdowns. But Cincinnati knows how to play offensively against Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
That's fair. And so this this week is different with
Green Bay. And you know, we don't get into the
narratives too heavily. Something just one though, but it is
pretty amazing. It's one of I think one of the
ten greatest quarterbacks that's ever played this game. At his
highest level, he still probably would be my pick as
like at his very peak until Mahomes, Like I think
(20:55):
Mahomes has an argument he's the best quarterback I've ever
seen at his very peak. Aaron Rodgers playing again the
team that he was with for eighteen years, and you know,
if nothing else, that man is petty and has got
to have some salty feelings about how it ended in everything,
And I love it because he's playing as well as
you could have possibly expected, better than I expected coming
(21:18):
into the year, showing a little more confidence in his
mobility and willingness to stand in just a little bit more.
It's not like his numbers against pressure are great, but
I think he's liking what his offensive line is doing
for him, and you feel like he might have something
here where. If it's a high scoring game, I can
imagine it going back and forth like he did with
Laco last week.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
This game. I know this sounds kind of crazy, but
a game like this with the personalities involved with as
veteran and tenured of coaches on either sideline who know
each other so well, going back decades of coaching, not
just as head coaches, with this quarterback who at one
point when Matt Lafleur took over in Green Bay, on
(22:00):
a call on a zoom call with Matt Lafleur and
some of the assistant coaches for hours and days sifting
through every single line in the existing playbook and also
in Mattlaflor's playbook that he brought over from Tennessee and
from Los Angeles, and picking and choosing what plays they
were going to run together, what plays they were going
to try to tweak to do more of what Aaron wanted,
(22:21):
What plays they were going to try to tweak to
do and more of what Matt wanted and basically having
it just having laying it all literally laying it all
out on the table and going in grouping by grouping,
personnel by personnel, play by play, and that type of
meticulousness and type A from both of these people. This
is going to be a game where we're going to
see some cool easter eggs if we know what we're looking,
(22:44):
if we're going to try to look for some of
these things. This is a guy who plays and sends
a message with how he plays and the types of
things he does, all the gestures, the hand gestures he makes,
and all of the talking back and forth depending on
the situation that scenario and the the looking to the
sideline and the gesturing, but also the types of plays.
And Matt Lafleur is the same exact way. He's what
(23:06):
I would call a heart on the sleeve play caller,
where they're showing you Greg's talked about it a lot
with the game script, but they're showing you exactly what
they think of you and what they think and what
they wanted the subliminal message they know that the football
people on the other side will pick up not necessarily
the viewer. This game is going to be full of them.
I cannot wait. I love this game.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Look at the edge hushers in this game. That's another
storyline this too. You know you got high Smith and
JJ on one side, then you got Withshan Gary and
that other guy you know from Dallas. He's okay, who
just is absolutely just playing at another level right now,
who may now take away one of the top Steelers threats,
which is oddly enough, Darnell Washington iBOT that who may
(23:44):
have to stand and help on both of those guys
where he's also been good, And I think it kind
of takes away because of the late stage Rogers dictating
to wide receivers and making the lines of if you
take those guys off the field because he got so
many tight ends, then you can't necessarily do all of
those things.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
And it kind of gets like late stage Rogers right
exactly where Arthur Smith would like him to be, just
by purely changing the personnel on the field.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
We saw three tight ends he.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Too though, man and like yeah, he's like hand signaling
to Darnell who was lined up out wide where it
looks like the Green Giant like standing on some soup
can out there. They didn't link up there, but they
target the wide receivers at one of the lowest rates
of the NFL. And I think about how good the
coverage has been in the secondary for Green Bay, like
Kashawn Nixon and all those guys were like, maybe they
(24:34):
they aren't run support this week.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, it's going to be a test for the Packers
offensive line, which overall looked better last week. They are healthier.
Did we just have a small earthquaker? Am I crazy? No,
It's probably just I moved my chair. That's probably it.
You know, we're just always on alert. They looked better
last week, but this is a different pastors. The problem
is like, well, Mike Tomlin even like have the best
(24:59):
pass sure on the team on the field. It was
a little insane last week, Like at the end of
that game, it's like they're still in me in coverage
and Nick Krbriggs, the best passers is literally not on
the field. And that's why I think the Packers are
gonna win this game. I think they've been really close
to putting together more of a complete performance. If they
can pressure Jordan Love, that is the recipe. He hasn't
been great against pressure this year. But I like the
(25:21):
coaching matchup for Matt Lafleur over this Steelers defense and
for them to put up a big number and challenge
Aaron Rodgers to match up. I mean, I was thinking
of making this my Survivor pick Listen.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
I know there's a ton of respect. I know there's
a ton of respect, and they're gonna everyone's going to
say the right things. But how delicious for Matt Lafleur
if he can dial up these explosive plays the Steelers
are giving up in big fistfuls and bunches here lately.
You can dial up these explosives and the quarterback on
(25:54):
the other sideline, his former quarterback and collaborator is helpless
to do anything about it. Here.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Something to add to that into dialing up plays of
all the tight end talk we're talking about for Pittsburgh
Tucker Craft. When you talk to defensive coordinators round the NFL,
they will tell you every game he scares them more
than anyone on their team because he's huge, he can run,
he can block. He's like a bigger George Kittle. And
the way these defensive coordinators talk about him is like
(26:21):
that's the guy we don't have an answer for, and
you're seeing it show up week after week.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Yeah, some of the numbers are surprising. That the Packers
have created like the smallest separation in terms of their
receivers as it will almost any team in the league,
which is surprising. Especially I've been watching you know how
it looked last week. I thought Lafleur had at a
really good game. But Tucker Kraft is the guy you
worry about. Shout out to Jalen Warren. By the way,
I do want to ask before we take a break,
whether Patrick you're ready to take the l on years
(26:50):
long of hate of Jalen Warreon because that man is
making someone miss every time he's got the ball.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah. Shout out to Jalen Warren on making making that
guy miss. I'm sure the home runs are eventually gonna.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Not a big come run hitter, but this season I
feel like if you look at it, like his misstackle
rate and everything, it's there with the best running.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Backs in the league.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
I'm just sicking taking the bait.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Like the Mariota Winston wars of fifteen, the Jalen Warren
Naja Harris wars.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
All Right, Still maybe Gregor and are going to take
a long term Kenny g Jalen Warren prop here.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Okay, let's do it. Let's come back and we will
wrap up these late games in just a few minutes.
Heavy icon, I mean he's been playing well playing Greg
loves j.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
That was the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. Let's go places.
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Speaker 6 (27:56):
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Speaker 1 (28:12):
Back on NFL Daily, one of the biggest mismatch of
the season is Titans Colts coming up, and you just
mentioned poor Mike McCay got me thinking, I have a
question for you, Steve that I don't know the answer to.
What kind of pay bump do you get when you
get the interim head coaching situation. Is that a negotiation?
How do we No, No, it's a.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
It's probably different in Tennessee than it would be for
like the ramp.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Okay, but it's a bump.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
I mean, now, depending let's just say Mike McCoy, I
don't know what he's making. Let's say he's making four
five hundred thousand dollars. Okay, as YOCI, he's probably gonna
double that. He was, especially at the point of the season.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Where technically he was like a either a position coach
or a senior offensive consult He wasn't even quarterbacks. He
was not the OC technically.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
But yeah, and most teams don't take a coordinator out
of position if they need the person to to call
the plays and whatnot. But no, he's probably gonna get too,
you know, double the bump.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
I would think it's like that daddy's buying better Christmas
presents this year out of nowhere. Just a little foundin
money for Mike McCoy.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
If it's not already in the contract you sign at
the start of your tenure, it has to be renegotiated
by the agent, and sometimes that leads to different decisions
being made by teams. Yes, as who is going to
actually be their interim head coach? And it is wild.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
It is why Maybe that's how Joe Vitt got two
different interim head coaching jobs in his storied career.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Oh, that's not how we got one of them. That's
a rough one.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
You don't get the job because because of your agent,
who's allegedly there to get you more money, but he
doesn't get you a job purely, Yeah, purely because of
the person.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
That they are. That's that's a rough one. You got
to know the owner.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
One of my favorite Patrick rivalries is Patrick's versus all agents.
And I support you in this. Thank you, Gret, Yes,
thank you.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Oh they're back.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Yeah, my apologies.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Jalen Warren.
Speaker 5 (29:53):
Yes, I'd much rather have this discussion because I might
be wrong on Jalen Warren. Sorry, Drew, we're going too long.
The Tennessee Titan at the Indianapolis Colts, who were favored
by fourteen points. Craig Ross, it's all the overheers forty
seven and a half of the folks, and we agree
that most of those will be scored by the Indianapolis Colts.
Best offensive football Andrew kettle On Charles Davis the best
person in the world. Jason mccordy on the call, The
(30:16):
coach firing bump came for like a quarter.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Maybe do they get more of it against the Colts?
Speaker 1 (30:23):
I hope. So it actually did look like they played
at a faster tempo. They're talking about practicing at a
faster tempo, some more deep over type of routes that
cam Ward looks good on those first two drives. He
looked great. So they get rid of Tyler Lockett. He
asked to be released, but he was essentially bench for
Jamari DK. I do like that they tried to make
(30:43):
some changes. Ultimately, it's a personnel thing that they're two
tackles JC Latham and Dan Moore, which they have a
lot invested in, really struggled in that game last week
and have really struggled in general, and there's only so
much you can do schematically, I think to fix the
personnel problems they have.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
I know exactly, and I know this sounds kind of crazy,
but at this point the season is sort of just
like it's sunk, right and they've got to hire a
new coaching staff. So right now, the most important thing
that Mike McCoy can do along with that front office collectively,
whoever's making decisions for real can sit there and say, Okay,
can we win with X player in why type of way?
(31:21):
Can we win with why player in X type of way?
Mix things up a lot. I will have no surprise
at all to see them mix things up quite a
bit over the remaining stretch of the season because they're
trying to figure out who to keep and who to.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Let go of.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
Because if you fire the head coach like this and
you make it clear that it's roster oriented and there
wasn't enough improvement all the things that they said, you
have to figure out. Okay, if you can play in
this type of way, that we might go this direction
for a coach, Okay, then let's see who sticks with this,
who fits, and what we might need to do. This
is like, I know, it sounds like sad, right, but
(31:57):
that's exactly what a good organization would do right now,
is to see try a bunch of different types of
things and see who excels in certain concepts that you
think you might be gravitating toward for the future of
your team, and figure out who you're getting rid of
and who you're keeping well.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
And this is also about the development of cam Ward. Look,
they just went through this with Will Levis. I mean
the fact that they're going through this again on such
a short calendar and trying to develop your quarterback and
see if he's the guy to Organizationally, they.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Throw a lot with will Lewis, right, But.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
I'm just saying that is a red flag.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
I mean, Will Levis is looking like a genius for
kind of opting out of this season.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
Well, he broke his shoulder or whatever. That's fair.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
They thought they thought he was going to fight through
it or something.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
Yeah, sorry, dedlift bar crushed it until it was right here.
But I'm more interested in the Colts because you talk
to a lot of teams. How do we faire when
there's expectations. There were no expectations of the Colts. Now
they came out and they look really strong against the
Chargers running the ball in a highly competitive game. This
is a game fourteen points right, a fourteen point favorite.
(32:57):
How do they faire in terms of keeping their focus
against the opponent who they should run off the field.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
And they did once this is a rematch. They put
up a forty burger on the Titans. It was thirty
four to thirteen like until late in that game. So
they've passed every test like that. They just seem to
love playing together. Fu Man and we talked about him
at length on the show with Colleen wolf On on Tuesday.
I just love like the Bordolini center Quentin Nelson combination,
(33:26):
Like they look really smart self scouting that they waved
goodbye to Will Fries and Ryan Kelly with their replacements there.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
Yeah, everything is working. And also ten targets for Alec
Pierce there it is against the Chargers. They were all
deep shots too. Yeah, and clear shout out to the
film watchers on YouTube and TikTok pointing out that they
put the they saw on tape the Dolphins putting the
cover three defender in conflict and so they went right
at him with Alec Pearce in a huge homes which
(33:55):
is you know, it just makes everything better.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Just get more balls.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
Alex Pierce doesn't lead the NFL and yards per catching
him work because they're throwing in the ball more. Now
it's Taekwon Thornton.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
I also want to point out that on the screen
as you're watching some of these cold Chargers highlights. That
touchdown passed that Daniel Jones threw to Tyler Warm a
lot like a no look past to me. And I
noticed it because he has a very intense gaze and
when it's not looking in the direction you think it's
going to be looking in, you definitely notice it.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
How much fun is he having?
Speaker 4 (34:24):
Oh, I'm sure he's night and day. I love this.
I love this for lu Ana Rumo, who is scheming
and coaching. I mean, he's got a great group first
and foremost, and these players are really bought in to him,
and they seem like they're all playing for each other,
even when they've had injuries and deficiencies and different especially
on the perimeter, like they really are playing for each other,
(34:44):
you can tell. And he's doing smart things with them.
He's mixing his coverages a lot, he's rotating his coverage,
he's confusing the quarterbacks, and it's it's fun for everybody.
You could tell how excited Greg you brought it up
in the show yesterday with Colleen, Like they're so excited
to get back out there and play football, like both
sides of the ball, all three phases. They're so excited
to be out there and that's the sign of a
(35:04):
team that can sustain this type of juice.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
No Josh Simmons, by the way, in this game for
the Titans, so a tough assignment.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
Gets gets tougher.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Jeffrey Simmons, Jeffrey Simmons as perhaps you.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Know he might he and Calvin Ridley might be heading elsewhere.
Will head elsewhere and go to.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
A team that was having so much fun, but the
fun is starting to slow down a little bit. The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are four and a half point favorite,
Jordan going on the road to take on the division
rival New Orleans Saints the over under his forty six
and a half Kenny Albert Jonathan Vilma. There we're not
expecting Mike Evans for most of the rest of the season.
A nasty fall in which he breaks his collar bone
and as a concussion on the same play, like clearly
(35:41):
motionless on the field. It was horrible to see the
streak's going to end. But Baker is always ready to fight,
even before the game here, how do you see this
one going?
Speaker 4 (35:51):
And Baker had an awful game too, And I did
get some I did get some posts sent my direction.
Wondering the status of baker Ball was at this juncture, sputtering, sputtering.
I would say I still have faith. I still believe baker.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Ball, Cape sun rolling.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
Benney.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Filibustering, because I knew that jarring, ear shattering drop was coming.
But it's it. I mean, this was by far. This
was their worst game on offense for sure last week.
And I do think that they bounce back despite again
suffering for pretty depressing injuries. But their offensive line, They've
got their offensive lineman. You know, Saints can't really get
(36:35):
a pass rush. Saints are showing up in spurts and
fits on defense and on offense, but nothing consistent. You
really need this game and a kind of a morale
boost if you're Tampa Bay.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
I think this is a dangerous game in the division
coming off of a game like that. And you know
who won't let you know, anyone get too easy. It's
Baker Mayfield. He knows what kind of rivalry it is.
Bucks and Saints.
Speaker 7 (37:00):
Hasn't exactly been clean play from their part when we
play them.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
It's a physical game.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
It is what it is.
Speaker 7 (37:07):
You expected division rifle. Yeah, not much else say besides
the fact I don't like him.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
Oh he is so bad, so bad sometimes, Like I
was thinking about the long run that he had a
few weeks ago, and then he looks for to fend
his shoulders.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Yes, this is the verbal version of that.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
He's so back. I think, don't pick them this week.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
I didn't pick him last week.
Speaker 4 (37:31):
I know, but I'm just saying I spent the first
half thinking it was your fault, and then you texted
me on promise.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I never picked him in the end.
Speaker 4 (37:37):
Just don't pick him.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
This is their bye week coming up, and uh yeah,
I just think it's such a difference if they can
win this game. Todd Bowles made some pretty big changes
on the defense last week, like Jacob Parrish is now
kind of a slot only player, and then they like
what they see out of the rookie Benjamin Morrison who's
coming in with Jamel Dean. I mean that's great. But
if we're talking about potential trades, I know they signed
(38:00):
Son Reddick before the season. He's now going to be
out for a few weeks. Yeah, he hasn't given them much.
They could really use another pass rusher. Maybe this isn't
the week that that gets them, but I think Rattler
it does pass My baseline NFL starting quarterback tests where
if you give Ratler time, he'll deliver. I know he's
coming off his worst game of the season. He was
(38:20):
due to have a bad one. He really had been
so consistent before that, So I wouldn't be surprised if
the Saints' offense rebounds a little bit here and gives
them trouble.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Yeah, I'm with you on this. This is gonna be
I like the four and a half mark right here,
because one for as long as I've been carving the NFL,
the Saints played Tampa tough. It does not matter if
it's Drew Brees, if it's against James, it doesn't matter.
It is always a very good match of whoever's coaching them.
Every time they play, it's a very tough game. And
(38:48):
that game against Detroit, we can see this. Hell, they're
gonna they're gonna bounce back. That was an emotional training
game for them to see Mike Evans go down like that,
For them to put as much into it and not
play well. I mean they played, they competed like hell,
but they did not play well. This is this could
be a tough game for them to emotionally gather themselves.
Look at their run of games. If they just played
(39:10):
they played the Fegal, the Eagles at Seattle, San Francisco,
and at Detroit.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
Yeh wait for the buye Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
I mean this is one where it's like, okay, let's
just hang on. Let's hang on to get there. So
this could you know. I'm not gonna say it's not
say gaming an upset game, but this is this is
one I keep my eye out for. It's gonna be
a tough game.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
I might have to assign myself this, you know, it
was like a little dirty South.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
By the way, did you see the new two lane
uniforms that they're gonna break out?
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Incredible?
Speaker 3 (39:36):
I will that might be the greatest uniforms ever.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Thank you, Thank you Steve for pointing that out before
I could even do that.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
I mean, those are spectacular.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
I have never wanted to buy a helmet. So the helmet,
the helmet, the Uptown City edition. We might not be
a Power five school, we might have gone like twenty
years between like having decent football teams, but they're six
and one now and they got the cleanest uniform in
the entire college football. Put us in the playoff for.
Speaker 4 (40:05):
That, then your coach goes to Penn State.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
They're probably the coach is probably going somewhere, but they
held on to him for one more year, and they're
right there also receiving votes George twenty eighth right now.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Joe Brady's going to Penn State.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Matt Roll's going to Penn State.
Speaker 1 (40:19):
I hope, I hope so because you know, I can't,
I can't make fun of the game. Eric, the Bills
fans want Joe Brady gone. I think sneakily, weirdly, they
don't know.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
If you dip into Bills Twitter at any point or
Bill's Blue Sky at any point, you see some things.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
They're manifesting a j Brown Trades right now on Bill Twitter.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
A lot of crazy things are happening out there. We
stole our coach from Troy, from the Troy coroach, so
it happens. It's a feeding system, and the capitalism cleds
for us all one day. Let's take Yes, it's a
little break.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
It's about to.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
We will be back for a fun Thursday night football game.
We need to survive, Greg, Oh my gosh, we need
to survive. We've survived as a team. We did a
great job last week picking the most one sided game
in the NFL this season, that was Chiefs Raiders. If
I wanted to feel alive, I would take the Packers
(41:18):
this week over the Steelers.
Speaker 4 (41:19):
But that goes again, I didn't you want to feel
alive last week?
Speaker 1 (41:22):
If not much about just going with the vibes in
the in the how the wind is blowing in my
in my emotions at the time. But that doesn't really
make sense. We could take the Chiefs.
Speaker 5 (41:33):
I want to know how confident Steve I know we
can on taking the Falcons.
Speaker 3 (41:36):
I knew we were going to go there.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Let's make the easy pick.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
I'm almost I'm almost more confident. I'm almost more confident
go out Cincinnati over the Jets. I didn't want to
save the Colts for more difficult.
Speaker 1 (41:50):
You never mean it is my philosophy, even though I
just said, let's get frisky, never save. Ok this is
going to be the most the Colts are favored all season, right,
I'm trying to we're trying to win the game here
for We're going to make it a Week nineteen cold cident.
Speaker 5 (42:06):
In week in Week seventeen. I'm gonna be like Greg,
we could have we could have had that right now,
but no.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
It's a fair point. We will be back on Thursday night.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
I'll be there. I'll be at so fuck.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
That's awesome. Chargers and Vikings. Of course, we also have
the Pick Show, me and Cynthia Freelan picking games against
the spread. That's coming up. It's like I like live.
I live in the Chris Westling podcast studio. Get me
a cot. See you guys next time you sport.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
Jalen Warren love, I love just Lord
Host
Gregg Rosenthal
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