August 12, 2025 • 38 mins
Hour One of the Good Morning Football Podcast begins with hosts Jamie Erdahl, Kyle Brandt, Manti Te’o and D'Marco Farr discussing how confident they are in Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFC West. Are the 49ers the biggest challengers to the Rams? BIG DEAL or NO BIG DEAL - Shedeur Sanders ranked as 4th QB on Browns depth chart? Tom Brady says Patrick Mahomes reminds him the most of himself? NFL Encyclopedia Aaron Schatz joins the show and explains why the Eagles are not a top-5 team to open the season, why the Ravens are the top team and Commanders are the 5th ranked team, and then he gives his Super Bowl matchup.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good Morning Football is the production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio GMFF.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good Morning Football, however you want to call it. We
love that you're here. It's Good Morning Football. PUSN of
my Tuesday, August twelfth, Jamie here at almant I teo
and a Super Bowl champion defensive shackles to Marco far
our friend at the table, Yes here in La plus
Kyle Brandt, you are in New York City. What's happening
in your neck of the woods, as our friend Al
Roper would say.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Well, I'm exhausted, as Al rochers right up the street.
But I was going to spend all night watching coaches
tape on the NFC North. But I've just been on
Reddit threads reading about Taylor's new album that she announced
to the Kelsey Boys, So I'm very excited all flutter.
I's not going to have any takes on football, but
I'm just thinking about my girl.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Roll it, roll it before we get down a rabbit hole.
Welcome to Good Morning Football is ent it by SPA.
That's right GMFB. Everybody, Jamie, Mantai, Kyle and DeMarco. Kyle
(01:12):
just mentioned it off the top. There was a graphic
that went out on the New Heights social media yesterday
with a cutout figure, and everybody's losing their minds over
who it could be. Taylor Swift. Oh, going on the
Kelsey Brothers podcast to Marko Farr.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Your thought, whoa, I can't wait to hear this. This
is going to be good. Un yes, good.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Excellently, Keep going, keep saying things like that. That's perfect, Kyle.
You obviously had an immediate response to it, and then
you lost yourself in a Reddit thread or two.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh yeah, I was writing them. I was constructing the
reddit threads. It really, it's fine. It's good that the
Kelsey Boys got a publicity pop they needed that. I
haven't seen him in twenty seconds, so congratulations to them.
I will be buying the album from my daughter, and
uh that's a that's a big, big exciting thing going
on right now. But so is also a lot of
football these It is it is.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
There was a rumor going around that if you texted
somebody Taylor's with dot com yesterday just an image would
come up with a lock on it. It's like if
you would text where is Matthew Stafford dot com? An
image would come up. But with like a Backex rayling
what is happening with the Rams right now and Stafford's back.
His injury has kept him out of practice for quite
some time, including yesterday. His head coach Sean McVay says
(02:22):
that the plan is still to take this one day
at a time with the thirty seven year old quarterback
waiting to return to action.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
You know, like we've said, we're going to be flexible
and fluid. I think more than anything, I feel for
Matthew because of how much he wants to be out
there and feel good. Ultimately what ended up happening and
had a great workout felt good, but then you know,
come in today and it doesn't feel great, and so
didn't think that was the right decision to be able
to push him. We've kind of always talked about flexibility,
(02:50):
being fluid with some of the plans, and uh, I
think more than anything, you know, I feel for a
guy that you know, I really care about, that wants
to be out there more than anything else. We're going
to be smart, you know, but he didn't feel good enough,
and we didn't think it was the right thing to
do based on you know, how he woke up feeling
today and you can.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
See that care from head coach to quarterback. It's a
relationship we've seen unfold in LA for quite some time
and it's amassed an amazing amount of success. Now Sean
McVay is making a decision based on how his quarterback feels.
But this is what we feel about the NFC West
at this point, Kyle, on a scale of one to
nine because of the Stafford nine, how confident are you
(03:28):
in the Stafford Rams experience? Repeating as NFC West champions.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Six six five. Maybe I don't like what I'm hearing.
I don't like this. Listen, here's the deal with the
Matthew Stafford back. It's not that early anymore. So when
this whole thing started. You can go back a few
weeks and personally, for me, there was an Adam Schefter
tweet and he said that Rams are going to limit
(03:57):
Matthew Stafford's practice time due to back soreness. That was
July twenty second. The tweet that cracked me up was
our guy fits Ma retweets that and fits Magic, the
classic crusty old veteran in his day, bring up the tweet.
Ryan Fitzpatrick tweets in response to DM schefter, Oh, such
an old man, crusty vet move talking about Stafford missing
(04:17):
time with Camp. We know he'll be ready when the
lights turn on. I thought that was funny. It's just like, oh,
my back is sore. I got to miss a week
or two of July. Who cares, I'm Stafford. Well that
was July twenty second, it's now August twelfth. I don't
like this. I don't like a back. I don't like
words like flare up, fluid, flexibility is. I am now
(04:41):
at a point where this quarterback of this age, who
was very close to leaving the Rams, very close and
they were able to bring him back, is now starting over.
There's a new wide receiver there and DeVante. It's just
I look at the calendar and I look at those
words about a veteran quarterback, and it makes me nervous.
Now they got a backup in Jimmy G. But if like,
if we're going to Jimmy G stuff like, then the
(05:03):
then all hell has broken loose. I always like the
Rams to go to the playoffs. I would pick them
to win the West. My point is right now, I
think the Matthew Stafford back thing had my curiosity. Now
it has my attention, and I don't like it. Hmm.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I was worried for a second. I was worried that
Kyle was going to go six trending the other directions.
I don't want to hear about fluid Kyle between seven
and six.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Kyle's right, it's it's not nothing.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
To have your your starter out for this long could
be a problem. But and I hope that this, this
back injury or situation issue doesn't rob Matthew Stafford of
what makes them special. The guy's got world class arm talent.
He protects himself very well with a quick release. He
can throw on the move, he can throw on platform,
for any platform, off platform. He's just one of the
(05:54):
best quarterbacks we've ever seen. But you know, back's a
tricky You don't know how he's going to respond, So
this is going to be a touch and go. But
I will say this about Jimmy g They feel confident
about Jimmy.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Garolo as their starter.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
He could have gone other places to compete for a
starting job, chose to stay here. He's really really ingrained
in the offense. They trust him. So if Matthew Stafford
is out for any period, of time. They feel like
the offense can just keep going until he's back. But
you'd want Matthew Stafford out there. But I agree with Kyle,
this is not nothing. This is it could be a
big deal. You'd rather have your guy taking snaps.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
On the scale of one to nine. I want everyone
to understand though, the weight that DeMarco Farr speaks with
when it comes to the RAMS, because let's remind everyone
else in the twenty nine other markets besides La DeMarco,
you are on the radio broadcast for the team. You
are around that building all the time. So when you
say they, you literally mean you are around the coaches
and you have a great feel. The rest of us
just talk about the situation, but you're around.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Yeah, coaches, trainers and him. So you know, you ask Matthew,
how do you feel? I feel great? And you know,
when you're talking to a dude, and like when you
ask him how do you feel? I feel great? And
it's either you're lying or you're not. So he does
he wants to practice. Yeah, everything coach McVay said is
exactly true about Matthew Stafford.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
He wants to be out there.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
But im that equally is terrifying to see a head
coach with sweat rings.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Isn't that scared to see?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Like this dude is.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
More intensi than the players.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
But you want Matthew Stafford as your starter, just it's
gonna take a.
Speaker 6 (07:13):
Little bit of time to get him out there. The
Marco you reminded me of win my daddy. So to
ask you how was school? It was good? Like it
was kind of like that general response that you get
now on a scale from one to nine, how to
how confident am I that they will repeat as NFC
West champions? So the Rams are three and eight when
Matt Stafford hasn't been in the game. So on that scale,
(07:34):
if Matt Stafford plays, I'm an eight. If he doesn't,
I'm a three.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
Now you may be asking why aren't you a zero
or a one? Well, the reason why I'm not a
zero one is because of Sean McVay. Seaw McVay, there's
so much trust I have in that man and how he's.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
Able to coach, how he's able to.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
Cultivate a winning culture, what he's been able to do
for them in the amount of times that he's in
amount of years that he's been with.
Speaker 7 (07:54):
The La Rams. So that is why it's a three.
Speaker 6 (07:57):
Now to mention that, I think that they have one
of the best rosters, and not only the NFC West,
but in the NFL. They have a young defensive nucleus.
They have a young defensive front that is very.
Speaker 7 (08:07):
Very good.
Speaker 6 (08:08):
Now you pair that up with the offense that had
and I said it on this show many times, the
La Rams offense is.
Speaker 7 (08:15):
Going to pose a lot of threats to a defense.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
A defensive coordinator that's going to go against this offense
is going to stay up late at night the night
before trying to figure out.
Speaker 7 (08:23):
How do you stop this offense.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
So that is why I think that on a scale
from one to nine, it's a three without Mats Stafford,
it is an eight with Mats Stafford.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Ayb like, that's that's clever, man. I think what the
reason this is compelling is the Rams bring with them.
They bring them with them steaks. This is not most
of the teams in the NFL. The expectation for this
year for the Rams is to go to the Super Bowl.
They were a play away from beating the Eagles, who
might be the best team of this decade. They are
a really, really important team. It's not some up and
(08:52):
coming team, it's not the Cardinals. It's just the Rams
really represents something, and Stafford is everything. Like I don't
want to have on this show a week from now
or ten minutes from now. Well, they can rally behind
Jimmy G. And Jimmy G has started the Super Bowl.
God blessed Jimmy G. Nobody likes him more than I do.
Jimmy G is not going to win the Super Bowl
for them this year. I just don't think that's gonna happen.
(09:14):
They need Matthew Stafford, so I don't want to have
that conversation at all. Listen, I don't even want to
see Jimmy G against the Niners. And it's fun, it's compelling.
I feel like Robert Salaz is going to tear him
to shreds. I don't want that for the Disney Prince quarterback.
I want Matthew Stafford out there. And then we go
back to this game. Stafford just decided we're winning this
thing right now, and then it got sacked and it
was over. There's not a lot of guys in the
(09:36):
league who can do that, and there's only one on
the Rams. He wears number nine. And I don't like
this topic. I hope this is the last time we
talk about it. But flare, ups and fluid and flexibility
the three apps. And I can add another one that
I don't want to say either. I want Stafford out there.
Speaker 6 (09:49):
I agree with you KB that I don't think they
can win the Super Bowl, But the question is, KB,
can they win the NFCU West with Jimmy g.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
West the small potatoes for the Rams? There is a
super Bowl season. Let's go for the super Bowl. All
enchilada hot that with you. But like Wes, that's a
T shirt. Who cares. Mcmay's got a bunch of T shirts.
He wants to go to his third Super Bowl and
he needs nine.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Well, the stakes are also high, to Manti's point, because
just within the division alone, you constantly, I think, are
looking in the rear view, not at McVeigh, but of
the other head coach that oftentimes we see some heat between.
And that's in San Francisco with the forty nine Ers
head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan was asked about the time
frame for wide receiver Brandon Ayuk's return. Now, remember Ayuk
missed the final ten games of the twenty twenty four season,
(10:32):
so waiting patiently for his return after tearing his ACL
and mcl.
Speaker 8 (10:38):
I don't know what I've said in the past, but
I kind of view all those guys around the same time.
Whether it's Mustafa, whether it's Rourke, or whether it's Brandon.
They're all at different stages, but where they're out, I
always see him around week six, which means that could
be week ten, means a week could be week five.
But that's the area where I start thinking about it,
which is a long ways away. I know it's not
(11:00):
week one or anything like that, so it's something I'm
not really thinking.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
About too much.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
In a side part of my life, I always like
to read articles about the Royal family, and like the
body language experts that write about the Royal family, there
is nothing more jarring than watching a clip of Sean
McVay speaking about his team and then Kyle Shanahan speaking
about his team. The body language experts would be all
over those two. But let's focus on the forty nine
ers at hand right now. Are they the biggest challenger
to the Rams in the NFC West to Marco?
Speaker 5 (11:27):
I think so it's hard to take them out of
your review or are your thought process altogether because of
the history with the Rams of the Niners. And I'm
not ready to write off Christian McCaffrey just yet. I
know he's coming back from injury, but if that guy
is healthy, he changes the entire math for everyone that
has to play the Samprans for forty nine ers, And
I don't know what all the hype was or all
the negatives were on brock Party. All the guy does
(11:50):
is move the team down the field and create pressure
on a defense. So yeah, in Shanahan's offense, I just
love the way he runs. It's all precisions. So whenever
I do get too high about the rams prospects of
winning this division or getting to a suit Bowl or whatever,
I start thinking about San Francisco and Christian McCaffery and
what they can do and what they have done to
the Rams over the year. So yeah, until the Niners
(12:12):
are out, they're still in play to win this division
in my opinion.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
Yeah, you know, Sean McVay said in that interview, when
he'd asked Matt Stafford or talked about Matt Stafford, he said,
he came in today and he didn't feel so well, well,
I'm the opposite when it comes to San Francisco fort
nine ers. After this weekend, I feel really good about
the San Francisco fort nine ers. So to answer this question,
I do think they're the biggest threat to the ala
Rams and I just needed to see that first preseason game. Guys,
(12:37):
they didn't play any starters for that first preseason game
against the Broncos. Yet the Broncos played all of their starters.
And I don't know if you've seen that game, but
the first drive they drive down there against the starters
and they score a touchdown. The second defensive series, they
get a safety on bone Nicks, Like that is the
type of defense like when I watch this team, right,
(12:57):
it reminded me that Robert sala is back, that that
defense is looking like the twenty seventeen to twenty twenty defense.
And I think that Patrick shirtin started to feel that
a little bit. I don't know if anybody caught this, Jamie,
but the first five six plays of the first drive,
Patrick shirt ten didn't have no gloves on his hands.
You're playing the whole that first drive without gloves in
(13:19):
his hands. And then he gets to the lull red
and all of a sudden, I see number two he
has his gloves on. It's almost like Patrick Shirten as
a veteran in this.
Speaker 7 (13:28):
Game looking at it, he has his gloves on.
Speaker 6 (13:29):
It's the same drive guys, Patrick Shirtin as a veteran.
Everybody's like, man, it's a preseason game. We're gonna go
and get three and out and I'm done.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Well seven plays in.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Patrick Shirtan is like co boys, These boys is playing
playing day.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
I'm better strap.
Speaker 6 (13:44):
Book, coach, give me my gloves, like, we got to really.
Speaker 7 (13:47):
Play this game.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
So to that point, when I saw Patrick Shirtin slip
them gloves on, it's like, oh, these guys are about
business over there in San Francisco. So I do think
that they're the biggest threat to the LA M.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Raining Defensive Player of the Year is actively making the
equipment manager sweat because he's scrambling line his love. He's like, no, no,
I need the velkroll. Let's go strap in.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Yeah, man, ty elaborate on that. Are you are you
making it akin to like a construction worker who doesn't
put his helmet on. She thinks it's going to.
Speaker 6 (14:15):
Be an easy day, and then yeah, So I'm not
saying that Patrick Shtan did this. I am saying from
a veteran standpoint is it's the first preseason game. I
know that the team that I'm playing against, they aren't
playing starters, so I know if I'm playing my starters,
I expect as the best, as one of the better
defenses in the nf NFL, NFL, then I'm going to
get off three and out and coach the cham Payne's
(14:37):
gonna be like, oh, you're done, take your pads off,
your fine. I think that how it went. He was like,
all right, these boys are hitting, these boys are playing,
these boys are firing off the ball. Let me get
my let me get my gloves on, because these boys
is really playing. The very next play they score a touchdown,
Like that's I think that's what Patrick Surtains was starting
(14:58):
to feel.
Speaker 7 (14:58):
Like, there it goes. Yeah, first drive, run, run, ron bomb, touchdown,
Like that's what they were doing. And I thought that
it was.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
It was so funny when I saw that day he
didn't have gloves on.
Speaker 7 (15:09):
First, then all of a sudden, he has his gloves on.
I was like, oh, I know what went through his
brain at that time.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I love that observation. It kind of feels like, you know,
if we sit down to do an e block and
like our ear piece just kind of like hanging out there.
What is this segment? Oh wait, hold on, we got
to have a serious conversation. Let me plug in. Yeah,
oh all right, damn we got breaking news. Okay, now
I'm ready. I thought this was a preseason segment. All right,
so let me put a bow on this nine. Obviously,
(15:34):
the forty nine Ers the two editions you have from
this year from last year. You're getting McCaffrey back and
you're getting solid back. Like I don't even know which
one's bigger. Those are huge, But forty nine Ers and
Rams have been running this thing for a while now.
I'm always when I look at the divisions, trying to
look for the ascending team, the one who can potentially
have next. And here's a pop quiz. What team last
year had the same record as the LA Rams, the
(15:58):
same record as the Tampa Bay Bucks, the same record
as the Houston Texans over in the AFC, And what
team's quarterback last year won more games than Josh Allen
and Lamar Jackson. That would be the Seattle Seahawks. We
don't say their name much on this show. It's this
Pacific Northwest thing and it's kind of under the radar.
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks had a new head coach
(16:18):
and they won double digit games, very very rare. You
don't see it much. The quarterback had massive success, albeit
on another team. The team won ten games. I said,
it's the sleepiest ten game win season I've seen in
a long time from the twenty twenty four Seahawks. And
in the meantime, they bring in a new offensive coordinator
in Clint Kubiak. They have Donald, They're doing the Cooper
Cup thing. This team has an identity. They're going to
(16:42):
run the hell out of the ball. They're going to
play defense. And again look at the bottom of the screen.
That's pretty impressive. Ten and seven. And I like the
additions they made. I like the draft black picks they made.
DK metcalf is gone. Seattle decided we're going to move
on without him. We're going to swap in Cooper and
do a different type of thing with Sam Donald. Believing
(17:02):
in the Seahawks team is believing in Sam Darnold. But
if you can do it in Minnesota, if you can
do it in Seattle, and I just look at a
team that might be sitting there and we're like, Wow,
the twelve and five Seahawks, the eleven and six Seahawks.
I'm into it. And I feel like the Rams and
Niners can only hold on so long. It's been a
long time, injuries, creep in, contracts, get expensive, brock Purdy,
(17:22):
and then here comes the Seahawks. I like their shots
this year.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I like to keep my earpiece in at all times
to make sure that I can hear Kyle when he
says little subtleties like this, as it pertains to prediction week,
because if anyone's been listening to Kyle recently, he's flirting
with the Panthers. Just he's diabolate, he's sprinkling the salt.
You've got a crush on the Panthers. And this is
the second time now that you're waving the flag for
(17:45):
the Seahawks and turning left when we're trying to have
a forty nine ers conversation. I hear you because mayor
pieces in. See what you do.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Youas have the earpiece in all the time. Just wait, listen,
wait till you hear my thoughts on the AFC South
come prediction. Tom, I got all kinds of crushes there too,
but it's not quite time yet. Okay, I ain't gonna lie.
Speaker 9 (18:08):
I want to feel one of those swipes though, like
what his aggressive, like you know, rabs. I want to
just see if I could get out of it, though.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
But you're a good kid.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I don't want to hurt we new.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Listen. I heard somebody was having an issue with GMFB
going all in on Shodore Sanders yesterday. He's like, you
could have said that to us before his week one
preseason game, but now he's put something on tape and
now he's played enough for us to do. Big deal
or no big deal? Right, So we're talking about that
quarterback in Cleveland. You just saw Shador Sanders put on
a show in the Browns preseason opener, but the team
(18:49):
still has Shodoor Sanders listed not as the starter. This weekend, however,
the rookie is listed fourth on the Browns unofficial second
edition of their depth chart. Is this a big deal
or is this no big deal? Manti, the fact that
he's still down there but he's getting the second started
at the Eagles this weekend, I think it's a big deal.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
Jamie, and I think it's a big deal because now listen,
if there's a narrative that he should be the starter,
like that's false, Like Joe Flacco deservedly has that number one.
Speaker 7 (19:14):
At least for now.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
They haven't come out and said, oh, he's our starter,
but he's a starter now. I do think it's a
big deal because based on how he performed, but also
of his availability. De Marco, you know this. It's on
every wall in every locker room. Your best ability is availability.
Speaker 7 (19:32):
And the only.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
Quarterback besides Joe Flacco that was healthy with Shelder Sanders,
like Kenny Pickett, he's still not practicing and Dylan Gabriel.
I think they said yesterday or today he's supposed to
do eleven on eleven drills, but he's still going to
be monitored. So off of that, the only guy that
was on the field, the only guy that's to Jamie's point,
that has tape beside Joe Flacco in the Cleveland Browns
(19:53):
uniform is Shoulder Sanders.
Speaker 7 (19:55):
So I'm not saying he should be two.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
I'm not saying he should be one, but he should
at least be three, Like at least move up just
a little bit, especially after how he played and the
fact that he even played, So I think he should
have been moved up a little de Marco and at
least be number three.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Man, say, look at that picture of Schadour in a
Browns uniform. I mean that actually looks right to me.
It looks it looks like it should be right there.
It really does. But I'll say this is no big
deal because I'll give you for instance, there's a kid
on the Rams. He's a linebacker named Sean Dolac. All
he did was make every single play in that first
game versus Dallas. Now when he shows up to work
(20:30):
on Monday, he's still going to be the third backer
on that football team. So I don't think after one
preseason performance you get to rocket up the charts. I
was shocked that he was fourth to begin with, But
I don't think because you had success in one game
when it's a vanilla defense and you can put the
ball in the end zone, that you just move up
without the other two guys playing. So no shock that
(20:50):
he kept his depth chart spot, but I was surprised
he was fourth to begin with. So it's no big
deal that he's still a four string, right.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Now, well, I think it's I mean, it's a huge
deal just because I mean, we're making segments out of it.
The media is very hied to Shador. There's going to
be people who are incredulous about this. How does he
fourth or through two touchdowns. It's also a big deal
because the Browns have to do what's right by them.
It's we have to remind ourselves that. Okay, so they
took Shador in the fifth round, whatever the circumstances were.
(21:19):
Forty picks earlier, they took Dylan Gabriel, a guy that
they really liked. They drafted him in the third round.
Third round picks are not just something you disregard. They
got to see him, by the way, after Dylan Gabriel,
the Browns also picked in the fourth round, and they
took a running back, Like they passed on Shador over
and over and over. They have to see what they
(21:39):
have in Dylan Gabriel. They like Dylan Gabriel. They loved
Dylan Gabriel. By the way, they also traded valuable assets
to get Kenny Pickett. They just traded him away to
bring him in. So I love that Shador threw two touchdowns,
but it's not like there goes all our plans. We
put a lot of thought into the Dylan Gabriel and
Kenny Pickett players, at least they should have. So it's
(22:00):
not a big deal in the sense that I think
this is what they should be doing. What do we do?
My question is, Dylan Gabriel comes out and throws two
touchdowns in Lincoln Financial Field against the Eagles, does he
get anything close to the same pats on the back. No,
of course not, because he's not a sensation. But then
we have a real competition, and it's just they have
to see what they have. Dylan Gabriel, to me, is
such an interesting player, like he doesn't exist. But they
(22:23):
took him forty picks before the one that they won't
stop talking about. You have to see what you have.
I can't believe we actually have video of the guy.
That's him right there, number five, not number twelve again,
the third round pick of the Browns. They loved him.
We gotta see him.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Yeah, cam Ward is the phantom. According to Kyle, Dylan
Gabriel might be the ghost because we haven't seen it.
We haven't talked about him. But I don't want any
of those nicknames to be insulting like the goat is
just easily applicable to Tom Brady. Now moving over to
our second topic. On Big Dealer, No Big Deal, Tom
Brady sat down with his Fox colleague Joel Klattz on
his show which quarterback he was asked Brady was which
(22:59):
quarterback reminds him of himself most. And here's what Brady
had to say.
Speaker 10 (23:04):
It's always that line about who wants to win versus
who's willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Because everyone wants to win.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Everyone wants to win.
Speaker 10 (23:13):
But what are the habits and the daily habits and
the actionable things you need to do every day to
put your team in a position to win. So Patrick
mahomes me is the one that does that the most
offensure because who he is, I mean obviously his physical talent,
how he understands what he needs to do offensively, and
he brings a consistent winning attitude to work every single day.
(23:36):
In the biggest moments. You can depend on him the most.
That's clear.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
There is nothing I will rely on more in terms
of Tom brady expertise in him analyzing somebody that does
the same amount of work that he did and so
if he's saying it's Patrick Mahomes, then it's Mahomes. At
this point, is it a big deal that Brady is
making this comparison, this draw between the two of them,
Brady to Mahomes that he is the quarterback closest to
him when it comes to that capacity.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
Yeah, I think it's a big deal.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
I do, And if you haven't watched that interview, I
think it's amazing. Like Tom Brady goes throughout his career,
he also talks about guys now, but then he talks
about how those habits trick it into his now broadcasting
career and they helped me out a lot, especially as
somebody that went from football.
Speaker 7 (24:15):
To broadcasting myself. But I think it's a big deal
because if.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
You look at Patrick Mahomes, you look at his makeup,
you look at not just his numbers, Because in that interview,
Tom Brady doesn't talk about any numbers.
Speaker 7 (24:27):
He talks about his makeup. He talks about his habits.
Speaker 6 (24:30):
He talks about doing the things from an organizational standpoint.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Running your own walkthroughs, running your own meetings.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
Those are the things that Patrick Mahomes does on a
consistent basis. He's not saying that the other quarterbacks don't
do it. He says the quarterback that does it the
most consistently is Patrick Mahomes. And that is why if
you look at their career, Patrick Mahoone's been in the
NFL for eight years. If you look at Tom Brady's
first eight years, Tom Brady had four super Bowl appearances,
(24:58):
Patrick Mahomes has five. Now they both have three super
Bowls in those first eight. So if you do the math,
Patrick Mahomes still has so much good football left to
be played. We had a segment we had a segment
a few weeks ago about do we think that that
dynasty is over?
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Is it done that? Referring to the Kens City Chiefs.
Speaker 6 (25:17):
Let this be an example of that there's so much
more left for them as long as Patrick Mahomes is
a quarterback and Andy Reid is a head coach. I
think it's a big deal because to hear that from
one of the greats, to talk about a modern day great,
it bodes well for the Ken City Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Enormous deal, a huge deal.
Speaker 5 (25:36):
Seen them all played against a lot of Hall of famers,
you know, a Hall of Fame quarterback or a great one.
When you see it that game in the Coliseum when
Jared Goff did battle with Mahomes, and watching Mahomes live
for the first time, I thought it dawned on me.
This is the only guy I think that could touch
Tom Brady's legacy.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Now he's got the tools.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
The guy is a scramble perfect quarterback, and he could
be letter perfect without a rush. He's got, like you said,
he's got the start, he's got the championships. Because if
you are going to touch Tom Brady's legacy, you're gonna
have to play it into an old age, So you're
gonna have to have a lot of success early and
then sustain that for a long period of time. I
think he is capable of doing that. So I think
(26:15):
it's you. If Tom Brady is saying, I like the
way you prepare. That's something that you tell your mom.
Tom Brady thinks I prepare very well. That's ninety percent
of what he does. So if Mahomes is doing the
right stuff when we can't see it, and he's doing
the great stuff when we can, the only person that
can come close to touching the goat would be Mahomes.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So I think this is a huge view.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I think it's a big deal too, Sam reason you
guys do it. Any sound or video or text or
anything of Brady talking about Mahomes and Mahomes talking about
Brady could be looked at his history for years to come.
It's going to be the things that comprise NFL film
specials and documentaries and things like that, if Mahomes continues
to trend the way he's going. Now, when I heard this,
(26:58):
I said, yeah, Brady doesn't remind me of Mahomes at all,
or vice versa. Just totally different playing styles. And Mahomes
is doing the Nola passes and he looks different physically,
and he's different size, like just physically throwing the ball.
I would have said Brady is a Joe Burrow, but
stick with Mahomes. Mahomes continues to track this way as
a career, continues to make Super Bowls constantly like this,
(27:21):
there's going to be an historical goat comparison to have
you thought Brady put this thing away by playing in
ten Super Bowls and winning seven, Walhomes is already played
in five and won three, So you get five six
years down the line, you look back on this interview
with Joel Klatt where Brady said he reminds me of me.
It's the kind of thing that we put in a
vault somewhere and look back on and show our grandkids.
(27:41):
I'll just say it has to continue tracking this way.
I've always thought the one big disadvantage that Mahomes might
have in chasing Brady is Brady had the luxury of
having one head coach for the entire time, save for
when he went to Tampa, he had a couple decades
of Bill Belichick. I don't know if Patrick Mahomes is
going to be able to play his entire Chiefs run
with Andy Reid. Does Andy Reid have another decade with
(28:03):
him as a head coach that Jets. Maybe, But I
don't know. That's a big, big luxury that Brady had.
And listen, save this sound bite. This could be the
debate topic in twelve years when Mahomes decides to retire
and they both ended going to ten Super Bowls? Who's better?
It's all history. It's significant, and I love that Brady
did it.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
I think he might like Matthew Stafford. I think of
this era, Patrick Mahomes maybe the only quarterback play in
close to forty Yeah, with the other styles, Josh Allen,
Lamar Jackson. I mean those guys, I mean, how long
of a career can you have. I think Mahomes will
be there into his forties. That's why I think he
has a shot at it.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
There's always contenders, though, Kyle, as we go to break
on GMFB, our next guest on the show. If he
was on the show in the era of Tom Brady
winning all the Super Bowls, he probably just would have
put the the Patriots in as his pick. But what
do you think Aaron Shotts has for us? And start
today on GMFB.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Shots is the man. He takes his shots, He calls
the shots, and he hits his shots. He knows who
is going to win the games this year and the
Super Bowl. He's this genius, mad scientist. Don't go on anyway.
He will tell you the best teams in the league
this year and who's gonna win it all. And he
will be right Tom into the Confettian to commercial. This
(29:19):
is exciting because in August we have so many questions.
We're about to give you some answers. What you were
looking at right there is the twenty twenty five FTN
Football Almanac. It is out right now FTN for the
numbers and the sort of gandolfs, the all knowing wizard
of all of this, of that almanac and of all
the questions you want answers to. Is our guy, Aaron
(29:42):
shots from FTN, works from ESPN. He makes a living
and dare I say, a life digging into analytics and
studies and details, and there he is, Aaron. We are
so excited to talk to you. How's life? How are
you feeling about the superhot shot?
Speaker 11 (29:58):
I'm good, good, made through another offseason. I'm ready for
the season. First week of preseason was fun. Life is
good in beautiful Massachusetts and I'm pretty happy.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Great Well, Massachusetts has an up and coming team in
the AFC East. Will see how they fare. But before then,
Aaron Shotts, let's get into it right off the we're
off the bat. Your top five teams this season. I
want you to break it down and tell me how
you landed on this and what this means. Go ahead, Yeah.
Speaker 11 (30:27):
DVA is the main metric we use, and I project
it based on how teams have played over the last
couple of years in certain situations, personnel changes, coaching experience,
a few other variables. And these are my top five
projected teams for twenty twenty five. Ravens, Lions, Bills, Chiefs
and Commanders.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
All right, So if anybody at home doesn't know this,
and how dare you if you don't. DVA is defense
adjusted value over average. And I know that because Aaron
told me during commercial. But here's something that jumps out.
Anybody who can cut through the vernacular and the details
can see a list of top five teams under any
circumstans going into the season, and they're going to be
screaming that the raining Super Bowl champion, very dominant Philadelphia
(31:10):
Eagles are not on there.
Speaker 11 (31:11):
Why Aaron, because they were very dominant on defense. And
we talked about this a lot. Every year offense is
more predictable and more consistent, the defense, defense regresses to
the mean more heavily. The Eagles were only thirteenth on
offense during the regular season. They were awesome in the
Super Bowl, but that's just one game. It was the
(31:33):
defense that drove that team. Fantastic defense, and especially with
the personnel changes that they had, it's very likely that
that defense comes back to the pack a little bit
and it's more like fourth or fifth rather than number
one by a large margin.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
That sounds like an insult, and I'm going to use that.
I don't even know what it means, but it feels good.
Your defense regresses to the mean more commonly like.
Speaker 7 (31:55):
That is awesome.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Appreciate it. You've got the Ravens as the top team.
How does that happen for a team that we are
just waiting to get to a Super Bowl appearance, waiting
to get deeper to the playoffs. Somehow they're your number
one team. How did they edge out the competition?
Speaker 11 (32:11):
Well, part of it is that we're just projecting the
regular season here, but they've been our number one team
in the regular season for two straight years. They're very
good and very balanced, top five team in all three
phases of the game. Lamar Jackson had one of the
best passing seasons in NFL history last year, not even
(32:32):
with his rushing, just talking about his drop back passing.
So our numbers love the Ravens and one of these
years they're going to get over the hump. The problem
is that one of these years the Bills are also
going to get over the hump, and they can't do
it at the same time.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Shots, My life changed today I didn't think you'd be
able to complete a top five.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
List that didn't have the Eagles in it.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:52):
And if they don't, you have the Commanders in it.
Without the Eagles, how do you have that in the
top five?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 11 (32:59):
I was really surprised when our numbers came out with
the Commanders so high because they were so good on
four downs last year and that is not going to continue.
Speaker 12 (33:08):
But we really like some of the changes they made.
Speaker 11 (33:10):
They took their biggest weakness and worked on it by
adding Laramie Tunsel. We like adding Deebo Samuel, and we
think that the Washington defense can be slightly below average
instead of bad like it was last year. Also, I
want to point out the difference in schedule where Philadelphia
has to play the Bills, the Rams, and the Buccaneers,
(33:31):
while the Commanders play the Dolphins, the Seahawks, and the Falcons.
That is a big difference in the NFC East shots.
Speaker 6 (33:38):
Okay, so he had a top five, So that means
there's twenty seven other teams left. What team out of
those twenty seven won't live up to the hype this year?
Speaker 12 (33:47):
We are not that high this year. On the Pittsburgh Steelers,
don't really like what Aaron Rodgers did in New York
last year.
Speaker 11 (33:54):
We don't think he's one of the best quarterbacks in
the league anymore. Their defense was fourth in the league
in takeaways per drive. That is something that does regress
to the mean pretty so we think their defense is
going to decline a little bit. Now I may be
wrong about this because Mike Tomlin has magical locker room
management powers and we may not be incorporating that into
(34:16):
our projections, but overall, we're just not as high on
the Steelers as the public.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
All right, So, Shots, this is the is people say,
the whole Enchilada, the reason why you uh here we go.
We bring you on here February eighth and Santa Clara
Super Bowl sixty is being played. Shots, we rely on
this to influence us in our prediction week. The public
relies on you to make your ever educated Super Bowl pick.
Who do you have playing in Super Bowl sixty.
Speaker 12 (34:44):
I'm hoping this is not just wish fulfillment, because I
would love to see these two fan bases get there.
But I'm going with the Bills and the Lions as
my Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I love this matchup.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Kyle, Now your pick last year.
Speaker 11 (35:01):
I remember thinks a little bit better than the Bills.
But the Bills have the easier schedule, especially that game
with the Ravens that's in Buffalo. That's going to be
so important for home field in the AFC. And I
think that the Lions are going to overcome the loss
of the two coordinators with better health on defense.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
All right, shots, I know that my sister Jamie just
said February eighth is a very very important day, but
another important day is August twenty seventh and August twenty eighth.
I got a fantasy football draft with a couple of
my buddies.
Speaker 7 (35:33):
Now you're the expert.
Speaker 6 (35:36):
There's Bijon Robinson, Bajan.
Speaker 7 (35:38):
And Saquon Barkley as a top running back.
Speaker 6 (35:41):
Who do you consider out of those two the top
running back for this year?
Speaker 7 (35:44):
I need your help.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 11 (35:45):
Jeff Radcliffe is an award winning projections guy. He does
all of our fantasy projections for FTN, and he likes
Bijon Robinson over Saquon Barkley in most leagues. The big
reason is receiving. Robinson has better receiving numbers and a
lot of leagues these days are either PPR or half PPR.
So those receiving numbers really matter, and that's why we've
(36:07):
got Jean Robinson actually as the top running back this year.
Speaker 5 (36:11):
I need a sneaky pick. I need help on my
fantasy squad as well. Do you have a sleeper I
should be looking at right now.
Speaker 11 (36:18):
I really like Matthew Golden, the rookie wide receiver in
green Bay, because a lot of their receivers have trouble
catching the ball and he is what they're looking for,
which is a clear number one. I know that Green
Bay doesn't want to give too much to a rookie
right away, but I think he's going to really break out,
especially over the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Write that down, use it, wheeld it. Shots knows this stuff.
And just in case anyone thought you weren't quite interesting enough,
you will not believe where Aaron goes next. Shots. You
were a DJ in an alt rock radio station in
the nineties. Now there's a thing going on right now
in this country where nineties rock is massive and it's
dad rock, and there's these tours and all these bands
(37:02):
from twenty five thirty years ago are massive again. But
you played a critical part in the immergence of one
of those bands, please tell us about it.
Speaker 11 (37:11):
So I was music director at WKRO and Daytona Beach, Florida,
and the morning guys brought me a demo from a
band from Tallahassee, and I said, this is not the
kind of music I like it all, but it is
going to be so popular. I could hear it right
away how popular this was going to be. So we
put it on the air and it become our number
(37:31):
one most requested band and they were called Creed, and we.
Speaker 12 (37:36):
Yeah, wind Up Records.
Speaker 11 (37:39):
So I am one of the people who was partly
responsible for Creed becoming a big band in the United States.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
All right, and we're looking at stapp and Thanksgiving Day
about twenty five years ago in the Cowboys Stadium, just
bringing the house down. But shots was the song? Was
it My Own Prison? What did you hear that you
liked that much?
Speaker 12 (37:59):
It was the demo of My Own Prison?
Speaker 11 (38:01):
And I'm totally not into that kind of grunge, but
I was like this, this is going.
Speaker 12 (38:04):
To be huge, This is going to be huge, and
we put it on.
Speaker 11 (38:07):
We were the second station to play it after the
station in Tallahassee, and they worked that popularity in with
wind Up Records and they got their record deal and
then became a huge band across the country.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Wow, God bless you, God bless you, Aaron Shots banging
my head could be Sunday awesome. I love it. You're
the best. Everybody. Get the FTN Football Almanac. It is
like Shots has taken all year football and created his
own prison right there in this book. Get the book,
(38:39):
get the predictions. Head to ftnfantasy dot com Slash Almanac.
It's the answer to all of your questions. I absolutely
love it. Read this book with arms wide opening.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
That I want. I now have a Facebook
Good Morning Football is the production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio GMFF.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good Morning Football, however you want to call it. We
love that you're here. It's Good Morning Football. PUSN of
my Tuesday, August twelfth, Jamie here at almant I teo
and a Super Bowl champion defensive shackles to Marco far
our friend at the table, Yes here in La plus
Kyle Brandt, you are in New York City. What's happening
in your neck of the woods, as our friend Al
Roper would say.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Well, I'm exhausted, as Al rochers right up the street.
But I was going to spend all night watching coaches
tape on the NFC North. But I've just been on
Reddit threads reading about Taylor's new album that she announced
to the Kelsey Boys, So I'm very excited all flutter.
I's not going to have any takes on football, but
I'm just thinking about my girl.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Roll it, roll it before we get down a rabbit hole.
Welcome to Good Morning Football is ent it by SPA.
That's right GMFB. Everybody, Jamie, Mantai, Kyle and DeMarco. Kyle
(01:12):
just mentioned it off the top. There was a graphic
that went out on the New Heights social media yesterday
with a cutout figure, and everybody's losing their minds over
who it could be. Taylor Swift. Oh, going on the
Kelsey Brothers podcast to Marko Farr.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Your thought, whoa, I can't wait to hear this. This
is going to be good. Un yes, good.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Excellently, Keep going, keep saying things like that. That's perfect, Kyle.
You obviously had an immediate response to it, and then
you lost yourself in a Reddit thread or two.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Oh yeah, I was writing them. I was constructing the
reddit threads. It really, it's fine. It's good that the
Kelsey Boys got a publicity pop they needed that. I
haven't seen him in twenty seconds, so congratulations to them.
I will be buying the album from my daughter, and
uh that's a that's a big, big exciting thing going
on right now. But so is also a lot of
football these It is it is.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
There was a rumor going around that if you texted
somebody Taylor's with dot com yesterday just an image would
come up with a lock on it. It's like if
you would text where is Matthew Stafford dot com? An
image would come up. But with like a Backex rayling
what is happening with the Rams right now and Stafford's back.
His injury has kept him out of practice for quite
some time, including yesterday. His head coach Sean McVay says
(02:22):
that the plan is still to take this one day
at a time with the thirty seven year old quarterback
waiting to return to action.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
You know, like we've said, we're going to be flexible
and fluid. I think more than anything, I feel for
Matthew because of how much he wants to be out
there and feel good. Ultimately what ended up happening and
had a great workout felt good, but then you know,
come in today and it doesn't feel great, and so
didn't think that was the right decision to be able
to push him. We've kind of always talked about flexibility,
(02:50):
being fluid with some of the plans, and uh, I
think more than anything, you know, I feel for a
guy that you know, I really care about, that wants
to be out there more than anything else. We're going
to be smart, you know, but he didn't feel good enough,
and we didn't think it was the right thing to
do based on you know, how he woke up feeling
today and you can.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
See that care from head coach to quarterback. It's a
relationship we've seen unfold in LA for quite some time
and it's amassed an amazing amount of success. Now Sean
McVay is making a decision based on how his quarterback feels.
But this is what we feel about the NFC West
at this point, Kyle, on a scale of one to
nine because of the Stafford nine, how confident are you
(03:28):
in the Stafford Rams experience? Repeating as NFC West champions.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Six six five. Maybe I don't like what I'm hearing.
I don't like this. Listen, here's the deal with the
Matthew Stafford back. It's not that early anymore. So when
this whole thing started. You can go back a few
weeks and personally, for me, there was an Adam Schefter
tweet and he said that Rams are going to limit
(03:57):
Matthew Stafford's practice time due to back soreness. That was
July twenty second. The tweet that cracked me up was
our guy fits Ma retweets that and fits Magic, the
classic crusty old veteran in his day, bring up the tweet.
Ryan Fitzpatrick tweets in response to DM schefter, Oh, such
an old man, crusty vet move talking about Stafford missing
(04:17):
time with Camp. We know he'll be ready when the
lights turn on. I thought that was funny. It's just like, oh,
my back is sore. I got to miss a week
or two of July. Who cares, I'm Stafford. Well that
was July twenty second, it's now August twelfth. I don't
like this. I don't like a back. I don't like
words like flare up, fluid, flexibility is. I am now
(04:41):
at a point where this quarterback of this age, who
was very close to leaving the Rams, very close and
they were able to bring him back, is now starting over.
There's a new wide receiver there and DeVante. It's just
I look at the calendar and I look at those
words about a veteran quarterback, and it makes me nervous.
Now they got a backup in Jimmy G. But if like,
if we're going to Jimmy G stuff like, then the
(05:03):
then all hell has broken loose. I always like the
Rams to go to the playoffs. I would pick them
to win the West. My point is right now, I
think the Matthew Stafford back thing had my curiosity. Now
it has my attention, and I don't like it. Hmm.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I was worried for a second. I was worried that
Kyle was going to go six trending the other directions.
I don't want to hear about fluid Kyle between seven
and six.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Kyle's right, it's it's not nothing.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
To have your your starter out for this long could
be a problem. But and I hope that this, this
back injury or situation issue doesn't rob Matthew Stafford of
what makes them special. The guy's got world class arm talent.
He protects himself very well with a quick release. He
can throw on the move, he can throw on platform,
for any platform, off platform. He's just one of the
(05:54):
best quarterbacks we've ever seen. But you know, back's a
tricky You don't know how he's going to respond, So
this is going to be a touch and go. But
I will say this about Jimmy g They feel confident
about Jimmy.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Garolo as their starter.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
He could have gone other places to compete for a
starting job, chose to stay here. He's really really ingrained
in the offense. They trust him. So if Matthew Stafford
is out for any period, of time. They feel like
the offense can just keep going until he's back. But
you'd want Matthew Stafford out there. But I agree with Kyle,
this is not nothing. This is it could be a
big deal. You'd rather have your guy taking snaps.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
On the scale of one to nine. I want everyone
to understand though, the weight that DeMarco Farr speaks with
when it comes to the RAMS, because let's remind everyone
else in the twenty nine other markets besides La DeMarco,
you are on the radio broadcast for the team. You
are around that building all the time. So when you
say they, you literally mean you are around the coaches
and you have a great feel. The rest of us
just talk about the situation, but you're around.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Yeah, coaches, trainers and him. So you know, you ask Matthew,
how do you feel? I feel great? And you know,
when you're talking to a dude, and like when you
ask him how do you feel? I feel great? And
it's either you're lying or you're not. So he does
he wants to practice. Yeah, everything coach McVay said is
exactly true about Matthew Stafford.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
He wants to be out there.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
But im that equally is terrifying to see a head
coach with sweat rings.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Isn't that scared to see?
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Like this dude is.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
More intensi than the players.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
But you want Matthew Stafford as your starter, just it's
gonna take a.
Speaker 6 (07:13):
Little bit of time to get him out there. The
Marco you reminded me of win my daddy. So to
ask you how was school? It was good? Like it
was kind of like that general response that you get
now on a scale from one to nine, how to
how confident am I that they will repeat as NFC
West champions? So the Rams are three and eight when
Matt Stafford hasn't been in the game. So on that scale,
(07:34):
if Matt Stafford plays, I'm an eight. If he doesn't,
I'm a three.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
Now you may be asking why aren't you a zero
or a one? Well, the reason why I'm not a
zero one is because of Sean McVay. Seaw McVay, there's
so much trust I have in that man and how he's.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
Able to coach, how he's able to.
Speaker 6 (07:49):
Cultivate a winning culture, what he's been able to do
for them in the amount of times that he's in
amount of years that he's been with.
Speaker 7 (07:54):
The La Rams. So that is why it's a three.
Speaker 6 (07:57):
Now to mention that, I think that they have one
of the best rosters, and not only the NFC West,
but in the NFL. They have a young defensive nucleus.
They have a young defensive front that is very.
Speaker 7 (08:07):
Very good.
Speaker 6 (08:08):
Now you pair that up with the offense that had
and I said it on this show many times, the
La Rams offense is.
Speaker 7 (08:15):
Going to pose a lot of threats to a defense.
Speaker 6 (08:17):
A defensive coordinator that's going to go against this offense
is going to stay up late at night the night
before trying to figure out.
Speaker 7 (08:23):
How do you stop this offense.
Speaker 6 (08:25):
So that is why I think that on a scale
from one to nine, it's a three without Mats Stafford,
it is an eight with Mats Stafford.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Ayb like, that's that's clever, man. I think what the
reason this is compelling is the Rams bring with them.
They bring them with them steaks. This is not most
of the teams in the NFL. The expectation for this
year for the Rams is to go to the Super Bowl.
They were a play away from beating the Eagles, who
might be the best team of this decade. They are
a really, really important team. It's not some up and
(08:52):
coming team, it's not the Cardinals. It's just the Rams
really represents something, and Stafford is everything. Like I don't
want to have on this show a week from now
or ten minutes from now. Well, they can rally behind
Jimmy G. And Jimmy G has started the Super Bowl.
God blessed Jimmy G. Nobody likes him more than I do.
Jimmy G is not going to win the Super Bowl
for them this year. I just don't think that's gonna happen.
(09:14):
They need Matthew Stafford, so I don't want to have
that conversation at all. Listen, I don't even want to
see Jimmy G against the Niners. And it's fun, it's compelling.
I feel like Robert Salaz is going to tear him
to shreds. I don't want that for the Disney Prince quarterback.
I want Matthew Stafford out there. And then we go
back to this game. Stafford just decided we're winning this
thing right now, and then it got sacked and it
was over. There's not a lot of guys in the
(09:36):
league who can do that, and there's only one on
the Rams. He wears number nine. And I don't like
this topic. I hope this is the last time we
talk about it. But flare, ups and fluid and flexibility
the three apps. And I can add another one that
I don't want to say either. I want Stafford out there.
Speaker 6 (09:49):
I agree with you KB that I don't think they
can win the Super Bowl, But the question is, KB,
can they win the NFCU West with Jimmy g.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
West the small potatoes for the Rams? There is a
super Bowl season. Let's go for the super Bowl. All
enchilada hot that with you. But like Wes, that's a
T shirt. Who cares. Mcmay's got a bunch of T shirts.
He wants to go to his third Super Bowl and
he needs nine.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Well, the stakes are also high, to Manti's point, because
just within the division alone, you constantly, I think, are
looking in the rear view, not at McVeigh, but of
the other head coach that oftentimes we see some heat between.
And that's in San Francisco with the forty nine Ers
head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan was asked about the time
frame for wide receiver Brandon Ayuk's return. Now, remember Ayuk
missed the final ten games of the twenty twenty four season,
(10:32):
so waiting patiently for his return after tearing his ACL
and mcl.
Speaker 8 (10:38):
I don't know what I've said in the past, but
I kind of view all those guys around the same time.
Whether it's Mustafa, whether it's Rourke, or whether it's Brandon.
They're all at different stages, but where they're out, I
always see him around week six, which means that could
be week ten, means a week could be week five.
But that's the area where I start thinking about it,
which is a long ways away. I know it's not
(11:00):
week one or anything like that, so it's something I'm
not really thinking.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
About too much.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
In a side part of my life, I always like
to read articles about the Royal family, and like the
body language experts that write about the Royal family, there
is nothing more jarring than watching a clip of Sean
McVay speaking about his team and then Kyle Shanahan speaking
about his team. The body language experts would be all
over those two. But let's focus on the forty nine
ers at hand right now. Are they the biggest challenger
to the Rams in the NFC West to Marco?
Speaker 5 (11:27):
I think so it's hard to take them out of
your review or are your thought process altogether because of
the history with the Rams of the Niners. And I'm
not ready to write off Christian McCaffrey just yet. I
know he's coming back from injury, but if that guy
is healthy, he changes the entire math for everyone that
has to play the Samprans for forty nine ers, And
I don't know what all the hype was or all
the negatives were on brock Party. All the guy does
(11:50):
is move the team down the field and create pressure
on a defense. So yeah, in Shanahan's offense, I just
love the way he runs. It's all precisions. So whenever
I do get too high about the rams prospects of
winning this division or getting to a suit Bowl or whatever,
I start thinking about San Francisco and Christian McCaffery and
what they can do and what they have done to
the Rams over the year. So yeah, until the Niners
(12:12):
are out, they're still in play to win this division
in my opinion.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
Yeah, you know, Sean McVay said in that interview, when
he'd asked Matt Stafford or talked about Matt Stafford, he said,
he came in today and he didn't feel so well, well,
I'm the opposite when it comes to San Francisco fort
nine ers. After this weekend, I feel really good about
the San Francisco fort nine ers. So to answer this question,
I do think they're the biggest threat to the ala
Rams and I just needed to see that first preseason game. Guys,
(12:37):
they didn't play any starters for that first preseason game
against the Broncos. Yet the Broncos played all of their starters.
And I don't know if you've seen that game, but
the first drive they drive down there against the starters
and they score a touchdown. The second defensive series, they
get a safety on bone Nicks, Like that is the
type of defense like when I watch this team, right,
(12:57):
it reminded me that Robert sala is back, that that
defense is looking like the twenty seventeen to twenty twenty defense.
And I think that Patrick shirtin started to feel that
a little bit. I don't know if anybody caught this, Jamie,
but the first five six plays of the first drive,
Patrick shirt ten didn't have no gloves on his hands.
You're playing the whole that first drive without gloves in
(13:19):
his hands. And then he gets to the lull red
and all of a sudden, I see number two he
has his gloves on. It's almost like Patrick Shirten as
a veteran in this.
Speaker 7 (13:28):
Game looking at it, he has his gloves on.
Speaker 6 (13:29):
It's the same drive guys, Patrick Shirtin as a veteran.
Everybody's like, man, it's a preseason game. We're gonna go
and get three and out and I'm done.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Well seven plays in.
Speaker 5 (13:40):
Patrick Shirtan is like co boys, These boys is playing
playing day.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
I'm better strap.
Speaker 6 (13:44):
Book, coach, give me my gloves, like, we got to really.
Speaker 7 (13:47):
Play this game.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
So to that point, when I saw Patrick Shirtin slip
them gloves on, it's like, oh, these guys are about
business over there in San Francisco. So I do think
that they're the biggest threat to the LA M.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Raining Defensive Player of the Year is actively making the
equipment manager sweat because he's scrambling line his love. He's like, no, no,
I need the velkroll. Let's go strap in.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Yeah, man, ty elaborate on that. Are you are you
making it akin to like a construction worker who doesn't
put his helmet on. She thinks it's going to.
Speaker 6 (14:15):
Be an easy day, and then yeah, So I'm not
saying that Patrick Shtan did this. I am saying from
a veteran standpoint is it's the first preseason game. I
know that the team that I'm playing against, they aren't
playing starters, so I know if I'm playing my starters,
I expect as the best, as one of the better
defenses in the nf NFL, NFL, then I'm going to
get off three and out and coach the cham Payne's
(14:37):
gonna be like, oh, you're done, take your pads off,
your fine. I think that how it went. He was like,
all right, these boys are hitting, these boys are playing,
these boys are firing off the ball. Let me get
my let me get my gloves on, because these boys
is really playing. The very next play they score a touchdown,
Like that's I think that's what Patrick Surtains was starting
(14:58):
to feel.
Speaker 7 (14:58):
Like, there it goes. Yeah, first drive, run, run, ron bomb, touchdown,
Like that's what they were doing. And I thought that
it was.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
It was so funny when I saw that day he
didn't have gloves on.
Speaker 7 (15:09):
First, then all of a sudden, he has his gloves on.
I was like, oh, I know what went through his
brain at that time.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I love that observation. It kind of feels like, you know,
if we sit down to do an e block and
like our ear piece just kind of like hanging out there.
What is this segment? Oh wait, hold on, we got
to have a serious conversation. Let me plug in. Yeah,
oh all right, damn we got breaking news. Okay, now
I'm ready. I thought this was a preseason segment. All right,
so let me put a bow on this nine. Obviously,
(15:34):
the forty nine Ers the two editions you have from
this year from last year. You're getting McCaffrey back and
you're getting solid back. Like I don't even know which
one's bigger. Those are huge, But forty nine Ers and
Rams have been running this thing for a while now.
I'm always when I look at the divisions, trying to
look for the ascending team, the one who can potentially
have next. And here's a pop quiz. What team last
year had the same record as the LA Rams, the
(15:58):
same record as the Tampa Bay Bucks, the same record
as the Houston Texans over in the AFC, And what
team's quarterback last year won more games than Josh Allen
and Lamar Jackson. That would be the Seattle Seahawks. We
don't say their name much on this show. It's this
Pacific Northwest thing and it's kind of under the radar.
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks had a new head coach
(16:18):
and they won double digit games, very very rare. You
don't see it much. The quarterback had massive success, albeit
on another team. The team won ten games. I said,
it's the sleepiest ten game win season I've seen in
a long time from the twenty twenty four Seahawks. And
in the meantime, they bring in a new offensive coordinator
in Clint Kubiak. They have Donald, They're doing the Cooper
Cup thing. This team has an identity. They're going to
(16:42):
run the hell out of the ball. They're going to
play defense. And again look at the bottom of the screen.
That's pretty impressive. Ten and seven. And I like the
additions they made. I like the draft black picks they made.
DK metcalf is gone. Seattle decided we're going to move
on without him. We're going to swap in Cooper and
do a different type of thing with Sam Donald. Believing
(17:02):
in the Seahawks team is believing in Sam Darnold. But
if you can do it in Minnesota, if you can
do it in Seattle, and I just look at a
team that might be sitting there and we're like, Wow,
the twelve and five Seahawks, the eleven and six Seahawks.
I'm into it. And I feel like the Rams and
Niners can only hold on so long. It's been a
long time, injuries, creep in, contracts, get expensive, brock Purdy,
(17:22):
and then here comes the Seahawks. I like their shots
this year.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
I like to keep my earpiece in at all times
to make sure that I can hear Kyle when he
says little subtleties like this, as it pertains to prediction week,
because if anyone's been listening to Kyle recently, he's flirting
with the Panthers. Just he's diabolate, he's sprinkling the salt.
You've got a crush on the Panthers. And this is
the second time now that you're waving the flag for
(17:45):
the Seahawks and turning left when we're trying to have
a forty nine ers conversation. I hear you because mayor
pieces in. See what you do.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Youas have the earpiece in all the time. Just wait, listen,
wait till you hear my thoughts on the AFC South
come prediction. Tom, I got all kinds of crushes there too,
but it's not quite time yet. Okay, I ain't gonna lie.
Speaker 9 (18:08):
I want to feel one of those swipes though, like
what his aggressive, like you know, rabs. I want to
just see if I could get out of it, though.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
But you're a good kid.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I don't want to hurt we new.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Listen. I heard somebody was having an issue with GMFB
going all in on Shodore Sanders yesterday. He's like, you
could have said that to us before his week one
preseason game, but now he's put something on tape and
now he's played enough for us to do. Big deal
or no big deal? Right, So we're talking about that
quarterback in Cleveland. You just saw Shador Sanders put on
a show in the Browns preseason opener, but the team
(18:49):
still has Shodoor Sanders listed not as the starter. This weekend, however,
the rookie is listed fourth on the Browns unofficial second
edition of their depth chart. Is this a big deal
or is this no big deal? Manti, the fact that
he's still down there but he's getting the second started
at the Eagles this weekend, I think it's a big deal.
Speaker 6 (19:06):
Jamie, and I think it's a big deal because now listen,
if there's a narrative that he should be the starter,
like that's false, Like Joe Flacco deservedly has that number one.
Speaker 7 (19:14):
At least for now.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
They haven't come out and said, oh, he's our starter,
but he's a starter now. I do think it's a
big deal because based on how he performed, but also
of his availability. De Marco, you know this. It's on
every wall in every locker room. Your best ability is availability.
Speaker 7 (19:32):
And the only.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
Quarterback besides Joe Flacco that was healthy with Shelder Sanders,
like Kenny Pickett, he's still not practicing and Dylan Gabriel.
I think they said yesterday or today he's supposed to
do eleven on eleven drills, but he's still going to
be monitored. So off of that, the only guy that
was on the field, the only guy that's to Jamie's point,
that has tape beside Joe Flacco in the Cleveland Browns
(19:53):
uniform is Shoulder Sanders.
Speaker 7 (19:55):
So I'm not saying he should be two.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
I'm not saying he should be one, but he should
at least be three, Like at least move up just
a little bit, especially after how he played and the
fact that he even played, So I think he should
have been moved up a little de Marco and at
least be number three.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Man, say, look at that picture of Schadour in a
Browns uniform. I mean that actually looks right to me.
It looks it looks like it should be right there.
It really does. But I'll say this is no big
deal because I'll give you for instance, there's a kid
on the Rams. He's a linebacker named Sean Dolac. All
he did was make every single play in that first
game versus Dallas. Now when he shows up to work
(20:30):
on Monday, he's still going to be the third backer
on that football team. So I don't think after one
preseason performance you get to rocket up the charts. I
was shocked that he was fourth to begin with, But
I don't think because you had success in one game
when it's a vanilla defense and you can put the
ball in the end zone, that you just move up
without the other two guys playing. So no shock that
(20:50):
he kept his depth chart spot, but I was surprised
he was fourth to begin with. So it's no big
deal that he's still a four string, right.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Now, well, I think it's I mean, it's a huge
deal just because I mean, we're making segments out of it.
The media is very hied to Shador. There's going to
be people who are incredulous about this. How does he
fourth or through two touchdowns. It's also a big deal
because the Browns have to do what's right by them.
It's we have to remind ourselves that. Okay, so they
took Shador in the fifth round, whatever the circumstances were.
(21:19):
Forty picks earlier, they took Dylan Gabriel, a guy that
they really liked. They drafted him in the third round.
Third round picks are not just something you disregard. They
got to see him, by the way, after Dylan Gabriel,
the Browns also picked in the fourth round, and they
took a running back, Like they passed on Shador over
and over and over. They have to see what they
(21:39):
have in Dylan Gabriel. They like Dylan Gabriel. They loved
Dylan Gabriel. By the way, they also traded valuable assets
to get Kenny Pickett. They just traded him away to
bring him in. So I love that Shador threw two touchdowns,
but it's not like there goes all our plans. We
put a lot of thought into the Dylan Gabriel and
Kenny Pickett players, at least they should have. So it's
(22:00):
not a big deal in the sense that I think
this is what they should be doing. What do we do?
My question is, Dylan Gabriel comes out and throws two
touchdowns in Lincoln Financial Field against the Eagles, does he
get anything close to the same pats on the back. No,
of course not, because he's not a sensation. But then
we have a real competition, and it's just they have
to see what they have. Dylan Gabriel, to me, is
such an interesting player, like he doesn't exist. But they
(22:23):
took him forty picks before the one that they won't
stop talking about. You have to see what you have.
I can't believe we actually have video of the guy.
That's him right there, number five, not number twelve again,
the third round pick of the Browns. They loved him.
We gotta see him.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Yeah, cam Ward is the phantom. According to Kyle, Dylan
Gabriel might be the ghost because we haven't seen it.
We haven't talked about him. But I don't want any
of those nicknames to be insulting like the goat is
just easily applicable to Tom Brady. Now moving over to
our second topic. On Big Dealer, No Big Deal, Tom
Brady sat down with his Fox colleague Joel Klattz on
his show which quarterback he was asked Brady was which
(22:59):
quarterback reminds him of himself most. And here's what Brady
had to say.
Speaker 10 (23:04):
It's always that line about who wants to win versus
who's willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Because everyone wants to win.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Everyone wants to win.
Speaker 10 (23:13):
But what are the habits and the daily habits and
the actionable things you need to do every day to
put your team in a position to win. So Patrick
mahomes me is the one that does that the most
offensure because who he is, I mean obviously his physical talent,
how he understands what he needs to do offensively, and
he brings a consistent winning attitude to work every single day.
(23:36):
In the biggest moments. You can depend on him the most.
That's clear.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
There is nothing I will rely on more in terms
of Tom brady expertise in him analyzing somebody that does
the same amount of work that he did and so
if he's saying it's Patrick Mahomes, then it's Mahomes. At
this point, is it a big deal that Brady is
making this comparison, this draw between the two of them,
Brady to Mahomes that he is the quarterback closest to
him when it comes to that capacity.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
Yeah, I think it's a big deal.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
I do, And if you haven't watched that interview, I
think it's amazing. Like Tom Brady goes throughout his career,
he also talks about guys now, but then he talks
about how those habits trick it into his now broadcasting
career and they helped me out a lot, especially as
somebody that went from football.
Speaker 7 (24:15):
To broadcasting myself. But I think it's a big deal
because if.
Speaker 6 (24:18):
You look at Patrick Mahomes, you look at his makeup,
you look at not just his numbers, Because in that interview,
Tom Brady doesn't talk about any numbers.
Speaker 7 (24:27):
He talks about his makeup. He talks about his habits.
Speaker 6 (24:30):
He talks about doing the things from an organizational standpoint.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Running your own walkthroughs, running your own meetings.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
Those are the things that Patrick Mahomes does on a
consistent basis. He's not saying that the other quarterbacks don't
do it. He says the quarterback that does it the
most consistently is Patrick Mahomes. And that is why if
you look at their career, Patrick Mahoone's been in the
NFL for eight years. If you look at Tom Brady's
first eight years, Tom Brady had four super Bowl appearances,
(24:58):
Patrick Mahomes has five. Now they both have three super
Bowls in those first eight. So if you do the math,
Patrick Mahomes still has so much good football left to
be played. We had a segment we had a segment
a few weeks ago about do we think that that
dynasty is over?
Speaker 7 (25:14):
Is it done that? Referring to the Kens City Chiefs.
Speaker 6 (25:17):
Let this be an example of that there's so much
more left for them as long as Patrick Mahomes is
a quarterback and Andy Reid is a head coach. I
think it's a big deal because to hear that from
one of the greats, to talk about a modern day great,
it bodes well for the Ken City Chiefs.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Enormous deal, a huge deal.
Speaker 5 (25:36):
Seen them all played against a lot of Hall of famers,
you know, a Hall of Fame quarterback or a great one.
When you see it that game in the Coliseum when
Jared Goff did battle with Mahomes, and watching Mahomes live
for the first time, I thought it dawned on me.
This is the only guy I think that could touch
Tom Brady's legacy.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Now he's got the tools.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
The guy is a scramble perfect quarterback, and he could
be letter perfect without a rush. He's got, like you said,
he's got the start, he's got the championships. Because if
you are going to touch Tom Brady's legacy, you're gonna
have to play it into an old age, So you're
gonna have to have a lot of success early and
then sustain that for a long period of time. I
think he is capable of doing that. So I think
(26:15):
it's you. If Tom Brady is saying, I like the
way you prepare. That's something that you tell your mom.
Tom Brady thinks I prepare very well. That's ninety percent
of what he does. So if Mahomes is doing the
right stuff when we can't see it, and he's doing
the great stuff when we can, the only person that
can come close to touching the goat would be Mahomes.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So I think this is a huge view.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I think it's a big deal too, Sam reason you
guys do it. Any sound or video or text or
anything of Brady talking about Mahomes and Mahomes talking about
Brady could be looked at his history for years to come.
It's going to be the things that comprise NFL film
specials and documentaries and things like that, if Mahomes continues
to trend the way he's going. Now, when I heard this,
(26:58):
I said, yeah, Brady doesn't remind me of Mahomes at all,
or vice versa. Just totally different playing styles. And Mahomes
is doing the Nola passes and he looks different physically,
and he's different size, like just physically throwing the ball.
I would have said Brady is a Joe Burrow, but
stick with Mahomes. Mahomes continues to track this way as
a career, continues to make Super Bowls constantly like this,
(27:21):
there's going to be an historical goat comparison to have
you thought Brady put this thing away by playing in
ten Super Bowls and winning seven, Walhomes is already played
in five and won three, So you get five six
years down the line, you look back on this interview
with Joel Klatt where Brady said he reminds me of me.
It's the kind of thing that we put in a
vault somewhere and look back on and show our grandkids.
(27:41):
I'll just say it has to continue tracking this way.
I've always thought the one big disadvantage that Mahomes might
have in chasing Brady is Brady had the luxury of
having one head coach for the entire time, save for
when he went to Tampa, he had a couple decades
of Bill Belichick. I don't know if Patrick Mahomes is
going to be able to play his entire Chiefs run
with Andy Reid. Does Andy Reid have another decade with
(28:03):
him as a head coach that Jets. Maybe, But I
don't know. That's a big, big luxury that Brady had.
And listen, save this sound bite. This could be the
debate topic in twelve years when Mahomes decides to retire
and they both ended going to ten Super Bowls? Who's better?
It's all history. It's significant, and I love that Brady
did it.
Speaker 5 (28:24):
I think he might like Matthew Stafford. I think of
this era, Patrick Mahomes maybe the only quarterback play in
close to forty Yeah, with the other styles, Josh Allen,
Lamar Jackson. I mean those guys, I mean, how long
of a career can you have. I think Mahomes will
be there into his forties. That's why I think he
has a shot at it.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
There's always contenders, though, Kyle, as we go to break
on GMFB, our next guest on the show. If he
was on the show in the era of Tom Brady
winning all the Super Bowls, he probably just would have
put the the Patriots in as his pick. But what
do you think Aaron Shotts has for us? And start
today on GMFB.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Shots is the man. He takes his shots, He calls
the shots, and he hits his shots. He knows who
is going to win the games this year and the
Super Bowl. He's this genius, mad scientist. Don't go on anyway.
He will tell you the best teams in the league
this year and who's gonna win it all. And he
will be right Tom into the Confettian to commercial. This
(29:19):
is exciting because in August we have so many questions.
We're about to give you some answers. What you were
looking at right there is the twenty twenty five FTN
Football Almanac. It is out right now FTN for the
numbers and the sort of gandolfs, the all knowing wizard
of all of this, of that almanac and of all
the questions you want answers to. Is our guy, Aaron
(29:42):
shots from FTN, works from ESPN. He makes a living
and dare I say, a life digging into analytics and
studies and details, and there he is, Aaron. We are
so excited to talk to you. How's life? How are
you feeling about the superhot shot?
Speaker 11 (29:58):
I'm good, good, made through another offseason. I'm ready for
the season. First week of preseason was fun. Life is
good in beautiful Massachusetts and I'm pretty happy.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Great Well, Massachusetts has an up and coming team in
the AFC East. Will see how they fare. But before then,
Aaron Shotts, let's get into it right off the we're
off the bat. Your top five teams this season. I
want you to break it down and tell me how
you landed on this and what this means. Go ahead, Yeah.
Speaker 11 (30:27):
DVA is the main metric we use, and I project
it based on how teams have played over the last
couple of years in certain situations, personnel changes, coaching experience,
a few other variables. And these are my top five
projected teams for twenty twenty five. Ravens, Lions, Bills, Chiefs
and Commanders.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
All right, So if anybody at home doesn't know this,
and how dare you if you don't. DVA is defense
adjusted value over average. And I know that because Aaron
told me during commercial. But here's something that jumps out.
Anybody who can cut through the vernacular and the details
can see a list of top five teams under any
circumstans going into the season, and they're going to be
screaming that the raining Super Bowl champion, very dominant Philadelphia
(31:10):
Eagles are not on there.
Speaker 11 (31:11):
Why Aaron, because they were very dominant on defense. And
we talked about this a lot. Every year offense is
more predictable and more consistent, the defense, defense regresses to
the mean more heavily. The Eagles were only thirteenth on
offense during the regular season. They were awesome in the
Super Bowl, but that's just one game. It was the
(31:33):
defense that drove that team. Fantastic defense, and especially with
the personnel changes that they had, it's very likely that
that defense comes back to the pack a little bit
and it's more like fourth or fifth rather than number
one by a large margin.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
That sounds like an insult, and I'm going to use that.
I don't even know what it means, but it feels good.
Your defense regresses to the mean more commonly like.
Speaker 7 (31:55):
That is awesome.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Appreciate it. You've got the Ravens as the top team.
How does that happen for a team that we are
just waiting to get to a Super Bowl appearance, waiting
to get deeper to the playoffs. Somehow they're your number
one team. How did they edge out the competition?
Speaker 11 (32:11):
Well, part of it is that we're just projecting the
regular season here, but they've been our number one team
in the regular season for two straight years. They're very
good and very balanced, top five team in all three
phases of the game. Lamar Jackson had one of the
best passing seasons in NFL history last year, not even
(32:32):
with his rushing, just talking about his drop back passing.
So our numbers love the Ravens and one of these
years they're going to get over the hump. The problem
is that one of these years the Bills are also
going to get over the hump, and they can't do
it at the same time.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Shots, My life changed today I didn't think you'd be
able to complete a top five.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
List that didn't have the Eagles in it.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:52):
And if they don't, you have the Commanders in it.
Without the Eagles, how do you have that in the
top five?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 11 (32:59):
I was really surprised when our numbers came out with
the Commanders so high because they were so good on
four downs last year and that is not going to continue.
Speaker 12 (33:08):
But we really like some of the changes they made.
Speaker 11 (33:10):
They took their biggest weakness and worked on it by
adding Laramie Tunsel. We like adding Deebo Samuel, and we
think that the Washington defense can be slightly below average
instead of bad like it was last year. Also, I
want to point out the difference in schedule where Philadelphia
has to play the Bills, the Rams, and the Buccaneers,
(33:31):
while the Commanders play the Dolphins, the Seahawks, and the Falcons.
That is a big difference in the NFC East shots.
Speaker 6 (33:38):
Okay, so he had a top five, So that means
there's twenty seven other teams left. What team out of
those twenty seven won't live up to the hype this year?
Speaker 12 (33:47):
We are not that high this year. On the Pittsburgh Steelers,
don't really like what Aaron Rodgers did in New York
last year.
Speaker 11 (33:54):
We don't think he's one of the best quarterbacks in
the league anymore. Their defense was fourth in the league
in takeaways per drive. That is something that does regress
to the mean pretty so we think their defense is
going to decline a little bit. Now I may be
wrong about this because Mike Tomlin has magical locker room
management powers and we may not be incorporating that into
(34:16):
our projections, but overall, we're just not as high on
the Steelers as the public.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
All right, So, Shots, this is the is people say,
the whole Enchilada, the reason why you uh here we go.
We bring you on here February eighth and Santa Clara
Super Bowl sixty is being played. Shots, we rely on
this to influence us in our prediction week. The public
relies on you to make your ever educated Super Bowl pick.
Who do you have playing in Super Bowl sixty.
Speaker 12 (34:44):
I'm hoping this is not just wish fulfillment, because I
would love to see these two fan bases get there.
But I'm going with the Bills and the Lions as
my Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I love this matchup.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Kyle, Now your pick last year.
Speaker 11 (35:01):
I remember thinks a little bit better than the Bills.
But the Bills have the easier schedule, especially that game
with the Ravens that's in Buffalo. That's going to be
so important for home field in the AFC. And I
think that the Lions are going to overcome the loss
of the two coordinators with better health on defense.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
All right, shots, I know that my sister Jamie just
said February eighth is a very very important day, but
another important day is August twenty seventh and August twenty eighth.
I got a fantasy football draft with a couple of
my buddies.
Speaker 7 (35:33):
Now you're the expert.
Speaker 6 (35:36):
There's Bijon Robinson, Bajan.
Speaker 7 (35:38):
And Saquon Barkley as a top running back.
Speaker 6 (35:41):
Who do you consider out of those two the top
running back for this year?
Speaker 7 (35:44):
I need your help.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 11 (35:45):
Jeff Radcliffe is an award winning projections guy. He does
all of our fantasy projections for FTN, and he likes
Bijon Robinson over Saquon Barkley in most leagues. The big
reason is receiving. Robinson has better receiving numbers and a
lot of leagues these days are either PPR or half PPR.
So those receiving numbers really matter, and that's why we've
(36:07):
got Jean Robinson actually as the top running back this year.
Speaker 5 (36:11):
I need a sneaky pick. I need help on my
fantasy squad as well. Do you have a sleeper I
should be looking at right now.
Speaker 11 (36:18):
I really like Matthew Golden, the rookie wide receiver in
green Bay, because a lot of their receivers have trouble
catching the ball and he is what they're looking for,
which is a clear number one. I know that Green
Bay doesn't want to give too much to a rookie
right away, but I think he's going to really break out,
especially over the second half of the season.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Write that down, use it, wheeld it. Shots knows this stuff.
And just in case anyone thought you weren't quite interesting enough,
you will not believe where Aaron goes next. Shots. You
were a DJ in an alt rock radio station in
the nineties. Now there's a thing going on right now
in this country where nineties rock is massive and it's
dad rock, and there's these tours and all these bands
(37:02):
from twenty five thirty years ago are massive again. But
you played a critical part in the immergence of one
of those bands, please tell us about it.
Speaker 11 (37:11):
So I was music director at WKRO and Daytona Beach, Florida,
and the morning guys brought me a demo from a
band from Tallahassee, and I said, this is not the
kind of music I like it all, but it is
going to be so popular. I could hear it right
away how popular this was going to be. So we
put it on the air and it become our number
(37:31):
one most requested band and they were called Creed, and we.
Speaker 12 (37:36):
Yeah, wind Up Records.
Speaker 11 (37:39):
So I am one of the people who was partly
responsible for Creed becoming a big band in the United States.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
All right, and we're looking at stapp and Thanksgiving Day
about twenty five years ago in the Cowboys Stadium, just
bringing the house down. But shots was the song? Was
it My Own Prison? What did you hear that you
liked that much?
Speaker 12 (37:59):
It was the demo of My Own Prison?
Speaker 11 (38:01):
And I'm totally not into that kind of grunge, but
I was like this, this is going.
Speaker 12 (38:04):
To be huge, This is going to be huge, and
we put it on.
Speaker 11 (38:07):
We were the second station to play it after the
station in Tallahassee, and they worked that popularity in with
wind Up Records and they got their record deal and
then became a huge band across the country.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Wow, God bless you, God bless you, Aaron Shots banging
my head could be Sunday awesome. I love it. You're
the best. Everybody. Get the FTN Football Almanac. It is
like Shots has taken all year football and created his
own prison right there in this book. Get the book,
(38:39):
get the predictions. Head to ftnfantasy dot com Slash Almanac.
It's the answer to all of your questions. I absolutely
love it. Read this book with arms wide opening.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
That I want. I now have a Facebook
Hosts And Creators
Jamie Erdahl
Jason McCourty
Kyle Brandt
Peter Schrager
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!