September 2, 2025 • 41 mins
NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero, Ian Rapoport, and Judy Battista look ahead the Week 1 marquee matchups including Cowboys vs. Eagles, Chargers vs. Chiefs, and Bills vs. Ravens. Micah Parsons practices for the first time as a Packer, Sara Walsh reports on the Buccaneers and Falcons matchup, Cam Wolfe provides the latest on Tyreek Hill and De'Von Achane injury news. Plus, Marc Ross and Judy Battista predict division winners around the NFL.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
The world keeps spinning, the clock keeps moving, and we
are getting ever closer to Week one of the twenty
twenty five NFL season. James Slander joins us live from
the Star in Moments tonight to talk about the Cowboys
approach to the Eagles in the post Parsons World. All
thirty two teams we'll be in action over the next
(00:30):
six days, and we got some really good ones right
out of the gate. We got Lions packers, we got
Giants commanders, we got Baldy tonight to help us break
it all down. We also have Michael f Florio here
with four Fantasy Gold talking about some must have Fantasy
stars and some other names you're gonna want to keep
in mind as you're setting your Week one lineup. Welcome
(00:53):
inside with the Insiders alongside Ian Rappidboard, Judy Battista, and
Mike Garafolo. I am Tom Pelisero. Way back in February,
I started the countdown clock at the beginning of every show.
At the time, it was like two hundred and seven
days until a football game. Well guess what, right now,
Mike Garatfollo, We've got a little over forty eight hours
(01:15):
to kick off of a good one in Philly.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You're gonna be there. Let's go.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yes, I am Thursday Night football, the Eagles kicking off
against their division rival Dallas Cowboys. The Mike got Parsons
list Dallas Cowboys, but they still got Dak Prescott, CD Lamb.
They added Kenny Clark. Still a lot of really good
football players on this team, and you know that they
would love to spoil the celebration for the Eagles as
they raise another banner at Lincoln Financial Field. We will
(01:41):
be there, we will be ready to go, and we
will expect both sides to be ready to play some
passionate football.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Week one.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Here are the coaches talking about it.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
It's funny. I actually caught myself doing this the other day,
our bonus Monday. I kind of called the team up
and I kind of got a little firing excited about
you pay and the Eagles and primetime and all that stuff.
And I went to bed that night, I was like,
what are you doing? Like you know better than that,
because honestly, the way we approach things, Todd is every
game we play is just another championship opportunity. It's just
(02:13):
another championship opportunity. We get a chance to go out
there against the Eagles. You don't get extra credit for
beating the Eagles in Philly on primetime than you do
for beating the Giants at noon in at and T
Stadium the.
Speaker 6 (02:24):
Last Banner Night in twenty eighteen. It's famous that the
fans booed the Eagles at halftime because they weren't happy
with the way things were going, albeit it was Banner Nite.
How do you feel about the fact that even though
it is Bannernite for you guys, the fans will still
have the standard of performing and winning at.
Speaker 7 (02:42):
A high level.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, I didn't know it was Banner Nite.
Speaker 8 (02:45):
We won't be out for that.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Siria, Honey, gonna be yelling at fans by halftime. If
we know Philly well, they hope that they're going to
be performing well enough, then you won't have to bark
back at any of the fans. Later, with us down
there in Texas, Steve Weis in the LA studios, are
going to talk about this matchup right now. Jay, you
just saw him there on the promo for the game.
(03:10):
Dak Prescott ready to go rolling on all cylinders after
that hamstring injury cut short his season last year. What
are we expecting from Dak and company on offense into
this game.
Speaker 9 (03:20):
Well, they're expecting to go in there and beat the Eagles,
as any team should when they start their season. But
let's be honest, this is going to be a challenge. Sure,
they have the firepower of adding George Pickens along with
Ceedee Lamb, we still have a lot of question marks
around this run game for those of us that watched
them in the preseason and at training camp. And then
(03:41):
you also have to consider the fact that they are
missing Zach Martin on that offensive line, and so we'll
just have to see how that offensive line does against
Vic Fangio. A very young defense, one of the best
defenses in the league won it all at the Super Bowl,
and now those young guys, which struggled in the first
four games this season and found their way, really feel
like a fortified unit.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
I think, namely, I mean, you've got.
Speaker 9 (04:04):
Guys like you, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Quinyan Mitchell read
Blanketship and so you know, I hope that we don't
see from Schottenheimer the sort of showing that we saw
from Bill Belichick in his first game coaching last night,
but the vibes are high in Dallas. I know it's
been tough having lost Micah Parsons around there, but they
still have a lot of confidence what they have and
(04:25):
they have confidence because they have their quarterback in Dak
Prescott back.
Speaker 10 (04:29):
And they clearly have confidence if they're going to trade
away Micah Parsons.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, I want to talk about the piece that they.
Speaker 10 (04:33):
Got back for him, and that's defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I think a lot of people forget that.
Speaker 10 (04:37):
Kenny Clark is a very good player, and in Matt
Eberflus's system, he's got a real good opportunity to influence some.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Things in this game tonight. He's our game Thursday night.
Speaker 10 (04:46):
He is a run stuffer, right, He had a career
high and run stuffs. That's literally a stat even though
some of his other numbers were down. But he's somebody
we know how strong the Eagles are at guard center guard.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
If he can.
Speaker 10 (04:59):
Control some here and again this is a Matt eberflu
scheme thing to keep teams in second and nine and
third and seven, then they've got a chance. Because we
know the Philadelphia Eagles, if they get into second and
five or even second and six.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
They've got you.
Speaker 10 (05:14):
They're gonna continue to extend that drive. So this is
where Kenny Clark really factors into things. And once again,
if they can get they can get the Eagles into
passing No.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
One passing downs, that's.
Speaker 10 (05:23):
When they've got to kind of make up some pressure
since the guy who could win in those situations is
now in Green Bay as part of the Kenny Clark trade.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yeah, Steve, If they get the Eagles into passing downs,
that means they stopped the number one player on the
NFL Network one hundred Top one hundred list. Excuse me,
the top one hundred players of twenty twenty five has
voted on by the players.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Say Kuon Barkley number one.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Uh, he's probably never gonna win an MVP because it's
skews so much toward the quarterbacks. But this wasn't MVPs.
This was who is the best player, and in the
opinion of the players this past year, it was say
Kuon bark So Jane. The last time we saw him
against the Cowboys, he picked up one hundred and sixty
seven yards on the ground on his way to over
two thousand on the season. He ran all over that
(06:10):
Cowboys defense. But Steve's right, they didn't have Kenny Clark.
Kenny Clark, the big run stopper. There was such a
big part of that Micah Parsons deal. How does this
Cowboys defense make sure they keep Saquon contained, not even
stop them, keep him contained.
Speaker 9 (06:22):
Yeah, and keep in mind, Kenny Clark literally got here
on Friday, you know, he said, And according to Maddiebraflus,
it's a position that's fairly easy to pick up. This
is a smart veteran guy. They really like the idea
of having him in the interior alongside Osa Digeezua. They've
got Donovan Azeraku, the rookie they're going to have to
expect a lot from now that Micah Parsons is gone.
(06:44):
But the onus also falls on the linebackers, Steve, when
you consider, yeah, you've got your line there, but without
Micah Parsons there, you know, they as they pointed out,
you can't scheme against the pass, or you can scheme
against the pass, you can't scheme against the run. But
the run has their achilles heel.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
You know.
Speaker 9 (07:01):
The last couple of seasons quite frankly, but specifically against
Saquon Barkley, week seventeen was particularly ugly, and so that's
been all we've heard around the Star and Frisco is
got to slow down the run, and what is Matt
Eberflus gonna come up with. I really like Marius leafal
by the way at linebackers, so I feel there's some
confidence there and then some good news. We're still keeping
(07:24):
an eye on this. Trayvon Diggs. It looks like he
was a full participant in practice for a second day
in a row. He said he's about seventy five to
eighty percent thinking that he's going to play. But I mean, granted,
he's not helping you necessarily in the running game, but
it does make you reconsider whether you want to throw
the ball if you do have Trayvon Digs back there.
And so all of that part of the big stew
as we get ready and plan for this game on Thursday.
(07:46):
But look, they can say what they want. Micah Parsons,
We're going to be fine without him, but that is
a big loss, and it was notable when you talk
to a lot of the Eagles players who sort of
breathe a sigh of relief that they aren't going to
be lining up against Micah Parsons on that side.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
Of the ball.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
I understand Jay that Kenny Clark just got there. But
if they don't stop the run in this game. I
talked about Sirianni hearing it from the fans.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
If they don't stop the run in this game after
making this trade and bringing in Kenny Clark, oh boy,
the reaction from Cowboys fans is going to be unbelievable.
Landon Dickerson's a big part of the Eagles running game
and he was a full go today. He had that
knee surgery to clean up his achilles, his achille, excuse me,
his cartilage in his knee.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
They call that the miniscus.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
First time covering knee injury, Mike, No, but remember how
scary that scene was when he got hurt at the
Lake during a training camp practice and they hoped he
would be ready for week one.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
It appears to be the cases.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
He was a full go.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
In practice to day. James Slater, Steve Weis, thank you
very much.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Tom, Thank you doctor Garafullo. The NFL is back with
four days of football. Twenty five season starts on Thursday
night with NFL Kickoff presented by YouTube TV. Catch Dak
Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys take on Jill and Hurts
the raining Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Thank you ready
for a weekend full of your favorite teams. NFL Kickoff
(09:04):
presented by YouTube Tv Thursday, SENMBM Eastern and NBC. Go
to watch dot NFL dot com for the full schedule.
Of course, the NFL Kickoff continues Friday in Sal Paulo, Brazil,
and we got a little clarity today in terms of
some of the players that will be out there. That
includes Hollywood Brown listed as a full participant. He suffered
a ankle slash foot injury way back at the start
(09:27):
of training camp in late July, but he's been ramping
up steadily. Andy Reid said that he's looking good. Does
appear based on that participation, he's on track to.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Play on Friday night.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
The same now goes for Chargers running back Naji Harris,
who only a week ago or so was cleared for
contact following that fourth July fireworks explosion which left him
with an eye injury. He too, listed as a full
participant in practice, a good sign that Naji Harris could
be making his Chargers debut. Stefan Diggs also set to
(09:59):
make his Patriots debut in Week one, that is a
Sunday game against the Raiders. Patriots coach Mike Rabel on
local radio said earlier today when I asked him, Diggs
is going to play, as only Vrabel can Yep, as
of today, he'll be out there. That's only slightly cryptic
ian even by Rabel standards. Not really a surprise though,
(10:19):
despite some weirdness and various rumors and things said in
the offseason, all signs point toward the Patriots cutting loose
one of the most dominant receivers over the past decade
against the Raiders.
Speaker 11 (10:32):
Well, the good news Tom is that Stefan Diggs ramping
up preparing planning.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
As of right now.
Speaker 11 (10:37):
Whatever Mike Brabel said, it's all good for the fact
that they do expect him to be out there for
Week one.
Speaker 7 (10:43):
But it was more than weirdness.
Speaker 11 (10:45):
Actually in the contract that's Stefan Diggs sign. Him passing
his physical getting fully cleared was how he ended up
unlocking his signing boat is that's how much. That's how
unsure everyone was about his knee. Remember tours ACL in
October last year. It's about ten and a half months
since then, should be almost one hundred percent by now.
(11:05):
But everybody is different, Every player is different. You never
really know if a player is going to heal as
you hope he does, and considering how valuable he is
in the receiving corps, this is something that was paramount
get through training camp and this way you learn Stefan
Diggs is expected to be good to go.
Speaker 7 (11:22):
That is excellent. As far as Christigan Zalence, their star on.
Speaker 11 (11:25):
The other side of the ball, still has in practice
with a hamstring injury, their star corner.
Speaker 7 (11:29):
That is not a great sign. As the Patriots ramp.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Up for Week one, Mike Vrabel making his debut as
the Patriots coach on Sunday against a former Patriots coach,
Pete Carroll, who's now making his debut as the Las
Vegas Raiders head coach. As long as we're talking about
wide receivers here, Judy, you go for one team in
the Patriots that at least seems like they have a
plan at this point. We'll see what the Raiders decide
to do, because there's been a lot of drama at
(11:54):
that position through the course of camp.
Speaker 12 (11:56):
Yeah, let's be clear, Ginos Smith's most important target tight
end brock Bauers. So that's let's set that aside. But
the wide receiver room is a bit of a muddle.
Jacoby Myers. If they actually just released their first depth
chart about an hour ago, Jacoby Myers is their number
one receiver, There's no question about it. The problem is
Jacoby Myers wants a new contract and he has asked
(12:18):
for a trade. They haven't indicated any willingness to trade him. Ironically,
Jacoby Myers is a former Patriot in New England has
sort of been floated as one of the possible destinations
if they were inclined to trade him, although again they
have not given any indication they want to do that.
So for now, Jacoby Myers is there as the number
one receiver. Trede Tucker is returning. He is on the
(12:41):
smaller side, but fast. He maybe is in line for
a bigger role. And then keep an eye on Dante Thornton,
the rookie. He is listed as a starter on the
most recent depth chart. He showed some explosive ability during
the preseason. He's been described as an Al Davis kind
of player, which is the highest possible praise for a Raider.
(13:01):
Big play downfield, possible attack. We'll see if he has
a significant role. But this all underscores the challenge that
Pete Carroll Face is trying to kiece together a competitive team,
maybe a playoff team, in possibly the most difficult division
in the entire NFL.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Half the league opens up in Week one with a
division battle, and that includes this one right here. It
is the Lions and the Packers going at it, just
days after green Bay pulled off maybe the trade of
the entire offseason, acquiring pass rusher Micah Parsons from the Cowboys,
while the Lions get back their pass rusher, and sure
(13:43):
sounds like Aiden Hutchinson, coming off of a really grotesque injury, continues.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
To look good.
Speaker 13 (13:49):
Man, we love Lambeau. I mean it's awesome. You know.
It's just that's one of those places on the eighth
Day the Good Lord made Lambeau, you know, and so
we could go out there and play in it, you know,
first Super Bowl, Ice Bowl. The history it's got and
it's in the same location. You know, it's been upgraded
all those but man, it's got that deep history to it.
(14:12):
And you know, it's the grass man, it's the elements.
It's just the mystique. It's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Man.
Speaker 13 (14:18):
If you love football, you love going to play there,
and so our guys look forward to it. Man, it's
one of those special places to go play.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Welcome back to the Insiders, presented by Progressive Insurance, Tom
Pilaicero Ian Rapport. Welcoming Brian Baldinger into the conversation at
this point, Baldi, we know we've talked a lot about
some of the changes in Detroit. A lot of them
on the coaching staff, a lot of familiar faces in
terms of the skill spots, but those big boys up
front and offense going to look a little different. What
do you make of this edition of the Lions?
Speaker 14 (14:49):
Well, to begin with Tom, I concur with Dan about
lambeau It's a special special place. My only catch of
the NFL Lambeau Field. All right, that's out of the way. Look,
I mean when you have Jamison Williams, you have two
mere Gibbs, so you could score from anywhere on the
field at any time, and then you had all the
other pieces, you know, a monra this rookie Isaac Taslah,
(15:10):
you know Sam Belaporter. They're loaded, but up front to
lose Frank Ragnow, who I thought was the best center
in football, to lose Kevin Zeidler. I mean, those guys
played ninety seven percent of the snaps last year. Now
Graham Glasgow has played center. He steps in from left guard,
he goes into center. They draft the rookie Tate Rutledge,
and so like they've drafted they have capable people up front,
(15:32):
but they were so not just solid tom they were
so stable in the middle. Jared Goff last year had
his best season ever and he was only sacked thirty
one times, and a big reason was in front of him.
There was a nice wall there was, And.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I don't know, we don't know.
Speaker 14 (15:51):
They don't know yet if it's gonna be as solid
as it was a year ago.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Well, at least we know that the Lions will have
to point against one of the top pass verses in
the NFL. Oh right, they will ian Because Micah Parsons
now a member of the Packers, and despite the fact
that he is dealing with some of it from a
medical perspective, sure sounds like we're gonna get a decent
dose in him on Sunday.
Speaker 7 (16:12):
Yeah, it sure does.
Speaker 11 (16:13):
I would expect Micah Parsons to be on the field
for the Green Bay Packers this Sundays. A lot that
went into it, an entire offseason of discussion went into it.
Some contract negotiations that once I thought was happening, the
other side didn't. A trade request, an eventual trade, a
forty seven million dollar contract, to first round draft picks,
and the Kenny Clark all contributed to Micah Parsons being
(16:36):
on the Green Bay Packers. So, yes, he is dealing
with a back injury, is dealing.
Speaker 7 (16:40):
With a little bit of a sprain.
Speaker 11 (16:41):
Has been uh has been given some medicine.
Speaker 7 (16:45):
From the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 11 (16:46):
Diagnosed with that injury about six or seven days ago.
Started the oral medicine. There's also a possibility of an epidural.
Could do a shot to make a feel about it.
My understanding is Micah Parsons is not going to let
anything get in the way of him being on the
field for the Packers. The other part of this is
they identified him as a defensive lineman when he was
with the Cowboys. He played off the ball, he played
(17:08):
on the edge, he played inside, he played all over them,
identifying him the Packers as a defensive lineman.
Speaker 7 (17:13):
At least indicates that.
Speaker 11 (17:15):
His primary focus will be rushing the passer, which you know,
considering he's one of the best in the NFL right now,
that probably makes him sense.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Baldy, I did check your statistics. By the way, one
catch for thirty seven yards for a touchdown.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
It was in nineteen eighty eight. This was not just
a goal line play.
Speaker 14 (17:34):
You gotta take a start, real, Quill, No, no, no, Tom,
Let me explain. I led the league in yards per catch,
all right. I mean I was at the top of
the leader board. Thirty seven yards a catch and we
won the game that day. It wasn't like a catch
for nothing.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
We helped.
Speaker 14 (17:47):
It helped win the football game that day in Green Bay.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Very impressive, Baldy, stick around, because after this, how do
you want to hear about Justin Fields versus Aaron Rodnets.
I want to hear about Sauce Gardner versus DK Metcalf.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Nobody better get it down in Baldi. We'll get into that.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Jets Steelers matchup next. On the Inside.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
New Today to the Insiders, presented by a Progressive Insurance,
Jackson Dart listed as QB two on the Giant's depth chart,
behind Russell Wilson ahead of Jameis Winston. We talked about
this at the start of camp, said, could he get
up to that number two spot? Yeah, if he played
well and if he was in command that if he
showed that it wasn't too big for him.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
That's exactly what he did. So Jackson dart the.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Number two quarterback unofficially, but you know what, the Giants.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Know what they're doing here.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
So Jackson darted rookie, putting himself in a position to
be the guy if Russell Wilson struggles against hurt.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Meanwhile, big deal here the Bucks.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
A four year, ninety million dollar extension with twenty two
and a half million dollars per year, fifty million guaranteed
for me and Ian for Luke Godecie, Luke Kadecki, the
offensive tackle for the Buccaneers, and a deal done by
Chase Callahan of Excel pH who also did one for
Bernard Ryman with the Colts. So a couple of big
deals for Callahan the firm. Good job by Goodecki getting
(19:06):
that deal. This game on Sunday, Yeah, those guys were
wearing the other team's uniforms last year.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Now they are facing one another at MetLife Stadium.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
I will be there on Sunday and intriguing matchup between
a new coach at Aaron Glenn and a coach has
been around for quite some time, Mike Tomlin Here.
Speaker 8 (19:24):
Of both guys, Man, that's.
Speaker 15 (19:28):
Really nothing to talk about because of who he is.
Speaker 8 (19:31):
So he like challenges in always as far as him
as a thrower, getting the guys in and out the huddle,
being able to see the defense, and being able to
make their put the guys in the right position. So listen, guy,
He's a future Hall of Famer. We all know that.
So he's going to cause problems no matter what.
Speaker 16 (19:49):
He's unique because he is who he is. You know,
he's stronger than most mobile quarterbacks. That's a component of
his game that I think is unique. He's a really
talented guy physically, He's not easy to bring down. He's
got a real solid base about him. He's big, and
(20:10):
so you know, when I think about what might be different,
I think about his unique physical skill set. But in
terms of schematics, I don't know that. You know, the
things that they do are going to be uniquely different
from others. I think there's some global things that people
do in that area.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Any different preparing and game planning for a guy that
started games for.
Speaker 17 (20:29):
You last season.
Speaker 16 (20:31):
Not not really, to be quite honest with you. I
just think it's a lot of that. In today's game,
people move around, I'd imagine, you know, they're they're pondering
similar things on the other side, and so from that perspective,
it'll be fair.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
A revenge game in so many ways.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
You know, Justin Fields is looking to get back at
Mike Thomics. Remember he went to Russell Wilson when Fields
was the starter to start the season last year.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Judy Patista Steve Weisch with us.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Judy the Steeler's deep events coming into the season, still
got t J. Watt, still got plenty of talented players
on that side of the ball. Cam Hayward a captain
for the Steelers, what do we expect from them in
this game and throughout this upcoming season?
Speaker 12 (21:11):
Well, we expect them to be mostly intact for this game.
Mike Tomlin in that press conference was asked about Cam Hayward,
who is the All Pro and the captain of the team,
and he said he I want to quote him, certainly
is expecting him to be on the field. Cam Hayward
has sort of had this under the radar hold in
contract situation. He wants a raise from the Steelers. He
(21:34):
hasn't gotten the rays yet from the Steelers, but he
has returned to practice. He didn't really do much during
training camp, but then again, he's a veteran. They often
don't have Cam Hayward doing a whole lot during training
camp and the preseason, but Tomlin certainly expects him to
be on the field, even though Cam Hayward on his
own podcast left the door open. He was asked if
he's going to be on the field and he said,
(21:54):
we'll see. But otherwise the defense is expected to be
mostly intact. They're pretty healthy Alex Heisman on the fields.
Speaker 7 (22:00):
All of that is.
Speaker 12 (22:01):
Important because you heard Mike Tomlin talk about how mobile
Justin Fields is and how hard he is to bring down.
And we know Aaron Glenn wants Justin Fields to use
his legs.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Well, absolutely, Judy, and that's part of it.
Speaker 10 (22:13):
You heard Mike Tomlin how detailed he was talking about
the strength of Justin Fields.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
You don't hear people who.
Speaker 10 (22:18):
Don't know their business say things like that about Justin Fields.
And that's why Aaron Glenn on this offense run by
Tanner Engstrand they're going to run the ball.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
This is going to be strength against strength.
Speaker 10 (22:28):
This is why the Jets went out and got right
tackle armand Membu with the first pick in their draft,
so they can run the football. They've got Breze Hall,
They've got Brayln Allen.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
That's going to be their identity.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
And the fact now that they've got Fields, a mobile
quarterback who can boot leg, who can do some things in.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
The RPO game.
Speaker 10 (22:45):
To try to trick the Steelers front with some slide
of hand is what they're going to.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Try to do.
Speaker 10 (22:50):
But that said, Judy, you and I both know they're
going to have to take some shots early to get
that Steelers defense off the line of scrimmage to give
him and all those guys they want to run the ball.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Some room to operate.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Aaron Glenn said his veteran defenders have a little bit
of an advantage having seen Aaron Rodgers in practice and
gone up against him the last.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Couple of years. But I suppose that goes both.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Ways on this one because those guys with the Steelers,
so justin Fields, Thank you, Judy, thank you Steve Ian.
Speaker 11 (23:18):
Time for good coverage presented by Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
Welcome back in my good friend Brian Baldinger.
Speaker 11 (23:25):
Baldy, we talk about good coverage, like the kind that
Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 7 (23:30):
Does it get any better than Sauce Gardner.
Speaker 11 (23:33):
Obviously, we could talk about the Steelers Jets game all
sorts of ways.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
I want to talk specifically about this.
Speaker 11 (23:39):
What do you see from the Sauce Gardner VDK Metcalf
showdown for Sunday.
Speaker 14 (23:45):
This is the proverbial game within the game. Mean be
honest with you. I mean, this is the clear cut
number one receiver for Annon Rodgers and Pittsburgh. Sauce Gardner
coming off a down year where his first two years
he's first team All Pro out there Quarner didn't really
do much last He's being energized right now and challenged
by Aaron Glenn, his new head coach and also a
former cornerback and a Jet cornerback, wants to see him
(24:08):
regain that confidence in stature. Nothing could get Sauce Gardner
off to a better start than to throw a blanket
over DK Metcalf like this is now.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
I don't know how.
Speaker 14 (24:18):
Much he's going to travel with him.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Sauce has done that.
Speaker 14 (24:21):
At times in his career, but not really with any regularity.
But I expect this because Pittsburgh is gonna move DK
in different spots. Aaron has been working with dcations, thrown
with them out there in those fields in California way
before training camp, and so I feel like we're gonna
see that matchup quite a bit, and maybe who wins
(24:42):
that matchup wins this contest on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Time now to go inside with NFL Fantasy Live and
our friend Michael f Florio with me, Tom PELISARII in
rapport Mike garafull of Michael. We've gotten through a lot
of the draft at this point, but I want to
know right now, based on all of your drafts, and
you've done like seven hundred of them, who are the
must have fantasy stars for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 17 (25:09):
You guys are probably sick of hearing me talk about
some of these players, but at quarterback, it's justin fields
for me.
Speaker 7 (25:15):
He is one of three qbs ever to run for
a thousand yards.
Speaker 17 (25:19):
He is the QB rush record in a single game,
so the.
Speaker 16 (25:22):
Ceiling is super high.
Speaker 7 (25:23):
Year to year, week to week.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
He was a top six fantasy quarterback with the Bears.
He was on base to do that last year with
the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think we're gonna get a.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Pushbush in New York.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 17 (25:33):
I'm drafting Justin Fields in a ton of leagues and
the best part is he is cheap enough where you
compare him with another quarterback like Dak Prescott or Jarrek
Goff to cover your bases.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Florio, assistant general manager of the Outsiders. Once again, we
didn't draft on the air like we did last year,
but he was part of the process for me and
we got Justin Fields, so I'm not surprised that that's
the guy that he mentioned.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
He highly recommended him.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
Let's see if he names one of the running backs
we drafted together.
Speaker 17 (25:58):
Michael, Oh, you know I'm going to We were texting
and I was like training on saying no. Said that
on a lot of shows this summer, and that is
who I continue to hammer home in all of my
drafts because you just want certain traits in a fantasy
running back. High end speed for big plays, elusiveness and
a shifty runner, good pass blocker to be out there
(26:20):
on the field, and then a good receiver to catch
the balls when it goes his way.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
He could do all that I keep joking that it
was like.
Speaker 17 (26:26):
He was built in a lab to be a great
fantasy football asset, and he's.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
On a team that should run the ball a bunch.
Speaker 7 (26:32):
One of my favorite.
Speaker 17 (26:33):
Draft targets, and his price has got.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
Up and up and up to the third fourth round.
Now I'm still paying it.
Speaker 17 (26:37):
I liked him when I was in the eighth round,
but I'll still pay that high price because I am
that confident in Traveon Henderson.
Speaker 11 (26:44):
Before Now it's my turn, and before we get started,
I'd like to say thank you for helping me with
my own fantasy draft AFT and we can actually end
up ignoring your advice to be totally honest. Keeper league
each had four keepers. I went with Ashton Genty as
my number one overall pick over Mai Neighbors. I crossed
my fingers. It's hard to get a keeper running back,
especially a young one, So thank you for all your help.
Speaker 7 (27:07):
I went against you.
Speaker 11 (27:08):
Now I hope I don't get some bad karma because
of that, But anyway, we love you.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
Why are we here?
Speaker 11 (27:14):
Yes, tell me about receivers that you absolutely gotta have,
not counting the one that you told me to draft
and I didn't draft.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Tough question. That's exactly who I'm gonna talk about here.
Speaker 17 (27:24):
Neighbors is Look, you're even gonna want to taking Ashal
Jense There was no wrong answer there. Milik Neighbors is
my pick for Offensive Player of the Year. He averaged
more Fantasy points per game as a rookie than Jamar
Chase and Justin Jefferson.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
And look at the quarterback room.
Speaker 7 (27:39):
He did it with huge upgrades there.
Speaker 17 (27:41):
Now they should be able to throw the deep ball
in unlocked Neighbors down fields. I think he could be
the wide receiver won this year, but he doesn't.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Get viewed in that category.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
Kind of out ian.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
You're like Chris WATSONO, should.
Speaker 17 (27:53):
We getting beloved that the MVP love that college Schwarmer's
getting right now. That is elite Neighbors amongst these high
end wide receivers all right now.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
A tight end that you can't leave your fantasy draft
without Michael Tyler Warren.
Speaker 17 (28:06):
I keep drafting him everywhere I can. He's going as
a low end tight end one, but I have it
ranked as the fourth tight end behind only the Big three.
He is a huge target that excels after the catch.
He thrives in the middle of the field, which is
where Daniel Jones is at his best. I think regardless
of who's playing quarterback for the Colts all season long,
he is going to.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
Be their top target. He's a beast after the catch.
He is exactly the type of tight end you want.
Speaker 7 (28:29):
And all the recent here is.
Speaker 17 (28:31):
The top tight end has been a rookie tighter Warre
and might be able to keep.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
That trend going.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
All right, last thing before we let you go, Michael,
we were just talking about players you can't.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Leave your draft without.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
There's also every year some players that no for everybody
leaves without, they don't get drafted, and then all of
a sudden, Week one comes they're a hot waiver wire
pickup and they might end up being the different.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Is there a guy or two.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Out there that's sitting on waiver wires in a lot
of leagues that you really like and you're like, dumb,
wherever you took in the fourteenth round, pick this guy
up on the spot.
Speaker 17 (29:01):
I did pick up Bill the Commander's running back in
the league, but he's being drafted in a lot You
want to get your backup running backs, anyone who's like
an injury Braylan Allen is someone getting a lot of
steam lately.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
Trey Benson is one I would put in that bunch.
Speaker 17 (29:17):
But yeah, any running back that's like an injury away
from a lot of playing time, that's who I like
to use my end of bench.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Spots on Florio, me and Mike listen to you.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Ian does not remember that in terms of prioritizing whose
texts you return, we will talk to you again. So
when we got some fantasy results to talk about. Week
one kicking off in just two days. We got a
lot of good matchups, including the Giants going up against
the Commanders. What do we expect from Russell Wilson. It
is New York debut. Baldi's back. Help us break that
(29:48):
down next on The Insiders presented by Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 12 (30:04):
Welcome back to The Insiders presented by Progressive Insurance. Giants Commanders.
That is one of the big division matchups.
Speaker 17 (30:10):
In week one.
Speaker 12 (30:11):
I love all these division matchups right out of the gate.
The Commanders swept the Giants last season. Here is Giants
coach Brian Dabele on the matchup in week one.
Speaker 18 (30:22):
No question, it's a good football team.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
They're well coached.
Speaker 18 (30:26):
They improved their scoring offense by nine points a little
over nine points a game from the season prior to
that season, which is the biggest increase since twenty twenty.
Of offensive teams six come from back wins, you know,
coming from behind, excellent special teams unit with three special
teams Aces and Reeves, Bloor and Owens. And then the
(30:51):
defense that is very opportunistic, that plays fast and the
way I know coach Quinn likes to coach. So there's
a reason why they were in that game. And again,
our focus is on this year and doing the things
we need to do to be as good as we
can be.
Speaker 4 (31:08):
Baldy is back.
Speaker 12 (31:08):
Let's talk about this matchup. Baldy, you and I have
been at the Giants. They have made a big investment
on that defensive line. They've got a lot of store
power on that defensive line. We watch Abdul Carter blow
up a whole lot of practices this summer. How does
that defensive line take on Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Well, I'm interested.
Speaker 14 (31:28):
I'm going to be doing that game for National Radio
on Sunday, Judy's I'll be in Washington. You know, they've
got all the pieces to play great defense. But Jayden
Daniels presents a lot of issues, but he was sacked
a lot last year.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Judy.
Speaker 14 (31:40):
He did run one hundred and eighty three times at
twenty starts, but he was sacked fifty times a year
ago as well, and so he is going to hold it.
He is going to challenge the defensive. He doesn't like
what he sees and he will pull it down. And
so I'm anxious to see the deployment of Abdul Carter
with spider Man Burns, along with Thibodeau, along with Dexter
(32:02):
Lawrence in an offense that Brian Dable just explained. They
play high like high tempo, and so can you can
you get the volume of defense from those stars to
stay on the field and get them off the field.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
It's going to be a real challenge.
Speaker 14 (32:16):
But I feel like this is why they drafted alb
Duke Carter, that the offseason that Brian Burns has had
has been outstanding, has been their best player. He's looking
for a great year. Dexter is healthy off that injury
a year ago. They have the pieces up front. I'm
anxious to see how they how they spy Jayden on
third downs, how they rush them, where they think they
(32:38):
can win because the Commanders have improved their offensive line,
especially at the left tackle position. So uh, it looks
like and and last year, Judy, in these two games,
they were very close games. Both games three point games,
the first time five point game, the second time. They
were close games a year ago. And so have the
(32:58):
uh the second year in Shamee Bone and the the
health and the addition of alb Duel Carter and Jabon
Holland you know, guys to the secondary of pulseon de Debo.
Have they upgraded this defense enough to match that offense
that Brian Dable just explained, was, you know, one of
the better scoring offenses a year ago.
Speaker 12 (33:16):
That is actually a question about the Commanders too. We
know what that offense can do. But if there was
a weak part of their game last year, it was
the defense, particularly their run defense. Have they done enough
to upgrade their defense?
Speaker 14 (33:30):
I think they've improved a lot. I was out there
this summer, Judy. I'm sure you're out there as well.
Joe wit Junior the defensive corner and Dan Quinn. They
feel like they've gotten better from top to bottom. I mean,
Marshaun Lattimore is healthy. They've been raving about Trey Amis,
the rookie corner playing the left corner. Mike san Ristol
was awesome last year in the slot. They added some
defensive piece obviously. Bob Miller comes on board, who finished
(33:54):
very strong with Buffalo a year ago. They added Javon
Kinlow a year ago. This time, Johnny Newton was a
second round draft pick. He wasn't playing yet coming off
a foot fracture. He's healthy and have the whole off season.
I feel like top the bottom, Judy, this defense has
improved throughout, and I feel like the Commanders feel the
same thing, that they're ready to really keep the score
(34:17):
down against some of the better offenses in the NFL.
Speaker 12 (34:19):
Right now, I frankly cannot wait to watch this game.
I am going to be at the Jets Steelers game,
but I bet I will have this one on my
phone right next to me too. Baldi, thank you very much, Ian.
Speaker 7 (34:34):
Thinking of lading.
Speaker 11 (34:34):
We're gonna have to wait all freaking day and then
another day for this one.
Speaker 7 (34:41):
It was Sunday night. It's not Sunday night.
Speaker 11 (34:42):
Vikings Bears is Monday night. Why do they make us
wait so long?
Speaker 7 (34:47):
I don't want to.
Speaker 11 (34:47):
Wait long to see the debut of JJ McCarthy and
to see Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson's offense, and see
what pressure Brian Flores is gonna throw at this Bears offense,
which coincidentally is.
Speaker 7 (34:59):
I mean n Johnson, the Bears head coach, has been thinking.
Speaker 19 (35:02):
About a there's not a team that pressures more than
than Minnesota has over the last two years. And uh,
you know, I go back to what I admired most
about New England when I was a young coach in
this business, and they had the ability to morph week
in and week out.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
And he does that.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
He does that as a as.
Speaker 19 (35:22):
A coordinator, you don't really know what you're gonna get.
You have to adjust in the middle of the game.
Our guys have to be open minded and be willing
to understand we're going to get hitting the teeth. A
couple of times I said nature of doing business with
this crew. They've got some really good players, they're really
well coached. They're really ball conscious that they're going after
the ball all the time. I think they were number
(35:44):
one in turnovers last year and that's a credit to
how they practice because it shows up on game day.
Speaker 11 (35:51):
Man, it's quite a challenge for a first time head coach,
and Ben Johnson and his second year quarterback for the
first time those two working together. Uh, let's flip at
the other side as we welcome in Jeffrey Today and
Steve Weisch our two good friends.
Speaker 7 (36:04):
Gee, I want to start with you. We talked about.
Speaker 11 (36:07):
Caleb Williams and the Bears side. Go around the other
side me talk about JJ McCarthy, the Vikings first time starter.
Speaker 7 (36:15):
What he has to do to live up to the
considerable hype.
Speaker 15 (36:19):
We'll just play within himself Ian and that's something that
I think he did a great job of. That's one
thing they liked about him coming out of college. This
is the guy who really impressed his staff last year
before he got hurt, had that season ending knee injury,
and he knows that there's a lot of weight on
his shoulders. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, he
talked about just how hard it was to sit and
watch and not be able to be a part of
(36:39):
what they did last year in that magical season. But
he also understands this is a great opportunity for him
to come in. He wants to use his legs in
this game against the Bears. He understands he's got a
great supporting cast to work with, even though they've had
some injuries. That receiver had to go out and get
Adam Thiebland and won't have Jordan Addison that suspension. But
this is a quarterback who's ready to go. I think
he's to have a huge game against the Bears.
Speaker 11 (37:02):
Those are gonna be facing a really, really good defensive
coordinator and Dennis Allen one of the best over the
last decade or more when he has been the DC.
Steve Weis how big of an addition was DA for
the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 10 (37:17):
It's huge, And I think this is one of the
most under talked about stories in the NFL this year.
We know Ben Johnson because he was such a great
offensive coach with Detroit is a big story. But Dennis Allen,
as you mentioned, for a decade or so with the Saints,
always had New Orleans' defense in the top ten, usually
in the top seven in almost every major defensive category.
(37:38):
Now he's taking over defense that was the eighth best
scoring defense last season, and he adds Montes sweat and
on the other edge, he's got Deo Atiyinguo so and
you know in his defense was edge players on the
run and the passing game are hugely important. They're gonna
be rotating the defensive tackles in and out and the
point where they're gonna have good.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
He should be good against the run.
Speaker 10 (38:00):
Put a lot of pressure on JJ McCarthy and let
someone like cornerback Jalen Johnson do his thing.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Again.
Speaker 10 (38:06):
You talk about Dennis Allen's history, what he's was able
to do in New Orleans for years with that defense
with a variety of players.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
They were stout at all three levels.
Speaker 10 (38:15):
And the pieces are already in place at Chicago for
that to take footing right.
Speaker 15 (38:19):
Away and Steve you talk about that defense, and you
saw Ben Johnson allude to that in that press conference
sound by just how important it is for Kaylen Williams,
who's got just as much pressure, if not more than j.
J McCarthy in this game to deal with Brian Forest
and that defense. And I know that he's had some
questions about how much he plays within the on schedule,
within the compounds of that offense. But Ben Johnson believes
(38:41):
in this guy, and Kavid Williams has impressed his teammates
for some of the things he's done throughout this offseason.
In training camp, in fact, ifter Drew Domend was talking
about the confidence he sees when he's calling plays in
the huddle and the way he carries himself when he's
running his offense. Dolmend's going to help him out a
lot as far as taking pressure off his play, as
far as picking up protections and all that stuff. But
Caleb Williams, again, he's gonna have to do the same
(39:02):
thing David McCarthy is going to be doing this game,
which is play within himself, well.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
Play with it himself, but there's pieces there too.
Speaker 10 (39:08):
He's got you talk about the Vikings are kind of
limited in some of the receiving options because of the
suspension of Jordan Addison and some injuries. Well the Bears
they've added some, including tight end Colston Loveland. I would
not be surprised if this was a game where we're
seeing the tight ends featured on both sides in the
receiving game because of the variance of defensive fronts that
each coordinator is gonna throw at both of these young quarterbacks.
(39:31):
So the safety valve for both teams is gonna be huge.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
But again with Cole Comet and Loveland there for the Bears.
Speaker 10 (39:37):
I think Caleb's got some options at least underneath to
get rid of the ball and pick up some of
those yards, because the Bears also going to try to
run it with some of the talent they.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Have in the backfield.
Speaker 11 (39:47):
Steve Jeffrey great stuff, as always got it.
Speaker 7 (39:50):
Just want let's get the game.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Let's get it, let's get it.
Speaker 7 (39:52):
I'm not talking.
Speaker 11 (39:53):
I know we got a couple of days, but let's
get the games here. The twenty twenty five NFL season
is almost here. In single game taken are on sale
now seventeen games for all thirty two teams. Visit NFL
dot com slash tickets to purchase tickets today. Verified tickets
are available through the NFL ticket network, including Ticketmaster, Seat Geek,
(40:15):
and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
The NFL season is just two days away, which means
it's time for power rankings. According to Eric atom Over
at NFL dot com, it is the Eagles atop of
those rankings. They'll surprise for the defending champs, followed by
the Ravens, the Bills, the Chiefs, the Lions. You can
see the full rankings right there at NFL dot Com
(40:43):
at the bottom of the rankings. Whoever set up the
Sweet sixteen party for Bill Belichick's postgame press conference after
a forty eight to fourteen drumming at the hands of TCU.
I won't speculate who might have come up with that idea. Really,
it could have been anyone Ian.
Speaker 4 (40:57):
There's a lot to.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Talk about from Belichick's first that's it's one game in
college football. But what I want to know more than
anything is what went through his head when he walks
in after that loss and just goes, look at these
bleeping balloons.
Speaker 11 (41:10):
I think what went through us said probably was look
at these bleeping balloons. This is college football, though, and
this is something Belichick has never cared about, the dressing
up and what things looked like and the perception he
really has it.
Speaker 7 (41:23):
He has dressed however he felt like and at all
the time.
Speaker 11 (41:26):
This is college football, this is recruiting, This is part
of it. He better understand it, and my guess is
he probably does.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
It looks like the NFL football is here.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
The NFL Game Day season preview coming up next. Rich Boots,
Kurt Gerald, tato It Boys,
The world keeps spinning, the clock keeps moving, and we
are getting ever closer to Week one of the twenty
twenty five NFL season. James Slander joins us live from
the Star in Moments tonight to talk about the Cowboys
approach to the Eagles in the post Parsons World. All
thirty two teams we'll be in action over the next
(00:30):
six days, and we got some really good ones right
out of the gate. We got Lions packers, we got
Giants commanders, we got Baldy tonight to help us break
it all down. We also have Michael f Florio here
with four Fantasy Gold talking about some must have Fantasy
stars and some other names you're gonna want to keep
in mind as you're setting your Week one lineup. Welcome
(00:53):
inside with the Insiders alongside Ian Rappidboard, Judy Battista, and
Mike Garafolo. I am Tom Pelisero. Way back in February,
I started the countdown clock at the beginning of every show.
At the time, it was like two hundred and seven
days until a football game. Well guess what, right now,
Mike Garatfollo, We've got a little over forty eight hours
(01:15):
to kick off of a good one in Philly.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You're gonna be there. Let's go.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yes, I am Thursday Night football, the Eagles kicking off
against their division rival Dallas Cowboys. The Mike got Parsons
list Dallas Cowboys, but they still got Dak Prescott, CD Lamb.
They added Kenny Clark. Still a lot of really good
football players on this team, and you know that they
would love to spoil the celebration for the Eagles as
they raise another banner at Lincoln Financial Field. We will
(01:41):
be there, we will be ready to go, and we
will expect both sides to be ready to play some
passionate football.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Week one.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Here are the coaches talking about it.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
It's funny. I actually caught myself doing this the other day,
our bonus Monday. I kind of called the team up
and I kind of got a little firing excited about
you pay and the Eagles and primetime and all that stuff.
And I went to bed that night, I was like,
what are you doing? Like you know better than that,
because honestly, the way we approach things, Todd is every
game we play is just another championship opportunity. It's just
(02:13):
another championship opportunity. We get a chance to go out
there against the Eagles. You don't get extra credit for
beating the Eagles in Philly on primetime than you do
for beating the Giants at noon in at and T
Stadium the.
Speaker 6 (02:24):
Last Banner Night in twenty eighteen. It's famous that the
fans booed the Eagles at halftime because they weren't happy
with the way things were going, albeit it was Banner Nite.
How do you feel about the fact that even though
it is Bannernite for you guys, the fans will still
have the standard of performing and winning at.
Speaker 7 (02:42):
A high level.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, I didn't know it was Banner Nite.
Speaker 8 (02:45):
We won't be out for that.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Siria, Honey, gonna be yelling at fans by halftime. If
we know Philly well, they hope that they're going to
be performing well enough, then you won't have to bark
back at any of the fans. Later, with us down
there in Texas, Steve Weis in the LA studios, are
going to talk about this matchup right now. Jay, you
just saw him there on the promo for the game.
(03:10):
Dak Prescott ready to go rolling on all cylinders after
that hamstring injury cut short his season last year. What
are we expecting from Dak and company on offense into
this game.
Speaker 9 (03:20):
Well, they're expecting to go in there and beat the Eagles,
as any team should when they start their season. But
let's be honest, this is going to be a challenge. Sure,
they have the firepower of adding George Pickens along with
Ceedee Lamb, we still have a lot of question marks
around this run game for those of us that watched
them in the preseason and at training camp. And then
(03:41):
you also have to consider the fact that they are
missing Zach Martin on that offensive line, and so we'll
just have to see how that offensive line does against
Vic Fangio. A very young defense, one of the best
defenses in the league won it all at the Super Bowl,
and now those young guys, which struggled in the first
four games this season and found their way, really feel
like a fortified unit.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
I think, namely, I mean, you've got.
Speaker 9 (04:04):
Guys like you, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Quinyan Mitchell read
Blanketship and so you know, I hope that we don't
see from Schottenheimer the sort of showing that we saw
from Bill Belichick in his first game coaching last night,
but the vibes are high in Dallas. I know it's
been tough having lost Micah Parsons around there, but they
still have a lot of confidence what they have and
(04:25):
they have confidence because they have their quarterback in Dak
Prescott back.
Speaker 10 (04:29):
And they clearly have confidence if they're going to trade
away Micah Parsons.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Well, I want to talk about the piece that they.
Speaker 10 (04:33):
Got back for him, and that's defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I think a lot of people forget that.
Speaker 10 (04:37):
Kenny Clark is a very good player, and in Matt
Eberflus's system, he's got a real good opportunity to influence some.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Things in this game tonight. He's our game Thursday night.
Speaker 10 (04:46):
He is a run stuffer, right, He had a career
high and run stuffs. That's literally a stat even though
some of his other numbers were down. But he's somebody
we know how strong the Eagles are at guard center guard.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
If he can.
Speaker 10 (04:59):
Control some here and again this is a Matt eberflu
scheme thing to keep teams in second and nine and
third and seven, then they've got a chance. Because we
know the Philadelphia Eagles, if they get into second and
five or even second and six.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
They've got you.
Speaker 10 (05:14):
They're gonna continue to extend that drive. So this is
where Kenny Clark really factors into things. And once again,
if they can get they can get the Eagles into
passing No.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
One passing downs, that's.
Speaker 10 (05:23):
When they've got to kind of make up some pressure
since the guy who could win in those situations is
now in Green Bay as part of the Kenny Clark trade.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yeah, Steve, If they get the Eagles into passing downs,
that means they stopped the number one player on the
NFL Network one hundred Top one hundred list. Excuse me,
the top one hundred players of twenty twenty five has
voted on by the players.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Say Kuon Barkley number one.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Uh, he's probably never gonna win an MVP because it's
skews so much toward the quarterbacks. But this wasn't MVPs.
This was who is the best player, and in the
opinion of the players this past year, it was say
Kuon bark So Jane. The last time we saw him
against the Cowboys, he picked up one hundred and sixty
seven yards on the ground on his way to over
two thousand on the season. He ran all over that
(06:10):
Cowboys defense. But Steve's right, they didn't have Kenny Clark.
Kenny Clark, the big run stopper. There was such a
big part of that Micah Parsons deal. How does this
Cowboys defense make sure they keep Saquon contained, not even
stop them, keep him contained.
Speaker 9 (06:22):
Yeah, and keep in mind, Kenny Clark literally got here
on Friday, you know, he said, And according to Maddiebraflus,
it's a position that's fairly easy to pick up. This
is a smart veteran guy. They really like the idea
of having him in the interior alongside Osa Digeezua. They've
got Donovan Azeraku, the rookie they're going to have to
expect a lot from now that Micah Parsons is gone.
(06:44):
But the onus also falls on the linebackers, Steve, when
you consider, yeah, you've got your line there, but without
Micah Parsons there, you know, they as they pointed out,
you can't scheme against the pass, or you can scheme
against the pass, you can't scheme against the run. But
the run has their achilles heel.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
You know.
Speaker 9 (07:01):
The last couple of seasons quite frankly, but specifically against
Saquon Barkley, week seventeen was particularly ugly, and so that's
been all we've heard around the Star and Frisco is
got to slow down the run, and what is Matt
Eberflus gonna come up with. I really like Marius leafal
by the way at linebackers, so I feel there's some
confidence there and then some good news. We're still keeping
(07:24):
an eye on this. Trayvon Diggs. It looks like he
was a full participant in practice for a second day
in a row. He said he's about seventy five to
eighty percent thinking that he's going to play. But I mean, granted,
he's not helping you necessarily in the running game, but
it does make you reconsider whether you want to throw
the ball if you do have Trayvon Digs back there.
And so all of that part of the big stew
as we get ready and plan for this game on Thursday.
(07:46):
But look, they can say what they want. Micah Parsons,
We're going to be fine without him, but that is
a big loss, and it was notable when you talk
to a lot of the Eagles players who sort of
breathe a sigh of relief that they aren't going to
be lining up against Micah Parsons on that side.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
Of the ball.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
I understand Jay that Kenny Clark just got there. But
if they don't stop the run in this game. I
talked about Sirianni hearing it from the fans.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
If they don't stop the run in this game after
making this trade and bringing in Kenny Clark, oh boy,
the reaction from Cowboys fans is going to be unbelievable.
Landon Dickerson's a big part of the Eagles running game
and he was a full go today. He had that
knee surgery to clean up his achilles, his achille, excuse me,
his cartilage in his knee.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
They call that the miniscus.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
First time covering knee injury, Mike, No, but remember how
scary that scene was when he got hurt at the
Lake during a training camp practice and they hoped he
would be ready for week one.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
It appears to be the cases.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
He was a full go.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
In practice to day. James Slater, Steve Weis, thank you
very much.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Tom, Thank you doctor Garafullo. The NFL is back with
four days of football. Twenty five season starts on Thursday
night with NFL Kickoff presented by YouTube TV. Catch Dak
Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys take on Jill and Hurts
the raining Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Thank you ready
for a weekend full of your favorite teams. NFL Kickoff
(09:04):
presented by YouTube Tv Thursday, SENMBM Eastern and NBC. Go
to watch dot NFL dot com for the full schedule.
Of course, the NFL Kickoff continues Friday in Sal Paulo, Brazil,
and we got a little clarity today in terms of
some of the players that will be out there. That
includes Hollywood Brown listed as a full participant. He suffered
a ankle slash foot injury way back at the start
(09:27):
of training camp in late July, but he's been ramping
up steadily. Andy Reid said that he's looking good. Does
appear based on that participation, he's on track to.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Play on Friday night.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
The same now goes for Chargers running back Naji Harris,
who only a week ago or so was cleared for
contact following that fourth July fireworks explosion which left him
with an eye injury. He too, listed as a full
participant in practice, a good sign that Naji Harris could
be making his Chargers debut. Stefan Diggs also set to
(09:59):
make his Patriots debut in Week one, that is a
Sunday game against the Raiders. Patriots coach Mike Rabel on
local radio said earlier today when I asked him, Diggs
is going to play, as only Vrabel can Yep, as
of today, he'll be out there. That's only slightly cryptic
ian even by Rabel standards. Not really a surprise though,
(10:19):
despite some weirdness and various rumors and things said in
the offseason, all signs point toward the Patriots cutting loose
one of the most dominant receivers over the past decade
against the Raiders.
Speaker 11 (10:32):
Well, the good news Tom is that Stefan Diggs ramping
up preparing planning.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
As of right now.
Speaker 11 (10:37):
Whatever Mike Brabel said, it's all good for the fact
that they do expect him to be out there for
Week one.
Speaker 7 (10:43):
But it was more than weirdness.
Speaker 11 (10:45):
Actually in the contract that's Stefan Diggs sign. Him passing
his physical getting fully cleared was how he ended up
unlocking his signing boat is that's how much. That's how
unsure everyone was about his knee. Remember tours ACL in
October last year. It's about ten and a half months
since then, should be almost one hundred percent by now.
(11:05):
But everybody is different, Every player is different. You never
really know if a player is going to heal as
you hope he does, and considering how valuable he is
in the receiving corps, this is something that was paramount
get through training camp and this way you learn Stefan
Diggs is expected to be good to go.
Speaker 7 (11:22):
That is excellent. As far as Christigan Zalence, their star on.
Speaker 11 (11:25):
The other side of the ball, still has in practice
with a hamstring injury, their star corner.
Speaker 7 (11:29):
That is not a great sign. As the Patriots ramp.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Up for Week one, Mike Vrabel making his debut as
the Patriots coach on Sunday against a former Patriots coach,
Pete Carroll, who's now making his debut as the Las
Vegas Raiders head coach. As long as we're talking about
wide receivers here, Judy, you go for one team in
the Patriots that at least seems like they have a
plan at this point. We'll see what the Raiders decide
to do, because there's been a lot of drama at
(11:54):
that position through the course of camp.
Speaker 12 (11:56):
Yeah, let's be clear, Ginos Smith's most important target tight
end brock Bauers. So that's let's set that aside. But
the wide receiver room is a bit of a muddle.
Jacoby Myers. If they actually just released their first depth
chart about an hour ago, Jacoby Myers is their number
one receiver, There's no question about it. The problem is
Jacoby Myers wants a new contract and he has asked
(12:18):
for a trade. They haven't indicated any willingness to trade him. Ironically,
Jacoby Myers is a former Patriot in New England has
sort of been floated as one of the possible destinations
if they were inclined to trade him, although again they
have not given any indication they want to do that.
So for now, Jacoby Myers is there as the number
one receiver. Trede Tucker is returning. He is on the
(12:41):
smaller side, but fast. He maybe is in line for
a bigger role. And then keep an eye on Dante Thornton,
the rookie. He is listed as a starter on the
most recent depth chart. He showed some explosive ability during
the preseason. He's been described as an Al Davis kind
of player, which is the highest possible praise for a Raider.
(13:01):
Big play downfield, possible attack. We'll see if he has
a significant role. But this all underscores the challenge that
Pete Carroll Face is trying to kiece together a competitive team,
maybe a playoff team, in possibly the most difficult division
in the entire NFL.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Half the league opens up in Week one with a
division battle, and that includes this one right here. It
is the Lions and the Packers going at it, just
days after green Bay pulled off maybe the trade of
the entire offseason, acquiring pass rusher Micah Parsons from the Cowboys,
while the Lions get back their pass rusher, and sure
(13:43):
sounds like Aiden Hutchinson, coming off of a really grotesque injury, continues.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
To look good.
Speaker 13 (13:49):
Man, we love Lambeau. I mean it's awesome. You know.
It's just that's one of those places on the eighth
Day the Good Lord made Lambeau, you know, and so
we could go out there and play in it, you know,
first Super Bowl, Ice Bowl. The history it's got and
it's in the same location. You know, it's been upgraded
all those but man, it's got that deep history to it.
(14:12):
And you know, it's the grass man, it's the elements.
It's just the mystique. It's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Man.
Speaker 13 (14:18):
If you love football, you love going to play there,
and so our guys look forward to it. Man, it's
one of those special places to go play.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Welcome back to the Insiders, presented by Progressive Insurance, Tom
Pilaicero Ian Rapport. Welcoming Brian Baldinger into the conversation at
this point, Baldi, we know we've talked a lot about
some of the changes in Detroit. A lot of them
on the coaching staff, a lot of familiar faces in
terms of the skill spots, but those big boys up
front and offense going to look a little different. What
do you make of this edition of the Lions?
Speaker 14 (14:49):
Well, to begin with Tom, I concur with Dan about
lambeau It's a special special place. My only catch of
the NFL Lambeau Field. All right, that's out of the way. Look,
I mean when you have Jamison Williams, you have two
mere Gibbs, so you could score from anywhere on the
field at any time, and then you had all the
other pieces, you know, a monra this rookie Isaac Taslah,
(15:10):
you know Sam Belaporter. They're loaded, but up front to
lose Frank Ragnow, who I thought was the best center
in football, to lose Kevin Zeidler. I mean, those guys
played ninety seven percent of the snaps last year. Now
Graham Glasgow has played center. He steps in from left guard,
he goes into center. They draft the rookie Tate Rutledge,
and so like they've drafted they have capable people up front,
(15:32):
but they were so not just solid tom they were
so stable in the middle. Jared Goff last year had
his best season ever and he was only sacked thirty
one times, and a big reason was in front of him.
There was a nice wall there was, And.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I don't know, we don't know.
Speaker 14 (15:51):
They don't know yet if it's gonna be as solid
as it was a year ago.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Well, at least we know that the Lions will have
to point against one of the top pass verses in
the NFL. Oh right, they will ian Because Micah Parsons
now a member of the Packers, and despite the fact
that he is dealing with some of it from a
medical perspective, sure sounds like we're gonna get a decent
dose in him on Sunday.
Speaker 7 (16:12):
Yeah, it sure does.
Speaker 11 (16:13):
I would expect Micah Parsons to be on the field
for the Green Bay Packers this Sundays. A lot that
went into it, an entire offseason of discussion went into it.
Some contract negotiations that once I thought was happening, the
other side didn't. A trade request, an eventual trade, a
forty seven million dollar contract, to first round draft picks,
and the Kenny Clark all contributed to Micah Parsons being
(16:36):
on the Green Bay Packers. So, yes, he is dealing
with a back injury, is dealing.
Speaker 7 (16:40):
With a little bit of a sprain.
Speaker 11 (16:41):
Has been uh has been given some medicine.
Speaker 7 (16:45):
From the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 11 (16:46):
Diagnosed with that injury about six or seven days ago.
Started the oral medicine. There's also a possibility of an epidural.
Could do a shot to make a feel about it.
My understanding is Micah Parsons is not going to let
anything get in the way of him being on the
field for the Packers. The other part of this is
they identified him as a defensive lineman when he was
with the Cowboys. He played off the ball, he played
(17:08):
on the edge, he played inside, he played all over them,
identifying him the Packers as a defensive lineman.
Speaker 7 (17:13):
At least indicates that.
Speaker 11 (17:15):
His primary focus will be rushing the passer, which you know,
considering he's one of the best in the NFL right now,
that probably makes him sense.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Baldy, I did check your statistics. By the way, one
catch for thirty seven yards for a touchdown.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
It was in nineteen eighty eight. This was not just
a goal line play.
Speaker 14 (17:34):
You gotta take a start, real, Quill, No, no, no, Tom,
Let me explain. I led the league in yards per catch,
all right. I mean I was at the top of
the leader board. Thirty seven yards a catch and we
won the game that day. It wasn't like a catch
for nothing.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
We helped.
Speaker 14 (17:47):
It helped win the football game that day in Green Bay.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Very impressive, Baldy, stick around, because after this, how do
you want to hear about Justin Fields versus Aaron Rodnets.
I want to hear about Sauce Gardner versus DK Metcalf.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Nobody better get it down in Baldi. We'll get into that.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Jets Steelers matchup next. On the Inside.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
New Today to the Insiders, presented by a Progressive Insurance,
Jackson Dart listed as QB two on the Giant's depth chart,
behind Russell Wilson ahead of Jameis Winston. We talked about
this at the start of camp, said, could he get
up to that number two spot? Yeah, if he played
well and if he was in command that if he
showed that it wasn't too big for him.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
That's exactly what he did. So Jackson dart the.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Number two quarterback unofficially, but you know what, the Giants.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Know what they're doing here.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
So Jackson darted rookie, putting himself in a position to
be the guy if Russell Wilson struggles against hurt.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Meanwhile, big deal here the Bucks.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
A four year, ninety million dollar extension with twenty two
and a half million dollars per year, fifty million guaranteed
for me and Ian for Luke Godecie, Luke Kadecki, the
offensive tackle for the Buccaneers, and a deal done by
Chase Callahan of Excel pH who also did one for
Bernard Ryman with the Colts. So a couple of big
deals for Callahan the firm. Good job by Goodecki getting
(19:06):
that deal. This game on Sunday, Yeah, those guys were
wearing the other team's uniforms last year.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Now they are facing one another at MetLife Stadium.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
I will be there on Sunday and intriguing matchup between
a new coach at Aaron Glenn and a coach has
been around for quite some time, Mike Tomlin Here.
Speaker 8 (19:24):
Of both guys, Man, that's.
Speaker 15 (19:28):
Really nothing to talk about because of who he is.
Speaker 8 (19:31):
So he like challenges in always as far as him
as a thrower, getting the guys in and out the huddle,
being able to see the defense, and being able to
make their put the guys in the right position. So listen, guy,
He's a future Hall of Famer. We all know that.
So he's going to cause problems no matter what.
Speaker 16 (19:49):
He's unique because he is who he is. You know,
he's stronger than most mobile quarterbacks. That's a component of
his game that I think is unique. He's a really
talented guy physically, He's not easy to bring down. He's
got a real solid base about him. He's big, and
(20:10):
so you know, when I think about what might be different,
I think about his unique physical skill set. But in
terms of schematics, I don't know that. You know, the
things that they do are going to be uniquely different
from others. I think there's some global things that people
do in that area.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Any different preparing and game planning for a guy that
started games for.
Speaker 17 (20:29):
You last season.
Speaker 16 (20:31):
Not not really, to be quite honest with you. I
just think it's a lot of that. In today's game,
people move around, I'd imagine, you know, they're they're pondering
similar things on the other side, and so from that perspective,
it'll be fair.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
A revenge game in so many ways.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
You know, Justin Fields is looking to get back at
Mike Thomics. Remember he went to Russell Wilson when Fields
was the starter to start the season last year.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Judy Patista Steve Weisch with us.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Judy the Steeler's deep events coming into the season, still
got t J. Watt, still got plenty of talented players
on that side of the ball. Cam Hayward a captain
for the Steelers, what do we expect from them in
this game and throughout this upcoming season?
Speaker 12 (21:11):
Well, we expect them to be mostly intact for this game.
Mike Tomlin in that press conference was asked about Cam Hayward,
who is the All Pro and the captain of the team,
and he said he I want to quote him, certainly
is expecting him to be on the field. Cam Hayward
has sort of had this under the radar hold in
contract situation. He wants a raise from the Steelers. He
(21:34):
hasn't gotten the rays yet from the Steelers, but he
has returned to practice. He didn't really do much during
training camp, but then again, he's a veteran. They often
don't have Cam Hayward doing a whole lot during training
camp and the preseason, but Tomlin certainly expects him to
be on the field, even though Cam Hayward on his
own podcast left the door open. He was asked if
he's going to be on the field and he said,
(21:54):
we'll see. But otherwise the defense is expected to be
mostly intact. They're pretty healthy Alex Heisman on the fields.
Speaker 7 (22:00):
All of that is.
Speaker 12 (22:01):
Important because you heard Mike Tomlin talk about how mobile
Justin Fields is and how hard he is to bring down.
And we know Aaron Glenn wants Justin Fields to use
his legs.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Well, absolutely, Judy, and that's part of it.
Speaker 10 (22:13):
You heard Mike Tomlin how detailed he was talking about
the strength of Justin Fields.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
You don't hear people who.
Speaker 10 (22:18):
Don't know their business say things like that about Justin Fields.
And that's why Aaron Glenn on this offense run by
Tanner Engstrand they're going to run the ball.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
This is going to be strength against strength.
Speaker 10 (22:28):
This is why the Jets went out and got right
tackle armand Membu with the first pick in their draft,
so they can run the football. They've got Breze Hall,
They've got Brayln Allen.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
That's going to be their identity.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
And the fact now that they've got Fields, a mobile
quarterback who can boot leg, who can do some things in.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
The RPO game.
Speaker 10 (22:45):
To try to trick the Steelers front with some slide
of hand is what they're going to.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Try to do.
Speaker 10 (22:50):
But that said, Judy, you and I both know they're
going to have to take some shots early to get
that Steelers defense off the line of scrimmage to give
him and all those guys they want to run the ball.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Some room to operate.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Aaron Glenn said his veteran defenders have a little bit
of an advantage having seen Aaron Rodgers in practice and
gone up against him the last.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Couple of years. But I suppose that goes both.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Ways on this one because those guys with the Steelers,
so justin Fields, Thank you, Judy, thank you Steve Ian.
Speaker 11 (23:18):
Time for good coverage presented by Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
Welcome back in my good friend Brian Baldinger.
Speaker 11 (23:25):
Baldy, we talk about good coverage, like the kind that
Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 7 (23:30):
Does it get any better than Sauce Gardner.
Speaker 11 (23:33):
Obviously, we could talk about the Steelers Jets game all
sorts of ways.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
I want to talk specifically about this.
Speaker 11 (23:39):
What do you see from the Sauce Gardner VDK Metcalf
showdown for Sunday.
Speaker 14 (23:45):
This is the proverbial game within the game. Mean be
honest with you. I mean, this is the clear cut
number one receiver for Annon Rodgers and Pittsburgh. Sauce Gardner
coming off a down year where his first two years
he's first team All Pro out there Quarner didn't really
do much last He's being energized right now and challenged
by Aaron Glenn, his new head coach and also a
former cornerback and a Jet cornerback, wants to see him
(24:08):
regain that confidence in stature. Nothing could get Sauce Gardner
off to a better start than to throw a blanket
over DK Metcalf like this is now.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
I don't know how.
Speaker 14 (24:18):
Much he's going to travel with him.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Sauce has done that.
Speaker 14 (24:21):
At times in his career, but not really with any regularity.
But I expect this because Pittsburgh is gonna move DK
in different spots. Aaron has been working with dcations, thrown
with them out there in those fields in California way
before training camp, and so I feel like we're gonna
see that matchup quite a bit, and maybe who wins
(24:42):
that matchup wins this contest on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Time now to go inside with NFL Fantasy Live and
our friend Michael f Florio with me, Tom PELISARII in
rapport Mike garafull of Michael. We've gotten through a lot
of the draft at this point, but I want to
know right now, based on all of your drafts, and
you've done like seven hundred of them, who are the
must have fantasy stars for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 17 (25:09):
You guys are probably sick of hearing me talk about
some of these players, but at quarterback, it's justin fields
for me.
Speaker 7 (25:15):
He is one of three qbs ever to run for
a thousand yards.
Speaker 17 (25:19):
He is the QB rush record in a single game,
so the.
Speaker 16 (25:22):
Ceiling is super high.
Speaker 7 (25:23):
Year to year, week to week.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
He was a top six fantasy quarterback with the Bears.
He was on base to do that last year with
the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think we're gonna get a.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
Pushbush in New York.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 17 (25:33):
I'm drafting Justin Fields in a ton of leagues and
the best part is he is cheap enough where you
compare him with another quarterback like Dak Prescott or Jarrek
Goff to cover your bases.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Florio, assistant general manager of the Outsiders. Once again, we
didn't draft on the air like we did last year,
but he was part of the process for me and
we got Justin Fields, so I'm not surprised that that's
the guy that he mentioned.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
He highly recommended him.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
Let's see if he names one of the running backs
we drafted together.
Speaker 17 (25:58):
Michael, Oh, you know I'm going to We were texting
and I was like training on saying no. Said that
on a lot of shows this summer, and that is
who I continue to hammer home in all of my
drafts because you just want certain traits in a fantasy
running back. High end speed for big plays, elusiveness and
a shifty runner, good pass blocker to be out there
(26:20):
on the field, and then a good receiver to catch
the balls when it goes his way.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
He could do all that I keep joking that it
was like.
Speaker 17 (26:26):
He was built in a lab to be a great
fantasy football asset, and he's.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
On a team that should run the ball a bunch.
Speaker 7 (26:32):
One of my favorite.
Speaker 17 (26:33):
Draft targets, and his price has got.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
Up and up and up to the third fourth round.
Now I'm still paying it.
Speaker 17 (26:37):
I liked him when I was in the eighth round,
but I'll still pay that high price because I am
that confident in Traveon Henderson.
Speaker 11 (26:44):
Before Now it's my turn, and before we get started,
I'd like to say thank you for helping me with
my own fantasy draft AFT and we can actually end
up ignoring your advice to be totally honest. Keeper league
each had four keepers. I went with Ashton Genty as
my number one overall pick over Mai Neighbors. I crossed
my fingers. It's hard to get a keeper running back,
especially a young one, So thank you for all your help.
Speaker 7 (27:07):
I went against you.
Speaker 11 (27:08):
Now I hope I don't get some bad karma because
of that, But anyway, we love you.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
Why are we here?
Speaker 11 (27:14):
Yes, tell me about receivers that you absolutely gotta have,
not counting the one that you told me to draft
and I didn't draft.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
Tough question. That's exactly who I'm gonna talk about here.
Speaker 17 (27:24):
Neighbors is Look, you're even gonna want to taking Ashal
Jense There was no wrong answer there. Milik Neighbors is
my pick for Offensive Player of the Year. He averaged
more Fantasy points per game as a rookie than Jamar
Chase and Justin Jefferson.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
And look at the quarterback room.
Speaker 7 (27:39):
He did it with huge upgrades there.
Speaker 17 (27:41):
Now they should be able to throw the deep ball
in unlocked Neighbors down fields. I think he could be
the wide receiver won this year, but he doesn't.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Get viewed in that category.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
Kind of out ian.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
You're like Chris WATSONO, should.
Speaker 17 (27:53):
We getting beloved that the MVP love that college Schwarmer's
getting right now. That is elite Neighbors amongst these high
end wide receivers all right now.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
A tight end that you can't leave your fantasy draft
without Michael Tyler Warren.
Speaker 17 (28:06):
I keep drafting him everywhere I can. He's going as
a low end tight end one, but I have it
ranked as the fourth tight end behind only the Big three.
He is a huge target that excels after the catch.
He thrives in the middle of the field, which is
where Daniel Jones is at his best. I think regardless
of who's playing quarterback for the Colts all season long,
he is going to.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
Be their top target. He's a beast after the catch.
He is exactly the type of tight end you want.
Speaker 7 (28:29):
And all the recent here is.
Speaker 17 (28:31):
The top tight end has been a rookie tighter Warre
and might be able to keep.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
That trend going.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
All right, last thing before we let you go, Michael,
we were just talking about players you can't.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
Leave your draft without.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
There's also every year some players that no for everybody
leaves without, they don't get drafted, and then all of
a sudden, Week one comes they're a hot waiver wire
pickup and they might end up being the different.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Is there a guy or two.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Out there that's sitting on waiver wires in a lot
of leagues that you really like and you're like, dumb,
wherever you took in the fourteenth round, pick this guy
up on the spot.
Speaker 17 (29:01):
I did pick up Bill the Commander's running back in
the league, but he's being drafted in a lot You
want to get your backup running backs, anyone who's like
an injury Braylan Allen is someone getting a lot of
steam lately.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
Trey Benson is one I would put in that bunch.
Speaker 17 (29:17):
But yeah, any running back that's like an injury away
from a lot of playing time, that's who I like
to use my end of bench.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
Spots on Florio, me and Mike listen to you.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Ian does not remember that in terms of prioritizing whose
texts you return, we will talk to you again. So
when we got some fantasy results to talk about. Week
one kicking off in just two days. We got a
lot of good matchups, including the Giants going up against
the Commanders. What do we expect from Russell Wilson. It
is New York debut. Baldi's back. Help us break that
(29:48):
down next on The Insiders presented by Progressive Insurance.
Speaker 12 (30:04):
Welcome back to The Insiders presented by Progressive Insurance. Giants Commanders.
That is one of the big division matchups.
Speaker 17 (30:10):
In week one.
Speaker 12 (30:11):
I love all these division matchups right out of the gate.
The Commanders swept the Giants last season. Here is Giants
coach Brian Dabele on the matchup in week one.
Speaker 18 (30:22):
No question, it's a good football team.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
They're well coached.
Speaker 18 (30:26):
They improved their scoring offense by nine points a little
over nine points a game from the season prior to
that season, which is the biggest increase since twenty twenty.
Of offensive teams six come from back wins, you know,
coming from behind, excellent special teams unit with three special
teams Aces and Reeves, Bloor and Owens. And then the
(30:51):
defense that is very opportunistic, that plays fast and the
way I know coach Quinn likes to coach. So there's
a reason why they were in that game. And again,
our focus is on this year and doing the things
we need to do to be as good as we
can be.
Speaker 4 (31:08):
Baldy is back.
Speaker 12 (31:08):
Let's talk about this matchup. Baldy, you and I have
been at the Giants. They have made a big investment
on that defensive line. They've got a lot of store
power on that defensive line. We watch Abdul Carter blow
up a whole lot of practices this summer. How does
that defensive line take on Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Well, I'm interested.
Speaker 14 (31:28):
I'm going to be doing that game for National Radio
on Sunday, Judy's I'll be in Washington. You know, they've
got all the pieces to play great defense. But Jayden
Daniels presents a lot of issues, but he was sacked
a lot last year.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Judy.
Speaker 14 (31:40):
He did run one hundred and eighty three times at
twenty starts, but he was sacked fifty times a year
ago as well, and so he is going to hold it.
He is going to challenge the defensive. He doesn't like
what he sees and he will pull it down. And
so I'm anxious to see the deployment of Abdul Carter
with spider Man Burns, along with Thibodeau, along with Dexter
(32:02):
Lawrence in an offense that Brian Dable just explained. They
play high like high tempo, and so can you can
you get the volume of defense from those stars to
stay on the field and get them off the field.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
It's going to be a real challenge.
Speaker 14 (32:16):
But I feel like this is why they drafted alb
Duke Carter, that the offseason that Brian Burns has had
has been outstanding, has been their best player. He's looking
for a great year. Dexter is healthy off that injury
a year ago. They have the pieces up front. I'm
anxious to see how they how they spy Jayden on
third downs, how they rush them, where they think they
(32:38):
can win because the Commanders have improved their offensive line,
especially at the left tackle position. So uh, it looks
like and and last year, Judy, in these two games,
they were very close games. Both games three point games,
the first time five point game, the second time. They
were close games a year ago. And so have the
(32:58):
uh the second year in Shamee Bone and the the
health and the addition of alb Duel Carter and Jabon
Holland you know, guys to the secondary of pulseon de Debo.
Have they upgraded this defense enough to match that offense
that Brian Dable just explained, was, you know, one of
the better scoring offenses a year ago.
Speaker 12 (33:16):
That is actually a question about the Commanders too. We
know what that offense can do. But if there was
a weak part of their game last year, it was
the defense, particularly their run defense. Have they done enough
to upgrade their defense?
Speaker 14 (33:30):
I think they've improved a lot. I was out there
this summer, Judy. I'm sure you're out there as well.
Joe wit Junior the defensive corner and Dan Quinn. They
feel like they've gotten better from top to bottom. I mean,
Marshaun Lattimore is healthy. They've been raving about Trey Amis,
the rookie corner playing the left corner. Mike san Ristol
was awesome last year in the slot. They added some
defensive piece obviously. Bob Miller comes on board, who finished
(33:54):
very strong with Buffalo a year ago. They added Javon
Kinlow a year ago. This time, Johnny Newton was a
second round draft pick. He wasn't playing yet coming off
a foot fracture. He's healthy and have the whole off season.
I feel like top the bottom, Judy, this defense has
improved throughout, and I feel like the Commanders feel the
same thing, that they're ready to really keep the score
(34:17):
down against some of the better offenses in the NFL.
Speaker 12 (34:19):
Right now, I frankly cannot wait to watch this game.
I am going to be at the Jets Steelers game,
but I bet I will have this one on my
phone right next to me too. Baldi, thank you very much, Ian.
Speaker 7 (34:34):
Thinking of lading.
Speaker 11 (34:34):
We're gonna have to wait all freaking day and then
another day for this one.
Speaker 7 (34:41):
It was Sunday night. It's not Sunday night.
Speaker 11 (34:42):
Vikings Bears is Monday night. Why do they make us
wait so long?
Speaker 7 (34:47):
I don't want to.
Speaker 11 (34:47):
Wait long to see the debut of JJ McCarthy and
to see Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson's offense, and see
what pressure Brian Flores is gonna throw at this Bears offense,
which coincidentally is.
Speaker 7 (34:59):
I mean n Johnson, the Bears head coach, has been thinking.
Speaker 19 (35:02):
About a there's not a team that pressures more than
than Minnesota has over the last two years. And uh,
you know, I go back to what I admired most
about New England when I was a young coach in
this business, and they had the ability to morph week
in and week out.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
And he does that.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
He does that as a as.
Speaker 19 (35:22):
A coordinator, you don't really know what you're gonna get.
You have to adjust in the middle of the game.
Our guys have to be open minded and be willing
to understand we're going to get hitting the teeth. A
couple of times I said nature of doing business with
this crew. They've got some really good players, they're really
well coached. They're really ball conscious that they're going after
the ball all the time. I think they were number
(35:44):
one in turnovers last year and that's a credit to
how they practice because it shows up on game day.
Speaker 11 (35:51):
Man, it's quite a challenge for a first time head coach,
and Ben Johnson and his second year quarterback for the
first time those two working together. Uh, let's flip at
the other side as we welcome in Jeffrey Today and
Steve Weisch our two good friends.
Speaker 7 (36:04):
Gee, I want to start with you. We talked about.
Speaker 11 (36:07):
Caleb Williams and the Bears side. Go around the other
side me talk about JJ McCarthy, the Vikings first time starter.
Speaker 7 (36:15):
What he has to do to live up to the
considerable hype.
Speaker 15 (36:19):
We'll just play within himself Ian and that's something that
I think he did a great job of. That's one
thing they liked about him coming out of college. This
is the guy who really impressed his staff last year
before he got hurt, had that season ending knee injury,
and he knows that there's a lot of weight on
his shoulders. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, he
talked about just how hard it was to sit and
watch and not be able to be a part of
(36:39):
what they did last year in that magical season. But
he also understands this is a great opportunity for him
to come in. He wants to use his legs in
this game against the Bears. He understands he's got a
great supporting cast to work with, even though they've had
some injuries. That receiver had to go out and get
Adam Thiebland and won't have Jordan Addison that suspension. But
this is a quarterback who's ready to go. I think
he's to have a huge game against the Bears.
Speaker 11 (37:02):
Those are gonna be facing a really, really good defensive
coordinator and Dennis Allen one of the best over the
last decade or more when he has been the DC.
Steve Weis how big of an addition was DA for
the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 10 (37:17):
It's huge, And I think this is one of the
most under talked about stories in the NFL this year.
We know Ben Johnson because he was such a great
offensive coach with Detroit is a big story. But Dennis Allen,
as you mentioned, for a decade or so with the Saints,
always had New Orleans' defense in the top ten, usually
in the top seven in almost every major defensive category.
(37:38):
Now he's taking over defense that was the eighth best
scoring defense last season, and he adds Montes sweat and
on the other edge, he's got Deo Atiyinguo so and
you know in his defense was edge players on the
run and the passing game are hugely important. They're gonna
be rotating the defensive tackles in and out and the
point where they're gonna have good.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
He should be good against the run.
Speaker 10 (38:00):
Put a lot of pressure on JJ McCarthy and let
someone like cornerback Jalen Johnson do his thing.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Again.
Speaker 10 (38:06):
You talk about Dennis Allen's history, what he's was able
to do in New Orleans for years with that defense
with a variety of players.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
They were stout at all three levels.
Speaker 10 (38:15):
And the pieces are already in place at Chicago for
that to take footing right.
Speaker 15 (38:19):
Away and Steve you talk about that defense, and you
saw Ben Johnson allude to that in that press conference
sound by just how important it is for Kaylen Williams,
who's got just as much pressure, if not more than j.
J McCarthy in this game to deal with Brian Forest
and that defense. And I know that he's had some
questions about how much he plays within the on schedule,
within the compounds of that offense. But Ben Johnson believes
(38:41):
in this guy, and Kavid Williams has impressed his teammates
for some of the things he's done throughout this offseason.
In training camp, in fact, ifter Drew Domend was talking
about the confidence he sees when he's calling plays in
the huddle and the way he carries himself when he's
running his offense. Dolmend's going to help him out a
lot as far as taking pressure off his play, as
far as picking up protections and all that stuff. But
Caleb Williams, again, he's gonna have to do the same
(39:02):
thing David McCarthy is going to be doing this game,
which is play within himself, well.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
Play with it himself, but there's pieces there too.
Speaker 10 (39:08):
He's got you talk about the Vikings are kind of
limited in some of the receiving options because of the
suspension of Jordan Addison and some injuries. Well the Bears
they've added some, including tight end Colston Loveland. I would
not be surprised if this was a game where we're
seeing the tight ends featured on both sides in the
receiving game because of the variance of defensive fronts that
each coordinator is gonna throw at both of these young quarterbacks.
(39:31):
So the safety valve for both teams is gonna be huge.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
But again with Cole Comet and Loveland there for the Bears.
Speaker 10 (39:37):
I think Caleb's got some options at least underneath to
get rid of the ball and pick up some of
those yards, because the Bears also going to try to
run it with some of the talent they.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Have in the backfield.
Speaker 11 (39:47):
Steve Jeffrey great stuff, as always got it.
Speaker 7 (39:50):
Just want let's get the game.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Let's get it, let's get it.
Speaker 7 (39:52):
I'm not talking.
Speaker 11 (39:53):
I know we got a couple of days, but let's
get the games here. The twenty twenty five NFL season
is almost here. In single game taken are on sale
now seventeen games for all thirty two teams. Visit NFL
dot com slash tickets to purchase tickets today. Verified tickets
are available through the NFL ticket network, including Ticketmaster, Seat Geek,
(40:15):
and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
The NFL season is just two days away, which means
it's time for power rankings. According to Eric atom Over
at NFL dot com, it is the Eagles atop of
those rankings. They'll surprise for the defending champs, followed by
the Ravens, the Bills, the Chiefs, the Lions. You can
see the full rankings right there at NFL dot Com
(40:43):
at the bottom of the rankings. Whoever set up the
Sweet sixteen party for Bill Belichick's postgame press conference after
a forty eight to fourteen drumming at the hands of TCU.
I won't speculate who might have come up with that idea. Really,
it could have been anyone Ian.
Speaker 4 (40:57):
There's a lot to.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Talk about from Belichick's first that's it's one game in
college football. But what I want to know more than
anything is what went through his head when he walks
in after that loss and just goes, look at these
bleeping balloons.
Speaker 11 (41:10):
I think what went through us said probably was look
at these bleeping balloons. This is college football, though, and
this is something Belichick has never cared about, the dressing
up and what things looked like and the perception he
really has it.
Speaker 7 (41:23):
He has dressed however he felt like and at all
the time.
Speaker 11 (41:26):
This is college football, this is recruiting, This is part
of it. He better understand it, and my guess is
he probably does.
Speaker 4 (41:34):
It looks like the NFL football is here.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
The NFL Game Day season preview coming up next. Rich Boots,
Kurt Gerald, tato It Boys,
Hosts And Creators
Judy Battista
Tom Pelissero
Ian Rapaport
Mike Garafolo
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