NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero, Judy Battista, and Mike Garafolo break down the Browns' decision to name Joe Flacco their starting quarterback to begin the 2025 season. They also cover Matthew Stafford’s return to the practice field and Trey Hendrickson’s trade request out of Cincinnati. Marc Ross and Steve Wyche join the show to discuss Chicago’s offensive dominance on Sunday and preview tonight’s matchup between the Bengals and Commanders. Plus, the Insiders react to Jaxson Dart’s strong preseason debut, check in on Cowboys camp with Jane Slater, and share which teams they believe could get off to a surprising start this season.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Shdor Sanders Day will have to wait, Dylan Gabriel and
Kenny Pickett too. Joe Flacco is officially QB one in Cleveland.
We will break down what went into the decision, if
there really even was a decision, and what it says
about the Browns future at the most important position. The
Cowboys still have big questions to answer before Week one,
(00:31):
and it's not just all about Michaeh Parsons. Jane Slater
will join us to go inside the Dallas roster and
identify what the Boys need to fix before Philly. There's
football tonight too, Bengals and Commanders kicking off in about
an hour. A lot of the starters will be on
the field. Mark Ross and Steve Weis will join us
(00:51):
to tell you what each team needs to see For
now you can see us Welcome Inside with the Insiders
presented by Best Buy, alongside Judy Battista and Mike Garafalo.
I am Tom Pellicero. Preseason week two wrap it up tonight,
the regular season opener now just seventeen days away, and finally,
(01:14):
no more guesswork in Cleveland. Joe Flacco is indeed the
starting quarterback of the Browns that is the latest headline today.
Flacco took all the first team reps through the course
of training camp, so even though he didn't have his
opportunity in the preseason to impress the way that Shador
Sanders did, Dylan Gabriel got his opportunity as well. Now,
(01:34):
at age forty, in his eighteenth NFL season and two
years after the brown signed him off the couch in
November on a desperation, Joe Flacco is a bona fide
NFL starting quarterback once again, Judy, why is Flacco the
man in Cleveland?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Well, mostly because the competition that everybody anticipated in Cleveland
never materialized because everybody else other than the forty year
old Flacco got hurt at some point during training camp,
most importantly Kenny Pickett, who was the one who was
intended to be competition for Joe Flacco for the starting
job and might have had a chance to jump over
(02:12):
Joe Flacco for the starting job, but he got hurt
very early in training camp with a hamstring injury just
as camps were starting to ramp up, and he still
three weeks later, has not been able to practice fully.
He has missed both preseason games so far, it's unclear
if he might be available even for preseason game number
three next Saturday. So really the competition sort of evaporated
(02:35):
around Joe Flacco, who, to be fair, has also looked
very good in practices in the last two weeks as
he has gotten more and more reps. Dylan Gabriel got
a handful of first team reps, just a handful, otherwise
all of them have gone to Joe Flacco.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
So that is how we got here.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And of course, Dylan Gabriel only got healthy from his
own hamstring injury last week and was able to start
the preseason game. Sanders, who missed this preseason game because
he had an oblique injury, had his debut two weeks ago,
so all of the injuries combined, it was not really
a decision.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
It was Joe Flacco all the way, Judy we started
this off season or I guess OTAs into training camp
talking about, well, Dylan Gabriel versus shudor Sanders, which one
are you going to wind up keeping?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
There? The conversation now has to be Kenny Pickett, like,
what are you going to do with him?
Speaker 5 (03:28):
If you're keeping him, you're retaining four quarterbacks, which is possible,
which teams have done before. But that does hamstring you
in some other areas when it comes to depth and
let's say the defensive line of the offensive line. But
she Doris Sanders showed you what he needed to show
you in the first preseason game.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
We'll see about the third one, right, that's obviously going
to be an important one for him. And for Gabriel, you.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
Talked about him coming off of very limited work in
practice after he had a hamstring injury. So you have
this performance by Sanders, which we've said, these guys need
to put it on film in the preseason because then
you're not getting them through waivers and onto the practice squads.
Somebody's gonna wind up claiming him. Sanders did everything he
needed to do there. With Gabriel, there were sacks. There
was a pick six that really wasn't his fault entirely.
(04:09):
There were two guys in the same area and one
the tight le looked like he pulled up a little
bit short, and he came back and he bounced back
from that and led them to scoring drives. Did everything
he needed to do to show you there, you've got
Flaco as your starter. That leaves Pickett as the odd
man out. Now you say, oh, they traded for him, Well,
they gave up a fifth round pick for him, number
one sixty four. Overall, a lot of times when you
take a fifth round pick, it's a coin flip whether
(04:30):
that player is even going to make your roster coming
out of training camp. So if they did move on
from him or maybe traded him and tried to get
something back for him, you know, it's what you do
at this point.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
To kind of manage things.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
The question is, do you have one of those younger
guys that you feel good about if you had to
turn to them if Flacco got hurt early in the season, which,
by the way, Flacco the only guy of the quarterback
room that hasn't gotten hurt.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
This training gup, and it's a rocky road early in
the season. Sorry, No Week one against the Bengals. Not
an easy schedule at all. Everything course, too, that happens
in twenty twenty five is prelude to the Browns owning
two first round picks in the twenty twenty six draft.
Still plenty of potential twists and turns in terms of
what that quarterback could room could look like even one
(05:13):
year from right. Now. The Rams quarterback room, on the
other hand, is finally whole. Today, Matthew Stafford, for the
first time in training camp, suited up in pads after
dealing with an aggravated disc in his back. According to
reporters on the scene, Stafford was a full participant in
everything in a roughly one hour of practice. Here's what
(05:34):
coach Sean McVay had to say.
Speaker 6 (05:37):
I thought he did a good job today, and you know,
we had twenty six plays of team and he did
a really nice job of managing the huddle. I thought
he saw the field well. I thought he went where
the ball should go. And there's some good competitive work
on both sides today.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I think what's really.
Speaker 6 (05:50):
Happened is is when you look at it, you know,
there was a lot of things that we had talked
about at the beginning, and you know, it's kind of
gone a little bit differently than what we had planned.
And I think the right thing to do for everybody
involved is truly take it a day at a time.
I think where I've gotten, you know, myself, I don't
even want to say myself, but you know, you set
expectations and it's really like, you know, as we're getting
a grasp with this, and you know, he's doing everything
(06:12):
in his power, and Reggie and our group are doing
everything in their power. And that's where you just take
it a day at a time because it's a very
fluid and you know situation that you know demands flexibility
as well.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Jordan Love also back on the practice field for the
first time since undergoing surgery on his left thumb. That's
his non throwing hand. This is file footage right here today. Well, well,
not quite doing that much. He had the thumb heavily bandaged.
He was not taking normal snaps either from under center
or from the shotgun, according to reporters on the scene,
(06:44):
but in uniform again, certainly a good sign. The packers
have said they've got no concerns about him being ready
for Week one. Michael Parsons still not practicing amidst his
contract dispute with the Dallas Cowboys. The team is now
back in Dallas, spending training camp in Oxnard, California. Coach
Brian Shaanneimer met with the media earlier today, said he
(07:05):
does not expect things to change as of now regarding
Parsons participation. Mike has been there in meetings and walk
through everything I've been told is that he's been very
engaged in all those things, but not on the practice
field at a time that he still has a standing
trade request and there has been little communication on a
long term contract Trey Hendrickson. While there is communication at
(07:26):
least tonight pregame in Washington photo of servicing of him
having an interesting conversation on the field with the Bengals
personnel chief Duke Tobin. What can they be talking about?
Maybe what Ian and I reported yesterday, which is that
the Bengals are listening to trade offers for Trey Hendrickson.
As we've reported, they've been in basically agreement on the
(07:47):
big numbers, the years, the dollar numbers. It would be
an extension that would put him among the highest paid
pass rushers in the NFL on an average per year basis.
But the sticking point has been the guarantees. The Bengals
generally don't guarantee anything beyond year one. Trey Hendrickson wants,
as he's said publicly, a multi year guarantee. Other teams
have been inquiring in recent days. Here the Bengals turned
(08:10):
down a second round pick and change prior to the
draft that price now probably includes a player as well
as a draft pick, because the Bengals would need some
way judy to make up for the pass rush that
they're losing for Trey Hendrickson. So just another situation that
you would have thought logic would tell you would have
been resolved months ago. Yet here we are less than
three weeks away from the opener and still real questions
(08:32):
about where Trey Henderson will be playing, if anywhere, come
Week one.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Well, and don't forget, he has said he will not
play for the Bengals, only the Bengals under the existing contract.
So that is why we are at this point in
this stadown that has gone on all off season, because
who's going to give here. Is he finally going to
come in and say, all right, I'll play under the
old contract, or are they going to say, look, this
is our offer and he's going to have to either
(08:59):
accept it or sit out and forfeit all of that money.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Certainly we're getting very late in the process.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
The bottom line, though, is this is the guy who
led the NFL in sacks last year, and for a
Bengals team that has certainly done so much this offseason
to get itself in place to make a run. You're
not contending for much of anything if you don't have
a Trey Hendrickson on your defense. Your defense struggled last
year as it was with Trey Hendrickson. Can Schmar Stewart,
(09:27):
the rookie who came in late himself, can he possibly
make up the difference? I mean that was sort of
the bigger picture hope, the longer term hope. But it's
hard to imagine how the Bengals compete for a Super
Bowl without Trey Hendrickson on the field unless they get
a significant player back who can plug and play immediately
(09:47):
back in a trade. This is just a really difficult
standoff for a team that had done so much this
offseason to put itself in position to challenge in the AFC.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
That was video by the way of Trey Hendrickson entering
the stadium a short time ago he made the road
trip with Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Mike, a couple of the Commander's
key players not in the building tonight. Yep.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
We'll start with Brian Robinson, tom the running back that
has been the team's I guess leading Russia for the
last three years. Physical guy out of Alabama, not going
to play tonight. We reported this earlier today. We are
watching his status with the team, a possible trade involving
him potentially before.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
The cutdown to fifty three next week.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
So as a mutual decision from my understanding, to keep
him off the field tonight, you don't want to get
him hurt because that'll nix any possible trade right there.
So one way or another, teams that Robinson's time with
the Commander is going to be up, but the team
still engaging in trade talks to see if that's going
to possibly happen. Speaking of trade talks, that was something
that was being discussed potentially for Terry McLaurin when he
(10:55):
requested a trade and the team was never really interested
in that.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well, he is activated off.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
The he will not play this evening, and the team
and McLaren I guess hopeful at some point they could
work out some kind of a deal. There has been
a gulf in negotiations with regard to how much McLaren
wants and how much the team has been willing to offer.
Perhaps once we get close to that magic start of
the regular season that that could be something that gets
(11:19):
it done. In the meantime, Cliff Kingsbury had said he
wanted them on the field. Terry McLaren now off the
pup list and looking to get some work in ahead
of the start of the season.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Tom the Vikings finally have their top wide receiver back
on the field. It is Justin Jefferson for the first
time in several weeks since he had tweaked a hamstring.
Jefferson was out there doing only individual drills. But based
on the video that emerged today of him going through
those individual drills, and based on what my own two
eyes told me when I was there last Thursday, Jefferson's
(11:51):
going to be just fine. But makes sense Mike to
make sure that you're taking care of your most important
player this time of year. Yep.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
And meanwhile, the Colts I cover their game against the
Ravens that start the preseason, talking to some folks and said, yeah,
still need a little bit of help at the cornerback position.
Well here it is right here. Veteran Xavian Howard, who
played for lou Ana Rimo in Miami, now joining the
Colts in a deal one year deal worth up to
five million dollars to play for Ana Romo with that defense.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Yes, up to five million dollars according to his agents, David.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
Kanner and Ness Mucgrabi, as Tom tweeted out earlier today.
So the Colts feeling a little bit better that their
cornerback position now that they have added Zavian Howard to
the mix.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Speaking of Miami, the Dolphins added another pass rusher, one
of the top free agents on the board, Matthew Judan,
headed to the Dolphins on a one year, three million
dollar deal. Incentives can take that up to six million dollars.
Judon had been waiting for the right fit. He has
been all over the place in the past several years, obviously,
from the Ravens, to the Patriots, to the Falcons and
(13:00):
now to Miami. They got Bradley Chubb, Jalen Phillips, Chop Robinson,
Matthew Judahan. Hoping that maybe that front, in that pass
rush can help answer some of those questions that they've
still got on the back end.
Speaker 7 (13:13):
It's been a long time since the Bears better offense
that fans could get accepted those signs from the defense
of recent years, but can.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
They get the offense can get.
Speaker 8 (13:21):
Started that s one, it's another tight end.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Didn't full come back second and fifteen time to throw.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Wepen t Ukland.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Again got nineteen yards in a first.
Speaker 8 (13:33):
Down for the forty one, and he had all.
Speaker 7 (13:36):
Day to throw behind that revamped a while third and five. Williamson, Yeah,
there was ze KaiOS Cilmanakias Texan Chillianss touchdown, thirty six
yard touchdown to finish off a ninety three yard drive.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
To start this game. Only preseason, but if you're a
Bears fan watching that highlight reel right there, I imagine
your blud is pumping. Three weeks from tonight, Vikings Bears.
In the opener, Welcome Back to the Insiders, presented by
best by Tom Pellisero, joined now by Steve Whitch and
Mark Ross. Mark, you watched it. Everybody's been scrutinizing it.
Look at every passion training camp. What you see from
(14:14):
Caleb Williams first time out in.
Speaker 9 (14:15):
Game action, Well, at least they looked confident on that
first drive. And you know, Bears fans have been starved
for this forever, right and then even last season we
saw the flashes of Caleb Williams.
Speaker 8 (14:27):
Now Ben Johnson gets here. The talk of the whole
training camp.
Speaker 9 (14:30):
Has been how much has Caleb Williams mastered this offense.
Speaker 8 (14:33):
How many does it go? How well does he know
the checks? How much? How well does he know the formations? Well?
Speaker 9 (14:38):
On that first drive when you're scripting it out, he
was almost absolutely perfect, five of six ten play drive
that took out, you know, three minutes of fifty nine
seconds and scored the touchdown. He looked in rhythm, he
looked confident. The thing with an NFL game and with it.
This is with the perfect example what training camp doesn't
give you. It's a forty play game. So now that
second drive, he was only eight play drive, only fifteen
(15:01):
yards and he was one of four. So when he
kind of had to adjust on his own, that's in
that second drive, that's where it fell apart a little bit.
Speaker 8 (15:08):
First drive scripted perfect.
Speaker 9 (15:10):
Now he's got to take this steve into the regular
season of how much more has he mastered all of
this offense to say I can go a whole game adjustments,
blitz his changes on the defense to make it consistent
through a whole game.
Speaker 10 (15:21):
Right, I'm so glad you said that, because you can
still see this is going to be a work in action.
I mean, this is still in progress. But initially when
it was scripted. He saw that Buffalo came out a
lot of zone defenses, and he made some great throws,
especially to the tight ends against the zone and then
these spots. Man, that's where it's the chaus for the touchdown.
We here's some of the moving pocket stuff too. That's
(15:41):
what they didn't necessarily do in Detroit. But I want
you to watch a throw here if we have the
highlight where he rips it out to DJ Moore, and
this one tells me, don't just watch the catch right here,
watch the reaction to the teammates. Look how many black
jerseys are over there. The rest of this offense is
feeling it. That's when you know they have confidence in
the quarterback, confidence.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
In the system. And to me, that's to be just as.
Speaker 10 (16:05):
Encouraging is the way that Caleb Williams played on that
opening drive.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Ben Johnson had options back in January. He had a
big offer for the Raiders, he had interest from the Jaguars.
A huge reason he wanted to go to Chicago was
that guy Caleb Williams. My only critique in that first
time out, He's going to need to pull those socks
up where he's going to be getting some fine letters
from the league about uniform violation. Steve Mark, more from
you guys in just a little bit, Mike, Thank you Tom.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
So far, the things could not be going better for
the Giants as far as the well, two of the
three quarterbacks that they added this offseason, and Russell Wilson
their QB one and Jackson Dart their QB one of
the future. Russ with that moon ball the other night
on point, just as it's been so often throughout his career.
I know a lot of people think he's just this
bridge guy or whatever, Judy, but the Giants believe this
(16:55):
is a guy that can help them win some games,
particularly early in the season. But let's focus on Jackson
Dart here, because that is the big picture for the
Giants at the quarterback position.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
They could not be happier with what they're getting from.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
Him, not only the preseason, but also in training camp
as well.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, and what we're seeing in the preseason is an
extension of what we saw in training camp and what
they have seen throughout right. The way he has been
in command, very comfortable. The other night, he was going
no huddle up tempo, looked totally comfortable doing that. He's
completing a lot of passes, he's in rhythm, he ran
for a touchdown. He is everything they hoped he could be,
(17:35):
and he's probably everything he hoped they could be even
earlier than they ever.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Hoped he would be.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
So it's a good problem to have when you're already
being asked, hey, could you possibly start the rookie quarterback,
which Brian da Ball has already had to answer that question.
Dave Ball probably doesn't love having to answer that question,
but it's a pretty good problem to have that you
have two quarterbacks, but you feel pretty good about going
into the season.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Judy, my theory, and nobody has told me this of
the Giants, but my theory is that Brian Dable came out,
they won a training camp and announced Russell Wilson as
their QB one because he had a feeling Jackson Dart
was going to be impressive in training camp and in
the preseason and he didn't want fans to be clamoring
for this and have that in Russ's ear, or have
anybody else expecting that. But right now the game, it
just looks like it's smooth for him. Right now, it's
(18:23):
not happening too fast. He's taking care of the football,
operating the offense efficiently, and the athleticism. Just some of these,
even if he's not running, moving within the pocket and
then making a play, just a little slidestep or whatnot.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
That's the kind of stuff that you have to do.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
And then there's that part right there, which is the energy,
the swag, the leadership, everything that he is showing early
on that you want from your franchise quarterback. Again, they
are over the moon right now with Jackson Dart. We'll
see when he gets his time in the regular season.
One more preseason game for him, though, to continue to impress.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Thank you, Judy.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
With NFL Plus, keep up keep the NFL in reach,
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Speaker 1 (19:13):
Enjoy even more.
Speaker 5 (19:14):
Football with NFL Red Zone game replays and NFL Pro.
Sign up today at at plus dot NFL dot com.
Slash Network terms and conditions apply. If you have NFL Plus,
you'll be able to watch tonight's game the Washington Commanders
the Cincinnati Bengals. A lot of starters going to be
playing in this game.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
We'll be talking about it when we come back here
on The Insiders. Joe Burrow and Jaden Daniels set to
square off in the second preseason game for both teams
tonight in Washington. That game kicking off in just about
(19:51):
thirty four minutes. You will get a dose of these
starters from both these teams. Welcome back to The Insiders,
presented by Best Buy Tom Pill. Sarah joined once again
by Steve Whites and Mark Ross. I'll start with you, Steve,
Bengals giving these guys an opportunities. Zach Taylors, we're talking
about starting fast. Get those preseason ups. What are you
looking for?
Speaker 10 (20:10):
Yeah, look, the starters is gonna play for more than
a roughly a quarter, according to Zach Taylor. So, Joey
Burrow remember Week one, nine of ten leads. Those two
touchdowns to Jamar Chase looked absolutely fantastic. He caught one
of those tds. Look at the sideline catch right here.
It's just so easy for him. Right, we're still in
the preseason doing this. But t Higgins is the other
receiver we need to look at. He only had one target,
(20:31):
no catches in that game. So you figure to see
more out of t Higgins today as they kept that
trio together financially, Mark, they want to see them get
off to a hot start, and it could start tonight.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
Yeah, we know the Bengals have started slowing offense and
they caught fire. The defense unfortunately, started slow, had slow
in the middle, and finished slow as.
Speaker 8 (20:50):
Each of these years.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
And when you look at this team again this year, Steve,
it's basically the same Bengals team as last year, where Okay,
you had Trey Henderson your best player. Now he's not
there yet. Draft Shamar Stewart in the first round to
pair with him, but now it's just Shamar Stewart and
the rest of that defense that is there, and you
lose your defensive coordinator to Boot. So we're going to
unfortunately for Bengals fans, when I look at this team,
(21:13):
it'll be sort of more of the same where the
offense is going to be top three.
Speaker 8 (21:17):
To four in the league and scoring and all of that, but.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
The defense might be in the bottom five of scoring
and yards and points at all of that too.
Speaker 8 (21:27):
So let's see how that looks tonight.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
All right, Commander's side of things, Mark one, of the
most veteran rosters in the league. Preseason Game two, What
are you looking for?
Speaker 9 (21:37):
Well, the offense without Terry McLarin And we've been talking
about Terry all offseason with the contract and he's not
there was at their camp a couple of weeks ago,
he was hanging out on the sideline. So what will
this offense look without him? And how much do you
do to try to work those other players in to
say who will step up between you know, No Browns
pretty much a journeyman, but Luke McCaffrey in his second year,
(21:57):
the rookie Jalen Lane, another receiver who may step up.
And even in the backfield, Jacory Costy Merritt, you know,
the running back who's made a lot of ways there.
Could he be a playmaker to all said that, so
look for him tonight. So I don't know how much
they'll throw out there with Jayden Daniels, leave most of
it for practice, but definitely they're going to have to
learn to live life without Terry McLaurin.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Steve Well, let's flip.
Speaker 10 (22:20):
Into the other side of the field, because last year,
as we know Washington secondary, that was a major issue.
They hope they have an upgrade. Marshawn Lattimore is finally healthy.
But Trey Amos, the rookie, the second round draft pick,
is a player who they have been in love with
and speaking to people in that building, they think he's
going to be fantastic. He is going to start tonight
and they want him to get work against jamar J.
Speaker 8 (22:41):
T Higgins.
Speaker 10 (22:41):
They want him to understand what it's like to go
up against the boss wide receivers. So that is an
important part of what they're going to do. Also looked
a see Mikey Samby still another cornerback who didn't play
in Week one on the field, so they can start
getting some of their defensive packages in order.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Steve Mark stick around. More from you and justin little bit, Judy,
let's talk about.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
The Dallas Cowboys, which we haven't done in a few minutes.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Cooper Rush.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
This is him throwing a touchdown pass to Keith Kirkwood.
This is from the last preseason game. Pretty nice off
the looks like he's fallen down. Very nice touchdown pass.
Brian Schottenheimer announced today that Dak Prescott is not going
to play in the final preseason game, so it is
all Cooper rush all the time, and it's all Jane
Slater all the time too, Jane Slater joining the insiders.
(23:31):
All right, Jane, I feel like last season we spent
a lot of time talking about the deficiencies of the
running game, and we haven't really talked much about that
during training camp.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Where do you think the running game stands right now?
Speaker 11 (23:44):
Well, if you're looking at the first two games in
the preseason, it shouldn't give you a lot to be
excited about, Judy. I mean, just looking at this game
on Saturday, anytime that Joe Milton handed the ball off,
good things simply didn't happen. Let's go and look at
what these Miles standers play. To sort of illustrate what
I'm trying to say here, it was the early loss
(24:05):
of five by Miles Sanders. He's got them pinned there
back on the second at nine, and that led Dallas
at the eight to that sack and the Ravens safety.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
You know, a refresher by the numbers.
Speaker 11 (24:18):
Last season, the team rushing average was among the worst,
just four yards per carry, and they managed the league
worst six rushing touchdowns all season long, with one seven
and five rushing yards in twenty twenty four. As a team,
both Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley individually had more nine
of their seventeen games last season saw them put up
(24:39):
fewer than one hundred yards rushing. In other words, look,
Dallas simply cannot go into this season one dimensional again.
It puts too much on Dak Prescott returning from injuries
and the wide receivers, which in turn increases the turnover
risk and hurting that time of possession. And then looking
at some of this Joe Milton tape so far through
two preseason games, Judy, you really hope that Dak Prescott
(25:02):
stays healthy at this point, and so I know, as
you reference there, Dak Prescott will not be starting at
all this preseason. Not something that's uncanny here, It's something
that we've seen multiple coaching staffs do. But tend to
think that it takes them a little bit of time
to shake off the rust as a result of not
getting in rhythm with some of his receivers, like the
new addition of Pickens in real time.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
All right, give us something, give us a bright spot
that the Cowboys should be looking forward to.
Speaker 11 (25:30):
Jane, Yeah, you sound like my father, you know, he's
a big Cowboys fan grown up here in the areas, Like,
is there anything that can excite me? Jane well Hanger
had on the defensive play of Andrew Booth. You know,
we've got a lot of injuries with the defensive backs
right now, Treyvon Diggs, you don't have de more of
you an overshown yet, But look at this Andrew Booth.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
He had his eyes locked on Cooper Rush.
Speaker 11 (25:53):
There he jumps that out route and tell me if
you recognize that little strut into the end zone and
oh to Dion Sanders.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
He comes up with the interception and the pick six.
Speaker 11 (26:04):
Now Dallas managed just one pick six last season. I
literally had to go back to the stats and double
check that because that was so crazy for me to
believe that. One, of course, was to Marvian overshown against
the Giants and in close games. These are huge. Now,
I did mention they've got Treymon Diggs to Ron Land
and Marvian Overshown that will eventually make their back at
some point here, hopefully in the first quarter of the season.
(26:27):
But you get plays like they're a real nice play
lock and eyes with Cooper Rush again. Love to see
that that is your bright spot, Judy.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
All right, not to end on a down up, but
we can continue to keep our eyes on, of course,
the Michael Parsons situation, which everybody there has said, nothing
is going to change now that they are in Dallas.
So these stared down continues as the clock keeps ticking.
I am sure Jane that we will be checking in
with you more for Micah updates. Thank you very much
for joining us on the Insiders. It's the final two
(27:00):
before the NFL regular season kicks off, and the NFL
Network has six live games this week. Big names return
and rising rookies look to.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Make their mark.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
It's their last chance to set the stage and enter
the new season strong. Week three of NFL Preseason live
on NFL Network. Blackout restrictions apply also streaming with NFL Plus.
Subscription required for NFL Plus.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
Remember all those segments back in June May about training
camp battles we were looking forward to, and we kept
saying the Cleveland Browns the quarterback job, can't you know
never really came to fruition. Joe Flacco really wired a
wire the QB one for the Browns with Kenny Pickett
being hurt and the other guys being hurt as well.
Joe Flacco stayed healthy and he stayed atop the depth
(27:43):
chart and he will be the guy there for the
Browns that is official to start the regular season. Steve Weis,
Mark Ross with me, Mike Garret Follo, Mark looking at
this Browns quarterback room, Joe Flacco leading the way to
your thoughts?
Speaker 9 (27:55):
Yeah, who would have thought that the old man in
the room was the one to stay healthy?
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Even three young bucks can't stay on the field consistently.
Speaker 9 (28:01):
And you know, it was an unprecedented four man quarterback
race here that went out with a whimper, just because
you know, first Kenny Pickett got hurt, and then Shador
got hurt, and then Dylan Gabor got hurt, and then
Shador got hurt again. So you know, I'm sure Andrew
Berry and Kevin Sefanski would have love for this to
play out where all of those guys stayed healthy. And
(28:22):
really it was a true quarterback competition to see everybody
at their best, everybody performing each practice, each game to
see what they really could do. You know, when I
was there for camp, I think Kenny Pickett was really
the disappointing one where he kind of gave you the
best of both, where he was a veteran Super Bowl champ,
still had a first round pick, but still young enough
to grow and develop and not really have to throw
(28:43):
either of the two rookies into the fire there or
be the backup to Joe Flacco. So I think that's
the biggest disappointment. Now Steve will see where it goes
from here, if there will be an odd man out,
will Kenny Pickett be the odd man out, or where
there'll still be a chance to say we can kind
of this guy and salvage his career.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Yeah, look, I think it was Flacco's job all along.
Let's not forget it.
Speaker 10 (29:04):
A couple of years ago, Joe Flacco came in salvage
the brown season and got them to the playoffs, got
a playoff win, and Flacco was really a hero in
that town. So it comes down to the other guys
and the fact that Kenny Pickett's been hurt.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
That is the big question.
Speaker 10 (29:16):
So it's a leaving us asking will the Browns carry
four quarterbacks? They might have to because if you try
to stash Dylan Gabriel, shoot or Sanders on a practice squad,
some team could come pluck them. Same with Kenny Pickett,
you know, so you just have to get wonder if
Kenny Pickett's going to be healthy and I was thinking
about this, if that hamster continues to bother him, Remember
cuts are about a week away. Could they actually stash
(29:38):
him on injured reserve for four games? And he got
the other two quarterbacks back up Joe Flacco through a
murderer murderer's row of first eight games to determine what
the record's going to be. They've got a week nine
by and that might be where there's a natural quarterback
shift depending on what the record is in Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah, we're gonna have to keep an eye on that.
That'll be one of the.
Speaker 5 (29:57):
Intriguing storylines as we get the fifty three. Meanwhile, the
Colts have to make a decision on their starter for
week one, Shane Stike and indicating he is close to
doing that Mark looking at this one at Daniel Jones
Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
We know the upside with Richardson.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
We also know that Jones probably the more consistent safer call.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Here your assessment of the Colts, Well, we.
Speaker 9 (30:19):
Do the Colts and hear the brass. You got one
guy you took with the fourth pick in the draft,
and another guy that you.
Speaker 8 (30:24):
Signed to another.
Speaker 9 (30:25):
Team you know, didn't re sign, couldn't work with the
Giants here with Daniel Jones. So of course Chris Beller
and Shane they want to make Anthony Richardson work. They
don't want to give up on this guy because of
what they invested in him, which is the fourth pick.
And you know, unfortunately, you don't want Anthony Richardson to
sit and watch Daniel Jones play if Daniel Jones is
(30:45):
the safer option, because that's all the problem with Anthony
Richardson is that he didn't play much in high school,
he didn't play much in college, and now he hasn't
played much in the NFL. Steve, So you definitely want
Anthony Richardson to be on the field, and you definitely
want that investment to work. Of saying we're going to
do everything possible and if this is remotely close, we
have to go with the guy that we took with
(31:07):
the fourth thing.
Speaker 10 (31:07):
I agree with that it's remotely close, you have to
go with the guy, but you know, as much as
they want him to succeed, and I agree with your
theory exactly. Shane Stike and Chris Ballad are on a
pretty hot seat right here.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
They've got to win ball games.
Speaker 10 (31:19):
And if Daniel Jones, even if he's the safe guy,
wins them ballgames. Mark, you've been this position, you sat
in a personnel director's chair. Isn't this the guy you
go with if you're trying to retain if you're a
head coach and general manager, if you're trying to retain
your job security.
Speaker 9 (31:35):
Well, you're assuming Daniel Jonses is gonna take them any
better state that he's going to go in there and
win games. And you know, New York Giants fans have
seen the Daniel Jones experiment and then they're.
Speaker 8 (31:45):
So happy now with the Jackson Dark experiment and Russell Wilson.
What's going on there?
Speaker 9 (31:49):
So yeah, if there's another option, almost like a Joe
Flacco in Cleveland, what's going on there? Steve, where you
know what Joe Flacco is gonna do? You know, you
go throw him out there. You know exactly what he's
going to do. You know exactly was going to provide you. Unfortunately,
you still don't know with Daniel Jones if there's any
positives to glean from that. So with that being said,
it's like, well, maybe Anthony Richardson can spring a huge
(32:10):
throw and on a huge run in the game to
win as something, while our defense and all our playmakers
come through. So when you're looking at the two, at
least you're hoping that Anthony Richardson has that wow play
to go win you a game.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (32:23):
Look, and they've invested him, and you look at it
just kind of from the thirty thousand foot angle, it's
probably much easier to bring Daniel Jones off the bench
to kind of salvage a situation than doing.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
That with Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Yeah, A R Michael f Florio, who makes regular appearances
here on the Insideers you know that, tweeted last night saying,
hey Michael, why do you refuse to give up on
Anthony Richardson?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
And it was a play with Richardson against the Packers.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Was drifting to his left, throw back to his right,
casual forty yards in the air. We know that that
ability is there. Just got to do that without the
mistakes and do it consistently.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
To the Saints, we.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Go, Mark, not a lot of experiences, Not like you
got a guy can lean on that started before. It's
not a lot of experience down there for the Saints.
And they also have Tyler Shuck there, the rookie second
round pick.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
How do he has? Says this one.
Speaker 9 (33:08):
Yeah, not a lot of experience in the quarterback room
Tyler Shucking and Spencer Ratler in the second year. But
what's interesting to me, they do have a lot of
experience on the team, Steve and Mike, with Cam Jordan,
Tomorrio Davis and of course Alvin Kamara, just to name
a few.
Speaker 8 (33:20):
And you're wondering what those guys are thinking. We talk
about this situation a lot, and.
Speaker 9 (33:24):
Of course a rookie head coach and Kellen Moore, like
what are those veterans thinking and looking at this competition?
Let's just say, and you know, the if Kellen Moore
chines the force that looks shucks my guy, I got
to play him because we invested in him and spent
that high second round pick on him. Or if the
team is looking like, hey, Spender Rattler is the better
option here, or Steve, if the team is really looking
(33:46):
at saying okay, we got a lot of veteran guys.
Speaker 8 (33:48):
We think we have a chance of this division.
Speaker 9 (33:50):
Hey, maybe we need to go get somebody else, because
as of now, Steve I really haven't been super impressed
with either one of these young men to say they
can go Pete. Let's just say with Tampa Bay in
the division, certainly not the whole entire NFC.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
I totally agree. Right now, you talk about all those
veteran players. What if you're Chris Olave and you're like,
I'm trying to get bat I'm trying to get paid.
You know, I got to get one of these quarterbacks. Look,
Spencer Ratler has had his moments. We know how talented
it is. His talent is unquestioned, but just the consistency
has been the issue. You've got the rookie and Schuck,
and you've got a coach in Kellen Moore who knows
how to coach quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Are the either one of.
Speaker 10 (34:25):
These guys the guys you can develop, and that to
me is the issue. So I'm going to go to
your point, Mark Ross at the end, and get a
veteran in there. Bring back the most popular guy in
New Orleans, Jameis Winston. You would think that the New
York Giants, with their quarterback situation, would make him available. Yes,
it'd be a new system that Jamis would be coming into,
(34:48):
but all of the players in that entire city would
rally behind Jamis, especially to your first point, mark that
this is a veteran football team who knows what he
can do.
Speaker 8 (34:59):
Yeah, they would believe.
Speaker 9 (35:00):
I had as you might as they would believe, and
the head coach would, I know you do know this system,
but he'll pick it up right away.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
Rattler had a tough moment late in the game yesterday
where it was an interception. After the game they said
it was kind of tricky the way that it played out.
Even killing Moore said the same as well, and then
came back and had a touchdown there at the end
to lead the Saints to a tie. So it's been
moments wise that you talked about, and there's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Mistakes and hiccups.
Speaker 5 (35:25):
This is not the best roster in the NFL either,
So no matter who the quarterback is, I think there's
gonna be some tough moments for that person who's going
to have to battle through those. The NFL is back
with four days of football. The twenty twenty five season
starts on September fourth, Thursday night with NFL Kickoff presented
by YouTube TV.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Catch Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 5 (35:47):
Taking on day, Jalen Hurts and the rating Super Bowl
champion of Philadelphia Eagles. Thank you Ready for a weekend
for of your favorite teams. NFL Kickoff presented by YouTube Tv.
September fourth, seven pm Eastern on NBC. Watch at NFL
dot com for the full schedule of games that weekend.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Time to Upgrade your Game Day presented by best Buy.
Tom Pilaicero, Judy Matista, Steve Whitch, and Mark Ross are
with us. Judy, I will start with you which team
will surprise fans and come out on top at the
start of the season.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
All right, I'm going to go completely out of left field.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
The Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I think they have a chance to start fast. They
open the season on the road, so that part's not great.
But against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Arizona Cardinals, particularly
against the Jaguars, I think they have a real chance
to walk out of there with a victory. Don't forget
this was the team that was on the rise and improving.
At the end of last season. Bryce Young looked like
(36:48):
an entirely different quarterback after he came back from the benching,
So I would expect him to open the season with
much more confidence, much more comfortable with Dave kannallis expect
Dave Canalis to be more comfortable for that matter as well.
And on the other side in Jacksonville, you know they're
starting over a new head coach, Liam Cohen, and you
never know how many bumps in the road there will
(37:09):
be for a first time head coach. So I think
this is an opportunity for the Carolina Panthers to get
up to a faster start.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Panthers are so banged up on defense all of last season.
You can see from Derek Brown on down the impact
that that can make. And oh, by the way, they
got t Mac and those receivers. It's probably the best
group of the Panthers have had in quite some time. Steve,
I come to you, which team will surprise fans to
come out on top at the start of the season.
Speaker 10 (37:34):
Oh, Mike Raybell and those new England Patriots. Last year
they opened it one and six after winning their opener,
I got and winning three of their first four games.
Those three games are at home. They open up against
the Raiders. They travel to Miami. They've got the Steelers
and then Carolina. This is a much improved offensive line.
You see they go out and they get Will Campbell
(37:54):
in the first round. They ask the veteran players in there.
They've got Traveon Henderson. You talk about a player of
the running back out of Ohio State. He's looked great
in the preseason. To give this offense some juice. I
think Drake May's got some help. And the Patriots not
just starting the season, they may finish the seasion as
one of the biggest surprises in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
One guy. We're not talking a lot about Stefan Diggs
and a lot of questions about him through the offseason.
I have covered him his entire career. I saw him
in the Joy practice last week against Minnesota. He looks
really good physically. Everybody's been complimentary of the work that
he's put in. Don't be surprised if we get a
bounce back Stefan Digs season as well. All Right, Mark, last,
(38:34):
but not least, which team will surprise fans and come
out on top at the start of the season.
Speaker 8 (38:39):
Well, Judy and Steve, I love both of your choices.
Speaker 9 (38:41):
I had to dig deeper because you stole my teams
right there, so I had to dig deep and go
from but worse. The first team and that's last year
is NFC West, bottom feeder of the San Francisco forty
nine ers with a six in the left record last year,
which now gives them the opportunity to play a much
easier schedule this season. And you talk about injuries and
help there, Steve. Of course, the forty nine ers were
(39:03):
completely banged up last year. And now those first four
games at Seattle, at New Orleans, BIRS, Arizona and Bruce Jacksonville,
I think they can run the table in those first four.
Rock Purdy is going to show I'm worth all of
this money. Somebody's going to step up. Brandon I you Devo,
we don't need you in the past game. And then,
of course on the defensive side of the ball, Mikel Williams,
(39:24):
the rookie out of Georgia first round pick, to go
with Bosa. The forty nine ers have to say, look,
we're going to worst the first and we're going to
be the most improved.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Wait to go out a limb mark.
Speaker 8 (39:36):
Come on last week, okay.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Always the right day to upgrade your game day with
Best Buy, Judy Steve Mark, Thank you very much. The
twenty twenty five NFL season is almost here. In single
game tickets 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, sink Geek, and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
(40:05):
Still more to come here on the Insiders, including they
look at what could be the NFL season's best commercial.
We'll show you that commercial right after these commercials. Preseason
Week two wraps up tonight, Commanders and Bengals going at
(40:28):
it just in minutes in Washington. Game you can catch
on ESPN and NFL plus preseason week three to just
three days away. We got six live games on NFL Network,
all starting with these Steelers against the Panthers on Thursday night,
Falcons Cowboys on Friday, and then yes, one more quadruple header.
It starts with the Rams and the Browns, maybe a
(40:50):
little more Schador Sanders for you. It wraps up ten
BM Eastern on Saturday, Raiders and Cardinals, which means you
might get to see Ashton genty have another run like this.
No matter what you think, Judy of the preseason for
the Raiders offensive for Ashing genty, this is the type
of thing that's going to be playing on the internet
(41:11):
for a while and probably getting him taking number one
in fantasy drafts too.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah when he I can't see with the number of
that player that he just flattened.
Speaker 12 (41:20):
Oh, I'm very sorry. Wow, Diabador Leonore, great play. Sorry, Diamador,
that's who that was. It used to be he used
to be Diamadoor Lenore. Now we're down to what's left
of him. Yes, yeah. Oh by the way, Ashton Gendy
also is in a commercial.
Speaker 13 (41:41):
All right, Jense, time to learn the option play. Come on, coach,
I know how to run the option Alplebach's new Ultimate
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He couples how many combinations are.
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There or's over eighty thousand.
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for fourteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
That's a good in the neighborhood. I like the subtle
flex mic of Dan campbellgoing, hey, Ben Johnson's gone, but
I got an eighty page menu of plays. I'm gonna
least this season eating good in the neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (42:23):
Tom we done figuring up.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
I'm gonna go eat good upstairs. Thanks for being it.
We're back Simiba intertime tomorrow. Enjoy the game, everybody, Let's
see it.
Shdor Sanders Day will have to wait, Dylan Gabriel and
Kenny Pickett too. Joe Flacco is officially QB one in Cleveland.
We will break down what went into the decision, if
there really even was a decision, and what it says
about the Browns future at the most important position. The
Cowboys still have big questions to answer before Week one,
(00:31):
and it's not just all about Michaeh Parsons. Jane Slater
will join us to go inside the Dallas roster and
identify what the Boys need to fix before Philly. There's
football tonight too, Bengals and Commanders kicking off in about
an hour. A lot of the starters will be on
the field. Mark Ross and Steve Weis will join us
(00:51):
to tell you what each team needs to see For
now you can see us Welcome Inside with the Insiders
presented by Best Buy, alongside Judy Battista and Mike Garafalo.
I am Tom Pellicero. Preseason week two wrap it up tonight,
the regular season opener now just seventeen days away, and finally,
(01:14):
no more guesswork in Cleveland. Joe Flacco is indeed the
starting quarterback of the Browns that is the latest headline today.
Flacco took all the first team reps through the course
of training camp, so even though he didn't have his
opportunity in the preseason to impress the way that Shador
Sanders did, Dylan Gabriel got his opportunity as well. Now,
(01:34):
at age forty, in his eighteenth NFL season and two
years after the brown signed him off the couch in
November on a desperation, Joe Flacco is a bona fide
NFL starting quarterback once again, Judy, why is Flacco the
man in Cleveland?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Well, mostly because the competition that everybody anticipated in Cleveland
never materialized because everybody else other than the forty year
old Flacco got hurt at some point during training camp,
most importantly Kenny Pickett, who was the one who was
intended to be competition for Joe Flacco for the starting
job and might have had a chance to jump over
(02:12):
Joe Flacco for the starting job, but he got hurt
very early in training camp with a hamstring injury just
as camps were starting to ramp up, and he still
three weeks later, has not been able to practice fully.
He has missed both preseason games so far, it's unclear
if he might be available even for preseason game number
three next Saturday. So really the competition sort of evaporated
(02:35):
around Joe Flacco, who, to be fair, has also looked
very good in practices in the last two weeks as
he has gotten more and more reps. Dylan Gabriel got
a handful of first team reps, just a handful, otherwise
all of them have gone to Joe Flacco.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
So that is how we got here.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And of course, Dylan Gabriel only got healthy from his
own hamstring injury last week and was able to start
the preseason game. Sanders, who missed this preseason game because
he had an oblique injury, had his debut two weeks ago,
so all of the injuries combined, it was not really
a decision.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
It was Joe Flacco all the way, Judy we started
this off season or I guess OTAs into training camp
talking about, well, Dylan Gabriel versus shudor Sanders, which one
are you going to wind up keeping?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
There? The conversation now has to be Kenny Pickett, like,
what are you going to do with him?
Speaker 5 (03:28):
If you're keeping him, you're retaining four quarterbacks, which is possible,
which teams have done before. But that does hamstring you
in some other areas when it comes to depth and
let's say the defensive line of the offensive line. But
she Doris Sanders showed you what he needed to show
you in the first preseason game.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
We'll see about the third one, right, that's obviously going
to be an important one for him. And for Gabriel, you.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
Talked about him coming off of very limited work in
practice after he had a hamstring injury. So you have
this performance by Sanders, which we've said, these guys need
to put it on film in the preseason because then
you're not getting them through waivers and onto the practice squads.
Somebody's gonna wind up claiming him. Sanders did everything he
needed to do there. With Gabriel, there were sacks. There
was a pick six that really wasn't his fault entirely.
(04:09):
There were two guys in the same area and one
the tight le looked like he pulled up a little
bit short, and he came back and he bounced back
from that and led them to scoring drives. Did everything
he needed to do to show you there, you've got
Flaco as your starter. That leaves Pickett as the odd
man out. Now you say, oh, they traded for him, Well,
they gave up a fifth round pick for him, number
one sixty four. Overall, a lot of times when you
take a fifth round pick, it's a coin flip whether
(04:30):
that player is even going to make your roster coming
out of training camp. So if they did move on
from him or maybe traded him and tried to get
something back for him, you know, it's what you do
at this point.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
To kind of manage things.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
The question is, do you have one of those younger
guys that you feel good about if you had to
turn to them if Flacco got hurt early in the season, which,
by the way, Flacco the only guy of the quarterback
room that hasn't gotten hurt.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
This training gup, and it's a rocky road early in
the season. Sorry, No Week one against the Bengals. Not
an easy schedule at all. Everything course, too, that happens
in twenty twenty five is prelude to the Browns owning
two first round picks in the twenty twenty six draft.
Still plenty of potential twists and turns in terms of
what that quarterback could room could look like even one
(05:13):
year from right. Now. The Rams quarterback room, on the
other hand, is finally whole. Today, Matthew Stafford, for the
first time in training camp, suited up in pads after
dealing with an aggravated disc in his back. According to
reporters on the scene, Stafford was a full participant in
everything in a roughly one hour of practice. Here's what
(05:34):
coach Sean McVay had to say.
Speaker 6 (05:37):
I thought he did a good job today, and you know,
we had twenty six plays of team and he did
a really nice job of managing the huddle. I thought
he saw the field well. I thought he went where
the ball should go. And there's some good competitive work
on both sides today.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I think what's really.
Speaker 6 (05:50):
Happened is is when you look at it, you know,
there was a lot of things that we had talked
about at the beginning, and you know, it's kind of
gone a little bit differently than what we had planned.
And I think the right thing to do for everybody
involved is truly take it a day at a time.
I think where I've gotten, you know, myself, I don't
even want to say myself, but you know, you set
expectations and it's really like, you know, as we're getting
a grasp with this, and you know, he's doing everything
(06:12):
in his power, and Reggie and our group are doing
everything in their power. And that's where you just take
it a day at a time because it's a very
fluid and you know situation that you know demands flexibility
as well.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Jordan Love also back on the practice field for the
first time since undergoing surgery on his left thumb. That's
his non throwing hand. This is file footage right here today. Well, well,
not quite doing that much. He had the thumb heavily bandaged.
He was not taking normal snaps either from under center
or from the shotgun, according to reporters on the scene,
(06:44):
but in uniform again, certainly a good sign. The packers
have said they've got no concerns about him being ready
for Week one. Michael Parsons still not practicing amidst his
contract dispute with the Dallas Cowboys. The team is now
back in Dallas, spending training camp in Oxnard, California. Coach
Brian Shaanneimer met with the media earlier today, said he
(07:05):
does not expect things to change as of now regarding
Parsons participation. Mike has been there in meetings and walk
through everything I've been told is that he's been very
engaged in all those things, but not on the practice
field at a time that he still has a standing
trade request and there has been little communication on a
long term contract Trey Hendrickson. While there is communication at
(07:26):
least tonight pregame in Washington photo of servicing of him
having an interesting conversation on the field with the Bengals
personnel chief Duke Tobin. What can they be talking about?
Maybe what Ian and I reported yesterday, which is that
the Bengals are listening to trade offers for Trey Hendrickson.
As we've reported, they've been in basically agreement on the
(07:47):
big numbers, the years, the dollar numbers. It would be
an extension that would put him among the highest paid
pass rushers in the NFL on an average per year basis.
But the sticking point has been the guarantees. The Bengals
generally don't guarantee anything beyond year one. Trey Hendrickson wants,
as he's said publicly, a multi year guarantee. Other teams
have been inquiring in recent days. Here the Bengals turned
(08:10):
down a second round pick and change prior to the
draft that price now probably includes a player as well
as a draft pick, because the Bengals would need some
way judy to make up for the pass rush that
they're losing for Trey Hendrickson. So just another situation that
you would have thought logic would tell you would have
been resolved months ago. Yet here we are less than
three weeks away from the opener and still real questions
(08:32):
about where Trey Henderson will be playing, if anywhere, come
Week one.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Well, and don't forget, he has said he will not
play for the Bengals, only the Bengals under the existing contract.
So that is why we are at this point in
this stadown that has gone on all off season, because
who's going to give here. Is he finally going to
come in and say, all right, I'll play under the
old contract, or are they going to say, look, this
is our offer and he's going to have to either
(08:59):
accept it or sit out and forfeit all of that money.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Certainly we're getting very late in the process.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
The bottom line, though, is this is the guy who
led the NFL in sacks last year, and for a
Bengals team that has certainly done so much this offseason
to get itself in place to make a run. You're
not contending for much of anything if you don't have
a Trey Hendrickson on your defense. Your defense struggled last
year as it was with Trey Hendrickson. Can Schmar Stewart,
(09:27):
the rookie who came in late himself, can he possibly
make up the difference? I mean that was sort of
the bigger picture hope, the longer term hope. But it's
hard to imagine how the Bengals compete for a Super
Bowl without Trey Hendrickson on the field unless they get
a significant player back who can plug and play immediately
(09:47):
back in a trade. This is just a really difficult
standoff for a team that had done so much this
offseason to put itself in position to challenge in the AFC.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
That was video by the way of Trey Hendrickson entering
the stadium a short time ago he made the road
trip with Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Mike, a couple of the Commander's
key players not in the building tonight. Yep.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
We'll start with Brian Robinson, tom the running back that
has been the team's I guess leading Russia for the
last three years. Physical guy out of Alabama, not going
to play tonight. We reported this earlier today. We are
watching his status with the team, a possible trade involving
him potentially before.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
The cutdown to fifty three next week.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
So as a mutual decision from my understanding, to keep
him off the field tonight, you don't want to get
him hurt because that'll nix any possible trade right there.
So one way or another, teams that Robinson's time with
the Commander is going to be up, but the team
still engaging in trade talks to see if that's going
to possibly happen. Speaking of trade talks, that was something
that was being discussed potentially for Terry McLaurin when he
(10:55):
requested a trade and the team was never really interested
in that.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well, he is activated off.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
The he will not play this evening, and the team
and McLaren I guess hopeful at some point they could
work out some kind of a deal. There has been
a gulf in negotiations with regard to how much McLaren
wants and how much the team has been willing to offer.
Perhaps once we get close to that magic start of
the regular season that that could be something that gets
(11:19):
it done. In the meantime, Cliff Kingsbury had said he
wanted them on the field. Terry McLaren now off the
pup list and looking to get some work in ahead
of the start of the season.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Tom the Vikings finally have their top wide receiver back
on the field. It is Justin Jefferson for the first
time in several weeks since he had tweaked a hamstring.
Jefferson was out there doing only individual drills. But based
on the video that emerged today of him going through
those individual drills, and based on what my own two
eyes told me when I was there last Thursday, Jefferson's
(11:51):
going to be just fine. But makes sense Mike to
make sure that you're taking care of your most important
player this time of year. Yep.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
And meanwhile, the Colts I cover their game against the
Ravens that start the preseason, talking to some folks and said, yeah,
still need a little bit of help at the cornerback position.
Well here it is right here. Veteran Xavian Howard, who
played for lou Ana Rimo in Miami, now joining the
Colts in a deal one year deal worth up to
five million dollars to play for Ana Romo with that defense.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Yes, up to five million dollars according to his agents, David.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
Kanner and Ness Mucgrabi, as Tom tweeted out earlier today.
So the Colts feeling a little bit better that their
cornerback position now that they have added Zavian Howard to
the mix.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Speaking of Miami, the Dolphins added another pass rusher, one
of the top free agents on the board, Matthew Judan,
headed to the Dolphins on a one year, three million
dollar deal. Incentives can take that up to six million dollars.
Judon had been waiting for the right fit. He has
been all over the place in the past several years, obviously,
from the Ravens, to the Patriots, to the Falcons and
(13:00):
now to Miami. They got Bradley Chubb, Jalen Phillips, Chop Robinson,
Matthew Judahan. Hoping that maybe that front, in that pass
rush can help answer some of those questions that they've
still got on the back end.
Speaker 7 (13:13):
It's been a long time since the Bears better offense
that fans could get accepted those signs from the defense
of recent years, but can.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
They get the offense can get.
Speaker 8 (13:21):
Started that s one, it's another tight end.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Didn't full come back second and fifteen time to throw.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Wepen t Ukland.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Again got nineteen yards in a first.
Speaker 8 (13:33):
Down for the forty one, and he had all.
Speaker 7 (13:36):
Day to throw behind that revamped a while third and five. Williamson, Yeah,
there was ze KaiOS Cilmanakias Texan Chillianss touchdown, thirty six
yard touchdown to finish off a ninety three yard drive.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
To start this game. Only preseason, but if you're a
Bears fan watching that highlight reel right there, I imagine
your blud is pumping. Three weeks from tonight, Vikings Bears.
In the opener, Welcome Back to the Insiders, presented by
best by Tom Pellisero, joined now by Steve Whitch and
Mark Ross. Mark, you watched it. Everybody's been scrutinizing it.
Look at every passion training camp. What you see from
(14:14):
Caleb Williams first time out in.
Speaker 9 (14:15):
Game action, Well, at least they looked confident on that
first drive. And you know, Bears fans have been starved
for this forever, right and then even last season we
saw the flashes of Caleb Williams.
Speaker 8 (14:27):
Now Ben Johnson gets here. The talk of the whole
training camp.
Speaker 9 (14:30):
Has been how much has Caleb Williams mastered this offense.
Speaker 8 (14:33):
How many does it go? How well does he know
the checks? How much? How well does he know the formations? Well?
Speaker 9 (14:38):
On that first drive when you're scripting it out, he
was almost absolutely perfect, five of six ten play drive
that took out, you know, three minutes of fifty nine
seconds and scored the touchdown. He looked in rhythm, he
looked confident. The thing with an NFL game and with it.
This is with the perfect example what training camp doesn't
give you. It's a forty play game. So now that
second drive, he was only eight play drive, only fifteen
(15:01):
yards and he was one of four. So when he
kind of had to adjust on his own, that's in
that second drive, that's where it fell apart a little bit.
Speaker 8 (15:08):
First drive scripted perfect.
Speaker 9 (15:10):
Now he's got to take this steve into the regular
season of how much more has he mastered all of
this offense to say I can go a whole game adjustments,
blitz his changes on the defense to make it consistent
through a whole game.
Speaker 10 (15:21):
Right, I'm so glad you said that, because you can
still see this is going to be a work in action.
I mean, this is still in progress. But initially when
it was scripted. He saw that Buffalo came out a
lot of zone defenses, and he made some great throws,
especially to the tight ends against the zone and then
these spots. Man, that's where it's the chaus for the touchdown.
We here's some of the moving pocket stuff too. That's
(15:41):
what they didn't necessarily do in Detroit. But I want
you to watch a throw here if we have the
highlight where he rips it out to DJ Moore, and
this one tells me, don't just watch the catch right here,
watch the reaction to the teammates. Look how many black
jerseys are over there. The rest of this offense is
feeling it. That's when you know they have confidence in
the quarterback, confidence.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
In the system. And to me, that's to be just as.
Speaker 10 (16:05):
Encouraging is the way that Caleb Williams played on that
opening drive.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Ben Johnson had options back in January. He had a
big offer for the Raiders, he had interest from the Jaguars.
A huge reason he wanted to go to Chicago was
that guy Caleb Williams. My only critique in that first
time out, He's going to need to pull those socks
up where he's going to be getting some fine letters
from the league about uniform violation. Steve Mark, more from
you guys in just a little bit, Mike, Thank you Tom.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
So far, the things could not be going better for
the Giants as far as the well, two of the
three quarterbacks that they added this offseason, and Russell Wilson
their QB one and Jackson Dart their QB one of
the future. Russ with that moon ball the other night
on point, just as it's been so often throughout his career.
I know a lot of people think he's just this
bridge guy or whatever, Judy, but the Giants believe this
(16:55):
is a guy that can help them win some games,
particularly early in the season. But let's focus on Jackson
Dart here, because that is the big picture for the
Giants at the quarterback position.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
They could not be happier with what they're getting from.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
Him, not only the preseason, but also in training camp
as well.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yeah, and what we're seeing in the preseason is an
extension of what we saw in training camp and what
they have seen throughout right. The way he has been
in command, very comfortable. The other night, he was going
no huddle up tempo, looked totally comfortable doing that. He's
completing a lot of passes, he's in rhythm, he ran
for a touchdown. He is everything they hoped he could be,
(17:35):
and he's probably everything he hoped they could be even
earlier than they ever.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Hoped he would be.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
So it's a good problem to have when you're already
being asked, hey, could you possibly start the rookie quarterback,
which Brian da Ball has already had to answer that question.
Dave Ball probably doesn't love having to answer that question,
but it's a pretty good problem to have that you
have two quarterbacks, but you feel pretty good about going
into the season.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Judy, my theory, and nobody has told me this of
the Giants, but my theory is that Brian Dable came out,
they won a training camp and announced Russell Wilson as
their QB one because he had a feeling Jackson Dart
was going to be impressive in training camp and in
the preseason and he didn't want fans to be clamoring
for this and have that in Russ's ear, or have
anybody else expecting that. But right now the game, it
just looks like it's smooth for him. Right now, it's
(18:23):
not happening too fast. He's taking care of the football,
operating the offense efficiently, and the athleticism. Just some of these,
even if he's not running, moving within the pocket and
then making a play, just a little slidestep or whatnot.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
That's the kind of stuff that you have to do.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
And then there's that part right there, which is the energy,
the swag, the leadership, everything that he is showing early
on that you want from your franchise quarterback. Again, they
are over the moon right now with Jackson Dart. We'll
see when he gets his time in the regular season.
One more preseason game for him, though, to continue to impress.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Thank you, Judy.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
With NFL Plus, keep up keep the NFL in reach,
stream live out of market preseason games, live local and
primetime games on mobile during the regular and postseason, and
NFL Network, including seven exclusive live games with NFL Plus Premium.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Enjoy even more.
Speaker 5 (19:14):
Football with NFL Red Zone game replays and NFL Pro.
Sign up today at at plus dot NFL dot com.
Slash Network terms and conditions apply. If you have NFL Plus,
you'll be able to watch tonight's game the Washington Commanders
the Cincinnati Bengals. A lot of starters going to be
playing in this game.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
We'll be talking about it when we come back here
on The Insiders. Joe Burrow and Jaden Daniels set to
square off in the second preseason game for both teams
tonight in Washington. That game kicking off in just about
(19:51):
thirty four minutes. You will get a dose of these
starters from both these teams. Welcome back to The Insiders,
presented by Best Buy Tom Pill. Sarah joined once again
by Steve Whites and Mark Ross. I'll start with you, Steve,
Bengals giving these guys an opportunities. Zach Taylors, we're talking
about starting fast. Get those preseason ups. What are you
looking for?
Speaker 10 (20:10):
Yeah, look, the starters is gonna play for more than
a roughly a quarter, according to Zach Taylor. So, Joey
Burrow remember Week one, nine of ten leads. Those two
touchdowns to Jamar Chase looked absolutely fantastic. He caught one
of those tds. Look at the sideline catch right here.
It's just so easy for him. Right, we're still in
the preseason doing this. But t Higgins is the other
receiver we need to look at. He only had one target,
(20:31):
no catches in that game. So you figure to see
more out of t Higgins today as they kept that
trio together financially, Mark, they want to see them get
off to a hot start, and it could start tonight.
Speaker 9 (20:42):
Yeah, we know the Bengals have started slowing offense and
they caught fire. The defense unfortunately, started slow, had slow
in the middle, and finished slow as.
Speaker 8 (20:50):
Each of these years.
Speaker 9 (20:51):
And when you look at this team again this year, Steve,
it's basically the same Bengals team as last year, where Okay,
you had Trey Henderson your best player. Now he's not
there yet. Draft Shamar Stewart in the first round to
pair with him, but now it's just Shamar Stewart and
the rest of that defense that is there, and you
lose your defensive coordinator to Boot. So we're going to
unfortunately for Bengals fans, when I look at this team,
(21:13):
it'll be sort of more of the same where the
offense is going to be top three.
Speaker 8 (21:17):
To four in the league and scoring and all of that, but.
Speaker 9 (21:21):
The defense might be in the bottom five of scoring
and yards and points at all of that too.
Speaker 8 (21:27):
So let's see how that looks tonight.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
All right, Commander's side of things, Mark one, of the
most veteran rosters in the league. Preseason Game two, What
are you looking for?
Speaker 9 (21:37):
Well, the offense without Terry McLarin And we've been talking
about Terry all offseason with the contract and he's not
there was at their camp a couple of weeks ago,
he was hanging out on the sideline. So what will
this offense look without him? And how much do you
do to try to work those other players in to
say who will step up between you know, No Browns
pretty much a journeyman, but Luke McCaffrey in his second year,
(21:57):
the rookie Jalen Lane, another receiver who may step up.
And even in the backfield, Jacory Costy Merritt, you know,
the running back who's made a lot of ways there.
Could he be a playmaker to all said that, so
look for him tonight. So I don't know how much
they'll throw out there with Jayden Daniels, leave most of
it for practice, but definitely they're going to have to
learn to live life without Terry McLaurin.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
Steve Well, let's flip.
Speaker 10 (22:20):
Into the other side of the field, because last year,
as we know Washington secondary, that was a major issue.
They hope they have an upgrade. Marshawn Lattimore is finally healthy.
But Trey Amos, the rookie, the second round draft pick,
is a player who they have been in love with
and speaking to people in that building, they think he's
going to be fantastic. He is going to start tonight
and they want him to get work against jamar J.
Speaker 8 (22:41):
T Higgins.
Speaker 10 (22:41):
They want him to understand what it's like to go
up against the boss wide receivers. So that is an
important part of what they're going to do. Also looked
a see Mikey Samby still another cornerback who didn't play
in Week one on the field, so they can start
getting some of their defensive packages in order.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Steve Mark stick around. More from you and justin little bit, Judy,
let's talk about.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
The Dallas Cowboys, which we haven't done in a few minutes.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Cooper Rush.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
This is him throwing a touchdown pass to Keith Kirkwood.
This is from the last preseason game. Pretty nice off
the looks like he's fallen down. Very nice touchdown pass.
Brian Schottenheimer announced today that Dak Prescott is not going
to play in the final preseason game, so it is
all Cooper rush all the time, and it's all Jane
Slater all the time too, Jane Slater joining the insiders.
(23:31):
All right, Jane, I feel like last season we spent
a lot of time talking about the deficiencies of the
running game, and we haven't really talked much about that
during training camp.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Where do you think the running game stands right now?
Speaker 11 (23:44):
Well, if you're looking at the first two games in
the preseason, it shouldn't give you a lot to be
excited about, Judy. I mean, just looking at this game
on Saturday, anytime that Joe Milton handed the ball off,
good things simply didn't happen. Let's go and look at
what these Miles standers play. To sort of illustrate what
I'm trying to say here, it was the early loss
(24:05):
of five by Miles Sanders. He's got them pinned there
back on the second at nine, and that led Dallas
at the eight to that sack and the Ravens safety.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
You know, a refresher by the numbers.
Speaker 11 (24:18):
Last season, the team rushing average was among the worst,
just four yards per carry, and they managed the league
worst six rushing touchdowns all season long, with one seven
and five rushing yards in twenty twenty four. As a team,
both Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley individually had more nine
of their seventeen games last season saw them put up
(24:39):
fewer than one hundred yards rushing. In other words, look,
Dallas simply cannot go into this season one dimensional again.
It puts too much on Dak Prescott returning from injuries
and the wide receivers, which in turn increases the turnover
risk and hurting that time of possession. And then looking
at some of this Joe Milton tape so far through
two preseason games, Judy, you really hope that Dak Prescott
(25:02):
stays healthy at this point, and so I know, as
you reference there, Dak Prescott will not be starting at
all this preseason. Not something that's uncanny here, It's something
that we've seen multiple coaching staffs do. But tend to
think that it takes them a little bit of time
to shake off the rust as a result of not
getting in rhythm with some of his receivers, like the
new addition of Pickens in real time.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
All right, give us something, give us a bright spot
that the Cowboys should be looking forward to.
Speaker 11 (25:30):
Jane, Yeah, you sound like my father, you know, he's
a big Cowboys fan grown up here in the areas, Like,
is there anything that can excite me? Jane well Hanger
had on the defensive play of Andrew Booth. You know,
we've got a lot of injuries with the defensive backs
right now, Treyvon Diggs, you don't have de more of
you an overshown yet, But look at this Andrew Booth.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
He had his eyes locked on Cooper Rush.
Speaker 11 (25:53):
There he jumps that out route and tell me if
you recognize that little strut into the end zone and
oh to Dion Sanders.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
He comes up with the interception and the pick six.
Speaker 11 (26:04):
Now Dallas managed just one pick six last season. I
literally had to go back to the stats and double
check that because that was so crazy for me to
believe that. One, of course, was to Marvian overshown against
the Giants and in close games. These are huge. Now,
I did mention they've got Treymon Diggs to Ron Land
and Marvian Overshown that will eventually make their back at
some point here, hopefully in the first quarter of the season.
(26:27):
But you get plays like they're a real nice play
lock and eyes with Cooper Rush again. Love to see
that that is your bright spot, Judy.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
All right, not to end on a down up, but
we can continue to keep our eyes on, of course,
the Michael Parsons situation, which everybody there has said, nothing
is going to change now that they are in Dallas.
So these stared down continues as the clock keeps ticking.
I am sure Jane that we will be checking in
with you more for Micah updates. Thank you very much
for joining us on the Insiders. It's the final two
(27:00):
before the NFL regular season kicks off, and the NFL
Network has six live games this week. Big names return
and rising rookies look to.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Make their mark.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
It's their last chance to set the stage and enter
the new season strong. Week three of NFL Preseason live
on NFL Network. Blackout restrictions apply also streaming with NFL Plus.
Subscription required for NFL Plus.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
Remember all those segments back in June May about training
camp battles we were looking forward to, and we kept
saying the Cleveland Browns the quarterback job, can't you know
never really came to fruition. Joe Flacco really wired a
wire the QB one for the Browns with Kenny Pickett
being hurt and the other guys being hurt as well.
Joe Flacco stayed healthy and he stayed atop the depth
(27:43):
chart and he will be the guy there for the
Browns that is official to start the regular season. Steve Weis,
Mark Ross with me, Mike Garret Follo, Mark looking at
this Browns quarterback room, Joe Flacco leading the way to
your thoughts?
Speaker 9 (27:55):
Yeah, who would have thought that the old man in
the room was the one to stay healthy?
Speaker 8 (27:58):
Even three young bucks can't stay on the field consistently.
Speaker 9 (28:01):
And you know, it was an unprecedented four man quarterback
race here that went out with a whimper, just because
you know, first Kenny Pickett got hurt, and then Shador
got hurt, and then Dylan Gabor got hurt, and then
Shador got hurt again. So you know, I'm sure Andrew
Berry and Kevin Sefanski would have love for this to
play out where all of those guys stayed healthy. And
(28:22):
really it was a true quarterback competition to see everybody
at their best, everybody performing each practice, each game to
see what they really could do. You know, when I
was there for camp, I think Kenny Pickett was really
the disappointing one where he kind of gave you the
best of both, where he was a veteran Super Bowl champ,
still had a first round pick, but still young enough
to grow and develop and not really have to throw
(28:43):
either of the two rookies into the fire there or
be the backup to Joe Flacco. So I think that's
the biggest disappointment. Now Steve will see where it goes
from here, if there will be an odd man out,
will Kenny Pickett be the odd man out, or where
there'll still be a chance to say we can kind
of this guy and salvage his career.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Yeah, look, I think it was Flacco's job all along.
Let's not forget it.
Speaker 10 (29:04):
A couple of years ago, Joe Flacco came in salvage
the brown season and got them to the playoffs, got
a playoff win, and Flacco was really a hero in
that town. So it comes down to the other guys
and the fact that Kenny Pickett's been hurt.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
That is the big question.
Speaker 10 (29:16):
So it's a leaving us asking will the Browns carry
four quarterbacks? They might have to because if you try
to stash Dylan Gabriel, shoot or Sanders on a practice squad,
some team could come pluck them. Same with Kenny Pickett,
you know, so you just have to get wonder if
Kenny Pickett's going to be healthy and I was thinking
about this, if that hamster continues to bother him, Remember
cuts are about a week away. Could they actually stash
(29:38):
him on injured reserve for four games? And he got
the other two quarterbacks back up Joe Flacco through a
murderer murderer's row of first eight games to determine what
the record's going to be. They've got a week nine
by and that might be where there's a natural quarterback
shift depending on what the record is in Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Yeah, we're gonna have to keep an eye on that.
That'll be one of the.
Speaker 5 (29:57):
Intriguing storylines as we get the fifty three. Meanwhile, the
Colts have to make a decision on their starter for
week one, Shane Stike and indicating he is close to
doing that Mark looking at this one at Daniel Jones
Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
We know the upside with Richardson.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
We also know that Jones probably the more consistent safer call.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Here your assessment of the Colts, Well, we.
Speaker 9 (30:19):
Do the Colts and hear the brass. You got one
guy you took with the fourth pick in the draft,
and another guy that you.
Speaker 8 (30:24):
Signed to another.
Speaker 9 (30:25):
Team you know, didn't re sign, couldn't work with the
Giants here with Daniel Jones. So of course Chris Beller
and Shane they want to make Anthony Richardson work. They
don't want to give up on this guy because of
what they invested in him, which is the fourth pick.
And you know, unfortunately, you don't want Anthony Richardson to
sit and watch Daniel Jones play if Daniel Jones is
(30:45):
the safer option, because that's all the problem with Anthony
Richardson is that he didn't play much in high school,
he didn't play much in college, and now he hasn't
played much in the NFL. Steve, So you definitely want
Anthony Richardson to be on the field, and you definitely
want that investment to work. Of saying we're going to
do everything possible and if this is remotely close, we
have to go with the guy that we took with
(31:07):
the fourth thing.
Speaker 10 (31:07):
I agree with that it's remotely close, you have to
go with the guy, but you know, as much as
they want him to succeed, and I agree with your
theory exactly. Shane Stike and Chris Ballad are on a
pretty hot seat right here.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
They've got to win ball games.
Speaker 10 (31:19):
And if Daniel Jones, even if he's the safe guy,
wins them ballgames. Mark, you've been this position, you sat
in a personnel director's chair. Isn't this the guy you
go with if you're trying to retain if you're a
head coach and general manager, if you're trying to retain
your job security.
Speaker 9 (31:35):
Well, you're assuming Daniel Jonses is gonna take them any
better state that he's going to go in there and
win games. And you know, New York Giants fans have
seen the Daniel Jones experiment and then they're.
Speaker 8 (31:45):
So happy now with the Jackson Dark experiment and Russell Wilson.
What's going on there?
Speaker 9 (31:49):
So yeah, if there's another option, almost like a Joe
Flacco in Cleveland, what's going on there? Steve, where you
know what Joe Flacco is gonna do? You know, you
go throw him out there. You know exactly what he's
going to do. You know exactly was going to provide you. Unfortunately,
you still don't know with Daniel Jones if there's any
positives to glean from that. So with that being said,
it's like, well, maybe Anthony Richardson can spring a huge
(32:10):
throw and on a huge run in the game to
win as something, while our defense and all our playmakers
come through. So when you're looking at the two, at
least you're hoping that Anthony Richardson has that wow play
to go win you a game.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (32:23):
Look, and they've invested him, and you look at it
just kind of from the thirty thousand foot angle, it's
probably much easier to bring Daniel Jones off the bench
to kind of salvage a situation than doing.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
That with Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Yeah, A R Michael f Florio, who makes regular appearances
here on the Insideers you know that, tweeted last night saying,
hey Michael, why do you refuse to give up on
Anthony Richardson?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
And it was a play with Richardson against the Packers.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Was drifting to his left, throw back to his right,
casual forty yards in the air. We know that that
ability is there. Just got to do that without the
mistakes and do it consistently.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
To the Saints, we.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Go, Mark, not a lot of experiences, Not like you
got a guy can lean on that started before. It's
not a lot of experience down there for the Saints.
And they also have Tyler Shuck there, the rookie second
round pick.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
How do he has? Says this one.
Speaker 9 (33:08):
Yeah, not a lot of experience in the quarterback room
Tyler Shucking and Spencer Ratler in the second year. But
what's interesting to me, they do have a lot of
experience on the team, Steve and Mike, with Cam Jordan,
Tomorrio Davis and of course Alvin Kamara, just to name
a few.
Speaker 8 (33:20):
And you're wondering what those guys are thinking. We talk
about this situation a lot, and.
Speaker 9 (33:24):
Of course a rookie head coach and Kellen Moore, like
what are those veterans thinking and looking at this competition?
Let's just say, and you know, the if Kellen Moore
chines the force that looks shucks my guy, I got
to play him because we invested in him and spent
that high second round pick on him. Or if the
team is looking like, hey, Spender Rattler is the better
option here, or Steve, if the team is really looking
(33:46):
at saying okay, we got a lot of veteran guys.
Speaker 8 (33:48):
We think we have a chance of this division.
Speaker 9 (33:50):
Hey, maybe we need to go get somebody else, because
as of now, Steve I really haven't been super impressed
with either one of these young men to say they
can go Pete. Let's just say with Tampa Bay in
the division, certainly not the whole entire NFC.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
I totally agree. Right now, you talk about all those
veteran players. What if you're Chris Olave and you're like,
I'm trying to get bat I'm trying to get paid.
You know, I got to get one of these quarterbacks. Look,
Spencer Ratler has had his moments. We know how talented
it is. His talent is unquestioned, but just the consistency
has been the issue. You've got the rookie and Schuck,
and you've got a coach in Kellen Moore who knows
how to coach quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Are the either one of.
Speaker 10 (34:25):
These guys the guys you can develop, and that to
me is the issue. So I'm going to go to
your point, Mark Ross at the end, and get a
veteran in there. Bring back the most popular guy in
New Orleans, Jameis Winston. You would think that the New
York Giants, with their quarterback situation, would make him available. Yes,
it'd be a new system that Jamis would be coming into,
(34:48):
but all of the players in that entire city would
rally behind Jamis, especially to your first point, mark that
this is a veteran football team who knows what he
can do.
Speaker 8 (34:59):
Yeah, they would believe.
Speaker 9 (35:00):
I had as you might as they would believe, and
the head coach would, I know you do know this system,
but he'll pick it up right away.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
Rattler had a tough moment late in the game yesterday
where it was an interception. After the game they said
it was kind of tricky the way that it played out.
Even killing Moore said the same as well, and then
came back and had a touchdown there at the end
to lead the Saints to a tie. So it's been
moments wise that you talked about, and there's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Mistakes and hiccups.
Speaker 5 (35:25):
This is not the best roster in the NFL either,
So no matter who the quarterback is, I think there's
gonna be some tough moments for that person who's going
to have to battle through those. The NFL is back
with four days of football. The twenty twenty five season
starts on September fourth, Thursday night with NFL Kickoff presented
by YouTube TV.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Catch Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 5 (35:47):
Taking on day, Jalen Hurts and the rating Super Bowl
champion of Philadelphia Eagles. Thank you Ready for a weekend
for of your favorite teams. NFL Kickoff presented by YouTube Tv.
September fourth, seven pm Eastern on NBC. Watch at NFL
dot com for the full schedule of games that weekend.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Time to Upgrade your Game Day presented by best Buy.
Tom Pilaicero, Judy Matista, Steve Whitch, and Mark Ross are
with us. Judy, I will start with you which team
will surprise fans and come out on top at the
start of the season.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
All right, I'm going to go completely out of left field.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
The Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I think they have a chance to start fast. They
open the season on the road, so that part's not great.
But against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Arizona Cardinals, particularly
against the Jaguars, I think they have a real chance
to walk out of there with a victory. Don't forget
this was the team that was on the rise and improving.
At the end of last season. Bryce Young looked like
(36:48):
an entirely different quarterback after he came back from the benching,
So I would expect him to open the season with
much more confidence, much more comfortable with Dave kannallis expect
Dave Canalis to be more comfortable for that matter as well.
And on the other side in Jacksonville, you know they're
starting over a new head coach, Liam Cohen, and you
never know how many bumps in the road there will
(37:09):
be for a first time head coach. So I think
this is an opportunity for the Carolina Panthers to get
up to a faster start.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Panthers are so banged up on defense all of last season.
You can see from Derek Brown on down the impact
that that can make. And oh, by the way, they
got t Mac and those receivers. It's probably the best
group of the Panthers have had in quite some time. Steve,
I come to you, which team will surprise fans to
come out on top at the start of the season.
Speaker 10 (37:34):
Oh, Mike Raybell and those new England Patriots. Last year
they opened it one and six after winning their opener,
I got and winning three of their first four games.
Those three games are at home. They open up against
the Raiders. They travel to Miami. They've got the Steelers
and then Carolina. This is a much improved offensive line.
You see they go out and they get Will Campbell
(37:54):
in the first round. They ask the veteran players in there.
They've got Traveon Henderson. You talk about a player of
the running back out of Ohio State. He's looked great
in the preseason. To give this offense some juice. I
think Drake May's got some help. And the Patriots not
just starting the season, they may finish the seasion as
one of the biggest surprises in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
One guy. We're not talking a lot about Stefan Diggs
and a lot of questions about him through the offseason.
I have covered him his entire career. I saw him
in the Joy practice last week against Minnesota. He looks
really good physically. Everybody's been complimentary of the work that
he's put in. Don't be surprised if we get a
bounce back Stefan Digs season as well. All Right, Mark, last,
(38:34):
but not least, which team will surprise fans and come
out on top at the start of the season.
Speaker 8 (38:39):
Well, Judy and Steve, I love both of your choices.
Speaker 9 (38:41):
I had to dig deeper because you stole my teams
right there, so I had to dig deep and go
from but worse. The first team and that's last year
is NFC West, bottom feeder of the San Francisco forty
nine ers with a six in the left record last year,
which now gives them the opportunity to play a much
easier schedule this season. And you talk about injuries and
help there, Steve. Of course, the forty nine ers were
(39:03):
completely banged up last year. And now those first four
games at Seattle, at New Orleans, BIRS, Arizona and Bruce Jacksonville,
I think they can run the table in those first four.
Rock Purdy is going to show I'm worth all of
this money. Somebody's going to step up. Brandon I you Devo,
we don't need you in the past game. And then,
of course on the defensive side of the ball, Mikel Williams,
(39:24):
the rookie out of Georgia first round pick, to go
with Bosa. The forty nine ers have to say, look,
we're going to worst the first and we're going to
be the most improved.
Speaker 1 (39:31):
Wait to go out a limb mark.
Speaker 8 (39:36):
Come on last week, okay.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
Always the right day to upgrade your game day with
Best Buy, Judy Steve Mark, Thank you very much. The
twenty twenty five NFL season is almost here. In single
game tickets 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, sink Geek, and Sports Illustrated Tickets.
(40:05):
Still more to come here on the Insiders, including they
look at what could be the NFL season's best commercial.
We'll show you that commercial right after these commercials. Preseason
Week two wraps up tonight, Commanders and Bengals going at
(40:28):
it just in minutes in Washington. Game you can catch
on ESPN and NFL plus preseason week three to just
three days away. We got six live games on NFL Network,
all starting with these Steelers against the Panthers on Thursday night,
Falcons Cowboys on Friday, and then yes, one more quadruple header.
It starts with the Rams and the Browns, maybe a
(40:50):
little more Schador Sanders for you. It wraps up ten
BM Eastern on Saturday, Raiders and Cardinals, which means you
might get to see Ashton genty have another run like this.
No matter what you think, Judy of the preseason for
the Raiders offensive for Ashing genty, this is the type
of thing that's going to be playing on the internet
(41:11):
for a while and probably getting him taking number one
in fantasy drafts too.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Yeah when he I can't see with the number of
that player that he just flattened.
Speaker 12 (41:20):
Oh, I'm very sorry. Wow, Diabador Leonore, great play. Sorry, Diamador,
that's who that was. It used to be he used
to be Diamadoor Lenore. Now we're down to what's left
of him. Yes, yeah. Oh by the way, Ashton Gendy
also is in a commercial.
Speaker 13 (41:41):
All right, Jense, time to learn the option play. Come on, coach,
I know how to run the option Alplebach's new Ultimate
Trio mixing match three apps with resauces likes rimp bolus wings,
onion rings with sweet chili, blue cheese and Marinera or
Wahi tacos, waffle fries, ribnuts with honey mustard grant and
honey barbacue blupup Prenzel motrealistics.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
He couples how many combinations are.
Speaker 13 (42:04):
There or's over eighty thousand.
Speaker 10 (42:05):
Applebee's new Ultimate trio choose three apps and three sauces
for fourteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
That's a good in the neighborhood. I like the subtle
flex mic of Dan campbellgoing, hey, Ben Johnson's gone, but
I got an eighty page menu of plays. I'm gonna
least this season eating good in the neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (42:23):
Tom we done figuring up.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
I'm gonna go eat good upstairs. Thanks for being it.
We're back Simiba intertime tomorrow. Enjoy the game, everybody, Let's
see it.
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