2023 Week 1 Preview

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Around the NFL podcast is ready for a season eleven.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Whoa from the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's Around the NFL.
My name is Dan Handsis I got heroes here? Greg Rosenthal,
Mark Sessler? Yes, uh, Season eleven of Around the NFL.
It really does feel like football is back now, finally, Greg.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Rosen, football is back.

Speaker 4 (00:28):
We don't have to sleep again before seeing that game,
and it's exciting. It felt like Christmas morning.

Speaker 5 (00:35):
When I go back and look at some of the
early years that we did this show, we look like
children compared to the way we look today.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
We have aged.

Speaker 4 (00:42):
Yeah, we are now old enough that my child woke
up this morning and was acting like it was Christmas morning,
excited for this game.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
You've trained that child, well.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
I haven't. He makes all of his own decisions. It's
like the father of Todd Marian. If anything, he pushes back.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, this is a new world for Around the NFL.
We have the launch of our NFL Plus partnership. The
first episode is up later today Thursday. Also, you have
our preview show here where we preview all of the
non prime time games that's coming up right now and

(01:19):
then later tonight in your feed you'll get yes, our
reaction to the kickoff opener between the Chiefs and Lions.
So a lot of ATM goodness coming your way.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Try to keep up. That's all we can say.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
It's our biggest season by far, content wise.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Love it, Love it.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
That reminds me we got to come up with some
new catchphrases to the NFL. We always like to help
them out. Send some things up to Park Avenue.

Speaker 5 (01:44):
Yeah, you've come up with some absolute advertising gems in
the past.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
They never take them though, they don't all right. Well,
that's something I'm gonna work on. All right, So we
got much to get to because there are.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Thirty two Thames three prime time games?

Speaker 3 (02:03):
Did those Wednesday three.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Three times? That means thirteen games to talk about. Greg.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
I hate to say it because it eats me up,
but you are the defending LOCKS champion, which means you
get the first overall pick. It is the ATM Game
of the Week presented by Draft Kings.

Speaker 4 (02:30):
It's all yours and a lot of places. I could
go here, Where.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Is he gonna go?

Speaker 2 (02:35):
I know, I know you really, I'm I'm nervous because
I got the second pick and I was kind of
torn asunder if he picks what I think he's gonna
pick here.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
I think you want me to take a certain game,
but I'm not gonna take it. I want to start
my week in the hands of the best, and that's
Tony Romo and that's Jim Nance, and they're calling Eagles
Patriots in the afternoon. I just feel like that's the
way for me to start my season, start my week.

(03:06):
Eagles favored by four in this game, which sounds about right.
But I think the new England Patriots defense on some
level is a great first test for this Philadelphia Eagles
offense because they're built to stop the run, and the
Eagles showed us last year they can beat you any
different kind of way. But the reason that Bill Belichick

(03:28):
has been building up this defense as he has for
the last three or four years, and he's sort of
mentioned that the whole franchise reset after Brady left, and
they've been building this team up, and you look at
it now and suddenly I think he has the defense
that he wants at all three levels, and they can
shape shift depending on the week, and they have a
really strong looking front that I believe can limit what

(03:50):
the Eagles want to do on the ground, and then
that leaves aj Brown and Devonte Smith on the outside
in one on one matchups. That sure, the Eagles are
gonna feel great against Christian Gonzales, against Jack Jones, against
Jonathan Jones now back in his natural position in the slot.
But I do think if you lined up all the
defenses in the NFL, there's only a couple that are

(04:13):
more talented in better coach than the Patriots, I'd put
them there in the top five. And I think this
is a very tough first test if you own some
fantasy players on the Eagles, if you're thinking about going
over on this total all that sort of nonsense. I
think this Patriots defense is gonna make the Eagles fans
sweat on Sunday afternoon.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
It's a yeah, It's a super intriguing matchup for that reason.
I do go back, though, and look at one area
that the Patriots struggled with a year ago was against
running quarterbacks. They always have right and like Lamar Jackson
had one hundred and seven yards against them justin fields
and that Monday night game fried them for eighty plus.
And now you're dealing with Jalen Hurts, who is maybe

(04:54):
the best running quarterback in the league right now.

Speaker 3 (04:56):
So that's the challenge right there, is like I.

Speaker 5 (04:58):
Don't really see an Eagles team that comes out with
any defined weaknesses or vast changes from a year ago.
Like I feel like this is the team that can
pick up where they left off. And so then it's
up to New England with a vanilla offense that doesn't
scare me in any way. I think that's the that
was last year, but they weren't a very good team
last year.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
Bill O'Brien has a lot of things. He's not a
vanilla play caller. I don't know if this is gonna work,
but he's a pretty creative play caller. Yes, well, you
think that Patrio's gonna win this, and you know you
don't like it. Is this the pick that I, by
the way, don't let know what.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Feel like we should overlook because what you're saying on
the surface is right mark that you look at the
Eagles and they look flawless.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
They look impeccable. But that happens all the time.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
Like we look at a team that that kick butt
last year and it all came together and then you
just assume it's going to happen again. I'm excited to
see what version of the Eagles we get. If this
is going to be the same juggernaut. I think they're
gonna be very good. But I like this as a
test that Belichick has had all summer to scheme here
and figure out ways to slow down Jalen Hurts and

(06:09):
we'll see if he can. The other side of it
that I'm excited to see is finally because you guys know,
I loathe the preseason, so I don't take anything out
of what Mac Jones did in those games. What I
want to see is how he looks now with this
fresh start, and the Eagles is a great test. So
it's like, I know you have some stock greg in

(06:30):
Jones having a bounce back year if he plays very
well in.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
This game and last year it was last year.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
Sure, I'm not gonna put it in the same way
I look at like Trevor Lawrence's first year. I'm not
gonna give Mac Jones a total pass for last year
because I think he could have done some things better himself,
both in terms of as a player and some maturity
level and some things he was doing on the sidelines
and speaking to people who shouldn't been speaking to and
all that. But if he plays well in this game
and they, let's say they shocked the Eagles at home,

(06:58):
like all this talk in the summer about the AFC
East and the Patriots not even being part of the conversation,
everything flips and Pats fans like you, Gregor are gonna
be on fire.

Speaker 4 (07:07):
They sort of have to because their schedules so difficult
off the jump that if they don't pull off a
big upset in the first few weeks. I mean, they
do have Miami next week, and then they're at the
Jets at the Cowboys. Man, those are four really dangerous defenses.
If mac Jones looks average in those games, or even
better than average, then we will know he's back. It's
a time for a reset. And I just think the

(07:28):
things he showed as a rookie where he was a
really good rookie NFL quarterback. If you line up all
the rookie seasons we've seen for guys who played most
of the year, he was way above average. And I
think he showed a lot of traits timing, accuracy, decision
making that should translate. I'm just worried he's gonna get
crunched thet They put Riley Reef on injured reserve this week.

(07:51):
I don't know who's playing right tackle. They say it
might be Calvin Anderson, who's the definition of a journeyman
and has been hurt and hasn't taken any snaps. They're
gonna be rotating in a late round rookie. Like Their
offensive line was a mess in the preseason, so that
really worries me against this Eagles pass rush, who also
has a new coordinator Sean to si and and could
be cooking up some new schemes. I think there's a
lot of unpredictability here with the Eagles, just in terms

(08:13):
of their scheme that they'll throw out week one, because
they have new play games.

Speaker 5 (08:17):
You do up two new coordinators. The offensive coordinator has
known Jaalen Hurts for ages like there. I mean, he
was his QB coach a year ago and has known
him since he was young. So I think that transition
will be smooth. I think in general, I think the
transition for the Eagles will be smooth. I'm like looking
at James Bradberry and Darius Slay and their ability against
a pretty low octane collection of weapons for New England

(08:38):
that could unleas the pass rush. It's like, this is
not an easy matchup for mac Jones at all, and
I don't think it's really It'll be a litmus test,
and I think he's gonna have a bounce back season,
but this is a tough one out of the gate.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
And I don't know.

Speaker 5 (08:49):
Just because Tom Brady's gonna be their pre game being celebrated,
is that enough emotionally to lift his team.

Speaker 3 (08:55):
I don't think so.

Speaker 4 (08:55):
Yes, you don't lose with Tom with number twelve, he's
not playing. He's gonna gonna inspire them. That's what they
need to get ready for those stories if they win
that Tom Brady is if they're doing pregames not half presents,
I don't even know they're honoring him. Good, good point.
I don't really know when they're honoring him, but it's.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
That matters to me if they pre game honor him.
I'm all over the Patriots on this one. If it's
a half time, it's already gonna be two las, they're
gonna be down three scores.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
I think you got to have a raucous pregame fest
that actually might.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
Tell you where the Patriots think if they're too noivous
that they're getting their doors blown off and then bring
out to all me at halftime.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
I've got an answer.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
Okay, what is it?

Speaker 4 (09:32):
He is going to address the crowd during a halftime ceremony.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
That's worrisome. I guess give me the Eagles.

Speaker 5 (09:39):
Yeah, I would rather go play. Don't you just want
to fire in the place up pregame?

Speaker 3 (09:46):
I think he should be fired up. It's week one.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
Eagles are good. Though this is a battle tested, loaded roster.

Speaker 3 (09:52):
They are good.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
They could they could just as easily. It's a lot
of it. It's you know, it's bell check respect. It's
like there's a there's another world where this is forty
to ten and then sky.

Speaker 4 (10:05):
Okay, I'm just saying, if you line up the front
for the Eagles, everyone knows how deep their front is.
You got Detrich Wise has been there for what six
years now, Larry Guy, Matthew, Judon, Devon, Godshow, Keon White guys.
Because as a rookie Guy Och Barmore, I would take
the Patriots front.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
I take them good for you?

Speaker 1 (10:25):
I like it. So you got that juice, you know?
I like that. Greg. We need I need that fan.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
I mean, they're the underhill here in this room.

Speaker 6 (10:32):
That was the game of the week presented by Draft
King sports Book. New customers can bet us five dollars
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Speaker 2 (10:48):
All right, pick two, easy one for me, And I'm
very happy it's here. And it's no disrespect to you, Mark,
because I know it's one of your favorite teams, the
Pittsburgh Steelers.

Speaker 3 (10:59):
No way that I was last into three.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the San Francisco forteen nine
Ers at Hinesfield or whatever.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
It is now.

Speaker 2 (11:11):
The Niners are laying two points. It's minus two. That
seems like a lot of respect for the Steelers, And
I think it's been a very very optimistic time around
Pittsburgh because they kind of overperformed compared to expectations down
the stretch last year to get people juiced up. And then,

(11:31):
of course we talked about it a lot on this podcast.
They looked really good the reports out of Pittsburgh Latrobe.

Speaker 3 (11:38):
Yeah, one of the few teams that still goes.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
Away were excellent, and then the preseason played by the
first team offense, they kind of cooked up whoever they
were up again. So the idea here is that Pittsburgh
is in a nice spot. But you know what, San
Francisco forty nine ers, they are another team I'm very
intrigued to see here, and it starts with Rock Purdy
because you can when you're starting quarterback who's a seventh

(12:03):
round pick, mister irrelevant blows out his elbow in the
NFC title game and he's back in Week one, you
could do a lot of flowery talk about, oh, he's
on schedule, he's ahead of schedule, he's practicing with the team.
But guess what, they're also protecting him a lot throughout
the summer. They probably have him on a pitch count.
But once you get to the real stuff, once you

(12:24):
get to Pittsburgh in a game that counts now, people
are gonna be trying to hurt him. People are gonna
be trying to hit him. People are gonna be smacking
that elbow. How will Brock Purdy look And if he
doesn't respond physically, Sam Donald's waiting in the wings.

Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, I think like Brock Purdy to me is obviously
one of the mysterious figures heading into the season because
we do have a period in time where Jimmy Garoppolo
came in in a Kyle Shanahan offense in his first
five or six games and looked like a god. And
then you went into the next season thinking like does
this just translate with this relatively inexperienced former backup and

(13:02):
it didn't. I mean, Jimmy Garoppolo was more than competent
in that offense, but that's sample size. He never duplicated
in what Brock Party. His one hundred and nineteen passer
rating was the second highest among qbs in the first
five starts in the Super Bowl era. You're behind only
Kurt Warner. So it's like he was off the charts
and he looked incredible, and it's like, does that translate?
I tend to think just because of the player he

(13:24):
is from the neck up and the way that he
dealt with incredible pressure and took over a locker room
last year, that I think this does translate With Rock Party.
You got George Kittle is returned to return to practice
this week, and you've got Nick Bosa back.

Speaker 3 (13:37):
I think these are huge X factors for the night.

Speaker 4 (13:40):
Yeah, the largest guaranteed money for defensive player, you know,
the largest total value for defense. But this is what
happens if you sign, if you're the next guy to
sign a contract and you're at the level of Nick Bosa,
defensive player of the year type of guy, then you
get the biggest contract. And he waited it out and
he got max money. I'm curious to see how much

(14:01):
they're going to play them this week. It always, you know,
makes me wonder, like how important is training camp really
when these guys sign for a week before the season
and then they come out and they're awesome in Week one.
I would guess over under snap count forty maybe like
two thirds of his his normal to make an impact,

(14:21):
but twenty, But I could be wrong. They could just
play them a whole, a whole slew and slew of
snaps and a full compliment.

Speaker 3 (14:29):
That was the word I was really looking at.

Speaker 4 (14:31):
Yeah, I just wonder all this talk about the Steelers,
like the one fly in the ointment is their offensive line.
I think it does look better on paper. I think
they're going to be improved. But Bosa Javon kin Law
getting some pop in terms of how he's looked. Javon Hargrave,
you bring it in the offseason. Armstead Drake Jackson's a very
promising second year rusher. What a test for Pittsburgh right

(14:55):
off the bat to try to protect picking two second
year quarterbacks like who you got long term Danny Pickett.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
That's very hard, That's very difficult because in both cases,
Pickett was excellent in the last eight games. As a team,
they were excellent the Steelers in the last eight games.
But his numbers. I think this gets forgotten a little bit.
We just imagine because I know he had a primetime
game or it was a Saturday game, Saturday night game
maybe where he played really well and they have this

(15:23):
nice victory in those last eight games. Six point four
yards per attempt passer rating of eighty four.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
He threw.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
He threw five touchdowns in the last eight games and
now only one interception. So he was careful at the ball.
But this wasn't a guy that was lighting up teams. No,
I mean, but my point is like and Purty Purty
was a consistent He was a rock down the stretch
and it was like every game it was like two touchdowns,
two touchdowns, two touchdowns, mistake free for mistake free football.

(15:52):
So right now, give me Purdy and a battle of
two small sample sizes, but mostly because of the offense's
in and the coach that he has.

Speaker 5 (16:00):
Yeah, I mean he had Christian McCaffrey around them, Deebo, Samuel,
George Kittle, I mean in a quality offensive line. Pickett,
I mean is an unfinished product too. But the one
thing I like is the accuracy. I think what we've
had a larger sample size in the preseason. I think
that is one area where the preseason matters. Like Pickett
is growing with this young offense, and I think a
year ago when he came in, he showed an ability

(16:20):
to work the team out of jams, like they weren't
blowing teams away, but he had a comeback element to
his game. And I think you see someone like George Pickens,
like you have Najee Harris, Jalen Warren, Calvin Austin, who's
an interesting he's their punt return. I mean, just like
there's a lot of young players. This is a young offense,
and I think the offensive line will be better and
I think that Pickett's the kind of guy that has
already showed us that there's another element to his game,

(16:42):
and he's a candidate to make a leap.

Speaker 3 (16:44):
You must have him winning this game. I mean, you're
all in on the Steelers.

Speaker 5 (16:46):
This is this is a tough I do and I
think this is a This reminds me of Eagles Patriots
because this is a tough drawl for both teams out
of the gate.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
Well, if you have him, if you have him as
like a twelve win team, they have to win some
of these big time matchups.

Speaker 5 (17:00):
Because it's in Pittsburgh. You know, you got a West team,
West Coast team traveling.

Speaker 3 (17:05):
You're locking this up.

Speaker 5 (17:06):
No, these are the mental games that I felt for
in the past, and I will not this time.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
I I, uh, but you're picking Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
I'll pick Pittsburgh to win in a very tight game.

Speaker 4 (17:15):
Yeah, I think two points sound sounds right to me.
This should be just about a pick. This is the
right time of year to face the forty nine ers.
I don't know if you guys remember way back in
twenty seventeen, how that Kyle Shanahan era started with about
nine straight lasses and ever since then they've been really poor.
Coming out of the gates year after other than that
one thirteen and three year where they were just great

(17:37):
throughout last three years, three and four to start.

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Last season, remember that, not really, I don't.

Speaker 4 (17:43):
Know, really, you don't remember that they were like in
the middle.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Was that Lance's quarterback or for games?

Speaker 3 (17:51):
For two games?

Speaker 1 (17:52):
Okay, it totally different.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
You were ten in the monsoon, but they were one
and one.

Speaker 1 (17:56):
I got right, yeah, three out it we're back now.

Speaker 4 (18:00):
Three and three the year before that, and three and
four the year before that. So they've been you know,
very just average getting out of the gates under like seven.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
Now, yeah, our division has changed to mark, you have
two in a row? What's your first pick?

Speaker 3 (18:14):
All right?

Speaker 5 (18:15):
Well, uh, I think that the juiciness of these contests
does certainly fall off a little bit after the two
games you picked. But I am personally, as you know,
very wed to the concept of what the Atlanta Falcons
can be. Yeah, so I'm going Carolina with Bryce Young
at Atlanta Atlanta minus three point five. I think the

(18:37):
Falcons are is it really though?

Speaker 3 (18:39):
I mean, look at the rest of the board. When
Chris Meyers goes third overall.

Speaker 5 (18:42):
I am not no matter what you know that the
announcing the announcing team does not is not the.

Speaker 1 (18:47):
Reason couple still on the board here.

Speaker 5 (18:49):
But but I I'm going with what fascinates me, and
I think that I think this. I think by week
five or six, the Falcons, if they are what I
think they are, are going to be a consistent high
pick in these drafts because I think they're one of
the stories of the NFC.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
And I don't know, because me and you are in
these drafts, so you're.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
That was actually really funny because Mark was actually looking
at Greg saying that I think by week six they're
gonna be really good, Like, please, let's go into our
little Falcons world and rise up together.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
I don't I don't think that it's even let me
say this, Yeah, after all this summer to talk, you
better take care of business at home against the number
one absolutely.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
A rookie quarterback with really not a lot around them.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
The Panthers clearly in a place where they're figuring things out,
and that's okay.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
Win the damn game. They will go. Want to know here,
they will.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
If there's anything I'm most concerned about for Carolina's.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
I'm going to be a jerk on Sunday night. If
the Falcons don't show up in this game.

Speaker 3 (19:44):
Well we will be a jerk on Monday night at
the Jets don't show.

Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, that's fine, that's fine. Okay.

Speaker 5 (19:50):
The Falcons already started doing last year what it is
they want to do this year. They had four games
of two hundred plus yards on the ground and a
bunch over like one hundred and fifty on underd and
sixty where they just started running through people. And I
think that this isn't a reach in terms of concept.
Arthur Smith has already shown an ability to run this offense.
You add Bejon Robinson to the situation. Kyle Pitts is back.

(20:13):
I think Drake London is a is a future star
at wide receiver. It all comes down to Desmond Ridder.
I get it, but I don't think Desmond Ridder is
I don't think he needs to be the absolute beating
heart centerpiece of what they're trying to do on offense.

Speaker 1 (20:27):
Now, I tell that to be don't be a liability.
I suit.

Speaker 5 (20:31):
I think if you go and look at you know,
he got put into a tough situation post Mariota last season,
but he had a couple quarters and a couple of
games where you started to see that. I can see
why the team believes in them, why they didn't go
trade for Ryan Tannehill. We'll find out in real games
if you can do it. I think this Carolina front
seven is the kind of front seven someone like Derek

(20:52):
Brown could be a difference maker in terms of stopping
the run, making a difference. I don't know where we
are with Brian Burns. He's sort of doing a hold
in city situation and.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
But now he's back again. He's back, but I think
he's bad.

Speaker 5 (21:05):
They're calling it sort of a day by day in
terms of how much work he gets. I just I
think this is I think Bryce Young is going to
have a bit of a tough scenario out of the game.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
I mean, they need that.

Speaker 2 (21:15):
Brian Burns no is also the reason he's doing this,
which I don't like the move, and I understand, go
get paid. I get it, but this this late It
reminds me when Summer Slam ninety one, where Ultimate Warrior
told the Vince McMahon the day before the big tag
team bout of Hogan and Warrior against Colonel Mustafa and
Sergeant Slaughter is very Gulf war heavy Warrior goes, if

(21:38):
you don't give me like one hundred percent raise, I'm
not going to show up at the at the venue.
And Vince is like, all right, we'll give you your raise,
And he showed up at the venue. He wrestled and
then Vince fired his ass as soon as the matress over.
I'm not saying the Panthers.

Speaker 1 (21:51):
Should do that, but he's He's now in a weird move.
He's doing an ultimate warrior move. But you never never
go full warrior.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
He had twelve and a half sacks, twenty two QB hits,
seven teen tackles for loss last year, all career highs.
Nor other Panthers player had more than seven sacks last year.
So they need him to give that push and to
make a young quarterback like Desmond Ridder uncomfortable.

Speaker 4 (22:12):
Well, he's also coming off a fractured ankle. He's very
high on my twenty twenty four free agents list. He's
a guy who was part of one of the most
shocking near trades in NFL history in terms of being
turned down when the Panthers, this is malpractice, turned down

(22:32):
multiple rams first round picks for Brian Burns. Do you
know how good the car. I know Brian Burns is
a great player. Do you know how good the Panthers
would feel right now to own the next two Rams
first round picks and Bryce Young?

Speaker 1 (22:47):
Those could be top ten ts.

Speaker 4 (22:49):
That is, that was a terrible trade offer, and it
was even worse, and it was because I think there
was a vacuum of power and ownership got involved. I
am a little worried that they are affront that could
slow down Atlanta compare to other teams. You mentioned Brown
and Burns and Justin Houston's there now, and they're somewhat familiar.
It's a new defensive coordinator at zero. Ever, we'll see though,
because that defense usually kind of invites you to run.

(23:10):
They won't against Atlanta. But they are a defense that's
trying to prevent the big play. But I just think
this isn't Bijon and Arthur Smith in your one. It's
Bijon in year one and Arthur Smith in this offensive
line in year three. And you said they can't lose
this game, and they're not gonna because over here on
Falcons Corner, I'm locking up the Falcons let go.

Speaker 1 (23:32):
I like it. That's a good lock.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
And again, even though I get a little bit annoyed
because there's so much guessing up. I like the Falcons too.
I like their chances to be competitive a hang and
maybe even win this division.

Speaker 1 (23:43):
So I think that's a I think it's a good lock.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
And just for when I say I'm gonna be a jerk,
it's gonna be like you get the Panthers aren't a
very good football team. Now, you could be a jerk
to me if the Bills stop the Jets. But it's
the Bills, Okay, that's a that's a monster you are.

Speaker 3 (23:58):
We're being childish toy that we're gonna cut on the jem.

Speaker 1 (24:01):
I'm just saying it's not.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
It's more with My point is like time, if we
agree that the Falcons, it's time to take the next step,
you gotta win. Here's a nice yes, it's not a
platter for you to get your season going in a
good way.

Speaker 3 (24:11):
I don't think anyone would would disagree with your concept.

Speaker 4 (24:14):
And I one quick thing is just I do think
this is a nice first game for Bryce Young. I
do buy the idea that Frank Reich was not showing
anything in the preseason, and I saw some nice anticipation,
but Young. And the reason I think it's a nice
first matchup is I'll believe the Falcons pass rush when
I see it. They haven't had one in about fifteen
years since they're John Abraham. I mean, so they they

(24:35):
got an okay offensive line. Probably might be bad, but
if they're ever gonna look good, it's this week. And
Bryce Young and Frank Reich, like I think this is
a good first matchup for Young to get his feet with.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
All Right, we're three games in. Let's take a break
and we'll continue to hit Week one preview.

Speaker 1 (24:52):
All Right, we're back.

Speaker 3 (24:55):
I love it.

Speaker 1 (24:56):
We are right.

Speaker 2 (24:57):
Give me some of that music, Give me some of
that skittles, Sam Spence, we are back. Baby Up as
she rises one of the classics.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
You know, from the NFL film's music half.

Speaker 4 (25:13):
An anthem fitting after the rise up of the Atlanta Falcons.

Speaker 1 (25:18):
He just could happen, certainly within the range of outcomes
this season.

Speaker 7 (25:25):
But just as we went from a dance speech and
we gotta hit five minutes per game to a minute

(25:47):
of total silence as Dan conduct the air.

Speaker 2 (25:50):
This is what matters up. She rises, up as she rises.
You know what rises in the twenty twenty three season.

Speaker 1 (25:57):
Coming up. Pick four snakes back to you.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
I want to say one thing.

Speaker 5 (26:02):
I remember when we spoke with fabulous play by play
man Kevin Hardin that he told us on the mornings
before he announced games, he'd sit in his hotel room
in his bedclothing, listening to NFL films blasting off of.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
I love that man.

Speaker 3 (26:16):
He's a great guy and you can see it in
his production.

Speaker 2 (26:19):
Tradition with whenever my father or my brother comes to
the Super Bowl, I'll be out working, we're doing the podcast.
I will set in the hotel room and I'll leave
a key for him downstairs. I'll have the Sam Spence
playlist on repeat so they come into the room to Spence.
I mean, that's that's the power of that music in

(26:43):
our great sport.

Speaker 5 (26:44):
All right, I'm gonna pick a match up that hearkens
back to those old days of NFL glory. The Green
Bay Packers at the Chicago Bears Bears minus one Bears
have lost good pick I like this, Yeah, you know what,
you know what's different. I would have avoided this matchup
for years on ends because the Packers, to me and

(27:06):
the Bears were a lost cause. But the Packers were
sort of the same story over and over, and I
think this is the time. This is the year where
Green Bay with Jordan Love, with an incredibly young, fascinating
group of offensive players, is completely different and new to me.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
And I'm intrigued.

Speaker 5 (27:21):
And it has to do with the Bears too, because
I think we've talked about it all offseason and there's
been a bit of assumption that Justin Field is just
going to do what Jalen Hurts did and develop like that.
We don't know that at all, but he certainly has
a better shot around him to become a better passer
with DJ Moore there, Chase Claypool up and down, but
he's in that system for another year.

Speaker 3 (27:41):
I like Cole Kmet.

Speaker 5 (27:42):
I think this is a team that last year they
averaged one hundred and thirty passing yards per game, the
fewest in the NFL by a lot. That's got to change.
You've got to have a more balanced offense. I think
they know that.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
Flip side.

Speaker 5 (27:53):
I just I cannot wait to see what a month
plus of Jordan Love is where we are in a month,
and I think this is a good test.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
Right out of the gate.

Speaker 5 (28:00):
Chicago's defense, their pass rush is not gonna scare anyone
but Christian Watson, Romeo Dobbs dealing with hamstrings. So I
want to monitor see where that where those guys are
on offense. If you get what the late light season
version of Watson. I think Jordan Love can have a
fast start to this season. And this Packers team being
overlooked a little bit, they have everything inside of them
to win the division if they need to.

Speaker 3 (28:21):
And I think you start strong in Chicago.

Speaker 4 (28:22):
You mentioned Watson though, and that came out of nowhere,
and it's such a bad deal. Dobbs returned to practice Thursday.
Christian Watson did not I mean this. I love the
young group that they have. It's not a deep young group,
and the backups that they have behind Watson and Dobbs,
like it gets thin real fast. Jayden Reid, I think

(28:43):
will be a nice rookie slot receiver. It's a rookie
slot receiver. You know who also is in practice. It's
August thirtieth. Tell me if you've heard this one before.
All Pro left tackle David Bachtiari well and there when
since August thirtieth, and and they're saying like maybe they
know no one knows he's been on a bike and
they're like, maybe it's these veteran rest days. It's like,
he hasn't practiced in pads in a week and a

(29:05):
half and we're just back.

Speaker 3 (29:07):
Nobody knows.

Speaker 4 (29:08):
Uh, they're calling it veteran rest days for now, but
he hasn't practiced. It's a little hard to imagine. And
that that's a bummer to me because I was so
excited to see what this offense looks like. I think
the offensive line for the Packers could be special, but
Bachtiari is such a huge part of that psychically, don't
you and this is why it's.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Such a good pick. Don't you just feel like this
this is.

Speaker 4 (29:28):
One of the biggest games of Week one just for
each fan base, Like a division game makes a Week
one feel game feel bigger to me, and these two
teams kind of starting over. I just feel like this
game has outsized importance for both these teams, especially the Bears.
If you lose to the Jordan Love Packers, we're a
little banged up in Week one. That's a really tough

(29:51):
way to start your season. You win it, you're fly
it well.

Speaker 2 (29:54):
Remember remember there was another quarterback in Green Bay before
Jordan Love who owned the Chicago Bears and let them
know it infamously. If you're from the Midwest, and now
you're right. If you're a Bears fan, this season is
the fresh start and the first thing you want to do.

(30:15):
It's a perfect setup. Schedule wise, it's kick the Packers
ass and announced announced. Well, listen, we maybe never got
to Rogers, but that's over now. And if they come
out of this game and they play well, and the
offense looks better and the defense handles the business and
doesn't let Jordan Love become a story of Week one,

(30:36):
the Bears are loving it, and I think they I
think they trended downward in terms of what people when
they were talking about who's like a wild card team?
Could who can the Bears compete in the division? You
heard less of that, I felt like as the summer
went along, But I wouldn't rule it out. I think
this division is wide open. And again, like I said earlier,
if you get that big Week one win, like I
was talking about the Patriots, it kind of changes the

(30:58):
complexion of everything overnight.

Speaker 5 (31:00):
Well, and it would be huge for Matt Ibraflus, who
I still is somewhat of an anonymous character. The Bears
certainly line up as a team that, after the win
total year ago, could jump up by six seven wins.
I think they're that kind of team. I just think
it does so much matter on justin field.

Speaker 4 (31:16):
Just give me a little pass rush here, Bears. I mean,
you know they didn't go out and get any one.
They didn't. You got in gotway, but they didn't get enough.
And without Bachtiari, maybe there's a vulnerability there. It's probably
Rashad Weaver at left tackle. But if Jordan Love's protected,
it will get a good chance to see. To me,
the test of if you can be an NFL quarterback

(31:37):
is if you're protected, can you deliver? It's a fairly
low bar. I would say twenty to twenty five guys
can do that every week. Like Teddy Bridgewater. You protect him,
he's gonna be solid. If you protect Love and you
have a great running game and I think a good
offensive line and they have a good matchup here, I
think he's gonna be a safer quarterback than people expect.

Speaker 3 (31:56):
But it's a big test. We haven't seen it.

Speaker 1 (31:57):
This seems impossible.

Speaker 2 (31:58):
Last known on this game true in twenty twenty two,
Modern football the Bears averaged one hundred and thirty and
a half passing yards per game.

Speaker 5 (32:07):
Well, we met, like as mentioned, it's but it was
by far the lowest in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (32:11):
That is, Oh did you say that much?

Speaker 5 (32:13):
Yeah, but the counter was like they had the most
dangerous ground attack out there.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
No, but I feel like you need to get that
number up there.

Speaker 2 (32:22):
You got to get a little and they and the
reason why, the in part that the pass rush is
not where it is and the defense has a long
way to go, is that they kind of use this
offense to build around field. So you're gonna want to
see it. Yeah, he was pretty electric before he got
hurt again. Uh, that stretch in November around he looked
like he was about to take over the league. That
guy hit the ground running.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
This year a lot to not to find out. All right,
I'm up.

Speaker 4 (32:51):
This is where, like the Great Game, gms really separate
themselves in the middle craft.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
I want to like, I want to pick a late
game here, and I want to pick a game that
I want to.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
I want to watch Here's.

Speaker 3 (33:06):
That is the point thinking out loud.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
Let's see what's going on with the Raiders and Broncos.
Broncos by three and a half.

Speaker 1 (33:15):
I like it an old rivalry.

Speaker 3 (33:20):
Surprise picks. I might call it a reach.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
It is, it is a reach, But I was I'm
thinking about Shook a little bit in the game that
he's watching the Raiders, a team that, in the eyes
of some Mark Edward Sessler, for one, why even exist.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
You're not You're not a team to be taken seriously.

Speaker 5 (33:39):
I'm hearing from Raiders fans daily about that that I've
been far too dark on the whole situation.

Speaker 2 (33:44):
You're an also ran, you don't really have it together.
You have maybe potential issues behind the scenes. Again, Josh McDaniels.
It happened the their opponent this week, the Broncos. It
happened with McDaniels. There is it happening again.

Speaker 1 (33:59):
We don't know.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
Maybe Chandla Jones' instagram was weird. But here is the
positive news if you're a Raiders fan. There are still
weapons on this offense and big time players. It's a
top heavy roster, but it's a type of roster if
you get big games from Max Crosby, from Josh Jacobs,
from DeVante Adams, and a very capable and for the

(34:22):
time being healthy Jimmy Garoppolo, you should be able to
hang with a team like the Broncos, who I know
there's a lot of optimism about them. I think they
are another great curiosity. I don't think it's that much
of a reach because I think there's a lot of
questions around Denver and like, what is Sean Payton's Denver
Broncos look like after a pretty rough summer, let's be honest,

(34:43):
with a lot of injuries for this team and a
lot of talk around Russell Wilson and what he could
bring to them. So I really like this as an
old school AFC West matchup between a Raiders team that's
being overlooked as it also ran in a Broncos team
that's looking trying to get back to respect and they
think they could for a playoff spot.

Speaker 1 (35:01):
So interesting.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
Look, there's a couple things going on with the Broncos
that I think are absolute positives. One is Sean Payton
is taking over what was the worst coach team in
the league a year ago, and Sean Payton to me
as a top three coach who is going to organize
this entire operation in a different way.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
They're going to look different.

Speaker 5 (35:16):
I think the physical stature of Russell Wilson after what
we've seen, sleeker better shape than a year ago. That
was a big problem last season. And Javonte Williams. It's like,
this is someone that I didn't even know you could
count on at this point. But Peyton's basically saying he's
going to have a big role right out of the gate.
I think if you are, if you're Sean Payton, you
don't need to make Russell Wilson do everything early on.

Speaker 3 (35:39):
There could be a lot of run.

Speaker 5 (35:40):
I think there could be a lot of power running,
a lot of trying to control the game from that
aspect versus putting Russell Wilson into a tough spot. But
that's one of the biggest stories obviously of the entire
offseason going into this week. It's a great pick because
it's eyes first on where we are with Russell Wilson
and Sean Pate.

Speaker 3 (35:56):
Well, if Russell Wilson.

Speaker 4 (35:58):
Had heard these quotes from Sean Payton that they had
an ESPN dot Com was an insider peace by Seth
Lugersham in the middle of June, It's all we would
have talked about for two months. You drop it right
before the season. It kind of gets lost in the
in the shuffle, but.

Speaker 1 (36:14):
In the half of it, and they got busy in
the piece.

Speaker 4 (36:17):
Peyton told Wilson he needs to focus less on quote
Russell inc will you bleeping stop kissing all the babies?
Peyton said, you're not running for public office. Love it
as I mean, it's good advice. It's harsh and I
think of your Russell Wilson, you have to worry a

(36:37):
little bit about Sean Payton's motives, motivation and where his
heart is that this is getting out there in the public.
If it had stayed private, it's good advice. But it
didn't stay private. It got into this article.

Speaker 2 (36:50):
Sean Payton was just shooting from the hip the entire offseason,
apparently in any interview.

Speaker 5 (36:55):
Don't you think Sean Payton was told before he took
this job, like you are not attached to the hip,
to Russell Wilson, You've got Jared Stidham if you if
you want to chose.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
He chose to sign Stidham on the first day of
free agency for a very aggressive backup quarterback.

Speaker 5 (37:09):
I just don't think that there was any There was
no notion that Sean Payton couldn't break free from this
Russell Wilson situation.

Speaker 3 (37:15):
If it is as ugly as it was.

Speaker 1 (37:16):
A year, here's the here's the hierarchy in Denver.

Speaker 3 (37:21):
He also flamed the GM verbally, so you know, well, yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Here's the hierarchy. Last year it was Russell Wilson, that's it, yep.
And now this year it's Sean Payton, and then about
eight eight spots Kevin Saunders the GM, and then five
more spots down and then maybe Russell Wilson sneaks in
like he is no longer viewed as the center piece

(37:44):
or or the tea the guy that is the future, undoubtedly,
and I think there's gonna be a lot of pressure
on Wilson immediately out of the gate this season to
do something unimit.

Speaker 4 (37:56):
I'd love to talk just like X's and I was
having Patrick Graham versus Peyton is fine. DeVante Adams versus
Patrick Stertan is as good as it gets looking. I'm
curious about the Raiders rookies. Michael Meyer, Tyree Wilson's looking better.
But this Chandler joneson we should hit on because it
seems quite serious, like I don't know what's going on
but he's posting pretty strange Instagram stories. Some of them

(38:18):
was going after his coach and GM, but he also
sent out and it's public, so we can talk about
a fire and rescue team like Workbash, who's the clinic
program manager for the crisis response team in Las Vegas.
There were some other very erratic stuff that he said
TMZ was coming after him that mentioned a woman involved

(38:40):
and Chloe. And then it's hard not to think about
Chandler Jones's exit from the Patriots and what that was
involved in, and just the way the players are talking
about it, and actually there's some They've tried to keep
it all in house, but something's not right with Chandler Jones.
And I think it's more than just he was upset
with the team about not going into the building and

(39:02):
he he on paper, is a really big part of
that team, and I think it's absolutely fair to wonder, like,
what is his future with this team? What is his
future playing football at least in the medium to long term.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
And Chandler Jones, he gets after the quarterback for a living.
Russell Wilson sect fifty five times last year, tied for
the most in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
Career high, so they redid their offensive line.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
We're gonna want to see how that looks like because Wilson, yeah,
the old sack of potatoes thing and he's morse felt
and he's moving better, but the line needs to be better.

Speaker 1 (39:37):
So on he needs to be quicker with this decision making.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
I think Sean Payton, probably, when you think about it,
is the perfect coach to come in and tell him
things like stop kissing babies, like you're not as good
as you thought you were. It's time now to start over.
And does that get through to Russell Wilson. Well, I
don't know, that's the question.

Speaker 1 (39:52):
I don't know, mister unlimited.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
I don't know if if he has that capacity to
be humbled in that way and start over, or if
he's thinking to himself, this guy doesn't really understand me.

Speaker 5 (40:02):
Maybe, but he also hasn't He hasn't you know, lashed
out in reverse. I think he's handled it at least
front facing pretty well.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
Doesn't do that though, you know what I mean. He's
like such a positive guy. It'll be interesting.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
He's been challenged, no doubt, on a number of levels,
both in the media, from the public and even with
a new quarterback in the building there who could be
ready to take over because Peyton brought him in.

Speaker 1 (40:22):
Mister unlimited, all right, it is time for Greg to
make his second pick.

Speaker 3 (40:28):
I take it back. It wasn't a reach. I really
want to see that game.

Speaker 1 (40:33):
And we'll see the first round pick.

Speaker 4 (40:34):
We'll see if you're interested in the Tennessee Titans at
the New Orleans Saints. Have fun little uh truck conference
to figure this out.

Speaker 3 (40:47):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (40:50):
Interconference SATs Saints favored by three in this game, which
is the official desert position of I don't know, which
actually is a little less respect than I would have
expected from the for the Saints and a little more
respect for the Titans than I would have expected, because
it's definitely a I don't know type of line and

(41:10):
it's gonna be the first game I watch all year,
which is just feels weird that this is it ten
am start. I don't know if all the Saints hype
is real. The Saints fan base is usually pretty skeptical.
I've actually found that they they are, they're doubters, and
yet they're buying in. And I guess I'm buying in
because I found myself in my first fantasy draft, and

(41:32):
I believe a decade on Wednesday night and I walked
out of it with Kamara, who I just love the villa.

Speaker 3 (41:38):
Ah.

Speaker 4 (41:39):
But I also wound up with Juwan Johnson and Michael
Thomas very late too, and suddenly I am knee deep
in Saints offense. Derek Carr, I mean they know none
of them. I mean these were good value. They were
very late in the draft.

Speaker 1 (41:54):
Like grounds do you, Jamal Williams.

Speaker 3 (41:56):
I didn't do that.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
You know, a little rusty, it sounds.

Speaker 3 (41:59):
I mean, we'll see. I like the ship lost at suit.

Speaker 4 (42:02):
I like the look of my team. This matchup could
course correct all that optimism to me, because I think
everyone's been sleeping on this Titans front. That they're healthy,
that they're back, that they have continuity with Denny Goatri
and Jeffrey Simmons, all the guys that you know, and
some of the guys coming back at the linebacker position
and really deep in terms of their safety group. Like

(42:25):
I like this Titans defense. I think it could be
a top seven or eight type of unit. And I
think it's it's an immediate test for this Saints offensive line,
which Trevor Penny at left tackle. Will see if he
makes a big second year step. He barely got on
the field a year ago. He's looked a little iffian preseason.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
We'll see.

Speaker 5 (42:42):
I mean the Titans to me, I don't know, I
don't I hear this all the time now that everyone's
sleeping on the on the Tennessee Titans, they're just really well.

Speaker 4 (42:50):
You hear that from our old producer, Justin Graver's Twitter
account blowing up our mentions.

Speaker 5 (42:54):
Well, that's one, that's one source, but he's not alone.
It's just I don't see it on the offensive side
of the ball. You're right that they were the best
run defense in the league last year and one of
the worst pass defenses. So I didn't think it's an
opportunity for Chris Olave, for Derek Carr, for the rest
of that crew to to go down, up and down
the field on they want. You know, I know that
they're so well coached, but they lost seven games in

(43:16):
a row to end last season.

Speaker 4 (43:19):
Don't you think it was Yeah, it was mostly the offense.

Speaker 3 (43:21):
You're right, and it was nuts.

Speaker 5 (43:23):
What about the offense at this stage gives you a
lot of optimism that they can hang in.

Speaker 4 (43:29):
Just just that they shuffle. It's not optimism, but it's hope,
and it's hope season. Just that they shuffle the deck
on the offensive. Yeah, I don't like that offensive line.

Speaker 3 (43:37):
Taylor Scornsky like those guys.

Speaker 4 (43:39):
They they put a lot into Daniel Bunskill's played a
lot for the forty nine ers. You have Hopkins. Can
Hopkins be a one still? I think people are throwing
him into this Julio Jones right in Tennessee bucket.

Speaker 3 (43:51):
He's not there. He's gonna be better, right, that's fair.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
For the record.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
After he came back from his suspension, you know, there
are a lot of there was a lot of talking,
some popping of the hood on the advanced stats that
he didn't have the same separation ability, and that's to
be understood at this age.

Speaker 1 (44:07):
But he also was probably on pace for one hundred
and ten catches and was well over a thousand yards
receiving this. Julio Jones was a guy who in the
last few years couldn't stay on the field and was
not a difference maker at all. So Hopkins, if he
could stay healthy, I think absolutely could can play the guitar.
You know, I mean, guess I have more questions about
Ryan Tannehill, who is another year older.

Speaker 2 (44:27):
He's been beat up now. Last year he struggled, obviously
to stay on the field. His numbers were depressed as
a result, as was the offense, and his last two
seasons he's been kind of in decline statistically. Can he
have a bounce back? Absolutely, but I kind of got
to see it. I love the Saints in this gamme Gregy.
I would think I locked up the Chiefs yesterday, but
the Saints are at the Superdome. I think Derek car

(44:50):
and this offense is gonna be better than people think. I
think they're gonna be a top ten offense, and I
think they take care of business here.

Speaker 4 (44:58):
I would tend to agree I'm taking I would take
the Titans in this game, but uh, maybe I was
swayed by this. Michael Thomas tweet on September sixth, quote revenge,
how I show my anger? My facial expression ain't changing.

Speaker 3 (45:14):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (45:15):
There's something about the whole Michael fifteen games, the whole
Michael Thomas experiments. It's it's definitely that cliched wide receiver tweet.
The enemy speaks kindly and holds a knife like Michael
Thomas is the king of that and if they could
just get eighty percent of Michael Thomas, that guy is
the heartbeat of that team.

Speaker 3 (45:34):
He's a leader, the one.

Speaker 1 (45:38):
Because it's been too much now the last year the team.

Speaker 4 (45:42):
I think so. I think he is a rare personality
and leader in terms of the work that he puts
in and the way he plays football that like guys
look to him as just like an incredible athlete in person.
And I think it's really hurt him obviously without him
last year or back to me, I thought of taking

(46:05):
this the pick before. What would it have mattered Texans Ravens.
You might say, oh, Greg, that's a ten point spread.
Why would you take a game like that right now?
And I would say this Ravens team is as fascinating
and unknown as maybe any team with the same head
coach and quarterback in the entire NFL. I can't wait

(46:26):
to see Lamar Jackson. We haven't seen him at all.
They didn't play a lick of the preseason. Neither to
Dodo Beckham Sayflowers did a little bit. Neither did Rashad Bateman.
I love it and it's going up against a defense
that I think is pretty well suited to slow them down.
I think the Texans have a really improved defense, and
I've no I'm not.

Speaker 3 (46:45):
Gonna lock it out he's talking about, but.

Speaker 4 (46:48):
I think they could slow him down. We've talked through
that their secondary is better. Derek Stingley wants to step
up in year two. Jalen Petree is a possible safety,
all pro type of safety. I really like the Jimmy Wards.
Stephen Nelson is a really good veteran cornerback. Is a
nice little matchup when the Ravens have the ball, Will
Anderson's rushing at Lamar Jackson. I haven't even gotten a stroud,

(47:10):
but to me, this is a very fresh, a new game,
and I think it'll be a if I had to pick,
and I do on Friday on game debut, I'm taking
the Texans to cover that the ten points at least.

Speaker 5 (47:21):
That is the biggest spread here in Week one. I
think that you've got an opportunity if you're the Texans.
I think Tamiko Ryans is going to I really liked
everything I'm hearing from his players in general.

Speaker 3 (47:34):
I think he's a change agent.

Speaker 5 (47:36):
I think he's going to come in and have their
defense playing as well as possible. And if you're the Ravens,
Mark Andrews is banged up right now, Ronnie Stanley is
dealing with an ankle. He's practicing, like that's not great,
and I just think that is it going to take
some time. Everyone's like, oh, this will be Lamar Jackson's
biggest opportunity to make a big jump in different way
through the air and stuff. It's like, you, by the way,

(47:57):
like the whole Greg Roman thing, I get it that
it got stale. You built an entire offense around what
Lamar Jackson does well, so this is going to take
some time to go and.

Speaker 3 (48:06):
Change what you do.

Speaker 5 (48:08):
And it's these things you know, you even look at
like Matt Ryan and Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta that first season,
second season MVP season, but first time around, it took
Matt Ryan time to kind of figure out how that
system worked. And do we just assume that we get
Baltimore's offense from the jump that could.

Speaker 1 (48:25):
Take a.

Speaker 2 (48:27):
Todd Monkin isn't exactly Bill Walsh. So no, the idea
we needed to get Greg Roman out, okay, all right?
And you know they were right. It was time for
a fresh mind, but I don't automatically assume. Now Todd
Montkin rolls in and does whatever Lamar Jackson wants, and
the offense is going to get flying. I love their
running game, of course, with Lamar leading the way and

(48:48):
Dobbin's little Gus Edwards all good.

Speaker 1 (48:53):
I love Mark.

Speaker 2 (48:54):
Andrews, especially if he's healthy, one of the top tight
ends of the league. I'm still that solid on the
wide receivers, and I know that's supposed to be fixed now.
Rashad Bateman got to see it, Okay, let's see it.
First round pick that hasn't truly broken out yet, is
that with some health issues. Odell Beckham. We don't need
to talk about this anymore, but really hasn't been a
big time player for six years about now. And I

(49:15):
know he was electric in moments during the playoff run
with the Rams, but then he blew his a cl
and then he got a couple of years older. Let's
see where he is. Jay Flowers another first round pick.
They don't always hit the ground running. We could be
excited about Zay Flowers. It's totally fine, but nothing is
certain with this offense right now. And I think some
of this around Lamar and then that what was his MVP?
Did you who's Oh? Was that that was ke Kes.

(49:38):
A lot of this is about them kind of hitting
the ground running with this new look, a new offense,
new personnel.

Speaker 3 (49:43):
Hitting out at Keish.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
So you know that's it's it's even worse. It's mom,
which I love Keeth Mom.

Speaker 4 (49:49):
I love watching Lakeisha's mom watched Lamar Jackson. That's it's
a ball my favorite sporting activities.

Speaker 3 (49:56):
It's an as well futtle game.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
All right, good, good, good show.

Speaker 4 (50:00):
Show us something to here at CJ Strave too. I
mean this Ravens give him time too. Okay, I know,
I'm just saying. I'm just saying this Ravens defense might
be a little undercook, so you may show.

Speaker 5 (50:10):
A little so their offensive line, the Texans is is
suddenly in a weird place. Titus Howard put on injured reserve.
I mean it's they looked good in the summer.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
And they've watched about three or four guys. You're right,
all right, let's.

Speaker 2 (50:22):
Take a break and we'll be back with more preview.
All right, we're back. Let's keep it alling. I am
up in the draft. I will take mm hmm. All
right another late game. I'm taking Dolphins Chargers.

Speaker 1 (50:39):
How about that?

Speaker 3 (50:39):
I like it. I feel like there's a steal at
this points, an absolute steal.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
I think there's a lot to be interested in here.

Speaker 3 (50:47):
I want to walk across the street and watch it.

Speaker 1 (50:50):
I thought about that. I got there's an inter office
raffle an email.

Speaker 3 (50:54):
For tickets, and I was like, I mean you could apply.

Speaker 5 (50:56):
What about your accidental you have an actual work day
to attend to.

Speaker 4 (50:59):
I know you could if you're on a Sunday where
you if you only had one game in the afternoon,
I mean, that could be your game and you would
have some great insights.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
Tough beat.

Speaker 2 (51:08):
By the way, for the dads of a Point of Eld, Yeah,
they scheduled the Elsa Gundo Little League they won the
Little League World Championship. Congratulations again, I'm a.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
Member of the community. Uh in the littleague group.

Speaker 2 (51:23):
The parade is Sunday Week one.

Speaker 1 (51:26):
You just killing the dads.

Speaker 3 (51:28):
I thought that they had a like when they returned.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
That was a homecoming like waving thing. Sure, this is
the formal parade and ceremony Week one, Sunday, come.

Speaker 1 (51:39):
Back to us. That's got to be at the very
least Saturday.

Speaker 3 (51:42):
Terrible job.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
But even then, like you know, La, everyone is college
football crazy, so that's you got.

Speaker 3 (51:49):
You gotta pick one of them. It's a terrible job. Yeah,
it's a bad job.

Speaker 4 (51:53):
It's a US Open Men's tennis Open final being played
opposite these games. Level of ignorance and hubris and not
understanding the moment.

Speaker 3 (52:02):
Let's wake up people, sheep.

Speaker 4 (52:05):
I mean, I'm just like, I want to watch a
little Alkarez Djokovic and there's no chance.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
That is the real tragedy. Yea, all right, here we go. Yes,
I said it. I already said it. The Chargers and
the Dolphins, you know who else. By the way, the
Chargers lay in three points here, So the Desert likes
the Bolts, just like Greg E likes the Bolts. I
thought it was interesting if I'm a Dolphins fan. I'm
kind of into the fact that when the off season began,

(52:34):
everyone was like, yeah, well the Bills will be good,
and you know, the Jets and the Dolphins both are
looking good. And then as the summer war on, and
I am not oblivious to this, everyone got on the
Jets bandwagon and the Dolphins kind of got left behind
and and that's a little that'd be a chip on
my shoulder and I'd be using that if I'm Mike McDaniel,

(52:57):
the old nobody believes in his card, because I think
there's to believe that the Dolphins can absolutely get their
season going here with a w at Los Angeles because
the offense when Tua was healthy and we talked about it,
they went through some struggles later in the season before
he got hurt a final time and missed the rest
of the year. But I kind of like Mike McDaniel

(53:20):
getting a whole summer and then a game plan for
Week one that's gonna come out and maybe have Brandon
Staley's head spinning, and all of a sudden, it's one
of those updates where you're watching the late games and oh,
let's head back to Sofi Stadium. The Dolphins have scored
on their first three possessions. It's twenty one to three
early in the second quarter. Wouldn't shock me. The Dolphins

(53:41):
come out hot as a pistol and then your boy
Herbo I believe you called him on a previous show,
has to go into comeback mode and maybe, just maybe
we get the best shootout of the week, right here
across the sidewalk.

Speaker 5 (53:55):
I you know what, the Dolphins came out hot under
Mike McDaniel a year ago. It didn't take them, It
didn't take that offense forever to get going. And I
think you've got to see where we are with Toronto Armstead.
That matters so much along their offensive line. But that
to go back to that play Callers series that Jordan
Rodrigue did. The one thing I know MC Mike McDaniel
last year was a fascinating at the podium. But I

(54:16):
also think what that series taught me was like, you
go back to his roots in San Francisco under Shanahan
and even before that, that he is one of the
most like intellectually creative, aggressively creative guys that I think
what we saw last year was just part one.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
What is part two of this offense?

Speaker 5 (54:34):
And like, if Tua can stay healthy, we already have
the evidence that they can be one of the best
attacks league wide.

Speaker 4 (54:40):
I'm with you, And yet Brandon Staley handed him his lunch.
I would say it's Brandon Staley's best moment as a coach.
They got worked, they stymied them the Monday night game,
the Monday night game Dolphins Chargers Emmanuelacho and someone else was.

Speaker 3 (55:00):
Herbert. I'm glad we're not really getting that.

Speaker 4 (55:02):
This week because sorry, because look, it's not a referendum
on Tua. But the defense of the Chargers had a
great game plan and did a great job really slowing
down this Dolphins attack. So it's a revenge game really
for McDaniel and Tua because that was a healthy Tua.

(55:22):
He had been back at that point, and they did
a great job. And I'm buying the Chargers not just
because I believe in the offense. It's mostly by the offense.
They're deep in the offensive line. Oh that's good stuff, Herbo.
But I think the Chargers defense can be solid to
good and they haven't been. And you got Derwin James
healthy finally coming into the season.

Speaker 3 (55:43):
You got Bosa.

Speaker 4 (55:45):
Joey Bosa missed most of last season, and I was
just who is like, oh, yeah, they didn't have Joey Bosa.
It's like he's one of the best players in the world.
I like this Chargers defense and it's just a it's
a dork dream fon Gio versus Kellen Moore. Those are
two of the Dorks absolute favorites and then Mike McDaniel versus.

Speaker 2 (56:06):
King of the Dorks in the NFL, I would say, McDaniel,
So yeah, I think this is a shootout.

Speaker 1 (56:11):
I think it's fun. I think.

Speaker 2 (56:16):
I think the Chargers get back into the game after
big Dolphins lead, but I think the Dolphins find a
way and win this game.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
Thirty seven, thirty four. What do you guys think?

Speaker 3 (56:26):
I mean, I'm going Chargers.

Speaker 4 (56:27):
This is where it's like, you gotta stick with your
preseason stuff before this.

Speaker 3 (56:31):
I got Miami thirty one, Chargers twenty eight. I'm with you.

Speaker 5 (56:36):
I think this is going to be one of the
great games of the early part of the season.

Speaker 2 (56:40):
And by the way, one of my favorite parts, one
of our favorite parts of the Thursday show is we
do our locks, but there's someone else that offers up
a lock of the week. So let's head to the
Midwest where a certain Westling brother wants to share his thoughts.

Speaker 1 (56:57):
On this matchup.

Speaker 8 (57:00):
Hello heroes, I'm back baby. It's week one and then
it's time for another edition of the Westling Family Zoo.
No surprise here, there was some infighting amongst the Westling brothers.
My brother Mike and I couldn't come to an agreement.
We went back and forth. I wanted to take the
Rosenthal approach, take the six point favorite with the Seattle Seahawks.

Speaker 3 (57:22):
He said, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 8 (57:24):
We're Westlings. We don't take the easy way out. We're
going with the Los Angeles Chargers. I wasn't one on
board at first, but he's been doing some real tape dogging.

Speaker 3 (57:36):
He gave.

Speaker 8 (57:36):
But he says the offense is going to be explosive,
maybe record breaking this year. We will be locking up
the Los Angeles Chargers this week. Looking forward to another
great year. Rosenthal, you're going down this year.

Speaker 3 (57:52):
Good day, there you go.

Speaker 5 (57:54):
I send you right out of the gate. That isn't
that is a daring lock. I will give the whole
crew that.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
The thing I love about Nick is if if Los
Angeles fails, he will be the first everybody.

Speaker 1 (58:07):
Under that off the bus.

Speaker 2 (58:09):
Zoo is one of those zoos where nobody locks up
any of the any of the cages, and the gorillas
and the orangutangs and the and the wolves and the tigers,
they all come out.

Speaker 1 (58:18):
Now.

Speaker 4 (58:18):
I'm looking forward to, uh, you know, hearing from Nick
all season and for them being non competitive, for like
the Fourth Street not even the.

Speaker 1 (58:26):
Fact he comes back with a sling. Did take a
couple of shots.

Speaker 3 (58:31):
One of these years be in the mix. Come on,
that's where they finished last year. I don't know, but
they've never been in the mix somewhere.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
They didn't win. Put it that way, and they have
not won yet. All right, Mark, you are up.

Speaker 3 (58:45):
All right, I'm gonna go h Jacksonville at Indianapolis. I
don't know.

Speaker 5 (58:51):
I kind of have surprised Greg that you didn't jump
on this Jacksonville minus five. Not saying the game is
going to be the competition of the season, but it's
our first look at Anthony Richardson.

Speaker 1 (59:03):
Jaguars contracted from the league, so that's why he's there.
There is that.

Speaker 5 (59:06):
There is that sometimes you have games. I just thought
you would jump on Anthony Richardson.

Speaker 4 (59:11):
It's my first pick or I want it to be
a game pass?

Speaker 3 (59:15):
Is it now? It's the end?

Speaker 4 (59:16):
I wanted that to be my NFL plus first thing
I turn on.

Speaker 5 (59:21):
That works a little a rich Can the Jaguars pick
up where they left off last year? On offense? Trevor Lawrence?
Is there another level for him? What do we see
from Anthony Richardson out of the gate. I think this
is a kind of a weird Colts team, especially if
you start to look at like their cornerbacks and like
there's defense in general.

Speaker 3 (59:39):
I just I feel like the Colts a couple of years.

Speaker 5 (59:42):
Ago or even last season were being billed as this
like playoff hopeful. They're a very strange outfit. I think
you've got to give Shane Stike in time. Anthony Richardson's
accuracy in general is going to take time. There's gonna
be a lot of coaching up on that. But his
athletics is am alone, is like one of the most
exciting things that anyone in this rookie class or any
past one is offered. And it's like, what do we

(01:00:03):
get right out of the gate. It makes me think
back when like we didn't know what you get from
RG three in that first Week one opener and he
was completely unleashed, like what is the answer?

Speaker 3 (01:00:12):
We'll find out.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
And Jaguars are minus five in this game, so and
that feels right.

Speaker 1 (01:00:16):
They are. They're a favorite here, GREGI.

Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
This is if you're not totally in on the Jags
and you see that division as a little more wide open,
there's gonna be some red Flags here if you can't
take care of the Colts, because I think the Colts
are just very much You're asking Richardson, a guy with
very little experience, to hit the ground running in week
one and be a monster.

Speaker 1 (01:00:37):
Now, maybe he'll fill up fantasy box.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
Scores with his rushing game, but he's such a work
in progress passing that I could see that taking some
time even beyond just this year to come together. And
then there's no Jonathan Taylor, so it's like, what do
the Colts have really to combat the Gays.

Speaker 4 (01:00:53):
I don't know if it's like a good or a
bad time to catch the Colts. Is it good because
of everything you just said. It's a new coach too.
You mentioned the secondary. They are starting gentlemen by the
name of Dallas Flowers and Darryl Baker at cornerback. Dallas
they were both and I was like, did they draft
him because they took a lot of draftic But no,

(01:01:14):
they were undrafted players from last year who are now
starting for them. But it's kind of the element of
surprise with Richardson, so maybe it's a bad to And
then you said like it would be very concerning. I'm
with you, but it's Week one and just it's a
division game. Weird things happened. I thought, didn't the Colts
play them pretty well last year? And I remember the
Colts beat him last year. They beat him in one

(01:01:35):
of those games in Indianapolis. They won that game thirty
four to twenty seven, A nice little moment for Matt Ryan.
They also got shut out in the in the other matchup.
But it's like that, weird things happen in division games.
And I don't know, I feel like I'm not going
to take anything away from this game other than however
Richardson plays.

Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
And you know we talked about Trevor Lawrence is really
a long shot from MVP, despite really substantial growth as
a franchise quarterback. They're saying, like Desert people like, if
he throws four touchdowns in this game and for three
hundred eighty yards, you might.

Speaker 1 (01:02:09):
Be kicking yourself.

Speaker 2 (01:02:10):
Yeah, and you've asked the season could really get off
to a flying So there's a nice setup.

Speaker 3 (01:02:13):
Again, I really think this year they could have.

Speaker 5 (01:02:17):
Also, we haven't seen Calvin Ridley in this offense yet,
and I think that is one of the the Jaguars
sort of mysteriously did nothing this offseason to patch up
a defense that was a problem all last year and
maybe just as.

Speaker 1 (01:02:30):
Bad as so much money the year before it did,
but that it.

Speaker 5 (01:02:33):
Didn't translate to defense, but their offense they've added more weapons,
and I just I don't know. I think Trevor Lawrence
is like I don't get the whole MVP being overlooked
for MVP, Like he's got a good chance, all right,
Cincinnati minus two and a half at Cleveland. I think
Cleveland is another one of these, like they're the opposite
of the Jaguars on defense.

Speaker 3 (01:02:53):
They did so much to shore up their defense.

Speaker 5 (01:02:55):
I think it starts with the fact that Jim Schwartz
runs a new it's a whole new thing where it's
like last year there was too much thought and the
defensive guys were just not able to unleash the way
they wanted. Now you've got Shelby Harris to Zaria Smith.
I am because I don't I know this.

Speaker 3 (01:03:11):
Is a bit like I don't know what the bit is.

Speaker 5 (01:03:13):
I think the bit is is Mark and to slide
back into being a Browns fan.

Speaker 3 (01:03:17):
I don't I don't feel it. I hear, okay, I
don't feel it.

Speaker 2 (01:03:24):
Come home mark, I don't feel it and.

Speaker 3 (01:03:28):
Barrow through it.

Speaker 5 (01:03:29):
The offense, though, I think, is one of the biggest
question marks around, and it's like, we don't know what
you're gonna get from the quarterback position. Are they going
to be as run heavy as they were in the past.
You still have a great offensive line. Joe Burrow has
really struggled against the Browns. It's one of these weird
outliers where he's like excellent against the Chiefs, but his
performances against Cleveland have been a mess. That Monday Night

(01:03:50):
game a year ago was like what happened to the
what happened to the Bengals in that game? And it
happened the year before, and so it's like does that continue?
And we haven't seen Burrow obvious, it's like he's healthy,
he's practicing, but it's like there are some X factors wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:04:03):
Oh yeah, one the Burrough health question I think is
very real entering this game. And I'm on record, I
think Cleveland's gonna be a good team this year. I
think they're gonna win ten games and I think they're
gonna be in the playoffs. So like again as a
catapult for a season, you know, the Dog Pound's gonna
be going off and the team is obviously just complicated

(01:04:24):
in terms of the Deshaun Watson side of things. But
they are one of the great mysteries of Week one
for me because it would not surprise me if they
look very good.

Speaker 1 (01:04:32):
Now, great, I'll.

Speaker 2 (01:04:34):
Point it out they didn't have rave reviews throughout the
summer and how the offen look, so that might come
to fruition and be like, well, yes, they stuck out
the joint and the Bengles lit him up and what
is up with his offense? But it's one of those
things that I kind of enjoy about Week one. It's
a litmus test now for what did all that mean
versus now the lights are on and you have a

(01:04:55):
very good play caller.

Speaker 1 (01:04:58):
With the opportunity who kind of looks like George Looney.
We forget about that I.

Speaker 2 (01:05:02):
Had the opportunity, well now to get into his bag
in a game that counts.

Speaker 5 (01:05:05):
Like this was an awkward moment, but like when he
was introduced as the Browns coach and spoke with Andrews Siciliano,
I tweeted out that the fact that Stefanski looks like
Clooney and they asked Stefanski that I think he was
just like, why on Earth am I being asked this
on NFL networks?

Speaker 4 (01:05:20):
So yeah, I mean when Burrow came back last year
after missing so much time with the appendectomy, Yeah, the
worst game of his career. Basically week went made a
lot of throws, but also through those interceptions. Bengals fans
will point out like he had lost a lot of weight.
It was a whole thing last year post that surgery
that he didn't have to go through this time. It
sounds like he's healthy. I'm not too worried about that.

(01:05:43):
I am a little more worried from a Bengals side,
and I am rooting for the Bengals, not just because
of the Cincinnati zoo. I don't even know how they
feel about the Bengals right now.

Speaker 1 (01:05:53):
Lights you up every chance they get, right.

Speaker 3 (01:05:54):
That's a good point.

Speaker 4 (01:05:56):
This This Bengals defense and in division matchups are are
about like who the defensive line, offensive lines, how they
match up against each other. Gave up four hundred and
forty yards in that first game against the Browns, and
that's the offensive line. As much as I like Jacoby Brissett,
it really wasn't because of Jacoby Brissett that they put
up what was it a thirty ber you know, it

(01:06:16):
was like thirty two to thirteen in that game, and
they ran all over him. And that's the cornerstone of
these Browns. If these Browns are gonna make Dan look
smart and make the playoffs, it's because that O line
is gonna mash and it's the same guys. It's the
same offensive line, it's the same Bengals defensive line and linebackers.
For the most part. We got a couple of new safeties.
You want to test those guys, Nick Scott in the

(01:06:38):
first round pick from a year ago, But for the
most part, it's the same guys matching up and if
they can run on them, they gotta to.

Speaker 1 (01:06:46):
The quarterback. Can't be a bottom ten guy like he
was down the stretch.

Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
No, sure, it's got to be a top ten guy.
That's what they paid for, and you can't.

Speaker 1 (01:06:52):
And they're not gonna hide Watson in this offense. I
don't think if they do.

Speaker 2 (01:06:56):
If you're seeing very heavy Nick Chubb offenses end of October,
it's a really bad sign. I think they're gonna want
to pass the ball a lot and use they're gonna
try to make Watson the guy and and will it work?

Speaker 4 (01:07:11):
And he played in this matchup a year ago two
they had ten points in the in the rematch where
the Bengals did a much better job on both sides
of the ball.

Speaker 1 (01:07:18):
All right, I am up again.

Speaker 2 (01:07:20):
It's funny you just keep coming up in these drafts,
just kind of oh, here I am again.

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
It's time to make another pair.

Speaker 3 (01:07:26):
There's essentially three teams, right, three of us. You are
the middle pick, so you have less time in Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:07:31):
Let's let's grab one. Just the little backgrounds. I always
I just like watching them. I think I like their uniforms.
I love the building they play, and I love the
fan base, and I feel kinship with them as a
fellow tortured fan base. The Minnesota Vikings will welcome in
Baker and the Bucks Minnesota lay and six points here
of Wood minus six. There's not much that I need

(01:07:57):
about on the buccaneer side of things. Now, if you're
a Bucks fan, you're excited. We're all excited.

Speaker 1 (01:08:01):
It's Week one.

Speaker 4 (01:08:03):
R Books fans excited after what they've had the last
few years, for this year.

Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
It's different.

Speaker 2 (01:08:07):
You're right, there is a hangover here because yeah, whenever
Tom Brady exits the picture, it's different. But on the
Minnesota side of things, I think one of the reasons
why I think they could surprise people. It's weird to
say because they went thirteen and four, but their expectations.
Everyone has recalibrated them as a also ran team and

(01:08:28):
I don't think they're a Super Bowl contender, but I
think their offense, even with Davin cook on, is going
to be a top ten offense, maybe even top five.
And I think Kirk Cousins had a down year in
some ways by his standards, I could see him being
better this year. I think Madison is going to fill
in that role at running back in it and it's

(01:08:49):
justin Jefferson, and I think those guys are going to
take care of business. Here is another game. It's a
little bit of a mirror one six points. I think
Minnesota easily take care of business here and they get
off to a nice start here.

Speaker 5 (01:09:04):
I mean, I kind of want to see what the
Brian Flores effect is on this defense too, because it's
another for like some of these teams with some negative
buzz happening, it has just been all positive in terms
of like players just loving Brian Flores and there was
a lot of that in Miami too, and he made
a big difference in Miami. They are missing pieces on

(01:09:24):
that defense, no doubt about it, but they can't be
any worse than last year. And I'm with you to
anything on offense. It's like, why would they take a
step back on offense? I think that that can continue?
Are these close games? Thing is like it's natural that
they're not winning thirteen games where they could be a
better team than they were last year.

Speaker 2 (01:09:38):
You know what Kirk Cousins is great at, by the way,
beyond throwing spirals and having good accuracy and being a
good father, it seems appears to a nice guy, he's
great at getting paid. Yes, and Kirk Cousins is in
like a contract year's.

Speaker 3 (01:09:53):
Like him and Sam Bradford are in that world.

Speaker 1 (01:09:55):
Like and you don't see him that way.

Speaker 3 (01:09:57):
But Kirk, I don't think he's gonna like try hard.
I know he's trying his hardest.

Speaker 2 (01:10:01):
But Kirk, the way his career has played out, the
payday's always line up very nicely for him. If he
hit throws forty touchdowns this year and then gets another
monster contract, like he's closing in on Sneaky one of
the highest paid quarterbacks ever.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (01:10:15):
Good for him, And it might be from the Vikings,
the fourth round pick yep, in the same draft as
three RG three. I want to see that defense that
you mentioned hold up like because to me, Flores is
such a risk taker and you got to figure out

(01:10:35):
what your players can do and what they can't do.
And they have a pretty good veteran group at safety
who I think are going to do a lot of
the heavy lifting for them. They just gave a contract
to Josh Mattellus, a late round pick not a lot
of people know about, but just one of those solid
guys who can do a little bit everything. Harrison Smith
is still there and Vikings fans are excited about how

(01:10:56):
they're using him all over the field, kind of like
they were before Donna tell arrived. Cam Binam's been there
for a while. So that's where I think a lot
of the chicanery, a lot of the blitzes are gonna
come from. And how is Baker Mayfield gonna respond there?
Because Flores is a boomer bust defensive coach, He's gonna
give you a chance to make big plays you gotta

(01:11:18):
be ready to take them. Baker Mayfield is not a
quarterback who's necessarily handled pressure or different looks.

Speaker 3 (01:11:24):
Well.

Speaker 4 (01:11:24):
I don't think of him as a winning from the
neck up. He's just not that quarterback. He hasn't been,
and so this is gonna be a big first test
for both of these sides. There's gonna be a chance
here for Baker to just throw it up to Godwin
and Evans and like it could go wrong and we
could have a lot of points.

Speaker 3 (01:11:39):
I actually think this could be a sneaky, fun little game. Man.
It is tough to get jazzed up about the Bucks though, right.

Speaker 2 (01:11:48):
I mean, this is this was the year that was coming.
By the way, this is surprising because we talked about
it earlier Greg. With Mayfield, when things break down a
little bit, little chaos enters the fray, things tend to
get really bad. Per Next Gen Stats, Mayfield has the
worst completion percentage and passer rating when not under pressure

(01:12:09):
twenty twenty.

Speaker 1 (01:12:09):
Is one of the worst.

Speaker 2 (01:12:10):
Quarterbacks in the league. And it's just like he has
this Q rating and he has these performances every once
in a while that makes people believe in him and
T shirts gets made and everything, but I'm setting his
over under it starts four and a half.

Speaker 4 (01:12:24):
It doesn't have anyone else though. I mean, I know
Kyle Trask is there, but that's a worse option. John
Wilford hun taking me over at four and a half there, Yes.

Speaker 3 (01:12:33):
I would take.

Speaker 4 (01:12:34):
I think if anything can lose its job, then it's
it's only because there's no no one else there.

Speaker 2 (01:12:39):
It's only all right that takes us to greg two
picks to finish things out here.

Speaker 4 (01:12:44):
Okay, well, I don't really have any choices, and yet
I know which game deserves to be last, So I'm
going ram Seahawks next.

Speaker 3 (01:12:53):
Fun little game.

Speaker 1 (01:12:54):
This works out well for you, too, little pet teams.

Speaker 3 (01:12:57):
Fun game.

Speaker 4 (01:12:57):
I thought hard as Nick mentioned about locking up the
Seahawks in this spot. They are five and a half
point favorites in this game and they should win. There's
no Cooper Cup. He's officially out. They're considering injured reserved
for him. We'll know about that for the weekend, so

(01:13:18):
that would knock him out for four weeks.

Speaker 1 (01:13:20):
That stinks.

Speaker 4 (01:13:23):
I think Van Jefferson is a great fantasy pick up
if he didn't get drafted in your league. And I
noticed that he didn't in some like someone's got to
catch passes on this team. I actually think the Rams
have a lot of potential fantasy wise, because I think
the defense is gonna be so bad. They have a
really good quarterback if he's healthy, and he's healthy right now,

(01:13:43):
and they're just gonna throw the ball a ton. Someone
has to catch those passes. It's gonna be Higbee, it's
gonna be Jefferson, it's gonna be the running backs, it's
gonna be Nikua. But I would put Higbe and Jefferson
at the top of this list. And I think this
forty the Seahawks defense is vulnerable until Reven Otherwise, Uh,
they don't have Devin Witherspoon. I don't think he's gonna

(01:14:04):
play in this game. Their rookie top five pick Adams
isn't back, and they just haven't been consistent. And then
you think about when they played last year. Maybe you
don't think about it at all. I think about it.
We're a Rams household because of my daughter. She lives
and dies by Ram Seahawks. And you know what those
two Rams Seahawks games were. They were barn burners with
Baker Mayfield that quarterback that went down to the very

(01:14:26):
last second one of them in overtime. The Seahawks did
manage to get through each of them, but it's a
reminder this is a matchup that has traditionally really favored
McVeigh and so that was the reason I didn't lock
it up. Actually, I just like something about the division
matchup and the fact that the Rams had owned the
Seahawks previously. It's just like, let's I just want to
watch it. I'll enjoy it. I think the Seaws will
be fine, but they could they could lose.

Speaker 5 (01:14:46):
I am not overly concerned about those two games from
a year ago. Baker Mayfield and John Wolford nearly slaid
the Seahawks twice, so that there there's that it's out there.
But uh, Jackson Smith and Jigba practicing again. I think
the Seahawks offense, uh that we know the wide receiver
group is, has a chance to be just phenomenal.

Speaker 3 (01:15:06):
Two of them already are.

Speaker 5 (01:15:07):
And Ginoe he did fall off a cliff a little
bit in certain respects down the stretch last year, but
I think you're gonna get the Gino Smith that you
got for the vast majority of the season and you
have no Cooper Cup. This Rams team on defense is
a high school team half the time. Oh they are.
There's like all these guys talk about like the most
anonymous defense we've seen.

Speaker 1 (01:15:28):
In the here. Oh these are pros, bros.

Speaker 5 (01:15:30):
I'm locking up Seattle. I don't care what anyone says.
This is my lock I feel confident. I got to
come out of the gate and go like seven or
zero or eight and zero to start this season, and
it starts right here.

Speaker 1 (01:15:42):
I respect it as the line moved since the Cooper No.

Speaker 4 (01:15:45):
It's yes, two five and a half. I think it
was four and a half.

Speaker 2 (01:15:49):
Yeah, that's similar, and that is we're not I would
think with Cooper Cup out of the game, that should
be out of the lock zone.

Speaker 1 (01:15:55):
Now you're safe as long as it's not moved before
the show.

Speaker 4 (01:15:58):
It's not even close though. It's five and it's still
a point in a half away.

Speaker 2 (01:16:01):
The Rams win this game on the road without Cooper
Cup coaching.

Speaker 3 (01:16:05):
And it's football.

Speaker 4 (01:16:06):
We talk about all this football, yes, but that it's
a good explanation why there's literally only one spread that
is over seven points this week, because it's football and
these teams are not as we convince ourselves that they're
so different like the Seahawks last year. In the Rams
you think of them is so different, right, But the

(01:16:26):
two times they played, it came down to one play.
It came down and needing to play at the end
of the game from Gino And because he's Gino Smith
and frankly he's been underrepresented on this podcast this offseason,
he came through in a big spot and so that's
why you're gonna lock it up.

Speaker 2 (01:16:40):
What I just think there's a talent disparity and a
road element to this, and.

Speaker 4 (01:16:47):
I just think we overrate the differences between these teams
on a week to week basis.

Speaker 3 (01:16:51):
Vegas knows better than us in this week. That's fine.

Speaker 5 (01:16:54):
But I think the Rams defense, it's not just Gino Smith.
I think they can run all over on this defense, yea,
and I can take some things away from the preseason
and it's like they were manhandled on the ground. There
is just not a lot of evidence that they can
stop anyone.

Speaker 4 (01:17:08):
I love, I love me a little ramharb Zach Sharbony
in this game, but also keep an eye on the
Rams running game. I trust our friend George Rodrieg and
I think That's how Sean McVay sees this season being different.
They're gonna unveil a lot of new fun stuff in
terms of the running game with Akers and Kyrien Williams,
and they might be pretty effective running too.

Speaker 2 (01:17:27):
As Bob Slas said on Hard Knocks, the season is
a climb. It's Mount Everest. Just getting to this point
is base camp and there's a long way to go.
And I refer to Fox's Adam I mean Mark Schlereth
and Christina Pink were tasked with traveling to Landover for Cardinals.

(01:17:49):
I thought we were commanders the final game. I'm sorry
for Adam, Mark and Christina. Move up that pyramid at
Fox and you won't be assigned to this game in
the ature right now, that's where you're at, and that's
where we're at.

Speaker 1 (01:18:03):
Last game.

Speaker 4 (01:18:03):
Well, you know what this is not. They actually do
rank the teams. They are not the bottom team. They
were like actually in the middle.

Speaker 1 (01:18:09):
Guess what.

Speaker 2 (01:18:10):
There's a tech thread with Adam, Mark and Christina on it, like, wtf,
we're not at the bottom.

Speaker 3 (01:18:17):
I get. I guess it's that the Commanders have a
nice audience.

Speaker 1 (01:18:19):
I don't know they renamed the thread WTF.

Speaker 7 (01:18:21):
I like.

Speaker 4 (01:18:22):
I like this game enough because it involves the Commando's,
my sneaky playoff team. They're seven point favorites even in
this game. This is one of the Craig there I
do because Week one I do, I do Week one
I do. They're all special teams that we don't know about.

Speaker 3 (01:18:40):
Cardinals.

Speaker 4 (01:18:40):
I'm less interested in Sam Howell. I'm very interested in
Terry McLaurin back at practice. Sounds like he might play.
We'll see just a little word of advice, like a pain.
Let's just look at the Cardinals as maybe a week
we can handle things with Johan Dotson, with Logan Thomas

(01:19:01):
is back in the mix, with our running game and
with our defense. And that's where I really worry about
the Cardinals. I think Josh Dobbs is going to start
this game, according to Rapshi, even though the coach for
Arizona will not disclose who is starting. Mark is that
kept you up at nights?

Speaker 3 (01:19:14):
It has kept me.

Speaker 1 (01:19:15):
Up competition decision.

Speaker 4 (01:19:17):
He says it could be Clayton Tune, it could be
Josh Stabbs, but being rap part says it's going.

Speaker 5 (01:19:21):
To be I think, first of all, Dobbs was brought
in by, you know, the O C who was his
There's got to be some connective tissue there. I think
Sam Howell makes this spicy. I really do, because it's
like we we saw, we saw a lot in the preseason,
we saw at the end of last year, and like
they're an intriguing team.

Speaker 3 (01:19:41):
To me because of this.

Speaker 5 (01:19:42):
I think that Greg, I think you have them as
a playoff team, right, your final card team.

Speaker 3 (01:19:46):
They do go in and handle business. But Sam Howell
like makes them.

Speaker 5 (01:19:49):
They have been a tough watch for years on end,
and I feel differently about him right now.

Speaker 4 (01:19:54):
If you can play, go be special. Commanders D line.
I have been talking you up. This is not necessary
a great car, those offensive line otho. It's probably one
of the parts of the teams they feel best about.
But they could make Josh Dobbs' life trouble.

Speaker 1 (01:20:06):
This is it late in the afternoon game, pass knockout.
This is.

Speaker 3 (01:20:13):
The NFL plus.

Speaker 2 (01:20:14):
Yeah, it's that old one where yeah, he's starting O
and off and you got to keep on rewinding back
around and realize that you knotted off again, and all
of a sudden you're an hour deep into this project of.

Speaker 1 (01:20:24):
Watching the game.

Speaker 2 (01:20:25):
Unless Sam Howe lights up the world and then again,
and that's why week one is beautiful, perfect landing spot
for week one for the Commandos and how they light
up the Cards all.

Speaker 1 (01:20:38):
Of a sudden, like, oh, maybe Washington.

Speaker 2 (01:20:40):
Is a player here and how is the guy that
they're talking about he is now keep in mind the opponent.

Speaker 1 (01:20:48):
But nice start for them.

Speaker 4 (01:20:49):
It's gotta be tough to take Cardinals without though their
team captain, Kyler Murray. I thought that was very interesting.
They named Kyler Murray the team captain, one of the
few despite I think it makes sense.

Speaker 2 (01:20:59):
We were just talking about how the potential that he's
an afterthought and could be moved. Why would you do
that unless you kind of maybe thought in your heart
that not only do you see him as a part
of the team now but in the future and a
guy that you want to play this year because he's
a captain.

Speaker 5 (01:21:14):
It also would have been a little weird if you
weren't named captain. Yeah, I know he's hurt, but he
is your quarterback.

Speaker 2 (01:21:20):
You could but you're right, there's that side of it
as well. Good stuff anything else that's Week one. The preview,
Like I said, we will have the Thursday night recap
for you to enjoy. You will have an NFL Plus premiere.
The Dreamatorium comes alive for around the NFL, So if

(01:21:43):
you have an NFL Plus subscription or on dot om
in international territories, that's where you can find that program.

Speaker 1 (01:21:51):
Football's back, Greg Football, keep a call.

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