September 17, 2024 • 18 mins
Jori Epstein, Senior NFL reporter for Yahoo Sports joins the show for her weekly visit talking all things NFL. jori shares her thoughts on the Carolina Panthers benching former 1st overall pick Byrce Young, what to make of the Baltimore Ravens 0-2 start, Kirk Cousins looked good as he walked off the Philadelphia Eagles, and much more!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tons in the NFL to talk about with Joy Epstein.
She joined us thanks to Zeke's Pizza on the Beacon
of Plumbing hotline. Jory, Happy week to you. Thanks for
coming back. You've been busy traveling around.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Absolutely great to be on Greg and Christopher. And yes
I'm Philadelphia right now. I got back to my hotel
room about four o'clock in the morning after that Monday
night football game. So we are rolling. So I'm glad
this is an afternoon radio technic because I am much
more aware of life than I was this morning.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Nothing like a Monday night game on the East Coast. Yeah,
that's fun stuff. So you were in the Philadelphia and
I read your story and Kirk Cousins, I mean, he
looks like the Kirk Cousins that they signed all the
guaranteed money to. Huh.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Absolutely, I mean I think what kind of went through
my mind yesterdays Like last week, Kirk is struggling, He's
getting like career loads in his mobility, barely dropping back,
and then all of a sudden people are like, well,
Michael Pennix, they drafted him in the first round. Obviously
your listeners know quite a bit about Michael Pennick Junior,
and I just thought that that was so not on
my mind during the game last night. I did talk
(01:04):
to Michael Pennick Jenior in the locker room afterwards, and
it was great to catch up with him, But this
idea of like, oh, we need to replace Kirk. No,
Kirk was that team. He loved them on the two
minute drive one thing I actually loved with I don't
know if you'll watch any of the Manning cast, so
I was watching me after and Matt Ryan was saying
that when you switch offenses, one of the things that
is sometimes the easiest in that new offense is the
(01:24):
two minute drill because you're not trying to like work
with a new playbook. You really are going back to
these aaple plates that changed. And I thought Kirk totally
showed that in Philadelphia in a very hostile environment last night.
Get in that one.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So now that you peaked our interest jury, what did
Michael Michael Pennix Junior.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Say to you? Absolutely well, I was really interested in
talking to him because I talked to him at the
Senior Bool and kind of a group setting and asked
him to break down a play that he had broken
down in interviews there, and he gave me such a
detailed answer that I'm like, Okay, I want to hear
now what he's thinking. But I think really he was
just kind of walking me through what's going on in
the locker is less about him and more about the team,
(02:02):
I would say, because obviously he didn't play, but trying
to understand, Hey, what is that mindset when you guys
go in the two minutes trail and when you're at
the end of the game. And he was saying, look,
we told everyone believe and don't be superman, don't be
a superhero, just do your job. A little bit pushet,
and he told me that received Morris in the locker
room after said that the mentality is who's next, which
is a little bit of a scary situation for them
(02:24):
because who's next is the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Ah, that's right, the Chiefs. So Michael Pennix may not
thank Sekwon Barkley if Barkley drops that pass. Cousins doesn't
even have that drive. And everyone in Atlanta's talking about
being zero and two and where's Michael Pennix coming in?
Fair or not fair?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You know, fair that there will be people talking about
that if that's not the case. But to me, that
would be such an overreaction because Kirk did struggle in
Week one, and again I talked to several players in
the locker roo last night who talked about the offense
didn't have a good week, like that was not their game.
They were against the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. They had
a great week. I mean, you look at what Bijon
Robinson was doing, just icing up the Eagles in the
(03:06):
run game, in the pass game. You look at the
different receivers that Kirk was connecting with, from Drake London
to what's his name, Darneld Mooney, I mean, all of
these people, and I think that Kirk just looked so
in control of that game that even if he didn't
have the two minute drie, which, by the way, this
is like the team's first Monday Night football here in
some four years. To be able to be on that
prime time stage and play at the level that they did,
(03:28):
I think it's impressive either way, but obviously a lot
happier for them going home on that flight with a win.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Why are we talking so much about the Falcons, Well,
the Seahawks go to Atlanta October twentieth, a couple of
road games from now joey Epstein, Senior writer NFL for
Yahoo Sports, joining us on the Beacon plumbing online as
she does every Tuesday thanks to Zeke's Pizza. What is
up with the Saints? Are they going seventeen and zero?
And are they going to score eighty points a game?
What is going on down there in New Orleans? Has
(03:55):
Derek Carbon been reincarnated by Kubiak?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
It is pretty saying yeah, Clint kubi X their offensive
coordinator coordinator now coming there from San Francisco. And they
have ninety one points in two weeks. And I understand
that the first day they played the Carolina Panthers. But
the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland and
then just got destroyed by the Saints. I think two
things are true. One, they had a lot of personnel
that is being schemed way more effectively than it was
(04:20):
and I had a good defense last year, so I
think that they're kind of just being used to their
strengths more. I also think they just faced the Cowboys
team that for at least four years now, since they
had their to San Francisco offes in the playoffs, has
been unable to stop that Shanahan scheme. This isn't a
Cowboys defense. That's much more athletics than it is beefy,
and they're much better being able to pass rush when
(04:42):
they're ahead, then be able to catch up and play
and effect and get pressure when they're behind. But what
I think is interesting for the Saints team is they're
now going to face the Eagles. When I was talking
to some people with the Eagles last night, I was like, well,
do you guys have the personnel to stop the same
because the Cowboys domain, And they were pretty much enmitting
to me that no, they also do not have the personnel.
So I think we should expect the Saints to run
(05:03):
up the score yet again this week when Philadelphia visits
them on a short week, no less.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well on the opposite end of two and oh, there's
zero to two. And that's where the Baltimore Ravens have
started their season. They lost to the Chiefs and a
tough opener, and then they were surprised by the oak
not Oakland, the Las Vegas Raiders. They looked like they
go on the road and beat Lamar Jackson and company
at home. Is it time to panic if you're a
(05:27):
Ravens fan, because Wow, their next game they play the Cowboys,
and there's no way you can make the playoffs going
oh to three, can you?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I mean, it is extremely difficult statistically to make the
playoffs if you're on three. There's a lot of data
out there on that. I also think that if one
of your losses is to the Chiefs at the very end,
like that was just fairly stepping outside the end zon
for Isaiah, likely you need an asterisk on it because yes,
it doesn't impact your record as much. But I don't
I am not concerned about them. In Week one, they
(05:55):
looked like a team that is going to be back
playing that Chiefs team in a divisional round or AFC championship. Obviously,
going back to this past week, like that was an
upset by the Raiders. Things like that happened, and I
think what's funny is you now have a Cowboys team
that just came off getting embarrassed, a Ravens team that
definitely got at least surprised by the Raiders, and now
(06:15):
you're like putting them against each other. But again, what
I just said about the Cowboys inability to defense certain
run schemes and certain running quarterbacks too. I think Lamar
is going to make Dallas pay this week.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
As for own three teams, you got to go back
to go back to two thousand and two. There've been
one hundred and three teams to start oh and three.
Anyone want to guess how many times a team has
rallied from own three in the last twenty two years
to make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Once one hundred three and three.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I was going to say seven times.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
One time. Twenty eighteen Houston Texans.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Oh wow, that's what Baltimore's quarterback in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Isshawn Watson, right, think.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Oh my goodness, wow, Okay, well that's right.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
He talked about that recently after he lost his first game.
They were like maybe even zero and four at the
beginning of that starts the season, I think he was saying.
And then they won something like eleven straighter around that,
So yeah, it can happen. But this is true. I
mean even the Falcon yesterday when they were asked about
being zero and two, they're like, and what that means
to a play it? So like, we don't want to
focus on that, but the whole league notes that how
(07:18):
you start at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Really doesn't matter, Jerry, your big picture or canvas the
whole league. You have the whole league to choose from.
Who was your player of the week, most impressive player
in Week two in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
This might be recency biased. I don't think it is.
Jesse Bates last night was incredible. Speaking for the Atlanta Falcons.
He denied a touchdown to DeVonta Smith on one play
he had the game feeling interception and I don't even
think that was his most impressive play. And what I
loved about it is for years he's been super athletic,
but the mental level at which he's playing the game.
I mean, first of all, he was talking about, oh, well, yeah,
(07:53):
I know, and I say, there two minutes, traily, here's
what their schemes look like. He really understood his film
studies so well. And he also said, I know that
teams when they played paid big money to their stars
that too, they're going too. So he wasn't going to
sell out for DeVonta Smith with aj Brown out last
night with a hamstring injury, but he did know, like
I need to be aware of him, and he really
just his instincts combined with the preparation totally elevated his game.
(08:17):
A quick fun story about Jesse Bates that I just love.
So when I was in twenty eighteen, Jesse's rookie season,
I was, let us say today, and one of my
first features I did in that national role was about
players who had gotten hurdled, and so I reached out
to different teams whose defenders had been hurdles. Not the hurdlers,
but the people who got hurt up.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
That's a great story angle.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
And I remember one team and I won't say who,
was like, how could you dare ask us to talk
to that player about that helread he got embarrassed on
national television. Now you wanted him to talk about it too,
Like this is ridiculous. And the Bengals were like, yeah, sure,
here's Jesse. And Jesse's telling me all about how in
his group kicks. His friends are like, oh, you're going
to be on all these highlight reels blah blah blah.
And I just thought it was so cool that even
(08:58):
as a rookie, he had that like presence of mind
to just be able to talk about it so comfortably.
And I hadn't seen him in person since I finally
last night was like, hey, I remember this, just wanted
to thank you and he's like, oh yeah, Kareem Hunt
hurdled me, so he had a special place in my
heart for helping me back then. But it really was
just super impressive what he did last night. And when
they played the Chiefs this week. I mean again, he
(09:18):
was on that Bengals defense that really caused the chief
so many problems to the years. So I'm not saying
you should pick Atlanta this week for that reason, but
I do expect him to make more plays against Patrick
Mahomet from that group.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Speaking of making plays, justin Field he's just playing the position.
He hasn't had any turnovers, interceptions that is, and it
seems that Mike Tomlins believing the kid because Russell Wilson
is looks like he's not going to play in week three.
Are you surprised by how things have started regarding between Well,
are you surprised with how things I've started regarding Russell
(09:51):
wasn't supposed to be the starter, gets banged up and
now Justin Field seems to have stolen the job.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I'm definitely surprised because I was there in training camp,
Russ's cast was bothering him and he wasn't practicing. He
did a little bit of into individual work today I
was there, but no team drokes. But still throughout that
whole time, Mike Tomlin said, like, this is Russ's job
for now. I think the thing is, even if Justin
isn't lighting up, which by the way, he had some
great plays and one of his best places called back
(10:18):
due to a penalty on somebody else that passed the pickens.
And so I think that if you have a quarterback
who's not making stakes and who's putting the team in
the position that they want, as long as you're winning,
you do not change that. Again, very different situations. But
when I started this league in twenty sixteen and Dak
Prescott kept growing, he lost his first game and they
won something like eleven straight on the way to thirteen
and three, it didn't matter that Tony Romo had shown
(10:39):
a lot more in his career. He never got that
job back, and in fact he never really played together
other than like the final week meaningless game. And so
I think that as long as Justin Fields keeps doing
enough to win, particularly if he's not making mistakes, he's
going to keep this job. And I also think Russell's
calf injury could be a little more serious than this
team is letting on. But I think it's both if
you have that caf injury, which by the way, the
(11:00):
supposed to be achilles very quickly, and if you mess
with your achilles, it takes a lot longer to come
back from. And we're seeing that kind of Christian McCaffrey
too with his cat. But I do think that the
combination of Justin Field is playing in Russ's capentry. You
don't rush back, particularly an agent quarterback.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
As soon as Justin is doing this, they better scored
some more points in Pittsburgh, evenure the Pirates score more
than the Steelers. Right now, Joy, I got to ask
you about Bryce Young, the longtime Seahawks assistant Dave Kanal.
Has two games into his head coaching career, he gets
his legs chopped out up from under him. By all
accounts from his owner, who's pretty much it seems directed, no,
(11:36):
you're benching Bryce Young after nineteen starts. I've heard people say, well,
give him a couple of weeks to regroup. You've just
destroyed his psyche for the rest of the season by
benching him out of nowhere. Your thoughts on that whole situation,
how it went down, and what's next for both Carolina
and Bryce Young.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's fascinating. I was shocked when I saw this yesterday,
and when I was talking to some sources before the
game kicked off last night, I had the one person
tell me I just assumed it was like Tom Pelisara's
name spelled wrong, like they thought it was a fake
report when they first saw it. Everyone was checking if
this was actually the real reporters saying that you mentioned,
because look, this is a quarterback who's already had like
(12:15):
three different head coaches of sumour. It's all sorts of
play callers, and it's two games into this coach and
the system. And I understand that was bad, but also
a lot of people are looking bad against the Saints
HA already. I think what I struggle with is how
do you come back from that? In the Carolina locker room,
I think it's easy to point to the owner, David Tepper,
and I don't think that his I think his imprint
(12:36):
on the team is here. And when you talk to
a lot of people around the league, they're all like, oh,
Kepper must have made this decision. I also think there's
a case of, like hey, Pepper saw last year, when
he doesn't feel like the head coach is being able
to get what he wants out of a quarterback and
out of a group, he's going to make a decision quickly.
So this head coach knows I don't have the long
leash that hey, a Green Bay type team would have.
(12:56):
And then you get in there and say, well, I
need to keep the rest of the guys engaged, And
there is kind of this thing to me when I'm
thinking big picture, I'm like, Okay, well, if Bryce isn't
your guy, don't you want to lose your games anyway?
Keep playing him and then just pick someone that's next
year because you ruined your draft capital for twenty twenty four.
But there's also this case of are you going to
lose the entire rest of the locker room? And then
(13:17):
so I do give Canal's credit in the sense of
like I watched as Zach Wilson kept starting in New
York last year and Robert Talla was like, well, I've
run around him, needs to play better, And I'm like,
you know, you don't believe that's the locker room. You
don't notice that you don't believe that, and you really
do have to consider that. So I would say that
when I think about how you arrive at this decision,
this is how do we not lose the entire team
(13:38):
if we feel like we've lost our quarterback? And then
you ask yourself if Bryce young Neck's going to play
with another team, which, by the way, I'm not saying
he will resurrect his career. You hope for any guy too.
But when you look at what Sam Darnold's doing in Minnesota,
I mean, and you look at what Baker Mayfield is
doing in Tampa, there are guys who have not succeeded
in Carolinas who are starting at the league at the
high level right now. So this is possible.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Mariners, Yeah, bring that up. No, but if you're Dave Canalis,
what are you thinking? You come out on the day
after the game and or whatever Sunday and say Bryce
Young's are quarterback and the next day you're benching them that,
I mean, the locker room has to be saying who's
the coach here? Now?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
What are you?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
From Dave Canalis's perspective, how's this going to play for
him the rest of the year.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I mean, I think it goes both ways. I think
on one hand, you have the I got our coach
just said something else. On the other hand, you have
he is your quarterback until he's not. And so I
think as a coach you have to say, Okay, I
go back and watch the film. I go back and
make this decision. And how long am I willing to
keep telling myself and the team this? And if I
don't believe this, when am I going to make a decision?
And again going back to that zero and three seven.
(14:43):
I don't expect the Panthers to make the playoffs this
year anyway, but being able to get just one win.
Look at what the Raiders are doing with the first
year coach, look at what the Patriots, and again I know,
not this week, the week before, getting a win with
the first year coach, that win can do so much
for the team. That sounds so cliche, but you just
need to have some sort of like winning emotion in
that city. And I don't think that they view Bryce
(15:03):
Young as the path to get there anytime soon. And
Andy Dalton again, he's not going to be your future necessarily,
but he is a very very solid backup splash starter
when he comes in.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Dave Canalis already in a mess two games in his
head coaching career, Joy, I got to ask you about
Tago Viola, the whole situation in Miami, the fact he's
not on injured reserve yet. Should he be playing and
should we be talking about his quality of life and
being a father and a husband more than whether he's
even playing the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I think we should be talking about his quality of life.
The thing is, even if we talk about it, this
is a decision that too has to make him their
summer on the league. Who do believe he's even going
to play against y'all this week? I think what's interesting
to me is that the player in the league who
I've seen the most similar situation with, it's Eagles tighten
Grant Calcutarras. So Grant Calcatarras started his college career at Oklahoma.
I believe he had three diagnosed concussions, and I always
(15:54):
qualify concussion reporting as diagnoses because usually these guys experienced
a lot more than their reporting, and he retired due
to it when on became an emergency medical personnel, got
all his training, and then it was like, wait, actually,
I want to play football now. The doctor who said
he could when there are other doctors who said he
should not transferred to SMU and now some planes to
the Eagles for the last few years, and I worked
(16:15):
with him on a story pre draft, and when I
was watching him play last night and a belief he
caught the first half of the game from Jalen Hurts,
I was like, look, I don't believe he made that
decision with his health top of mind. Again, that's my opinion,
not his. But he has made this career out of
his the next few years. And he's a tight end,
so he's blocking all this time, more likely to get
hit in quarterbacks in some ways, or at least to
(16:36):
be hit differently. And so I think that I would
be nervous to play with tool right now if as
the Dolphins, I would be nervous if I'm Adam Jrdy
preparing my guys to go hit this guy really hard
after he just had the fencing response, which is the
sign of a traumatic brain injury last week, and we
know that that's happened at least three times hor These
traumatic brain injuries have happened at least three times in
the last few years. I also think that like this
(16:57):
is to his decision. I'm happy for him that he
has his guarant money and it kind of underscores why
these guys do fight for their contracts because it can
be over so quickly. But I think that us saying that,
or even Antonio Pierce saying, like, you need to think
about a quality of life and to be clear, Like
I said this on our podcast last week, Richard Sherman's
on National TV saying he thinks he needs to retire,
(17:17):
Like these are not like everyone in at home who's
never played this game. These are some of the most
physical players we've seen in the history of the NFL
who believe he should retire. The thing is that's still
too his decision, and it's the Dolphin's decision, and that's
really all that matters right now.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
You kind of just threw it in there. I'm gonna
ask you again, there are some around the league who
have told you they think Tiger vo is going to
play this weekend in Seattle.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I did have someone telling you that. Again, I'm not
like reporting that he will play, but there is definitely
a belief in some circles that that's not a question.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Lots to talk about. We will be lots to talk
about next Tuesday as well. Thanks a lot, Jory. I
know you're very busy and we appreciate you taking time
for us to talk every Tuesday at eleven am. Take
care of a great week.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Talk few teams at
Tons in the NFL to talk about with Joy Epstein.
She joined us thanks to Zeke's Pizza on the Beacon
of Plumbing hotline. Jory, Happy week to you. Thanks for
coming back. You've been busy traveling around.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Absolutely great to be on Greg and Christopher. And yes
I'm Philadelphia right now. I got back to my hotel
room about four o'clock in the morning after that Monday
night football game. So we are rolling. So I'm glad
this is an afternoon radio technic because I am much
more aware of life than I was this morning.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Nothing like a Monday night game on the East Coast. Yeah,
that's fun stuff. So you were in the Philadelphia and
I read your story and Kirk Cousins, I mean, he
looks like the Kirk Cousins that they signed all the
guaranteed money to. Huh.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Absolutely, I mean I think what kind of went through
my mind yesterdays Like last week, Kirk is struggling, He's
getting like career loads in his mobility, barely dropping back,
and then all of a sudden people are like, well,
Michael Pennix, they drafted him in the first round. Obviously
your listeners know quite a bit about Michael Pennick Junior,
and I just thought that that was so not on
my mind during the game last night. I did talk
(01:04):
to Michael Pennick Jenior in the locker room afterwards, and
it was great to catch up with him, But this
idea of like, oh, we need to replace Kirk. No,
Kirk was that team. He loved them on the two
minute drive one thing I actually loved with I don't
know if you'll watch any of the Manning cast, so
I was watching me after and Matt Ryan was saying
that when you switch offenses, one of the things that
is sometimes the easiest in that new offense is the
(01:24):
two minute drill because you're not trying to like work
with a new playbook. You really are going back to
these aaple plates that changed. And I thought Kirk totally
showed that in Philadelphia in a very hostile environment last night.
Get in that one.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So now that you peaked our interest jury, what did
Michael Michael Pennix Junior.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Say to you? Absolutely well, I was really interested in
talking to him because I talked to him at the
Senior Bool and kind of a group setting and asked
him to break down a play that he had broken
down in interviews there, and he gave me such a
detailed answer that I'm like, Okay, I want to hear
now what he's thinking. But I think really he was
just kind of walking me through what's going on in
the locker is less about him and more about the team,
(02:02):
I would say, because obviously he didn't play, but trying
to understand, Hey, what is that mindset when you guys
go in the two minutes trail and when you're at
the end of the game. And he was saying, look,
we told everyone believe and don't be superman, don't be
a superhero, just do your job. A little bit pushet,
and he told me that received Morris in the locker
room after said that the mentality is who's next, which
is a little bit of a scary situation for them
(02:24):
because who's next is the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Ah, that's right, the Chiefs. So Michael Pennix may not
thank Sekwon Barkley if Barkley drops that pass. Cousins doesn't
even have that drive. And everyone in Atlanta's talking about
being zero and two and where's Michael Pennix coming in?
Fair or not fair?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You know, fair that there will be people talking about
that if that's not the case. But to me, that
would be such an overreaction because Kirk did struggle in
Week one, and again I talked to several players in
the locker roo last night who talked about the offense
didn't have a good week, like that was not their game.
They were against the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. They had
a great week. I mean, you look at what Bijon
Robinson was doing, just icing up the Eagles in the
(03:06):
run game, in the pass game. You look at the
different receivers that Kirk was connecting with, from Drake London
to what's his name, Darneld Mooney, I mean, all of
these people, and I think that Kirk just looked so
in control of that game that even if he didn't
have the two minute drie, which, by the way, this
is like the team's first Monday Night football here in
some four years. To be able to be on that
prime time stage and play at the level that they did,
(03:28):
I think it's impressive either way, but obviously a lot
happier for them going home on that flight with a win.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Why are we talking so much about the Falcons, Well,
the Seahawks go to Atlanta October twentieth, a couple of
road games from now joey Epstein, Senior writer NFL for
Yahoo Sports, joining us on the Beacon plumbing online as
she does every Tuesday thanks to Zeke's Pizza. What is
up with the Saints? Are they going seventeen and zero?
And are they going to score eighty points a game?
What is going on down there in New Orleans? Has
(03:55):
Derek Carbon been reincarnated by Kubiak?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
It is pretty saying yeah, Clint kubi X their offensive
coordinator coordinator now coming there from San Francisco. And they
have ninety one points in two weeks. And I understand
that the first day they played the Carolina Panthers. But
the Dallas Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland and
then just got destroyed by the Saints. I think two
things are true. One, they had a lot of personnel
that is being schemed way more effectively than it was
(04:20):
and I had a good defense last year, so I
think that they're kind of just being used to their
strengths more. I also think they just faced the Cowboys
team that for at least four years now, since they
had their to San Francisco offes in the playoffs, has
been unable to stop that Shanahan scheme. This isn't a
Cowboys defense. That's much more athletics than it is beefy,
and they're much better being able to pass rush when
(04:42):
they're ahead, then be able to catch up and play
and effect and get pressure when they're behind. But what
I think is interesting for the Saints team is they're
now going to face the Eagles. When I was talking
to some people with the Eagles last night, I was like, well,
do you guys have the personnel to stop the same
because the Cowboys domain, And they were pretty much enmitting
to me that no, they also do not have the personnel.
So I think we should expect the Saints to run
(05:03):
up the score yet again this week when Philadelphia visits
them on a short week, no less.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Well on the opposite end of two and oh, there's
zero to two. And that's where the Baltimore Ravens have
started their season. They lost to the Chiefs and a
tough opener, and then they were surprised by the oak
not Oakland, the Las Vegas Raiders. They looked like they
go on the road and beat Lamar Jackson and company
at home. Is it time to panic if you're a
(05:27):
Ravens fan, because Wow, their next game they play the Cowboys,
and there's no way you can make the playoffs going
oh to three, can you?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I mean, it is extremely difficult statistically to make the
playoffs if you're on three. There's a lot of data
out there on that. I also think that if one
of your losses is to the Chiefs at the very end,
like that was just fairly stepping outside the end zon
for Isaiah, likely you need an asterisk on it because yes,
it doesn't impact your record as much. But I don't
I am not concerned about them. In Week one, they
(05:55):
looked like a team that is going to be back
playing that Chiefs team in a divisional round or AFC championship. Obviously,
going back to this past week, like that was an
upset by the Raiders. Things like that happened, and I
think what's funny is you now have a Cowboys team
that just came off getting embarrassed, a Ravens team that
definitely got at least surprised by the Raiders, and now
(06:15):
you're like putting them against each other. But again, what
I just said about the Cowboys inability to defense certain
run schemes and certain running quarterbacks too. I think Lamar
is going to make Dallas pay this week.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
As for own three teams, you got to go back
to go back to two thousand and two. There've been
one hundred and three teams to start oh and three.
Anyone want to guess how many times a team has
rallied from own three in the last twenty two years
to make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Once one hundred three and three.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I was going to say seven times.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
One time. Twenty eighteen Houston Texans.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Oh wow, that's what Baltimore's quarterback in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Isshawn Watson, right, think.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Oh my goodness, wow, Okay, well that's right.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
He talked about that recently after he lost his first game.
They were like maybe even zero and four at the
beginning of that starts the season, I think he was saying.
And then they won something like eleven straighter around that,
So yeah, it can happen. But this is true. I
mean even the Falcon yesterday when they were asked about
being zero and two, they're like, and what that means
to a play it? So like, we don't want to
focus on that, but the whole league notes that how
(07:18):
you start at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Really doesn't matter, Jerry, your big picture or canvas the
whole league. You have the whole league to choose from.
Who was your player of the week, most impressive player
in Week two in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
This might be recency biased. I don't think it is.
Jesse Bates last night was incredible. Speaking for the Atlanta Falcons.
He denied a touchdown to DeVonta Smith on one play
he had the game feeling interception and I don't even
think that was his most impressive play. And what I
loved about it is for years he's been super athletic,
but the mental level at which he's playing the game.
I mean, first of all, he was talking about, oh, well, yeah,
(07:53):
I know, and I say, there two minutes, traily, here's
what their schemes look like. He really understood his film
studies so well. And he also said, I know that
teams when they played paid big money to their stars
that too, they're going too. So he wasn't going to
sell out for DeVonta Smith with aj Brown out last
night with a hamstring injury, but he did know, like
I need to be aware of him, and he really
just his instincts combined with the preparation totally elevated his game.
(08:17):
A quick fun story about Jesse Bates that I just love.
So when I was in twenty eighteen, Jesse's rookie season,
I was, let us say today, and one of my
first features I did in that national role was about
players who had gotten hurdled, and so I reached out
to different teams whose defenders had been hurdles. Not the hurdlers,
but the people who got hurt up.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
That's a great story angle.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
And I remember one team and I won't say who,
was like, how could you dare ask us to talk
to that player about that helread he got embarrassed on
national television. Now you wanted him to talk about it too,
Like this is ridiculous. And the Bengals were like, yeah, sure,
here's Jesse. And Jesse's telling me all about how in
his group kicks. His friends are like, oh, you're going
to be on all these highlight reels blah blah blah.
And I just thought it was so cool that even
(08:58):
as a rookie, he had that like presence of mind
to just be able to talk about it so comfortably.
And I hadn't seen him in person since I finally
last night was like, hey, I remember this, just wanted
to thank you and he's like, oh yeah, Kareem Hunt
hurdled me, so he had a special place in my
heart for helping me back then. But it really was
just super impressive what he did last night. And when
they played the Chiefs this week. I mean again, he
(09:18):
was on that Bengals defense that really caused the chief
so many problems to the years. So I'm not saying
you should pick Atlanta this week for that reason, but
I do expect him to make more plays against Patrick
Mahomet from that group.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Speaking of making plays, justin Field he's just playing the position.
He hasn't had any turnovers, interceptions that is, and it
seems that Mike Tomlins believing the kid because Russell Wilson
is looks like he's not going to play in week three.
Are you surprised by how things have started regarding between Well,
are you surprised with how things I've started regarding Russell
(09:51):
wasn't supposed to be the starter, gets banged up and
now Justin Field seems to have stolen the job.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I'm definitely surprised because I was there in training camp,
Russ's cast was bothering him and he wasn't practicing. He
did a little bit of into individual work today I
was there, but no team drokes. But still throughout that
whole time, Mike Tomlin said, like, this is Russ's job
for now. I think the thing is, even if Justin
isn't lighting up, which by the way, he had some
great plays and one of his best places called back
(10:18):
due to a penalty on somebody else that passed the pickens.
And so I think that if you have a quarterback
who's not making stakes and who's putting the team in
the position that they want, as long as you're winning,
you do not change that. Again, very different situations. But
when I started this league in twenty sixteen and Dak
Prescott kept growing, he lost his first game and they
won something like eleven straight on the way to thirteen
and three, it didn't matter that Tony Romo had shown
(10:39):
a lot more in his career. He never got that
job back, and in fact he never really played together
other than like the final week meaningless game. And so
I think that as long as Justin Fields keeps doing
enough to win, particularly if he's not making mistakes, he's
going to keep this job. And I also think Russell's
calf injury could be a little more serious than this
team is letting on. But I think it's both if
you have that caf injury, which by the way, the
(11:00):
supposed to be achilles very quickly, and if you mess
with your achilles, it takes a lot longer to come
back from. And we're seeing that kind of Christian McCaffrey
too with his cat. But I do think that the
combination of Justin Field is playing in Russ's capentry. You
don't rush back, particularly an agent quarterback.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
As soon as Justin is doing this, they better scored
some more points in Pittsburgh, evenure the Pirates score more
than the Steelers. Right now, Joy, I got to ask
you about Bryce Young, the longtime Seahawks assistant Dave Kanal.
Has two games into his head coaching career, he gets
his legs chopped out up from under him. By all
accounts from his owner, who's pretty much it seems directed, no,
(11:36):
you're benching Bryce Young after nineteen starts. I've heard people say, well,
give him a couple of weeks to regroup. You've just
destroyed his psyche for the rest of the season by
benching him out of nowhere. Your thoughts on that whole situation,
how it went down, and what's next for both Carolina
and Bryce Young.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
It's fascinating. I was shocked when I saw this yesterday,
and when I was talking to some sources before the
game kicked off last night, I had the one person
tell me I just assumed it was like Tom Pelisara's
name spelled wrong, like they thought it was a fake
report when they first saw it. Everyone was checking if
this was actually the real reporters saying that you mentioned,
because look, this is a quarterback who's already had like
(12:15):
three different head coaches of sumour. It's all sorts of
play callers, and it's two games into this coach and
the system. And I understand that was bad, but also
a lot of people are looking bad against the Saints
HA already. I think what I struggle with is how
do you come back from that? In the Carolina locker room,
I think it's easy to point to the owner, David Tepper,
and I don't think that his I think his imprint
(12:36):
on the team is here. And when you talk to
a lot of people around the league, they're all like, oh,
Kepper must have made this decision. I also think there's
a case of, like hey, Pepper saw last year, when
he doesn't feel like the head coach is being able
to get what he wants out of a quarterback and
out of a group, he's going to make a decision quickly.
So this head coach knows I don't have the long
leash that hey, a Green Bay type team would have.
(12:56):
And then you get in there and say, well, I
need to keep the rest of the guys engaged, And
there is kind of this thing to me when I'm
thinking big picture, I'm like, Okay, well, if Bryce isn't
your guy, don't you want to lose your games anyway?
Keep playing him and then just pick someone that's next
year because you ruined your draft capital for twenty twenty four.
But there's also this case of are you going to
lose the entire rest of the locker room? And then
(13:17):
so I do give Canal's credit in the sense of
like I watched as Zach Wilson kept starting in New
York last year and Robert Talla was like, well, I've
run around him, needs to play better, And I'm like,
you know, you don't believe that's the locker room. You
don't notice that you don't believe that, and you really
do have to consider that. So I would say that
when I think about how you arrive at this decision,
this is how do we not lose the entire team
(13:38):
if we feel like we've lost our quarterback? And then
you ask yourself if Bryce young Neck's going to play
with another team, which, by the way, I'm not saying
he will resurrect his career. You hope for any guy too.
But when you look at what Sam Darnold's doing in Minnesota,
I mean, and you look at what Baker Mayfield is
doing in Tampa, there are guys who have not succeeded
in Carolinas who are starting at the league at the
high level right now. So this is possible.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Mariners, Yeah, bring that up. No, but if you're Dave Canalis,
what are you thinking? You come out on the day
after the game and or whatever Sunday and say Bryce
Young's are quarterback and the next day you're benching them that,
I mean, the locker room has to be saying who's
the coach here? Now?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
What are you?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
From Dave Canalis's perspective, how's this going to play for
him the rest of the year.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I mean, I think it goes both ways. I think
on one hand, you have the I got our coach
just said something else. On the other hand, you have
he is your quarterback until he's not. And so I
think as a coach you have to say, Okay, I
go back and watch the film. I go back and
make this decision. And how long am I willing to
keep telling myself and the team this? And if I
don't believe this, when am I going to make a decision?
And again going back to that zero and three seven.
(14:43):
I don't expect the Panthers to make the playoffs this
year anyway, but being able to get just one win.
Look at what the Raiders are doing with the first
year coach, look at what the Patriots, and again I know,
not this week, the week before, getting a win with
the first year coach, that win can do so much
for the team. That sounds so cliche, but you just
need to have some sort of like winning emotion in
that city. And I don't think that they view Bryce
(15:03):
Young as the path to get there anytime soon. And
Andy Dalton again, he's not going to be your future necessarily,
but he is a very very solid backup splash starter
when he comes in.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Dave Canalis already in a mess two games in his
head coaching career, Joy, I got to ask you about
Tago Viola, the whole situation in Miami, the fact he's
not on injured reserve yet. Should he be playing and
should we be talking about his quality of life and
being a father and a husband more than whether he's
even playing the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I think we should be talking about his quality of life.
The thing is, even if we talk about it, this
is a decision that too has to make him their
summer on the league. Who do believe he's even going
to play against y'all this week? I think what's interesting
to me is that the player in the league who
I've seen the most similar situation with, it's Eagles tighten
Grant Calcutarras. So Grant Calcatarras started his college career at Oklahoma.
I believe he had three diagnosed concussions, and I always
(15:54):
qualify concussion reporting as diagnoses because usually these guys experienced
a lot more than their reporting, and he retired due
to it when on became an emergency medical personnel, got
all his training, and then it was like, wait, actually,
I want to play football now. The doctor who said
he could when there are other doctors who said he
should not transferred to SMU and now some planes to
the Eagles for the last few years, and I worked
(16:15):
with him on a story pre draft, and when I
was watching him play last night and a belief he
caught the first half of the game from Jalen Hurts,
I was like, look, I don't believe he made that
decision with his health top of mind. Again, that's my opinion,
not his. But he has made this career out of
his the next few years. And he's a tight end,
so he's blocking all this time, more likely to get
hit in quarterbacks in some ways, or at least to
(16:36):
be hit differently. And so I think that I would
be nervous to play with tool right now if as
the Dolphins, I would be nervous if I'm Adam Jrdy
preparing my guys to go hit this guy really hard
after he just had the fencing response, which is the
sign of a traumatic brain injury last week, and we
know that that's happened at least three times hor These
traumatic brain injuries have happened at least three times in
the last few years. I also think that like this
(16:57):
is to his decision. I'm happy for him that he
has his guarant money and it kind of underscores why
these guys do fight for their contracts because it can
be over so quickly. But I think that us saying that,
or even Antonio Pierce saying, like, you need to think
about a quality of life and to be clear, Like
I said this on our podcast last week, Richard Sherman's
on National TV saying he thinks he needs to retire,
(17:17):
Like these are not like everyone in at home who's
never played this game. These are some of the most
physical players we've seen in the history of the NFL
who believe he should retire. The thing is that's still
too his decision, and it's the Dolphin's decision, and that's
really all that matters right now.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
You kind of just threw it in there. I'm gonna
ask you again, there are some around the league who
have told you they think Tiger vo is going to
play this weekend in Seattle.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
I did have someone telling you that. Again, I'm not
like reporting that he will play, but there is definitely
a belief in some circles that that's not a question.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Lots to talk about. We will be lots to talk
about next Tuesday as well. Thanks a lot, Jory. I
know you're very busy and we appreciate you taking time
for us to talk every Tuesday at eleven am. Take
care of a great week.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Talk few teams at
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.