December 4, 2025 • 14 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
With four games to go, Carolina firmly in the NFC
playoff mix, and it's going to all come down to
the final four games, but likely two games against the
Tampa Bay Bucks. Our next guest knows that well. He
knows both teams well, and we're talking about, of course,
Trevor Sikima, the lead NFL draft analyst for Pro Football
Focus and co host of the NFL Stock Exchange podcast.
(00:20):
Our boy, Trevor Sikima. He's on x formerly Twitter at
Tampa Bay tray back with us here on a Thursday afternoon.
What's going on, brother, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I'm doing fantastic, Kyle. I appreciate you having me on
my friend.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Well, I always look forward to it. I got to
start with just the win over the Rams. I caught
a bit of you and your partner talking about that,
I think a day or two after. But for the
folks that haven't heard it, your thoughts on you know,
Carolina beating the best team potentially in the NFL and
shocking the entire league.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, it's incredible, isn't it. I Mean I think that
they probably have the best win in the league right
now because I think that they actually I know the
Rams have lost a couple of games now this season,
but you go back and you look at that lost
against the Eagles and lost against the San Francisal forty
nine ers, So it was a lot more about them
shooting themselves in the foot. And sure they had their
mistakes in their turnovers here in this game against Carolina
(01:09):
as well, but Carolina forced a lot of those. I
felt like for the first time, Carolina actually outplayed the Rams,
and for the first time this season somebody did outplay
the Rams. So it was a massive win. You can't
take anything away from what the Panthers did this past weekend.
And man, it was so great to watch Bryce play
with so much confidence, and that's really just been such
(01:30):
an issue, right think this offense overall is I heard,
you know right before you brought me in, just the
frustrations of one week it looks like like crap, and
then the next week they look like they could beat
anybody in the NFL. And it's just it's frustrating as
fans obviously to go up with that up and down
on that roller coaster. But you love to see a
win like this, especially because this comes in the back
(01:52):
half of the season, right I mean, they're hitting the
bye week and then there's only a handful of games left,
and so every team wants to be hitting it hot
when you get down to the end, especially if you
got a chance to win the division to get into
the playoffs. And Carolina has got a great chance to
do that, especially with two games remaining against the Buccaneers
on their schedule. So how do we well.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
First of all, it's funny because this team is seven
and six with a minus fifty point differential, right, So
that's just wild in and of itself. They're also, though,
two to zero, when you know they're ten plus point
underdogs while the rest of the league is zero to fourteen.
Now just speaking to the you know, the wild pendulum
swing nature of this team. But also Bryce, right, you
look at Bryce, he's got eleven game winning drives under
(02:32):
his belt, youngest to get there at twenty four and change.
He's been good against the Blitz as of late. He's
had a franchise record in passing yards against the number
one pass defense in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago,
set a record for passer rating against the Rams. But
at the same time, I think he's like twenty third
in QBR, He's thrown for like twenty three hundred yards
this year. There's a lot of just you know, when
we argue about Bryce on this show, you know, people
(02:55):
are pulling stats to serve an agenda, to help the argument.
But the truth is there are a lot of that's
the point too, that will paint him in very different ways.
How do you see him right now, nearing the end
of year three as a potential quote unquote franchise quarterback.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Obviously you would love for it to be more consistent, right,
but you still do have the highs from Bryce which
are good to see. And again, like you go to
a game like this past weekend, That's why it's so
hard to quit the dude. I mean, I'm looking at
his PFF passing grades, and no, not everybody loves these,
but I think that they're a really good, I think
barometer for how well you execute in a singular game.
(03:32):
He's got as many games this season where he is
graded below a forty two in PFF passing grade than
he does above eighty. And so he's like he's just
a complete opposite end of the spectrum. There's nothing that's
sort of average about what Bryce Young is doing and
so that's the thing that makes you pull your hair out,
but it also gives you hope. And I mean watching
(03:53):
him this past game against the Rams, I wish there
was something schematic that I could point to, right, like, oh,
they're they're running a lot more play action. Oh well,
they're getting a lot more motion involved over you know,
they've got this player doing this. It's a little bit
of those things here and there. But the crazy thing
with Bryce in this passing offense for Carolina is that
some games he just looks really confident and other games
(04:17):
he doesn't. I go back to that forty nine Ers
game where everybody was saying, like, man, what a big
game this is. Right, They're coming off of a huge
win against the Atlanta Falcons. That's their second time beating
them this season. They've really taken it to him. And
then they went into that Monday night primetime game and
Bryce just lieutenantan. He kind of looked like he was
second guessing himself. I don't know if he just heard
(04:38):
the noise of you know, so much being on his
plate and on his shoulders coming off of that win
versus the Falcons. Watching the Buccaneers sort of sputtering in
the middle of the season, knowing that the division is
right there. But he just he wasn't the type of
player that you needed him to be to go in
against a good San Francisco team and get a win
on the road of Monday end football. And then you
think to yourself, well, okay, now the Rams are coming
(04:59):
to town. Now they're about to drop two straight. And
he comes out with an incredible performance where he doesn't
throw for a ton of yards, but man a handful
of the throws in that game. Specifically, I mean, look
at the tetroo mcmillans throw, the long tetro mcmillins throw
that he has in the second half of that game.
I mean, McMillan's not even open on that play. But
Bryce gives you such an incredible throw. He has such
(05:23):
a sixth sense for where the open space is going
to be in anticipation, and you go, that's Heisman Trophy
winning Bryce Young. That's Alabama Bryce Young. And we've seen
it in Spurts. And so to go back to your
original question, where am I with him three years into
the league. I think that these next four or five
games are going to mean so much for him and
(05:44):
what the narrative is hint about him going into the season,
Because right now I would say that he's taken more
lumps than I thought he would, even for as a
young quarterback. He has struggled more than I thought he
would have coming into his NFL career. But the highs
are still there, and so I think that you still
have to give this guy a ton of confidence and
(06:06):
faith moving into these last handful of games that are
going to mean so much.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Is it a no brainer in your mind that they
pick up the fifth year option. That was a big
talking point yesterday with the Graziano piece that got everybody
discussing it. But to you, is it a no brainer
they're picking up his fifth year option.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I wouldn't say it's a no brainer, but I'm much
more leaning towards that being the case because because of, honestly,
the highs that you have seen from him. Now, if
he comes out in you know, these final five games
of the season and he just he looks terrible, then
obviously it's something where you go, Okay, we don't know
if we want to, you know, pick up that fifth
year option and make sure that we're tied to him,
(06:40):
because Obviously, this guy's been in a situation where he's
already been benched by the current coaching staff. That is
still there when you turn the clock back about a
year and a half ago, So like that has already happened,
that is in their minds, that's already something that we
have seen unfold. But on the other side of things,
we've seen the Falcons game, We've seen the Rams game,
and so it's you have a quarterback that you've drafted
(07:02):
number one overall, that was dominant when he was in
college football and has shown flashes of brilliance in the NFL,
not just good play, not just starting play, brilliance in
the NFL. That's something that you don't walk away from
too easily. And so outside of a catastrophic type of
last four games down the stretch here for Bryce, yeah,
I'd be picking that fifth year option up if I
(07:24):
was them.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Trever Sikam a pro football focused NFL Stock Exchange podcast
hang it out with us here on a Thursday. Can
you make the case right now today that Tedoro McMillan
is Rookie of the Year in the NFL?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah, I think he is. I do, and Bucks fans
weren't too happy with me when I continue to reiterate
that even at the beginning of the season, when McMillan
was putting up or Aguca, I should say, excuse me,
was putting up a ton of numbers for the Buccaneers.
But I just knew the consistency was going to be
there with Ted. I loved him when he was at Arizona.
(07:55):
He had two fantastic years of play, even that last
year where it was a little bit more of a
struggle for Arizona's offense when they needed him in the
biggest moments, whether it was to step atone in the
first quarter on first and ten, or whether it was
to come up with a big catch on third and
long in the third or fourth quarter with the game
on the line. I mean, he's able to do it.
He's such a good route runner for a player of
his size. We know the contested catchability. We've seen the
(08:17):
spectacular catches from him as well, and the fact that
he has been able to do what I hoped that
he could, which is stepping right away into that wide
receiver one role for this team. You see how much
it has helped everything around him. Not only is Bryce
more confidently with the player like that on their team.
But you see that Legett can now be used in
(08:38):
more of just a vertical stretching role. What he does well,
what he does best. You're getting Cocher now open underneath.
It's giving them the flexibility to put multiple tight ends
on the field when they go heavy personnel because they
feel good about the one wide receiver that is out
there in McMillan. And so I think that there are
other rookies that have obviously played well this season, but
(08:59):
on the offensive side of things, McMillan would be my
offensive Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Okay, I have to ask you this. I want to
go to the defense for a second. One of our listeners,
Todd and Indian Trail, just said that you are one
of the best guests on this station. He's buttering you up.
But then the next statement is why does his company
hate Derek Brown so much?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
And I have.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
To ask the question too, because I think Derek Brown
personally and I'm a little biased here, you know, is
top two or three at his position in the NFL,
arguably the best player at his position the way he's
playing right now. But he ends up with a fifty
grade in the Rams game. I think he was like
twenty eth at his position in PFF rankings last week.
According to one of our listeners, like, what is there
some sort of disconnect or you know, incongruence in the
(09:36):
way that we're looking at Derek versus the way that
he's graded. What do you think about that?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So I, you know, I saw the grade this past
week against the Rams, and I remember Derek actually showing
up for a couple of really big plays, and I said, man,
that those impactful plays obviously were things that helped them
win down the stretch. But I'm looking at his grades
right now. In the last couple of performances, he has
graded a little bit lower. And you know, I haven't
watched all of every single snap, obviously I'm not. You know,
(10:02):
I like to joke and actually tell people that I
grade every single play and every single player, so I'm
at fault for everything that they see on the website.
But you know, when you look at a guy like
Derek Brown, I think it's just a matter of he
might have a handful of really big plays that end
up being difference makers for them, but our formula, it's
not a I should say, with the grades, it's not
(10:25):
a full performance for these guys. What we're grading is
how well a guy executes what is asked of him
on a single play. And where a lot of you know,
other people might look at one or two plays that
maybe they think matter a lot in a certain spot,
whether that's a good or a bad thing, we are
grading every single play, and so I think that the
(10:48):
fifty grade that he gets, I also need to remind
people that sixty point oh is an even grade, Like
that's a neutral grade on our system. I think that
a lot of people, and I think that it's our job.
We need to be better about making sure this is
known for people who use our product. They think of
it as as like school grades. Right, A sixty point
zero is like a D minus. Right, that's basically like
(11:10):
a failing grade. That's not what our grading scale is.
And so a fifty where people might look at it
and be like, yo, that's terrible. It's on the lower,
more negative side of things, but it's not that far
from an average day. And when you talk about an
average day, it could be something as simple as hey,
he had one really good play, but then he had
three or four plays where maybe he missed a tackle,
(11:31):
maybe he got blown out of his gap. Maybe he
didn't hold the line the way that he needed to.
Maybe he really needed a two gap in a certain
situation and instead he tried to get into the backfield
and it kind of might have hung his other defensive
lineman out to dry. Like, those are the things that
we look at on every single play that goes into
the formula. But I promise you we do not hate
Derek Brown. We've given him. We have given him three
(11:53):
elite grades this season, and when you go back to
twenty twenty three, we gave him an elite grade for
the entire season. The year before it was an eighty five.
So he's one of the highest defensive tackles graded in
the NFL. I think it's just these last three games
that people are like, WHOA, hold on, hold on, hold on.
But I always just tell people it is a formula
grading every single play as if it matters on the
(12:16):
execution of what guys are asked to do on every play.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Okay, all right, before I get you out of here,
Panthers and Bucks. I mean it appears the two games
between these two teams in the final three weeks of
the season will decide the division. You know both of
these teams well, your thoughts on how it plays out,
but with a particular focus on Tampa, who I think
we all Well, I'll put it this way. I thought
they were the best team coming in. I still think
(12:39):
they're a very good team, but between their overall injuries
and Baker playing through an injury, I don't think they're
the same team they were eight weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
What are your thoughts? No, it's gonna be fun down
the stretch, and I don't know, well, I don't know
if Panthers fans or Bucks fans might consider it as fun.
But you know, from somebody who enjoys football when it
matters most, I think it's gonna be a lot of
fun because I think both of these games are in
going to matter most. It's gonna coump down to quarterbacks.
And uh, you know, I know that you don't have
me on the radio to say something as simple as that,
(13:06):
But to be honest with you, it depends what version
of the Panthers Bryce Young Bryce Young gives them, and
it depends what version of Baker Mayfield the Buccaneers get.
Because through the first five, six weeks of the season,
we were talking about Baker Mayfield as an MVP candidate,
But since Week six, Baker Mayfield has been one of
the most inaccurate quarterbacks in all of the NFL. Now,
(13:27):
I know he's playing through pain, but he is missing
guys like we have a statistic that is uncatchable inaccurate passes,
and Mayfield is near the top of the list in
the NFL, and sometimes he has been at the top
since that week six early season hot streak that he had.
So if he does not playing more consistently, it doesn't
matter if Mike Evans is going to get out there,
(13:47):
it doesn't matter if Jaalen McMillan's going to get out there.
Like he just has to play a lot better. The
exciting part about this for both teams is that they're
a there's a world where when they face off in
that three week stretch, both of them are going to
be as healthy and as on a roll as they
have been throughout the entire year. So for Carolina, the cornerbacks,
(14:08):
they got to continue to step up. Mike Jackson JC Horn,
They've been fantastic for him, getting Lathan Ransom more involved
in that secondary because I think he has been fantastic.
Can the defensive line continue to take steps up? And
then for the Buccaneers, it really is Mike Evans getting healthy,
Jayalen McMillan getting healthy, the pass rushers for them getting healthy,
and we'll see if it's full strength versus full strength.
It's going to be a fun two out of three
(14:28):
weeks that we have there.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Can't wait. I'll echo what Todd from Indian Trail said.
You are one of my favorite guests. But you already
know that we appreciate your time, brother, and we'll talk
to you real soon.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Thanks Cattle, I appreciate it man, anytime,
With four games to go, Carolina firmly in the NFC
playoff mix, and it's going to all come down to
the final four games, but likely two games against the
Tampa Bay Bucks. Our next guest knows that well. He
knows both teams well, and we're talking about, of course,
Trevor Sikima, the lead NFL draft analyst for Pro Football
Focus and co host of the NFL Stock Exchange podcast.
(00:20):
Our boy, Trevor Sikima. He's on x formerly Twitter at
Tampa Bay tray back with us here on a Thursday afternoon.
What's going on, brother, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I'm doing fantastic, Kyle. I appreciate you having me on
my friend.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Well, I always look forward to it. I got to
start with just the win over the Rams. I caught
a bit of you and your partner talking about that,
I think a day or two after. But for the
folks that haven't heard it, your thoughts on you know,
Carolina beating the best team potentially in the NFL and
shocking the entire league.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, it's incredible, isn't it. I Mean I think that
they probably have the best win in the league right
now because I think that they actually I know the
Rams have lost a couple of games now this season,
but you go back and you look at that lost
against the Eagles and lost against the San Francisal forty
nine ers, So it was a lot more about them
shooting themselves in the foot. And sure they had their
mistakes in their turnovers here in this game against Carolina
(01:09):
as well, but Carolina forced a lot of those. I
felt like for the first time, Carolina actually outplayed the Rams,
and for the first time this season somebody did outplay
the Rams. So it was a massive win. You can't
take anything away from what the Panthers did this past weekend.
And man, it was so great to watch Bryce play
with so much confidence, and that's really just been such
(01:30):
an issue, right think this offense overall is I heard,
you know right before you brought me in, just the
frustrations of one week it looks like like crap, and
then the next week they look like they could beat
anybody in the NFL. And it's just it's frustrating as
fans obviously to go up with that up and down
on that roller coaster. But you love to see a
win like this, especially because this comes in the back
(01:52):
half of the season, right I mean, they're hitting the
bye week and then there's only a handful of games left,
and so every team wants to be hitting it hot
when you get down to the end, especially if you
got a chance to win the division to get into
the playoffs. And Carolina has got a great chance to
do that, especially with two games remaining against the Buccaneers
on their schedule. So how do we well.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
First of all, it's funny because this team is seven
and six with a minus fifty point differential, right, So
that's just wild in and of itself. They're also, though,
two to zero, when you know they're ten plus point
underdogs while the rest of the league is zero to fourteen.
Now just speaking to the you know, the wild pendulum
swing nature of this team. But also Bryce, right, you
look at Bryce, he's got eleven game winning drives under
(02:32):
his belt, youngest to get there at twenty four and change.
He's been good against the Blitz as of late. He's
had a franchise record in passing yards against the number
one pass defense in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago,
set a record for passer rating against the Rams. But
at the same time, I think he's like twenty third
in QBR, He's thrown for like twenty three hundred yards
this year. There's a lot of just you know, when
we argue about Bryce on this show, you know, people
(02:55):
are pulling stats to serve an agenda, to help the argument.
But the truth is there are a lot of that's
the point too, that will paint him in very different ways.
How do you see him right now, nearing the end
of year three as a potential quote unquote franchise quarterback.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Obviously you would love for it to be more consistent, right,
but you still do have the highs from Bryce which
are good to see. And again, like you go to
a game like this past weekend, That's why it's so
hard to quit the dude. I mean, I'm looking at
his PFF passing grades, and no, not everybody loves these,
but I think that they're a really good, I think
barometer for how well you execute in a singular game.
(03:32):
He's got as many games this season where he is
graded below a forty two in PFF passing grade than
he does above eighty. And so he's like he's just
a complete opposite end of the spectrum. There's nothing that's
sort of average about what Bryce Young is doing and
so that's the thing that makes you pull your hair out,
but it also gives you hope. And I mean watching
(03:53):
him this past game against the Rams, I wish there
was something schematic that I could point to, right, like, oh,
they're they're running a lot more play action. Oh well,
they're getting a lot more motion involved over you know,
they've got this player doing this. It's a little bit
of those things here and there. But the crazy thing
with Bryce in this passing offense for Carolina is that
some games he just looks really confident and other games
(04:17):
he doesn't. I go back to that forty nine Ers
game where everybody was saying, like, man, what a big
game this is. Right, They're coming off of a huge
win against the Atlanta Falcons. That's their second time beating
them this season. They've really taken it to him. And
then they went into that Monday night primetime game and
Bryce just lieutenantan. He kind of looked like he was
second guessing himself. I don't know if he just heard
(04:38):
the noise of you know, so much being on his
plate and on his shoulders coming off of that win
versus the Falcons. Watching the Buccaneers sort of sputtering in
the middle of the season, knowing that the division is
right there. But he just he wasn't the type of
player that you needed him to be to go in
against a good San Francisco team and get a win
on the road of Monday end football. And then you
think to yourself, well, okay, now the Rams are coming
(04:59):
to town. Now they're about to drop two straight. And
he comes out with an incredible performance where he doesn't
throw for a ton of yards, but man a handful
of the throws in that game. Specifically, I mean, look
at the tetroo mcmillans throw, the long tetro mcmillins throw
that he has in the second half of that game.
I mean, McMillan's not even open on that play. But
Bryce gives you such an incredible throw. He has such
(05:23):
a sixth sense for where the open space is going
to be in anticipation, and you go, that's Heisman Trophy
winning Bryce Young. That's Alabama Bryce Young. And we've seen
it in Spurts. And so to go back to your
original question, where am I with him three years into
the league. I think that these next four or five
games are going to mean so much for him and
(05:44):
what the narrative is hint about him going into the season,
Because right now I would say that he's taken more
lumps than I thought he would, even for as a
young quarterback. He has struggled more than I thought he
would have coming into his NFL career. But the highs
are still there, and so I think that you still
have to give this guy a ton of confidence and
(06:06):
faith moving into these last handful of games that are
going to mean so much.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Is it a no brainer in your mind that they
pick up the fifth year option. That was a big
talking point yesterday with the Graziano piece that got everybody
discussing it. But to you, is it a no brainer
they're picking up his fifth year option.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I wouldn't say it's a no brainer, but I'm much
more leaning towards that being the case because because of, honestly,
the highs that you have seen from him. Now, if
he comes out in you know, these final five games
of the season and he just he looks terrible, then
obviously it's something where you go, Okay, we don't know
if we want to, you know, pick up that fifth
year option and make sure that we're tied to him,
(06:40):
because Obviously, this guy's been in a situation where he's
already been benched by the current coaching staff. That is
still there when you turn the clock back about a
year and a half ago, So like that has already happened,
that is in their minds, that's already something that we
have seen unfold. But on the other side of things,
we've seen the Falcons game, We've seen the Rams game,
and so it's you have a quarterback that you've drafted
(07:02):
number one overall, that was dominant when he was in
college football and has shown flashes of brilliance in the NFL,
not just good play, not just starting play, brilliance in
the NFL. That's something that you don't walk away from
too easily. And so outside of a catastrophic type of
last four games down the stretch here for Bryce, yeah,
I'd be picking that fifth year option up if I
(07:24):
was them.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Trever Sikam a pro football focused NFL Stock Exchange podcast
hang it out with us here on a Thursday. Can
you make the case right now today that Tedoro McMillan
is Rookie of the Year in the NFL?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah, I think he is. I do, and Bucks fans
weren't too happy with me when I continue to reiterate
that even at the beginning of the season, when McMillan
was putting up or Aguca, I should say, excuse me,
was putting up a ton of numbers for the Buccaneers.
But I just knew the consistency was going to be
there with Ted. I loved him when he was at Arizona.
(07:55):
He had two fantastic years of play, even that last
year where it was a little bit more of a
struggle for Arizona's offense when they needed him in the
biggest moments, whether it was to step atone in the
first quarter on first and ten, or whether it was
to come up with a big catch on third and
long in the third or fourth quarter with the game
on the line. I mean, he's able to do it.
He's such a good route runner for a player of
his size. We know the contested catchability. We've seen the
(08:17):
spectacular catches from him as well, and the fact that
he has been able to do what I hoped that
he could, which is stepping right away into that wide
receiver one role for this team. You see how much
it has helped everything around him. Not only is Bryce
more confidently with the player like that on their team.
But you see that Legett can now be used in
(08:38):
more of just a vertical stretching role. What he does well,
what he does best. You're getting Cocher now open underneath.
It's giving them the flexibility to put multiple tight ends
on the field when they go heavy personnel because they
feel good about the one wide receiver that is out
there in McMillan. And so I think that there are
other rookies that have obviously played well this season, but
(08:59):
on the offensive side of things, McMillan would be my
offensive Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Okay, I have to ask you this. I want to
go to the defense for a second. One of our listeners,
Todd and Indian Trail, just said that you are one
of the best guests on this station. He's buttering you up.
But then the next statement is why does his company
hate Derek Brown so much?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
And I have.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
To ask the question too, because I think Derek Brown
personally and I'm a little biased here, you know, is
top two or three at his position in the NFL,
arguably the best player at his position the way he's
playing right now. But he ends up with a fifty
grade in the Rams game. I think he was like
twenty eth at his position in PFF rankings last week.
According to one of our listeners, like, what is there
some sort of disconnect or you know, incongruence in the
(09:36):
way that we're looking at Derek versus the way that
he's graded. What do you think about that?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So I, you know, I saw the grade this past
week against the Rams, and I remember Derek actually showing
up for a couple of really big plays, and I said, man,
that those impactful plays obviously were things that helped them
win down the stretch. But I'm looking at his grades
right now. In the last couple of performances, he has
graded a little bit lower. And you know, I haven't
watched all of every single snap, obviously I'm not. You know,
(10:02):
I like to joke and actually tell people that I
grade every single play and every single player, so I'm
at fault for everything that they see on the website.
But you know, when you look at a guy like
Derek Brown, I think it's just a matter of he
might have a handful of really big plays that end
up being difference makers for them, but our formula, it's
not a I should say, with the grades, it's not
(10:25):
a full performance for these guys. What we're grading is
how well a guy executes what is asked of him
on a single play. And where a lot of you know,
other people might look at one or two plays that
maybe they think matter a lot in a certain spot,
whether that's a good or a bad thing, we are
grading every single play, and so I think that the
(10:48):
fifty grade that he gets, I also need to remind
people that sixty point oh is an even grade, Like
that's a neutral grade on our system. I think that
a lot of people, and I think that it's our job.
We need to be better about making sure this is
known for people who use our product. They think of
it as as like school grades. Right, A sixty point
zero is like a D minus. Right, that's basically like
(11:10):
a failing grade. That's not what our grading scale is.
And so a fifty where people might look at it
and be like, yo, that's terrible. It's on the lower,
more negative side of things, but it's not that far
from an average day. And when you talk about an
average day, it could be something as simple as hey,
he had one really good play, but then he had
three or four plays where maybe he missed a tackle,
(11:31):
maybe he got blown out of his gap. Maybe he
didn't hold the line the way that he needed to.
Maybe he really needed a two gap in a certain
situation and instead he tried to get into the backfield
and it kind of might have hung his other defensive
lineman out to dry. Like, those are the things that
we look at on every single play that goes into
the formula. But I promise you we do not hate
Derek Brown. We've given him. We have given him three
(11:53):
elite grades this season, and when you go back to
twenty twenty three, we gave him an elite grade for
the entire season. The year before it was an eighty five.
So he's one of the highest defensive tackles graded in
the NFL. I think it's just these last three games
that people are like, WHOA, hold on, hold on, hold on.
But I always just tell people it is a formula
grading every single play as if it matters on the
(12:16):
execution of what guys are asked to do on every play.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Okay, all right, before I get you out of here,
Panthers and Bucks. I mean it appears the two games
between these two teams in the final three weeks of
the season will decide the division. You know both of
these teams well, your thoughts on how it plays out,
but with a particular focus on Tampa, who I think
we all Well, I'll put it this way. I thought
they were the best team coming in. I still think
(12:39):
they're a very good team, but between their overall injuries
and Baker playing through an injury, I don't think they're
the same team they were eight weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
What are your thoughts? No, it's gonna be fun down
the stretch, and I don't know, well, I don't know
if Panthers fans or Bucks fans might consider it as fun.
But you know, from somebody who enjoys football when it
matters most, I think it's gonna be a lot of
fun because I think both of these games are in
going to matter most. It's gonna coump down to quarterbacks.
And uh, you know, I know that you don't have
me on the radio to say something as simple as that,
(13:06):
But to be honest with you, it depends what version
of the Panthers Bryce Young Bryce Young gives them, and
it depends what version of Baker Mayfield the Buccaneers get.
Because through the first five, six weeks of the season,
we were talking about Baker Mayfield as an MVP candidate,
But since Week six, Baker Mayfield has been one of
the most inaccurate quarterbacks in all of the NFL. Now,
(13:27):
I know he's playing through pain, but he is missing
guys like we have a statistic that is uncatchable inaccurate passes,
and Mayfield is near the top of the list in
the NFL, and sometimes he has been at the top
since that week six early season hot streak that he had.
So if he does not playing more consistently, it doesn't
matter if Mike Evans is going to get out there,
(13:47):
it doesn't matter if Jaalen McMillan's going to get out there.
Like he just has to play a lot better. The
exciting part about this for both teams is that they're
a there's a world where when they face off in
that three week stretch, both of them are going to
be as healthy and as on a roll as they
have been throughout the entire year. So for Carolina, the cornerbacks,
(14:08):
they got to continue to step up. Mike Jackson JC Horn,
They've been fantastic for him, getting Lathan Ransom more involved
in that secondary because I think he has been fantastic.
Can the defensive line continue to take steps up? And
then for the Buccaneers, it really is Mike Evans getting healthy,
Jayalen McMillan getting healthy, the pass rushers for them getting healthy,
and we'll see if it's full strength versus full strength.
It's going to be a fun two out of three
(14:28):
weeks that we have there.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Can't wait. I'll echo what Todd from Indian Trail said.
You are one of my favorite guests. But you already
know that we appreciate your time, brother, and we'll talk
to you real soon.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Thanks Cattle, I appreciate it man, anytime,
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