September 26, 2024 • 33 mins
Dallas Cowboys' Struggles and Surprises in the NFL Season
Join hosts Nick Ferguson and Alex Hardy as they tackle the latest developments in the NFL after Week 3. Former NFL safety Nick Ferguson dives into the issues plaguing the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare to face the New York Giants, highlighting key players like Malik Neighbors, Brian Burns, and Dexter Lawrence. The duo analyzes the surprising 0-3 teams and their playoff prospects, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, and discusses the defensive woes and quarterback challenges these teams face. They also break down the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings' success under Sam Darnold and Brian Flores, and the unexpected performance of the Carolina Panthers with Andy Dalton at the helm. From the intricacies of play-calling to the importance of complementary football, this episode is packed with insights for NFL enthusiasts.
00:00 Alex Hardy breaks down week three of the NFL season
08:06 Nick Martin: Minnesota Vikings beat New York Giants 34 to 7
14:44 Alex Scarborough: Carolina Panthers are one and two after first two games
22:25 Could it be the fact that maybe Bryce young was not ready
31:02 Nick Ferguson: The Giants are underdogs against Dallas on Thursday night
NFL, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders, Malik Neighbors, Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Doug Peterson, Evan Ingram, Christian Kirk, Cam Robinson, Javon Walker, Gabe Davis, Travis Etienne, CJ Stroud, Stefan Diggs, Joe Mixon, Sam Darnold, Brian Flores, Bryce Young, Andy Dalton, Dave Canales, Antonio Pierce, Jack Jones, Cliff Kingsbury, Jaden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, Denver Broncos, Corliss Sutton, DeAndre Swift, Allen, Roma Dunze, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Jordan Love, Matt LaFleur, Micah Parsons, Jayden Daniels
Ride the Wave Media, Those Guys Podcast, Nick Ferguson, Alex Hardy, NFL Analysis, Player Performance, Defensive Strategy, Quarterback Challenges, NFL Insights, Football Strategy, NFL Matchups, Playoff Prospects
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
We are those guys.
We hope to remain your guys as wechart and navigate the NFL season.
Week three is wrapped up.
Nick Ferguson, former 10 year NFL safety.
I know you are chomping at the bitto get to the Dallas Cowboys and
all of their issues as they takeon the New York Giants, or as we
probably should be calling themfrom here on out, the Fighting Malik
(00:30):
Neighbors and a little Brian Burns.
And Dexter Lawrence mixed in.
Nick Ferguson, what's going on my man?
We're done with weekthree in the NFL season.
Yes, week three, youknow, starts to wrap up.
The first thing I started to think aboutthe number of teams who have gone 0 in
three and actually made the playoffs.
(00:52):
So, that's a thought.
We have, yeah, you got the numbers?
I got some numbers,but I'll let you start.
Well, you know, the first thingI was thinking about, uh, some of
these teams who are 0 3, you thinkabout the Jacksonville Jaguars,
didn't see that one coming.
Tennessee Titans with offseason movesthat they made and saying, well, Levis is
(01:15):
our guy and could it be too early, right?
Is it too early to even say that,you know what, these teams most
likely will not make the playoffs.
No, it's totally fair.
Um, you know, each of those teamshave their issues and then you
have a matchup, uh, you know,between the Bears and the Colts.
And Indy is lucky to avoid being 0 3.
(01:38):
The Bears.
The same case, their lonewin against the Titans.
Uh, so it's a lot of youngquarterbacks that we're talking
about in those situations.
I'd even put Trevor Lawrence in that,in that, uh, in that equation as well.
Um, but.
You know, I, I think you canpoint to a number of things
with, with each of those teams.
It's not all on the quarterback, youknow, uh, you can't be Shannon Sharp,
(02:01):
your, your guy saying that Joe Burrowdidn't play well enough to win knowing
as though the defense, uh, became one ofthe latest to, uh, keep Washington from.
Not punting all night long.
That's a defensive issue.
That's nothing Joe Burrow can do.
But I understand trading threes forsevens is not a winning formula as well.
(02:23):
I think the last team, I knowthe last team that started 0 3,
made the playoffs, was a 2018Deshaun Watson led Houston Texans.
That said, Not all 0 3's are the same.
You have more confidence, let's say, ina Cincinnati Bengals offense, compared to
what we saw Doug Peterson put out there.
(02:44):
Both of these teams playing andlosing on Monday Night Football.
Well, when I look at theJacksonville Jaguars, the
biggest issue is Their defense.
When, when your defense stayson the field as long as the Jags
defense stayed, and also, Alex, I'llsay this, at times it looked like
Josh Allen in the Buffalo Bills.
(03:05):
were playing 7 0 7, right?
And I'm talking about 7 0 7 against aJV squad because everything they wanted
to do in that first half, they were ableto do on the ground, through the air.
There was no kind of resistance bythe Jacksonville Jaguars defense.
So to Trevor Lawrence, hey, look,he still is a quality quarterback,
(03:26):
despite what the team's record is.
But when your offense is puttingyou behind the eight ball, And
they are giving up 14 to 21 points.
That makes it really difficult becauseyou're always in chase mode and you can't
even run the ball with Travis ETM becausenow every drop back is a pass play.
It's not a screen play.
It's not anything else.
(03:48):
So it puts you at the mercy of thedefense and Buffalo Bills and Von Miller.
Man, they took full advantage ofwhat they saw the other night.
Yeah, it's true.
And again, it comes down to, uh,each unit helping the other, right?
If the defense can get off thefield, it allows the offense to be
more multiple in what they're doing.
(04:09):
But that team goes down so quicklyand Jacksonville doesn't seem to Have
the answers right for all that they'veinvested, uh, with weapons and adding Gabe
Davis, who wasn't fully healthy to go,um, and Evan Ingram getting hurt as well.
Uh, you know, a lot of their highpaid players are not the type
of players that you'd consideramong the elites in the NFL.
(04:31):
They're good players in their own right.
Christian Kirk is a great, uh, slot widereceiver who commanded a ton of targets.
Um, you know, Cam Robinsonis a quality tackle.
Uh, the high draft picks have been goodplayers like Trevon Walker was a project
and He's got these physical tools and, youknow, the money that they've allocated and
(04:52):
Trent Balky's spent a lot of it and gonetowards players that haven't provided the
over the top success that a team needs.
And it's putting so much on Trevor'splate that it's kind of creating
this inflection point where noteverything is kind of working.
Well, yeah, I'm glad that you broughtthis up because looking at some of
(05:13):
the moves that Trent Barkey madein the offseason, uh, I was really
disappointed because they bring overGabe Davis from the Buffalo Bills.
And it's been a lackluster performanceto say the least because Look, you
know, you got a quality quarterback inTrevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, uh,
is a dog within himself, but you gotto put talent around your quarterback.
(05:36):
Look at what the Houston Texansdid with CJ Stroud, even though
we'll get to it with Minnesotawas able to take them apart.
Once again, they putweapons around CJ Stroud.
You would think that, you know, with CJStroud being in the same division and
doing what he did in his rookie season,They were trying to change so many things
for Trevor Lawrence to make things easier.
(05:59):
But, you know, when your safetyblanket and Evan Ingram is out due
to a hamstring injury, it makesit really difficult for that team.
But the receivers outside forJacksonville, to me, they were not
helping Trevor Lawrence at all.
Yeah, I mean, it's a work in progress.
Doug Peterson admitted after this gamethat Uh, play calls have gone in at
(06:20):
a more, um, readily available time.
It was an issue of the verbiageand transferring the call to Trevor
Lawrence and then dictating that play.
They were getting into the lineof the scrimmage with not a
lot of time left on the clock.
It took them three weeks, but DougPeterson said that's cleaned up.
And again, this is a play callingsystem where they won't admit
(06:40):
whether it's Doug Peterson or PressTaylor, ultimately making those
play calls on game day, it shouldn'treally matter to you or me, Nick.
But there's just a lack of continuityand just, just succinct messaging
going out to the greater public andunderstanding how this team functions.
As long as they know what's going onin there by all means, but what we
(07:04):
have is an 0 3 football team, Nick.
That makes absolutely no sense to me withsome of these offensive coordinators.
Have these long elaborate play callsand they know you don't have that
much time on the play card becauseLife as a quarterback you gotta get
the the call itself and then you'reon the roll in a hostile environment
Making it even more difficult for youto hear the call This is why we see
(07:27):
quarterbacks covering their ears sothey can muff the sound And then now you
have to repeat that call disseminatedto everyone in the huddle hope alex
that no one goes Hey, what did you say?
And then you got to get to the lineof scrimmage play caught winding down.
Now you got to survey the defense.
What are they in?
How do I decipher it?
How do I diagnose it?
(07:48):
And then now you got to gothrough your progression.
You know how difficult that is.
You, you are a married man.
That's like your wife giving birth.
Feeding twins, cooking at thesame time, vacuuming the floor.
She's not trying to do that.
Not!
So, so you can't put your quarterbackin that type of situation.
But more importantly,shorten the play call.
(08:09):
No one gives a damn how smart youare as an offensive coordinator
if your offense can't execute.
Until you brought my wifeinto this, I could have sworn
you were talking not to me.
But to Sean Payton, Bo Nix,and your Denver Broncos.
I
have no idea what you're talking about.
On the other end of things, right, theBuffalo Bills were the ones that uh,
(08:29):
took the Jaguars out to the woodshed.
They're 3 0.
You mentioned the Minnesota Vikings.
They're 3 0.
Um, just, I wouldn't say surprising,but I mean, Nick, we're talking about
the NFC, where the two teams thatyou thought would be undefeated at
this point, Seattle and Minnesota.
Meanwhile, in the AFC, Buffalo, KansasCity, and Pittsburgh, uh, Buffalo and
(08:53):
Kansas City kind of expect to be there.
The Chiefs not so much, butyou mentioned the Vikings, so
let's start with them, Nick.
You know, week one, they takecare of the New York Giants.
Okay, like that's kind of a little bitto be expected, but then these back
to back victories, uh, at home againstthe 49ers and then the Texans, 34 7.
(09:17):
You're talking about thedarling second year of C.
J.
Stroud, the weapons on offense, addingformer Bills receiver Stefan Diggs,
adding Joe Mixon, who sat this out withan ankle injury, and the Minnesota Vikings
were just cool, calculated, and it was aversion of Sam Darnold that we never saw.
In New York, and certainly he barelytook the field as a member of the
(09:40):
San Francisco 49ers, but Sam Darnoldhas his first, uh, 300, I think he
became the first 300 yard goalie.
Three TD passer of this year'sseason without a turnover.
So talk to me, Nick, the Minnesota Vikingsare three and oh, because of Sam Darnold
because of Brian Flores is defense.
And what else did they bring to the table?
(10:02):
Well, I mean, this is basic football oneon one when you really think about it.
You get a competent quarterback play.
You don't turn the ball over.
Your defense is able to create chaosand disruption with the number of
sacks that they're able to generate.
And also you're able to run the ball.
I mean, not the fact that the MinnesotaVitans are leading the league in rushing,
(10:24):
but All you need to play is complimentaryfootball and tip your cap to Brian Flores.
Man, he's got those Vikingsdefensive players playing well, but
here's something very interesting.
And I wonder if the schedulemakers took this in consideration.
Because you mentioned the fact that inback to back weeks you play San Francisco,
(10:46):
then you play the Houston Texans.
Basically, you're simply Playing thesame offense in back to back weeks.
So, you really don't have to changethat much of your game plan because
what you're seeing from Bobby Sloick,you're seeing the same thing from
Kyle Shanahan the week before.
And oh, by the way, here's the best partfor Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores.
(11:11):
Sam Donohue spent some timewith the San Francisco 49ers.
Yeah, I get it.
He didn't play a lot, buthe's like Jason Garrett.
Because you're a backup quarterbackand you're not playing a lot.
You know what you know really well?
You know the goddamn scheme.
Right?
So, you look at Sam Donohue.
Can you tell me a little aboutwhat Kyle wants to do on the
(11:33):
offensive side of the ball?
No Christian McCaffrey.
No George Hill.
Right?
No Deebo
too.
That's right.
No Debo.
So, basically, San Franciscoplayed with several hands and
feet tied behind their back.
And I'm not saying that Sam Donaldgave them the game plan, but I can
see how it gave them a little insight.
That was the game they got injured in.
(11:54):
Debo and Kittle were both, they bothhad great games, but again, in a
loss, and they missed week three.
Exactly.
But once again, for BrianFlores, thank the football gods.
You face.
The same offense two weeks in a row.
Uh, I'm going to stop you rightthere, Nick, because next week, of
course, you have the division rivalryagainst the Green Bay Packers.
(12:15):
So Matt LaFleur offense.
Unpack,
unpack that.
You go into the defensive meeting room.
Are you just like the X's and O's areon the same spot on the whiteboard
and you're just sharpening in like thedifferent names, the different numbers.
And you go, yes.
(12:36):
Thank you, NFL, for schedulingall of these same similar offenses
and back to back to back fashion.
Appreciate it.
If you want to get a little technicalwith this, I would be curious to know
how the Vikings defense Is among theleague leaders in cover zero, while
(12:59):
also blitzing just about more thananybody else in the football league.
I want to do a little schemewith you, just because from a top
level, um, they can rack up sacks.
But they also do a great jobagainst the Shanahan and uh, McVay
type offenses that max protect.
Maybe only send out two or threereceivers out on pass patterns.
(13:19):
And they get pressure of the quarterback,while still providing enough help over
the top that they don't get beat deep.
Well, that's the whole idea.
I mean, it's, it's old school football.
The pressure in the frontmirrors the guys in the back end.
Uh, they go hand in hand.
It's like breathing.
And when you are able to getpressure on the quarterback, like
(13:41):
the Vikings are being, being able todo, you can hold up in the back end.
And once again, The idea is you want thequarterback to feel you and feel bodies
around him, even if you don't sack it,because pressure has worked as good,
if not even better, than sacks becausenow you're speeding up the quarterback,
they gotta get rid of the ball.
So that's when we always talk abouttips and overthrows, gotta get those.
(14:03):
But that's what we're seeing happenwith Brian Flores and that defense.
I mean, look, I mean, no one reallythought that the Vikings would be at
this point with their number one draftchoice getting injured and training camp.
No one thought that Sam Donald, Imean, Sam Donald, I mean, a guy who
(14:24):
was with the Jets didn't make it.
Guy who was with Carolina didn'tmake it and Carolina, Oh my God,
we got to get into that situation.
They're doing, they're doing,they're doing a great job.
And I tip my cap to Brian Floresbecause it's all about getting
guys to kind of buy in and play.
Uh, physical style of football.
(14:44):
And when you look at their defenseas a whole, Alex, it's not like you,
they have a bunch of household names.
Now, listen, they got somegreat players on their team.
Don't, don't get me wrong.
But once again, it's about getting playersto play together and they're buying it.
Memphis, the, the, the, thestate of Minnesota, they're
buying in on Sam Darnold.
Who would have thought that?
(15:07):
Well, again, he was out there for anybody,signed a one year, 10 million contract,
and to that defense, and having playersthat buy in for Flory's system, I mean,
the Houston Texans should know, I mean,two of the best players that, that just
flat out beat them, were in Houstonlast year, Jonathan Greenard collecting
three sacks of his former teammate, C.
J.
Stroud, and Blake Cashman, basicallythe quarterback of the defense, after
(15:29):
he led the league in tackles last year.
So, listen, they made a priority,Made some, uh, great acquisitions
to operate Brian Flores defense,including Andrew Van Genkel, who was
all over that field against the Texans.
And that's, you know, you said it.
Brian Flores is the key reasonamong efficient, solid quarterback
play from Sam Darnold hasMinnesota right where they are.
(15:53):
And again, Uh, maybe a lighterweek of prep or just dialing down
even more based on what Green Bayis going to do, hoping that they
have Jordan Love back in the fold.
Uh, let's get to, let's get to those,the Panthers, and look, you have the
0 3 teams, you have the 3 0 teams,and then you've got about two thirds
of the league sitting at 1 2, andnot all 1 2 teams are equal, right?
(16:17):
Uh, you have teams like the BaltimoreRavens and Uh, Cleveland Browns and
the AFC North that expected to bemuch better than where they are.
And then based on the first two gamesthat you saw from the Carolina Panthers,
the fact that they are one in two andthe kind of start that Andy Dalton
had taking over for Bryce Young andoperating the coveted and long awaited
(16:40):
Dave Canales offense, I mean, they justabsolutely took it to the Vegas Raiders.
Who are flailing around and AntonioPierce calling out Jack Jones, in my
estimation, for making business decisions.
I mean, let's start with Carolinabecause you wanted to go there.
(17:01):
The difference in a quarterback being ableto make the progressions, find the open
man and benefit from the rest, you know,create benefits for the rest of that team.
Well, I'll say this.
Um, I mean, I don't want this to bea slight towards Bryce Young because,
I feel as though the young man hasn'treally been surrounded by talent.
(17:24):
No,
it's, it's been a toughsituation to say the least.
I
mean, you send Brian Burns to the NewYork Jets, you trade DJ Moore, the top
receiver, uh, to the Chicago Bears,you bring over veteran receiver in
Adam Thielen, but once again, You know,let's be totally honest, you know, Adam
Thielen right now would be a numberthree, maybe four on any other team.
(17:46):
Uh, but bringing in a guy like AndyDalton, man, I can only think about what
it means for Andy to be in that situation.
But more importantly, Bryce Young, right?
To be sit, sit down in that situation.
Dave Kanellis was giving awaygame balls in the locker room,
their owner David Tepper gaveDave Kanellis a game ball himself.
(18:06):
But you gotta think about it, if youare Bryce Young, and you're sitting
in that locker room, you're watchingeveryone celebrate their first victory.
First victory, albeit against theRaiders, but first victory, and
you're just standing there, right?
You're like an innocentbystander in a car crash.
Right.
(18:27):
Just take that clipboard he's beenholding and put it right over his face.
Exactly.
So, very difficult situation for him.
But, once again, I mean, the idea ofliving in the upside down, I don't know,
when I did my pick em, heading into theweek, I did not see that one coming.
No way.
Even with the red rifle comingin, I didn't see that coming.
(18:47):
But I'll say this, I would warn CarolinaPanthers fans, could that be a little
fool's goal with the fact of themwinning their game, giving them hope
and inspiration, like this is going tobe something that is going to continue?
Well, I think the hope is that yousaw a capable offense that not only
(19:08):
scored on an opening drive, but thatcould maintain and score points.
Like, this is a team that, you know,has two wins dating back to last year.
So I think the hope is that they couldoperate and they hadn't scored 30 points.
And almost, I think Sam Donaldwas the quarterback that was three
quarterbacks and two head coaches ago.
The last time they hung 30 on anybody.
(19:29):
So there's, there's inherent hope, butin terms of, you know, with the Bengals
up next and the Chicago bears, youknow, the Andy Dalton addition is one
that from this, from, you know, fromthis time last year, you talked about
the situation Bryce young entered.
I think the expectation when you add.
(19:49):
Uh, you know, big free agentsignings for the offensive line.
Deontay Johnson, a first roundrookie receiver, and Xavier Leguette.
You know, the issues from year one, wherethe offensive line not buying time, wide
receivers not being able to separate.
And Bryce Young not showing the accuracythat he did at Alabama, especially
when he was on the move and you justwanted to see a baseline and instead
(20:12):
of seeing him maintain some of thegood plays, maybe two or three he
could pull off in a loss last year,he regressed in those first two weeks.
I mean, he wasn't lookingpast his first read.
He was rolling out of the pocket.
He was trying to evade pressureby backing up instead of stepping
up into the hole in the pocket.
(20:32):
Maybe the best thing for him is justto be able to step back, reset and
watch a pro like Andy Dalton do it.
I think the success for Dalton,for me is pretty obvious.
Nick, you look at the defensesin 2024 and compare that to when
Andy Dalton was in the a FC Northin, in, in 20, in in the 2010s.
It's going to be a lot more difficult.
(20:53):
Uh, granted VontazeBurfecht was on his team.
So that was one thing he didn't haveto worry about, but Andy Dalton in
2024, I don't think is facing as muchcompetition as he was, you know, let's
say 10, uh, 12 years ago at the startof his career, but what a juicy, juicy,
uh, revenge game with the Bengals.
Coming into, uh, thePanthers stadium for Sunday.
(21:15):
Well, yeah, that's going tobe a very intriguing game.
One of those games that Icircle as a must watch game.
And this would be a testament for the idea
That's the hope for the Panthers, though.
They have a must watch game, accordingto NFL veteran Nick Ferguson.
You have not been able tosay that in quite some time.
Whoa, no, no wonder.
That was one of those games that youYeah, I'm not watching this one for sure.
(21:41):
You know what?
You would rather watch,uh, watch the Ocho, right?
Whatever was there.
Yeah,
better watching that game,but it should be interesting.
The one thing that we do know.
Players, when they face their formerteams, they want to make sure they
have, you know, their best game.
You know what it's like?
Here's the comp.
It's like breaking up with a girl,seeing her six months later, and she's
(22:02):
in the best shape that she's ever been.
Right?
Who knew?
All she needed to do was break up with youand just kind of change her whole mindset.
So, it's that kind of, uh, idea.
But, this is what the message shouldbe for a lot of teams when you draft
a quarterback in the first round.
Most teams try to Square pegthrough a round hole, and sometimes
(22:22):
those players are not ready.
Could it be the fact that maybeBryce Young was not ready?
Uh, yeah, that's a huge possibility.
And being around Andy Dalton, the guywho's been in a similar situation.
There's a lot that he can learn fromAndy, but still you worry about the
confidence level of Bryce Young and howthat's going to look moving forward.
(22:42):
Because when he was benched, therewere several teams that were, Hey, you
want to part ways with Bryce Young?
So he still has some some value,but Hopefully he can sit, wait,
learn, and then maybe somewheredown the road as far as the season
is concerned, he gets another shotand he gets another opportunity.
Well, we'll talk about another revengegame, but maybe for a play caller in
(23:07):
the Washington Commanders with CliffKingsbury going back to Glendale,
Arizona against the Cardinals.
And listen, I was out on Cliff Kingsbury.
And I'm not going to give him all thecredit because Nick, when Jaden Daniels
has two incompletions, puts up his highestyardage total, throws the first two
(23:27):
touchdown passes of his career and for asecond consecutive game, I will give Cliff
Kingsbury credit for this, the, the, thecommanders don't punt right against the
Giants and the Bengals, they either go forit on fourth or they're going to score.
And it's just been remarkable to seethe, uh, success that Jaden Daniels has.
(23:47):
Not quite out of the gate, but ofthis rookie quarterback class, he,
of the three that are starting, he'sthe one that has taken command and
at least in primetime, uh, showed upwith just an outstanding performance.
This success that Jaden Danielsis having quickly, we attribute
it to 55 collegiate starts, right?
He's an older prospect than Caleb,not older than Bo Nix, but almost.
(24:11):
Uh, we attribute it to the success inplay calling and having the You know,
the intestinal fortitude, the ability,the belief in your quarterback to
convert those fourth downs, buildingthat confidence in a young player.
And you give the success to a defensethat sold some of their better pieces.
(24:31):
You know, the bears love having MontezSweat in Chicago, but being able to,
uh, you know what the defense didn't,they didn't force a punt either.
So this is on Cliff and it'son Jaden Daniels in Washington.
Yeah, it is.
And I know that is the common narrativeas we roll into week four, comparing
(24:53):
the quarterbacks who were draftedto the other quarterbacks who were
drafted, seeing who's doing the best.
But to me, Alex, I don't thinkit's fair because each quarterback,
regardless of where they weredrafted, They're on different teams.
They're different schemes.
And each one of those players havea different set of dynamics that
they're dealing with independently.
(25:14):
You're talking about CliffKingsbury and Jayden Daniels.
Jayden Daniels was a talent comingout of, uh, ASU and then again at LSU.
Right.
So we know that there's a certain skillset, but there's some timing that it takes
to get these quarterbacks on the samepage, because if you look at Jade and
Daniel's situation, there are not too manypeople or players that is on the opposite
(25:38):
side of the ball who are injured, who arekey player, Terry McLaurin, he played,
he played well, uh, last night against.
The Cincinnati Bengals, butalso keep this in mind too.
When you look at Caleb Williams, theChicago Bears haven't been able to run the
ball that well, even with DeAndre Swift.
And then Keenan Allen has been hurtfor the majority of the season.
(26:00):
So that, that was a weapon thateveryone was saying, wow, you
get Roma Dunze, you get DJ Mooreand you throw in Keenan Allen.
That is a quarterback's dream,but it's just been something of
a nightmare for Caleb Williams.
They're looking at Bo Nix.
Right?
Do the Broncos have all the talentthey need to put around Bowe?
No.
(26:21):
Corley Sutton is the number onereceiver and he continues to prove that.
But the Broncos can't run the ball.
Right?
So is that, is that really fair tobe able to look at these quarterbacks
and compare them to other guys?
I think it's best that wecompare them to themselves.
In order to, in order then, uh, to geta better baseline of what they are.
(26:42):
Well, Nick Ferguson now advocatingfor all quarterbacks to wear mirrors
when they're out there on the field.
So they can really like assess, lookat themselves and understand what,
what works, what isn't working.
Uh, it's just something to watch.
Commanders, a shocking, uh, firstplace in the NFC East, which after
three games means nothing, butyou stack wins early in the year.
(27:03):
It just builds confidence andyou can afford to drop some
other ones down the stretch.
Because, you know, you've, you've, you've,you've built a, a known commodity in W's
getting up to this point, Nick, beforewe split, let's stay in that NFC East
because Thursday night football featuresthe New York fighting Malik neighbors
(27:24):
and the Dallas Cowboys, um, who cannotrun the ball and cannot stop the run.
So they're both sitting one andtwo on the year, obviously given
the expectations and the finisheseach of these teams had a year ago.
There's more pressureon the Dallas Cowboys.
However, I think everyone on thatfootball field come Thursday night at
(27:47):
MetLife knows full well that there aremultiple people playing for their jobs.
There are star players that are lookingto build upon these incredible resumes.
And meanwhile, whoever wins this gameis right there neck and neck with
the commanders atop that division.
Well, I mean, that's a veryintriguing game, uh, because both
(28:08):
teams have had their struggles.
We've seen Dallas come out smoking.
It was like, wow, you know, thiscould be the year for Dak Prescott.
Yeah, not this year.
And then the Cowboys, and then, youknow, we go see, watch them play.
And it's like, wait a minute.
No, this cannot be the same team.
How could you give up somany yards to Baltimore?
(28:30):
And when you think about Baltimore justdecided, you know what, we're going
to turn it to a nine on seven game.
Almost like you playagainst a Navy or Air Force.
We're just going to run theball down your throat, right?
We're going to test you andsee how physical you are.
But I will have to say that.
Dallas, this is a game thatDallas can definitely win.
This is a game that Dallasabsolutely needs to win.
(28:50):
And look, let's be totally honest, eventhough Dallas lost, the biggest thing for
me was that they fought back offensively.
Say what you want to say about that.
Yeah, no, I'm aware.
Like this happened, you know, ithappened against New Orleans as well.
They dug themselves a hole defensivelyand unable to run the football.
And I don't, you know, explain to me,is Dak just finding, uh, is he just
(29:14):
finding windows to throw that he couldn'tsee in the first half of the game?
Or are these defenses sagging offknowing that they have a three, four
possession lead and he's feasting on that?
No, here's what happens, right?
I know that's what it looks like,but here's what's happening.
The game is about making adjustments.
Some coaches can't make great in line,in game adjustments, and others can't.
(29:34):
So now it's trying to establishsomewhat of a rhythm of the
offense, but you said it yourself.
When you cannot run the ball, and all of asudden you spot your defense, or spotting
the opposing offense, 14 to 17 points,now you're playing from behind, right?
You can't really get or stay inrhythm with your offensive scheme.
You can't even have balance.
(29:55):
One, you can't run the ball and nowyou're being forced to throw the ball.
So all the defensive guys on the oppositeside have to do is just get upfield.
We don't care if you giveup six yards on the ground.
We don't care.
Just get upfield and cause chaos.
But here's what Dak is not getting.
Dak is not getting quality playfrom the running back position.
He's not getting contributionsfrom the tight end position.
(30:18):
Now tell me another receiveron the Dallas Cowboys not named
CD Lamb, who's making plays.
No, it's totally fair.
Um, they're trading, youknow, in the Saints game.
Hey, they scored three straight three.
They scored three straightpossessions to open the game,
but they allowed six straighttouchdowns to the New Orleans Saints.
And then in the Ravens game,it's more of the same, right?
(30:39):
The passing offense doesn'tget going until they're already
down 21 to three, right?
And 21 six at the first half.
So the end game adjustments are greatcoming from Mike McCarthy and Beyond
that, it just seems as if they'reill prepared, or they're relying on a
running game that just Is non present.
(30:59):
So, uh, looks like alot of Devon Singletary.
It looks like a lot of Malik Neighbors aswell on the short and intermediate stuff.
So how, you know, the Giants are clearlythe underdogs here based on where they
are in the middle of a rebuild and theuncertainty at the quarterback position.
Uh, with, with Daniel Jones.
I mean, I was kind of joking thatMalik neighbors might be saving
(31:22):
Daniel Jones's job as the startingquarterback, uh, becoming the youngest
player in NFL history to catch tworeceiving touchdowns in the same game.
But outside of Malik and the absolute gamewreckers that they have on that defensive
line, Dexter Lawrence, probably one ofthe best nose tackles in the league right
now, uh, and Brian Burns, the acquisitionfrom Carolina, who we talked about.
(31:46):
I, you know, they've got a handful ofplayers that can take over games, but
as a whole, the Giants can improve.
They can give Dallas their, their,their, their best foot forward.
How do they accomplish that, Nick?
Well, I mean, trying to keep DanielJones upright, that's the biggest thing.
And with neighbors proving to be a guywho's living up to his draft status.
(32:12):
You gotta find a way to take him out,wherever he is on the field, because you
know they're going to move him around.
Brian Dabo is not just going tohave him line up and allow you
to just kind of take him away.
So wherever he's lined up, you have tofigure that the ball is coming to him.
And if it is, you got to take him outand force Daniel Jones to kind of beat
you by playing the quarterback position,which has proven really difficult for
(32:35):
him over the past couple of seasons.
That's the way you do it.
And, you know, when you think aboutMichael Parson, I mean, Michael
Parson hasn't really been theMichael Parson that we saw last year,
who was demanding a high salary.
This is time for him to pad his stats, toget his money against a division rival,
but more importantly, It's an opportunityto make sure you stay close to Jade
(32:58):
Danes and the Washington Commanders.
He's Nick Ferguson,former 10 year NFL safety.
I'm Alex Hardy.
We are those guys.
We hope to continue to be your guysas we continue to spend more and
more time, dive into particularsituations, uh, matchups on Thursday
night that we get to see later today.
So I'm excited, Nick.
Like four games into the season, weused to call it the quarter poll.
(33:20):
But not quite the case with17 regular season games.
So we'll figure out exactly what that is.
We like the odd number alwaysgets me twisted, but I digress.
We've spent enough of your time already.
So Nick, let's get out of here.
What do you have to say to the people?
Make sure you read the ingredientson the back of your cereal boxes.
(33:41):
All right.
It's breakfast
time
y'all.
Peace.
We are those guys.
We hope to remain your guys as wechart and navigate the NFL season.
Week three is wrapped up.
Nick Ferguson, former 10 year NFL safety.
I know you are chomping at the bitto get to the Dallas Cowboys and
all of their issues as they takeon the New York Giants, or as we
probably should be calling themfrom here on out, the Fighting Malik
(00:30):
Neighbors and a little Brian Burns.
And Dexter Lawrence mixed in.
Nick Ferguson, what's going on my man?
We're done with weekthree in the NFL season.
Yes, week three, youknow, starts to wrap up.
The first thing I started to think aboutthe number of teams who have gone 0 in
three and actually made the playoffs.
(00:52):
So, that's a thought.
We have, yeah, you got the numbers?
I got some numbers,but I'll let you start.
Well, you know, the first thingI was thinking about, uh, some of
these teams who are 0 3, you thinkabout the Jacksonville Jaguars,
didn't see that one coming.
Tennessee Titans with offseason movesthat they made and saying, well, Levis is
(01:15):
our guy and could it be too early, right?
Is it too early to even say that,you know what, these teams most
likely will not make the playoffs.
No, it's totally fair.
Um, you know, each of those teamshave their issues and then you
have a matchup, uh, you know,between the Bears and the Colts.
And Indy is lucky to avoid being 0 3.
(01:38):
The Bears.
The same case, their lonewin against the Titans.
Uh, so it's a lot of youngquarterbacks that we're talking
about in those situations.
I'd even put Trevor Lawrence in that,in that, uh, in that equation as well.
Um, but.
You know, I, I think you canpoint to a number of things
with, with each of those teams.
It's not all on the quarterback, youknow, uh, you can't be Shannon Sharp,
(02:01):
your, your guy saying that Joe Burrowdidn't play well enough to win knowing
as though the defense, uh, became one ofthe latest to, uh, keep Washington from.
Not punting all night long.
That's a defensive issue.
That's nothing Joe Burrow can do.
But I understand trading threes forsevens is not a winning formula as well.
(02:23):
I think the last team, I knowthe last team that started 0 3,
made the playoffs, was a 2018Deshaun Watson led Houston Texans.
That said, Not all 0 3's are the same.
You have more confidence, let's say, ina Cincinnati Bengals offense, compared to
what we saw Doug Peterson put out there.
(02:44):
Both of these teams playing andlosing on Monday Night Football.
Well, when I look at theJacksonville Jaguars, the
biggest issue is Their defense.
When, when your defense stayson the field as long as the Jags
defense stayed, and also, Alex, I'llsay this, at times it looked like
Josh Allen in the Buffalo Bills.
(03:05):
were playing 7 0 7, right?
And I'm talking about 7 0 7 against aJV squad because everything they wanted
to do in that first half, they were ableto do on the ground, through the air.
There was no kind of resistance bythe Jacksonville Jaguars defense.
So to Trevor Lawrence, hey, look,he still is a quality quarterback,
(03:26):
despite what the team's record is.
But when your offense is puttingyou behind the eight ball, And
they are giving up 14 to 21 points.
That makes it really difficult becauseyou're always in chase mode and you can't
even run the ball with Travis ETM becausenow every drop back is a pass play.
It's not a screen play.
It's not anything else.
(03:48):
So it puts you at the mercy of thedefense and Buffalo Bills and Von Miller.
Man, they took full advantage ofwhat they saw the other night.
Yeah, it's true.
And again, it comes down to, uh,each unit helping the other, right?
If the defense can get off thefield, it allows the offense to be
more multiple in what they're doing.
(04:09):
But that team goes down so quicklyand Jacksonville doesn't seem to Have
the answers right for all that they'veinvested, uh, with weapons and adding Gabe
Davis, who wasn't fully healthy to go,um, and Evan Ingram getting hurt as well.
Uh, you know, a lot of their highpaid players are not the type
of players that you'd consideramong the elites in the NFL.
(04:31):
They're good players in their own right.
Christian Kirk is a great, uh, slot widereceiver who commanded a ton of targets.
Um, you know, Cam Robinsonis a quality tackle.
Uh, the high draft picks have been goodplayers like Trevon Walker was a project
and He's got these physical tools and, youknow, the money that they've allocated and
(04:52):
Trent Balky's spent a lot of it and gonetowards players that haven't provided the
over the top success that a team needs.
And it's putting so much on Trevor'splate that it's kind of creating
this inflection point where noteverything is kind of working.
Well, yeah, I'm glad that you broughtthis up because looking at some of
(05:13):
the moves that Trent Barkey madein the offseason, uh, I was really
disappointed because they bring overGabe Davis from the Buffalo Bills.
And it's been a lackluster performanceto say the least because Look, you
know, you got a quality quarterback inTrevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, uh,
is a dog within himself, but you gotto put talent around your quarterback.
(05:36):
Look at what the Houston Texansdid with CJ Stroud, even though
we'll get to it with Minnesotawas able to take them apart.
Once again, they putweapons around CJ Stroud.
You would think that, you know, with CJStroud being in the same division and
doing what he did in his rookie season,They were trying to change so many things
for Trevor Lawrence to make things easier.
(05:59):
But, you know, when your safetyblanket and Evan Ingram is out due
to a hamstring injury, it makesit really difficult for that team.
But the receivers outside forJacksonville, to me, they were not
helping Trevor Lawrence at all.
Yeah, I mean, it's a work in progress.
Doug Peterson admitted after this gamethat Uh, play calls have gone in at
(06:20):
a more, um, readily available time.
It was an issue of the verbiageand transferring the call to Trevor
Lawrence and then dictating that play.
They were getting into the lineof the scrimmage with not a
lot of time left on the clock.
It took them three weeks, but DougPeterson said that's cleaned up.
And again, this is a play callingsystem where they won't admit
(06:40):
whether it's Doug Peterson or PressTaylor, ultimately making those
play calls on game day, it shouldn'treally matter to you or me, Nick.
But there's just a lack of continuityand just, just succinct messaging
going out to the greater public andunderstanding how this team functions.
As long as they know what's going onin there by all means, but what we
(07:04):
have is an 0 3 football team, Nick.
That makes absolutely no sense to me withsome of these offensive coordinators.
Have these long elaborate play callsand they know you don't have that
much time on the play card becauseLife as a quarterback you gotta get
the the call itself and then you'reon the roll in a hostile environment
Making it even more difficult for youto hear the call This is why we see
(07:27):
quarterbacks covering their ears sothey can muff the sound And then now you
have to repeat that call disseminatedto everyone in the huddle hope alex
that no one goes Hey, what did you say?
And then you got to get to the lineof scrimmage play caught winding down.
Now you got to survey the defense.
What are they in?
How do I decipher it?
How do I diagnose it?
(07:48):
And then now you got to gothrough your progression.
You know how difficult that is.
You, you are a married man.
That's like your wife giving birth.
Feeding twins, cooking at thesame time, vacuuming the floor.
She's not trying to do that.
Not!
So, so you can't put your quarterbackin that type of situation.
But more importantly,shorten the play call.
(08:09):
No one gives a damn how smart youare as an offensive coordinator
if your offense can't execute.
Until you brought my wifeinto this, I could have sworn
you were talking not to me.
But to Sean Payton, Bo Nix,and your Denver Broncos.
I
have no idea what you're talking about.
On the other end of things, right, theBuffalo Bills were the ones that uh,
(08:29):
took the Jaguars out to the woodshed.
They're 3 0.
You mentioned the Minnesota Vikings.
They're 3 0.
Um, just, I wouldn't say surprising,but I mean, Nick, we're talking about
the NFC, where the two teams thatyou thought would be undefeated at
this point, Seattle and Minnesota.
Meanwhile, in the AFC, Buffalo, KansasCity, and Pittsburgh, uh, Buffalo and
(08:53):
Kansas City kind of expect to be there.
The Chiefs not so much, butyou mentioned the Vikings, so
let's start with them, Nick.
You know, week one, they takecare of the New York Giants.
Okay, like that's kind of a little bitto be expected, but then these back
to back victories, uh, at home againstthe 49ers and then the Texans, 34 7.
(09:17):
You're talking about thedarling second year of C.
J.
Stroud, the weapons on offense, addingformer Bills receiver Stefan Diggs,
adding Joe Mixon, who sat this out withan ankle injury, and the Minnesota Vikings
were just cool, calculated, and it was aversion of Sam Darnold that we never saw.
In New York, and certainly he barelytook the field as a member of the
(09:40):
San Francisco 49ers, but Sam Darnoldhas his first, uh, 300, I think he
became the first 300 yard goalie.
Three TD passer of this year'sseason without a turnover.
So talk to me, Nick, the Minnesota Vikingsare three and oh, because of Sam Darnold
because of Brian Flores is defense.
And what else did they bring to the table?
(10:02):
Well, I mean, this is basic football oneon one when you really think about it.
You get a competent quarterback play.
You don't turn the ball over.
Your defense is able to create chaosand disruption with the number of
sacks that they're able to generate.
And also you're able to run the ball.
I mean, not the fact that the MinnesotaVitans are leading the league in rushing,
(10:24):
but All you need to play is complimentaryfootball and tip your cap to Brian Flores.
Man, he's got those Vikingsdefensive players playing well, but
here's something very interesting.
And I wonder if the schedulemakers took this in consideration.
Because you mentioned the fact that inback to back weeks you play San Francisco,
(10:46):
then you play the Houston Texans.
Basically, you're simply Playing thesame offense in back to back weeks.
So, you really don't have to changethat much of your game plan because
what you're seeing from Bobby Sloick,you're seeing the same thing from
Kyle Shanahan the week before.
And oh, by the way, here's the best partfor Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores.
(11:11):
Sam Donohue spent some timewith the San Francisco 49ers.
Yeah, I get it.
He didn't play a lot, buthe's like Jason Garrett.
Because you're a backup quarterbackand you're not playing a lot.
You know what you know really well?
You know the goddamn scheme.
Right?
So, you look at Sam Donohue.
Can you tell me a little aboutwhat Kyle wants to do on the
(11:33):
offensive side of the ball?
No Christian McCaffrey.
No George Hill.
Right?
No Deebo
too.
That's right.
No Debo.
So, basically, San Franciscoplayed with several hands and
feet tied behind their back.
And I'm not saying that Sam Donaldgave them the game plan, but I can
see how it gave them a little insight.
That was the game they got injured in.
(11:54):
Debo and Kittle were both, they bothhad great games, but again, in a
loss, and they missed week three.
Exactly.
But once again, for BrianFlores, thank the football gods.
You face.
The same offense two weeks in a row.
Uh, I'm going to stop you rightthere, Nick, because next week, of
course, you have the division rivalryagainst the Green Bay Packers.
(12:15):
So Matt LaFleur offense.
Unpack,
unpack that.
You go into the defensive meeting room.
Are you just like the X's and O's areon the same spot on the whiteboard
and you're just sharpening in like thedifferent names, the different numbers.
And you go, yes.
(12:36):
Thank you, NFL, for schedulingall of these same similar offenses
and back to back to back fashion.
Appreciate it.
If you want to get a little technicalwith this, I would be curious to know
how the Vikings defense Is among theleague leaders in cover zero, while
(12:59):
also blitzing just about more thananybody else in the football league.
I want to do a little schemewith you, just because from a top
level, um, they can rack up sacks.
But they also do a great jobagainst the Shanahan and uh, McVay
type offenses that max protect.
Maybe only send out two or threereceivers out on pass patterns.
(13:19):
And they get pressure of the quarterback,while still providing enough help over
the top that they don't get beat deep.
Well, that's the whole idea.
I mean, it's, it's old school football.
The pressure in the frontmirrors the guys in the back end.
Uh, they go hand in hand.
It's like breathing.
And when you are able to getpressure on the quarterback, like
(13:41):
the Vikings are being, being able todo, you can hold up in the back end.
And once again, The idea is you want thequarterback to feel you and feel bodies
around him, even if you don't sack it,because pressure has worked as good,
if not even better, than sacks becausenow you're speeding up the quarterback,
they gotta get rid of the ball.
So that's when we always talk abouttips and overthrows, gotta get those.
(14:03):
But that's what we're seeing happenwith Brian Flores and that defense.
I mean, look, I mean, no one reallythought that the Vikings would be at
this point with their number one draftchoice getting injured and training camp.
No one thought that Sam Donald, Imean, Sam Donald, I mean, a guy who
(14:24):
was with the Jets didn't make it.
Guy who was with Carolina didn'tmake it and Carolina, Oh my God,
we got to get into that situation.
They're doing, they're doing,they're doing a great job.
And I tip my cap to Brian Floresbecause it's all about getting
guys to kind of buy in and play.
Uh, physical style of football.
(14:44):
And when you look at their defenseas a whole, Alex, it's not like you,
they have a bunch of household names.
Now, listen, they got somegreat players on their team.
Don't, don't get me wrong.
But once again, it's about getting playersto play together and they're buying it.
Memphis, the, the, the, thestate of Minnesota, they're
buying in on Sam Darnold.
Who would have thought that?
(15:07):
Well, again, he was out there for anybody,signed a one year, 10 million contract,
and to that defense, and having playersthat buy in for Flory's system, I mean,
the Houston Texans should know, I mean,two of the best players that, that just
flat out beat them, were in Houstonlast year, Jonathan Greenard collecting
three sacks of his former teammate, C.
J.
Stroud, and Blake Cashman, basicallythe quarterback of the defense, after
(15:29):
he led the league in tackles last year.
So, listen, they made a priority,Made some, uh, great acquisitions
to operate Brian Flores defense,including Andrew Van Genkel, who was
all over that field against the Texans.
And that's, you know, you said it.
Brian Flores is the key reasonamong efficient, solid quarterback
play from Sam Darnold hasMinnesota right where they are.
(15:53):
And again, Uh, maybe a lighterweek of prep or just dialing down
even more based on what Green Bayis going to do, hoping that they
have Jordan Love back in the fold.
Uh, let's get to, let's get to those,the Panthers, and look, you have the
0 3 teams, you have the 3 0 teams,and then you've got about two thirds
of the league sitting at 1 2, andnot all 1 2 teams are equal, right?
(16:17):
Uh, you have teams like the BaltimoreRavens and Uh, Cleveland Browns and
the AFC North that expected to bemuch better than where they are.
And then based on the first two gamesthat you saw from the Carolina Panthers,
the fact that they are one in two andthe kind of start that Andy Dalton
had taking over for Bryce Young andoperating the coveted and long awaited
(16:40):
Dave Canales offense, I mean, they justabsolutely took it to the Vegas Raiders.
Who are flailing around and AntonioPierce calling out Jack Jones, in my
estimation, for making business decisions.
I mean, let's start with Carolinabecause you wanted to go there.
(17:01):
The difference in a quarterback being ableto make the progressions, find the open
man and benefit from the rest, you know,create benefits for the rest of that team.
Well, I'll say this.
Um, I mean, I don't want this to bea slight towards Bryce Young because,
I feel as though the young man hasn'treally been surrounded by talent.
(17:24):
No,
it's, it's been a toughsituation to say the least.
I
mean, you send Brian Burns to the NewYork Jets, you trade DJ Moore, the top
receiver, uh, to the Chicago Bears,you bring over veteran receiver in
Adam Thielen, but once again, You know,let's be totally honest, you know, Adam
Thielen right now would be a numberthree, maybe four on any other team.
(17:46):
Uh, but bringing in a guy like AndyDalton, man, I can only think about what
it means for Andy to be in that situation.
But more importantly, Bryce Young, right?
To be sit, sit down in that situation.
Dave Kanellis was giving awaygame balls in the locker room,
their owner David Tepper gaveDave Kanellis a game ball himself.
(18:06):
But you gotta think about it, if youare Bryce Young, and you're sitting
in that locker room, you're watchingeveryone celebrate their first victory.
First victory, albeit against theRaiders, but first victory, and
you're just standing there, right?
You're like an innocentbystander in a car crash.
Right.
(18:27):
Just take that clipboard he's beenholding and put it right over his face.
Exactly.
So, very difficult situation for him.
But, once again, I mean, the idea ofliving in the upside down, I don't know,
when I did my pick em, heading into theweek, I did not see that one coming.
No way.
Even with the red rifle comingin, I didn't see that coming.
(18:47):
But I'll say this, I would warn CarolinaPanthers fans, could that be a little
fool's goal with the fact of themwinning their game, giving them hope
and inspiration, like this is going tobe something that is going to continue?
Well, I think the hope is that yousaw a capable offense that not only
(19:08):
scored on an opening drive, but thatcould maintain and score points.
Like, this is a team that, you know,has two wins dating back to last year.
So I think the hope is that they couldoperate and they hadn't scored 30 points.
And almost, I think Sam Donaldwas the quarterback that was three
quarterbacks and two head coaches ago.
The last time they hung 30 on anybody.
(19:29):
So there's, there's inherent hope, butin terms of, you know, with the Bengals
up next and the Chicago bears, youknow, the Andy Dalton addition is one
that from this, from, you know, fromthis time last year, you talked about
the situation Bryce young entered.
I think the expectation when you add.
(19:49):
Uh, you know, big free agentsignings for the offensive line.
Deontay Johnson, a first roundrookie receiver, and Xavier Leguette.
You know, the issues from year one, wherethe offensive line not buying time, wide
receivers not being able to separate.
And Bryce Young not showing the accuracythat he did at Alabama, especially
when he was on the move and you justwanted to see a baseline and instead
(20:12):
of seeing him maintain some of thegood plays, maybe two or three he
could pull off in a loss last year,he regressed in those first two weeks.
I mean, he wasn't lookingpast his first read.
He was rolling out of the pocket.
He was trying to evade pressureby backing up instead of stepping
up into the hole in the pocket.
(20:32):
Maybe the best thing for him is justto be able to step back, reset and
watch a pro like Andy Dalton do it.
I think the success for Dalton,for me is pretty obvious.
Nick, you look at the defensesin 2024 and compare that to when
Andy Dalton was in the a FC Northin, in, in 20, in in the 2010s.
It's going to be a lot more difficult.
(20:53):
Uh, granted VontazeBurfecht was on his team.
So that was one thing he didn't haveto worry about, but Andy Dalton in
2024, I don't think is facing as muchcompetition as he was, you know, let's
say 10, uh, 12 years ago at the startof his career, but what a juicy, juicy,
uh, revenge game with the Bengals.
Coming into, uh, thePanthers stadium for Sunday.
(21:15):
Well, yeah, that's going tobe a very intriguing game.
One of those games that Icircle as a must watch game.
And this would be a testament for the idea
That's the hope for the Panthers, though.
They have a must watch game, accordingto NFL veteran Nick Ferguson.
You have not been able tosay that in quite some time.
Whoa, no, no wonder.
That was one of those games that youYeah, I'm not watching this one for sure.
(21:41):
You know what?
You would rather watch,uh, watch the Ocho, right?
Whatever was there.
Yeah,
better watching that game,but it should be interesting.
The one thing that we do know.
Players, when they face their formerteams, they want to make sure they
have, you know, their best game.
You know what it's like?
Here's the comp.
It's like breaking up with a girl,seeing her six months later, and she's
(22:02):
in the best shape that she's ever been.
Right?
Who knew?
All she needed to do was break up with youand just kind of change her whole mindset.
So, it's that kind of, uh, idea.
But, this is what the message shouldbe for a lot of teams when you draft
a quarterback in the first round.
Most teams try to Square pegthrough a round hole, and sometimes
(22:22):
those players are not ready.
Could it be the fact that maybeBryce Young was not ready?
Uh, yeah, that's a huge possibility.
And being around Andy Dalton, the guywho's been in a similar situation.
There's a lot that he can learn fromAndy, but still you worry about the
confidence level of Bryce Young and howthat's going to look moving forward.
(22:42):
Because when he was benched, therewere several teams that were, Hey, you
want to part ways with Bryce Young?
So he still has some some value,but Hopefully he can sit, wait,
learn, and then maybe somewheredown the road as far as the season
is concerned, he gets another shotand he gets another opportunity.
Well, we'll talk about another revengegame, but maybe for a play caller in
(23:07):
the Washington Commanders with CliffKingsbury going back to Glendale,
Arizona against the Cardinals.
And listen, I was out on Cliff Kingsbury.
And I'm not going to give him all thecredit because Nick, when Jaden Daniels
has two incompletions, puts up his highestyardage total, throws the first two
(23:27):
touchdown passes of his career and for asecond consecutive game, I will give Cliff
Kingsbury credit for this, the, the, thecommanders don't punt right against the
Giants and the Bengals, they either go forit on fourth or they're going to score.
And it's just been remarkable to seethe, uh, success that Jaden Daniels has.
(23:47):
Not quite out of the gate, but ofthis rookie quarterback class, he,
of the three that are starting, he'sthe one that has taken command and
at least in primetime, uh, showed upwith just an outstanding performance.
This success that Jaden Danielsis having quickly, we attribute
it to 55 collegiate starts, right?
He's an older prospect than Caleb,not older than Bo Nix, but almost.
(24:11):
Uh, we attribute it to the success inplay calling and having the You know,
the intestinal fortitude, the ability,the belief in your quarterback to
convert those fourth downs, buildingthat confidence in a young player.
And you give the success to a defensethat sold some of their better pieces.
(24:31):
You know, the bears love having MontezSweat in Chicago, but being able to,
uh, you know what the defense didn't,they didn't force a punt either.
So this is on Cliff and it'son Jaden Daniels in Washington.
Yeah, it is.
And I know that is the common narrativeas we roll into week four, comparing
(24:53):
the quarterbacks who were draftedto the other quarterbacks who were
drafted, seeing who's doing the best.
But to me, Alex, I don't thinkit's fair because each quarterback,
regardless of where they weredrafted, They're on different teams.
They're different schemes.
And each one of those players havea different set of dynamics that
they're dealing with independently.
(25:14):
You're talking about CliffKingsbury and Jayden Daniels.
Jayden Daniels was a talent comingout of, uh, ASU and then again at LSU.
Right.
So we know that there's a certain skillset, but there's some timing that it takes
to get these quarterbacks on the samepage, because if you look at Jade and
Daniel's situation, there are not too manypeople or players that is on the opposite
(25:38):
side of the ball who are injured, who arekey player, Terry McLaurin, he played,
he played well, uh, last night against.
The Cincinnati Bengals, butalso keep this in mind too.
When you look at Caleb Williams, theChicago Bears haven't been able to run the
ball that well, even with DeAndre Swift.
And then Keenan Allen has been hurtfor the majority of the season.
(26:00):
So that, that was a weapon thateveryone was saying, wow, you
get Roma Dunze, you get DJ Mooreand you throw in Keenan Allen.
That is a quarterback's dream,but it's just been something of
a nightmare for Caleb Williams.
They're looking at Bo Nix.
Right?
Do the Broncos have all the talentthey need to put around Bowe?
No.
(26:21):
Corley Sutton is the number onereceiver and he continues to prove that.
But the Broncos can't run the ball.
Right?
So is that, is that really fair tobe able to look at these quarterbacks
and compare them to other guys?
I think it's best that wecompare them to themselves.
In order to, in order then, uh, to geta better baseline of what they are.
(26:42):
Well, Nick Ferguson now advocatingfor all quarterbacks to wear mirrors
when they're out there on the field.
So they can really like assess, lookat themselves and understand what,
what works, what isn't working.
Uh, it's just something to watch.
Commanders, a shocking, uh, firstplace in the NFC East, which after
three games means nothing, butyou stack wins early in the year.
(27:03):
It just builds confidence andyou can afford to drop some
other ones down the stretch.
Because, you know, you've, you've, you've,you've built a, a known commodity in W's
getting up to this point, Nick, beforewe split, let's stay in that NFC East
because Thursday night football featuresthe New York fighting Malik neighbors
(27:24):
and the Dallas Cowboys, um, who cannotrun the ball and cannot stop the run.
So they're both sitting one andtwo on the year, obviously given
the expectations and the finisheseach of these teams had a year ago.
There's more pressureon the Dallas Cowboys.
However, I think everyone on thatfootball field come Thursday night at
(27:47):
MetLife knows full well that there aremultiple people playing for their jobs.
There are star players that are lookingto build upon these incredible resumes.
And meanwhile, whoever wins this gameis right there neck and neck with
the commanders atop that division.
Well, I mean, that's a veryintriguing game, uh, because both
(28:08):
teams have had their struggles.
We've seen Dallas come out smoking.
It was like, wow, you know, thiscould be the year for Dak Prescott.
Yeah, not this year.
And then the Cowboys, and then, youknow, we go see, watch them play.
And it's like, wait a minute.
No, this cannot be the same team.
How could you give up somany yards to Baltimore?
(28:30):
And when you think about Baltimore justdecided, you know what, we're going
to turn it to a nine on seven game.
Almost like you playagainst a Navy or Air Force.
We're just going to run theball down your throat, right?
We're going to test you andsee how physical you are.
But I will have to say that.
Dallas, this is a game thatDallas can definitely win.
This is a game that Dallasabsolutely needs to win.
(28:50):
And look, let's be totally honest, eventhough Dallas lost, the biggest thing for
me was that they fought back offensively.
Say what you want to say about that.
Yeah, no, I'm aware.
Like this happened, you know, ithappened against New Orleans as well.
They dug themselves a hole defensivelyand unable to run the football.
And I don't, you know, explain to me,is Dak just finding, uh, is he just
(29:14):
finding windows to throw that he couldn'tsee in the first half of the game?
Or are these defenses sagging offknowing that they have a three, four
possession lead and he's feasting on that?
No, here's what happens, right?
I know that's what it looks like,but here's what's happening.
The game is about making adjustments.
Some coaches can't make great in line,in game adjustments, and others can't.
(29:34):
So now it's trying to establishsomewhat of a rhythm of the
offense, but you said it yourself.
When you cannot run the ball, and all of asudden you spot your defense, or spotting
the opposing offense, 14 to 17 points,now you're playing from behind, right?
You can't really get or stay inrhythm with your offensive scheme.
You can't even have balance.
(29:55):
One, you can't run the ball and nowyou're being forced to throw the ball.
So all the defensive guys on the oppositeside have to do is just get upfield.
We don't care if you giveup six yards on the ground.
We don't care.
Just get upfield and cause chaos.
But here's what Dak is not getting.
Dak is not getting quality playfrom the running back position.
He's not getting contributionsfrom the tight end position.
(30:18):
Now tell me another receiveron the Dallas Cowboys not named
CD Lamb, who's making plays.
No, it's totally fair.
Um, they're trading, youknow, in the Saints game.
Hey, they scored three straight three.
They scored three straightpossessions to open the game,
but they allowed six straighttouchdowns to the New Orleans Saints.
And then in the Ravens game,it's more of the same, right?
(30:39):
The passing offense doesn'tget going until they're already
down 21 to three, right?
And 21 six at the first half.
So the end game adjustments are greatcoming from Mike McCarthy and Beyond
that, it just seems as if they'reill prepared, or they're relying on a
running game that just Is non present.
(30:59):
So, uh, looks like alot of Devon Singletary.
It looks like a lot of Malik Neighbors aswell on the short and intermediate stuff.
So how, you know, the Giants are clearlythe underdogs here based on where they
are in the middle of a rebuild and theuncertainty at the quarterback position.
Uh, with, with Daniel Jones.
I mean, I was kind of joking thatMalik neighbors might be saving
(31:22):
Daniel Jones's job as the startingquarterback, uh, becoming the youngest
player in NFL history to catch tworeceiving touchdowns in the same game.
But outside of Malik and the absolute gamewreckers that they have on that defensive
line, Dexter Lawrence, probably one ofthe best nose tackles in the league right
now, uh, and Brian Burns, the acquisitionfrom Carolina, who we talked about.
(31:46):
I, you know, they've got a handful ofplayers that can take over games, but
as a whole, the Giants can improve.
They can give Dallas their, their,their, their best foot forward.
How do they accomplish that, Nick?
Well, I mean, trying to keep DanielJones upright, that's the biggest thing.
And with neighbors proving to be a guywho's living up to his draft status.
(32:12):
You gotta find a way to take him out,wherever he is on the field, because you
know they're going to move him around.
Brian Dabo is not just going tohave him line up and allow you
to just kind of take him away.
So wherever he's lined up, you have tofigure that the ball is coming to him.
And if it is, you got to take him outand force Daniel Jones to kind of beat
you by playing the quarterback position,which has proven really difficult for
(32:35):
him over the past couple of seasons.
That's the way you do it.
And, you know, when you think aboutMichael Parson, I mean, Michael
Parson hasn't really been theMichael Parson that we saw last year,
who was demanding a high salary.
This is time for him to pad his stats, toget his money against a division rival,
but more importantly, It's an opportunityto make sure you stay close to Jade
(32:58):
Danes and the Washington Commanders.
He's Nick Ferguson,former 10 year NFL safety.
I'm Alex Hardy.
We are those guys.
We hope to continue to be your guysas we continue to spend more and
more time, dive into particularsituations, uh, matchups on Thursday
night that we get to see later today.
So I'm excited, Nick.
Like four games into the season, weused to call it the quarter poll.
(33:20):
But not quite the case with17 regular season games.
So we'll figure out exactly what that is.
We like the odd number alwaysgets me twisted, but I digress.
We've spent enough of your time already.
So Nick, let's get out of here.
What do you have to say to the people?
Make sure you read the ingredientson the back of your cereal boxes.
(33:41):
All right.
It's breakfast
time
y'all.
Peace.
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