Opening Kickoff 10-8-25 NFL Truths

On this podcast: Dave Steinwedel, Payton Girod, and Kevin Pearce are back to talk all things NFL including:
-Eagles lose but do questions remain?
-Patriots upset the Bills. Are they ready for the playoffs?
-Tampa Bay needs some love
-joe Flacco's AFC North tour
-Joanthan Gannon fined
-Ravens collapse and more

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This week's Opening Kickoff Podcast is presented to you by
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next event. Hello, Welcome to this week's edition of the

(01:15):
Opening Kickoff Podcast. I do so many podcasts that I
forget which one I'm doing, And that was almost one
of those moments where I had the wrong intro, but
I got it right. I'm your host, Dave Simlin. Back
after a week off. We were a little little preoccupied.
You know, life gets in the way for all of us.
We don't know where Brandon Stevens is. We don't know

(01:36):
how he is doing with the government being shut down.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
I think he's shown up, so I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
We just hope he's okay. Tough times. But that's the
only politics talk you'll hear on this podcast. You'll hear
a lot of sports tonight. Join us always buy my
two great codes. David Miles, Dad duty kicked his ass
this week. I was just let's let's not sugarcoated. This
is not because the Eagles lost.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
No.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
I did think for a split second when he said
he was out, and I didn't read the rest of
the text message he sent. I did think he didn't
want to talk about the Eagles losing. But we will
talk about the Eagles losing. But no, Dad life, Uh,
Dad life is caught up to our good friend David Males,
so he's off this week. But I got my guy
Kevin Pierce looking good as always.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
Thank Thank you, Dave. How y'all doing a night fellas.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Doing great, doing great.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
I think we're all, Oh, I'm sorry, only two people
here are winners last week.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I suppose so.

Speaker 4 (02:40):
I've won a bye week, but everything that's literally lost.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
You want to know how you win the bye week?
That's literally how you win the bye week.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
You just win the bye week. That's great.

Speaker 3 (02:50):
Everyone gets all peer y'all lose. Everyone lost, Philly lost.
It was great, fantastic.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
That's smart ass boys. You hear is Peyton girod Peyton up?

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yep, yep, yeah, great, yeah, great to see you. I
wish David were here. Phillies and shambles, and that is
when I'm at my highest. It is, from baseball to football.
It's just great. It's great to see them all collapsing.
They they they're the biggest fan base where the first
moment something goes wrong, they turn around each other, they

(03:20):
turn on the players, and everything could be fine. They
could win everything they could. I mean, the Phillies are
probably screwed, but I mean the Eagles are probably exactly fine.

Speaker 4 (03:30):
You know, But I mean, I mean, since we're here,
can we just start with the Eagles?

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Then might as well might as well jump right into it.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Let's let's do it. Let's get it right out of
the way. Right from the start.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
The Eagles are fine, Like they're fine. They tried to
prove a point as to this is why we don't
pass the football. Okay, Philly, we get it. This is
why you don't do it. This is why Ballace is important. Okay, great,
you can go back to running your offense. Now we understand. Like,
you proved a point. You get it. You and now
you cast yourself a game. AJ Brown, until he's a Patriot,

(04:04):
will continue to complain, and that's fine, and that's completely fine.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
I was thinking about this, what do you think Aj
Brown would be like? I know you jokingly were like
a first round or whatever. What do you think you
actually need to give up to get him?

Speaker 4 (04:20):
Probably a second I'll be honest, just because he's a
older receiver now and the Philly got him for a
first Yeah. And I said first rounder because we talked
about this in our group CHET. We only reason I
said first rounder that was like the Howie Roseman task
and our GM if you put his brain in a bird,
it will fly backwards.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
So I agree with that.

Speaker 4 (04:39):
I just assumed that Howie Roseman would get a first
instead of tea out of them.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I agree that I thought a second or third
would be the number. Honestly, I preferably and this is
the sight to Aj Brown. But I would like to
have DeVante Smith. I've always loved Davante Smith, and.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
I wanted DeVante Smith Atabama.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Mac Jones and him would have been change, could change everything.
You never know, Yeah, but I don't know. I think
like when I watch that game, Sean Payton also going
for two was just the I mean in his mind,
he was like, we might not come back down here
on this end of the field. We probably should go

(05:20):
for this right now, and he did. And I just
think there's something about the Eagles though that it always
troubles me, is when they get in these like pickles
or they start things start kind of falling apart around them.
Nick Sirianni is just like not a great coach, And
I've always thought about that, Like he starts yelling at
people he gets he's letting get in at the refs,

(05:42):
like stay in the moment, coach the game, like I
see other coaches that are like successful, like they get
mad about Obviously, I think that it was a pi
On Goddard and all that, but like you gotta move on,
Like there's things like you can't like stay in that
moment of being angry.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
And I just think he lets his emotions get to
him too much. Not that like maybe that cost him.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
I think Sae kwon being more hurt realizing that after
the game was probably the bigger decider. But him only
getting the ball what six eight times, that's probably not
that's not right, not what you want to do. I mean,
you have the best you have the best offensive line
in football. You should probably utilize that for the run
game and set up passes later on.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
But I don't know.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
Well, And let's also give credit to Denver too, like
Sean Payton and Vance Joseph had a great game plan
in the second half.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
This is crazy.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
Advance shows the de coordinator and he used to be
the head coach.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
There, Like it's just it's but you look, you look
at how they played in that first half. They couldn't
stop the Eagles. Now the Eagles could kind of could
do what they wanted to do, could go up and
down the field on Denver, but it was the halftime adjustments.
And that's the first time in a while i've watched
Nick Sirion and say, I thought he got out coached

(06:58):
in a second in a half.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
Is he?

Speaker 1 (07:00):
It's pretty good and a lot of it also helps
that he has Vic Fangio too as your decordinator. Yeah,
but like I thought, he got out coaching that second half.
And you talk about the two point play, It was
a brilliant decision by Sean Payton because Philadelphia when they
drove the ball down the field, they had to go
for the touchdown because you field goal does you no good?

(07:22):
If they kicked that extra point, that game goes overtime.
And I don't think Denver wins that game because Philadelphia,
you could see on that drive, was like, hey, we've
kind of got our mojo back a little bit. But
I think the bigger question with the Eagles is if
if they lose another game or two, when do the

(07:44):
malcontents start to Like we already talked about AJ Brown,
but do you start to have some other guys of, hey,
we were a super Bowl team last year. Now all
of a sudden, we started four and zero, we lose
a game we should have won. If they lose another
game they should have won, all of a sudden, does
do you start to hear some murmurs in that locker room, like,
that's what my curiosity with this Eagle team is. Because

(08:09):
they haven't played their best football. I don't think any
of us would say they played their best football yet.
The closest was that game against Tampa Bay and it
almost blew that game.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
That's Baker Mayfield for you. That guy. We can talk
about that guy for an hour. That guy's crazy.

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Well he's staying with my take that Tampa Bay is
the dark horse Super Bowl team that like we don't
want to acknowledge.

Speaker 5 (08:32):
Because I think it is because if you look at
the NFC, it's we're gonna still talk about the Niners,
we're talking about the Rams, we're.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
Talking about the Eagles, We're talking about the NFC North,
and then there's just Tampa Bay. That is because I
think they play in the NFC South. Excuse me. And
you have such a bad Saints team. Carolina isn't as
good as we all thought, Like we thought they were
gonna take the next they haven't yet. Atlanta hasn't taken

(09:03):
that next step yet. So you look at Tampa Bay
and say, well, yeah, they're four and one, but they're
kind of like the Colts, like, they don't play in
a great division, so are they really as good as
we think they are? And Tampa Bay's record and you
look at who they played, and you would also make
that argument of well, their one loss was against probably

(09:24):
the best team on their schedule in Philadelphia.

Speaker 4 (09:28):
Tampa and Philly kind of have a similar issue, which
is they're just good enough that they have to be
Like Tampa wins games by the skin of their teas
and by Baker Mayfield wizardry latent games like that's how big,
That's how Tampa Bay has been able to win pretty
much all their games, and Philly will play the ugliest
game you've ever seen, and you just so having a

(09:49):
look up at the end of the day. One. That's
why when you brought up the Malcontents, I was thinking
about it. I'm like, well, the MalCon Tests were pretty
pissed when they were winning. So if they dropped two
or three more in the next let's six, they lose
a bad one. God forbid one of them's indivision, because
I don't think anyone else in that division is even
I'll give Washington decent, but yeah, I don't know one

(10:12):
in that division should strike fear in Philly's heart. So
for that to be the case, I think we do
start to hear maybe some of these defensive players start
to get a little bit louder. Maybe Aj Brown starts
to throw things.

Speaker 3 (10:28):
Those books, they starts getting that getting that book out.

Speaker 4 (10:32):
Some real inner excellence. Maybe Devonte Smith stops whispering, Maybe
Jalen Hurt stops talking in quotes and starts talking us directly.
Like things could change very quickly in Philly if things
start to go downhill, and it's just the nature of
that team because we've seen it happen before.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
It just reminds you that twenty twenty three season, like
they I mean, they went what they I mean, it
was so comparable to the Steelers COVID year. They started
off what eleven and zero, and then down the stretch
they just looked bad. You could see them kind of
bickering at each other. It just it doesn't take a lot.
And like the media, there's loud. Whether you whether players

(11:10):
want to hear it or not, it gets in you
and you you know you're Aj Brown, You're here on
the radio, man. They need to get that guy the
ball bar. You start here in your head. Yeah, you
know what, they need to get that ball to meymore.

Speaker 4 (11:21):
You know what I'm walking.

Speaker 3 (11:22):
I'm about to go in here and say some shit,
you know. So, I mean it doesn't take a lot.
I mean they have I think they have a good
locker room with leaders in it. But there's always a
couple of guys that they they can't help themselves and
they want to deviate the plan and they're like, not
fuck that, We're playing like shit, and they're called out.

Speaker 2 (11:39):
They're like, don't give me another quote. If you give
me one more quote, I'm a fuck you up.

Speaker 1 (11:44):
Well, you know it's funny you say that, because, like
we talked about the analogy at the beginning of this conversation,
that's exactly what's happening with the Phillies. I mean they
play now admittedly you're playing probably the best team in
the National League, has been the best team in the
National League, and their stars are not producing. Harper is quiet,

(12:08):
so that Philly media is brutal one. I went up
to the Phillies one of the phillies last games a
couple of weeks ago, and like they had the division
wrapped up, they were booing if they were losing to
the Twins like in a throwaway game, that doesn't matter
because you have the division locked up, like they're the

(12:30):
Wolves are going to be at the door very quickly
in Philadelphia for the Eagles if they stumble and lose
some games, particularly like Sunday, where you had the lead,
had control and you let it slip away.

Speaker 4 (12:43):
Yeah, that's the thing about playing in Philly. Although it's
not the biggest media market, it's the most.

Speaker 2 (12:48):
Aggressive, absolutely great.

Speaker 4 (12:51):
You will be held accountable no matter if you stray
off the path. Only exception will be the seventy six
ers this year because no one is like them to
be good and even they might end up catching some slander. Yeah,
that's kind of how it goes in Philly.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
Oh yeah, absolutely, will say.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
Will say, best rule I've ever seen in a sporting
event Philadelphia has. They do not let you walk down
the aisles to your seats, at least in a Phillies game.
I don't know if this is the case at an
Eagles game while play is happening.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
Oh, the ushers.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
The ushers hold everybody up on the concourse and like
at the Phillies game, if the batter steps out or
it's like a batter change, they let you go to
your seat, but as soon as the batter stands in
and the pitch clock starts, they pull everybody out of
the aisles so you're not blocking the view of the
game for everybody.

Speaker 3 (13:47):
I would fail so bad at that. I have the
worst bladder. I'd have to piss so many times.

Speaker 1 (13:51):
Like, well, like you can lead, you can leave your
seat while the at bat's happening, you just can't come
back to your seat and make people like get up
and move out of your way all that stuff like
you have to wait until a batter change or there's
a break in the action to walk down.

Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah, I don't mind that.

Speaker 3 (14:09):
I don't mind that, I suppose, but I would really
but again, I would still have the problem going back
up one hundred times. I'd be like, I'm so sorry.
I always have to apologize. I always buy if I'm
sitting trying to get the end of a row, But
if I'm sitting in the middle or a couple of
seats over, I always buy, like a beer for the guy.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
I'm like, I'm gonna be coming through.

Speaker 3 (14:27):
Here a lot, and I apologize for this, but here's
a beer for you.

Speaker 2 (14:31):
You know, or a hot dog, whatever, whatever you want.

Speaker 4 (14:33):
It's very courteous.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
Because I'm just like, dude, I'm so sorry, Like I'm
gonna drink beers. I'm not gonna stop drinking the beers
because the Steelers are terrible right now, and I'm gonna
keep doing that while I'm here. So yeah, I don't know,
just something I think you should do that if you know,
also on an airplane, like if you know you have
to pee, just buy the end and sea like just
suck it up. You gotta always have to be on

(14:58):
the end. So yeah, all right, what else, Dave?

Speaker 2 (15:01):
What do we got? What's next?

Speaker 1 (15:03):
Well, I justsappreciate the right turn that we just made.
Let's talk about the big game Sunday night. KP's Patriots
are feeling really good, going to Buffalo and beat a
Bills team that's very hard to beat at home, and
all of a sudden, now do we sit there and
look at New England differently after this game? Peyton, I'll

(15:26):
start with you.

Speaker 3 (15:28):
I mean, the thing is I didn't think like they're bad,
like Steelers beat them, and then it's classic all my buddies,
Oh you beat a bad football team, and I'm like
I didn't think they were a bad football team.

Speaker 2 (15:39):
I think I think.

Speaker 3 (15:41):
Christian Gonzales probably didn't play against US, and I think
that guy's a great defender. I mean Ramandre Stevenson fumble problem,
I mean their whole team fumbled the ball five times
like that. Those are things that are like not Tho's
gonna happen once in a blue moon. So it's like,
it's not like I don't want to lead into that
too much, but they weren't able to get that Sefon

(16:01):
Diggs going.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
They weren't able to get him.

Speaker 3 (16:03):
Going finally against the Bills, which is a very motivated
spot for him.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
I think they're solid.

Speaker 3 (16:09):
I think, like I said it when we were doing
the preview, I think they could make the playoffs with Rabel.
I'm not saying they could win like a championship or anything,
but just the way things are going, I think they
could find a wild card, especially now the way things
are going. And Drake may like I don't think he
made I think he seems like he's harder on himself

(16:29):
when he took that sack, like at the end of
the game, like that set of the field goal, he
was like, piss it.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Himself.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
I do understand, but rabels like, it's at least you
didn't throw the ball away and stop the clock, like
you took the sack. And he's like, you're fine. By
the way your kicker will talk about it might be good.

Speaker 2 (16:47):
From ninety have you considered that get out of that ball?

Speaker 3 (16:53):
I was like, oh my god, I think might get
over the net and into the top row. So I mean,
I like what they're doing. I mean they're they're getting
back to whatever that Patriot way is, which is horrifying
to hear that word come around again. It's just scary.
It's like PTSD. But the one thing I don't understand,
and I know, the running back room, I guess is light.

(17:17):
And this is also coming from someone that has Travon
Henderson in almost every league. Why doesn't he get the
goddamn football to start? That guy's awesome, Like, I don't
get it. I don't get why.

Speaker 4 (17:28):
The base is asking the exact same question as you.

Speaker 3 (17:31):
He and he answered it like it was like a
depth thing that we need him to do this, And
I'm like, okay, but like if that's true, why don't
we fix that pecking order of where he is in
the depth chart, Like, I don't get it. I'm not
I'm just not seeing understanding why. Obviously he scored on
Sunday and you know, probably boosts his confidence. But fum
fumbleitis is the thing. Man, you start thinking about it,

(17:53):
you you know, things happen. So I think the bill
has played a bad game, but they but the Patriots
took advantage of that. And I think nine times out
of ten, when when the Bills play bad or whatever
and they play maybe a bad team, they're still gonna
win a win that game, like they could not overcome

(18:14):
their challenges. And I think the Patriots took advantage. And
that's something to hang your hat on and look forward
to going And your schedule is not the hardest going
forward right now for the next couple of weeks. So
it's very imperative y'all take advantage of that and get.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Some wins here.

Speaker 3 (18:30):
So yeah, I don't know, Patriots could be uh could
be a little special down the road.

Speaker 4 (18:36):
Maybe may I may I go on the number one thing,
I'm most proud of this team of leaving that game.
We didn't beat ourselves. Yeah, I agree, they didn't beat ourselves.
No offense, Peyton the Pittsburgh Steelers game. We fumbled five times.

Speaker 2 (18:54):
Couldn't believe it.

Speaker 4 (18:56):
We beat ourselves on the six inch index card.

Speaker 2 (19:01):
Right.

Speaker 4 (19:01):
The Raiders game, we beat ourselves. You see how awful
the Raiders are. Now it's clear as day. Hey, maybe
let's not give the ball away. I was more hesitant
on this podcast than you were about the Patriots playoff
hopes just because and this is gonna tie in. I
promise I'm not bragging. I'm making a big points. I've
seen what excellent football teams have looked like and this

(19:24):
team isn't there yet.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
Correct.

Speaker 4 (19:26):
This team is good, though, and that type of game
is what I wanted to see. I wanted this game
was really important for all the Patriots nation winning. Yeah,
you're playing a division rival, You're playing against one of
the best, if not the best quarterback in football. Like yeay,
all that, But this is a fan base, a custom
the winning big games. So the point where we almost
became numb to it at the end of the time

(19:47):
Brady era, where it's like, yeah, Sunday night football against
the offensive football, we got that. Yeah, this one, though,
this is the first time this young team feels what
a big win like that is like, and how the
rest of the season goes is gonna jesg what this
team's success will be looking forward. Do they get too
big of a head going New Orleans next week in

(20:08):
laying egg? Do they take care of business? Because our
most difficult game for the rest of the season is
when we play the Bills again in December. So every
single one of these games are incredibly winnable, Like we
could be talking about by the time we play the Bills,
a three to four loss team in December, and that's

(20:29):
a team, and that's a game that might be pseudo
for the division, Like.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
We're talking Yeah, we're.

Speaker 4 (20:34):
Talking about something different at that point. And I'm incredibly
proud of this team. Like that's just what it comes
down to. It's a young team that I'm watching when
I feel like I'm watching the late twenty tens, early
twenty twenty Celtics again, like when you're watching a young
team put it together, but I know at some point
they're gonna be just good enough to piss me off
in the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (20:53):
Like your next eight games are Saints, Titans, Browns, Falcons, Bucks, Jets, Begles, Giants.

Speaker 4 (21:00):
And that's what those are. The games before we play Buffalo.
Chrish should win every single one of those games, But
because this team is young, they're gonna drop like two
of them.

Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, I think, But I think the thing is, like
you guys whatever, Sefan Diggs obviously had his big motivation
for being there back in Buffalo. He's gotta just keep
doing that. Like I don't know, Like I don't know
who else would you who would you say is your
number two receiver right now? Probably probably Booty like but

(21:32):
like you, but like it's like Sefan Diggs needs to
be the number one guy, and he wasn't the number one.

Speaker 2 (21:38):
He wasn't the number one guy.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
I would say until like on Sunday night, like it
wasn't clear what.

Speaker 4 (21:44):
For a hundred against Carolina as well, But like at
the same time, you're correct, that was the I'm the
number one with a bullet. I need the ball. I
need that. Listen, man, I'm biased. Tore Stefan Diggs is
the d m V guy I need. I need eat
Stephan Diggs. I need to give me the damn ball.
Stephan Diggs. I don't want no more than miss the

(22:05):
nice guy. No no, no, no, no no no. I agree,
I need you to demand the football eight to ten
times a game. So we have a number one receiver again,
because it's been a while since we had It's probably
been since Edelman since we've had a number one receiver
with a bullet probably what I want to see again day.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
I do like Connor Henry though, as I did like,
I don't know if you saw Tom Brady through shade
at Gronk jokingly, so that's the best tight end we've
had in New England ever, And Gronk kind of like
it took him like a second. He was like, wait,
I was in New England. He was like, wait a minute.
He was like, what are you talking about. He's like,
I'm kidding big guys, Like it was very funny. No,

(22:45):
I think I think you guys, look if your defense
can stay healthy. I also thought that was another thing
that people didn't talk about, like Josh Allen wasn't just
trying to run the ball, because I don't think he like.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
Wants to do that anymore as much as much as
he used to be.

Speaker 3 (23:00):
At least you get a little older, you don't want to,
you know, run down the field as big as you are.
He wasn't sliding as much. He was taking the brunt
of it. But man, it just looks like no one
who's open on the back end. He's like no one
could shake anything.

Speaker 2 (23:11):
I mean the.

Speaker 3 (23:13):
Deep ball to Shakir, I mean Christian goan Zales played
that perfectly, where like he had no room to even
get two feet in. So it's like those things just
keep doing that stuff and you guys will be all right.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
I look at the Patriots in KP. You mentioned, excuse me,
the youth and the inexperience, and that that's why Sunday
is such a big win for the Patriots because with
young teams they have to eventually win that type of
game where you play a perfect game, you do just enough.

(23:48):
You've got to be able to find a way to
win those games. And you talked about they lost to
the Raiders shooting themselves in the foot, they lose to
the Steelers shooting themselves in the foot. You start to
get into that, well, we are a good team where
a young team we just don't know how to win yet,
and beating Buffalo on the road, that's that sort of hey,

(24:09):
we can do it, Like we can now win these
games that we would have lost three weeks ago. That's
the biggest thing. And they've got the right guy to
be able to guide that young team through it. Because
if you go back to the start of Mike Rabel's
ten year in Tennessee, the Titans that first year lost
a lot of games that they probably were the better

(24:30):
team or could have won. But you got to learn
how to win at the NFL. You got to learn
how to do the little things that get you victories.

Speaker 4 (24:39):
And that's kind of the and that's the thing, right
And you brought a Verma Peyton, brought a Ramajre Stevenson earlier.
This is why the thing with me again giving the
ball away not my speed, Like if you've taken care
of the football, if you're not more responsibilities offensive player.
Ramaj Stevenson has had fumbling issue since his rookie year.

(25:00):
After the twenty twenty one, it is twenty twenty five.
He has never fixed it. So the fact that he's
still our lead back annoys me. We drafted Trevion Hetterersy
with a second round pick for a reason. Guys, we
knew this. We knew this from Rodre Stevenson think was
a problem. Yet he's still our lead back. We have
yet to have a running back run for more than
fifty four yards this year. We still haven't even got

(25:20):
our running game going yet, which makes me even more
hopeful because this offensive line is better than it was
last year by a mile already.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
I think Will Campbell's been great.

Speaker 4 (25:30):
Oh my god, he's been fantastic. I could talk about
how great Will Campbell's been all day. Week one was rough,
We one was rough.

Speaker 3 (25:36):
But Max Crosby Yeah, yeah, I mean you gotta I
mean you got I mean he had TJ. Watt. He
handled him pretty well whenever he went one on one
with him, like you gotta get it. I think the
biggest thing for those linemen is like that get off speed.
You're like when they're like in your face already, You're like, whoa,
I'm only halfway back to this first step. You're like,
how did you get here? You know?

Speaker 4 (25:57):
Slightly off topic. When I was at the when I
was working with Fox at the Commander's Raiders game, right,
so I was very close to Max Crosby. We were
on his sideline, his side of field, watching him get
off the ball. Listen, man, uh, I don't know if
Max Crosby's human. They don't know what planning he's from,
it might not be this one. Watching that man get

(26:19):
off the ball, and this is against Laramie Tunsel.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, and he it.

Speaker 4 (26:24):
Looks like his leg is like at his chest right
as the laces reached the center's asking yeah, quick flagging
off the ball. Uh.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
Did you want to see the news that Jonathan Gannon
got fine one hundred thousand dollars.

Speaker 3 (26:41):
I did see that, and I didn't see the video
until today, and it was very funny because I couldn't
imagine that guy being like emotional like that.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
So for context for everybody that doesn't know what we're
talking about, Amari de Mercado dropped the football as he
was crossing the end zone Sunday, Sorry, gentlemen. Yeah, I
thought we were having like a security breach or something. Yeah,
as he was crossing the end zone. Would have been

(27:14):
a seventy two yard touchdown and at the time would
have made it twenty seven to six. Arizona would have
put the game away. Hands down. Tennessee makes has no shot. Well,
he fills the ball out of the end zone. It's
a touchback. Tennessee goes on to win this game in
one of the more wild fourth quarters we've seen, and
Jonathan Gannon got into the grill of Amario de Mercado

(27:39):
pretty It was a pretty ugly sideline conversation. Never puts hands,
but he's kind of berating Amari Demarcado and then he
walks away. The Cardinals have fine Jonathan Gannon one hundred
thousand dollars for that sideline interaction. So I ask you, guys,

(28:00):
was Jonathan Gannon out of line with what he did? Sunday?

Speaker 4 (28:03):
I'm gonna sound like such a boomer. This is the
softest shit I ever heard in my life.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, I don't know, Man.

Speaker 4 (28:08):
Go find a hundred k for excessive coaching, over and
over an objectively stupid thing that Amario de Marcado did.
Like that? Like to me again, I'm an offensive lineman.
Touch running and running with the ball never been my thing.
I've never understood drop all before you pass the goal line.
To me, that's some of the dumbest shit you could do,

(28:29):
possibly on a football field. So the fact that he
did it, yeah, you deserve to get ripped, bro. Like
I seen it. Was it a little excessive by twenty
twenty five standards. Maybe you put Bill Parcells in his
prime in front of him pushed in the face.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
He would have gave him. He would have gave him
Matt Lawrence Taylor plane ticket.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
He said, here you go.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
This is your where, this is.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Your fight back, where you're from.

Speaker 3 (28:50):
Your mom's ready for you, got a flight all ready
for you.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
That's made up. See now, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
Bro, Like what are we talking? What are we talking
about here? No, honey, K that's more than you get
for like a helmet to helmet hit, or like an
excessive celebration, honey K for excessive coaching. Come on, man, Cardinals.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
Yeah, I just don't.

Speaker 3 (29:13):
I mean, like again, like I like KP said, it's
twenty twenty five, and I get people look at things
differently and all this and that, But like I mean,
I I I'll never understand it. Shaun Jackson is the
most famous one. I'll ever forget that. I mean, I
think he's done it like three times in his career
or something like. I just don't ever understand why you

(29:34):
would ever drop the ball before you.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
Cross the line.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (29:38):
I don't understand it. I actually don't understand.

Speaker 3 (29:41):
Why you don't lean it forward more like to get
it in faster. Like that's what I've always thought like,
you want to score as quickly as possible. Go bam.

Speaker 2 (29:50):
You know what I mean? But yeah, I don't. I
can't understand.

Speaker 3 (29:53):
Like I get the guy feels bad in that moment,
he feels devastated, he let the team down, and you're
people are like, oh, well, you're adding it on him.
You're really giving it to him. He deserves it. I mean,
these guys. The other thing is, these guys are paid
so well. And I'm sure he's probably not paid as
much as the other star running backs in that room
and all like James Connor them, but you're still paid

(30:15):
to be a professional. This is literally your job. Like
imagine if you go to your job tomorrow and you
there's a report that's been due for months and that
date has been circled and you've had meeting and meeting
and meeting about it, and it's a deadline with it
and you send it five minutes later some shit and no,
you know it, ain't accept it and you're you lose

(30:35):
a bit or.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
Something like that.

Speaker 3 (30:36):
You're gonna get fucking reamed and you might lose your job.
Like that guy is going to play football again for
the Cardinals next week and the week after that, I mean,
unless he does it again, probably, But like, I just
don't get the finding of him, like one hundred thousand dollars,
Like I just don't.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (30:55):
I'm sure they had a conversation too since then, and
he's probably like, you know what, look, you know, I
apologize for blowing up on you, but I want you
to understand this is important, this game of inches.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
Blah blah blah blah.

Speaker 3 (31:07):
I'm sure they've had that conversation, so it's like, it's
what And also if you're a professional athlete, you know
like that he's not yelling at you because he hates you.
He's the bad because you fucking lost them a touchdown
that they fucking that cardinals they ain't they ain't getting
a billion of them, so they're you know, they're they're
getting them as to get them.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
So I just I don't know.

Speaker 3 (31:28):
I can't get through it, can't get understand. Also, the
finding numbers are always funny to me. How do we
land on one hundred thousand dollars? Why do we land
on like ten or like twenty? Like why was it
one hundred?

Speaker 4 (31:40):
I want to throw a disclaimer here if we find
out Jonathan Gannon said something crazy to him, like yeah,
I mean, that's that's different. Okay, now we're talking about
something crave. He called him like out it crazy, out
of his name, hit him with a hard r like
something along those lines. Okay, K sounds fair.

Speaker 3 (32:00):
Well, I think Paris Johnson might have popped him right
there if you did that. I think that's what I'm listening.

Speaker 4 (32:05):
That's what I'm thinking too. But not everyone thinks that way.
But my thing is right. The other disclaimer I have
to put on this, and this is more so about
dropping the ball than it is about Jonathan Gannis coaching whatever.
Celebration that you're in such a rush to do that
you're throwing the ball out of your hand. You could
do whatever, a little dance while holding the football. I'd
have seen Jessin Jefferson Griddy with a football in his hand. Absolutely,

(32:28):
I'm pretty sure.

Speaker 2 (32:30):
Grab great point. Great point.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
They don't even they ain't letting go of the ball
because it's their ball.

Speaker 2 (32:35):
I mean, I've seen the best.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
The best one you should show them is the old
one where they try to spike it and literally won't
come off their hand. Just like this is what you
do either you bring me the ball back or this
is not coming off your hand.

Speaker 4 (32:50):
Like it don't make no, it don't make no sense. Bruh,
a little dance. Just hold the football. It's so ball security,
man like, it's so football so important, Why would you
not want to hold it? And also the marcataways scoring
a million touchdowns, you would think you want to get
you touchdown balls.

Speaker 1 (33:06):
No, he keeps his touchback balls, don't you like? That
was one? Really that was That was tough. That was
rude because I will never have a seventy two yard
touchdown in my life.

Speaker 2 (33:18):
Speaking of fines.

Speaker 3 (33:20):
Speaking of fines, Jerry Jones fine two hundred fifty thousand
dollars for flipping off the Jets fans. That was I mean,
that was funny. That was I mean to him, he
was probably like, fuck it, it's so worth it, Jerry.

Speaker 2 (33:34):
Do you know?

Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (33:36):
I mean, Jerry's billionaire. He don't care.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Would you okay, okay, here's my question though, would you
really fight to find I down it? Like I No,
I'd hill out to two hundred and fifty Jerry Jones.

Speaker 3 (33:47):
Jerry Jones knew what he was doing when he did that.
There's a camera on Jerry Jones constantly in those games,
like they're always ready for it. He knew exactly what
he was doing. He was laughing when he did it,
and he you know what I mean, he was like
fuck you guys.

Speaker 4 (34:02):
You know Edones has literal fuck you money.

Speaker 3 (34:05):
Yes, yeah, yeah about that. I love when people are
like this fine amount to like like or like when
Jeff Bezos does something and they're like, this is the
equivalent of American, like an average American buying like one
hundred mcdoubles or something like that, and you're like, okay, yeah,
it was probably like him literally paying for a car wash.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
That was what he did.

Speaker 3 (34:26):
Yeah, so you know yeah Rolls Royce getting that wash
the detail.

Speaker 4 (34:32):
For a car detail.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
Yeah yeah.

Speaker 3 (34:35):
Seriously, I want to talk about the Jets and where
they're at, Dear.

Speaker 4 (34:40):
Do we have to?

Speaker 3 (34:42):
I just want to know. I like, thing is I
just feel I don't know, I do feel bad for
fan base like this, but it's like I do wonder
I was talking about somebody you look at, like the
hiring and all that stuff.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
Aaron Glenn. I actually didn't.

Speaker 3 (34:59):
Know that he was the fake Spike guy until like
a couple of weeks when they played the Dolphins. I
completely didn't know that, and then I was like, wow,
that's you. That sucks. You've just You're engraved in the
minds of Jets fans forever and that's probably what they
think of first. But like, what can he do to
fix this? My buddy was like, they should do this,
and they should do that. I'm like, I don't know

(35:20):
if there's anything to fix with them, because I don't
even know if Justin what Justin Fields could do anymore.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (35:28):
The Cowboys defense has made every single quarterback they played
against look like Tom Brady.

Speaker 3 (35:33):
Yes, I do. Yeah, the fact that.

Speaker 4 (35:36):
Justin Feels was not able to be one of those
quarterbacks is a glaring indictment. Yeah, ability as an NFL player,
Like it just is. And when it comes to what
Aaron Glenn will be able to do, it just looks
like they don't have the dudes. Like it really just
looks like they don't have Aaron Glenn loves to play
man coverage and aggressive style on defense, and offensively, a

(35:56):
nobody able to run anything close to what they did
in Detroit.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
Yeah, so they just.

Speaker 4 (36:01):
Don't have the dudes. And we got to remember the
first year of Dan Campbell and Detroit wasn't the greatest either,
but he had the vote of confidence from the owner
to be able to stick it out. He had Brad
Holmes as his GM to be able to work with.
Does Aaron Glenn have that in New York? I think
that's a lot more important than what's happening right now,
because right yeah, you're God it's bad, but you're the Jets.
It has been bad for a while, Like, yeah, well

(36:24):
more bad season.

Speaker 1 (36:25):
I was gonna say, like that's the thing with like
I hear everybody, Oh, is Aaron Glenn want and done?
Is Aaron like hope?

Speaker 4 (36:31):
Not?

Speaker 1 (36:31):
How He's not the reason why you said it exactly.
They just don't have the horses. I mean, they played
competitive football up until this week. They were in every game.
They were a player two away from maybe winning that game.
But I mean they're just just they're not talented. Outside

(36:52):
of Garrett Wilson. The receiving room isn't great. Brice Hall
not really what we all thought bres Hall was gonna be.
The all offensive line is still not great, Like, how
do you expect to win on that offense? Even with
all the questions about justin fields. It's not a team
set up for success on offense defensively, they just they

(37:14):
don't have the horses. Everybody just goes, I'm just not
gonna throw a Sauce Gardner, and that's probably a smart decision.

Speaker 3 (37:21):
I Actually I've heard seen a lot of people going
a lot of like light bulbs clicking this week and going,
maybe Sauce Gardner isn't as good.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Why Whinhorst win horse fingers? Like maybe he.

Speaker 4 (37:32):
Got got on the deep ball by George Pickens. Better
men than him have been got George one on one
of the d ball with George Pickens. You're a Steelers fan, Payton, you.

Speaker 3 (37:41):
Know I miss I miss George PICKINSMA dog, Like you're
gonna get got by George Pickins on a deep ball.

Speaker 4 (37:47):
I'm not mad at him for that. Like they were
hand fighting the whole way down. He got muscled a
dog charges to the game. Yeah it happens, It happens.

Speaker 3 (37:58):
Yeah, It's just I just don't know. I just feel bad.
I feel bad for the Jets fans a little bit,
like cause like it's like I feel like it's an
ownership thing that you can't that you just can't escape it.

Speaker 2 (38:09):
You just can't escape that.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
I feel bad for fans going through poor moments too.
I have an entire show based on that very premise.
Shout out to sports Card. But like at the same time,
when it's in the process of happening, it's happening. And
if you're a Jets fan after the Aaron Rodgers fiasco,
you should have some scar tissue built up. You should
have a callus built up to taking bad losses. What
I do want to know is what happened to that

(38:32):
Jets offense from week one. I want to know where
that went.

Speaker 3 (38:36):
I don't know, not sure. I think the thing is though,
if you look at it, I think the Steelers defense
has played better. So maybe I mean a lot of
those guys didn't playing, you know in camp TJ. Watt barely,
I mean barely the training camp. So and that's Dave
love to talk about it. You didn't play in training camp,
you're gonna you're gonna start rusty, and it just.

Speaker 1 (38:58):
Happens, you know what. I'm glad you said that because
I'm going to talk about that here in a little
bit when we talk about the Ravens.

Speaker 3 (39:06):
We talk about right now, we can talk about that.
There's our right to go yeah, go right, you go off.
You just tell me what you're feeling. How are you doing?

Speaker 1 (39:15):
My thing with the Ravens is And you look at
the totality of the injuries and they're bad. I mean,
no offense or bus about it. You had a Pro
Bowl roster sitting out Sunday. But this goes to my
larger problem that the Ravens have had the last couple
of years of when you don't play guys in the
preseason and you're solely relying on practice, and the guys

(39:39):
don't practice every day, and the practices don't go hard
every day, you're gonna have soft tissue injuries. And every
single one of those injuries outside of mattabk which that's
a horrific situation. Yeah, that's a whole different thing that's
in its own separate category. The these are soft tissue

(40:01):
what I call camp injuries. You have sore ham strings,
strain ham strings, you get ankle injuries, you get groin pulls,
you get all these stuff that are going through this
Raven's calf injuries. They're playing competitive football when they didn't
do it all summer. And I'm not saying, well, they

(40:21):
need to play four quarters in a preseason. No, but
you need to get some live game reps against another
team that gets your body in a rhythm, that gets
you a little bit. Okay, I need to do this differently.
I need to do that differently in terms of prepping
my body for the grind of playing four quarters every Sunday.
And this Raven team, all these injuries are all soft

(40:46):
tissue problems. They got very lucky in that regard, but
these are camp injuries. There's no offense or butts about it.
So that is my indictment of John Harball. I will
say this about ze. I think Zach Orr could be
a very good defensive coordinator down the line, but he

(41:06):
is He's overwhelmed at the professional level. He just he
cannot come up with answers. He cannot come up with
the schemes to slow down opposing offenses right now. And
it's hard. I mean, you're coaching defense in the AFC
with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, I mean, like
you you're facing some of the best quarterbacks in football

(41:28):
every time you walk out there on Sunday. Yeah, but
he's he's just not there yet. So I think defensively,
because they weren't good before the injuries, there needs to
be that change there. I think Todd Munkin needs to
just run Derrick Henry until it doesn't work. I mean,
playing and simple. Now their offensive line is not great.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
He gave up on they tried to run Derrick Henry
and it did not go well, which obviously.

Speaker 1 (41:59):
And and some of that. When I look at it,
is it Defcon five No, because I still think the
way the AFC is this year, they can still find
a way to sneak in as a playoff. I mean,
they're not gonna win the divisions, like me, they.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
At all until I see six seven losses.

Speaker 2 (42:24):
I'm not ruling you guys out one bit.

Speaker 1 (42:28):
I mean they get healthy, the schedules a little more
favorable in a couple of weeks. But I mean they
do this every year. The defense was really bad last year.
They had a lot of camp injuries early. They battled back.
It's just so.

Speaker 4 (42:47):
You bought up Zach Orr right, y'all knew he was
overwhelmed last year. That's why you brought in Dnps to
be the senior defensive assistant through the season, and you
try to do it again with Chuck Bugano and it
didn't work out this time. Like you, y'all are aware
that zach Orr is in over his head, yet he's
still employed. Now with that said, we'll firing zach Orr

(43:10):
right now. Fakes all the Ravens defensive problems.

Speaker 1 (43:11):
No, no, but it gives you a fight, I think,
And I don't think you fire zach Orr. I think
you just reassign him and you just say, look, you're
just you're not there yet, Like we believe in you.
We think down the road you can be a good
defensive coordinator because he had moments last year the second
half of a year that defense was good. And again, yeah,

(43:33):
I mean you can. You can make that argument. But
you you just need to look at Zach Warr and say,
right now, this is not the best for you or
for us. Is having you in this defensive coordinator role.
Have him be an assistant like, have him be the
assistant DC where though there's a lot.

Speaker 3 (43:49):
Less How are you going to demote a guy like
you can't do that now?

Speaker 1 (43:53):
I think you get it the bye week if they
don't beat the Rams and they go into the bye
week at one in five, I think you have to,
you have to do something.

Speaker 3 (44:01):
I think you'd be more likely to part ways and
let Pegano or someone call it.

Speaker 2 (44:06):
I don't know. I don't know if that's necessarily better.

Speaker 4 (44:08):
But that might be what ends up happening.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
Yeah, I just don't think, Like, if I'm sitting in
that defensive room and you're telling me that now the
boss of the defense is now the co boss of
the defense, I'd be like.

Speaker 2 (44:21):
Do we know even what we're doing?

Speaker 3 (44:23):
Like, like I feel like we'd just be like taking
a step back even further doing that, like you just
gotta cut ties.

Speaker 2 (44:31):
And I'm I mean, I'm not. I'm sure Zach RORLLL
get another job somewhere else.

Speaker 4 (44:37):
But to me, this is a classic Monkeys Paul situation. Right,
So pretty much every Ravens fan I know Bud Dave
had been calling for John Harball to be fired for
like the fast three years, and what I would always
tell them is, y'all will never be bad enough to
get John Harball fired. And they're like, yeah, well you're right,
you know, Well, y'all are finally bad enough to get
shot a Harball fire.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
I don't know that loss was bad.

Speaker 3 (45:00):
I thought you guys could be competitive in that game, though.

Speaker 1 (45:03):
I did too. I was just completely surprised. I didn't
think they were gonna win because Houston was playing their
better football. But I mean it just come out and
lay an egg like you did, and it'd be one
thing if it was in Houston and you did that,
You do that at home and look that like that's
the that's the red flag of Okay, something's gotta be changed.

Speaker 3 (45:29):
You remember Christmas last year? Just remember that they remember
y'all did to them on Christmas Day.

Speaker 1 (45:33):
Well, I do think there was a lot of that
because Houston was still throwing with three minutes left in
the yam And if I was a decordinator, even if
I was a shitty decordinator, I'll be sitting there going
really can we just like like I'm just trying to
get out of here. Yeah, we kind of sucked today.
I just want this one to be over and get
to the bar and forget about this happening and.

Speaker 4 (45:54):
Real quick before we get off the ravens. There's certain
cities where you could be bad, but you can't be
bad at certain things. In Baltimore, Maryland, you cannot have
a bad defense. It's it's inexcusable. Like y'all have seen
some bad offenses pre Lamar Jackson and for the Baltimore Ravens,

(46:16):
some very bad ones, but the defense was always average
to great the entire time. This is the first time
I've seen in god awful Ravens defense and they got
booed for it at home, Dave, as long as you've
been a Ravens fan, when's the last time they got booed?

Speaker 2 (46:35):
Oh? I think it was. I think it's sooner than
you think. I think I remember Ravens fans don't boo
like I can't remember it.

Speaker 3 (46:45):
It seemed I want to say, like the twenty twenty
two season or twenty.

Speaker 1 (46:49):
Ten it was it was eighteen with with Joe. That
was the last time I distinctly remember like Ravens being
booed off the field, because yeah, well, I mean, but
that was. That's the difference that Lamar Jackson has made,
and that is also can't be overstated. And I know

(47:11):
why they went out and got Cooper Rush, and you
get a Cooper Rush because you know there's that injury
factor with Lamar Jackson, but he's just he's not built
for that offense, and that was a bit I think
a bit of a miscalculation on Eric the Costa's part.
And you don't have a guy that's designed to run

(47:34):
the Reid option, Like there's nothing that keeps the defensive
ends from just crashing on Derrick Henry every time because
there's no threat of Cooper Rush pulling the ball and
running like you have with Lamar Jackson. Now it would
be better with Tyler Huntley, I don't think so, but
you probably get the ends to at least slow play

(47:56):
it exactly like there's no respect. So you these zones,
these zone plays, and which is the bread and butter
of this Raven team, and they're just not effective because
you don't have the threat of Lamar Jackson running and
there they can't line up and be an I formation
power football team, not without power ricard and not with

(48:18):
the guard play that they have right now.

Speaker 4 (48:20):
The problem is like the coup rush thing didn't make
sense in the moment, right, Like I think all of
us were kind of like, huh, because the whole point
of a backup quarterback is we would like our offense
to remain afloat up Peyton's calling the ISO.

Speaker 2 (48:32):
Go for Peyton, you got booed. This is why I
remember this.

Speaker 3 (48:35):
You got you booed them Thursday night football against the
Bengals last year, but you ended up winning the game.

Speaker 1 (48:41):
You got the defense that was That defense was horrendous at.

Speaker 3 (48:44):
Now you guys won thirty five thirty four. Uh, they
went for two to win it, and I remember they booed.
I just looked at you. It's in like the second
quarter that was in twenty one to seven. It's just
a guy going boo.

Speaker 2 (48:58):
Just put all of it into it.

Speaker 3 (48:59):
So you can get booed off the field that day,
but you did boot during mac game.

Speaker 4 (49:05):
That goes back to my earlier point though, Like in
certain cities, you can't be bad at certain things. Bro,
you can't have a bad ye in Baltimore.

Speaker 1 (49:12):
They need football.

Speaker 2 (49:13):
You're the same one going for like.

Speaker 4 (49:15):
You can't have a bad defense in Pittsburgh, Chicago. Like
you can't. There's certain cities that are not going for it.
There's certain type of football they are not willing to watch,
and that's it bad defense. No, sir, we're not watching it.

Speaker 3 (49:29):
No. I do want to ask, do we think that
Joe Flacco will complete his transition to and be a
Steelers quarterback at any point.

Speaker 4 (49:37):
And play the whole and play for the whole AFC North.

Speaker 3 (49:39):
Yeah, I mean at this point, you gotta try, right,
You gotta be like, hey, I'm just trying to check
a box here. It's like a mission quest at this point.

Speaker 4 (49:47):
And that's where the Steelers say, hey, dog, we tried
the forty plus year old quarterback thing last year. We're
yeah doing this.

Speaker 2 (49:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:53):
He's like, dude, I just need this flast stamp for
like a free beer. Come on, come on, I get
a free Guinness. I go back if I get back
to if I bring this back to Baltimore. I literally
did around the AFC North, you know kind of thing that.
I also don't know what the Bengals, I don't The

(50:15):
stat did look bad when I did see that Jamar
Chase had more tackles at a certain point this year
than Chris Jones.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
That's not good.

Speaker 4 (50:24):
They didn't even call the Giants.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
I don't even understand it.

Speaker 4 (50:31):
The Giants have two quarterbacks you could have called for.
You could have.

Speaker 3 (50:35):
Her cousins sitting there in Atlanta, justum in Atlanta.

Speaker 4 (50:40):
There are so many other places you could have went
than Joe Flacco, who just got benched for a five
foot one quarterback.

Speaker 3 (50:47):
Like the fact that he's left he's lefty too.

Speaker 4 (50:51):
They traded for Joe Flacco dog like they watched that roster.
They watched that offense to say, you know what to
fix this, your old quarterback. That's what we need.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (51:01):
That old line might kill him.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
Like I'm gonna say, he he's he's so immobile, it's
gonna be ugly.

Speaker 4 (51:10):
He can't put an immobile quarterback behind the worst offensive
line in football. Guys, this is gonna go poorly.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
But I mean it does go back to like the
part of like just watching it looks like I mean,
you can see what happened, Like they've spent all this
one in Jamar Chase. They spent all this one on
t Higgins, they spend money on Joe Burrow, Like they
spent ninety percent of the line money on one guy.
Like Jamar Chase's second touchdown where he like backed into it.

(51:38):
Look like you know what, I think, I kind of
want to give up, Like I just want to even
though we just scored, I just want to give up
like this, I.

Speaker 1 (51:44):
Just want to go home. I just want to ball
and go home.

Speaker 4 (51:47):
Yeah, it's like I don't even want to be trying
to traffic. That's what you trying?

Speaker 3 (51:51):
Yeah, like, and I I just don't understand, Like I
get there trying to survive un till Joe Burrow comes back.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
But it's like it if he's even helped, well, I
don't know why.

Speaker 1 (52:02):
I would say no, I would say, how would you.

Speaker 4 (52:06):
Put him behind this offensive line on one foot towards
the end of the year, You're not going to be
in playoff content.

Speaker 3 (52:10):
I'll say it, and I've been saying it. I don't
think Zach Taylor is a very good coach.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
I don't.

Speaker 3 (52:15):
I don't think he's aggressive enough for half that locker room.
I mean, I watched the Quarterback Show last year. Joe
Burrow is bitching at him because they're just giving up
three points to the Titans and.

Speaker 2 (52:26):
Zacly to just be happy we won the game, and.

Speaker 3 (52:28):
He's like, no, this is bullshit. Like no one else
in the fucking NFL that's good does this.

Speaker 2 (52:34):
But you're going great job. Way to hang in there.

Speaker 3 (52:37):
And I mean, you look at Zach Taylor's record without
Joe Burrow and it's dog shit like it is. It's
not even great with Joe Burrow.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
To be honest, at this point.

Speaker 4 (52:45):
They literally can't win games without no Joe Burrow. It's
because that offensive line is so pathetic.

Speaker 6 (52:55):
Like, and I say this respectfully, but like it's so
bad on that offensive line that you put any other
quarterback that isn't Joe Burrow behind it, the offense can't function,
Like forget being average being they can't function.

Speaker 4 (53:14):
Like they didn't even get past the fifty against Detroit
till like the third quarter. Yes, Like it's not a
functional offense without having one of the three five wherever
you have Joe Burrow, best quarterbacks in football behind it.
That's how bad they are running things over there. Yeah,
that's the type of supporting cast they got, and it's
honestly crazy to see.

Speaker 3 (53:34):
Yeah, I agree, and it's just I will also say
I think the only reason they got past the fifty
was because of penalties.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
At one point, I think because I.

Speaker 3 (53:43):
Bet the lines and I'm like, why the fuck can
you guys just put this away? Why is this close
fucking in this thing? Come on?

Speaker 2 (53:52):
You know, I was just screaming.

Speaker 4 (53:54):
But now to watch Joe Flacco behind this futured offense.

Speaker 3 (53:57):
I don't even understand who the Bengals plays on that
God bless them. Michael Parson's career.

Speaker 4 (54:06):
Day, Rashan Gary might kill Joe Flaka, like for the
second time. It's the second time he's had to play him.

Speaker 2 (54:14):
Like, oh, it's facts.

Speaker 3 (54:16):
Maybe that's why they signed, like you can give us
an edge and what the Packers like to it's like, brother,
we want I said ten Hill Marys for our fathers.
Uh and I also threw a couple of prayers out
to the other gods out there.

Speaker 4 (54:31):
They scored thirteen points that day. Guys, I don't think
he got the answer to.

Speaker 2 (54:36):
Do you? He's like, do you think I'm Jim Schwartz?
Did you get the wrong guy?

Speaker 4 (54:40):
You know how we won? Miles Garrett, I want a
straight for him to facts.

Speaker 2 (54:45):
So I don't know. I don't know what they're doing.

Speaker 4 (54:49):
But the thing we've been saying this about the Bengals
since the off season. Dog Like, going into this season,
we were like, what are the Bengals doing? This doesn't
make sense. You're one injury away from your whole season
fall part. What do you know it happened? It's like
we're not Stradamus or something.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
Yeah, Cray Hendrickson by the way if you can find
a spot for him right now, I guarantee there's some
guys that would want them.

Speaker 4 (55:15):
They could have done a draft Knight, I know, but.

Speaker 3 (55:19):
I'm just saying you should probably just figure the other thing.

Speaker 4 (55:23):
Higgins draft Knights two years ago.

Speaker 3 (55:25):
I mean, I just keep thinking with all the trades, well,
the Ravens, I think Mark Andrews is probably next.

Speaker 2 (55:31):
I do feel like that is time.

Speaker 4 (55:34):
But I mean, if you're gonna pay likely you might
as well.

Speaker 2 (55:38):
That's what I thought.

Speaker 3 (55:39):
And then I also think the other thing about the
Ravens is and this goes for just people sell them.
Max Crosby is available if you want that massive contract,
and they're bad. The Trey Hendrickson, he's on a bad team.
I just look at all these bad teams at this
point of the season and I'm like, who could you

(55:59):
get rid of and get a haul? Like who is
ready to do it? And you could get all these people?

Speaker 4 (56:07):
So you bought it. Mark Andrews. Did you know he's
the all time leading for receiver for receiving touchdowns with
the Ravens and he's like one hundred yards away from
being the receiving yards leader too.

Speaker 2 (56:16):
I believe that believe that.

Speaker 3 (56:18):
Is the best receiver in Ravens because that's because like
Bolden and those guys like four years since and then
they were like out.

Speaker 4 (56:26):
Like one guy right now is Derek Mason. He was
there for five years.

Speaker 3 (56:29):
Derek Mason only played for the Ravens for five years.

Speaker 4 (56:32):
Remember he started with Tennessee like he was on Wow.

Speaker 3 (56:35):
I actually forgot that. I thought he was an og Raven. Wow.

Speaker 1 (56:40):
Great guy to talk to, by.

Speaker 3 (56:41):
The way, I could imagine, I could imagine by the
I don't know if you guys saw college game day,
uh THEO. Vonne just said, I live in Derek Mason's
old house then when he was at Vanderbilt, and I
just have like he like left some of his ship there,
and I was like, Derek Mason, that's a flex though,
like so many trophies, You're like, fuck, I don't have

(57:02):
another box.

Speaker 2 (57:03):
I'm just gonna leave it.

Speaker 3 (57:04):
I'm sure someone will get this to me eventually down
the road. I thought that was kind of like a
funny little thing I forgot. Also forgot that Derek Mason
coach Vanderbilt for a while, like two years. It didn't
go well, but shout out Derek Mason.

Speaker 1 (57:18):
It's not the same Derek Mason.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
I thought, the same Derek Mason.

Speaker 4 (57:22):
No, really more than one.

Speaker 1 (57:25):
Yeah, there are more than one Derek Mason's.

Speaker 3 (57:27):
You're telling me there's more than one Derek Mason involved
in football. Yes, seems like an anomaly.

Speaker 1 (57:33):
I'm literally gonna pull it up so somebody talk while
I google this.

Speaker 4 (57:38):
Right, Derek Mason isn't exactly like an uncommon name. Yeah,
not like John Johnson or some shit, but like.

Speaker 3 (57:46):
Yeah, but I just kind of thought when I think
of receipt, like think, that's a big receiver name in
my mind, like of my childhood. And then I'm like,
Vanderbilt hires Derek Mason, Like my mind immediately go to
Derek Mason with the Ravens, Like it has to be
the same guy.

Speaker 4 (58:04):
Derek Mason was ont of Titans, was he? That was he?
That Derek Mason who reached for the goal line and
didn't get it in the ninety nine Super Bowl?

Speaker 1 (58:11):
No, that was Dyson.

Speaker 4 (58:15):
Kevin Dyson. Yeah, that's one thinking.

Speaker 1 (58:16):
Of Derek the Derek Mason that coached Vanderbilt has been
a coach since nineteen ninety four.

Speaker 2 (58:23):
Oh dear God, never mind.

Speaker 1 (58:25):
Man, Wow, he currently coaches at Middle Tennessee.

Speaker 3 (58:29):
Huh, and I thought it was the same Derek Mason
this whole time.

Speaker 2 (58:34):
You wanted something new every day.

Speaker 3 (58:36):
I have no idea.

Speaker 1 (58:38):
I'm currently trying to see how they're doing right now.
Last year they went three and nine. In case you're wondering,
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
If they're doing great. I think they might have lost
a big one.

Speaker 4 (58:49):
Didn't upset this year?

Speaker 3 (58:51):
Mm hmmm.

Speaker 1 (58:52):
Who they're won in Florist so far this year?

Speaker 2 (58:55):
Not good?

Speaker 4 (58:56):
Not good Florida. Who upset Florida?

Speaker 3 (58:59):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (59:00):
That was us F Okay, there we go. I was like, wait,
was that the team that almost got billed?

Speaker 1 (59:06):
That guy, by the way, just finds a way to survive.

Speaker 3 (59:09):
Yeah, I'll tell you what, though, he's still got a
gauntlet he's got to get through.

Speaker 4 (59:14):
So your nation don't fall for it.

Speaker 2 (59:16):
Bro, Yeah, I don't think.

Speaker 4 (59:18):
I think let him go.

Speaker 3 (59:21):
They're raising money. They're raising money. I just think Texas
is and where they are. We talk college football, but
like real quick, like Texas just isn't there. There's not
I mean they arch Manning definitely can't go to the draft.
I mean that would be Idiota.

Speaker 1 (59:42):
Like I hate to like get frustrated. But everybody that, oh,
arch Manning coming out this year, he literally said he's not.
I did, like everybody that is in his campus said,
it's a two year it's a two year thing. Archie. Look,
Archie's out of all all the quarterbacks that could be
your dad, Argie Manning would know whether he's ready or not.

(01:00:05):
And Argie told you he's going two years. He's fulfilling
his commitment. That wasn't just because you made a commitment.
That was, hey, I know my grandkid is not there yet.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:00:18):
By the way, I heard, which is probably the worst
news for Texas.

Speaker 2 (01:00:22):
John Mattier might play Saturday, that is, dear guy.

Speaker 4 (01:00:25):
Oh yeah, I mean you always knew he was coming
back for the Red River game.

Speaker 3 (01:00:28):
I mean they said hand surgery, and I was kind
of like, all right, well, I mean at shoot, I
want him back because as a man with a John
Mattier Heisman ticket, by the way, Phil big brain right there,
I really want him to Yeah, and I also I
also have a Ty Simpson one, but I would like

(01:00:49):
this to be when I go into Heisman night, I'm
looking at all my tickets, I'm looking at my winners.

Speaker 4 (01:00:55):
Can I put my can, I put my group chat
hot take about college quarterbacks out there right now for y'all,
go right ahead. I don't think there's a single first
round quarterback playing in the college ball playing in isition
right now. I don't think that you can argue Carson Beck.
But like I watched them in Georgia last year, I don't.

Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
Know you no, no, no.

Speaker 3 (01:01:16):
I've been working on this theory now because after the
game against Florida State, I think what Georgia does is
they get all the best four and five star receivers
that they can find, and they just recruit them so
that no one else can use them, and then they
don't use them too. They're like, we're just not gonna
have anybody. Like the last guy we had was Aj

(01:01:38):
Green and that was that, Like I guess George Pickens.

Speaker 4 (01:01:41):
But George Pickens, no one would have guessed he was
that good exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
But that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (01:01:47):
They just record so that no one else can use them.

Speaker 3 (01:01:50):
They're like, well, if we have them, we know we're
not going to use them, but we also know that
alet mamma ain't going to use them.

Speaker 4 (01:01:55):
So they're recruited to be very skinny tackles.

Speaker 2 (01:01:59):
Yeah, big weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:02:01):
College football, though, there is a lot of a lot
of stuff going on.

Speaker 2 (01:02:07):
Do we want to talk will I want to end this?

Speaker 3 (01:02:09):
I do want to talk about it, James Franklin, Let's
just talk about it.

Speaker 2 (01:02:13):
Let's just talk about it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:14):
Like.

Speaker 2 (01:02:16):
You can't fire him.

Speaker 3 (01:02:18):
Because why not Collas because it's Penna State.

Speaker 2 (01:02:22):
They don't do it.

Speaker 3 (01:02:25):
And his buyout I think it's fifty million, and I
don't know if they'll do that. I don't know if
Penn State would pay a buy out of fifty million dollars.

Speaker 4 (01:02:33):
So the only thing that gets you fired is a
head as a Penn State code is biling kids.

Speaker 3 (01:02:36):
Like absolutely, or cancer or cancer short of that, yeah
you're good?

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
Yeah, or cancer, oh good.

Speaker 1 (01:02:45):
Happy Valley just became very unhappy with it, and it's.

Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
Been dancing on the gray of a happy valloy.

Speaker 4 (01:02:49):
I'm sorry, but did that not happen?

Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
It didn't know, I'm not.

Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
People absolutely deny that. Joe bod knew to this day
living there for two years. It's razy. I always say,
where is that Joe Paturno statue?

Speaker 2 (01:03:03):
Right?

Speaker 3 (01:03:03):
I know, y'all, I know y'all didn't throw it out
what y'all do with it.

Speaker 1 (01:03:08):
They're waiting like twenty years and then they're going to
bring it back. You know, that's what they're doing.

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
My favorite fact I always drop in Penn State fans.
I think they're like God's gift to this earth. If
you take all of Paterno's wins, he only average seven
wins a year.

Speaker 1 (01:03:22):
Well, okay, you know what, whichever hold on. I want
to say this though, because you bring that up, and I.

Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
Think Miami they came out fatigues whip he fucking do.

Speaker 1 (01:03:30):
This is my thing with Penn State and some of
these bigger programs, like what do you want to be?
Do you want to be name in the paper? Good
to great team? Now in this error, make the college
football Playoff, but never be the over the hump. And
that's where Penn State feels like they are, like, we

(01:03:51):
want to be relevant, we want to be a good team,
but we're not gonna do enough to be an elite team.
They're not an elite team in a Big Ten. There's
certainly not an elite team when you stack them up
against the rest of the country. So what do you
want to be? It feels like Penn State is content
to just be relevant and be a good not great team.

(01:04:15):
They don't use the transfer portal like some of the
other teams in a Big Ten do, not saying they don't,
but they.

Speaker 3 (01:04:21):
Are gonna be great this year, said that early. So
they're gonna be thousand yard receivers on this team.

Speaker 4 (01:04:27):
I was told, I was told Drew Ewler might be
the number one overall pick in the draft. I was
I was that, that's what they told me. I was told. Unfortunately,
I got eyes and they started playing the games like.

Speaker 3 (01:04:39):
They just got asked the question did they pick the
wrong quarterback because the kid at Miszoo would fit into
Cold Nikki's offense fantastically, Because it's no I'm gonna throw
shade And I was gonna say I wasn't when you
run our po I'll give an example with Dan Williams.
I know he ain't ever gonna pull that motherfucker, so

(01:05:01):
I ain't gotta. I have to respect that part of
that option.

Speaker 4 (01:05:04):
That was so unnecessary.

Speaker 3 (01:05:05):
I always bring it up. But Drew l on fourth
and two pulled it and they're like, can't believe you
did that. We're gonna tackle you for a loss because
you can't do that. So it amazes me that they
run that offense with a guy that can't literally run
the ball like that. And then the guy no, just
the guy that they could. They let him go to

(01:05:26):
Miszoo and they're five and nucle and they're playing Bama
and it's a big game.

Speaker 4 (01:05:32):
I might say I kind of like Missou and that one. Guys,
I'm not.

Speaker 3 (01:05:35):
They have the best running back. They have the best
running back in college football. I swear to you right now.

Speaker 4 (01:05:40):
Yeah, I still like Jeremiah Love and Notre Dame.

Speaker 3 (01:05:43):
I do too.

Speaker 4 (01:05:44):
I do.

Speaker 2 (01:05:44):
I like Jeremiah Love.

Speaker 3 (01:05:46):
It just sucks that the other back there is also
like top five in the country too.

Speaker 2 (01:05:51):
Rice.

Speaker 3 (01:05:52):
He's still like Jeremiah Love. I thought he tore his
a cl and then like Marcus Streaming, like didn't even
Baden Eye. He's like, oh wait, we have the other guy.
Let's get him in there. Let's let's give him all
the reps. So it's like, yeah, I don't know. It's
just to your point, though, Dave Penn state, their problem
is they think they are Alabama. They think that they are.

Speaker 2 (01:06:11):
These gods gift to this earth.

Speaker 3 (01:06:13):
They think they're winners, and they don't win they just don't.

Speaker 4 (01:06:16):
Their best case scenarios being the third best team in
their own damn conference. Yes, like Michigan and Ohio State
are the blue bloods in that conference.

Speaker 3 (01:06:25):
I'd even take Michigan over them right now. And Bryce
Underwood still isn't fully developed.

Speaker 4 (01:06:29):
Yeah, well, Brian, Brian, you asked me. I know they
paid him a lot of money. Bryce. There are moments
where you see the flashes of oh, yeah, that's the
best quarterback in the nation last year. Yes, And there
are other times like, oh, you should have a red
shirt on right now, buddy, Like I.

Speaker 3 (01:06:42):
Thought it against Wisconsin constantly when they were battling against Wisconsin.

Speaker 4 (01:06:47):
Who might be the worst team in the nation, and
they're just like, Bryce, you should be in a red shirt. Doug, Like,
there's it really varies drive to drive. But yeah, back
to Penn State, man, if you really look at Penn
State at first, it was they can't beat the elite teams,
and like who among them? Right, most most people can't

(01:07:08):
beat the league teams, while the elite teams. When you
lose a game like you do to u C. L A,
that's when the vultures come out and like, okay, you
can't lose to the elite teams and also get upset
by a team that no one thought would win a
game this year.

Speaker 3 (01:07:22):
And you can't blame you can't blame the travel on
part of the reason why you lost.

Speaker 1 (01:07:28):
Like you gotta put your.

Speaker 3 (01:07:29):
Hand up as high as you can and say we
and it started with me. We did not do enough
to prepare for this game.

Speaker 4 (01:07:35):
Like no one. I understand the travel is different for
these guys, right, Like going from Happy Valley literally all
the way across the country. Yeah, that's rough, and college
students aren't used to that, But you knew that coming
into the season.

Speaker 3 (01:07:47):
You want to play in the rose Ball at the
end of the year, not just in the regular season.
Gotta go there, right, like I gotta go to Florida
for the national championship.

Speaker 4 (01:07:56):
As the head coach, James Franklin, it's your job to
get your team ready to do that. It's your job.
And the fact that he failed so spectacularly again glaring
indictment on him and his role as the close just
so glaring.

Speaker 1 (01:08:14):
Yeah, all right, we need to put an end to
this opening kickoff podcast, A fun one. Glad to be
back next week. We'll break down that big weekend in
college football. We were just talking about and all the
latest news in the NFL. So for Peyton Rod, for
Kevin Pierce, Dave Stminill, this has been the Opening Kickoff

(01:08:37):
Podcast