Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joining us now to talk about that and much much more.
Is one of our good friends from PFF. He's a
first time er here on the show, but he knows
all of our friends up there very road, Dalton Wasserman.
He is the PFF Data analyst co host of the
PFF College Football Show. Dalton, thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
My friend, Thanks for having me on. I appreciate you, guys.
A roller coaster of college season's coming, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh man?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Roller?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I love roller coasters, man, I absolutely love it. It
seems like for US football guys, especially in radio, ironically,
enough of roller coasters are popular around July. First, they
ain't a damn thing to talk about. It's hot dog
eating contest. It's oh wait, maybe there's a trade here
or there in baseball. No, it's time. And on that
note here, speaking of college football, it's Clemson country down
(00:44):
here as well as the game Cocks. Let's talk about
the Clemson Tigers. The ACC obviously has expanded. There's some
familiar names and some unfamiliar faces as well. But Kate
Klubnick and this team did finish strong last season. What's
your impression of this team in terms of not just
the Macro. But in terms of maybe defensively, offensively, how
far can they go.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Look, I think they can still win the ACC. I
think they're one of the two best teams. I've been
really eyeing Miami and all the talent they picked up
in the transfer portal. But certainly they still have a
top ten defense. You've just got some star players right
when you're talking about Peter Woods and Barrett Carter and RJ. Mickens,
and they're just still They're always loaded on defense. No
matter how much anybody wants to criticize the Tigers, they're
(01:26):
putting out a top ten, top five defense. Offensively, they
do still have some things to figure out. Obviously, they
finished better last year. You know, they got the run
game going a little bit. But the pressure is on
kid Klubnik, right, and I think he struggled a bit
in his first year starting. It was a lot of inconsistent.
He got away with some mistakes to some balls thrown
into traffic, But the pressure is really on him now.
(01:47):
I mean, you were so used to Clemson having great quarterbacks, right,
like Deshaun Watson, like Trevor Lawrence, even going back to
Taj Boyd and Clubnick he's gonna have to get in
that category. I think if if Clemson really wants to
work their way into the playoff off picture and deep
into the national title picture.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, great observations there, And I think hand in hand
with the quarterbacks you mentioned for the fact that there
were receivers of Clemson for a long time that you know,
helped out on that front. Him you're talking about, you know,
Mike Williams, Hopkins, Watkins, Higgins, and that's been missing a
bit lately. I think that's part of the narrative around
the portal nil and you know, Clemson right now sitting
(02:23):
there in the top fifteen, take that for what it's worth.
But a lot of teams right there that could surprise
this year. Your good friend Max Chadwick is on our
show almost every week and Max is just absolutely in
love with Old Miss. How do you feel about that
team as a potential, you know, semi surprise team as
a playoff contender.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I'm totally with them, and I know, I know, I'm
sure it sounds like I'm totally with them on a
lot of things. But at Miss another team that killed
the transfer portal. They have a boatload of talent. The
question for me really is whether their offensive line can
hold up really against the better teams, because you live
at There are only two losses last year, and it
was to Alabama and Georgia, and generally what happens to
all Miss is they lose those games in the trenches.
(03:04):
They certainly got better in the portal on the defensive
side with guys like Princely, Amon Meelen, Walter Nolan, But
their offensive line, to me, is the one big difference.
If they can keep that unit together and pass perfect,
Jackson Dart well enough in big situations, Ole Miss is
absolutely a dangerous set. I'm with them. I think they're
the biggest threat to Georgia in the SEC. They're explosive offensively,
(03:26):
they hammered the portal defensively. I think they very well
could be a top five team this year.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
They're scary. And I know you've played EA college football.
I know Trey has I mean, we're all addicted to
this game and it's one of those freak teams like
the Game Cocks are a freak team on that game.
Like Nick Harbor, he's a cheat code. I played against
my son with the Game Cocks and absolutely wipe the
floor with him and I suck at video games. Talk
about the game Cocks though a little bit. It's a
big year for coach Sheen Beemer. Obviously they lose Spencer Radler,
(03:54):
other players have moved on. They still have a very
talented group of pass catchers. They we had Rocket Sanders
of the backfield. Is this a team that should be
expected to be a bowl team? And when do they
make that leap? And how soon do they need to?
If you're coach Shane Beemer.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
What I would hope for South Carolina now? I think
if they do make a Bowl game, it's a really
big success, especially with a first year starter that we're
expecting in Lenora's Sellers right, And I think if they
can get a multi year plan going built around Sellers,
I think they could certainly make some progress. I think
a fresh start isn't a bad thing for them. They
try to go get Rattler and the portal and succeed
(04:32):
didn't quite go the way they'd hope. But you've really
got some talented guys. You mentioned Sanders and Harbor on
the outside is an absolute freak. I don't even know
how you get a size speed guy like that. But
even Sellers themselves. I think it starts with Sanders and
Sellers in the run game. Sellers is two hundred and
forty pounds. Sanders when he was healthy two years ago,
was spectacular at Arkansas. If they're going to succeed, I
think they're going to succeed in the run game. They
(04:55):
still them too. They have some work to do in
the trenches on both sides of the ball. You do
have Taka Way on the defensive side, who's a really
good player on the inside as well. But I think
this year to me, if they can stay patient and
make this a longer term project centered around Leonora Sellers,
you're talking about improving throughout twenty twenty four and then
maybe starting to compete in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Dalton Wasserman is our guest from PFF dot com. Look,
we all know about the new college football playoff system,
and you know, maybe I'm just a cliche, but I'm
one of the millions who are like, yeah, I had
more teams. I love this. Your initial impression when they
first announced it, and as we move closer to the season,
are you a fan, are you an old head that
doesn't like you? Are you in the middle what questions
(05:37):
do you have about it and what do you like
about it?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think it's it's a million times better than the
four team. I was sick of the four team. I
was fully in the boat that I think Florida State
should have made it last year, and they got squeezed
for I still don't know what reason. I think twelve
is very good, and it only makes logical sense when
you look at all the lower levels of college football
D two, FCSD three, all that stuff. Tournaments are between
twenty four and thirty two. I don't necessarily think we
(06:03):
need to go to that. I think twelve is a
good number and we might eventually get the sixteen. But
I think the fact that I'm a fan of the
conference titled Champions Game, the top four spots, I don't
mind that, And honestly, I love the fact that we
save a spot for a group of five team. I
think that level of accessibility and the competition it's all
going to create late in the season. I'm telling you
(06:23):
right now, I've been telling everyone this the last three
or four weeks of the season. They're still going to
be instead of six or eight teams relevant, there's going
to be twenty five to thirty, and every game is
going to feel like a big game because you can
get into the playoffs very likely with maybe two and
maybe in special special situations, three losses.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, look, I mean a Boise State among other teams.
You know, he puts them right there in the mix
with that group of teams there. And look, it's an
interesting season too because so much coaching movement here, and
obviously it starts with Alabama Kaitlin de Boor, who brought
quite an offensive structure to his time in Washington, very
very well respected. While Revere but let me just tell
(07:02):
you from a distance, Saban, I'm not even going on
the idea that he's a football god or he's bigger
than life. He's did. The personality, though, is just so
hard to replace. Is that an easy transition, do you think,
or easy enough to where, hey, it's still a player's game.
They're gonna be fine, They'll be right there where they
need to be with Milroe and company. Or do you
think there's a potential one or two year, you know,
(07:24):
eight or nine win type of scenario where they back
up a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
It's never easy, obviously, when you lose arguably the greatest
coach of all time. But I'll tell you what, going
and getting Kaylan de Bores I think a big win
and an even bigger win that they got to keep
Jalen Milroe with him because Milroe's skill set fits the
Bors offense. He wants to throw the ball deep downfield,
and Milroe's got an absolute rifle. He's one of the
best dual threat players in the country. It's a great fit.
(07:49):
He brought in a couple of guys, including maybe the
best center in the country, and Parker Brailsford in there
with him from Washington. I have some questions about them
at wide receiver, but honestly, I would still expect Alabama
to compete for a playoff spot with as much talent
as they have. Look Taylor de Borr, what is it
in his career is like one hundred and four and
twelve or something like that. He just I'm sitting here talking.
(08:09):
I'm talking.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I'm sitting here talking about him like he's Matt Rule.
I shouldn't have done that. This is a guy who
has done it at the highest of place.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Thieven that I just go to be the level of
coach though in today's college football environment, to bring a
team like Washington to a national title game is crazy.
I mean, he's really he's that good and his offensive
schemes are tremendous. I think they're still going to compete
in some fashion, either near the top of the SEC
or at least for one of those top twelve spots.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Dalton shifting over to the NFL some I actually don't
have a steelish question for you, but I want to
focus a little bit on these rookie quarterbacks, mostly because
that's what we always focus on when it comes into
this new draft class. And barring JJ McCarthy with the
news aside, what is it that you look for in
these rookie quarterbacks? Obviously it's preseason, but going from the
preseason into the regular season, what is it that you
(08:55):
look for in these quarterbacks that you go, Okay, they're
making that transition. This guy might be the guy or
on the flip side, do you look at and go, oh, man, oh,
this could be a rough season for this person.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It's what it is for me a lot of times,
especially with young kids, you want to see who has
that composure. And I'll be honest with you, I think
just about all of them showed that they have NFL
level composure. Now it's preseason, it's a low pressure environment.
That's different. But what you want to see the most
is do the things that got you here, right, do
the things you're good at, and hopefully the coaching staff
can work the offense to your strengths too. And you
(09:27):
mentioned McCarthy. I thought Kevin O'Connell in McCarthy's first appearance
and his only appearance this year, I've thought he did
a spectacular job just playing in McCarthy's strengths. Right, Let's
throw these big intermediate crossers that he that he's used
to throwing at Michigan. I think the more that you
can keep, especially a quarterback early on, keep him working
to his strengths right, especially if he's not sitting for
(09:48):
any amount of time like Caleb Williams. Right. I love
the fact that the Bears they got him on the move.
It's very clear the bootleg game and things like Caleb
Williams rolling to his right is going to be a
weapon this year. It's going to be a thing. But
things like that, I just like to see coaching staffs
work to a guy's strengths instead of trying to make
him something he's not, and beyond that, just handling the
pressure of game situations right.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And I'm not sure your thoughts on the whole picking
up Michael Pennock's eighth overall, that's a conversation for another time.
But how do you feel about having a Michael Pennock
singing there? It's almost like a Jordan Love type situation
where you have a veteran quarterback and a guy on
a rookie contract that can kind of sit there and
learn behind somebody that has done this, that has been
here for a while. What are your thoughts on Michael
(10:29):
Pennocks and just kind of how he's going to do
it there in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
So I love Pennix as a player. I think actually
you could argue mentally that he was the most NFL
ready quarterback in the entire class. I think just the
way that Calin de Boor and Ryan Grubb taught him
things at Indiana and at Washington, I think he's NFL
ready mentally. Some footwork things he's got to clean up.
And that's a fun situation because there's going to be
an argument for a long time. Let's say if the
(10:52):
Falcons are really competing this year, with Kirk Cousins and
they're trying to make a playoff run. Should we have
taken Roma Doonze to be that one more weapon, or
should we have taken a pass rusher Al Turner? The
short term versus the long term of that is a fad.
It's a fascinating argument, right, But I can't blame them
if they just like Jordan Love with the Packers. If
they have that much conviction on this guy, I'm with them.
(11:14):
I think Michael Penix is going to be really good
at some point. I just love the way he sees
the field. I love the way he plays a game,
and he's got an absolute rifle for a left arm.
But it's going to be fun to watch that situation,
especially we're thinking probably two years from now, unless unless
Cousins falters that this is the plan. But but in
the meantime, you know, they want to compete with Cousins.
They want to develop, and I think, see, I'm not
(11:35):
a fan of like the bridge quarterback that plays five
games and then the other guy comes in. Yes, yeah,
I like this idea where we go listen two years,
sit down. Kirk's are real professional. He's one of the
best quarterbacks in the league. He's going to be a
great guy to learn from, and I think Penix will
be really good one when his time comes.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Tell Dalton, I'm glad we got you here, Dalton Wasserman
PFF dot Com. Very few people I talk to that
I really respect. Guys like Matt Bowen, Greg Cosell were
good friends with all these guys. We've had conversations about
little nuances such as what you mentioned about the bridge quarterback,
and you're the first guest we've had that has brought
up that point and it drives me crazy, and I
(12:13):
couldn't agree more. Either your rookie quarterback is ready or
he's not. And the way it was done for so long,
and it's not that the game is advanced to the
point we have to do it the way we're doing
it now. It's just something teams are doing, and I
think it's stupid four or five games. Ask put in
a Andy Dalton or put in an insert Sam Darnold's
for five games. Although Sam might cook, you never know,
(12:34):
but either they're ready or not. And I think that
does ring true to Falcons fans right now down here,
that Hey, you got Kirk Cousins who's you know, still
got plenty of Cole's cash left in the bank.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
There.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
He's He's gonna cook as long as the footstay's healthy.
Pennix looks good. Hey, one more question for you, Dalton
Wasserman PFF dot com. It's a couple of years removed now.
Bryce Young is the quarterback down here in Carolina, as
you know. And I'm not so interested in what happened
last year because I was there for every game. I
covered it to Freiheart Radio. I talked to the coaches,
and it was a mess. It was what it sounded like.
(13:06):
It was what worked for him in Alabama. What made
it work for him, the system, the scheme versus maybe
what didn't work last year.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I mean, I gotta be honest with you. The first
thing that worked first and foremost was past protection. And
the Panthers, I believe, by our numbers, had the second
worst interior offensive line in the league. With a guy
with a guy of Bryce Young size and the vision
that he needs to work, they had to get better
on the offensive line, and I love that Dave can
Allison and company went out and did that this year,
getting guys like Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis on the interior.
(13:38):
He was, he was reasonably well protected at Alabama, and
then he when it things got late in the play,
then he could improvise because he can't improvise. He's a playmaker,
he is, But you need to be able to have
enough time to do these things. There's just too many
times last year where their offensive line let them down.
And honestly, I think they did a good job this
year of going and getting weapons around him too. They
just didn't separate. I believe they were. They had the
(13:59):
worst deep receiving grade or ten plus yard receiving grade
for US in football last year. They just couldn't throw it.
They didn't have time to throw the ball downfield, and
they didn't have guys who separated downfield. Now you get
all those guys out of that ten yard box with
real receivers right like Xavier Laged and k Johnston and
these guys, and better pass protection up front. Robert Hunt
was the sixth best guard in football for it last year.
(14:22):
So you're talking about legitimate players now on the inside
that can protect them, and legitimate players that can go
out there and separate and catch the football. And Dave
Canalis I thought did a spectacular job in Tampa last year.
I think it's the right mix to make some serious
progress this season.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I love it, and we love your analysis as always.
You can find his work, of course at PFF dot com.
And we appreciate not just the fact that it's relatively
positive for the Panthers, because we love our Panthers down here,
but you bring up good points about pass protection schematics.
It's going to be a fun season. Dalton Wasserman is
the co host of the PFF College Football Show with
Max Chadwick. Our good friend promote what's coming up for you, guys, man,
(14:58):
I'm sure it's a continues to be busy than all hell.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Right now college season, we're getting to the top of
the roller coaster. Now we've got game previews coming every
single week on the biggest games every week, including Georgia
Clemson week one. We're gonna start, I believe we're gonna
start doing a Sunday review show about a thirty minute
show going over the previous days games for that and look,
liking subscribes, get us over the hump. We're very close
to five thousand subscribers. So if you guys, get us
(15:23):
over the hump. We'd really appreciate it. But you're gonna
see us and other talking points too. But you're gonna
see us previewing and reviewing the biggest games all season.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Awesome. Man, Well, it's a pleasure to welcome you into
the show here and tell Chad we said hi, Chad,
wickedly I call him Chad and Max Chadwick of course,
one of our good friends. And let's get you back
on again.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Man.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Let's talk Panthers when they're finally in the playoffs. Let's
do it.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Absolutely. Just let me know anytime. I'm good for it.
Joining us now to talk about that and much much more.
Is one of our good friends from PFF. He's a
first time er here on the show, but he knows
all of our friends up there very road, Dalton Wasserman.
He is the PFF Data analyst co host of the
PFF College Football Show. Dalton, thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
My friend, Thanks for having me on. I appreciate you, guys.
A roller coaster of college season's coming, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh man?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Roller?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I love roller coasters, man, I absolutely love it. It
seems like for US football guys, especially in radio, ironically,
enough of roller coasters are popular around July. First, they
ain't a damn thing to talk about. It's hot dog
eating contest. It's oh wait, maybe there's a trade here
or there in baseball. No, it's time. And on that
note here, speaking of college football, it's Clemson country down
(00:44):
here as well as the game Cocks. Let's talk about
the Clemson Tigers. The ACC obviously has expanded. There's some
familiar names and some unfamiliar faces as well. But Kate
Klubnick and this team did finish strong last season. What's
your impression of this team in terms of not just
the Macro. But in terms of maybe defensively, offensively, how
far can they go.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Look, I think they can still win the ACC. I
think they're one of the two best teams. I've been
really eyeing Miami and all the talent they picked up
in the transfer portal. But certainly they still have a
top ten defense. You've just got some star players right
when you're talking about Peter Woods and Barrett Carter and RJ. Mickens,
and they're just still They're always loaded on defense. No
matter how much anybody wants to criticize the Tigers, they're
(01:26):
putting out a top ten, top five defense. Offensively, they
do still have some things to figure out. Obviously, they
finished better last year. You know, they got the run
game going a little bit. But the pressure is on
kid Klubnik, right, and I think he struggled a bit
in his first year starting. It was a lot of inconsistent.
He got away with some mistakes to some balls thrown
into traffic, But the pressure is really on him now.
(01:47):
I mean, you were so used to Clemson having great quarterbacks, right,
like Deshaun Watson, like Trevor Lawrence, even going back to
Taj Boyd and Clubnick he's gonna have to get in
that category. I think if if Clemson really wants to
work their way into the playoff off picture and deep
into the national title picture.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, great observations there, And I think hand in hand
with the quarterbacks you mentioned for the fact that there
were receivers of Clemson for a long time that you know,
helped out on that front. Him you're talking about, you know,
Mike Williams, Hopkins, Watkins, Higgins, and that's been missing a
bit lately. I think that's part of the narrative around
the portal nil and you know, Clemson right now sitting
(02:23):
there in the top fifteen, take that for what it's worth.
But a lot of teams right there that could surprise
this year. Your good friend Max Chadwick is on our
show almost every week and Max is just absolutely in
love with Old Miss. How do you feel about that
team as a potential, you know, semi surprise team as
a playoff contender.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I'm totally with them, and I know, I know, I'm
sure it sounds like I'm totally with them on a
lot of things. But at Miss another team that killed
the transfer portal. They have a boatload of talent. The
question for me really is whether their offensive line can
hold up really against the better teams, because you live
at There are only two losses last year, and it
was to Alabama and Georgia, and generally what happens to
all Miss is they lose those games in the trenches.
(03:04):
They certainly got better in the portal on the defensive
side with guys like Princely, Amon Meelen, Walter Nolan, But
their offensive line, to me, is the one big difference.
If they can keep that unit together and pass perfect,
Jackson Dart well enough in big situations, Ole Miss is
absolutely a dangerous set. I'm with them. I think they're
the biggest threat to Georgia in the SEC. They're explosive offensively,
(03:26):
they hammered the portal defensively. I think they very well
could be a top five team this year.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
They're scary. And I know you've played EA college football.
I know Trey has I mean, we're all addicted to
this game and it's one of those freak teams like
the Game Cocks are a freak team on that game.
Like Nick Harbor, he's a cheat code. I played against
my son with the Game Cocks and absolutely wipe the
floor with him and I suck at video games. Talk
about the game Cocks though a little bit. It's a
big year for coach Sheen Beemer. Obviously they lose Spencer Radler,
(03:54):
other players have moved on. They still have a very
talented group of pass catchers. They we had Rocket Sanders
of the backfield. Is this a team that should be
expected to be a bowl team? And when do they
make that leap? And how soon do they need to?
If you're coach Shane Beemer.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
What I would hope for South Carolina now? I think
if they do make a Bowl game, it's a really
big success, especially with a first year starter that we're
expecting in Lenora's Sellers right, And I think if they
can get a multi year plan going built around Sellers,
I think they could certainly make some progress. I think
a fresh start isn't a bad thing for them. They
try to go get Rattler and the portal and succeed
(04:32):
didn't quite go the way they'd hope. But you've really
got some talented guys. You mentioned Sanders and Harbor on
the outside is an absolute freak. I don't even know
how you get a size speed guy like that. But
even Sellers themselves. I think it starts with Sanders and
Sellers in the run game. Sellers is two hundred and
forty pounds. Sanders when he was healthy two years ago,
was spectacular at Arkansas. If they're going to succeed, I
think they're going to succeed in the run game. They
(04:55):
still them too. They have some work to do in
the trenches on both sides of the ball. You do
have Taka Way on the defensive side, who's a really
good player on the inside as well. But I think
this year to me, if they can stay patient and
make this a longer term project centered around Leonora Sellers,
you're talking about improving throughout twenty twenty four and then
maybe starting to compete in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Dalton Wasserman is our guest from PFF dot com. Look,
we all know about the new college football playoff system,
and you know, maybe I'm just a cliche, but I'm
one of the millions who are like, yeah, I had
more teams. I love this. Your initial impression when they
first announced it, and as we move closer to the season,
are you a fan, are you an old head that
doesn't like you? Are you in the middle what questions
(05:37):
do you have about it and what do you like
about it?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think it's it's a million times better than the
four team. I was sick of the four team. I
was fully in the boat that I think Florida State
should have made it last year, and they got squeezed
for I still don't know what reason. I think twelve
is very good, and it only makes logical sense when
you look at all the lower levels of college football
D two, FCSD three, all that stuff. Tournaments are between
twenty four and thirty two. I don't necessarily think we
(06:03):
need to go to that. I think twelve is a
good number and we might eventually get the sixteen. But
I think the fact that I'm a fan of the
conference titled Champions Game, the top four spots, I don't
mind that, And honestly, I love the fact that we
save a spot for a group of five team. I
think that level of accessibility and the competition it's all
going to create late in the season. I'm telling you
(06:23):
right now, I've been telling everyone this the last three
or four weeks of the season. They're still going to
be instead of six or eight teams relevant, there's going
to be twenty five to thirty, and every game is
going to feel like a big game because you can
get into the playoffs very likely with maybe two and
maybe in special special situations, three losses.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, look, I mean a Boise State among other teams.
You know, he puts them right there in the mix
with that group of teams there. And look, it's an
interesting season too because so much coaching movement here, and
obviously it starts with Alabama Kaitlin de Boor, who brought
quite an offensive structure to his time in Washington, very
very well respected. While Revere but let me just tell
(07:02):
you from a distance, Saban, I'm not even going on
the idea that he's a football god or he's bigger
than life. He's did. The personality, though, is just so
hard to replace. Is that an easy transition, do you think,
or easy enough to where, hey, it's still a player's game.
They're gonna be fine, They'll be right there where they
need to be with Milroe and company. Or do you
think there's a potential one or two year, you know,
(07:24):
eight or nine win type of scenario where they back
up a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
It's never easy, obviously, when you lose arguably the greatest
coach of all time. But I'll tell you what, going
and getting Kaylan de Bores I think a big win
and an even bigger win that they got to keep
Jalen Milroe with him because Milroe's skill set fits the
Bors offense. He wants to throw the ball deep downfield,
and Milroe's got an absolute rifle. He's one of the
best dual threat players in the country. It's a great fit.
(07:49):
He brought in a couple of guys, including maybe the
best center in the country, and Parker Brailsford in there
with him from Washington. I have some questions about them
at wide receiver, but honestly, I would still expect Alabama
to compete for a playoff spot with as much talent
as they have. Look Taylor de Borr, what is it
in his career is like one hundred and four and
twelve or something like that. He just I'm sitting here talking.
(08:09):
I'm talking.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I'm sitting here talking about him like he's Matt Rule.
I shouldn't have done that. This is a guy who
has done it at the highest of place.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Thieven that I just go to be the level of
coach though in today's college football environment, to bring a
team like Washington to a national title game is crazy.
I mean, he's really he's that good and his offensive
schemes are tremendous. I think they're still going to compete
in some fashion, either near the top of the SEC
or at least for one of those top twelve spots.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Dalton shifting over to the NFL some I actually don't
have a steelish question for you, but I want to
focus a little bit on these rookie quarterbacks, mostly because
that's what we always focus on when it comes into
this new draft class. And barring JJ McCarthy with the
news aside, what is it that you look for in
these rookie quarterbacks? Obviously it's preseason, but going from the
preseason into the regular season, what is it that you
(08:55):
look for in these quarterbacks that you go, Okay, they're
making that transition. This guy might be the guy or
on the flip side, do you look at and go, oh, man, oh,
this could be a rough season for this person.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It's what it is for me a lot of times,
especially with young kids, you want to see who has
that composure. And I'll be honest with you, I think
just about all of them showed that they have NFL
level composure. Now it's preseason, it's a low pressure environment.
That's different. But what you want to see the most
is do the things that got you here, right, do
the things you're good at, and hopefully the coaching staff
can work the offense to your strengths too. And you
(09:27):
mentioned McCarthy. I thought Kevin O'Connell in McCarthy's first appearance
and his only appearance this year, I've thought he did
a spectacular job just playing in McCarthy's strengths. Right, Let's
throw these big intermediate crossers that he that he's used
to throwing at Michigan. I think the more that you
can keep, especially a quarterback early on, keep him working
to his strengths right, especially if he's not sitting for
(09:48):
any amount of time like Caleb Williams. Right. I love
the fact that the Bears they got him on the move.
It's very clear the bootleg game and things like Caleb
Williams rolling to his right is going to be a
weapon this year. It's going to be a thing. But
things like that, I just like to see coaching staffs
work to a guy's strengths instead of trying to make
him something he's not, and beyond that, just handling the
pressure of game situations right.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And I'm not sure your thoughts on the whole picking
up Michael Pennock's eighth overall, that's a conversation for another time.
But how do you feel about having a Michael Pennock
singing there? It's almost like a Jordan Love type situation
where you have a veteran quarterback and a guy on
a rookie contract that can kind of sit there and
learn behind somebody that has done this, that has been
here for a while. What are your thoughts on Michael
(10:29):
Pennocks and just kind of how he's going to do
it there in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
So I love Pennix as a player. I think actually
you could argue mentally that he was the most NFL
ready quarterback in the entire class. I think just the
way that Calin de Boor and Ryan Grubb taught him
things at Indiana and at Washington, I think he's NFL
ready mentally. Some footwork things he's got to clean up.
And that's a fun situation because there's going to be
an argument for a long time. Let's say if the
(10:52):
Falcons are really competing this year, with Kirk Cousins and
they're trying to make a playoff run. Should we have
taken Roma Doonze to be that one more weapon, or
should we have taken a pass rusher Al Turner? The
short term versus the long term of that is a fad.
It's a fascinating argument, right, But I can't blame them
if they just like Jordan Love with the Packers. If
they have that much conviction on this guy, I'm with them.
(11:14):
I think Michael Penix is going to be really good
at some point. I just love the way he sees
the field. I love the way he plays a game,
and he's got an absolute rifle for a left arm.
But it's going to be fun to watch that situation,
especially we're thinking probably two years from now, unless unless
Cousins falters that this is the plan. But but in
the meantime, you know, they want to compete with Cousins.
They want to develop, and I think, see, I'm not
(11:35):
a fan of like the bridge quarterback that plays five
games and then the other guy comes in. Yes, yeah,
I like this idea where we go listen two years,
sit down. Kirk's are real professional. He's one of the
best quarterbacks in the league. He's going to be a
great guy to learn from, and I think Penix will
be really good one when his time comes.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Tell Dalton, I'm glad we got you here, Dalton Wasserman
PFF dot Com. Very few people I talk to that
I really respect. Guys like Matt Bowen, Greg Cosell were
good friends with all these guys. We've had conversations about
little nuances such as what you mentioned about the bridge quarterback,
and you're the first guest we've had that has brought
up that point and it drives me crazy, and I
(12:13):
couldn't agree more. Either your rookie quarterback is ready or
he's not. And the way it was done for so long,
and it's not that the game is advanced to the
point we have to do it the way we're doing
it now. It's just something teams are doing, and I
think it's stupid four or five games. Ask put in
a Andy Dalton or put in an insert Sam Darnold's
for five games. Although Sam might cook, you never know,
(12:34):
but either they're ready or not. And I think that
does ring true to Falcons fans right now down here,
that Hey, you got Kirk Cousins who's you know, still
got plenty of Cole's cash left in the bank.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
There.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
He's He's gonna cook as long as the footstay's healthy.
Pennix looks good. Hey, one more question for you, Dalton
Wasserman PFF dot com. It's a couple of years removed now.
Bryce Young is the quarterback down here in Carolina, as
you know. And I'm not so interested in what happened
last year because I was there for every game. I
covered it to Freiheart Radio. I talked to the coaches,
and it was a mess. It was what it sounded like.
(13:06):
It was what worked for him in Alabama. What made
it work for him, the system, the scheme versus maybe
what didn't work last year.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I mean, I gotta be honest with you. The first
thing that worked first and foremost was past protection. And
the Panthers, I believe, by our numbers, had the second
worst interior offensive line in the league. With a guy
with a guy of Bryce Young size and the vision
that he needs to work, they had to get better
on the offensive line, and I love that Dave can
Allison and company went out and did that this year,
getting guys like Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis on the interior.
(13:38):
He was, he was reasonably well protected at Alabama, and
then he when it things got late in the play,
then he could improvise because he can't improvise. He's a playmaker,
he is, But you need to be able to have
enough time to do these things. There's just too many
times last year where their offensive line let them down.
And honestly, I think they did a good job this
year of going and getting weapons around him too. They
just didn't separate. I believe they were. They had the
(13:59):
worst deep receiving grade or ten plus yard receiving grade
for US in football last year. They just couldn't throw it.
They didn't have time to throw the ball downfield, and
they didn't have guys who separated downfield. Now you get
all those guys out of that ten yard box with
real receivers right like Xavier Laged and k Johnston and
these guys, and better pass protection up front. Robert Hunt
was the sixth best guard in football for it last year.
(14:22):
So you're talking about legitimate players now on the inside
that can protect them, and legitimate players that can go
out there and separate and catch the football. And Dave
Canalis I thought did a spectacular job in Tampa last year.
I think it's the right mix to make some serious
progress this season.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
I love it, and we love your analysis as always.
You can find his work, of course at PFF dot com.
And we appreciate not just the fact that it's relatively
positive for the Panthers, because we love our Panthers down here,
but you bring up good points about pass protection schematics.
It's going to be a fun season. Dalton Wasserman is
the co host of the PFF College Football Show with
Max Chadwick. Our good friend promote what's coming up for you, guys, man,
(14:58):
I'm sure it's a continues to be busy than all hell.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Right now college season, we're getting to the top of
the roller coaster. Now we've got game previews coming every
single week on the biggest games every week, including Georgia
Clemson week one. We're gonna start, I believe we're gonna
start doing a Sunday review show about a thirty minute
show going over the previous days games for that and look,
liking subscribes, get us over the hump. We're very close
to five thousand subscribers. So if you guys, get us
(15:23):
over the hump. We'd really appreciate it. But you're gonna
see us and other talking points too. But you're gonna
see us previewing and reviewing the biggest games all season.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Awesome. Man, Well, it's a pleasure to welcome you into
the show here and tell Chad we said hi, Chad,
wickedly I call him Chad and Max Chadwick of course,
one of our good friends. And let's get you back
on again.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Man.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Let's talk Panthers when they're finally in the playoffs. Let's
do it.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Absolutely. Just let me know anytime. I'm good for it.
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