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August 28, 2024 • 15 mins
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
No hate here. It's all love with our good friend
Dalton Wasserman joining us from per Football Focus. He's a
PFF analyst co host of the PFF College Football Show
with our good friend Max Chadwick, and he joins us
here on the English Hotline to talk a little ball
with us here. What's going on, Dalton, Hewy? You been
man right?

Speaker 2 (00:15):
I'm doing good man. We're only we're just over a
week away from NFL season. We're one day away, about
twenty four hours from college football Week one. The adrenaline
starting to pump. Man, It's gonna be a wild season
on both sides.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
I love it, man. Drill that's the best word. Adrenaline.
You can feel it in your veins right now. Man,
it really does feel good. On that note, let's start
with the college game and we'll dive into the NFL
with you here. Do you look the story of Week zero,
obviously what happened in Ireland with Brent Key run the
ball as he said after the game, and they did.
They came in there and established the line of scrimmage.
Your impressions of that win for Georgia Tech and the

(00:48):
ramifications for both teams coming out of that game.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Really impressive for Georgia Tech. And honestly, I picked them
to win that game, and I figured if they were
gonna that's exactly how they were gonna do it. I mean,
they had to go out there and run the ball.
They're off the line absolutely dominated what was supposed to
be a really good defensive line for Florida. And sometimes
you just get those games, you know, you get certain
teams that want to bring games into the mud and
run the ball. And I was honestly, really really impressed
with their defense. Tyler Santucci called a hell of a

(01:14):
game in his first game coming over from Duke. It was, honestly,
for me, it was better than Georgia Tech's defense looked
at any point last year. If they can keep that up,
maybe they move up a level in the ACC there.
And as far as Florida State goes, you know, it's
hard not to be a little worried about him. I
know it was a tight game, but they've got a
lot of hard games coming still on their schedule. They
got to play Clemson, they have to play Miami. They

(01:36):
always have the game with Florida. There's some other look
the ACC at the top, there's going to be some
tough games, especially if they're going to struggle in the
passing game. So they really need to get it right
quick because they got Boston College next, and Boston College
is a team that gave them a lot of problems
last year when they had all of last year's talent.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, Boston College with a new coach, Bill O'Brien coming
into the Florida and they've got a very talented quarterback there.
So yeah, no rest for the weary there is. We're
talking with Dalton Wasserman from PFF dot com and you know,
you look at what's coming up here, I guess of
regional interest here. Obviously, the big game here in the
Upstate is number fourteen Clemson at Georgia. Well not at Georgia,

(02:10):
but they're facing Georgia in the state of Georgia at
the Mercedes Benz Stadium down there. Your early thoughts on
that game, What are some keys for Clemson to be
able to keep this game not only competitive, but perhaps
steal a win week one here against a very good
Georgia team.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think first and foremost, you're talking about facing maybe
the best quarterback in the country and Carson Beck and
Clemson's defense. Are they capable of a herculean effort? Sure,
and they absolutely need it because you know, I was
watching actually a lot of Clemson tape earlier this week,
and offensively, look, obviously they don't bring anybody in the portal.
They've got the same mostly the same group of guys
coming back other than like Will Shipley and Bow Collins.

(02:48):
They honestly just need to execute better on offense. It
is hard enough for any team to execute offensively against
the Kirby Smart defense, but it's really at a premium
because what I see from Clemson on a lot of
plays is you've got like it's that thing where ten
guys do their job and then that one guy doesn't
and it blows up the whole playoff right Like, And
I know people want to get on Garrett Riley. Why

(03:08):
isn't he bringing the same expulsiveness he brought to, you know,
to TCU when they made that national title run and
all that. But they just need to come out And
I know they've got a young group and Kate Klubnick's
still young quarterback, but they have to execute at the
highest level on offense. And it's I don't think it's
going to be a high scoring game. I personally, I'm
expecting Georgia to win the game unless Clemson can really
find some offense in Clubnick especially hits another level at

(03:31):
quarterback Dalton.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
News was made here over the last forty eight hours
that at least one of the trio of Dallas Cowboys
out there as we shift of the NFL here, that
has been sort of you know, like the WTH mode here.
What are we doing? If you're Dallas CD Lamb finally
gets the big contract extension. How does that alter your
opinion of this team going into this season? Did we

(03:55):
expect this to get done? Your thoughts on the contract
and everything else it's ahead for this franchise obviously with
a lot of unresolved issues.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
As far as Ceedee Lamb goes, It doesn't alter my opinion,
though it would have altered my opinion if he had
held out for any reason, because, honestly, probably even more
so than Dak Prescott, he's their best offensive player. He's
one of the four or five best receivers in football
over seventeen hundred yards last year. They just can't they
couldn't afford to be without him. There's just certain guys
at that position that they're different those guys who are

(04:26):
very good, there's guys who are different. Ceede Lamb is
different and their offense would not function without him for
a whole season. It just wouldn't. He is the key.
He's the key to all of it, the way he
moves around the formation, the way he gets open and
does things after the catch that had to get done.
And he deserves every dime of what he got and
I give them props for signing him. As far as
the rest of the team goes, I don't worry too

(04:47):
much about them at the skill spots. I think they're
going to get Parsons contract done eventually. I worry about
them more in the trenches and the pieces they lost
on the offensive and defensive line. They've got some young
kids playing on the offensive line. They lost a lot
of death on d line. That's where I'm really looking
at them when you talk about matching up with teams
like Philadelphia and San Francisco and even Detroit is in
the trenches. But getting Ceedee Lamb that contract done, it

(05:10):
was absolutely necessary and good for them for getting it done.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
Well Dalton. Since we're talking wide receivers, I have to ask.
We're moving over to Pittsburgh. I'm gonna stay away from Brandon,
but I do want to get your take on this
wide receiving core for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Obviously, George Pickens,
we know about George Pickens, but what do you feel
about what you've seen in the preseason for some of
these like wide receiver twos and threes? What about your
Van Jefferson. You're Calvin Austin and obviously we haven't seen

(05:34):
Roman Wilson yet. What do you think he could be
for this offense going forward into this season?

Speaker 2 (05:40):
You know, I think that last name there is the
one I was really going to focus on as Roman Wilson,
because you know, we've seen a lot of Van Jefferson.
He can be an occasionally good deep threat, and Calvin
Austin's got some speed. I would work him a little
bit more on some gadget stuff like jet sweeps and
things like that. Roman Wilson, if he's healthy, can make
a difference because you go back and watch Michigan and
he was really their one consistent deep threat. They're one

(06:01):
deep threat, or really they're one threat all over the field.
To be honest with you, their passing game was centered
around him. He can handle that workload. And I think
when you talk about you know, Russell Wilson or even
justin Fields, I think you do have two guys that
want to throw the deep ball. Right. I think that's
where this offense is going to be based. Is we're
going to run the ball heavy, whether it be with
Russ or with Fields and with Najie Harris and with

(06:21):
Jalen Warren. They're gonna run the ball heavy like they
did in the second half of last year, and they
have to find those shots off of play action. Obviously, right,
looks Pickens can take some of them. He's got really
good body control, he can win vertically. But they need
that second guy. And honestly, I think if he's healthy,
I would I would really like to see Roman Wilson
be that guy right.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
Right, And then how do you feel about obviously this
is an Artie Smith offense, It's gonna be a lot
of tight end packages. How do you feel about a
Pat Fryar move helping to alleviate some of that strain
from the wide receiving core, or even something like maybe
a Doornell Washington which I saw that looks like we
got rid of Jack Kletos, so I don't know if
we have a full back there. Could you see Washington
maybe moving into more of a fullback position, or just

(07:00):
here's kind of a guy that's going to stand there,
a big body to guard.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
You have him, and I think you still have Connor
Hayward floating around there too, of who I believe could
play that role. It's kind of a versatile, kind of
a versatile role like he played at Michigan State. But no,
I think what what those guys do. That group is
going to do. They're going to move the chains, and
I think Pat Firemuth has become one of the better
chain movers, especially when you talk about a team, you know,
if they get a little bit behind schedule and it's

(07:23):
third and seven, I think you're going to see fire
Mouth get a lot of targets right, like right at
the stakes, right in that seven to twelve yard range
where you really just have to keep you have to
keep drives moving right. You just can't have all of
the you can't have all the three and outs like
they had continuously last year, right, It just kills everything.
And for a defense that's really really good and has
a lot of talent. You don't want them just coming
right back off the right back on the field after

(07:45):
three and outs. Right, So I think you don't have
so much. And the top fire mouth and the tight
ends are guys who really just need to move the
chain for you in those manageable situations.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
Dalton Wasserman as our guest from Pro Football Focus, let's
dive back into college football for just a say. I
can hear one of the things you've been talking about
in some of these college football previews and these videos
you guys are putting out, how about the storeline mike
yelcho versus Riley Leonard this weekend? That's fascinating, is it not?

Speaker 2 (08:14):
It's beyond fascinating, right, It's one of the best things
of this whole weekend when you talk about two guys
that know each other really well, and especially Elko going
against Leonard, and just you just wonder how much going
into this game does he know his tendencies and how
much is that going to matter? And I think you know,
Riley Leonard is a really good athlete, and he fought
through a lot of injuries last year, especially the second

(08:34):
half of the year. He missed a lot of the
second half. It's just you wonder because Riley Leonard, I
think a lot of people see him as an NFL prospect,
but there's still flaws to his game, right, And how
well can Mike Elcho stick his thumb in those flaws
for Leonard and keep A and M in the game.
I know I believe A and M is favored at
home or it's a very tight spread, but I think

(08:55):
Notre Dame is the better team. But that is a
big X factor. A and M's got a good defense too,
in a really good deep pensive line. What can A
and M do to just make Leonard a little bit indecisive?
And what can they do If it's me, I'm trying
to keep him in the pocket, I would be very
afraid of his feet as an opposing defensive coordinator. So
you know, I think Mike Alco, knowing Leonard's tendencies, it

(09:16):
does we might see him have a little bit of
an advantage there.

Speaker 1 (09:21):
Dalton, when you look at the Patriots getting back to
the NFL, but weaving it into the college game as well.
Dalton WASSERMANPFF dot Com is our guest here, and look,
they've had decisions to make across the roster just like
every other team, but obviously the focal point is Jacoby Brissett.
Drake May. Personally, I had my feelings about May, and
it's not just from watching preseason tape. I feel like

(09:42):
he's just ready to roly get him in there. But
what's your sense about that, not just in terms of
May alone, but just in general. Is there damage that
can be done about putting a guy like out there
like May out there too early? Or do you feel like,
in this case, specific to Drake May, it's worth giving
him the rains week one and letting him ride.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
I would give him the reins. I think it might
have been us that talked about this before about I'm
not a big believer in the five or six game
bridge quarterback. I'm not really sure what that does for
the progress of your team or your younger quarterbacks. I
would start him now. I do understand the argument about
what would do you really want to start him behind
this Patriots offensive line? Because we've seen that with other
quarterbacks and it's gone very bad. Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence's

(10:24):
rookie year, Zach Wilson with the Jets. We've seen that
recently where it's like, if you don't have the requisite
pass protection, he's just going to have issues because every
quarterback is going to have issues behind a bad offensive line. Right,
So that part I understand. But as far as as
far as throwing the football and what he can do
on the field, and even athletically he moves better than
Jacoby Brissett, I would I would put him out there.

(10:44):
I think he's certainly talented enough to get out there
and play and play reasonably well. But I understand there's
a lot of factors surrounding him what might make you
go like, oh, well, we don't want to kill this
kid's confidence, or we don't especially you don't want to
get him hurt. That's for Darnis shirt. But I think
may is certainly good enough to start, and they it's
a long term project up there in New England and

(11:05):
they have to build it in a certain way to
fit his skill set. I don't know that they're obviously
not fully there yet, So uh, talent wise, he should start.
He should. To me, I think you should start over Bersett.
I don't get the five or six game waiting thing.
But for his own safety, that's the argument I see.
So it's a tough decision they have. For sure, there are.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
A few guys out there around the league that could
be looked at as rookies we're not paying enough attention to.
Are there Are there a couple guys that come to
mind oor that's kind of a last second question we're
throwing out to your Dalton Wasserman pff. But when you
look at the landscape, maybe you know, not just first
run guys, maybe second, third run guys that we should
keep an eye on around the NFL. Do a couple
come to mind to you that might not be getting
the publicity right now that they might in a couple

(11:49):
of months.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna look at two teams in
the NFC, and I'm going to go first to Philadelphia
and second to Detroit. And there are two teams in
very similar situations who have very good football teams and
last year the undoing was their secondary right. So I'll
start in Philadelphia with their first round pick Quinnon Mitchell
and their second round pick Cooper de john who didn't
see as much preseason action, but Mitchell looked fantastic in

(12:12):
the preseason. Honestly almost picked the ball off against New England.
I forget who threw it, if it was may or
somebody else, but almost picked the ball off against New England.
He's looked really, really good getting reps on the outside
and in the slot. I think those are two rookies
that could have a huge impact and turn around Philly's secondary,
and the same for Detroit. Detroit, if they had a
good secondary last year, would have made and possibly won

(12:34):
the Super Bowl. And that was really the one big hole.
They had the third worst coverage grade for our Metrics
in the league last year. So they have teary An Arnold,
their first round pick from Alabama, and Ennis Rakestraw, the
second round pick from Missouri. They both looked very good
in some limited preseason action. But those are two teams
that have really overhauled their secondary, and I'm looking at
some young players there that could turn around their coverage situation.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
Aaron Rodgers. We know they have a tremendous talent courps
around Rogers, not only offensively but defensively. But I'm still
trying to figure out what this team is. If Rogers
gets hurt a little bit, tyrod Taylor feels like a
better backup option than what they had last year. What's
your overall since with a healthy Rogers, what's their ceiling
and what's your overall forecast for this team right now?

Speaker 2 (13:19):
With the five projected starting offensive lineman if healthy, because
that's the other part two, and a healthy Aaron Rodgers,
they could They have the talent to be one of
the best teams in football. You just a sheer talent
and I know the on paper game. This is the
time of year for it, and it's always dangerous. They're
one of the most talented teams in football at almost
every spot except probably tight end and safety. They have

(13:42):
elite level talents on their roster and they just need
to keep Rodgers upright and keep it together right and
keep it healthy. And he can still make the throws
even at forty years old. I think we've seen enough
of it. We've seen obviously it's just practice cliffs, but
it's Aaron Rodgers. If he's back there clean, I believe
he can make the throws. Brief Hall I think is
in for a big year. It really hinges more on

(14:03):
this brand new offensive line, jelling, signing Tyron Smith, signing
John Simpson, trading for Morgan Moses. These are big impact editions.
Considering the Jets had one of the three worst offensive
lines in football last year. If they go from that
to even just being in the top half, I think
you're talking about a brand new ballgame with the Jets.
They just have to be able to block somebody, because

(14:24):
last year they didn't do it at all.

Speaker 1 (14:26):
DoD Wasserman PFF dot Com joins us here on Engles
hotline Dalton catch up with our friends here on the audience.
Where can they find your work and your great work
you're doing with next Chadwick as well.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
So PFF dot com as always for the written content.
What we're doing now, Max and I we're doing a
Morning after a Sunday morning at nine am Eastern, a
college review show that kind of breaks down the biggest
games from the day before and some storylines at nine
am on Sundays, and a preview show on Tuesday nights
at six pm where we're going to break down the

(14:58):
biggest games coming up for the next week. So we
actually we have the Georgia Clemson preview up for you
guys who did a few more games last night. Those
are all up on YouTube on the PFF College Football
Show channel. And I'll also be on with Trevor Sikima
on Monday's Monday Afternoons breaking down NFL review from the
weekends prior. Also so you'll see me Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday on the main PFF YouTube channel and the PFF

(15:21):
College Football Show Channel.

Speaker 1 (15:22):
Great stuff as always, Dalton Wassoon, and we'll catch up
with you next week and do a little recap on
what's happening in college football and you get ever so
closer to the NFL kick off. My friend, you're right
the adrenalinist flan Man. Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 2 (15:34):
Awesome. Appreciate you guys as always,
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