Game On Rewind: Dalton Wasserman of PFF joins the show! 2024-11-25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joining us now is our good friend from PFF dot com.
It's Dalton Wasserman. What's up.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm man oh wild weekend again, Like you mentioned Saturday,
and somehow I was actually at the Ohio State Indiana
game and then came back from that to see all
the madness that went down the last two days. So
it's certainly getting crazier as we go, isn't that.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
No, it was a great couple of days, man, And
then you know, the Saturday slate was not supposed to
be that dramatic. But college football so unpredictable. Let's start
with the one that was sort of predictable in mini
eyes at least not the margin necessarily, but the win
Ohio State. You mentioned you were at that game. Aren't
they the best team in the country right now? And
what do you make of that game they just played?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
It sure feels like them in Oregon are the two
best teams in the country, And maybe it just showed
when they played each other down to the wire. And
we're most likely going to see a rematch here next week.
But I think the one thing for me, Ohio State,
especially I've seen him in person twice now. Their defense
is on a different level I think than just about
any other team in the country. They have so much
NFL talent Jack Sawyer and JT. Twuoimoloau and Caleb Downs

(01:00):
the back end, and there's just so many this NFL
talent across the board. And I still think, honestly, even
despite the margin, I still think Indiana could play with
almost any team in the country. They're a top twelve
to fifteen team. But Ohio State's on a different level.
I think they're one of the two or three best
teams in the country and very much in the national
title picture.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
No doubt about it. It was a wild Saturday. Dalton
Wasserman PFF dot Com here to help us break it
all down as it relates to not just the college
football playoffs, but some of the other impacts these games had.
But this one was huge. Ole Miss goes down to
the Swamp, and I think there's been a lot of
undue criticism about Billy Napier the job he's done. Look,
they've had a tough schedule, they had a tough road,
They've had some very competitive games during that stretch, and

(01:39):
they close one out against Old Miss. What was your
takeaway from that twenty four to seventeen win against Lane Giffen.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm assuming that ole Miss is going to miss the playoffs,
and that's the first takeaway is it's an incredibly disappointing
year for ole Miss, and as far as Florida goes,
I think you're looking at a lot of hope. Right
You've got a young quarterback who's really talented and each
lagway and I'm just impressed with the way that Billy
Napier has kept that team together through these hard times.
You mentioned it the schedule, quarterback injuries, defensive struggles for

(02:09):
the last year and a half, but I think the
last three or four games are honestly the most cohesive
I've seen them play as a team in the last
couple of years. And that can matter, right, because more
than anything more than just losing games, it started to
feel like for a year plus that we were kind
of losing the culture of the Florida Gators and it
was all just coming unglued, and the fans were revolting
and the play on the field was ugly. But the

(02:30):
fact that he got this team to stay in it
through this and get him to a bowl game and
likely a seven and five season, probably with a win
over Florida State next week. I think it's a big
accomplishment and a lot to hope on for them coming
into next year.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Well, we'll go through the litany of upsets here. Let's
talk about Alabama now with three losses, three losses in
the conference. Now they're four and three in SEC play.
Oklahoma takes care of business. Brent Vnables. I'm real happy
for him because he's dealing with some personal stuff right now,
but also just a huge win twenty four to three.
They're now six five and Jaleen Milrow, I mean, look,

(03:02):
three interceptions. Venables had him in a blender all day long.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah. Absolutely, And I think the first part is that
you know, Venables went in with the idea and it's
a very talented Oklahoma defense. Let's not get this mixed
up here. I think people forgot in this game how
talented their defense is and their offenses just put him
in bad spots all year. But he made sure that
Milroe wouldn't beat him with his legs like he did
to Lsu. Either beat me with your arm or hand
it off to the backs. Just we can't allow Milroe

(03:28):
to control the game, right, But he made him distribute
the ball and Milrow, honestly, that's not his strength still,
and I know he's been almost two full years as
a starter. But if you make him throw the football,
and you make him throw it into short and intermediate windows,
and you don't give up deep shots, you have a chance.
All you have to do is not give up the
home runs. And I think Oklahoma also wasn't afraid of
Alabama's running backs. They weren't afraid of big plays from

(03:49):
anybody else aside from Milroe. And I think there's gonna
be a lot of questions about Alabama and their playoff
chances here because you go, Okay, they have some great
wins right over, especially the one of Georgia, but you're
also talking about a team that they lost to Oklahoma.
They lost to Vanderbilt who's six and five, and this
Oklahoma won, they did not look particularly good at any

(04:10):
point in the game. I mean, they got dominated front
to back by a team that was struggling to score
all year. So they may be actually the most borderline
candidate at the end of it all. They benefit from
some of the other chaos, but they're in serious danger
of missing out.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Joined by Dalton Washerman from Pro Football Focus helping us
break down the college football landscape. They have a NFL
question or two for him in just a minute. But
Dalton can't say enough about Devin Neil in the job
this Kansas offense did against number sixteen Colorado. Game was
played at Arrowhead Stadium, and boy, they just bowled right
over them. They really did. They took the physicality to

(04:43):
them in more ways than I thought they could because
Colorado's defense is much improved. Now your takeaways from that game,
what are performance by Devin Neil and just a great
defensive effort as well.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
And well, Kansas, I'll tell you what. It starts with
Neil and their run game. And that's a very underrated team.
You look at the record the Dragonslayer. Look, three weeks
in a row, they've beaten Iowa State, BYU and Colorado
and at least two out of three of those teams
probably gonna ruin their season as far as playoff hopes
and conference title hopes. But we'll see what this last
week shakes out. No, Kansas, you could see throughout the
season a lot of their games where they were losing.

(05:15):
We're on some bad luck and some turnovers and things
like that the phrase I've been using for him, that's
a good team with a bad record. And Colorado you know,
you know, coach Prime had even said he goes maybe
we overlooked it. We got what did he say, intoxicated
with success? But the big key is you mentioned it.
The two conference games that they've lost is when their
run defense fell apart. And it's been very good for
the most part, but the Kansas State game and the

(05:37):
Kansas game they just didn't have it. And Kansas they
laid their foot on the gas with Devin Neely, got
over forty touches and they said, you know what you're
gonna We're not even gonna try to even risk turnovers
with Jalen Daniels. We're gonna run it down their throat
and we're going to see how long we can hold
the clock because we know the only way to stop
Shduel Sanders is to keep them off the field. And
it worked. I mean, Kansas a masterful game plan and
a very underrated team. Again despite their record, they're much

(06:00):
better than what they showed earlier in the year.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Dalton, let's break down the big game not only in
this state every single year, but one of the biggest games,
if not the biggest game on the college football map
this week Clemson South Carolina. What a match up, especially
when you look at the defensive lines, the pass rush
on each side of the ball. There your impressions and
which way are you leaning right now in this game?

Speaker 2 (06:23):
First impression? You know, it's another underlying thing because of
all the chaos we just saw this past Saturday, there
is a real chance that the winner of this game
could get into the into the college football Playoff, maybe
even as the very last team in. And I'll tell you,
I've been especially impressed with South Carolina this year. And
even you look at their losses, the only dominant loss
was the one to all Miss but darn near beat Bama,

(06:44):
darn near beat LSU. They were ahead on them early.
And that's to me. They're the three best defenses in
college football are Ohio State, Texas and South Carolina. I
think their defense is that good. You can see Leonora
Sellers getting better. And I think for Clemson, you know
whether they're going to make the playoff or not, and
they're waiting to see if Miami wins are loses to
get in the ACC title game. I think it's to

(07:05):
prove it game for Clemson because they're nine to two,
but I gotta be honest, it's a pretty soft nine
and two, and the and the two games they played
against teams at least of their caliber in Georgia and Louisville,
they got dominated in both of those games. So I
think they very much need to prove that they are
of this caliber, and they deserve I think. I think
they came out in the AP Pole as the twelfth
ranked team in the country, and I'm not really sure
how they ended up that high because it's not a

(07:26):
lot of great wins on their schedule.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Dalton flipping over to the NFL looking at the Steelers
tough loss, tough loss Thursday against the Bengals coming on
a short week. Aside from all that, I know a
lot of the narrative is on the offense. The offense,
the offense. What's Russ doing? Is Russ cooking? What are
we doing with justin fields? The packages? My biggest question though,
I'm looking at this defense, what are they doing with
TJ Watt?

Speaker 1 (07:49):
Is it is it.

Speaker 3 (07:51):
TJ's input to keep him there on that side of
the of the line, or like, like, I just feel
like Carol Austin, You've got teams now that are really
ski teaming against t J Watt and kind of nullifying him,
in my opinion, one of the best defensive if not
the best defensive player in the league. He's getting nullified
at the line of scrimmage, triple team, whatever you want.
Why don't they move him around some more? Why don't

(08:12):
you find other ways to get TJ engaged? Or is
there more input from TJ and he's saying, Hey, no,
I want to stay here. This is where I have
my impact.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
It could be a little a bolth and he's been
playing on that side for a long time, primarily right,
And I think it depends on the defensive coordinator and
the team. I mean some teams I think about the Steelers,
I think about even the Bengals and the Browns do
it to an extent where you know that guy's he's
comfortable on that side and that's where he wants to play.
And the Steelers have so many talented guys on the
defensive line, so it's a great it's it's I still
think it's the best defensive line in football. But you're right,

(08:41):
I mean, they could stand and mix it up a
little more, you know, And I think when you get
predictable on defense, no matter how good you are, things
can get a little tougher for you, right especially against
a really good play caller like a Kevin Stefanski. Are
the ones that they're going to see, you know, probably
in the playoffs. But no, I get that. I think
I think they have to. They do have to create
more opportunities for him, and I honestly, I think for me,
the bigger thing with the Steelers defense is back end

(09:04):
is inconsistent. I think you know what you're getting out
of the defensive line every week, and as a unit,
they still rush the passer really well against the Browns.
It just came from other guys like Nick Herbig or
some days it's Cam Hayward or Keanu Betten or whoever else.
It's a talented unit. But I'm a little more worried
about some of the inconsistency in the secondary. You know,
Joey Porter Junior, you don't get what you don't know
what you get week in and week out, and the linebackers,

(09:25):
you know, I'm a little more worried about that than
TJTJ is going to have this week's who know how
good he is. But again, if you do get predictable,
that's when you start to find cracks in a defense.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
Right, And then I guess flipping over to the offense,
obviously we picked up with the acquisition of Mike Williams,
really good deep ball threat. We obviously see it seems
like Russell Wilson has kind of developed a little bit
of a connection with Calvin Austin. He kind of likes
finding Calvin Austin there down the field. When do we

(09:54):
see a little bit more of that connection with Mike Williams.
I know he's not getting as many snaps, but it
almost at times feels like Russ isn't even really looking
his way. I guess obviously it's later on in the
season he's kind of gained his report with his guys.
But do you foresee a little bit more of inclusion
with Mike Williams as time goes on throughout this season?

Speaker 2 (10:11):
I mean, I would think so with the amount that
the Steelers have struggled to find a second outside threat
along with George Pickens, right, and Williams would be it
would be a good fit because I think he can
do a lot of the same things that Pickens. Can
you talk about those deep balls and down the field
and jump balls and you know, and and doing the
things that well, Russell Wilson has come in and done.
He's been one of the best deep passers in the league.
So I think that's also a thing. Again, trading for

(10:33):
a guy mid season, it's tough, tough, frustrating them into
a new team.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
Yeah, yeah, it's frustrating. You've got Mike Williams there and
I have to watch Van Jefferson drop another ball.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
And yeah, you're you're right about that. That is fun.
So I mean, and that's the thing where it raptes
up the urgency. But I also think the Steelers do
have the luxury with their record and despite this, you know,
despite this loss to the brown Oh yeah, they do
have at least high to work it in time to
you know, get themselves to the playoffs and possibly win
a division. I mean, you know, again, it's tough to
lose to a team like the Browns, but the Ravens

(11:08):
did it as well, So I guess you're on even
ground and you see where it goes. But I think
I think you start to see him a little bit
more each week, like you're saying.

Speaker 1 (11:15):
Don Wasserman PFF dot com is our guest does a
great job breaking down the college game and the NFL.
I got one more for you here, Dalton. We spoke
about Alabama earlier. Alabama. Bryce showed up yesterday. Look, I
know it was a loss for Carolina, but a great
effort by Bryce Young. I thought, anticipating throws going against
the Steve Spagnolo defense is no easy task. And I thought,

(11:37):
you know, Bryce played exceptionally well in this game. What
do you make of his story this year? We haven't
talked much about Bryce Young bench early on back in
the lineup. Your take on what Bryce has been doing lately.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Look, the last these last three games, he's been really good.
He has actually for us, he's over the last three
or four weeks. He's the fifth highest graded quarterback in football.
And what I see is a guy playing with just
a greater confidence. First of all, Carolina's offensive line is
a lot better this year, so he feels comfortable with
the protection. And with that, I think he's stepping into throws.
And you saw it yesterday, throwing balls into some tight windows.

(12:12):
And I think that was the thing that bothered me
the most earlier in the year with Bryce, you know,
before he got benched, was he looks like he's afraid
to throw the football, like he's afraid to make a mistake.
Just let it rip, go out there and let what
you have. What do you have to lose at this point,
because now everyone's already off the boat. But I think
the way he's played the last few weeks, you start
having some conversations if he continues to stack solid games
about Okay, maybe we don't have to draft another quarterback,

(12:35):
maybe we could build around him. And he's getting used
to the system and he's you know, the confidence is here.
That's what I see is confidence. It's confidence and belief
in his own talent. And I think there was a
stretch where he did lose that. And I also think
there's some things where he may have watched Andy Dalton
while Dalton was playing and what you know what, these
are some of the little things I need to do,
like instead of you know, throwing the ball into a

(12:56):
bad window, okay, throwing out of bounds and live for
the next play. There's little things like that that I
that I go, Okay, it's maybe slowing down for him
a little bit and he's willing to believe in what
he has in his talent level.

Speaker 1 (13:06):
He's Dalton Wasserman. He's PFF's co host of the PFF
College Football Showed. Does a great job with that great outlet.
We appreciate your time and have a great Thanksgiving Bud.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
Happy Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate you guys as always.