NFC North Preview

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the On
the Sideline Podcast with Jackson and Kyle. I am Jackson
and I'm joined here as always by the man who
is higher on JJ McCarthy than bow Nick's out of
college Kyle. Kyle, how are you doing.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
I'm doing good. I was hired on JJ mc arthia.
I still might be. We'll see, We'll see how it goes.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, I'm fair to think a lot of I mean,
Dan if I was the Vikings were they drafted him.
We will talk about him and the excitement there. Obviously,
Boni's had a good rookie season. Kyle, I'm excited to
talk about this, Uh, this whole this division. This is
maybe the most exciting division to talk about. We had
three teams coming off of playoff berths, albeit three teams

(01:23):
that went on undone once they got there. Also the Bears,
who didn't make the playoffs but are a very fascinating
team in their own right. This is maybe the most
exciting division to talk about.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Oh, without a doubt.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, I think it's very interesting. I mean, you could
argue the Bears had the most off season improvement. Will
it translate to on the field, but on paper, you
could argue they won the off season and you have
three really good teams right.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
In front of them.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
So this is this is the one I had ranked
the best division in football. I think all four of
these teams are absolutely playoff contenders, if not contenders to
win the NFC as much as you know, difficult as
it sounds for some more than others. I think this
is a loaded division, and I think all of these
teams could be really successful next season.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Kyle. If you want to know how longest been since
football season has gone on, I know if there's a
literal spider web growing on my computer. So, uh, that's
that's what we Uh, that's all. It's bad, although I
still use my computer, but uh yeah, uh, this is no,
this is very exciting, Kyle. Uh, let's see what I wanna.
I forgot, had so much to, so much to get
into and and have lost all of it. I don't know.

(02:25):
Uh do you want to ski into the the rankings? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, we need dive right in. Why not? So let's
get into the NFC.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
I remember what I was gonna say, We're gonna let's
let's talk about the scheduling stuff real quick. That's what
it was, uh coming up. We just so everyone knows, uh,
Kyle is gonna be traveling this next month, so we're
gonna have a bit of a unusual schedule for the
next few weeks. We will, I'll put a uh, I'll
put the schedule on a community poll or community he

(02:53):
knows tab just so you can check that out. But
essentially next week we'll be doing Monday right six pm Eastern, Yes, yes,
and then we're gonna skip the following week and then
we'll be back on a twenty second Friday. That that
all works for you, Yep, that all works for me. Cool, okay,
and then we'll be back to regular Wednesday every week.

(03:13):
So yeah, ait, unusual. Just be on a look up
for that. Again. I'll put up community notes PAB for that.
But yeah, uh Kyle, Okay, all that out of the way,
let's get into the division. You know again, the Bears
were the only thing to miss the playoffs last year.
Do you have them finishing fourth again this year? I do.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
I had the Bears currently fourth, and granted, like I said,
I think all of these teams have a case of
trying to making the playoffs this year, so you know.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
It, I don't want to.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
It shouldn't come off as disrespectful because I think all
of these teams have a chance. However, I think the
thing with the Bears is it's still in theory. To me,
everything about the Bears is still.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
A little bit hypothetical.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
We need to see Caleb Williams play a little bit
better and a little bit much more consistent. You know,
he still had the high and the lows, but there
is way too many lows and not enough highs. They
revamped everything around him. This is one of the best
offensive lines of football.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
All of a sudden.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
They have a young, up and coming coaching staff that
everyone's really excited about. This defense still should be still
should be really good, and there's plenty of talent on
this team to be successful, but it all comes down
to Kaleb Williams. You know, none of this matters if
Kayleb Williams is in good day one and they need
him to be, and if it is, then this is
a super Bowl. If he is what he was tipped

(04:30):
to be as a as as a prospect how a
lot of people like myself viewed him, this could be
even a super Bowl contender this season. But we need
to see all that kind of come together before we
can get excited.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
Sure, I mean, the potential with Ben Johnson and Kleb
Williams is through to row. It just the these are
two guys who, again, like you said, Caleb Williams the
obviously degenerational prospect. All that the potential with him Ben Johnson,
We've seen what he can do with the Detroit line
and how they were able to have so much success offensively.
And again you could say, well, look at the personnel,

(05:06):
but the personnel didn't change that much from when he
got there to a year prior, but the overall offensive
output changed massively when he got there. So definitely we
know he can do ex's and o's. But of course
there's the question of all the other stuff when it
comes to coaching. As of right now, I'm gonna go
with Tier three coaching and Tier four quarterback play, but again,

(05:26):
that could be wildly higher if these guys can reach
their potential.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Yeah and yeah, I mean there it's Tier one ceilings
for both of these guys.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yes, for sure.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
So that's that's what we're looking at with this head
coaching quarterback candidacy. You know that Ben Johnson was tipped
to be a head coach for a few years now.
He waited, he waited, he was patient, and he decided
this is the job you want because he wanted to
stay on the roster building and he ronted say on
which quarterback he was going to coach. I think those
were both really important things to him. And you signed

(05:55):
to me a dollar amount helped too. Probably, Yeah, getting paid,
I mean he was gonna get paid by whoever hired
him this offseason.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
So sure, I don't think it's got more than your
average new head coach does.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
Exactly, so like I think, and you saw the statement
of intent by the Bears this offseason by basically as
soon as they hired him, what they did to bring
in talent to this team. So it's it's it's exciting.
I think everyone's excited for what this team could look
like in theory, but it's still just very much in theory.
So we're gonna see how it looks. But Ben Johnson,

(06:28):
at a minimum, you think you should have a better
offense next season, and that might just be enough for
the Bears. If they just have a better offense this
season compared to last season, they could win eight nine games,
even more in even ten or eleven games, So that
could go just a long way on its own, and
then the rest of it will see how he manages.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
Obviously, a huge part of this team is the new
interior offensive line. You have. You know, Baxton Jones and
Darnold Wright have been a good tackle tandem for them.
The question is the adheriors wasn't very good last year.
They replaced all three guys. You have Jonah Jackson, which
is a bit of a wild card coming off with
the Rams. But then Drew Dolmon really good center for

(07:07):
the Falcons when he's been healthy. Joe Dooney, who can
play left tackle if you need him to do that,
also is an all you know, it was an All
Pro guard last year with the Kansas City Chiefs and
they were able to get him, which was kind of
a big move. Again, I'm gonna go Tier two. And
the biggest thing is there's a little question marks with
Jonah Jackson, although he has played well in the past,
and you just have you know, guys who haven't played together.

(07:30):
The only two guys who have played together are the
tackles who couldn't be further away from each other on
the field. So like That's that's why I have the
concerns why I'm not gonna go Tier one. But again,
tier one potential.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Here, Yeah, we've just never really seen that right, where
like you're adding so many new faces to an offensive
line and just asking them all the work together seamlessly.
Like it is a risky thing for sure. So we
will definitely see how it works out. And there is
some risk with you know, Joe Thuney's not you know,
young anymore, could you know? Is there risk there as well?
I mean there are some risks to this as well.

(08:02):
But I mean this team's pretty good and I mean
this group, if you just took it on his face,
this offensive line, I mean it's a it's a top
five group. If your worst player on this group is
probably Jonah Jackson, I think you're still doing something right
even if there is some risk.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, I agree. We can talk about the weapons. I
think this weapons group is probably my biggest concern about
this roster. So you have DeAndre Swift, who has had
some good years with the with the the Eagles. You
have vot Seawn Johnson as a you know, I'm assuming
he'll be the change of paceback for the Bears. It's

(08:37):
not exactly striking fear into your hearts there, I don't think.
Also for the for the receivers, I mean, what are
you getting out of roma do and say? Who did
not show a lot? Not show what we wanted to
see him year one with the you know with the Bears.
Granted you've got Ben Johnson that can change things. DJ
Moore has had some really good years, did not have
a great connection with Kayleb Williams last year, especially on

(08:59):
deep routes. Then you have Luther Burden a third who
I think could be really good, and a Ben Johnson scheme.
I'm really excited to see what he can do. You
do have, of course Colson Lovelin and Cole Corbett at
the tight end position, which I think helps. So there's
a lot of interesting pieces. I'm curious in how this
is gonna all work. I'm not crazy about the running
back of room. In fact, I'm just gonna go Tier

(09:19):
five running back of room. I know there's some talent,
but again, every team has some talent in the running
back of room. I think I'm gonna go Tier three
receiving room. But I don't know. This is it's a
weird one. Right. I mean it's it's again total projection.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
Here, it is a total projection. DJ Moore did not
have his best season, and even then, like I think
a lot of the analytics didn't love him as like
a true number one option even at his best. I
think he's been a good number one option throughout his
career though, and I could see a bounce back season
for sure, so you have him. I'm a big fan
of Luther Burden. I mean, they went heavy on free
agency with the offensive line, and then they went heavy

(09:57):
in the draft on skill position, and I didn't hate
the strategy. Honestly, Luther Burden and Coolson Lovelin could be
top end players at their positions sooner down the line
than we think. I was a big fan of him
in the draft. Loveland was a guy I was interested
in the draft, even if I didn't have him as
tight end one as he was taken. You know, he
kind of fits the mold of what you want from

(10:17):
that Detroit tight end spot. So I understand why they
or Detroit Chicago tight end spot with Ben Johnson and
Detroit previously, so I understand why they win for him.
So I see all that kind of working out potentially.
I see Romadounze as a guy who could have a
bounce back season, very similar to Caleb where I thought
he showed the flashes but not really the execution all
the time. So overall, it's a very interesting group and

(10:40):
another one where it's high ceiling, but right now the
floor is lower than it should be.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah, a lot, a lot of moving parts as well
with that situation for the defense. Now, as we move
along with this team, we can go to the secondary,
which has been a strength seemilarly forever for the Chicago Bears.
The secondary, you know, in recent history hasn't been grade
every year, but obviously with Jalen Johnson has a shutdown corner.

(11:06):
Also Kyler Gordon as the Nicol not to be confused
of Kyle Grondon. You also have PERRYK. Stevenson, who not
the best at playing Hail Mary's but also just not
the best at playing is a fine corner, but you know,
not a I think you would probably like an upgrade.
There also have some questions about depth with this corner room.

(11:26):
What happens if there's an injury, you know, we'll see.
You do have Kevin Byron and Elijah Hicks also Jonathan
Owens for the safeties, so and Jaquan Brisker. So you
have good safeties here with this with this team with
like a little bit of upgrade at corner two because
of that, I'm gonna go tier two coverage. But again,

(11:48):
this should still be very good.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
Yeah, yeah, it should be very good once Jalen Johnson's
back as well. He's one of the best corners in
the game. So you really like that secondary group. Like
you said, it is a little thin, but that starting
lineup is.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
Going to be very very good and competitive.

Speaker 3 (12:03):
And you know, even a guy like Tyreek Stevenson, he's
had some good moments, little inconsistent, Like you said, you
don't necessarily want him talking to the fans during the
Hail Mary, but he has had a good moment.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
So I like this group overall. And they also got.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
Terrific coverage linebackers I think too, so that also helps.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, TJ. Edwards and Tremaine Edmonds are those guys who
can also play the run as well. To just finish
off this roster with the front seven, Montesewet's probably the
biggest name as the edge rusher, y'all. They brought in
Dalo Indegobo, who should be a fine player. I don't
know if that's again that's not the greatest one two
punch you ever see, but that's good and against what's
very good, you know, Grady Jarrett, Andrew Billings, Jervan Dexter

(12:42):
Junior for the interior, so you can you have pieces there. Again,
we can talk about if all these contracts were the
right contract and all that, but they did add pieces
here that should help them be able to play better.
So well, I'm not crazy about really any of this.
I think tier threes across the board from on defense
and pass rush feels fair.

Speaker 3 (13:03):
Definitely, if he feels fair, I think it's all pretty good.
I mean, I think Grady Jarrett isn't quite peak Grady Jarrett,
but I still think he's a pretty serviceable player. Montes
Web has been good since he's come over in the trades,
so I have no issue there. It's not like the
superstar laden group. But at the same time, this this
defense is built on its secondary, which is probably the
right way, and it's not really it isn't even like

(13:24):
the front seven is really a weakness. Beyond that, I
think it's just good. And if it's good, and the
secondary is great. It's gonna be a great defense, and
that's what they're going for.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yeah, so as a whole, they're just I'm I saved
my record predictions until this point, and I'm like, I
don't know, like how much supposed to predict what this
team is gonna do? Like, how do you even go
about trying to predict what the record is gonna be?

Speaker 3 (13:45):
If I said that, like they could win six games
or they could win like eleven games. Would you be
shocked by other scenario?

Speaker 1 (13:54):
I think I'd be just shocked if it's somewhere in
the middle. I think, like, it just feels like those
are two options. So I guess I'm just gonna pick
like a nine for this team, and like I'll be
wrong one way or the other.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, that feels kind of right. I agree with you there.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
But yeah, it feels like it's either gonna work tremendously
or you know, kind of fall in its face if
these guys don't work out. But yeah, I mean that's
that's the gamble you take with young talent. I mean,
there is young talent on this team. It has to
translate to the field, though, So we'll see how it
works out. But you know, the Bears should be Bears
fans should be excited. There's a lot of reason to
be excited about this team. We just need to see guys,

(14:29):
like a dude. I mean, if Adune's a Williams and
Luther Burden hit, then this is probably gonna be a
team that realizes its full potential for sure and could
compete for championships in the future. If they don't, then
all of a sudden, you have a you have a
lot of questions in the off season about how you're
going to manage all that.

Speaker 1 (14:48):
Sure, But I mean again, like if cam Ward hits,
the Titans are gonna be good, you know, like like
every team, like every team's best case scenario is pretty good.
And I think that's where it's weird, because I think
the Bear best case scenario is better than your average
team's best case scenario is, which is wide are exciting.
But again, I mean I just looking through the roster,
how many question marks is there? I mean, the receiving corps,

(15:10):
whole new group of guys, quarterback totally unproven, great in
college has wasn't great year one. Ben Johnson never done
it at the pro. You know, as a head coach,
although he's been awesome as a coordinator. This offensive line
fully new pieces, even the defense has like Kevin Byern's knew,
like the defensive line has a bunch of new pieces.
Like this is such a Madden level team of like

(15:31):
just adding pieces and hoping it works out. I just
I think historically these teams underwhelm. But also like, like
I don't think I can just jump into that and
say that's gonna happen, because again, I do think some
of these pieces could be really good.

Speaker 3 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, it's just we're still trying to project what
young players we were excited about, and I mean, yeah,
I mean we were still excited about those players, but like,
I mean, there's a chance those guys are bad, Like
they were bad last season.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
They weren't good enough last season.

Speaker 3 (16:01):
And we're giving them all a pass. But you know
what we could be saying by week seven, like this
is a total disaster. You got to take a quarterback
next year. I mean, we were saying the same things
about Bryce Young and he turned it around and had
a good end of the year, and that could be
kind of the path this team goes on.

Speaker 2 (16:18):
But yeah, I mean it's.

Speaker 3 (16:19):
Still far, far, too much of a prediction at this point,
and that's why I think it's right to put them
forth for now and just wait and see what happens.

Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, I think that's fair as well. But yeah, it
just goes to show the division as well that they
are fourth. Kyle, guess the guess the how many people
in the Community Notes poll predicted the Bears to win
the division a little bit, a little bit low seven percent,
so you're right around there. They were fourth in the

(16:47):
in the poll as well. Percent. I was actually I
was expecting a little bit more. To be honest, Again,
I wouldn't predict them, and maybe just because the division
is tough, but like there is hype around them.

Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yeah, I am going to be interested with these last
three teams look like, because I mean, you could talk
to me into any of these three teams being pretty
good next season.

Speaker 1 (17:04):
Yeah, well, Kyle, talk me into which one you don't
think will be at least top two in the division.
Who is finishing third in the NFCARF according to your predictions?

Speaker 3 (17:13):
Yeah, tough one. These are all playoff teams last year.
I think they're all going to be playoff teams again
this season or at least close to it. I got
the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers I think
have some really good things. Josh Jacobs is a terrific
running back. They have a good offensive line, they have
some interesting skilled players, still some solid pieces on defense,

(17:36):
and for my money, one of the best coaches in
the league in Matt Lafloor. I think he continues to
do awesome stuff year after year. I think the consistency
is to issues at quarterback. I mean, they don't really
get enough of an edge over these two young players
that they're going against with you know, obviously Caleb Williams
and JJ McCarthy in Minnesota. We want to see that
consistency leap from Jordan Love because I think that's holding

(17:58):
this team back a little bit. And I think there
was enough worry about things in the secondary. They got
some good production from certain players they you know, obviously,
you know, letting a guy like j or Alexander go
is headline worthy. He wasn't the best at times last season,
But has that been addressed enough? How are those pieces
and how are those pieces gonna step up into his place?
I think those are all questions the Packers have to

(18:20):
address before next season.

Speaker 1 (18:22):
Yeah, let's start off as we always do with the
head coaching quarterback, I mean, Matt Befoor. We don't spend
much time on him. He's very good, one of the
better expers to those guys in the league, seeming league
you know, has kind of finally figured out the defense stuff,
which was an issue early on in his career. You know,
tier two head coach with La Floor probably closer to
Tier one and tier three. Jordan Love is an enigma.

(18:45):
He is someone who, again, if you're a Packers fan,
you can totally talk yourself into well. No, year one,
it took him some time to figure it out, and
then once he did, he was really good. In the
second half of the year. Year two, he was you know,
he was banged up early on. Once you finally got healthy,
he was really good. Again, played bad against the Eagles,
Soda Patch, Mahomes whatever, but also like we have seen

(19:06):
him play good for half of his career and bad
for half of his career. So like it's the thing.
We're like the Baker Mayfield thing. In hindsight, it was
obvious Bigger Mayfield was just playing injured and that's why
he was struggling. But at the time and went to
the Panthers and Daniotwan and that's why he struggled. At
the time, it was harder to predict that I'm going
Tier three for Jordan Love. I still don't really know
who he is.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, And it's the tier.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
It's it's not even like a consistent Tier three is
the issue. It's you know, it's tier it's tier you know,
high Tier two one days and then it's Tier.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
Four, Tier five the other day. That's the problem.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
It's not actually like a Tier three level performer. And yeah,
so I think like the best versions of Jordan Love
last season, the Packers plaid Tarri for games. But like
I mean, you could say, like Malik bees or Malik
Willis not Malik Beasley, that's basketball. Malik Willis at times
played better than him last season.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
Like well, I mean in fair in like the eight
passes he would row.

Speaker 3 (20:06):
Yeah, but I mean whether or not they put the
training wheels on him or not, Like you could argue
like one of their best days of offensive games of
the season was with Malik Willis at quarterback for a reason,
because they they wanted to run the ball a certain
way and they did and Willis's I mean, he played
he played that game terrifically granted to West Tennessee, so

(20:26):
you know, you take with a grain of salt, but
like I still think, like I'm not saying that they
should start Malik Willis or anything like that, but it's
just kind of pointing to the fact that, like, you know,
another quarterback came into this offense and played just as
well as Jordan Loveday last season, and.

Speaker 1 (20:41):
I got the built off what you're saying. A guy
who was essentially cast off came into that situation and
the offense didn't like fall apart, it was able to
still you know, be successful with that, yes, exactly.

Speaker 3 (20:53):
So I just think it's something you got to look at,
like he has to round it into form, because yeah,
I mean, you could point to the best games of
Jordan and get really excited, but there are still too
many of those games where it's like, man, I just
don't think there's enough of those throws that you need
to see.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yeah, let's that about the weapons with we can help
out Jordan love First, running back room Josh Jacobs continuing
to do it at a high level. He's only twenty seven.
This guy feels like he should be thirty seven. No,
he's still He's still in his you know, late to
mid twenties and still one of the best running backs
in the league. Manuel Wilson only had to play about

(21:29):
two hundred fifty snaps last year. That's probably what they
want again this year. Barring injuries, this should be a
Tier one running back room with how good Josh Jacobs is.
The receivers. Again, it's weird because they just have so
many players who I like in their role, like Romeo Dobbs,
Jayden Reed, Dantavian Wicks, Christian watt Sin and then of
course they draft Matthew Golden. The question is just do

(21:50):
they have a guy who on third and seven can
man coverage, can get you separation and get a win there?
And I don't know, So I'm gonna go tier two
receiving room. But yeah, I mean this is this is
a good weapon situation for Matt Lafleur to work with.

Speaker 3 (22:06):
Yeah, a lot of names there in the receiving room,
Like if Dontavian Wis is your fifth receiver, you're doing
something right, right, So that is definitely something to like. Look,
I think Christian Watson is someone I keep waiting on
and it just hasn't really worked out. Injuries do play
a big part in it. But I also don't think
he's quite reached his full potential. But yeah, I think

(22:28):
that that is still a pretty good group overall. I
think Jayden Reed is someone I really just love watching
more than his actual talent. Like he's a good receiver,
but he's just more enjoyable to watch too.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
He's just fun.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
He makes explosive plays, all that kind of stuff. They
use him in a lot of creative ways in the
red zone. And then you throw in him with Matthew Golden,
who has a lot of the same characteristics. That could
be a really interesting group compared like with each other.
Like those two guys I think have a ton of speed,
have a ton of shiftiness, and I think that could
be a really interesting receiving room if those two really

(23:02):
hit next season.

Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, and to make matters better for the Packers, they
have a good offensive line too. I mean, Zach Tom
is a turn into a star. Tackle, Rashid Walker is
a good tackle across him. You have Sean Ryan and
Aaron Banks, both good guards. They obviously went and brought
Banks in. So there's Jordan Morgan, a first round pick
who only played one hundred and eighty six naps. So
I guess it's now a backup in this situation. That's

(23:25):
not a bad situation to have. Ellington Jenkins will probably
return to center, where he has been at his best.
I think that there is some some questions about is
this a you know, do you have more than one star?
I guess is my question. But they have depth. They
have five guys who can play. It's tier two offensive

(23:45):
line for me.

Speaker 3 (23:47):
Yeah, everything everything he said is right, Zach, Tom's awesome,
everyone else is pretty good, and then you know it's
it's the big We continue to say it. With offensive
line no weak links goes a long way.

Speaker 1 (23:59):
Yeah, So could you could you argue this is the
best offensive line in the division.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
No, I wouldn't go that far.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
No, uh, and you would you? I guess is a
team we still have to talk about.

Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yes, it's still a team we have to talk about. Okay,
I do you think Chicago? Yeah, I think.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
Chicago has a higher ceiling too.

Speaker 1 (24:17):
But yeah, yeah, that's a good good, good offensive line
play in this division. I'll say that.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yeah, it is very good. I mean, even like Detroit
took a downgrade, and they're still gonna be pretty darn
good on the offensive line too.

Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, I agree. The so the offense should be very
good and unlike the Bears, have a lot of cohesion,
a lot of guys who have what do you have,
new pieces, a lot of guys who have played together
for a couple of years. Now let's get into the defense,
and we can start off with the secondary where you
have Xavier McKenney, who they brought in, who was awesome

(24:50):
last year at the stafty position. You also have Evan
Williams there than for the for the corners, it's Keisan Nixon,
It's Nate Hobbs, Javon Bowler, you know, uh Carrington Valentine. Again,
it's they have depth here. It's very similar to the
receiving room actually, where it's like you're okay. I think
my question is just when you go up against you know,

(25:13):
Pampa Bay, when you go up against Philadelphia, when you
have a guy who you have to put a guy
on to cover and can you do that one on one?
I think that's my my concern. So I'm gonna go again.
I like this. I think depth matters when it comes
to corners. I like this depth situation. I'm gonna go
Tier two coverage, but I obviously I can't go Pier
one because I don't because I think, uh, I don't
know if they have number one.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
That is kind of my worry too, especially in this
division where you gotta play Justin Jefferson twice and you
got to play that Detroit offense twice with them and
Ross Saint Brown, Like it's not like a foregone conclusion
who's guarding who in those situations. Like Nate Hobbs is
a good nickelback, but like, how is he gonna handle
like an omen Ross Saint Brown assignment? I still think
is a big question mark. Xavier McKinney's awesome. I mean,

(25:56):
he was a defensive Player of the Year candidate last
year honestly, so that that's a really good group, But yeah,
I do think there are some questions there, And like
can Valentine had some good stuff last season? Can he
hold up as a true number one corner against the
best players in the division. I think that's a different
question altogether.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, And that's the front seven again, it's the kind
of the package has a bit of a weird team
Edgrian Cooper came in and was honestly really good. Last
year when he came in and played, he was a
guy I was. I had a first round grade on
him coming out of college. Credit to me, gotta gotta give.
You know, every now and then one of my hot
takes comes true. So I gotta shot out that one
quay Walker who I did not have a first round
grade on despite him going in the first round. Uh,

(26:35):
you know, I am not a crazy quay Walker fan.
Seems like he does have a following. I don't know
exactly what's going on there, but you know, pretty pretty
defensive line. Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, very good interior for
Sean Gary went Healthy, still great. Lucas van Ness is
a is a really interesting player because you know, he's

(26:57):
sort of built as this really good athlete. Well, hopefully
come in and start to you know, play, Well, it's
for two years. She just hasn't shown what you would
want there. You also have Kingsley and Bear, who is
a you know, in theory, should be a pass rush specialist,
but I don't love the depth here on the edge.
You have Carl Brooks as an interior guy as well,

(27:17):
so I think with a bit of lack of depth
and uh and again Kenny Clark with his injury history.
I think again, like I don't know, uh did tier threes?
Does that seem right?

Speaker 2 (27:28):
It feels right? Uh yeah, you could even argue me a.

Speaker 3 (27:30):
Little lower on the pass rush just because it's it
feels a lot like Rashaun Garry or Bust at times.
You know, it gets stuff interior wise, though, yes they do. Yeah,
they have enough pieces there that it kind of works.
But like it's still doesn't feel awesome at times, but
it's it's pretty good. Uh So, Yeah, I like, I
love Gary, like you said, when he's healthy, he's very good.

(27:52):
These linebackers, I mean kway Walker does have good moments,
like he's gotta he's got to eliminate the nonsense. That's it,
Like that's the only difference in game. Like if he
if he eliminates that, then he's gonna be a pretty
good linebacker I think in the league and next to
Cooper it's gonna work out. So you get excited about
that kind of stuff. But yeah, it's just like it's
it's can they get enough on the patch rush? Can

(28:13):
they continue to get enough there? And then even like
a guy like Kenny Clark is not very young anymore,
can you continue to hold up and be what he
has been throughout his career.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah, so it's weird. I mean the Packers again, they're
a team that they they have some nice things, but
I still feel like I don't see the Packers as
a real, like top tier contender unless Jordan Love takes
the next step. I still feel like ten and seven
for the Packers, you know, potential one and done, playoff
spot or maybe win one game if you get to

(28:44):
play the Cowboys in Round one, feels like what they're
gonna do.

Speaker 2 (28:48):
That feels right.

Speaker 3 (28:50):
And I think that's the question about this entire division, right,
Like it's like there's a lot of there's four I
think pretty good rosters here if you just look at
the rosters on paper. But I think you're gonna ask
questions about all four of these quarterbacks, and in a way,
all four of these teams as true Super Bowl contenders,
they all kind of feel like there may be a
tier below the very best teams in the NFC because
of those questions at quarterback and because some questions on

(29:13):
like small questions on the roster that feel like they
might hold them back.

Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, so interesting with disagreement Packers team, interesting to see
what they will do. Do you have any more thoughts
on them or do you want to just keep it moving?

Speaker 2 (29:26):
I mean, we can keep it moving.

Speaker 3 (29:27):
I mean it is interesting, like I think them and
I think it feels like people are more safe with
them than Minnesota because the quarterback situation. Even though I
don't really view Jordan Love as a safe quarterback, I
think we just kind of know that the highs are
still there. Wind totals are essentially the same in Chicago's
right behind them. They're one way and below, so it's
not like they have a huge amount of separation between

(29:48):
those three teams at the bottom.

Speaker 2 (29:50):
I think.

Speaker 3 (29:51):
I think them in Minnesota we're at eight and a half,
and then should Detroit was at ten and a half.
So I think these these two teams are pretty close
here in the middle of this division, this division race,
and people are viewing Jordan Love is you know, the
better option?

Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, which, again like okay, and he's very been very
inconsistent at least you do like out of seventeen games,
you would assume you'll get some positive games with him,
So I guess I understand, Like, for all we know
j J. Mcarthy just gonna come in and stink right
like you don't. I'd be surprised if that happens with
Jordan Love.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
Yeah, that's true. He's he's not gonna stink.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
He might think a few games, but he's not gonna
stink over the whole year.

Speaker 1 (30:30):
Guess guess the let's do the guest guess the poll number.
I gotta come up with a better Uh, we need
we need somebody to call this segment, Kyle.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
Yeah, we'll brainstorm that.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
Yeah, anyone in a chat, come up with your theories
of what we could uh ideas for what we can
call this. But guess the amount of what percentage of
people predicted the Packers to win the NFC North.

Speaker 3 (30:53):
I think they're gonna be second highest in this one,
and I'm gonna go.

Speaker 1 (31:00):
Well, almost nailed, Kyle, You're correct, But the second highest
they're nineteen percent. So you're you you have your finger
on the pulse of the community.

Speaker 3 (31:08):
I'm right there with you, guys. I mean I understood it.
I kind of figured, like I said, I think it's
more teams are picking them to finish above Minnesota and
you know, potentially battle Detroit the most. But uh, I
think I think there's definitely a case for it.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
So but yeah, I have my I have my opinion too.

Speaker 1 (31:25):
It's okay, yes, but I'm a little surprised too, because
you know, somebody even brings up in the chat of
like to kind of have the you know, or someone
says the lowest floor its young. I was just like,
they're kind of a higher floor, but I'm not sure
what their ceiling compared to. Maybe these other two teams
is maybe part of why I would be more likely
to potentially say one of the other two would win
the NFC North Kyle. The Lions and Vikings played each

(31:48):
other the final game of the regular season to determine
who would get the one seed and who would have
to go on the road to play the Rams. Obviously,
the Lions won that the Vikings ended up losing in
Round one. Didn't fay much better in their first playoff game.
But who do you think will finish second this year?
Indiannac NOWRF is it the Lions or is it the Vikings?

Speaker 3 (32:11):
It's the Minnesota Vikings. I can't get too bold. Yeah,
I really love this team. Though I love this roster.
I think they're really talented. I don't think there's a
lot of weaknesses on this team across any position group,
maybe besides quarterback because it is a young quarterback that
we haven't seen play. Besides that, though, I mean, this
may be the best roster in the league. I continue

(32:32):
to say it throughout this offseason. I continue to believe
that this is a strong roster. I think They're gonna
handle almost anybody, and I'm excited to see it. Yeah,
it all comes out of Jaji McCarthy, I agree. And
if Jaji McCarthy can, I mean, if he can reach
part of his potential, then yeah, this team's going to
be a super Bowl contender. But even like, I think
he can come in and game manage this situation. I

(32:53):
think he did that a lot at Michigan at times
too when he was young. And that's gonna be what there,
That's gonna be what this team is because I just
I look at this roster. I look at the talent
and the team across the offensive line, the receivers, the
running back, all that kind of stuff, and I just think, man,
I think he can be I think he could be
Sam Donald last season. I don't think that Sam Donald

(33:14):
thing from last season had to do with Sam Donald
having a Gino Smith kind of turn around to his career.
I think it had to do with this team with
Kevin O'Connell as the head coach, who's one of the
most underrated coaches in the league, with this receiving room
making it very easy on him, and I think that's
what's gonna happen with Jaja McCarthy on this team too.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I mean Kevin O'Connell, I have my Tier two
head coach, and Kyle you could talk me into Tier one.
I mean, especially when you factor in the staff as
a whole. You know, we're big Brian Flores guys, mostly
with his exes and os even not necessarily his handling
of quarterbacks, but he's a defensive coordinator. Now, don't have
to worry about that. You know, I have Tier four quarterback,

(33:55):
but again, who knows with rookie quarterbacks that could be
Tier one, that could be or five. If that's Tier one, lookout.
But I mean again, the Vikings are an analytically inclined team.
They're thinking, hey, we'd rather have a young quarterback who
can you know, potentially give us three years of a
championship window. If he can just play all you know

(34:15):
good and then you know, you can have a brock
party like trip. They didn't win the super Bowl, but
they got there, right. Russell Wilson won a super Bowl
and got back on his rookie deal. Jared Goff made
a super Bowl on his rookie deal. Like that's a
even you know, uh, Jalen Hurts winning a super Bowl
on the first year of his contract, which was essentially's
rookie deal money because it's the first year of a

(34:36):
backloaded contract and obviously he made it before as well
onto rookie deal. That's the logic here. But again, the
upside makes sense. The downside is what if you have
a Zach Wilson. You're not getting anywhere close to that.

Speaker 3 (34:50):
Yeah, you're not getting anywhere close to that. But like
I just continue to say, they're putting him in a
situation that just feels so safe. I don't know if
we've seen a young quarterback really enter a situation this promising,
Like they're just not gonna let him go full Zach
Wilson in this situation, right, They're gonna figure something else
out if they have to. If if it looks that bad,

(35:11):
because like I just I just not everybody would succeed
in this situation. But like players with talent I think
can just handle, you know, finding ways to get the
ball to Justin Jefferson or Aaron Jones or Jordan Addison
or t J. Hawkinson and being protected by this offensive line.
McCarthy also has good athleticism. I think there's just a

(35:32):
lot of reasons to be really excited with him on
this roster. And yeah, I mean if he if he
if he reaches a Tier two category in his first
season as a starter, then I mean I would I
would say this team's making the.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Super Bowl if he's that good right away.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, I probably wouldn't succeed in this offense. I don't think.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
Yeah that's fair. Yeah, I don't think I would either.

Speaker 1 (35:53):
Yeah, some lely not everyone. But but like you said,
anyone with talent that the clarification. You know, they Sam
Howells the backup. So it's it's McCarthy's year for sure.
But Kyle, you talk brought up the offensive line. We
can talk about that. Brian O'Neil and Christian darrisaw at
tackle stats pretty good. You'll take that They also, similar
to the Bears, have three new offensive linemen, although interestingly,

(36:17):
these are guys who have played together before Ryan Kelly
and Will Fries both from the Colts, so they both
do have that chemistry. You're also they drafted Donovan Jackson,
so again, I think this is the the fact that
you do have guys who are, you know, coming off
of injuries, you have guys who are playing on new teams,
and you have a rookie. Wasn't crazy about Donovan Jackson.

(36:37):
I get why they wanted to add him though, to
fill up that, you know, help out the young quarterback.
Get the logic behind it. I'm but again, in late
first round picks in this past draft just weren't as
valuable as they usually are. I'm gonna go Tier two
once again. But like I said earlier, this is a
really good, just division of offensive line play. Yeah, if

(36:58):
Donovan Jackson is because I mean Freeze when he played
last played was really good.

Speaker 3 (37:02):
Brian Kelly's really good, Garrison O'Neil really good. So basically,
if if Donovan Jackson's just passable, like this is Tier
one and debatably number one right like that, that's basically
what they need. Because they have four, like four really
good players on this group overall, then yeah, it's the
weak link thing, so I understand it. But at the

(37:24):
same time, like he just has to survive at that position,
it feels like the other factor.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
Literally everyone else on this offensive line, beside the rookie,
is coming off of an injury.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
That is true.

Speaker 3 (37:35):
Yes, they've all dealt with it, but yeah, I mean
when they've played, when all those guys have played, they're
really good. So yeah, if they can all stay healthy
and Donovan Jackson survives, then yeah, this could be the
best offensive line in the league potentially.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
Kyle, if this receivment Courp just had Justin Jefferson, it'd
be a fringe Tier one already. And that's not all
they have. You got Jordan Addison, you got t J Hawkinson,
Jalen Naylor, who has you know, he shows up and
makes them play from time to time. You know the
is there that too far down to line up? Maybe not,
but who cares again, Peter hawckets and Jordan Addison, Jordan Jeffers,

(38:10):
Justin Jefferson. This is this is Tier one?

Speaker 2 (38:13):
Yeah, Tier one?

Speaker 3 (38:15):
Uh, those those three options at the top are really
good and then yeah, you get you got Josh Jalen Naylor.
Uh we they have every J name and we're getting
him all mixed up now.

Speaker 1 (38:25):
Yes, So yeah, and even though Aaron Jones and Jordan
Mason we'll talk about them in a second, but too
many j's, Yeah, And I mean even like even a
guy like Aaron Jones can catch the ball out of
the backfield.

Speaker 3 (38:35):
He does that really well. So you have plenty of
passing options here. And that's what you're most excited about
for JJ McCarthy is that, like, uh, he has so
many weapons to throw to in this offense, and I
mean all of them are pretty good.

Speaker 1 (38:47):
Yeah, brought the running backs Pier two as well. Aaron
Jones is really good last year and uh, you know again,
I think and Jordan Mason was good, granted in a
scheme that everyone's usually good in, but still, you know, yeah,
have guys who should be able to play, so some
concerned with the offensive line, but no major concern about
the offensive line, and so much talent. Like like we're saying,

(39:09):
this is a great situation for a young quarterback to
jump into, especially with a good offensive minded head coach.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Yeah. Yeah, O'Connor's going to make this work.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
And yeah, I just I think that they obviously identified
what their weakness was. At the end of the season,
this team kind of fell apart in the offensive line.
They needed to rebuild that interior, and that's what they
went and did this offseason, which is what you have
the luxury of doing when you have a young quarterback
is you can spend elsewhere. And they had debatably one
of the best rosters outside quarterback last season, and they

(39:38):
made it even better this offseason with those guys on
the offensive line.

Speaker 1 (39:43):
Cole, I have an underrated concern with this Vikings team.
I think Stefan Gilmour was really good for them last year,
like I feel, and he's now gone, and I do
feel like there is some question marks at corner and
everyone says, well, Flora's is going to make it work again.
Flora's made it work with good corners last year. In
my opinion, you still have Brian Murphy junior. You have
Isaiah Rodgers, you know, coming off of his Super Bowl

(40:07):
championship where he actually made a really good play in
that Super Bowl. H Granted, body Eagles make good plays
in that Super Bowl, but still Josh mnthalas Harrison Smith
for the for the safeties. Yes, Harrison Smith is still
playing football. The I do like, are we really doing,
Jeff Akuda, is that we're not. We can't. He's not
gonna be playing? Is he starting? What's happening here.

Speaker 3 (40:27):
Kyle, Well, I'm assuming the hope is that Makai Blackman's
is gonna play because he was someone who in twenty
twenty three, I think I had the number here, Yeah,
four hundred snaps in twenty twenty three, he was third
among rookie quarnerbacks with the PFF coverage grade of seventy
one point seven and he did not miss a tackle.
I think that's the number one. That's the number two

(40:47):
corner thought. They thought they didn't need to bring back
Gilmore because Makai Blackman is coming back into this situation
and that's what they're hoping for if he's healthy and
ready to go. I'm pretty interested in that. But also
it's you know, we had a four hundred snap sample
size of him being a good player, so it is
a bit of a risk, but he's shown that he
could be a good football player.

Speaker 1 (41:06):
Yeah, I guess that's I guess I guess that's fair.
That's that's what I'm hoping that that's what they're thinking
and not the A Kuda route. With all listen, Akuda
is a fine depth piece. He shouldn't have you know,
he hasn't lived up to the number three overall billing. Whatever.
He's not the worst corner in the world, just not
someone you want as a starter. But yeah, I mean, okay,
a third round pick who played well in four hundred snaps,

(41:27):
not even the most recent season is still not something
I'm too excited about here. And again, injuries happen, right,
Even Isiah Rodgers, I'm not thrilled about him, Like, I'm
not like, oh, sure he can go in and just
play significant playing time. He was he was at his
best being like the fourth or fifth corner on a
really good defense. Like, I'm not thrilled about that situation.

(41:50):
They got some good pieces here. I'm gonna go tier three,
and you could talk me into this being a lot
lower because of you know, the depth issues. But again,
even I've started this by saying Flores can't do everything,
he can still do a lot and he can still
help out this situation as well, and I do trust him,
but I just I would like more depth here. Flora
is usually you know, I still think he was at

(42:10):
his best with the Patriots with Bill Belichick getting like
nine corners who can all play and like being able
to mix and match that way. I don't really see
that personnel this time.

Speaker 3 (42:20):
It's still a bit of a question mark, and it's
the biggest question mark with this team. But he is
going to find a way, I think, to boost it overall.
And you know, if they're able to, you know, the
way they create pressure and use their blitz schemes and
all that kind of stuff, it makes it a little
bit easier on the secondary. So that's probably the hope
you have. But we're we're gonna see how it looks
we've won, And yeah, I think that they have. They

(42:41):
have enough talent here that you're like kind of interested.
But at the same time, it's still a lot of
unknown and this is the biggest unknown left in this
roster for sure.

Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah, And to be honest, I think, yeah, I'm in
between tier four and tier three. I'll keep it tier three. Also,
just because Eric Wilson Blake Pashman, that's a good linebacker duo.
At least you should be a good linebacker duo for them.
The defensive line, you have Jonathan Allen and Harrison Phillips
as interior guys. Who can you know, we'll we'll, we'll

(43:12):
see again. I would like a little more depth here,
I think in this interior deadge rush stuff though, I
mean Jonathan Grenard, Andrew Van Gingle, Dallas Turner as a
third option. I'm interesting seeing what he can do that's
really good. So so yeah, I think, I mean, I
don't know. I thought Grenard and Van Gingkle were awesome
in this game last year. I'm gonna give a Tier
one pass rush. I think Tier four run defense. I'm

(43:36):
just there's there's parts of this. I just I want
more depth here.

Speaker 3 (43:40):
You'd like a little bit more depth. But at the
same time, they have depth a pass rush for day,
especially if Dallas Turner works out. I mean they you know,
getting him back in this in this mix too. You know,
you have Cashman, like you said Eric Wilson, I'm in
pace too, is a good linebacker. Like there is some
depth there at that position. So they have options at
pass russ, they have options at linebacker, and that's ultimately
where I think it's gonna work. Like I think I

(44:01):
think the numbers on it is this team's gonna overperform
its expectations defensive or it's roster defensively because that they
have the defensive coordinator in the scheme to do it,
and we saw it happen last season and could that change.
Defense can be fluky sometimes, yes, but I think with
this personnel and this coaching staff, I am willing to
trust it and I think it's going to be a
very good defense.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
In that I completely agree with. Again, I'm simply just
evaluating the personnel and well, I think there are some
issues personnel wise, I agree. I think this is gonna
this is gonna overperform any potential issues that I have.
I also mentioned they have John Hargrave too, which again
we'll see what we get out of John Hargrave. But
like that that's worth mentioning. So it's this is I

(44:42):
don't know, this is This is again a team that
it's ceiling is. I think that's the team of sky
high ceiling like the Bears, But unlike the Bears, they
have things that I know are going to be good.
The receiving core is going to be good, The offensive
line is probably going to be at the very least solid,
if not good, running back is going to be good,
and I think I think the defense will still be effective.

(45:04):
Like this is a very good team, Kyle.

Speaker 3 (45:06):
Yeah, I'm a big fan of this team. I haven't
done my end of season predictions, but I would not
be shocked if I'm picking this team to make the
super Bowl, even with JJ McCarthy. I just think the
roster is so talented, and you can't go wrong with
a talented roster. So I'm a big fan of this
Vikings team. And like you said, I think the potential
is the ceiling of this team to me, is higher

(45:28):
than any other team in the NFC.

Speaker 1 (45:30):
Yeah, so I think I'm going to go ten and
seven again for the Vikings. I want to put them
ahead of the Packers though in my power rankings, even
though I have done with the same win totals. But
I also think that I think that they again similar
to the Bears, I could see them massively exceeding where
I'm picking them to go.

Speaker 3 (45:48):
Yeah, and I think a lot of people are kind
of thinking that too, So it just kind of depends
on what we see from JJ McCarthy week one and
what he looks like.

Speaker 1 (45:56):
Yeah, Okay, Kyle, So so far we are in lockstep
with these predictions. The Digital Allions reigning one seed two
years ago, they made it to the conference championship, and
we're very close to making it all the way to
the super Bowl against a team that they didn't beat
in the regular season, the great adapt team with the
Kansas City Chiefs, who have a history of playing better
in the big moments. But still, the Lions were very

(46:18):
good last year. They were my super Bowl prediction team
last year. Injuries was a huge part of their failure.
It was not the only part of their failure, but
it was a huge part of it. Kyle, why do
you still have the Lions finishing first this year?

Speaker 3 (46:34):
I still think this roster is very good. You know,
I think you could definitely ask the question of did
this team miss this window? Was last season its window?
I think there are concerns about that. Obviously, the much
talked about thing of replacing both of your coordinators is
the first and foremost thing. As much as we like
Dan Campbell, we will continue to buy the Dan Campbell stock.

(46:54):
We know he's not the peer x as and O's guy.
Can he continue to hire good staff that is going
to make this team work. I think that's gonna be
the question for this team.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Can you do that?

Speaker 3 (47:03):
And then like, yeah, I mean there's a lot of
changes to this team still. You know, you look at
this offensive line. The interior offensive line was debatably even
they have great tackles, but they also debatably had one
of the best interior offensive lines in the league. And
that all changes all of a sudden. You still have
a lot of pieces there. You lose another uh starting,
you know, number one corner, even though you bring in
DJ Reed, you really like, how's that all gonna look?

(47:26):
I think there's still a lot of changes there, and
that's where you have a little bit more concerns. But
you look top to bottom, this roster is still really,
really skilled and you get really excited about that.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
Yeah, I agree, And I think what's interesting is we're
gonna learn a lot about Dan Campbell and Jared Goff, right,
I mean, again to two people at the core of
this and it's interesting how they have question marks in
the other way, were Caleb Williams the question mark is well,
he hasn't played well, but he look at what he's
been around, like is it fair to blame him for
Dan Campbell and Jared Goff. It's what I have done well,

(47:57):
But is it fair to uh, you know, but the
question is is it because of what's around them? For Campbell,
did he just hire good coordinators and can he consistently
do that? Or was he just lucky to get the
right coordinators on his first try? You know which I think? Granted,
we know that he's still good. We know Jared Goff
is still good. But again, for Gough, he's been in
a great situation and succeeded. He's been in not so

(48:20):
great situations and not succeeded. Can he succeed with a
situation getting a little bit worse here? Can Campbell succeed
having to hire new coordinators? We're gonna learn a lot
about those two guys this year.

Speaker 3 (48:30):
Yeah, And you know, Jared Goff has not had a
guy who's changed a lot of situations in his career. Obviously,
he started with Jeff Fisher, he was with Sean McVay
a long time after that, though, and then came here
and had a pretty stable situation for the few years
he was here as well.

Speaker 2 (48:44):
So how he adjusts is going to be a big thing.

Speaker 3 (48:47):
I still think a lot of the core and what
they're gonna do is gonna be very similar. But still
you can't replicate, even if you're in to hire an
internal guy and keep the offense exactly the same, you
can't replicate just an offensive coordinator who seems to have it.
You know, even the best play designers in play schemes
still require the offensive coordinator to call the plays at

(49:08):
the right time. And can can their new staff handle
those same situations. It's going to be the big question,
And yeah, I mean Golf has to continue to execute.
He made a leap in my mind last season, not
quite to the elite level of quarterbacks, but to a very,
very a better version of Jared Goff last season as
far as handling pressure and throwing under pressure, something that

(49:29):
was his biggest weakness. I think he did better at
it last season, even if it wasn't phenomenal all the time,
because no quarterback under pressure is phenomenal all the time.
You know, he was better at it last season than
he was ever before. So I think he's continuing to
get better and run this offense. He ran this offense
almost a perfection at times. If you go back and

(49:50):
look at some of.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
Those box scores. So can he continue to do that?

Speaker 1 (49:54):
We're going to see Yeah, the choint fan man saying
love the golf slander here at JKS. Yeah. I mean, uh, listen,
I'm not afraid to give him by Jared Goff take,
which is, I think Jared Goff is among the best
game managers in football. And I don't mean that as
a I'm just speaking of when you're managing the game
of football. I think he is elite at that, and

(50:15):
I think he does a lot of really good things there.
I don't think he's at his best when a play
breaks down, and I think that he has struggled over
the course of his career, and you've seen him in
big playoff moments when plays have broken down. Struggled obviously,
most notably the Super Bowl, but even last year he
turned the ball over too much in that And I
do think Goff he will give you two or three
just horrible games a year. And I don't know why
he does that, but it just seems like for fifteen

(50:38):
out of the seventeen, games will be really good and
he'll give you two just absolute duds. That's my take
on Jared Goff, which is, I think he's a tier
three close to tier two quarterback. Is how I've viewed
Jared Goff. And if this is the bad situation and
he's able to still put up elite numbers, okay, I'm wrong,
you know, like this is this is a year for
him to prove me wrong.

Speaker 2 (50:59):
Yeah, I mean, it's it's fair.

Speaker 3 (51:02):
I think it is true. Like I still think that,
like off script, he has struggles under pressure, he still
has struggles. But there are still moments where you look
at Jared Goff and like you can go back to
that Jacksonville game last season and in that Seattle game
where you know, even in this scheme, with this talent,
with that offensive line, with that play caller, all that
kind of stuff, there are still not a lot of
quarterbacks who are going to go into games against NFL

(51:24):
defenses and go eighteen to eighteen for two hundred ninety
two yards, you know, like.

Speaker 1 (51:29):
Right, no, absolutely, yeah, Yeah, the good Jared Goff days
are also ridiculous in the other way, like that is
fair to say he does have this occasional game where
he looks like prime Tom Brady.

Speaker 3 (51:38):
Yeah, I mean, he is justifiably a number one pick
for a reason. The arm talent the skill. All of
that stuff's there for a reason, and you see it
on its best days and when everything's clicking, Jared Goff's
gonna execute it. But they need Jared Goff to also
execute when things aren't clicking. And that's what makes good
quarterbacks great. And that's why he's a good quarterback and
not a great quarterback.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
Yeah again, my my, My pushback tends to be I
don't put him up. I just I don't think that
he is someone who can beat the whole core of
the offense. The good news is for the Lions fans
who cares because he doesn't have to beat the whole
offense with this team because they have plenty of other
good offensive pieces. And like with this, with this receiving corps,

(52:20):
like again, we talked about Ben Johnson leaving and again
I think we'll see how a new coordinator does. But
they have plenty of weapons even if you just have
an okay coordinator with Stam Laporta at the type end
position on a ross Saint Brown, one of the elite
receivers in football, just straight up who cares? He plays
a lot, He's fantastic. James and Williams gives you a lot.
They drafted Isaac Tesla. We'll see what he can do.

(52:41):
Kaith Raymond Tim Patrick. Like a lot of depth here
as well. H this really good weapons group and not
to mention, oh yeah, Jimmy or Gibbs and David Montgomery
as the one two combo, which almso gives tier one
running back of room four because they have two really
good guys who also compliment each other really well, and
then your two receiving room.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (53:02):
I mean you could argue Am and run Tim Patrick
alone should be tier one.

Speaker 1 (53:06):
Well, you would argue Tim Patrick alone should be tier.

Speaker 3 (53:08):
One, and then with Jamison Williams and Sam laforda, I
mean no doubt about it. I mean, look at that
group before all. I mean, it's it's really good. It's
really good. I'm and Ross Saint Brown is awesome, huge
fan of his as well. He just always finds ways
to get open and they use him in this offense
so so well, very shifty player, very talented. You look
at him, you look at Jamir Gibbs, who's awesome too.

(53:29):
You know, we could take it to say he is
very good. He's been the best running back in that class.
And even though I you know, b Jeon Robinson is
equally really good. He's been awesome and even in a
part time role with David Montgomery taking a lot of carries,
he maximizes his situation there. So yeah, you look at
this team, there's five or six really talented, dangerous players

(53:50):
on any given snap.

Speaker 1 (53:52):
Yeah, it's really good stuff, Kyle. Historically golf has had
a lot of time to find the open guy and
again done a lot of good, good stuff with it.
Here he might not have that time, and this is
just the concern. Taylor Decker and PINESA. Okay, that's still
an awesome tackle tandem, maybe the best tackle tannam in football.
But the interiors you have questions here with Graham Glasgow

(54:15):
kind of the one guy who's stayed and he, you know,
whether he'll plays center or guard, is someone who is
not a star player. He's kind of a weak link
on a loaded offensive line. So no disrespect, but that's
just kind of where he's been at. Let's think kind
of Christian Mahogany play the guard who in one hundred
and forty four snaps he played well. But you know,

(54:36):
the PFF grade is great and watch those naps though
there definitely was a lot of getting to play against,
you know, next to good offensive lineman, helping him out
type of stuff. Obviously, the Frank Ragnow surprise retirement I
think hurts them. Tate Radlage as a you know, a
second round pick, a late second round pick that's took

(54:57):
me a ton from him. You're one, maybe I'll be surprised,
But as a whole, I just don't love this interior
at all. The tackles are so good, I can't go
below Tier three, but I'm going Pier three offensive line
because I just don't like this interior at all.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
Yeah, I mean there's a ton of questions.

Speaker 3 (55:13):
Obviously, Glasgow moving into center, that's gonna be tough as
it is. If that was only the move they had
this offseason and they like kep Zeitler and they brought
in a new guard, like that's still a risk, right,
But the fact is that you're looking at a twenty
twenty four to six round offensive guard at left guard.
You're looking at a player in Glasgow who's moving to
a new position, who you know is a fine player

(55:33):
at that but wasn't the best player at this team
on this team, like you said, And then Tate Raledge.
I mean, like, look, there's gonna be some moments of
Tate Ratlage and Tate that look awesome at his time
at Georgia, but he was a guy who struggled with
consistency issues. And I mean, it wasn't a great offensive
guard draft. It wasn't a great interior offensive line draft,

(55:54):
and some guys were taken early in round one, and
I kind of thought he was a reaching round two
because they kind of that desperate like because some of
those offensive guards earlier left, so we're taken. So I
think it's a bit of risk at him in round two.
I don't think it's a like clear cut solution, So
those are gonna be a big risks I think overall.
And yeah, I think the Lions are gonna have some
issues and it's a big question mark for sure.

Speaker 1 (56:17):
Yeah, I mean exactly and for and it's not just
will a Lion's be able to be effective there, because
it'll be effective enough. But again, last year, that was
essentially the strength of their team was like how good
their offensive line is, how what effected they weren't running
the ball? You know, that's the whole Dan Campbell thing.
They'll run on fourth and five, like, and then obviously
it helps you in play action, helps you in passing,

(56:38):
like if that's just not as good, that could hurt
more than maybe a team like that's more used to
dealing with not having that great offensive line.

Speaker 3 (56:47):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's one that could change everything,
because this team was built on a really good offensive line.

Speaker 2 (56:54):
Great play calling and receivers too.

Speaker 3 (56:55):
But that was the strength of this team by far.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
Yeah, Kyle was but a secondary which was at times
effective last year until essentially everyone got injured and then
they had to try and make stuff work. Aaron Glenn
essentially reworked the whole scheme to try and make things
happen and did an okay job, but ultimately it just
there was not much he could do once he got
the Washington, once you got the playing Washington, the new

(57:21):
faces here he saw tarn Arnold will see if he
can take kind of you know, but he did show
flashes last year, but also way too many penalties and
ultimately just was not what they wanted out of him.
Who was a kind of a big name prospect when
they drafted him. They didn't bring in Dj Reed coming
off of a great year from the Jets. Again, always
a question mark when a corner changes teams, but he
should be effective of Ante Max as well Amik Robinson.

(57:44):
It's good depth there. I do like the depth of
this corner room. Brian Branch, who kind of plays safety
slash corner. You also have Kirby Joseph if you want
to count Branch as just a pear safety. That's a
great safety tandem. Not really sure who else will come
in and play safety if they need someone too. Maybe
it's Dan Jackson, the seventh round pick. But yeah, this
is a This is a a good coverage unit. I

(58:06):
think if Tieron Arnolds takes the next step, it could
be a great coverage unit. But you know, and again
there's the DJ Reid question. But you also have Jack
Campbell and Ox Angelone who are very good coverage linebackers.
So I'll go Pier two coverage for this team.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
I think it's fair.

Speaker 3 (58:23):
I think there was enough out of Arnold last season
for fans to get excited still like, I think he
showed enough flashes. There's obviously the consistency stuff and the
penalties that have to be better. But I think early
in the season, especially when Carlton Davis was healthy. He
obviously was the targeted player in this secondary because they
have good players that had the positions, and I think

(58:47):
more or less he had some ups and downs with it,
but I do think that there are some moments he
really stepped up and played well. If he finds that
consistency stroke, I think he's gonna be a really good player.
You look at him and DJ Reid and that could
be a really good corner too. So it's gonna be
very interesting to see how that plays out. So there's
definitely potential for this to be a two to one,
but like, yeah, I still think there's enough questions there

(59:08):
for this to be held back just a little bit.

Speaker 1 (59:11):
Yeah. Unfortunately for the Lions, they already had another injury.
Levi and Zerique uh will not play in this season,
which thanks for the defensive line. They do have Alee
McNeil getting back from injury. DJ Reader, you have Roy
Lopez as well in the interior for the edge, Aiden Hutchinson,
that's a huge thing. Who should be back and playing well.
Would still like another like uh edge rusher here, you know,

(59:34):
uh you al quin quitting Mohammed Josh Pascal. Would like
some more UH pass rush off off the edge. But
again they have they have a lot of players, Like
I said, good, good linebackers, Tier two run defense. I'll
still go Tier two pass rush. Why not. Hutchinson's that good.

Speaker 3 (59:54):
Hudginson's it is that good. Uh he is a defensive
Player of the Year candidate when he's on the field. Uh.
He I had one defensive player of the Year until
he got hurt honestly last season.

Speaker 2 (01:00:04):
So yeah, I really like that.

Speaker 3 (01:00:05):
I like getting DJ Reader in here. But I mean,
like they have to survive the first few months until
Lee McNeil comes back. He's still dealing with that injury,
so he's not gonna be ready to start the season.
So they have some questions there for sure. And then like, yeah,
that second pass order spot, Like I mean, we haven't
seen Marcus Davenport good since what twenty twenty one, and
even then that was kind of a one off year

(01:00:26):
as it is, so, uh, you have questions about that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
Other edge rusher spot.

Speaker 3 (01:00:31):
And then I just don't know if they've got enough
depth for it for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
Yeah, I think my questions about the Lions losing their
both their coordinators is gonna hurt them a little bit.
When I give my final prediction, uh and just the
offensive line questions. But I still just feel like there's
so much talent here. I still do like Dan Campbell
as a head coach. I think he does enough well
and I think he'll hire a well. I'm on the
twelve and five for Djoe. I think they'll take maybe
a slight step back here, but I could also still again,

(01:00:56):
I could see this team winning the Super Bowl. I
don't know if I don't think that it's the windows over.

Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
It's not over for sure.

Speaker 3 (01:01:03):
Is it a little slightly less jar maybe like, but
it's not closed. The window is still open. But it's
definitely they have to prove it to us again because
there are so many changes with this team. So I'm
still excited about this team. I still think it's talented.
I still think they can win games in the NFC,
but I think they're very much a clear cup below
Philadelphia right now after some of those changes, and I

(01:01:26):
think there's a few other teams that I think could
step up into their place too, So they may not
even be my number two team in the NFC right now.

Speaker 1 (01:01:33):
Gotcha, Well, that'll be interesting to see what happens the
rest of the way again. We will be talking about
next month or so we will cover every other division. Kyle,
before we get out of here, just want to do
the poll. I forgot to ask you about the Vikings,
but let's just go to the Lions. How much much
present do you think predicted the Lions do win the division?

Speaker 2 (01:01:52):
All right?

Speaker 3 (01:01:52):
So we had seven percent for the Bears in nineteen
percent for the Packers if I remember correctly.

Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
Right, that's correct?

Speaker 3 (01:01:59):
Okay, so that is off the top of my head,
that is twenty six percent. So I'm gonna guess the
Vikings for summer like thirteen fourteen percent, so that would
put us around twenties.

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
I'll save you the math. But you were here, you
you actually uh thirty not wait, no, thirteen percent okay,
yeah for them total? Yes, I thought you're talking about
leftover U. The Vikings are at thirteen percent, Lions sixty
one percent. Uh so yeah, Lions only the second uh,

(01:02:37):
the second lowest division leader we have currently achieved, so
we're redly the lowest, so uh that you know, it's
kind of funny, but still again, so far, every single
uh prediction we've had, the writing division champ has been
up the top once again.

Speaker 3 (01:02:54):
Yeah, And that's the thing that we have to remember too,
Like we can make all these predictions, we do all
this stuff year for year, and you know what, three
or four playoff teams total are gonna change, right There
are gonna be new faces in there, for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:03:06):
That's what the NFL.

Speaker 3 (01:03:06):
That's what makes the NFL so amazing is you know,
with the seventeen games sample sizes compared to other sport
and all that kind.

Speaker 2 (01:03:12):
Of stuff, things will change.

Speaker 3 (01:03:14):
So we try and predict this as best we can.
We see a lot of this again and again, but
you know, anything can happen. I mean this, this division
could be reversed.

Speaker 2 (01:03:22):
You could.

Speaker 3 (01:03:23):
You could say, oh yeah, it's gonna be Bears Vikings,
or it's gonna be Bears, Packers.

Speaker 2 (01:03:27):
Vikings, Lions.

Speaker 3 (01:03:27):
And I wouldn't be like, wow, that's unbelievable. I'd be
a little surprised for sure, but like all of these
teams are pretty good.

Speaker 1 (01:03:35):
Yeah, no, I completely agree. Also, I realized earlier today
that I wouln't a weird order with picking the NFC
norp as the first one because we want to end
on the NFC South. But I should have started the
NFC East to make that happen. So let's do the
NFC East coming up this Monday. Let's talk about the
Rainy champs. They filled off your Eagles and the team
shoted have thrown them there, Kyle, let them know where

(01:03:58):
to can find us on Twitter before we head out.

Speaker 3 (01:04:00):
Yeah, make sure to follow us on Twitter, that is
at Jackson Kruger. Make sure to follow me at by
Kyle Running and make sure to follow the account page
at on the sideline JK. That is that on the
sideline JK.

Speaker 1 (01:04:08):
And of course if you like audio only podcasts, you
can search on to Sideline podcast anywhere to get your
podcast that should be available there. But yeah, Kyle, that's
our show. We will be again back Monday. Any final thoughts.
I think we think we're good, think we're ready to
get out of here right.

Speaker 3 (01:04:24):
Yeah, yeah, let's get out of here a fun show
and then yeah, looking forward to next week again.

Speaker 1 (01:04:29):
Yes, so we'll be on the lookout for that. Thank
you all all for watching or listening. We appreciate that,
and until next time, have a good one.

Speaker 2 (01:04:38):
Peace,