2023 Week 11 Preview

00:00:00
Speaker 1: They around the NFL podcast Won't drink the Zach Wilson Colley.

00:00:08
Speaker 2: There is they're serving that somewhere from the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's around the NFL Week eleven Draft preview.

00:00:20
Speaker 3: I'm Dan Hansis. I got Greg Rosenthal here.

00:00:25
Speaker 2: And little station note because I know we and everybody loves Mark Sessler. And Mark has been dealing with a reoccurrence of a medical condition he's dealt with. People that listen to the show know he's had some issues with blood clots and that popped up again this past weekend and we are now waiting for Mark to rejoin us, but we don't want to rush him back Gregy, So we're hoping and we get him back this weekend, but basically telling him to take it easy and get one hundred percent.

00:00:52
Speaker 4: Yes, we love Mark, we want the best of Mark, and this is this is the middle of the season. We can handle it and make sure that the show is the'll afloat for when he gets back and just has a monster playoff run.

00:01:04
Speaker 2: And that's why I'm leaving as well. So we're just going to leave it to Greg. His dream is about to come true. No, really, we need reinforcements, though, so welcome. We welcoming in from Cleveland. Easy for me to say where he just got in a morning pump did the thing like filled up the pint glass with egg yolks.

00:01:23
Speaker 3: Do I even have to say his name? You know who it is.

00:01:26
Speaker 2: Nick, Chuck Pinch hitting Francisco lindoor bases loaded two outs of the ninth.

00:01:34
Speaker 5: That was a classic playoff game back in the day. You know, I've never had the egg yolks before like that. I'd imagine they would be pretty gross. But I do enjoy some eggs in the morning, and that was part of today's today's diet for sure.

00:01:47
Speaker 6: Thanks for having me, guys.

00:01:48
Speaker 2: Hey, Nick, we appreciate you kind of hit up Nick on short notice last night.

00:01:52
Speaker 3: And as he always has been, just always there for us.

00:01:56
Speaker 4: Yes, good man, except for when he left us to go back to work for the Browns.

00:02:01
Speaker 3: Briefly, do you remember that? Yeah, that was weird. He made the right choice, come to the homeland. He's back, baby, all right, Shook.

00:02:09
Speaker 2: This is your first draft with us, so you're going to essentially be picking in Mark slot, which is second overall, and we got a big slate of games kind of a weird slate, GREGI, because you have two monster primetime games that we hit on the Wednesday Show with Connie Fox.

00:02:26
Speaker 3: Make sure you check that out.

00:02:27
Speaker 2: Eagles Chiefs on Monday Night Football Tonight is Bengals Ravens and I'll be on the recap of that later. So those are two big games with winning teams. Now you look at the Sunday schedule, we're about to break down and Greg I count a single game with two teams with a winning record playing. So we have a lot of hals v have notts. But you could spin it this way. How about this that the have nots here and many of them are in getting into desperate straits as we approach December and kind of can't keep falling behind.

00:02:58
Speaker 3: So there's a lot of urgency in both.

00:03:00
Speaker 4: It's a lot of we're at the point of the season where you get that like six loss, like for instance, your Jets four and five. We're a lot of fans, some of them overwrought, some of them right on feeling like the season's over. It's like once you get to about six or seven, and I always push back saying, no, you got a chance to make a run.

00:03:16
Speaker 7: But it's getting there. It's getting there put you in the danger zone. So I will pick first. I have the first overall pick. Oh, one more bit of housekeeping. A lot of our locks and Shook, you don't have to worry about a lock today, but a lot of our locks actually came out of those primetime games. I took the Bengals the Cincinnati Zook.

00:03:40
Speaker 3: The took the Eagles against the Chiefs.

00:03:44
Speaker 2: Cestog also in that game, but it's a lockoff because he's taken the Chiefs. And I got a note from Nick Westling who said, Greg, if you were a real man, you will go a lockoff against Nick Shook and take the Chiefs as well.

00:03:59
Speaker 3: I will do even better than that. Nick.

00:04:02
Speaker 4: I am gonna do a lockoff, but I'm gonna do a lockoff against your team, the Cincinnati Bank.

00:04:07
Speaker 3: I have a lockoff with Dan Hands about that Thursday night. How about that?

00:04:11
Speaker 4: This is what happens when you don't look at the full slate before the Wednesday show. I woke up this morning, I'm like, I don't really like it.

00:04:16
Speaker 3: I lock it up.

00:04:17
Speaker 2: It's a lockoff, and really that sets up a double lockoff that's never happened before.

00:04:23
Speaker 3: I'm so buried in the standings.

00:04:24
Speaker 2: My only chance is to win things like lockoff, so the urgency. Listen, it's me and Joe Burrow versus the world. I'm okay with that. Tonight we'll see what happens. All right, Let's get to the first overall pick presented by DraftKings. And like I said, if there was a home run, slam dunk game for me to take, I would be all over because I have the first overall pick. And you could say, oh, Steelers Brown's that's there. It is, that's the only but I don't know the fourteenth string quarterback of the Browns.

00:04:54
Speaker 3: I just can't do it.

00:04:55
Speaker 2: It doesn't excite me as much, and I know it might excite some other peoples that do do this podcast more. I will go with my team, the New York Jets, in desperate straits, heading to Orchard Park to face the Bills. And you know, listen, let's start with the Bills. There had to be a fall guy. Well, they didn't have to be, but in the case of Sean McDermott, he decided it was Dorsey's offensive coordinator, who is a part of the problem, not the solution. So he sends him out the door, and you know, I thought that was interesting. Shook set against the backdrop of what's going on with the Jets, where the fan base is going nuts clamoring for some type of change as they are some of their If you look at some data points, the Jets are a historically bad offense. It's been it's been games now without a touchdown. Zach Wilson has five touchdown passes all season. They obviously shot themselves in the foot with a late turnover that got a beat by the Raiders.

00:05:54
Speaker 3: Shook. So here's the situation.

00:05:55
Speaker 2: Now you have the Jets who should be making changes but won't again against a Bills team that maybe surprisingly made a big change when they could have stayed the course and try to straighten the boat out.

00:06:06
Speaker 3: Both teams desperate for a win here here.

00:06:09
Speaker 5: Yeah, what this comes down to you, at least in my opinion, is is a change worth a change just to make a change, because what's your second option, Tim Boyle, Like, is that really going to fix all your problems all of a sudden?

00:06:19
Speaker 6: I don't think so.

00:06:21
Speaker 5: Uh, And I have to defend Zach to a degree, even though you know, like you said at the top of the show, they're selling Zach Wilson kool aid somewhere because it's probably taste terrible. But the thing is, every once in a while you get a swig where you're so parts.

00:06:33
Speaker 6: Anymore, you're so part.

00:06:35
Speaker 3: Why are we doing this?

00:06:36
Speaker 6: Just quenching enough?

00:06:38
Speaker 3: Why are doing this? Shook?

00:06:42
Speaker 2: They can't score and you can't like because he makes a no look pass and makes a couple of throws.

00:06:50
Speaker 3: People do drink the kool aid.

00:06:51
Speaker 2: It's coming from Florim Park and people saying, oh, don't look at the quarterback.

00:06:56
Speaker 3: It's it's a it's a greater thing.

00:06:57
Speaker 2: And yes it's not just him, but it's it's long overdue that they should have made a change by now. And that's the frustrating thing because I think it's gonna be the Jets defense in this game. Greg which has always in the Robert sala era, really done well for the most part against the Bills, and I'm just interested to see how the Bills offense looks different here and if the Jets continue to bring pressure and really getting close to must win territory for them.

00:07:21
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm having flashbacks to Week one when we previewed this game and went through all the numbers of how poor Josh Allen has been against Robert Sala defenses, like he's basically great in every other matchup, and against this Jets defense, he's been terrible. And then you think back to what actually happened in Week one and how this season has played out, and I think the Jets defense should have a ton of confidence in keeping this game under twenty. And if I'm the Bills, are we confident that their defense is gonna show up because this touchdown list streak that the Jets are on, it's thirty six straight drives.

00:07:56
Speaker 3: These are the defenses.

00:07:57
Speaker 4: You've gone against the Giants, one of the very worst defenses in the league statistically, the Chargers one of the worst defenses in the league statistically, and then last week against the Broncos against the Raiders rather not one of the worst defense in the league, but in the bottom ten. So they're doing nothing against mediocre defenses. Buffalo, this is your chance, even despite your injuries, you should be able to go out there, Sean McDermott and kind of win the game on that side of the ball, get a little more of a pass rush than they've been getting. I really think that's been ignored too much in Buffalo and it's why they've been so mediocre.

00:08:33
Speaker 3: Here's some data points. Here's some data points to back it up.

00:08:36
Speaker 2: The Jets have more turnovers than touchdowns six to five inside.

00:08:40
Speaker 3: The opponent's fifty yard line.

00:08:42
Speaker 2: They are the fourth lowest third down conversion rate in the past decade through nine games, twenty five percent, lowest third and short third and one or three conversion rate ever twenty five percent. Red zone conversion rate of twenty three percent would be the lowest since at least two thousand. So yeah, this is set up well shook for a get right game for the Bills, right because they're at home, they're mad they made this change. They get maybe some type of bounce off that offensive play caller.

00:09:08
Speaker 3: But can we trust the Bills at this point, especially at home.

00:09:11
Speaker 2: We've watched so many games when we were in London, Shoke, you did it with Claybound that the Sunday night game against the Giants.

00:09:17
Speaker 3: You never know what version of this team shows up at Orchard Park right now.

00:09:21
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's my biggest issue with them is they don't know who they want to be. They lack an identity. That explained a lot of why they fired Ken Dorsey, and you think it should be a get right game at least in your defensive matchup as opposed to what you're facing on offense, because that Jets defense is the only thing that's kept them in any game, and the way the Bills offense, the state of it right now, I'm not confident at all, Not to mention the fact that they've had Josh Allen's number dating back to last year, like that was his worst setups for the most part, his worst matchups were against the Jets, who just somehow had figured him out caused him make a lot of mistakes.

00:09:49
Speaker 6: Well now those mistakes have bled over into other games.

00:09:51
Speaker 5: In the Monday Night's game against the Broncos, you look at where they had an explosive three week stretch that was over a month ago. Since then, they've just been an average offense. They don't run the ball oh well, and even when they do run the ball well, they're turning the ball over way too much, like they did on Monday Night. I just have no real faith in this team outside of Josh Allen, and when he's turning the ball over, which leads the league in turnovers, leads the league in interceptions, then where do you go? Because they go as he goes, and right now he's not going very far no matter who the offensive coordinator is. And against this defense, I just don't feel very good about their chances. Not saying that they're not going to win the game, but I think we're in line for a very low scoring game, kind of a boring game unless you're a fan of defense.

00:10:29
Speaker 3: The over under here is thirty nine and a half.

00:10:33
Speaker 4: That's too high under there in the seven the Bills are seven point favorites.

00:10:37
Speaker 3: This is not lockable. I would not have wanted to anyways.

00:10:40
Speaker 4: I thought it was crazy when they were seven and a half point favorites going into Monday Night, the way that they were coming into that game.

00:10:45
Speaker 3: They didn't even win the game. Straight up.

00:10:47
Speaker 4: I think that's a lot of disrespect for the Jets based on this matchup. But man, whoever loses here gets a sixth loss, and it does start to feel a little late for either He's not quite done but getting close for whoever loses.

00:11:00
Speaker 3: We got to move on.

00:11:00
Speaker 2: But I'll I just want to ask one question you, Greg, because I'm thinking again, I thought the Dorsey firing was curious, like what do you think is going to be how you think the offense might change? Like, what what are things that that that haven't looked right other than just the sloppy play and turnovers? Like right, scheme wise, what's going to be the change? Run the ball more, I guess. But they were running. They were running the ball. Guy, I just feel like that's what McDermott wants. But they were running the ball plenty, and they ran the ball well, for instance on Monday night, so they just kept you know, dribbling it. And Josh Allen, you know, he said it was very it was personal to him that firing because he did essentially hand pick Dorsey as the guy. Maybe that's the biggest message McDermott could send because he's not gonna bench Josh Allen and he's been the kind of the focal point.

00:11:43
Speaker 3: A lot of the inconsistency.

00:11:44
Speaker 4: So you get rid of his guy to send a shot, maybe just leave your defense on the field for a field goal in a hurry up situation like basically every other coach would have done.

00:11:52
Speaker 3: So that's too.

00:11:53
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00:12:11
Speaker 3: All right, chuck your up second overall pick.

00:12:14
Speaker 6: All right, well you left this gift to me.

00:12:16
Speaker 5: The one game between teams with winning records, that is Brown Steelers going over on the shore. I had a debate therough the day shore or shores of Lake Eriy.

00:12:23
Speaker 6: It's neither here, northy.

00:12:24
Speaker 5: That's what they'll play the football game right along one of the great lakes. And unfortunately for the Browns, some not great news delivered yesterday with Deshaun Watson season ending shoulder injury and subsequent surgery. Now they're turning to Dorian Thompson Robinson, which means this game went from being an expected Brown's victory by some uh analysis.

00:12:45
Speaker 3: I don't know.

00:12:45
Speaker 4: I mean they were yeah, four, I think they were three, three to four point yeah one.

00:12:51
Speaker 5: That's that's what Watson is even, you know, in his up and down season. That's what he was worth. One at home. You don't even get the home field advantage in the line there. So I think this is going to be a tight one and I think it's gonna be very interesting to watch because, yeah, two solid defenses, Browns one of the best defenses in the NFL. Steelers not too far behind, maybe not statistically, but they are opportunistic. What do they do to Pittsburgh's offense. Pittsburgh's offense, which has been stuck in the mud for the majority of the season, finally figured out how to run the football against the Packers last week. Are they able to replicate that again, because if they do, then it shifts in favor of the Steelers, And if they don't, then I don't know what DCR is going to do. So I have no idea what this Brown's offense is going to look like. We're in for an unpredictable affair on the shore or shore.

00:13:31
Speaker 3: The over under is a joke on this game. It's thirty three.

00:13:35
Speaker 4: We don't normally say the over under for every game, but that that.

00:13:38
Speaker 3: Is a historically low number. I get it.

00:13:43
Speaker 4: I have more optimistic optimism about Dorian Thompson Robinson number one, because he played well enough in the preseason and in training camp to believe they really found their guy they were so excited about, and they traded away Josh Dobbson. There really was a lot of internal excitement that like.

00:14:00
Speaker 3: Hmm, I tell you they have a bad eye.

00:14:02
Speaker 4: Right, I'm just saying, like he should tell me. He was an absolute disaster in that game that he started against the Ravens. He didn't know until that morning that he was playing. If you guys remember and Watson practice throughout the week too, and the fact that they went back to him here shows a little bit of confidence. So I guess I'm just not assuming that he's a total train wreck. I'm allowing for a possibility that he could be effective in part Dan because when I went back to watch and I watched all of Watsons snaps on the on the Coaches film in.

00:14:30
Speaker 3: The last two weeks.

00:14:31
Speaker 4: Because I'm just fascinated by this team and Stefanski's coaching the hell out of this team. There are open guys, even with backup tackles. They were winning the line of scrimmage against the Ravens and a lot of it was first read, quick throws, good coaching all around. So I have some optimism that maybe he can coach around and that they'll at least be respectable, kind of like they were with PJ.

00:14:52
Speaker 3: Walker. It's like they weren't the worst offense in the league with PJ. Walker.

00:14:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, it should also be pointing out that this this Watson thing dropped like a hammer. So it's not like Thompson Robinson is getting a full week here either. It's kind of they're trying to get him up to speed. And I'm sure it's still a bit shocking that all of a sudden he's the guy again in the middle of this division race. But the Pittsburgh defense is Yes, as Shook said, if they're not statistically the top people that are watching these games, you understand that this is a defense that's getting better making plays and they have to because the Steelers have This is a crazy stat by the way, the Steelers have had fewer than four hundred total yards in fifty seven straight games. They are averaging just three hundred and eighteen yards per game and wins since twenty twenty two.

00:15:36
Speaker 3: That's the fewest in the NFL.

00:15:38
Speaker 2: They rank last in point differential negative twenty six and total yard difference negative eight sixty five among the current winning teams in twenty twenty three, and so they're averaging seventeen points.

00:15:51
Speaker 3: Per game this season.

00:15:53
Speaker 2: So they are playing with fire and they're getting by because they create turnovers.

00:15:59
Speaker 3: They have a plus ten differential.

00:16:01
Speaker 2: They're tymas Cincinnati for number one eighteen takeaways, and that's what's gonna come down to. I think in this game is Ken the Pittsburgh defense once again pull a rabbit out of the hat and take advantage and feast upon a young quarterback without a lot of experience.

00:16:15
Speaker 4: Right, Nick, I want your take on the Steelers offense because I actually think they've looked much better since thereby that those stats, yes they have in top four hundred yards like, they're not explosive obviously, but they've run the ball really well the last two weeks, including against the Titans, who are a great run defense. Project Drones their first round pick they put into lineup. He you, Daniel Jeremiah, who does the Chargers game. He's the Charger when Smith does the No, it's just it's also Jeremiah used to be a scout. You're right up, Yeah, used to be at out somewhere.

00:16:45
Speaker 3: I think the info is off.

00:16:47
Speaker 4: And yeah, Jalen Warren, they they studish out Jeremiah. They started Jalen Warren over Naje Airis. They like announced them as the starter, which was interesting. Like they told them before the game, you're gonna get introduced with the starters over and Pick. It's been better actually since their bye week. I just went to check it. EPA per play on offense eleven doesn't surprise me, Nick, because they're actually moving the ball.

00:17:08
Speaker 3: They're not explosive.

00:17:09
Speaker 4: They don't score touchdowns, but almost all their drives have like four or five first downs and they move it forty yards and then they kick a field goal. They're not that bad on offense. Am I crazy?

00:17:19
Speaker 6: No, You're not crazy.

00:17:20
Speaker 5: And I think you just laid out exactly why they've made incremental improvements. Roder Jones one of my favorite tackles in this past class All Combine Team member. Nice little plug there, he's.

00:17:31
Speaker 3: Made you make the All Combined Team.

00:17:33
Speaker 2: Shook, Yes, I do. I know you would appreciate it. Shooky because nobody knows line play better than you. The pull that he had on that one Warren run, I believe, or maybe it was Harris last week, I was like, man, there are very few guys as athletic as that dude.

00:17:47
Speaker 5: Yeah, And it's a great segue into why it really matters this offense is the fact that Jalen Warren is the better running back of the two, and they use them complimentary in a complimentary role.

00:17:55
Speaker 6: In the last week.

00:17:56
Speaker 5: And I think that going to Warren is your more explosive guy who's a little bit harder down, is the ideal thing to do. He's just got more juice in his legs right now. He's the one who's able.

00:18:04
Speaker 6: To shoulder the load.

00:18:05
Speaker 5: It's not to say that, nag, he's not going to be a part of it, but both of them matter a lot because when they couldn't run the football, when they didn't have Roger Jones in the lineup, it was all on Kenny Pickett. And it's on Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada, who is one of the play callers you don't want to pick. He's about last in the list for you to call a play on third and eleven or even third and two when the game's on the line, as they saw in Week two against the Browns. So the running game has been the most important part for them. It's given Kenny a little bit more time, a little bit less pressure to go be a hero. But again, I do have issues with them because when they're still, you know, behind the sticks, it often just resorts Kenny dropping back and throwing a bomb down the sideline to either Deontay Johnson or George Pickens in one on one. And you know, you got a fifty to fifty shot at best at some of those plays. But they're in a better spot now than they were before. And I think that actually speaks to why the Browns went to DTR because PJ. Walker has been a turnover machine in his games. Yeah he's kind of, you know, kept them going a little bit, but he's turned the ball over a ton. This is Steelers defense that's going to turn you over. And if their offense has gotten even a little bit better, suddenly you're on the flip side of that, and you're looking at an uphill battle.

00:19:03
Speaker 6: So it's gonna be interesting.

00:19:05
Speaker 2: Guy, Greg, you wanted PJ. Walker to be a good so bad he's your guy.

00:19:10
Speaker 4: I was pretty hot. I was pretty excited about DTR in the preseason. I have some tweets I regret about that, so uh, I'm excited. I just you know, I wish for him that he had easier matchups in his first two games, division matchups against good defense.

00:19:25
Speaker 3: The third overall pick goes.

00:19:26
Speaker 4: To Greg Okay, I am going to take the Houston Texans nearly the team of at L five point favorites at home against the Cardinals, and uh surprise, they're only five point favorites that that week. That is uh yeah, that is what you're saying. That's a bad three pick.

00:19:49
Speaker 2: No, no, it's it just tells you a lot about the week.

00:19:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I think you're right. My next pick actually maybe is a better game. But this one is kyler ye and this one has CJ, so just looking for entertainment value early. I think this is gonna be a watchable game, and I think you know, we've talked about how fun the Texans are to watch every week. Stroud is better over the last few weeks, I believe, cause the line is healthier. That's made a huge difference for them. And I think about this matchup against the Cardinals and their defense, which does not get a lot of pressure on you. Stroud has gone from like good if by the eye test and good on film, so like the numbers are outrageous because oh by the way he has an all Pro left tackle.

00:20:33
Speaker 3: And the rest of the line is healthy.

00:20:34
Speaker 4: Shack Mason's playing well this year, and they're in a different spot, and you're going against a Cardinals defense that is still terrible, Like there still can't stop anyone, including even the Falcons last week, And so I think this is gonna be a fun game to go watch. My guy Tank Dell be better than anyone gave him any right to be. I think it's like it's been a fun little story Nick, but I think he has a little more staying power as like a difference making wide receiver.

00:20:58
Speaker 5: Your guy my guy another.

00:21:03
Speaker 3: Right now, I'm on fire.

00:21:06
Speaker 5: He's one of the receivers that I thought would make the quickest jump in the NFL because his route running is so precise.

00:21:11
Speaker 6: He's in great sync with CJ.

00:21:13
Speaker 3: Stroud.

00:21:13
Speaker 5: They're really fun pairing to watch, and c J. Stroud's a blast to watch with everybody. He throws the football too. It's been Noah Brown for the last two weeks because he didn't have Nico Collins.

00:21:21
Speaker 3: Last week, most likely Nico Collins missing practice.

00:21:24
Speaker 6: He got hurt and that doesn't worry me at all.

00:21:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, not in this matchup. At least.

00:21:28
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I think it go ahead.

00:21:31
Speaker 3: No, I was keeping finished that point.

00:21:34
Speaker 5: Well, I think it's interesting because you have two quarterbacks that are on trajectories in this game, with CJ, who's having a great year, who's gonna win Offensive Rookie of the Year. But then you have Kyler, who you know, he didn't throw a touchdown pass in his return game, but he looked good, like he looked fresh, healthy, could operate this offense, and you could tell how badly the Cardinals needed him. So I'm not counting the Cardinals out of this game, but I think the quarterback do you know, the battle here is just really intriguing for a game that, on paper otherwise doesn't seem really all that captivating.

00:22:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I did like and there was a quote along those lines with a conversation Gan and Kyler had before his return, you know like basically, turn me loose, let me be Kyler. I'd want to be a minimized version of myself to protect my body. They're going to really get a look at him here, so we're going to see if he continues to move well, because I thought he really did look good in that first game on the Texan side. Yeah, we talked about Noah Brown, who's producing like I don't know, ceedee lamb the last.

00:22:29
Speaker 3: Couple of weeks.

00:22:29
Speaker 2: I don't exactly expect that to continue. But I think that's such a sign and give Noah Brown a ton of credit, but that when you have a big time quarterback, how he can elevate players from Jags to something much more in the running game. I want to see this continues because there was a lot of excitement. Excitement's a strong word around Damian Pierce, but an idea that Pierce was a guy that could be a Pro Bowl level running back or something in that world, and it really didn't happen, and then he got beat up. He's missed two games with an ankle. Devin Singletary has a huge game last week. If they can really greg get the running game in concert with Stroud, we.

00:23:06
Speaker 3: Are cooking and we might actually have something for real here in use. Yeah.

00:23:09
Speaker 4: I think they have a chance to win this division. They beat the Jaguars already. I don't think the Jaguars are great, and this is an interesting test, kind of a first test for them. They're on this role, they're favored in this game. They need it. To get to six and four and really get themselves entrenched in this playoff race. You can't slip up. And the thing that's going to make the difference for me for them down the stretch. Can their defense matter. Like they've been a very up and down defense. Some days they'll they'll create a lot of plays. Some days they've been steamrolled, like against Tampa Bay. And if Demiko Ryans gets that group, and it's a very young team, they've played more rookies overall than snaps than any team in the NFL. If they can get their defense to matter a little bit, to be feisty down the stretch, to be average or a little bit better, then we're talking about a team that can go ahead and win a division shook and can make some noise.

00:24:00
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:24:00
Speaker 5: I think the quarterback play alone, plus a defense that has some potential gets to the conversation. They're a game behind the Jaguars right now, and if they rolled the ball out right now and play it, I wouldn't I would have a tough time picking either team. In fact, I might even lean Texans just with the way they've been playing.

00:24:15
Speaker 4: As I mean, theynced them the first time too, is a little bit of a kind of like, oh, hey, this is it.

00:24:21
Speaker 3: I just think of a symmetry.

00:24:22
Speaker 2: They just missed out on the first overall pick and then took stroud of the two. They just missed out on being the team of ATM. They finished second there too. The chip on the shoulder of the Easton Texans is something to keep an eye on.

00:24:34
Speaker 4: His straight home games, including the Jaguars next week. So that's a big game next week. Okay, I am going to take the Seahawks a one point favorite. Across the sidewalk against the ramsay always one of my favorite matchups. I went and when they used to remember they used to fly me to games sometimes to like just as a.

00:24:55
Speaker 3: Red I think about it all the time, bitch me.

00:24:58
Speaker 4: I was there when the Rams won the division in Seattle years back. And I always think Sean McVay owns Pete Carroll, and it happened again in Week one that he's owned this matchup in general. So why I'm a little I'm a little surprised the Seahawks are are one point favorites here because the Rams are three and six, the Seahawks are six and three. But I don't see these teams as too far apart when you have a healthy Matthew Stafford who is practicing fully this week. He is back and it is a monster game for both these teams. If the Rams want any hope of kind of sneaking into the seven race, they got to win this week. They got the Cardinals and then dtr the next week, potential for a run the Seahawks after this week have forty nine ers at Dallas at forty nine ers Eagles. It could get gotta have it dark if you don't win this game, and I can't imagine shuck that. Like Seahawks fans feel incredibly confident about this game because they're not rushing the passer well. And if you don't get after Stafford, he can do things like what happened in week one when it was the Pooka Nakua breakout party.

00:26:03
Speaker 3: Now he's got Pooka and Cooper Cup to go against this defense.

00:26:07
Speaker 5: What you mean he didn't see Leonard Williams first sack as the Seahawks last week?

00:26:10
Speaker 3: What's going on? Okay, I didn't see it a lot. I'm just kidding. It wasn't that excit.

00:26:14
Speaker 6: You're absolutely You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right.

00:26:17
Speaker 5: I was curious about this line because if you look at the Rams on the surface, you think, well, the Seahawks are in a better position then, But they got the return of Matt Stafford at the worst possible time. I mean, they could have had Brett Rippon, they could have had anybody else. They signed off the street play quarterback for the Rams, and you think it's an easy Seahawks win. But because Stafford comes back, all of a sudden, everything is back and play. And you talked about the history with Sean McVay versus the Seahawks, So I think that kind of adds an element of surprise and intrigue to this game that otherwise on paper, doesn't look all that great. I'm just happy to see Stafford back. I hope he's very healthy. I want to see him throw the ball down the few.

00:26:56
Speaker 4: These are two entertaining teams to watch. They can throw the we could.

00:27:00
Speaker 2: We could understand the Seahawks side of it, but yes, you have there's a Rams rosy tax i. But with Stafford back, yes, I just hope he comes back and he's Stafford that we saw earlier in the season, and not a guy that's a thirty something quarterback who's starting to get beat up as the season goes along because he has been there's an issue with you know, keeping him clean.

00:27:21
Speaker 4: Here.

00:27:21
Speaker 2: He's been pressured on over forty two percent of his dropbacks this year.

00:27:25
Speaker 3: That's third highest in the NFL.

00:27:27
Speaker 2: That can't be happening with Stafford and he's not the type of quarterback that can endure that. And Seattle's the data points backs up that Seattle has a pass rush here that they they're top five in sacks.

00:27:39
Speaker 4: They I swear it's all from the Giants game. It's like they got fourteen sacks that day and it was like that it their top ten in at sack percentage race. So it's not like they're they're foreign to getting to the quarterback. But I think that's the key here.

00:27:50
Speaker 2: And I'll be watching to see if Stafford actually looks like Stafford because the rams being watchable at all kind of hinges on him.

00:27:57
Speaker 4: Yes, and Gino Silmer similarly, like most quarterbacks, it's all about the pressure rate. Like he entered last week, Dan, I think it was top four in terms of the pressure rate he's faced this year, and he's just not the same guy. He's not making decisions. He's trying to get rid of the ball. The Rams don't have a great passers. They have Aaron Donald, they have Byron Young, but they're inconsistent overall as a team. If you protect Gino, you can build on what happened last week. So kind of whichever team to me can get a little heat. The Seahawks have more money invested, more picks invested up front, like they should be better and should get after stafforg. I guess I like the Seahawks to even it out, but I don't feel confident in this at all. Shook, who would you pick?

00:28:39
Speaker 6: I'm gonna go Seahawks.

00:28:41
Speaker 5: It's contingent upon whether the Seattle coaching staff gets a little bit more of the rollout game going for Geno. It's not that it's as great at strength necessarily, but I think you're gonna have to roll them away from some interior pressure. And you know, you saw that touchdown pass and that highlight there that that would look good if they did that a little bit more often instead of asking him to just drop back and find somebody.

00:29:00
Speaker 6: Down the field.

00:29:01
Speaker 5: It's so it's it's up and down, not to the extremes with him, but there are games in which he's great on the first scripted drive, and then you get to the second quarter, in the third quarter and he disappears, and then he wakes up in the fourth quarter and leads another great one or two drives to get them, you know, close to winning or winning the game. So it's not super consistent. But I also understand everything that's going around him right now. And if I have to compare that to the Rams, I don't know the condition Stafford's in.

00:29:24
Speaker 6: He's been out for a while. I'm gonna go Seehawks.

00:29:27
Speaker 4: I've already rethought it. I'm going to pick the Rams on on NFL game debut. Everyone should check that out Friday afternoon, Good Plug Network and.

00:29:34
Speaker 2: Shuk mentioned that he saw it on the video there or a highlight that this is uh, this show every Thursday is on the Fast Channel. In addition to where else, Eric, give me all the data points necessary to get this plug right of.

00:29:47
Speaker 3: Our own brand.

00:29:47
Speaker 8: Well Fast is an overall encompassing cond Yes, so you know, like your apps, your NFL any Fast Channel, Yes, and.

00:29:53
Speaker 3: Then we're the NFL channel. Whether you got Roku, I got Roku. You can't get this on like the.

00:29:58
Speaker 2: Bay Watch channel, which my TV defaults. But it's a lot of good stuff in that.

00:30:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously YouTube, of course.

00:30:04
Speaker 2: Can I just say, like not to I just asked for the plug and now I'm gonna ruin it. I turned down my TV today always defaults to the bay Watch channel.

00:30:12
Speaker 3: I don't change it.

00:30:14
Speaker 2: And on today's episode, and most of these were shot in the early nineties, David Spade, the SNL actor comedian, plays at the Heavy. He plays a bully on the beach, and you just want to think Spade, what Spade would be playing the heavy? But he did and it was kind of a bully. But yeah, I hear you, what is like the showtime minute thing from Yeah, just that he would have ended update fun of people, you know. But he was playing like the heavy, like the enforcer, and I was like, oh that maybe we could have went in a different direction with the casting on that one.

00:30:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, anyway, so where do people see this? YouTube?

00:30:47
Speaker 8: Fast channels, NFL Network, all that fun? Okay, good, good, good good NFL dot Com.

00:30:52
Speaker 3: There you go.

00:30:52
Speaker 2: Last last couple of thoughts. Aaron Donald on a heater. He has three sacks in the last two weeks. Who leads the rams as you would expect in hurries and sacks with five and a half and the twelves will represent this game. We would get forty thousand Seattle fans in that building, so I think that could swing it.

00:31:09
Speaker 3: I got the Seahawks by a field goal. What's the spread on it? If one? All right, let's take a break and then we will continue the draft. All right, we are back. We are back.

00:31:24
Speaker 2: You would think with the bay Watch episodes that they would lean really hard on shark attacks, but they really do restrain themselves.

00:31:30
Speaker 3: Maybe the sharks like a kind of a smart TV.

00:31:35
Speaker 4: You know, it's kind of like your Instagram algorithm, right, they realize if they start the bay Watch, you'll watch for twenty minutes, so you're feeding into it. You're like one of those guys who's like, how come they keep showing me all this, you know, messed up stuff on my Instagram. Also, algorithm is like, that's because that's what you like. I want to make it clear.

00:31:53
Speaker 2: Also though, because I remember as I lived through it, I grew up during when bay Watch is the biggest show in the world and Syndication never watched the show, and people that watch it were like, oh, look at the babes on the show, and sure CJ played by Pam Anderson, total babe.

00:32:08
Speaker 3: But I watch it for the plot. There's this, it's wild the writing on that show.

00:32:12
Speaker 2: Please check out Baywatch on the Fast channels, but mostly check out our show. Start with our show and then check in on Baywatch. All right, now, let's get back to the draft, Chucky.

00:32:24
Speaker 5: We are going Buccaneers forty nine ers game that you look at and think, I don't know, why would you pick that so early?

00:32:32
Speaker 3: And there's only three games you got to pick one of them.

00:32:35
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's true. Yeah, we are beholden to that late schedule.

00:32:39
Speaker 5: I would love to see Baker Mayfield put together a game that finally convinces the doubters, including those in Tampa, that he is good enough to be their quarterback. Now, he's dealt with a lot of struggles on the offensive side, many of them not his fault. They can't run the football. I feel like I just keep talking about teams and can't run the football today, but the Buccaneers certainly cannot run the foo football. He also had to deal with Mike Evans drops last week. It's been kind of up and down, but he's a gamer. He's scrappy. That's what made people love him in Cleveland, and they would have loved him in Carolina, but he wasn't on the field for all that long before he was replaced.

00:33:12
Speaker 6: Well, they're gonna love him in Tampa and this is gonna be the game.

00:33:15
Speaker 1: Why.

00:33:15
Speaker 5: I know, Greg, and I'm just gonna push all that away because I'm not even a Baker fan, but I think he deserves a little bit more credit than what he's gotten for his performance this year. And what better way to do it than against the forty nine ers, who, by the way, I don't think the Buccaneers are gonna win this game, but it would be fun to see that happen, and it would also be a little bit concerning for the forty nine ers, who just dominated the Jaguars last weekend.

00:33:33
Speaker 3: Well, how many years has Baker been in the NFL? Now? Is eighteen? Was his version?

00:33:38
Speaker 4: So this is his best year since eighteen and there's not even a debate about it. He is playing consistent and I would dare say winning football like not making bad decisions, getting rid of the ball in time, occasionally a big time play like if you put this version of Baker Mayfield, and then you also sent Dave Canalis, who I think has done a nice job as the offense coordinator. Hell send the Bucks offensive line to We're totally changing the scenario, but you sent them to the Jets. They're seven and three, like he is, playing Dalton Scale median starter football that you can actually, I think he's been pretty reliable.

00:34:15
Speaker 2: Dan.

00:34:15
Speaker 4: You kind of know what you're getting each week. He hasn't had any really bad games.

00:34:19
Speaker 3: I've had a.

00:34:19
Speaker 2: Total turnaround in my viewpoint of Baker this season. I was never a big fan of his. Even last year I thought it was over sold a little bit the excitement around the Rams cameo, which had a couple of moments.

00:34:30
Speaker 3: But also a lot of bad Baker.

00:34:32
Speaker 2: But this Baker has really I don't know, I've just been impressed. He's kind of doing it. I think it helps him that it's just a little lower profiles down the NFC South, and he's just he has some dogs to throw to. And he's not perfect, ause he never has been and never will be. But playing in that division with the talent that he has around, which isn't an overwhelming amount of talent, but enough. Yeah, I think there's a compelling kind of fun nature to their offense that takes on his his personality, and now they have.

00:35:01
Speaker 3: To play the forty nine ers.

00:35:02
Speaker 6: Feeling pretty dangerous.

00:35:03
Speaker 4: Now they have to play the forty nine ers and Javon Hargrave in this defensive line, who's kind of getting the second time round nick like of their fully formed group with Chase Young.

00:35:13
Speaker 5: Yeah, they were pretty scary last week and I expect them to only get better going forward. It's gonna be real test the Buccaneers offensive line because whether they can run the ball or not, they're gonna have to protect Baker Mayfield. So you have to do enough offensively to stay in this game. Their defense has been pretty good for the most part, safe for that Houston game this year, so I think that they'll be competitive on that side of the ball.

00:35:30
Speaker 6: But man, it's really going to come down to whether they can protect Baker.

00:35:33
Speaker 5: He's got the ability in him to extend the play and avoid these situations, but he can also he's prone to make that turnover and try to be a hero.

00:35:40
Speaker 6: He's best when he operates in control.

00:35:42
Speaker 5: That's when he's really gotten this offense going I think the Niners are going to do a really good job of getting him out of control, and he could get ugly.

00:35:48
Speaker 4: They are twelve point favorites to forty nine ers in this game, which is crazy. I did want to mention the last few weeks, Calijah Kansi their first round pick five tackles for loss in the last two or three weeks. Videveya is playing like peak Vidaveya, and so suddenly you got those two guys. You got Shaq Barrett, you got ya Yaddabi.

00:36:07
Speaker 3: I mean, what a name.

00:36:09
Speaker 4: Making some plays over the last couple of you can kind of see it. Bowles was extremely aggressive last week against the Titans, but that was a rookie quarterback.

00:36:18
Speaker 3: Will he stay that way? They're starting to build something.

00:36:20
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think they're the best team in the division, even though they're about to be four and six.

00:36:24
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:36:24
Speaker 2: And on the Niner side again with watching Brock Party and that was an important game for him, coming off the buy in a three game losing streak.

00:36:32
Speaker 3: And then his first.

00:36:34
Speaker 2: Red zone throw, he's flushed out of the pocket, he's heading towards the sideline, he sets his feet, he throws late and across the middle into coverage and somehow it rests in the hands of Brandon Ayuk in the back of the end zone. And then they made a good point on the Fox telecast, which was, you know, heads up on this. He threw thirty three interceptions at Iowa State, like, so he is always going to be kind of putting the ball for grabs the times. But then he also I thought he played a really really strong game overall, including that the touchdown pass to George Kittle was just a thing of beauty. So I'll be interest to see if he starts to get on a heater again. But I guess, I guess we should be understanding that interceptions are gonna be part of his game and not to be too shaded by them because he's not afraid to take chance.

00:37:21
Speaker 3: Let's go bulls of sons. He's gonna have opportunities.

00:37:24
Speaker 2: Defenses will always have opportunities against Brock Perty do we have By the way, because it was funny watching because this was the last game I watched, I watch it this morning. Actually they took Purty out of the game. It's a blowout to killing the Jaguars, and they put in the backup quarterback, but they still have the highest paid running back in the history of football out there trying to set the consecutive touchdowns streak record. He was, he was tied and he couldn't do it. And it was painful because in the last possession he gets brought down. I think it was an incompletion right near the goal line. I like the quote by CMC after the streak was snapped.

00:38:04
Speaker 3: Yeah, I suck. Everyone else on the team scored except for me.

00:38:10
Speaker 2: When the fullback score is on a twenty yard touchdown pass and you don't get the end zone, it might be time to step away, but I don't know. I thought it was also funny that and you know, keeping it real, like Kyle Shannon was like, no, I got to get this dog a score, even if it risked everything. And it just it's funny how they won't let these guys play in the preseason. Right, if there's a record, an individual record on the line, you're running them out there thirty seven.

00:38:33
Speaker 4: To three, right, And he like immediately when he shook hands with Doug Peterson, was trying to like explain, Hey, I hope you understand what we were doing.

00:38:40
Speaker 3: We were trying. He's like, yeah, I understood it, bro, And then just like want to know you. All right, let's move on. Four.

00:38:46
Speaker 6: By the way, it was fun.

00:38:47
Speaker 3: I mean he did four straight plays. The whole thing was just so. I don't hate it. That was a bad job by me.

00:38:53
Speaker 4: I sometimes you leave on Sunday nights and you think, like I left that one on the table forgot to.

00:38:58
Speaker 3: Mention, well, look, this is why we're a team. Came back, bro, took care of it right up top. Bro, there we go. What is this? This is gross? What are you doing?

00:39:07
Speaker 2: It gave him a lot of extra touches of his fingers. All right, let's move on. See that's why I got to check out this show. And if we can get a tight shot a replay maybe at the end of the show, that'd be amazing.

00:39:18
Speaker 3: I'm up.

00:39:18
Speaker 2: I got a double dip here, and let's start with I like this done. Took Chargers packers, that's right. Surprised still there Chargers getting three points here. I agree with what you said. We were doing our little what you people don't realize, Greg. I was really encouraged by Jordan Love's performance last week. I know that they didn't win, but you really saw him seeing the field well, I thought making some you know, going through progressions, buying time. He's obviously got a great arm, and I'm not saying he's perfect and he's not. And of course you can't not look at the two targets at Watson late that cost him the game. But from a broader scope, I think there is room for growth there. So here they are get a chance against the Chargers and a much maligned shook Chargers defense that Brandon Staley now is starting to feel the heat and answering questions about what changes are you going to make? He is the defensive minded coach, so I think there is a path here for the Packers to gain some momentum on the offensive side of the ball.

00:40:31
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:40:31
Speaker 6: I agree.

00:40:32
Speaker 5: You know this is not a shot across the bow towards you and your Jets, Stan, But I had to write a post last week about Brandon Staley believing that the Chargers were turning a corner defensively because their pass rushers there and everyone's healthy and everything's great. Now I'm sitting back thinking, man, you played the Jets offense. This is not going to last. You guys are a sieve, and they were a sieve of course this week. So I do think it's a good opportunity for the Packers, and the thing about Love that really just I'm internally conflicted on this. I have been for most of the year because this is how he played, and one to week two to week three, he shows these performances where he's hitting guys down the field, dropping passes into the bucket, looking great, showing off the arm strength. He's throwing a pass while he's falling away downfield, put it exactly where Jade Green needs to catch it. I mean, it was all good stuff, but then there's the turnovers, and it's the end of game stuff that has killed them this year. And I'm just not ready to get on board yet. I need a complete game from him front to back against a team that has not named the Chicago Bears for me to.

00:41:26
Speaker 6: Fully believe in him. And this could be the moment.

00:41:29
Speaker 5: I know that the Chargers don't wear blue and orange, they wear powder blue and sometimes navy blue and gold, and they have a bad defense, but that could be enough of an optic switch for me to maybe just start to believe in Jordan Love. If they just tighten up some things, figure some things that clean it up a little bit. The short completions that end up incomplete because they bounce off of receiver's hands. Whatever it is, I'll feel a lot better, even though their season is not really going anywhere. I'll feel better about his trajectory and this seems like the right situation for it.

00:41:55
Speaker 4: Yeah, this says potential to be an ugly loss for the Chargers. I feel like I basically the rest of this season. Anytime the Chargers are a game under five hundred, I mean, they can't afford to get there again too often. Like it's starting to feel like go time for Staley, Like he kind of can't lose these games anymore.

00:42:15
Speaker 3: Especially his defense coming up short. I just don't know who they are.

00:42:19
Speaker 4: I kind of bought that their defense was playing better because Bosa look better and they have it they should have a good pass rush, but they got stone last week against the Lions offensive line. The Packers offensive line is actually been playing a little better lately. Their defense gives up a ton on the ground, like every handful of games they gave up over two hundred the Packers defense. But I just don't trust Eckeler and their running game to take advantage. Eckler, though last week I thought had as much juice as I saw all season on the other side, Aaron Jones might be becoming like a little bit of a of a problem there for him.

00:42:55
Speaker 3: I just don't think he's he's the same guy.

00:42:58
Speaker 4: There was a play he was caught from behind by a Landon Roberts last week and I was like, whoa, I've watched enough of a Landon Roberts in New England knowing like he should not be catching Aaron Jones from behind.

00:43:10
Speaker 3: This is a bit of a I talked about it.

00:43:12
Speaker 2: What you people don't realize how many coaches are have hot butts entering the second half, and I do think, yeah, Brandon Staley definitely, if the Packers don't find a way in this game, they would be three and seven at that point. They're really taking on water in terms of the season and just something to keep an eye on.

00:43:31
Speaker 3: So interest.

00:43:33
Speaker 5: How early is it to dirt nap somebody?

00:43:36
Speaker 3: What do you mean? What does that like? Stick a fork in them? Yeah? Yeah, you could do it right now.

00:43:42
Speaker 4: We already had an episode who which one of the well, the Packers would not be a bold one.

00:43:46
Speaker 3: Are you sticking a fork in them?

00:43:47
Speaker 6: It doesn't know I'm sticking a fourth in the Chargers.

00:43:51
Speaker 3: You just said it.

00:43:51
Speaker 6: You don't know who they are. They don't know who they are.

00:43:54
Speaker 5: They need Keenan Allen to be a superhero to go win a shootout or actually they lost the shootout, but at least be competitive.

00:44:00
Speaker 4: Or Herbert, give me more of that, Herbert, though there was a point in that game where I think you realized what type of game he was in and he was just kind of fu Herbert.

00:44:07
Speaker 3: More of that, more of that, a little less safe. But I'm with you.

00:44:11
Speaker 4: I picked them to make the super Bowl in this AFC where they're like eleventh right now and there's so many two such a bad prediction. I feel very confident they are not making the playoffs, even though they're they're actually about a thirty five percent chance according to the you know, the projection models.

00:44:26
Speaker 3: To me, that what making the playoffs, which is like the same as super Bowl.

00:44:30
Speaker 4: No, hell no, no making the playoffs, which just like the same as the Bengals and some some of the teams in front of them, like the Texans, and I just I don't see it.

00:44:36
Speaker 3: I'm with you.

00:44:37
Speaker 4: They'll probably get to nine wins because that's the most annoying way for them to do it, but they're not gonna It's not gonna happen.

00:44:43
Speaker 9: You know, smart football Twitter. Every year you guys get sucked in by the Chargers. I summer every STU take it a couple of years off. And then I thought, Okay, nobody's on them this year.

00:44:55
Speaker 2: About it back and everybody likes pours over the DVOA and this and that.

00:45:00
Speaker 4: And then all of a sudden, Ravens sitting right there because we usually love the Ravens too, and they were sitting right there all.

00:45:06
Speaker 3: Right, mm.

00:45:08
Speaker 2: Snakes to me, and I just had to grab another game here. I'm gonna be in New York this weekend. I'm taking the boys to see my family, so might as well just grab the other Tristate area team, the New York Giants at Washington.

00:45:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, I like, I like this is nothing.

00:45:28
Speaker 2: I don't care anything about the Giants, So I do like I like the specter of Tommy DeVito. And we're going to talk about Tommy DeVito on the NFL plus Dreamatorium episode coming up later today. But on the Washington side, I do want to see more from Sam hall Is. Colleen Wolf rightly pointed out on Wednesday's episode, Uh he leads the league in passing right now, he is playing a little bit smarter, taking less sacks in recent weeks and on again. On paper, this could be a game Greggy where Howl lights up the Giants and at home and all of a sudden he becomes something like more people are talking about, people are realizing the kind of season that Howl is quietly having.

00:46:16
Speaker 3: Here it seems like a nice setup for him to really roll. Yeah, they're this defense for the Giants.

00:46:21
Speaker 4: So they had that one or two weeks where they were capable, but Adorri Jackson is coming off a concussion, so's Kaevon Thibodeau, so's Jalen Hyatt, So they're banged up on top of everything else. This line actually started with them as like a ten and a half point favorites, which is crazy that the Commanders would be a ten and a half while over anyone.

00:46:41
Speaker 3: It's actually dipped. I noticed now Mark ripping the quarterbright it's at eight and a half. But that just shows you a lot where the Giants are at. And I get it.

00:46:50
Speaker 4: If if you gave Howl a better defense, they would have been good, Like the recipe was actually there for them. Nick that if they weren't like the twenty fifth best defense in the league. The offense is giving them enough, but the defense just isn't. Jonathan Allen Deron Payn, who getting paid a lot, have had very little production over the last five or six weeks. So they trade away the edge guys and the guys on the interior who get a ton of money aren't really playing that well.

00:47:15
Speaker 5: Yeah, and then I see this week they're working out another edge rusher, like they're already looking for plan B after trading away both those edge rushers.

00:47:20
Speaker 6: It's it's very obvious with them.

00:47:22
Speaker 5: It's a bummer because Sam Hall has exceeded every expectation I ever had for him by miles, and he's getting better and better in the last few weeks, even though they only have one win to show for it. He's been accurate, he's made great throws, he's operated out of structure really well. Everything that Ron Rivera, you know, was saying, was was great about this kid, about somebody that he believes could be the future of the franchise. It's just that if they don't start winning games, and Ron Vera's not gonna be around to see it through.

00:47:44
Speaker 3: So'll get to five and six if they win this. So that's sort of in that's barely in the mid but it's in the mill.

00:47:49
Speaker 6: Win this one.

00:47:50
Speaker 2: And we talked about a couple of weeks ago, like, if you believe you have something in this young quarterback, you really want to think twice about blowing up the entire coaching staff and the offensive scheme and and maybe he should give this kid a chance to mature in the system. And I guess it's up to them to finish strong and make that make a difficult decision for new ownership. Terry McLaurin is an interesting guy in this offense because he is the best player on the offense and yet he doesn't seem to get the ball enough. He actually had ninety yards against the Giants in Week seven. That's his season high. He doesn't have one hundred yard game. But this also, I think kind of speaks to Howell that he's not a young quarterback just laser locking in one guy. He actually the Commanders have six players that are over two hundred and fifty yards receiving this year. That's most in the NFL. There's no other team that even has more than five. So he is seeing the field spreading the ball around. And would you like to see Scary Terry win a game single handily because he can? Yes, maybe that happens today. How about that for a prediction? Ten for one forty and a touch for Scary?

00:48:51
Speaker 3: Well, all right, I'm putting him into my fantasy lineup. Then, oh no, don't do that. Well it has been he's been.

00:48:57
Speaker 4: Okay, he's costra Hans this got up play him shout out to uh. By the way, I think he is playing awesome, as as consistent as I think he's ever been in the NFL, not taking the tackles for loss, like taking what's there, getting extra, running really hard in a completely unfair, brutal situation. So I appreciate that the numbers aren't going to be crazy this year, but I think he's as good as he's ever I agree.

00:49:21
Speaker 2: And if you go back to one of the most grizzly games in NFL history, Jets Giants, I think one of the great feats that you will ever see is Saquon going for one twenty or one third whatever it was, when Tavito is in the lineup and they wouldn't let him throw, and that that's a good Jets front seven, and he still was finding holes and should have been able to put the game away. But that's a whole other conversation. Brian Dable made a different decision. All right, Shook, you are up, buddy.

00:49:51
Speaker 6: We are going to go down the list to the old AFC South.

00:49:55
Speaker 5: We're going Titans Jaguars because who needs a bounce back performance more than the team that only put three points on the board at home last week against the Jacksonville Jague.

00:50:05
Speaker 3: What a joke that the Jags show up, yulk, Yeah, it was bad.

00:50:13
Speaker 5: Trevor Lawrence is healthy enough to not be on the injury report, but not healthy enough to be as mobile as he needs to be behind an offensive line that's just not protecting well enough. The running game has disappeared for the most part. Deanis Johnson was the one carrying the load for them on the ground, So that's everything that you need to know about that. And defensively, a team that was very opportunistic about a month ago and suddenly isn't producing quite as many turnovers as you expect. I feel like I didn't see the Jaguars for like a month, even though I watch him every week going into this game, and When I watched this game, I thought this team six and two, like they're having a hard time. Everything's hard for them, so they need to bounce.

00:50:46
Speaker 2: They disappeared to England and won twice to their credit, but yeah, and then they came back and there was a buye greg It's I think West used to call it the Bermuda Triangle. I think the Jags were one of these teams that that kind of just didn't get the national spotlight.

00:51:02
Speaker 3: And we said it on Sunday, is this going to be now? When it starts?

00:51:06
Speaker 2: Like the heat around Trevor Lawrence, Like, look at all his stats are really really middling, middle of the road as a producer, and what was supposed to be a big year. We have not heard the avalanche of criticism on Lawrence, I don't think, And I think it factors in that he plays with the Jacksonville jab right, so maybe that works out for once.

00:51:23
Speaker 4: Well, this is one of those games Titans at Jaguars, because yeah, it's kind of the Titans last and if they want to be at all involved in this division. Levis at a big comeback to Earth game last week, and this is a tough matchup against defense that until last week had been playing so well, but Lawrence plays like an old Doug Peterson quarterback. I was trying to think who they were, who this offense reminded me of, And it reminded me of the Kansas City Chiefs with Alex Smith for those first two to three years, which was efficient, which was a little better than average. Actually, like they weren't bad at the last season. Smith actually started bombing and playing out of his mind, but he was there for four years. People kind of forget how long of a run that was for Alex Smith there, and that was Doug Peterson running those plays. And that's what it reminds me of, because that's all horizontal, it's all getting rid of the ball.

00:52:12
Speaker 3: They don't trust their offensive line.

00:52:13
Speaker 4: Ben Solak of The Ringer had a good stat that they run the fewest amount of routes past twenty yards and that their average depth of targets are shorter than the rest of the league by far. Like there's not even a second closest team that's in the ballpark. And that's like with Trevor Lawrence, Like why is he playing like Alex Smith?

00:52:34
Speaker 3: It's not good. Zay Jones.

00:52:36
Speaker 4: We should have mentioned previously was arrested. Actually, I think we just missed it with the time it happened on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, something involving his mother. A disturbing, sad story. But he is on the practice field this week, and I think they're gonna play him. He's missed six games, was a key part of their offense a year ago in a row. So that's a messy situation, but it doesn't look like the league's gonna step I thought, you.

00:53:01
Speaker 2: Know, watching that Niners game, and it happens the game got away from there against a Studeley Niners team that was pissed off coming off a three game losing streak and a bye. But even when the game, they're down four scores and then they should be like at least getting you know, some type of like momentum. Its third and seventeen, it's like right fourth and twenty one and you're throwing a three yard checkdown pass it there was nothing there. And the data around Lawrence is he's been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league against the Blitz this year, and I think one player shook that kind of his emblematic of their bad season. They're having they're tight end Evan Ingram, who I've always liked. He leads the team in receptions. He doesn't even have a touchdown this year. There's just no juice to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that was not supposed to be the case here.

00:53:47
Speaker 5: This is a conflict I deal with every week with QB index because the tape for most of his season has been better than the numbers suggested, but almost every game, and there was a very specific stretch about three or four weeks a month or so ago where it was just near misses. Everything was just not quite where it needed to be, whether it was a receiver dropping a well placed pass, or Lawrence just missing a guy not giving him a space to catch the ball, or not getting the ball out in time, or throwing interceptions. Whatever it was just didn't quite fit. I thought they were starting to ascend and figure it out, and then they put a performance on like this. So I want to think that this is the fluke, this is the anomaly, it's the aberration, and that we're gonna They're gonna get back on track. They're gonna beat the Titans, but they're also going to face a front that could capitalize on a weak offensive line. So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be a challenge for them. Greg, you know you talked about everything being horizontal with that offense. I was so frustrated watching them. Why are you trying another screen for the ninth time when you know they're gonna be there to blow it up. They had no reason to respect the deep shot. You have Christian Kirk on this team, You have Calvin Ridley on this team. These guys are fast.

00:54:46
Speaker 6: Take a shot. Why not. You have nothing to lose, so do that a little bit more. You'll probably get back to your winning way.

00:54:51
Speaker 2: This is for the Titans fans. Showke, you do the QB index, and you do it well every week on NFL dot Com. Yeah, Levis did come back to earth, and he didn't have a big statistical game against the Steelers the week before, but was a monster his debut obviously.

00:55:05
Speaker 3: Is the juice out of that orange as well? Or is there something looking forward to this one game? That's just he's played three to so I'm asking the.

00:55:16
Speaker 1: Sorry.

00:55:17
Speaker 5: I think the Steelers game was up and down, but there was lots of like in that game. The Tampa game, they just blitzed the crap out of him. I mean they blitzed it over fifty percent. They knew that, look, we're gonna stop the run and we're just gonna send the house at Will Levis and force him to make a decision. And to his credit, he stood tall in the pocket and tried to get the ball out, you know, on target a number of times. But that offense was just cut at the knees and they just didn't have much of an opportunity to keep up in a game that wasn't really a high scoring affair. So I kind of foresee a similar product this week, probably another touchdown than they scored last week, just because it's a division game that tends to happen. But the juice is not out of the out of the fruit here, because what else you gonna do? You gonna go back Ryan Tannehill. You might as well keep letting the kid play and at least give you a game.

00:55:57
Speaker 4: And I thought, like Angel was in there, would they be in that particular game. They probably He probably would have handled that better because he's seen defenses like that.

00:56:04
Speaker 6: They might have scored ten.

00:56:06
Speaker 3: But I wouldn't want to go back Lewis show has showed too much.

00:56:08
Speaker 2: We got speaking of juice, we got juice in the legs of Derrick Henry in November twenty m They got the juice on those legs.

00:56:17
Speaker 3: I don't know about that either.

00:56:18
Speaker 4: Weird team Jaguar's favored by seven in this game. That's too much for a division matchup. All right, let's take a break and we'll finish out the draft. All right, we are back Greg once again, back to back picks. Let's welcome the Miami Dolphins back into our lives. I missed them, you know. They went to Germany, didn't go so well, took a week off, thirteen and a half point favorites over the Raiders.

00:56:42
Speaker 3: Wow, Miami, it's a lot. But they did have a great injury report.

00:56:50
Speaker 4: I would say this week with incredible injury devon Ah Chain returning, they still have more injuries than you would like coming off of bye week. Like the Chiefs literally don't have a player on their injury report. It's like, wow, it's eleven. That's happening.

00:57:02
Speaker 3: That's remarkable.

00:57:03
Speaker 4: Now the Dolphins still have like five or six guys who aren't practicing, but they're all role players. A Chain looks like he's back and Armstead has been limited in practice, and that would be the biggest return for them. They're going up against a defense which I think Patrick Graham has gotten the most out of Max Crosby having an insane year. But when Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are saying hey, Antonio appears told me he went to Robert splane and he said, Robert, like, this defense is on you. That's our guy. If we want to build around one guy, it's Splaine. And I'm thinking, like, I get it. There's not funny guests over here, not many options, but they're overachieving.

00:57:46
Speaker 3: And when you play a team like the Dolphins.

00:57:48
Speaker 4: Even if the Dolphins were they were twenty second in EPA on offense from Week seven to nine their last three games, which are tough matchups, I expect we get a return to the fun fire show against the bad team Dolphins, and I like that as my backup early game.

00:58:00
Speaker 3: That'll be fun.

00:58:01
Speaker 6: Does that Does that justify that?

00:58:03
Speaker 5: That line there, like, that's that's a big spread, like thirteen, that's disrespectful In the NFL, this.

00:58:09
Speaker 6: Is the Raiders team. Oh god, that is playing for its coach. I'm just kidding.

00:58:14
Speaker 5: That.

00:58:14
Speaker 4: No, I'm going it's a little disrespectful, but I get it because of the way Miami played bad teams at home.

00:58:19
Speaker 2: It's on brand, Like you know, they they've proven they can bully teams that are at this level and below, and at home coming.

00:58:27
Speaker 3: Off a week or rest. I think the I think the Sharks have this one nailed.

00:58:31
Speaker 2: I think this one's got the Raiders come down to Earth and maybe twenty one to three end of quarter one written all over it.

00:58:39
Speaker 6: I can't disagree. I mean, I think the Raiders.

00:58:42
Speaker 5: You guys see this from time to time when a coach gets fired, right, there's a little bit of juice, a little spark. Sure players played for their interim coach because they exactly You're right, I should have used.

00:58:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, if you watch on our YouTube show, you could see Actually you can't see us because they're showing in. Tony appears right in the background. Our longtime friend and NFL photographer Ben Lee, who's never listened to the show, and I never see him anymore. He's in a different part of the complex. But Ben, we're talking about you. How about Michael Meyer playing better last few weeks. Josh Jacob's playing better certainly the defense under Pierce. So if I had to choose, and I guess I do, I have to pick a score for this game. I'm going to have the Raiders keeping it closer like eleven points.

00:59:26
Speaker 2: You know, under this I want everyone to just including you, Greg, because you need to pick the score. This, all this optimism around the Raiders is still not a good roster with a mid round pick, rookie quarterback coach with no experience, two wins against the New York teams in various states.

00:59:45
Speaker 3: Of at home, which is actually a little at home. Yeah, this this is screaming at us, Hey, fifty burger, fifty burger coming. Okay, let's be let's get there too.

00:59:56
Speaker 4: The Dolphins, while they've been chilling, have watched the Bills lose a couple games here and they would be two games up in the lost column on in the division. If they can win this game, it is right there in front of them for them to have a home game in the playoffs. It has been a long time for the Dolphins have a home game in the play If the Raiders, when I don't know when it was, If the.

01:00:14
Speaker 2: Raiders stifle Miami here, I will personally apologize to Antonio Pierce and make sure that clip gets the Raiders headquarters.

01:00:20
Speaker 3: All right, Greg snakes to you, Okay, I am going to take what? Am I going to take? Bears and Lions. Actually, that's a pretty good game.

01:00:29
Speaker 4: With Justin Field's returning seven and a half points for the Lions at home, that feels about right. This is a team that you can't really trust their offense, I mean defense on a week to week basis, like are they going to get enough pressure? Justin Fields had been playing better. It's easy to forget, but he had those two big games in a row right before he got hurt, right, and they've looked better as a team in general. They're good at stopping the run. They've been more competitive when other teams get back to pass. In terms of their pass rush, not great, but they add Montes wet and competitive. Even with Tyson Bagen at quarterback, they win a couple of games.

01:01:12
Speaker 3: So this is a division matchup.

01:01:13
Speaker 4: These two sides, they know each other pretty well from the eber Fluse matchups a year ago. And I want to see Fields. I want to see him play well down the stretch. The Bears want to see it too, because look they're in a perfect spot. They got that Panthers pick that's going to be the quarterback, and they can go try to win games with Fields and then Fields will raise his trade value and they maybe get rid of him in the offseason. I think that's that's interesting because and it makes it sense. I mean, if they have no one or the two pick, I feel like that's what they would do.

01:01:43
Speaker 2: Shook such a massive final two months for the Bears. It's franchise shifting for potentially a decade because you do have to make that decision, but you also you almost like you're kind of caught in between because you need Fields to play well, and then it makes the decision probably close to impossible at the end of the year because if he plays well, then the year you're gonna bail on him at that point because you're so sure of a college player. But that could be what they're hope that's what they're hoping for. And if he conversely, if he tanks and he struggles and he gets already gets hurt again, what is Justin Field's trade value? That is a big off season storyline to watch or not there.

01:02:25
Speaker 6: He's interconnected.

01:02:26
Speaker 5: Everything's interconnected because you also have to think about if justin field struggles, they're losing more games.

01:02:30
Speaker 6: Your coach could be fired, your GM could be fired. Who knows who's making the pick?

01:02:35
Speaker 3: Right?

01:02:35
Speaker 6: Is ownership really that confident?

01:02:38
Speaker 4: It would be shocked. He would have to play so well down the stretch. I think for them to not take a top two overall pick quarterback, I almost don't know what he could do. But but like I said, those two starts, it was against Denver and Washington, it was way back in weeks what is that four and five? And then he got hurt in week six against the Vikings. And this is a defense nick a little disappointing. I would say unbound certainly a defense you can throw the ball against. I think we've seen that they're just not good in the secondary. They're playing Cameron Sutton and Tracy Walker at safety and Jacob's like guys I.

01:03:17
Speaker 5: Liked though, Okay, I liked the way they played that. They just haven't lived up to this year. Yeah, it's not working. It's just not And I look at their scores and they're the volatility is pretty big, just depending on opponent, and I have a hard time figuring out why Aiden Hutchinson. He's either making a big difference or he's not like and they're just facing somebody who can handle him.

01:03:36
Speaker 4: It's I feel like he's always himself, but he needs help. And he's not like Miles Garrett. I know he was a top two pick. He's like in the level below, like a pro bowler type, but not like Micah Parsons or anything.

01:03:49
Speaker 3: That's that's fine, You're happy with that.

01:03:52
Speaker 6: Yeah, he just doesn't have to help the other side. So the Lions.

01:03:56
Speaker 5: I thought about this last night, guys, and I don't want to sound like a hater, but I'm gonna like hater. If you look at their schedule and who they played this year, they haven't really been tested very much. And if you look at their remaining schedule, they're not really gonna get tested very much. My biggest tests have been Kansas City and God the Ravens, and they got dominated there. And their biggest tests remaining are going to be the two games in three weeks with Minnesota in Dallas.

01:04:19
Speaker 3: But that's that's only sixteen.

01:04:21
Speaker 4: So they have this stretch which is pretty interesting coming up, where they'll be heavy favorites in every game.

01:04:25
Speaker 6: It's like thirteen and three.

01:04:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they could get their goal is because there will be those questions around them. I'm sure by the time January comes down, they'll be playing in the playoffs.

01:04:35
Speaker 3: Can they get that bye? We'll see good. But those schedule sets up well for them.

01:04:40
Speaker 4: Anything else from this game, I did want to mention keep an eye on Jamison Williams.

01:04:46
Speaker 3: I know it was like two for eighteen last week.

01:04:48
Speaker 4: It wasn't much, but it was the best catch of his season on a nice kind of comeback route in the middle of the field. They had a touchdown to him that was overturned. He had that big block on the Montgomery run. And the biggest thing is Dan Campbell this week, who's been so hard on him publicly, was like very positive about He's now one of the guys. He's coming in, he's doing the work, he's consistent, you can sound he really started to sound confident in him.

01:05:12
Speaker 3: And we know that Gibbs is the most explosive guy in their offense.

01:05:17
Speaker 4: But if they can get one more explosive guy, just a little more consistent, I wouldn't be surprised if Jamo starts making some plays and is like a fantasy factor here down the.

01:05:25
Speaker 2: Stretch just a little bit. Okay, I mean that would be that would be big. It'd be huge for them. All right, let's close it out, Shook, there's one game left.

01:05:33
Speaker 6: Oh, we have the big Well, I know I have to take you. As soon as you picked the last game, I was like, oh, gross.

01:05:39
Speaker 5: It is Cowboys at Panthers, and it is a test of how networks decide their broadcast cruise because the Panthers at one and eight get the one of the leading crews and the Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Aaron Anderson, Tom Renaldi group for this game.

01:05:56
Speaker 2: Hey, when people ask Shook, people get mad and people say, oh my god, why did the Cowboys get so much coverage?

01:06:03
Speaker 3: The proof is in the pudding right there.

01:06:05
Speaker 2: Because they know the Cowboys will do a big number, so they put a big team on the game.

01:06:11
Speaker 5: They know they'll sell, they know they will get eyes on the television, and then they can pitch it as well. Bryce Young's playing, and everybody wants to see Pryce ut. Anybody who's watched the Panthers this season doesn't want to see very much more of Bryce Young and Frank Reich, who's supposedly taking over play calling duties again after waffling back and forth. Nothing's gonna get any better here with that offense right now. There's too many issues personnel deficiencies. We've been over it ad nauseum. But the big test for me and I don't think it's gonna be much of a test at all. But a lot of this Cowboys run, which has included phenomenal play on the part of Dak Prescott, has been at home. They have a huge home winning streak. They have not been as good on the road. Not saying that they're gonna lose this game. I feel very confident in them because again, Dak's playing some of the best ball in a long time.

01:06:51
Speaker 6: But it will be an.

01:06:52
Speaker 5: Interesting test to go down there, Carolina, go to Charlotte. You keep pounding from the fifty to seventy five percent of the stadium that's full with fans by halftime.

01:07:01
Speaker 2: I wonder if Greg, if if the Panthers absorb another ugly defeat here, if we might get another episode of Tepper be talking.

01:07:12
Speaker 4: Well, yeah, that's that those are been buried sometimes they've they've been so controversial. We haven't even released some episodes of temper Be talking.

01:07:19
Speaker 2: We've had a holster some epps of temper be talking. But yeah, maybe we get one in the next few days.

01:07:24
Speaker 4: I suspect Tepper be talking to to Frank Reich about about what was going on, and maybe that's why the off he's taken the play calling back.

01:07:32
Speaker 3: It's it's depressing. It really haunts me.

01:07:35
Speaker 2: The still the press conference from a month or so ago when Frank Reich said he has constant conversations where Tepper be talking and they're hard conversations and they're unpleasant conversations. And now you have the play callers switch over, and now the switch through is back, and this is has all the markings of a want and done tenure for Frank Reich, a man who deserves better. And you know what, look at it the positive way, GREGI he will be scooped up by a team if you would like to stay on the coaching sidelines as an OC, and sure enough you'll see him on the sidelines at a big playoff game playing a key role. But right now it feels like he's just gonna have to go down with this ship because it's just not working, especially set against the backdrop of Stroud's historic success in Houston.

01:08:30
Speaker 4: Well, now all you gotta do is play the Cowboys defensive line this weekend.

01:08:34
Speaker 3: Good luck with that.

01:08:35
Speaker 4: You mentioned Rico Daubtel, Like, is the timeshare coming? I mean I think I think it came.

01:08:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's happening. Yeah, he was donning. Really it really is.

01:08:43
Speaker 4: McCarthy said. He was quoted as saying he wants guys who can run angry. Oh, no, runs angry.

01:08:52
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't think that. I don't think it's a no no situation. It's fine, it is. It's you know, maybe he's not hitting that hole as hard as he needs. Follered. Yeah, and that's they expected him to be a star this year and it has not worked out for them. But you know what this is. The Texas Coast offense has been okay otherwise.

01:09:09
Speaker 5: Yeah, you're right, and this is one of the tiniest backfields in the NFL, and they just haven't really produced.

01:09:14
Speaker 6: But it's kind of fun to just sit back and think, all right, who else is it? Douce Faun, is it Tony Pollard, is it Rigo Dabdell? Who's gonna do it?

01:09:20
Speaker 3: Well?

01:09:21
Speaker 6: The group hasn't really produced, but we'll get there.

01:09:23
Speaker 4: I think it's another week that because of the matchup. It's like, let's keep getting cooked some numbers. Let's keep getting gallups some numbers. The Cowboys have been so dominant against these poor sisters of the NFL that they can like just work on getting people like more confident and like work on different parts of their game.

01:09:38
Speaker 3: It's pretty incredible. Ceedee lamb, Let's see what he does. Keep that heater going.

01:09:42
Speaker 2: Cowboys getting ten and a half in this one, all right, before we say goodbye. Earlier in the show, I Greg and I had a really tender moment in which he lamented something that he didn't bring up in an earlier show, and then I brought it up here and it.

01:09:58
Speaker 3: Just showed that how he had each other's back.

01:10:00
Speaker 2: So I decided to put up the high five, and then let's watch the replay because it got great.

01:10:05
Speaker 3: He's very uncomfortable. You said high five, so that's but why did you go for the high five? Whoa?

01:10:12
Speaker 2: We almost had to blur this out. That is that is a borderline. Why are you look at that big meat hook?

01:10:20
Speaker 3: Why are you high five in your little son there? Who is that? Who are those baby hands in there with you? That's it shook. You did it.

01:10:30
Speaker 2: You've said it all and you've done it all, and we could not appreciate you more.

01:10:37
Speaker 6: I appreciate you, guys. Thanks for entrusting me with a role in this draft and to be on this episode. And as always, it's a blast chat in football with you.

01:10:44
Speaker 3: He's bringing the backwards hat back too. Oh yeah, look at that. I didn't even it.

01:10:51
Speaker 5: You gotta see how this looks on me. Yeah, I don't wear dad the dad had the curve bill very well, not not great.

01:10:59
Speaker 3: Better. I'm really wearing it because I don't know anything.

01:11:02
Speaker 6: I didn't shaved my head.

01:11:04
Speaker 4: I think you look great either way. But yeah, it definitely gives off kind of dad at the soccer game vibe.

01:11:09
Speaker 6: That's us now.

01:11:11
Speaker 2: You look hip and young and ready to dominate in a way that few people can even understand or fathom.

01:11:18
Speaker 3: Shook.

01:11:18
Speaker 2: Thank you, buddy, and thank you everybody for listening to the week eleven preview. Yes we got NFL Plus coming up later today, Thursday Night recap coming and then yes, on the other side, we recap every game we just previewed Sunday night the Flagship Show till then heed that call