Colts-Chargers Recap + Top 6 MVP Candidates (with Jourdan Rodrigue)

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Fools fix it to no one, but check your nucles it back interception by Michael Davis. Chargers do come with extravent on the rush. Throw to the sideline up for bands and it is Andersick that I believe no single signal yet Derwin James and the catch is Marride. It's a back. Here's intercepted by the Chargers and Samuel and the Sante Samuel tucks out of bounds with another takeaway for this Charger defense. What did Nick Foles ever due to our producer Justin Graver to embarrass him like that? Three interceptions by Nick Foles in his return to the starting lineup, first start for the Indianapolis Colts. It wasn't closed. Twenty to three. The Los Angeles Chargers are headed back to the playoffs, first time under Brandon Stay, really first time with Justin Herbert, but the second time this year that I've got Jordan Roderig with me on a Monday night recap. Jordan's you cover the rams for the athletic your team not going to the playoffs this year. But the other resident of Sophi Stadium, the Los Angeles Chargers are there. I know they're just maxing out that stadium, aren't they. Yeah, I had a lot of fun on on here with when we talked about raven Saints feels like years ago. At this point, I felt like I was kind of bugging you because I wanted to be back on here um talking football and getting to watch other games other than the team I've covered that's five and ten this year. But although they were pretty fun on on, they were Christmas with the fifty burger made my daughter happy. But yes we're talking patties, thank you. Oh there you go. I love that the Chargers, though in an uninspiring game for the most part in terms of its competitiveness, because of the Colts offense, get the job done and they're they're celebrating. Uh it's a big deal twenty two three, And yeah, I wanted to have you back, Jordan. You're You're one of the best guests we've had on Everyone loved hearing your football takes. And this Chargers team has gotten a lot more interesting, I think over the last month because of the defense. That's where I'm gonna start. I know they were going against Nick Foles, but they still only gave up ten first downs and a hundred and seventy three yards. They've played really well now three straight weeks. Brandon Staley, the old Rams assistant, has been in his bag like, what what have you seen out of this Chargers defense lately? Yeah, it's been really interesting. Maybe it was something about watching Sebastian Joseph day Um really occupy and sort of disrupt space at the nose, or you know, maybe it was Brandon Staley on the side. It's something about the way that they've been playing, especially some of the coverage is they've been using that Miami game I thought was really well coached, and then they've really brought it home defensively the last few weeks. There's something about that that I had this weird deja vu at that assante Samuel Pick. It looked like, you know, the way he dropped off that overhanging and sort of just like Red knew what the concept was going to be before it totally unfolded. Just when they're on the when they're on the outside of that sort of shell that they play in and the corner is able to even when they're if they're in his zone or even if they're in some sort of hybrid of a of a match zone, or something like that. Um, you're allowed to sort of be free and flexible if you're playing the way that Brandon's Daley wants to play. You can pattern match, you can do different things, um with a little bit more autonomy if this thing is evolved and playing the way that it's supposed to play. And so it reminded me a lot of Darius Williams. Rams had like the season of his career and made a bunch of money after that season because he just was taking the ball away on similar such concepts when he's just dropping in and and disrupting and sort of matching and playing with vision and free like that, and it's fun. I think they've been fun to watch this This defense. It's supposed to be alive. It's supposed to constrict and suffocate over the top of routes, and it's also supposed to really disrupt in that way, and it's supposed to evolve and and sort of really empower the players. And that's kind of what I see over the last few games. And my colleague Daniel Popper at the Athletic he's written a little bit about the players meetings that Kyle van Noy has been leading and those types of things that really reminds me of sort of what this ethos of this thing is supposed to look like. And um, that's kind of It also does describe what you said is Brandon Daley being in his bag because this is what his vision is for something like this, right. It's why I think this Chargers team is a fun playoff team. Other than the fact that Justin Herbert wears a Charger's uniform, any any team with Justin Herbert's on it is going to be box office. I can't wait for whatever the matchup is going to be. It could be Herbert versus Lawrence, it could be Herbert versus Burrow, it could be Herbert versus Mahomes or Alan. The defense is the reason why I think they're a real team. They they've made it to nine and six, and the way you described it, um, really I think points out how the coverage is starting to match the pass rush and they just haven't had much of a pass rush for most of the season. Today they have seven sacks. And again, I know playing the Colts and Titans and back to back weeks is a huge factor in this. I mean it really is, But they weren't the type of defense I don't think earlier in the season that could beat up on bad offensive lines and they end up with seven sacks today summer. From the linebacker level with with Blitz is Drew Tranquil, Kenneth Murray, uh van Noy, I think got in there some. It's from Rump and and Mac and Rump has been playing better as the second pass rusher. Joey Bosa could be back for the playoffs, so they they're getting heat. Nick Foles didn't have a chance back there on some of these plays. And then the secondary, to your point, I think is playing with more freedom. Sante Samuel wants to be a ball hawk like his dad was fifty one interceptions. I looked it up uh tonight for his dad, So he's got forty seven to go as Sante Junior is only at at four right now through through two seasons. Uh. Derwin James, we can talk about his ejection uh later, but that interception that he made was fantastic. And I just think that this is a defense that has playmakers at every level. I considered Tranquil a playmaker. You get Bosa back, Joseph Day has been back. I think they found something in Um in their defensive tackle. How do you pronounce his last name? Uh semi uh faho too. He's played well lately. It just feels like they're a complicated defense. Tell me if I'm wrong. It's it's like a lot going on, and they want to change up who they are week to week in a different way than Bill Belich does, but on some level that way, but you need to have like a team that really understands what they're doing for that to work. And for much of the season and much of Staley's career and with the Chargers, it hasn't worked because I don't think they've really understood what he want they want he wanted them to do, and now it's working. Yeah, I think um. Something that I learned about him when he was coordinating the Rams defense was the way that he could explain and sort of give players the answers to the test, but then help them see it and not just you know, hear it or be talking at them or showing them clips or whatever. It was really something that they the players internalized, and this was something they learned, you know, basically over Power Point essentially because the buildings and everything were shut down at that time. And the first time they ran it was like, you know, deep deep into the summer when the building reopened UM post start of pandemic. And so I think, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if he has sort of been relying on a little bit of those foundational points from his own career arc, especially as things have seemed to kind of in the middle there with injuries and and you know, just some some lack of cohesion. It felt like on both sides of the ball. UM. I wouldn't I wouldn't be surprised if you sort of leaned into some of those foundational elements of the teaching part of this because once players um feel that they know the answers to the test, that's really where you're seeing them, you know, jump over the top of these routes and like I said, they always have pattern matched in practice, but really feeling what it's supposed to look like and really feeling what it is to like I said, have this thing have life in it in it and like it sort of evolves and changes UM as the players feel more and more empowered within the system. And that's what that's what I see. And again because I watched a different variation of it, um, you know, very very closely for for a year and then sort of dropped into this thing tonight essentially, And that's sort of what I saw. UM. And yes, it's you know, Nick Foles and then the cold and they're having their own problems. But again, like you said, it's you know, your brain doesn't compute a team beating up on this oldligne with how much has been invested in. They've not been good this year, but your brain like does not compute the lopsided nature of of what this thing is. And so this was you know, a game that this defense did need to completely assert itself and completely dominate UM, and they did. And I think that that's a credit like like you said, Brendan's daily being in his bag the last month or so. But I think over the years we've seen wherever this defense has gone, it's gotten better. If it's supposed if it's doing what it's supposed to do, like I said, if it's evolving and and becoming more alive and empowered with the players it UM, it definitely gets better as the year goes on. That's what it's supposed to do. So I think that's an important part of this too. That's very Belichick into with his old defenses that they would improve in December, and again, yeah it's the Colts, but they dominated the Colts offense more than the Vikings did, more than the Cowboys did, more than the Steelers did. I'm thinking of the Jeff Saturday or even more than than the Eagles did in terms of yardage, in terms of points. So that that's all you can do is play the team in front of you. I I can't understand why Brandon Staley is pumped up right now. We're seeing kind of the reports of them celebrating. Our colleague Bridget Condon, who has been on this show saying she's never seen like a locker room like this with the charges, and it makes sense. It's a big deal making the playoffs, music playing, everyone's celebrating. The cults. Reporters are like, oh wow, this is what a happy team looks like. You think about Staley and they've had some winning. It's only been two seasons, but it wasn't that long ago that we're sitting at six and six and Sean Payton is having his sources tell the media that he's looking at l A teams and that's that's Brandon Staley because there's a Super Bowl winner and the other other l A team, and who knows, maybe maybe McVeigh could have a surprise retire And that's what Peyton's thinking. But I think he's thinking the Chargers and and they're at six and six, they're heading to a stretch against the Dolphins and the Titans, who at the time we're looking like world beaters. And I was thinking, like, this is a big moment in his career. So I totally get why they are celebrating. And it's the first time, you know, since they moved to so far that they'll make the playoffs. They did make the playoffs one time, uh, their first year technically in l A, although they were down in in Carson with Philip Rivers. But anytime you can get to the playoffs first time in five years, it's a big deal. Do you have confidence though, in where their offenses? This is a limited sample size. I know you're watching tonight, but I think this was a good sample because I think the Colts are a good defense. They're not a top five defense, but I would put him in the five the six to ten range. A really good defensive line who played well tonight. How do you think the Chargers offense stacked up against him? You know, I did. I did do a lot of research coming into this, because you know me, Greg, I like to be prepared, and then I go down prepared, I go down these like we're I get so excited about just random details and I find and then I just go down these rabbit holes of information gathering and like most of it I don't even use, but just sits there and like a Google doc, but I had it written down. At one point, I wanted to bring up the point that uh, total superstar and the brilliant Mena Kimes brought up about um justin Herbert and moving his pocket and um getting him going in some of this like boot action and some of these types of things where he can throw on the move and it helps his line, and um, you kind of already you didn't see any of that to open the game, and um, you know the other thing the game though, Yeah, and and especially coming after interceptions on the other side, I mean, it just was like this sort of gasping feeling that you just didn't feel like anything was comfortable. It felt like what it feels like to be like sitting in a doctor's office and you're like, shoulders are clenched. That's what it felt like watching this group. And it shouldn't feel like you gotta freaking no, it's not. That's not in the Google clenching up talking about it right now, like on the screen, like my fists are clenched right now, and you got a freaking Lamborghini at quarterback. And it's just it's it shouldn't feel like that, right, And and it's interesting because you know, I'm not really the type, especially if I don't you know, as a beat I'm a beat writer, so I you know, I know my place and I'm not going to sit there and go scorched earth on another team's coordinator or anything like that. But I do think that it shouldn't feel like that. And it was really noticeable, like they live and die only on these third downs and that shouldn't be the case since he got there and they're not, but they're not. They're so dependent on converting specifically on third downs, no matter what the down and distances, and usually it's not super advantageous. And even so that's such a low probability position to put your quarterback in even if he can do it. So there's like multip of things that are true, like, yes, he can do it, he can make the hard throws, he can convert the crazy downs that what was it third and thirteen and it was sixteen yards and like it was a really nice play that was on after a second in twenty one that was that was one of the key sequences on their first touchdown drive super disadvantag at disadvantageous spot. Though even if your quarterback can do it, doesn't mean he always should have to be in that type of, um, you know, live or die kind of mode in that regard. And I think that that's been so interesting, like you know, the managing the down and distance. They've been so something like sixty six percent of their conversions are coming on third down and like it's it's crazy, it's really lopsided, and it's it's something where you know, if if you can, I know, they've had troubles running the ball and all that stuff. Us Nickler, by the way, I love his guitar celebration. I think that's like one of the best ones iconic, I know, iconic, and and he scores, he scores really well and all of that but in terms of that overall, like I know I've had some troubles with the run game, but in terms of hey, you know, get your have your quarterback just dropped back and and try to make something happen to me. Just because you can do that doesn't mean you always should. And that's why my shoulders are clenched. Right. They went eight for eighteen and third down, So that's very that's very good. Probably it's good, but it's still a fifty probability right right. You know what to get probability that's been his whole career is wait until you get the third down and let Herbert make a play. I mean, it is much better than the Colts who went over ten on third down. They went a whole game without getting down, and I was like, man, that's brutal. When was the last time that happened. I was like, oh, yeah, six games ago with the Patriots. Uh, the Colts went over fourteen on third down and that got Frank Reik fired. Uh. So they're not gonna fire Jeff Saturday after this one. But I think Jeff Saturday's chances of keeping this job really h dissipated around the fourth quarter of that Vikings Colts game and and tonight did nothing to change it around. When we talk Chargers a lot of times, it feels like it's justin Herbert Nation, of which I'm a card carrying member, like coming up with reasons why people are holding him back in this case Joe Lombardi And you can absolutely go scorched earth on Joe Lombardi because you're not a beat writer in this setting, Jordan's you're a podcaster, and we're totally irresponsible. We answered to no one, We're beholden to no one. Well, this is why I get to just like giggle delightedly over some of the really epic Mark Sessler rants over the years. Um, but you know from afar, it's like different than basketball. It's it's true. You don't want to get that's true market. You don't want to get too close to the sun like Mark applies real close to the sun does It's dangerous. It's dangerous sitting next to him. But I I love him for that. But I noticed on just my Twitter feed after the game, We're waiting to start the show, and I had, you know, tweeted, how is excited to see these possible playoff matchups? With Herbert, and all the responses are about like Herbert essentially not belonging in a matchup against Burrow or Alan or even Trevor Lawrence. That like he's a ton of comments sense like he's not even an above average quarterback. Did you watch tonight's game? Like what are you talking about? Man? And I'm thinking, like this game is a perfect example. If you watch this game and you think that justin Herbert's a bad quarterback, you're bad at watching football, like he right, You're you're bad at it. Like I'm not saying that he was perfect in this game, but through three quarters, next Gen Stat's had him as the most pressured game of his entire career. I don't know how that was in the fourth quarter or not. I didn't look for the update, but on fifty of his dropbacks he was pressured. And he sometimes looks like he's almost a safe quarterback because he has a Drew Brees Tom Brady like thing that if he's getting pressured, he gets rid of the ball. Doesn't mean he can't improvise. He does that sometimes too, but he's not gonna wait around forever. He's going to get rid of the ball and that's a good thing. And oh, by the way, when you run like a flee flicker and your receivers not even really open, he can throw it thirty yards on the opposite hash without the ball ever, like going five ft above the ground, and it's going a million miles an hour. And he had a few of those places tonight, and he had the third downs that kept drives going. They had two long touchdown drives and it wasn't perfect, but to be under that much pressure, Like, people are crazy if they don't think he's in that category. But I guess people just have this thing in their mind that you gotta win playoff games or else. They just don't think of you that way. I don't know what it is. Yeah, the the interception was like a tip, right, so that happens, Like, yeah, I know he's he's thrown a couple of these last few weeks, but like the interception was a tip that happens. And then the fumble even I mean, oh my god, he got sandwiched between two. All four guys had pressure on that play drawing out. Yeah. Literally I checked the next gen. I checked next gend because that never happens. All four guys one because we we were kind of seeing on our Channel five broadcast shout out to all the UK viewers that like, oh, why didn't he let go of the ball? There was someone open, And then you look and all four guys in front of him are losing their stat You're gonna accidentally what are you gonna do? All your alignment are now free, right, so what are you gonna do? You're actually only gonna like dump the ball off to without seeing and it's oh, it's alignment. And then you get you know, worst case stary, but like it's, yeah, that was crazy to me. And then so that makes it a little all the more compounded. Why you know, then they're not moving the pocket around and those types of things that could maybe alleviate some of that or at least keep the the opposing defensive line off balance a little bit. And then also, um, you know, I understand though that it compounds because they're also having some problems managing the downs because they're not you know, they are not necessarily running the ball super effectively. Um, you know, it's just it's a compounding of some of these issues. And then Herbert, justin Herbert, I think when I watch him play I think, um, you're never really thinking you're out of a series regardless of what happens on it, because of what he can do and the throws that he can make. He's just incredible. And when I go, you go back to the Sean Payton thing you brought up, like, of course this dude's salivating over you know anything the quarterback like that, right, like anyone in the come be ther come be the offensive coordinator for the Chargers. Sean, you know, if you want to live in l A, they work under Brandon say directly, now, I love it, spicyrectly. I I'm just saying that if he wants the coach Justin Herbert and he wants to stay in l A, like, uh, flip it up. I know it would be awkward. Joe Lombardi used to be on Sean Payton staff back in the day, so they it all. It all connects. More awkward things have happened in the NFL today, Greg Today love that is that is absolutely true. Not but I think you're right. I mean, you're absolutely correct. Like Justin Herbert is incredible and you watch him do some of these things, even like I said, in the most low probability situations like That's That's the thing that I think people don't always factor in when they're watching him, is some of the things he makes happen in the lowest probability situation should not. He should not be as consistently good at like a human should not be as consistently good at making things happen in low probability concepts. And yet he is doing that over and over and over again. And I think one thing that's different about him right now is that he has Keenan Allen. He has Mike Williams, he has Joshua Palmer who has had a nice second season. He's healthier with the ribs, their offensive line can get healthy er. Pipkins believe it was back out there and they might get rushons later back before the playoffs, which is kind of crazy. We actually might see him in Week eighteen. So this Chargers team isn't perfect, but it is the best version of the twenty any two Chargers team. Going into this season, a lot of people thought, just rosterwise, they're there with the top three or four teams in the a f C. It's been a bumpy road to get there. They're gonna have to play on the road. But I think they've put themselves in the best position possible to matter and and that's a big step. Congrats to the Chargers. I always have a soft spot for the Chargers. I was a big Philip Rivers fan and now I'm a Herbert fan one to the next. You can't really root for the Chargers, though, because the Rams. I know you don't. Yeah, yeah you don't. You're not like you don't work for the Rams. But the Rams are not happy with the Chargers success. That's what I'm gonna say. Not the players at the organization. This week is going to be fun because the Rams are cooking a little bit. I didn't even think about that They're playing this week Rams Chargers, and there's and there's not going to be to me, in my mind, there's not gonna be any like taking snaps off or anything like that between either group just because, um, it's just it's it's been uh since those practices like that Brandon going against Shawn's offense. Um, it's been highly competitive and it's that's good. Yeah. I like that the Rams added a little juice to this putting up the fifty Patty Crabby's and uh Baker playing well, and the Chargers have something to play for. It's it's not the biggest games in the world, but they finished with the Rams and the Broncos, so they have a real chance to finish with a five game winning streak, which if nothing else, especially playing another to compromise offenses in a row, can really put some wind in their sales. Could possibly get them up to the five seed. They cannot be the seven seed that is clinched. They are either the five or the six, so they would have to pass the Ravens to get to the five. That would be a better spot I think for the first round because you'd play at the a f C South winner. The Jaguars would be favored to be that team right now, but that will come down to Week eighteen, so they're gonna try to get that seed. They're gonna try to keep uh the good vibes going. Not much to say about the Colts. I feel bad for everyone there. They've been outscored in the fourth quarter under Jeff Saturday to nine, and their defense is played great all year and I was sad to see Nick Foles throw three picks like this because it's quite possible. Jordan's and we'll move on quickly. If you have any Colts thoughts, tell me them. But um, it just occurred to me, like, man, Jeff Saturday might be putting Nick Foles and Matt Ryan's careers to bed in like the most depressing way possible. Yeah, he's like getting too for one just swept aside. I mean it's because I don't know. I don't know for sure if we'll see another Ryan start. I would guess Folds will start next week because he said he didn't consider bringing in Sam Ellinger, And it's like, why I keep spinning this wheel? But we'll see. Yeah. I like the Colts defense a lot. Actually, I had I did have fun watching that. Okay, give me a couple of give me. I know you got something written down by them. They are they are a great front line. Well, I just liked the concept in the theory behind what they do. I think that like they kind of knew that. Again, the Colts, excuse me that the Chargers we're gonna have some trouble with their down management, and they sort of keyed in on that with some of the coverage structures they were playing, and um, they really capped you know, I think justin Herbert of course, is incredible, and I think, you know, there's some explosives and all of that, but especially in some of the when the game was a little bit tighter and there was just some uh, just a little bit of cloudiness and a lot of um kind of constricting downward out of that umbrella shell that they that they like to really take away the outside throws to Williams and he's so justin to Herbert's so good at those, and um, those are such money downs for them, and I think that um being able to, like I said, keep those guys on the overhangs. Really, I'm like gesturing wildly over here. Those guys on the overhangs really disciplined and then they always constrict in word and they'd always constrict down and I think that's that's a really good way to play aggressively, even if you're going to play in a shell. So that that, to me, I thought was fun to watch. And I like them. I mean, I you know, I've always enjoyed watching stuff on Gilmore Play and I like that, you know, I like the Colts defense. I feel bad they are like I'm just watching some sccifican sccifican effort every single time. Right, there's a reason why they get crushed in the fourth quarter. They wear out, And they really have been a I was actually kind of making a mentalist during this game, and I would have them like they'd they'd be like the seventh best defense in the league. A nice little comeback season for Gus Bradley, who's bounced around the last couple of years, including with the Chargers. He might have been their defensive coordinator the last time they made the playoffs. To bring it all around, I could go check time as a flat circle, but but I think I could pressure too. They did. They got pressure in a lot of different ways. They got like like they totally just brushed past the you know, whatever the charge you're doing to try to set those protections, and um, you know, like I said, stayed really disciplined on the back end, and I just it was I thought it was a good game plan. It's too bad they can score on the other side. And and by the way, Gus was that defensive coordinator. Offensive coordinator was Ken Wizzen Hunt, oh my god, and the coach was Anthony Linley won twelve games that year. They beat the Ravens in the playoffs, and then they gave up a forty burger in the divisional round to the Patriots. And yet everyone says that Tom Brady was carried to that super Bowl because they only remember the super Bowl. And yet he put a forty burger on the Chargers and outdueled Mahomes in the a f C Championship. He wasn't carried anywhere, all right. That's uh, that's enough. Do you think that your co workers are gonna start like putting a jar out for every time you bring up the Patriots during a podcast. It's not about the Patriots. I don't think i'd do that. I like to remember the good times, though I know it's it's fine you're working through some stuff. Like I'm here for you. I totally get it, like I empathize you're just worked through your feelings. Man, I mean, I don't even like watching them anymore. It's just I don't. Uh. You said, by the way that the show's lately, you said this off air, you you thought they were getting like spicier. Maybe I just I like the bits, like I like the lock Father bit, like laughed deliriously every single time, and like I think it's hilarious and then you could because I listened to it. I don't want I love the YouTube concept, but I just I love listening on the go, but I um, I love listening to it, and I like, I I can picture you guys as Dan gets going. I can just picture you guys sitting there just staring at and kind of like letting out those likeose like si laughs every once in a while. I know it's just so good. And Colleen's a I generated Hallmark episode was fantastic. I mean, I like stopping. I've become a podcast host that asked the guests to complement us. This is horrendous. To that point, I listened to an old clip of our last Christmas Eve show and we we played a couple with with our friend Chris Westling and I'm in the Chris Westling podcast studio, and and the thing that I got listening to that was we miss everything about west But man, I miss his laugh to those bits. You know what I mean? Because I listened to a couple and Dan had some jokes there and just his laugh. I know Dan misses that part of it too. It just added uh so much to the show. Instead, I'm looking at Dan like side I during that well as a listener to I mean West, when he would laugh, like you felt like you were there. That's the kind of laugh that he had, where like I said, I'm always listening, I'm never watching it, and so that whenever he would laugh, you would just feel like you're sitting in the room and like watching everyone react because you can literally hear it in his lab and encompassed it encompassed not just what the person who made the joke was saying, but also the reactions of everybody else to that joke. That's really well said in all time laugh. We're gonna go through my top six list quickly. Here. It's a simple one. We're getting to the end of the season. You can actually vote on the m v P Top five this year. I've been pushing for that forever and it happened. I'm not gonna say I contributed to this happening, but I'm not gonna say it had no impact. You never know how I why I would say that. So it's a list of five. I'm considering six right now for my list. I am struggling with four through six. Help me sort these guys. This is my fourth through six no order, Joe Burrow, Tyreek killed Josh Allen. That's my fourth through six, oh man, because I feel like with Burrow, you're gonna want like a lot will factor into these next couple of games. They're playing each other this week. With Tyreeke even I know he's not a quarterback, but in there, I like that you have them in there though, because I so I think like overall, i'd probably go, oh, that's really tough. Oh my gosh. Anyway I slice it, someone's gonna yell at me. It's fine, I accept it. But I feel like Tyreek in terms of you know, I feel like you're gonna go Josh Allen, Tyreeke, Joe Burrow. It's nothing against jo. It's nothing against Joe Burrow at all. I think he's outstanding, Like I think he's so special. But um, I think that if you're looking at sort of like the season as a whole, and you're also looking at um, I like to shake it up. I like the idea of receivers who are at that level of playmaker. Um, justin Jefferson, I think being one of them too. I like the idea of receivers being included in these lists and these votes especially, um, you know how they have elevated everybody around them. That's the definitely change they changed this season. Did those two trades Tyreek and A J. Brown exactly? And And what what I think is so interesting too, when you're looking at and A J. Brown, you're looking at Justin Jefferson, You're looking at Tyreek Hill. When you have a player at a skill position like that that is that tier sort of at you know that they're they're mean, is elite, and on a good day, they can become sort of like this transcendent presence on a field. Like you can build so much of your roster and factor in how you build your roster and the resources you put in and even the way that you draft and develop complementary players around talent like that. You can change your entire team building model in your ecosystem around players like that if you can keep them long enough and you can keep them healthy and paid. And that's what the Rams did for so long with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, and it helped open up like literally the entire rest of what their ecosystem became that led to that Super Bowl win. And I think that that's a trend. That's what you can do with players who are maybe at skill positions, but they so transcend um on on their on their good days and on average their elite. And I think that's that's really important at that skill position. I mean, I don't think it's at running back. Noe's changed the the NFL has changed. I do this wide receiver the free agent list every year, and they used to always be great receivers on it. There's none this year because everyone's resigned. They're not letting anyone get out there. Juju and Jacoby Myers and Beckham are the best wide receivers and it's a pretty big drop after that. There used to be teams understand that wide receivers have been undervalued for a while, and now they're getting paid and everyone like got their laughs and about Christian Kirk making seventeen eighteen a year, that deal looks great. I think that that that's fine. If you can have a fifteen million, eighteen million dollar receiver that's playing eight hundred good staffs for you, like that's what it's gonna cost now, and everyone wants three of those guys, and uh yeah, I right now I would probably go Tyreek six. I really struggle between those other two. Josh Allen's running is so good. He's actually averaging he's averaging more yards per carry than last year, and he led the league last year. Like his percentage of runs that are first downs is insane. He's got to set a career high in rushing yards. He's only you know, two under something yards behind uh Lamar and Hurts, or at least Hurts. It was over a thousand now, so it's like it's tough. Burrow's been made less mistakes though right now I might give Burrow four, doesn't matter. Jefferson number three on my list, justin Jefferson number two. Jalen Hurts, not not ruling him out, although he's been to my whole season and now he's missed one game. If he misses two, that's probably it. That to me, that's a big chunk of the season. He might be back this week though, and then Mahomes one. Hurts would have to do a lot over the next two weeks, and Mahomes would probably have to stumble a little bit, certainly lose one of these games or would be responsible for a bad performance. So that that's my list. I'm feeling good about it right now, and I think Jefferson feels at the worst is gonna be in my top five at the end of the season and get some votes here. Yeah, Like I said, I like that, like more players can get votes, and I like that that's how things are structured. Thank you so much for doing that for all of us football fans, GRAG really really appreciate your you being the catalyst for that movement in a league that is so slow to change. Um. And I really think that well. And I don't know if you've seen the pins we've been wearing lately, probably not, but they say inspired change, and that was that's really what I've done. That's your contribution. Wow, that's really impactful. UM. So I think I totally agree with your list. And I think I really liked this conversation that was sort of happening on the internet like over the last couple of weeks about have we psychologically normalized Pat Mahomes And I think that's such a fun thing to think about because he's just so consistently elite, Um, you know, have our brains sort of just like sort of um almost like Scar tissued over that impact layer that he always as that created. But and I I'm just saying I appreciate it every time I see it, but it's but as a society have we They're the best offense in the league. It was one thing when the Dolphins were competitive with them, but they are easily the best offense in the league efficiency wise. Obviously they don't have Tyreek Hill this year. It's because of my homes. It's always because of the homes. That's why they could get those draft picks to help the rest of their team. And he is playing outstanding making it all work. He's my m v p Uh. You're one of the big m v p s of the Monday Night season. We've only got one more. Nick Westling is gonna be my guest on the finale. Bengals Bill's best Monday Night game of the season is the last one, so I'm excited for that. I was excited to have you, Jordan, thank you, thanks for coming on. And yeah, enjoy Chargers Rams. Thanks so much for having me. That will be a blast. Perhaps not as fun as Bengals Bills, but that will be a blast. And I always love coming on the show talking to you about football, Greg, so we will do it again. Not just on the Rams. UH, and until tomorrow when we'll talk about all sorts of teams, probably not the Rams. We've got a guest in the studio, Andrew Hawkins UH, former Brown, My former co host on Game Debut, UH is gonna join us on the show. We're gonna talk about our our favorite playoff matchups. It's been a crazy week until Tuesday. Heed the Car