2025 NFL Week 4 NFC Preview

00:00:05
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where it really didn't pay off to be a Baker Mayfield doubter for all those years.

00:00:12
Speaker 2: Like I've given up, it's over.

00:00:15
Speaker 1: We have one of the best rivalries in the league. Yes, I'm Greg Rostal. We're in the Chris Westling podcast studio. Hopefully you listen to part one of this week's preview the AFC, but we're here in the NFC and it includes a matchup Eagles Bucks, which there's a lot to get to in this one. That includes one of my favorite rivalries in the NFL, and that's Todd Bowles versus Jalen Hurts. It really has been kind of a through line over the last four years.

00:00:43
Speaker 3: Yeah, just sending human bodies flying at Jalen Hurts has been successful for Todd Bowles. And it was actually an interesting discussion on Fantasy Love today because our producer Alex Wilk is a big Rams fan. Randomly, the December eighth Baker Mayfield Thursday Night Football game came up. He said that was one of the best ten games in the Sean McVay era, which caused me to lose my mind. And it's been an argument all day. But yeah, randomly.

00:01:09
Speaker 1: Why because the rest of the game until that final drive was kind of boring? Or why or there's just been so many good moments. Why did it make you so mad?

00:01:17
Speaker 3: Yeah, because there's been so many great rams moments in the Sean McVay era that the seventeen point performance on Thursday Night Football, when Baker Mayfield did what Josh Dobbs did twice with two different teams. Wow, somehow becomes the thing that we remember.

00:01:31
Speaker 2: Who knows who would guess that he'd be the hater?

00:01:33
Speaker 4: Do you know what I bet Eagles fans really love right now that we're talking about Sean McVay. Yes, in the middle of the Eagles Bucks blot.

00:01:42
Speaker 3: The Eagles pulled that off, and they bring all of that those positive vibes greg into this game three and a half point favorites against Let's be honest, if hurt Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that is very fortunate to be at three and zero forty nine and a half is the over under Kevin Burkhart, Tom Brady and Aaron Andrews on the call. Do they pull this off?

00:02:03
Speaker 1: I would doubt it, But doubting the Bucks has not been profitable, it's not been the way to get your picks right. The injury situations, I think we should just like go over going into the weeks because it is so crucial for both of these teams. First, let's start with the surprising news, which is that Nolan Smith, the Eagles edge, is going on injured reserve. That came out of nowhere, at least as far as I know, and I think they've been a little short on their edge pass rushing this season. Even last week against the Rams it wasn't great, So like that hurts. We mentioned Mike Evans is going to be out for three or four weeks. Chris Godwin was seen at practice. You know, even if he did return, try to imagine, you know, him having a massive impact right away. But he might be back, and Tristan Wurs might be back. It's too early in the week for him to know.

00:02:57
Speaker 4: They're so injured. And that's why I've park been so impressed with what the Bucks have sort of willed themselves to do. I don't know if it works out for them this week. I think the Eagles are just this like avalanche that just smothers people once they actually put it all together and get over sort of the slow start situations, and they just are are this like monolithic presence to me of how they're built in the way that they can overwhelm you at almost every single position on the field. But you guys know this, I love the Bucks. I've had so much fun watching the Bucks for a couple of years now, but really these last three games, because it's just been first of all, Emica Ibuka has looked amazing, second of all, and he got baded, and he's been banged up too. I mean, he's I would not call him fully healthy right now, even despite the fact that he's been producing. You know, I love their run game. I love their run defense, which right now is number one in the NFL right now best defensive success rate against the run. Right now, they're they're forcing unsuccessful rushes at nearly a seventy four percent rate, allowing just three point six yards per carry. That it's really cool coming into a Saquon Barkley Jalen Hurts game. I think this is going to be a battle. I think this is going to be like a scratching, clawing, long nails fight, and this is going to be fun. But I don't know that the Bucks are healthy enough to sustain four quarters of a fight like that.

00:04:20
Speaker 3: And considering their health. I was shocked to find out there's actually two teams that have blitzed more defensive backs than they Buccaneers this season somehow, especially after seeing everybody fly at the ball in that last game, including Antoine Winfield Junior, who's back to being one of the better players in the NFL. But I think they have to. I think they have to, and I think that changes the script a little bit for Philadelphia because in all that postgame just euphoria where both Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown are talking about how aggressive they should be. I don't know if this is the opportunity to start off the game like that. Maybe you kind of build towards that and you pick and choose your spots because the Bucks are going to be blitzing and I think are going to be blitzing heavy.

00:05:01
Speaker 1: But knowing going into the game that a mismatch is Saquon Barkley versus you know, a defense, and that the mismatches that you're expecting Saquon Barkley to get shut down is such a strange place for the Eagles to be and I think it's gotten lost in the predictable Kevin Patulo and AJ Brown situation, Like they're not a good running team right now, and they're not getting explosives. He's averaging three point three yards per carry. It's not like we think Saquon Barkley. You know, we've talked about it a lot on these previews. It is suddenly a bad running back, but the running game is just not the same. It does sound like Lane Johnson will probably be back this week. Yeah, yeah, but even that I don't think was like the reason that they've struggled. It's been it's been for three weeks.

00:05:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we're for those watching on YouTube. As soon as you were having this discussion, there is a rep where Cam Jurgens is three yards deep in the backfield and the Rams are there and Saquon literally has nowhere to go. Like the string of this unit isn't what we expected it to be coming in.

00:06:05
Speaker 1: It's below average success, right, and yeah, going up against that Bucks team mute, which surprisingly solid.

00:06:10
Speaker 4: Yeah, surprisingly so. I mean I know, like when I think of Todd Bowles defense, he's had good run defenses. Like every every once in a while he'll pop out with like this insane run defense.

00:06:18
Speaker 1: Yes, right, some of the best run defenses in the history of the NFL, exactly as a coordinator.

00:06:24
Speaker 2: And as a coach.

00:06:24
Speaker 4: But when I think of him and how he's adjusted and evolved in a passing league, he's become the guy who sends the gnarly blitzes at you right and and has no regard for human life while doing it. And but but this Todd Bowles team, this defense where you know, they had so many issues last year with injuries on defense and tackling on defense and just holes where they're there just should not have been holes that they are playing physically fundamentally sound. I wouldn't say that this is the best defense or even a top five defense when you look at pound for pound in the NFL. But they're playing smart, they're playing physically, and it starts up front with what he's built specifically in stopping the run game.

00:07:07
Speaker 1: These first three weeks, there's only one Vita Vea, And I think people have slept like the ya Ya Dabi breakout has been quiet because it's just been like a slow improvement.

00:07:20
Speaker 4: He just won't get that reference.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: What is it.

00:07:23
Speaker 4: From Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood?

00:07:27
Speaker 3: I thought you were referencing the Beyonce song.

00:07:29
Speaker 4: Oh, also a great reference that makes more sense.

00:07:33
Speaker 1: Either one works. He look, he he's turned into a guy.

00:07:37
Speaker 4: That I'm younger than both of you guys.

00:07:39
Speaker 2: Consistently gets pressure.

00:07:42
Speaker 1: I mean I would, yeah, ya, you know that's you're not hitting the right demo there. I thought the sequel was better Sister Pants too. You're looking at me like there wasn't a sequel. There was definitely a sequel.

00:07:57
Speaker 2: It was great.

00:07:59
Speaker 1: So this is a sequel to a lot of these. This is like this Hurts versus Bulls matchups.

00:08:05
Speaker 3: Second half of a trilogy where you know the I think of the Sister Pants. You know, we saw with Kellen Moore coming in and the adjustments to pressure kind of being solved, and I think other than like Chared Verse blasting Jalen Hurts the extents where I was concerned he was going to be able to stay in the game.

00:08:28
Speaker 4: With Lane Johnson not in at the time.

00:08:30
Speaker 3: Yeah, where the Eagles dealing of pressure, Like, is we really get to see this is our first chance to see, like posts Kellen Moore, if the plan, if the pressure plan is there, and if it's ready, and then on the other side, Vic Fangio. We've seen Quinyon move around a little bit more this year, and I think that is out of necessity because Jacorey and Bennett. When he's on the field, he's been he's been in coveraged twenty times, he's been targeted ten times, like quarterbacks are seeing and a lot of it's throwing the ball away from Quinnon. But they're saying free money elsewhere in the secondary where it wasn't like that in previous.

00:09:04
Speaker 1: No question, And like I do think this is just a team coming together. It's amazing that they figured out how to win this game. But I do think that last week rather, I do think it is a matchup problem. So because I was so confident thinking about this game, like of course the Eagles are going like it really, like Todd Bowles really is a problem for Jalen Hurts the one game that they won, which everyone then was like, okay, maybe they really did solve it, Like he threw a couple picks in that game, and it was mostly a defensive game. Last year, their worst game of the season, the season that helped turn their season around, like in a negative like it was a negative games they got blasted by the Bucks. He has been blitzed on forty six point seven percent of the snaps against Todd Bowles. He's been better hurts this year, like when he's not blitzed, just like normal. It's kind of back to normal and he's going to have to put on his big sister pants and get it going in this game, you know.

00:10:00
Speaker 2: I mean, Jordan's just laughing at me. Well, well, I'm talking.

00:10:03
Speaker 1: They've never really solved it is my final answer.

00:10:07
Speaker 3: Do the pants still travel? In the second movie?

00:10:10
Speaker 1: I never saw it, but I think it was just kind of mocked that it even had a sequel. It's just like one of those movies that gets used as a punchline, which I think is frankly unfair and sexist.

00:10:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is definitely.

00:10:23
Speaker 2: I'm talking about our society schedule. Luck.

00:10:25
Speaker 1: By the way, for the Eagles, I mean they keep they're getting the bucks at the right time. If you're going to play the Bucks, I think it's right now except for the heat night it's supposed to be ninety one degrees there. It actually, I believe was a pretty big factor at the end of that game. Like Hassan Reddick guys were cramping up like last week, in Tampa, Like you could almost see like the defensive players especially lose their steam. And the Eagles are going there early. I don't know if that'll solve things, Patrick, but they're going there early to acclimate themselves to this explosive.

00:10:54
Speaker 3: Oh the big climatization. Look at this game. I'm looking for or to just a fun matchup of unbeaten teams. And you want to talk about a hot football team, let's discuss Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts at the Los Angeles Rams, who were favored.

00:11:11
Speaker 4: This might be the game of the week.

00:11:13
Speaker 3: Three and a half points the over unders forty nine and a half. This game is the one with Kevin Coogler, Moose Johnston and Alison Williams as Jordan, the Rams coming off a heartbreaker and the Indianapolis Colts just smooth, easy ride through the NFL season. How does it go?

00:11:28
Speaker 4: It's wild to me that this might be the game of the week this week. It might be one of the best games of the season so far, which we certainly looking at the schedule when the schedule came out or none of us were thinking. My big concern is the book is kind of out on how to beat the Rams this season, and it is to throw at the perimeter if you can get blocked up in time. They have a big weak spot at cornerback at Kella Witherspoon is out. He's on IR with the clavigal injury. And what they did with the Rams did this year in staying pat at corner and yeah, they've brought in some maybe less heralded free agency tries, guys who worked out for him. All of that, it did workouts for them earlier in the week. But it's Emmanuel Forbes who's banged up coming out of that Eagles game. It's Kobe Durant, and it's Darius Williams who was benched earlier this season. And what they did and standing pat at a lot of their positions was a expecting Emmanuel Forbes to take a step forward, which I think he did. I mean, being banged up stinks for him, but like I do think he did take a step forward. And also to depend on their pass rush to get home quicker than the quarterback was comfortable actually throwing in high volume to the perimeter. If Daniel Jones with all of the weapons that they have on offense, not just a tight end who can scheme into space and really attack this Rams secondary. But also with the perimeter weapons they have, they're so deep at receiver, this could be a real problem for the Rams, especially if the Colts offensive line, which is a strength in my opinion, can block up well enough to at least make it so it's not quick pressure coming at Daniel Jones and you can get the.

00:13:05
Speaker 1: Ball out And lou Ana Rumo would hear that and say like that's nice and all. I got to come up with a plan with my cornerback Stravarius Ward is back in the mix, but Xavian Howard, who I just signed off the street, maybe my best cornerback, Kenymore is not going to be available in this game, which is a big loss. Like they lost a couple of their players in the secondary, including a starter, so they might have Makai Blackman out there, and we got to go up against DeVante Adams and Pukinakua. So to your point about it being the game of the week, like points, I feel like it definitely could be a points game because I think it's a big time test to see what where the Colts are at offensively. Again, they have played the Broncos, and they perform quite well. But it's also a test I think I'm not so sure about this Colts defense, which right now they're ranked pretty high. Both these defenses are ranked better than average, not one of the best defense in league, but better than Aura. It's a big test to see where this Colts defense is that because I'm not sure.

00:14:04
Speaker 2: I need to see a little more.

00:14:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, in terms of the personnel, you know, there's a reason for that concern with the Colts defense, but coach On Rumo has had them executing at a very high level, high level and you know, again justice for lou being the theme of the twenty twenty five season overall. But over on the offensive side, it's tough to make a case that anybody's playing better offensively than Jonathan Taylor in the entire league. And coming off a game where they gave Saquon and the Eagles that amount of problems up front, I think we'll see that we'll learn a bit a little bit more about the fronts of all these teams by how they're able to attack this unit, because all the things Daniel Jones is doing right now are all predicated off of that run game and they've been successful. I'm also looking at Tyler Warrens tow yeah, to try to see if that was, Hey, we're up against this Titans team that's kind of struggling, their coaches doing weird things. We don't need you to play in the fourth quarter because we got the RAM next week, or this toe is an issue. We're gonna have this versatle rookie tight end set out because this toe is a problem. I'm concerned about Tyler wall.

00:15:08
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:15:08
Speaker 4: That's a great point too, because the Rams went from the worst rushing defense in the NFL last year, among the worst rushing defenses in the NFL last year, to now they're about halfway midway in terms of defensive success rate against the run. And I think that that's Puna Ford, obviously, that's Nate Landman, but it's also guys like Kobe Turner, Braden Fisk who's been a little banged up as well. Just this young group getting better and then them adding players where they need to. The biggest worry, like I said, I have about this this Rams team is their perimeter corners. Their safeties are good too. They make plays on the ball. Chris Shula likes to blitz with Jalen McCullough quite a bit, and that's something for Daniel Jones to have to look out for as well. And on the opposite side, I really worry about this interior offensive line for the Rams. This is where they've invested draft picks. They've invested money, and Steve Avula and Kevin Dotson have been banged up and they have not been available two of them, Kevin Dotson in and out of games the last couple of weeks, and that's really bad. That was a swing in the Eagles game, not just upfront, because Matthew Stafford was getting a lot of quick pressure, he was making mistakes. Vick Fango was throwing creepers at him, which Matthew Stafford clearly did not expect to see Zach Bond showing pressure pre snap and then actually dropping into coverage. Matthew Stafford threw the ball right to him as if he expected Zach Bond to actually have been blitzing those types of things. When you're uninsecure with your front, especially with your interior front, that's gonna throw a veteran quarterback off, and especially with that quick pressure coming the way that is, and it was clearly a factor on special teams too.

00:16:39
Speaker 1: It's a tough matchup too for their interior offensive line because you have DeForest Buckner, you have Grover Stewart up there like veterans, but they still get at time. These two teams are kind of mirror images because they both have run defenses like they're good, but they're not great. They're like average, and they're two great running games. Actually, the NFL leader success rate in terms of running the ball right now is the Los Angeles Rams Kyrin William Just you need five yards, I'm gonna give you six. You need you need four yards, I'll give you five. And then Blake Koram has looked really good. So it's a lot of similarities. It's big time weapons and it's two just gunslingers, that quarterback making a happen, Matthew Stafford and Danny Dimes. That was sure, that's supposed to be like a tongue in the cheek a little bit. Maybe no out know Alec Pierce most likely this week he is in the concussion protocol. So you mentioned, you know, they're their problems on the outside. He is their best outside, you know, pure receiver, and so that is a big loss if the Colts don't have him. Man, it's sometimes schedule luck is like it's all when you like, do you get the Jake Browning Bengals or you to get the Joe Burrow Bengals?

00:17:50
Speaker 2: Do you get?

00:17:50
Speaker 1: You know, this might be the right week where you're just missing two of their best players for the Colts for just one week and then more and Pierce are back.

00:17:57
Speaker 3: Alec Pierce the best field stretcher in the NFL. And it's not even close. Like he's ahead of Jamison Williams in yards perception by four yards.

00:18:05
Speaker 1: Okay, I want to bring up that is crazy, like I and it's for his career. It's at the point now whenever, and it's pretty rare. Whenever he catches a short pass, I'm like, oh, you're going to ruin, Like I don't want to ruin the average? Yeah, yeah, because he's like you would go see those you know, receivers on the Chargers in the seventies and they'd average you know, twenty yards per catch for their whole career and you'd be like, man, that would have been a crazy NFL to watch. I want that. That's what Alec Pierce does before we move on. I do just want to mention how the Rams have been approaching the kickoffs, maybe more than any team. It's been successful the method of line driving the kick into the landing zone. And I want to read where the Eagles started their drives against the Rams after kickoffs. Okay, the twenty yard line, the nine yard line, the fourteen yard line, the ten yard line, and the twenty one yard line. A lot of what we thought was like, you know, great defense and the Rams dominating that game, was about the special teams because that really helped the Rams get those field goal drives. Like special teams is so big, and you're seeing this more around the NFL. It hasn't changed the average line of scrimmage because enough kicks are still going into the end zone.

00:19:19
Speaker 2: But man, the whole league is different. Right now.

00:19:22
Speaker 1: It's only about twenty percent in terms of touchbacks and last year was sixty five. I mean, it's totally different, and I think it's going to keep changing. But teams like the Rams are getting a huge advantage.

00:19:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's Stanford Engineering Josh Carty who's working with an oblong ball, and who'da thought an oblong ball moves around real weird if you kick it a certain way. Same thing happening in Carolina. They're experimenting with some of those wobbly line drives as well. That's been a point of emphasis for a couple of teams throughout the league, and it is a factor for field position matters so much. We've seen it with punting for years, and I think we're starting to celebrate. We started to celebrate punting more rightfully, so when you've got people pinning teams back and now you're starting to see this a little bit with the kickoff as well.

00:20:08
Speaker 1: Trying to get the numbers because we have the numbers of the average line that teams are starting at and what the numbers are for kickoffs over I want the number of what is the average of the ball that lands in the landing zone and is returned out because it feels like it's like the twenty well, yeah, which is a huge difference or even before. But the overall kickoff numbers are actually about the same as a year ago. So scoring is actually up, like yards are down because the field position's shrunk. It's a lot going on, but it really shows there's advantages to be had for some teams.

00:20:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, because the whole set and if you think about it as an offensive play, it becomes a bad snap in that instance, so you're having to take your eye off the ball, the timing is changed up, your blockers don't necessarily know where you are. And yeah, it leads us to having positive kick trajectory discussion for the Rams in the game against the Eagles, where the kick trajectory discussion could go in a different way.

00:21:01
Speaker 1: I felt like we need We haven't had any kickoff taka on our shows now. Shout out to Jason Kleman, who has texted me all about the kickoffs last Sunday while it was working.

00:21:11
Speaker 3: Good stuff. It's time for the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. Let's go places Sunday Night Football. The Green Bay Packers favored by seven in a revenge game, the Dallas Cowboys playing host of them. Forty seven and a half is the over under. It's Sunday Night Football, So it's Mike, Chris collins Worth, Melissa Stark, coach Dungee, Mike Turrico, I mean, excuse me, Michael Florio, the other one, Chris Sims, the whole NBC crew as Jordan, the Dallas Cowboys have a need at Edge Rusher. They do, and he's playing against them on Sunday night.

00:21:47
Speaker 4: Yes, the game that all of us had circled on our calendars the second that Jerry Jones made that trade to the Green Bay Packers. Micah Parsons the revenge game. It's finally here. But don't call it a revenge game because he still really cares about a lot of people in that building. But it's a revenge game. Do you like my Greg impression? Oh?

00:22:07
Speaker 2: That was I thought you were just excited.

00:22:10
Speaker 4: I am excited.

00:22:11
Speaker 2: I like the enthusiasm.

00:22:12
Speaker 4: I like when you do Greg voice.

00:22:13
Speaker 1: I mean it's not intentional. I feel like we needed this game. We need it's almost too soon. Yeah, it's like it's such a We need the Cowboys to be in better shape, We need ce D Lamb to be playing in this game.

00:22:26
Speaker 2: All all we need.

00:22:28
Speaker 4: Is Jerry Jones sitting up in the owner's box looking on. I need a million shots cutting to him, and I need Micah Parsons to do exactly what he's been doing for these last couple of weeks, which is a rank what fifth in the NFL and pressures right now despite playing twenty fewer snaps than others even around him in that area of pressure. And you know, cut to Jerry.

00:22:53
Speaker 3: You know, well, we've already had Jerry come out and say and hopefully nobody in the media production unit at the Star was working on a Michael try video because Jerry has said they're not going to play it.

00:23:03
Speaker 4: Don't put on the internet that. I'm mad if.

00:23:05
Speaker 3: There is one. And Coach Schttenheimer doing what he's done all off season is to answer questions about Michael Parsons think.

00:23:12
Speaker 5: At the end of the day, our guys all know Micah and again I hope because they know him. But guess what he knows us and he knows you know, he knows the way they said. So, look, Mike is a great player. Mike is gonna make plays. I just put that out there, like, Mike is gonna make plays. Does he get a sack good?

00:23:29
Speaker 3: I hope not. He might it's pretty good.

00:23:34
Speaker 4: He's just so chill.

00:23:36
Speaker 1: Parson said, it's going to be painful to sack Dak Prescott if that I believe him. There were some whispers about, you know, where the two leaders of the Cowboys like always on the same page. Where was Dak like standing up to try to keep Micah and not that that's his role, not that it made any impact whatsoever. I believe it's just depressing. And I saw some Packers fan be frustrated last week after that game, like, oh, we need more production, like Michael Parsons making a lot of money. It's like he won his matchups so quickly, so often. They were winning up front. They played outstanding defensively against the Browns who just had that five yard touchdown drive or else none of it would have mattered.

00:24:20
Speaker 2: And the only reason that they didn't.

00:24:21
Speaker 1: Rack up sacks is because Joe Flacco did a great job just getting rid of the ball when he had no chance.

00:24:26
Speaker 2: Because he's a veteran quarterback.

00:24:27
Speaker 1: I don't think Dak Prescott will be like Joe Flacco. He will hang in there and he will try to make plays because he wants to. He wants to win this game obviously, and he knows the only chance that he has is to hang in there. Yeah, and just hope that his guys like George Pickens can step up and get open their offense. Like it's a good offense and it's a borderline great running team.

00:24:52
Speaker 4: It is a great running team. Right now, they're number one and rushing success right through the first three weeks. It's it's incredible and number seven in rushing EPA, and that's an EPA that subtracts any scrambles by the quarterback or designed runs by the quarterback. So it's super impressive what Brian Schottenheimer and Clayton Adams and Javonte Williams are doing over there. However, we did lose a Tyler, Folks. We lost to Tyler. Tyler Booker headed to injured reserve, probably ankle injury, and there's no CD. So I really think.

00:25:23
Speaker 2: Cooper bebe which I think is a huge one.

00:25:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think they're, like we've talked so much on this show about opening scripts and game plans and showing coaches who love to show their personality. In this case, I also think owners who like to show their personality through what the team tries to go out and do. So I yes, I definitely think the Cowboys are going to try to run the crap out of the ball. And I think they're going to try to prove Jerry Wright in the sense of Micah Parson's run defense. By the way, he's a great run defender, So good luck with that, and I think that's what you're going to see very early on. That is in fairness, that is the Cowboys key strength right now is the way they're running the ball.

00:26:01
Speaker 3: Being able to run the ball and also having a quarterback that that does have all the answers. Yeah, and those answers are a whole lot easier when eighty eight is out there. Now you need, like you need Jalen Tolbert to get wins against Keshawn Nixon, who's had a great season in the Packers secondary. The Packers defense did everything they possibly could last week short of like a handful of plays to get a win that was honestly pretty fluky for the Cleveland Browns, And so it's it's a lot on deck. But you know, at this point in his career, you believe that that he can do that. But it's just you added in this.

00:26:37
Speaker 4: And also even before CD Lamb being out, the Green Bay's limiting explosive plays both run and pass better than any other team in the league right now, and they're number one in scoring and they're number two in defensive EPA for drug, this is a badass defense and it would have been such a good matchup. And you said at the beginning, fans are complaining, like you've seen people complaining that annoys me. Just after this is one of the best defenses in the NFL.

00:26:59
Speaker 1: Right now, everyone was frustrated. I heard like a radio call like people were really mad. They were much more mad about Jordan Love and Matt Lafleur, like people calling for Matt Leflour's head. It's just they were so mad about that loss. They just like believe they eat the cheese. Pun intended that, like, you can't lose a game like the Browns, that there must be some crime against humanity. But you know, the Browns have one of the best defense in the league too. It happens the more interesting.

00:27:25
Speaker 4: Everyone gets schwartzed from time to time.

00:27:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, and like the Cowboys defense at this point is just so bereft of hope and talent and answers that like, can they solve the Packers run offense, by the way, because the Packers offensive line was embarrassed last week. Now they're almost as banged up as the Cowboys. We'll see if they get their starters back this week. But they lost that Tommy and Aaron Banks during the game last week they were completely dominated by Cleveland. That's why they couldn't throw the ball and they haven't run the ball all three weeks. So the Cowboys have solved what ales basically every offense that they've faced so far. Can they do that again for the Packers and have the Packers cover this seven points? I tend to think yes, and that's why it's another good survivor option.

00:28:12
Speaker 2: By the way, pretty.

00:28:14
Speaker 4: Good sister three A side.

00:28:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, we' have to text Steve about that one. I'm gonna I'm going to lobby for height for my very safe pick.

00:28:25
Speaker 1: It's Steve's not here right now. You know, we're just making decisions. Let's take a quick break. We're going to be back on the other side to wrap up our mega preview Week four.

00:28:38
Speaker 3: That was the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota Let's Go Places. Toyota is all in all season with another year of Toyota Game Day giveaways, giving football fans the chance to win big every week at the NFL season. Terms of conditions apply to individual giveaways. Enter to win and learn more at Toyota's Game Day Giveaways dot Com.

00:28:56
Speaker 6: No purchase necessary void We're prohibited ends two eight twenty six, Open to legal residents of the fifty US States and DC eighteen and over. For complete details, how to enter prizes and official rules, visit Toyota's Game Day Giveaways dot Com.

00:29:11
Speaker 1: Back on NFL Daily, It's time. It's time for some international games.

00:29:16
Speaker 3: The NFL International Games returned to NFL Network on Sunday. Six games. Four cities Dublin, London, Berlin, and Madrid snooze off game on for Sunday Morning football only on NFL Network, also streaming with NFL Plus subscription required for NFL Plus visit plus dot NFL dot com. Four terms. But over here in Mosu Stadosuninos, we have the Los Angeles Chargers six and a half point favorites over the now Jackson dart Land at New York Giants. The over under is forty three and a half. Kevin Harland, trit Green and Melanie Collins on the call, so you know it's special. Jordan does Jackson dart solve all of the issue we work from and keep everybody's job.

00:30:03
Speaker 4: Wow, what a big task for Jackson dart It's interesting. So this was the right move at any point in the season. I think there was some debate over do you do it now against one of the better defenses, if not the best defense in the NFL right now, in the Los Angeles Chargers. Really, the hinge point for this to me was a if there was enough of a bad Russell Wilson performance and be Andrew Thomas coming back. Having Andrew Thomas back is such a significant boost for the Giants. I still think this is an incredibly challenging outing because I think, and I am not afraid to say it. I'm a little afraid to say it, but I think the Chargers are the best team in football right now.

00:30:47
Speaker 2: Wow, I would be afraid of pound ever.

00:30:49
Speaker 4: For pound for pound, every single phase, offense, defense, special teams, when you combine all of the collective together, to me, it's them and the Detroit Lions because just the way that they are dominating teams, you're not necessarily if you watch the games, if you're not necessarily seeing it in terms of scoring points, and you're seeing a lot of yards put up, and it's a very Harbaugh you feeling where it's like sometimes it feels kind of slow and churning, but it's all of it is there, and this defense is exciting even with Khalil mac Gunn. The way that Jesse Minter is designing pressure and the way that he is deploying his coverages is special, and I think that this is going to be more of a back to front defensive challenge for Jackson Dart than it is a front to back defensive challenge.

00:31:33
Speaker 1: It's funny because if ever there was a game Russell Wilson would be more useful for, it might be against the Chargers, who, you know, the reputation as mintor keeps a lid on those big plays. But this year, actually there's been a lot of open receivers down their field. There's been plays to be had. Bo Nick's missed them, Patrick Mahomes missed them. They didn't really get to them in that Raiders game. And I do worry, first of all, I always worry as a quasi Chargers fan when things are going too well that things are gonna suddenly not.

00:32:03
Speaker 4: They almost charged in back to back games and they didn't charge it.

00:32:07
Speaker 1: No, they did the opposite where they they played their best much. It is kind of amazing, and I think they'll win this game. But that that's a lot of it's it's difficult to know what to expect that of Jackson Dart. But on the other side, you know, for the first time this year, last week, I thought, man, they missed for Sean Slater because the right side of that offensive line was getting caved in over and over. Joe All and like Zion Johnson maybe had one bad play each or whatever, like they were fine, but the other side was getting worked over pretty good. And now you go against a Giants defensive line that that could create problems. And the Chargers have not been a good running team this year overall. They got a little better last week, but that hasn't been consistent.

00:32:50
Speaker 4: So I see, I kind of feeling vibe, see the vision.

00:32:53
Speaker 1: Kind I'm feeling the vibes on the Giants side for this this week with Jackson Dart just making this a fun game. It is amazing how inserting Jackson Dart into this game makes it one of the games of the week to me.

00:33:04
Speaker 3: Yeah, it definitely ups the the interest and I am on board as being skeptical that Jackson Dart is going to solve all the franchise problems that they've had over the last few years, but it does bring back the RPO that Brian Dable had so much success with with Josh Allen and with us, like running these RPOs and targeting in the middle of the field and Jamis eten W's in the preseason and all that fun stuff that happened. Like if you're watching on YouTube, we're looking back at the pre season when the vibes were up, when everything was good. Jordan was celebrating Brian day Ball smiling talking about how nice for him, Jackson dart it things haven't gone well. I think the idea that the Giant's front can cause pressure, which he brings up Greg like it's it's an idea that's there. I would like to see it come to consistent fruition because the back end of the defense has continued to be bad like they were a season ago, and so you can run at him, yeah, like justin Herbert, and these targets downfield have been great. Like the six and a half feels very generous to a quarterback making his first start in the NFL at home against a very good team playing for a very bad team.

00:34:11
Speaker 4: And I'm willing to guess that a bad game from one side of the offensive line is a little more animolic than what we've seen in what we expect from this Chargers group, especially with the amount of like massive humans, they have to provide chipping help where it's needed. In their fullbacks got Matt Locke and their tight ends. I do think that that's a factor. I think that they absolutely need to run the ball better. But you see the vision as it's been so close to like breaking through in these years with Harbat the helmet, and you've got a quarterback in Justin Herbert playing at an MVP clip right now, and that cannot be forgotten about it. I know it certainly isn't here. But when you combine that with the way that this defense helps out its offense, there is this really interesting collaboration between the two. Even without like I said, without Khalil Mack, the way that Jesse Minter, especially on known passing downs and on late downs, can design pressure. There's a really really cool pressure he run. This was in a couple of weeks ago, and this is before Khalil Mack got hurt in the Raiders game, where basically they're sending two players at one lineman who then commands the chipping help to come out kick out to the outside to help, and then the rusher who's going to actually go at the quarterback, slips inside, almost like a pick play, but it's a pass rush and has a clear line right to the quarterback, and he's basically changing the math post snap. And that's what he does again and again and again with this pressure. It's why tu Le Tue Pilot two, who's tied for fifth right now among all pass rushers with fifteen pressures, is having so much success. Other than the fact that he's a good player, they've gotten better on the interior. Tier Tart makes plays. They've gotten bigger on the interior, and they're bad ass in the secondary. And I just think that with Derwin James and Diane Henley holding down the middle of the field, they can do these cloudy zone coverages that will really confuse a young quarterback.

00:36:07
Speaker 1: That was one of the best games of Derwin James's career, which is saying a lot. I've given like Fred Warner as an early like just watchless defensive player of the year guy like Derwin James this year, like he is fully weaponized. This is as good a version of Derwin James as we've ever seen, which is crazy because he's had some really high high so You're right, like that's all exciting and makes it hard to imagine. But I do think the element of surprise. I do think there are talented players, especially if Andrew Thomas is close to you know, one hundred percent, because he looked pretty good in the snaps that he was out there last week. There are talented players. Scataboo's giving them a little bit of a jump. And I'm not sure about the offensive line. I mean, they played two of the worst pass rushes in the league the first two weeks, and the right side like Trey Pimpkin Pipkins and who is at solid like he was struggling last week. I do think it was a little underrated how much of a factor it might be long term that oh, we just popped a rookie and like literally the first game of his career and he's catching passes from Herbert on a game winning drive against the Broncos and goes six for sixty five and has totally great movement skills like Rondi Gatz and could turn into like a pretty big part of this team this season and be a great pick On the.

00:37:16
Speaker 4: Giants side keeping We're keeping an eye on Elak Neighbors who's banged up and he's limited in practice this week. And that's where I question again, like Jackson, Dart will probably target Cam Scataboo a lot, especially in the short passing game and the quick throw out like passing game. Who else If mc neighbor's not there, THEO Johnson has some stuff to him but has not emerged consistently. They need him, They need a tight end to emerge in this offense for this offense to be what Brian Dable wants it to be. I mean, it's just like I think they're overmatched.

00:37:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that the chargers of mental will get to dictate what this game looks like because I'm expecting a lot of RPO. It's where the Giants were successful in the preseason, and I'm expecting the Giants defense to give up a lot of points. Like honestly, like if you go to Andrew Phillips, who you know gets a lot of coverage, like his personal beef with Ceedee Lamb, he's given up more yards than any other defender in the slot.

00:38:12
Speaker 2: Made a lot of plays though, yeah he's made.

00:38:14
Speaker 3: He's made some plays more yards than any other defender in the slot by two, Like double any other slot receiver like target and then like there's fluky plays like the catch from you know, the greatest receiver of all time. Now I'm blanking on his name, the former Patriot from the.

00:38:31
Speaker 2: Chiefs, Julian Edelman, Taekwon Thornton.

00:38:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, Taekwon Thorton. Oh my gosh. Yeah, where he's like catches the ball behind his back. It's fluky in that. But but yeah, the Giants are bad and covered.

00:38:42
Speaker 2: Let's move to another team.

00:38:45
Speaker 4: Voice was yeah, no, Julian Edelman.

00:38:47
Speaker 3: He knows how much I love Julian Edelman. Washington Commanders one and a half point favorites, a little beat up questions at quarterback and receiver taking on the Atlanta Falcons. The over under is forty four and a half. Iron Eagle JJ Watt Evan Washburn on the call. Can Atlanta bounce back after one of the nastiest performances we've seen all seasons?

00:39:07
Speaker 1: Greg I tend to think the plexiglass principle applies in the NFL in general, where if you have that bad a performance, usually come out the next week and play much better.

00:39:17
Speaker 2: I don't know why that happens.

00:39:18
Speaker 1: Maybe it's just the law of averages that teams aren't going to play as bad as losing thirty to nothing to the Panthers. They have issues. We've talked about the coaching stuff already this week, but the fact that John Robinson leads the team in receiving is a problem, and that Drake London and Kyle Pitts are averaging under ten yards per catch. There's just nothing downfield. It doesn't really make any sense. A lot of their offense just doesn't make sense. Remember we thought the whole Kirk Cousins thing was like, man, they can't even do any play action or run the offense they want because Kirk Cousins can't move. They run the exact same offense. Now it's like completely disjointed. If I didn't know any like too much. Like on paper, it looks like one of the most confusing offenses like in the league in terms.

00:39:59
Speaker 4: That's what he said. That's what kirk Cousin said on quarterback, and you could really see it. He had a lot of trouble with some of the tags on the plays, the motion tags and some of the alignment teg.

00:40:08
Speaker 1: Also just they don't run play action. They should be a play action They look like they should be a play action team and they're not a play action team. And Michael Pennox is great throwing it deep, and he never throws it deep, so.

00:40:21
Speaker 4: I agree with you. Maybe Zach Robinson will have a better view of all of this now that he will be coaching on the field versus up in the booth. And part of that, in my opinion, is to actually talk to your players and be able to hear them talk back, which they famously cannot talk back to you when they are when you are in the headset in their ear. And hey, maybe it would be great to hear some feedback in real time from the people who are going out there and doing the things. TJ. Yates over coaching receivers now, and I've heard good things about him, and that's Raheem Morris making that decision in that move. Raheem Morris being a former receivers coach himself, which a lot of people forget because he's a defensive coach, but he coached players like Julio Jones and knows kind of what details he's looking for in that regard. We saw this when he like go of Jimmy Lake after one year last year, Raheem Morris is going to make a quick decision if it's clear that that decision has to be made for whatever. For whatever reason, they kind.

00:41:18
Speaker 1: Of not that there's not a kind of Yeah, one in three would feel dark right now for this Falcons team good.

00:41:23
Speaker 4: If you're a Rams fan. They're looking at that pick.

00:41:26
Speaker 3: The injury for Terry McLaurin going to get a second opinion. Initially thought it was a quad injury. It seems like now they feel like it's higher up. There's concerns maybe hernia core muscle related so getting checked there. That's scared. But fortunately for them at this point as of Wednesday, maybe Jayden Daniels is playing. They do have one of the better backups in the NFL for talking about actual quality backup. Yeah, Marcus Marod have played pretty good.

00:41:52
Speaker 4: Did you hear that?

00:41:53
Speaker 1: Versus Jake Brown and Marcus Moro played pretty well.

00:41:57
Speaker 3: Revenge game last week. It is a revenge game. Yes, there was a lot said about Marcus Mariota out of Flowery Branch after his departure. If it is Marcus, watch out.

00:42:07
Speaker 1: Without Terry McLaurin long term, you're worried. Also, Bill was out of practice on Wednesday, he did finish the game. He's looked good, their running games looked good in general. They went really heavy personnel against the Raiders, like three tight ends on the field quite a bit and just steamrolled them for a while. And this team looks a little tougher this year. I don't know if it's because of the teams they've played, but I do think the Washington defense it has shown signs of being significantly improved. Doran's armstrong is one of the league leaders in pressures. They're getting it with like a lot of people. They have seven or eight guys. It's not like a star studded group, but they're playing pretty well up front. And the Falcons offensive line on paper, maybe that's why they don't call these deep shots and it's not, but then you would think they would do play action. Is that they don't believe in their offensive line right now Atlanta, so that could be a mismatch for Washington.

00:43:01
Speaker 4: Do you know what one of my favorite things is is anytime, which is quite frequently, Bobby Wagner has a good game, I look for an Ollie Connolly tweet of a or post or email because I subscribe to his substack the read optional. I look at that fantastic story that he wrote about Bobby Wagner and all of the really multifunctional things he can do and still is doing in that defense, and it's really interesting because Frankie Luvu, our guy NFL Daily, is one of our favorite players last season, is picking up more attention now. Teams are playing him a little.

00:43:34
Speaker 2: Bit, a little quiet. Last week was better, but been a little quiet.

00:43:37
Speaker 4: Yeah, they asked him about it. He's like I expected it. Teams are paying more attention, They're sending more at him.

00:43:44
Speaker 3: Concerns in the Commander's secondary after some injuries last week and Trey Tucker running down the field by himself, perhaps a chance for the Falcons deep passing game to get if they can protect Michael Pennis because he's one of the worst quarterbacks in the league right now. When facing pressure my right long enough, maybe they'll get it.

00:44:01
Speaker 2: I believe. I believe.

00:44:03
Speaker 4: I'm a Michael Fennix fan. I think he's got it.

00:44:06
Speaker 3: The Jacksonville Jaguars got a win last week thanks to some late pressure from Josh Hines Alan. They are taking the trip all the way across the United States to take on the San Francisco forty nine ers, who may have their quarterback back. They are favored by three. The over under is forty seven and a half Atamo, Mark Sanchez Christina Pink on the call, Jordan, we saw the Jags get back in the win column. Do they pose a threat to the maybe Rock Perdy led San Francisco forty nine ers.

00:44:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's kind of something I've got my eye on big time, not just as whether Brock Perdy will play because he's working back into practice this week, kind of as we record as we tape this. Ricky Piersoll, who has very much emerged in this offense as the deep threat, as the one type receiver, especially with Juwan Jennings beat up. He's banged up. He's not practicing to start the week. Juwan Jennings is still banged up as well. They might get DeMarcus Robinson back, which I think is a huge if Brock Purty is back, because DeMarcus Robinson, who has been suspended for the last three games. He he and Brock Purty connected frequently in training camp and reports at a camp and also my own eyeballs because I was there for a bit reverse Benjamin Buttoning like he's he looks great. He looks awesome. So that's that's a huge ad for the forty nine ers who are making a lot with a very injury laden skill position group. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Jacksonville Jaguars are still trying to figure out who they have and what they have and how to deploy them at receiver.

00:45:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, they they aren't really integrating Travis Hunter consistently into the offense, and of course Liam Cohen is going to be asked about.

00:45:46
Speaker 7: We had a great talk with Trev after this past game in terms of just man like, all right, how can we help you and put you because he's guys, right, what is he learning?

00:45:58
Speaker 2: It's a lot.

00:45:59
Speaker 7: So we've got to, I think, be a little bit more diligent in terms of putting him in positions to maybe not have to do as many moving parts so that we can just let him go play.

00:46:10
Speaker 1: I thought he played with more confidence last week. Granted it was only one catch on offense, but it was an awesome Yeah, it was an awesome play after the catch. But I'm speaking more about what he's doing on defense. Yes, they're locking him into a certain spot and I know, like the coverage stats for PFF weren't great. He's in zone coverage, and if you look at some of those plays, like he's doing his responsibility and the other play call wins, they're not getting pressure home. He actually had some incredible reps against Nego Collins, and I've been all for doing both, and I think he should continue to do both. But if you told me they're already doing it, that it's a little more focused on letting him play cornerback, that that's his more primary position, and that he's playing a little less at wide receiver, and that it's more targeted reps specific to what he's doing at receiver, Like that makes sense to me because I think he's hit the ground running a little faster at cornerback.

00:47:07
Speaker 4: Normally, I would go to NFL plus pro to watch all of the isolated reps of him of Travis Hunter playing corner because you can so filter that. But shout out to Billy m I go way back. I go way back with that guy from when I was covering the Carolina Panthers, and he's always been great at posting relevant and ball knowing football clips and he posted an entire reel of every rep of Travis Hunter playing corner. I think I saw it via John Shipley as well, so double shout out there, and he played great. He looked awesome to your point, Greg, he looked like one of the better corners in the NFL, playing especially at times against really tough matchups in Nico Collins. And yes, I am factoring in the fact that zone defense is a thing where yes, you're going to have some cushion in front of you when you're playing zone defense. And so I think it's an with the Jacksonville Jaguars because I give them, I think a lot of grace. And I think when you draft a player a unicorn of a player like that, and he has so much potential, and then you also have somebody like Brian Thomas Junior who's so explosive. Okay, but you look at the rest of this right, and I look at a team that very much needed to rebuild massive portions of its identity, of its offense. They went out and signed veteran free agents with the idea of phasing a lot of those players out as you continue to restock in the draft with players that specifically fit what this head coach wants to do. Now, one thing about Liam Cohen, and sometimes it'll come off as anachronistic or antagonistic, even in I don't know what the right word is. Antagonistic maybe is the right word in the press conference versus maybe what we see out of the player, Or it comes off as like, hey, I'm telling I'm talking to the player, or I told him this, or he didn't do this. But what it is is he has I think there's an arc that bends toward the match between player and scheme, and you're figuring out, as a head coach how far to bend that arc, and as a player, you're figuring out where you fit within the confines and structures of this offense. He's not going to be able to play the Chris Godwin Buccaneers where you have Chris Godwin who could play the f the Cooper Cup kind of role for you. It's not going to be the twenty eighteen Rams where you have Cooper Cup and Robert Woods doing all the things that Liam Cohen cut his teeth on doing and then deployed within that Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense when he was the offensive coordinator. It's just not going to be that. So right now, I give them all collectively, players and coaches a little bit of grace as they troubleshoot and figure out what is actually best for these players' skill sets. By the way, it's probably not going to be what I'm used to running as a coach, and that should be fine. You just got to figure that out.

00:49:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, as much as Liam Cohen is talking about this being a learning process for Travis Hunter, it's definitely a learning process for a coaching staff that's trying to do something with a player that hasn't been done before and playing like equally, playing majority of the snaps on offense and defense last week, where this was the dream, like this this was it comes to fruition. Travis Hunter played a majority of the offensive snaps and majority of the defensive snaps, and the Jags won. Like that's that's what the hope was.

00:50:19
Speaker 1: So Like, I've been impressed by the Jags in general. I think they win this game. I know they're underdogs in this game. Forty nine Ers fans are probably feeling confident. Both these teams have run the ball inconsistently. Jaguars start out the season great. They just had a bad week, but they were playing in Houston in general, Christian McCaffrey and the forty nine ers have not run the ball.

00:50:40
Speaker 2: Well.

00:50:41
Speaker 1: We need a word for someone who was like an all time great who's not quite at the level that he used to be, but he's still at a very high level. Because that's where Christian McAffrey is right now. Shaq heat okay, heat shack, And you can win a championship that way. You can build an entire offense.

00:50:57
Speaker 4: You had that one ready to go.

00:50:59
Speaker 2: That's amazing.

00:51:01
Speaker 1: You can build an offense that's for a three to oho team around that person.

00:51:05
Speaker 2: Like that's how good he still is.

00:51:07
Speaker 1: But they're not the same right now blocking for him, and he's not the same explosive. And yet I assume pearsall will be okay, but we'll see.

00:51:15
Speaker 3: Just look out if Rickie Pearson, considering the volume of targets that peer Fall's getting as well as the air yards, if he's.

00:51:20
Speaker 1: Not because he finished that game and like he's a guy who hasn't even needed to be that open to make big plays. But I'm really impressed with the Jaguars defense. We should move on, But man, Devin Lloyd and Josh Heines out like Josh Heinz Allen in two of the three games they've played this year, has been the best player on the field, and they've got They're getting development out of guys. Devin Lloyd is playing well, like they there's something to this team.

00:51:43
Speaker 3: I like him.

00:51:43
Speaker 1: I think they might knock off the forty nine ers this week.

00:51:47
Speaker 3: All Right, a team that was frisky and got a win at home last week is on the road task maybe a little tougher this time, or maybe not. The Cleveland Browns at the Detroit Lions were nine and a half point favorites coming off there, winning Baltimore the over unders forty four and a half. Kenny Albert, Jonathan Wilba, and Megan Olivy on the call and Greg, can the Browns do it again this week?

00:52:08
Speaker 1: This is a much tougher test for the Lions offense, Like, Yeah, it actually seems like an obvious point to make, but I think it is worth noting that. You know, they've they've played one I would say elite defense this year, and they obviously had a bad week one. They played two defenses that are struggling on balance, and they looked all the way back into being all the Lions, And I think that's closer to where they were. That's what good teams do. They beat up on bad defenses. And just the individual talent is overwhelming and the offensive line it looks so good, but this will be a much tougher test for that interior offensive line specifically, and whoever's got a you know, block Miles Garrett. Look, it's going to be a really fun matchup when the Lions have the ball.

00:52:53
Speaker 4: Yeah, and it could be Pina Sul but Miles Garrett moves around and he does that like eurostep kind of move that he has that like.

00:53:00
Speaker 3: Shout off theyonik and gokway.

00:53:01
Speaker 4: It's just so cool that, I mean, he can move around what I do really like And I had hoped this happened because you heard whispers about him and his sort of alternate personality in college Tate Ratlige and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible is emerging as the true dirt bag offensive lineman that I hope he totally would become. And when you're playing with a Tea or you're playing against a Cleveland defense that is number two in stopping the runs in terms of success rate, you really need to push some bodies around. And I really was impressed with not just the synchronicity of the entire line, but that young Tate Ratledge is really emerging as this tough player that they need upfront to kind of give him some teeth against the defense.

00:53:45
Speaker 1: Like this, and they're not the Lions by any means, but the run game has been better with Quinn shod Judkins for the Browns. They ran the ball pretty effectively when they had a chance to.

00:53:54
Speaker 4: This is you, guys' training camp doesn't matter player proving the training camp is.

00:53:59
Speaker 3: I don't know that it proves it. It just it highlights the fact that players can be successful without going to training camp. He looks great.

00:54:08
Speaker 1: I feel bad for Flacco right now. He got way too much heap for that game last week. Like it was similar to Jordan Love. He had no chance on so many of those plays. I actually thought he did a reasonable job just trying to avoid catastrophe plays. And he had the one interception, which was a fourth down play at the end of the half where essentially he was trying to get intercepted if they weren't going to hit the play because it just ended the half. Like it's gonna be hard. It's been a little under talked about on this show that they're both their tackles are injured. Dwan Jones is out for the season now Jack Conklin has been out. That wasn't a great position before, so you're going to their backups. Joe Botonio is really banged up. Like it's a lot to ask of Joe Flacco and this passing game. And so I think for this Lions defense, which is on the upswing, like it's obviously a great matchup for them.

00:55:00
Speaker 3: It's one of those situations where I mean styles make fights, and we see that every single league, and the Lions were able to take advantage of an offense that loves to hit home runs and and Lamar was going to try to wait and make plays. Uh, And the Lions weren't scared. They they didn't like fall over their shoes thinking Lamar was going to do a whole bunch on Monday night. And now you have to completely check it down and play a completely different game against Joe Flacco, who, like you pointed out, what is he even trying to get in the batter's bock some of those reps against the Green Bay Packers And.

00:55:34
Speaker 1: If he has a chance he'll he'll throw that ball downfield, but the stars the line just right, if the if the pressure is coming, Yeah, he's just getting rid of that ball.

00:55:43
Speaker 3: And so I you know, I'd be willing to offer this one.

00:55:47
Speaker 1: Up as interesting if we would like to know do we make a final decision with Steve Weisch? Did I miss that we I feel like we've been here for an entire weekend.

00:55:57
Speaker 2: The Bills are one option.

00:56:00
Speaker 1: Certainly, the Texans were another option. The Lions are an option, but I don't like it. I think the I think the Browns are too good. I actually think this could be not a letdown game. But you're coming back short week for the Lions. I'm just saying, so we Buffalo is a very good team. Yes, and we would like to have the option of using the Buffalo Bills later this year. And I understand that you got to keep it going though, but you have to survive. Yeah, let's go Bills. Then what do you think Bills?

00:56:31
Speaker 3: Okay?

00:56:31
Speaker 4: That was my pick?

00:56:32
Speaker 2: Okay, sorry Lions.

00:56:35
Speaker 1: Also, before we go, everyone's been asking me, you know, when am I going to make my apology?

00:56:40
Speaker 2: No, I'm kidding. No one No one asks things like that.

00:56:44
Speaker 1: About Mason Graham, I'm gonna get in a lot of heat. M Daniel Jeremiah sending me texts. Oh, expect to see a barrage of mentions I have, I have. Mason Graham played great last week? You know how else played great? Every single defensive line in on the Cleveland Browns.

00:57:01
Speaker 2: I am.

00:57:02
Speaker 1: I am not moving off my spot. He's just part of a good group. For what it's worth. Of the nine defensive lineman you know that played on the Cleveland Browns last week, pff atam no nine defensive players. I think in the front seven he was ninth. He was fifth out of the defensive line everyone ate last week and they're playing a bunch of backups in new spots against the Packers. That was small of me, but like my guy Aiden hunting in from two lane, playing both sides.

00:57:31
Speaker 3: Of the ball.

00:57:31
Speaker 1: He had a sack, and like everyone is, Elie Collins looked like the best player in the league.

00:57:34
Speaker 2: Right, we gotta go.

00:57:37
Speaker 1: We will be back in this feed on Thursday night and it'll be the two of you, So I'm looking forward to listening to that. After that, you're gonna hear some small shows from me from Dublin we're going to do our picks. We're getting Cynthia Freeland's picks, but we're gonna involve the Ringer Fantasy Show guys, Danny Hifitz, Danny Kelly, Craig Horrorback. They're going to be making some picks with me too. We have Michael McQuaid from over in Dublin, the Irish NFL show. Really excited for all of it. And by the way, I mentioned on the first show that I had done a podcast over in Ireland. That's Colm Kelly and Ot Ireland. I want to give all the pop to all the people. Thank you for playing that. I gotta go catch a bird.

00:58:24
Speaker 4: You and Daniel Joy Doublin.

00:58:26
Speaker 1: We will see you on the other side. But before that, it's it's gonna be some Thursday night football.

00:58:31
Speaker 2: See then,