2025 NFL Week 9 Late and Primetime Games Preview

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Welcome back to NFL Daily, where we will never get jaded enough to get sick of a Patrick Mahomes Josh Allen Chiefs Bills matchup. Someday the kids that are grown up now, we'll be talking about the good old days when it was Josh and it was Lamar and it was Patrick and they would play at least once a year, very often twice a year.

00:00:30
Speaker 2: It's the SpongeBob meme.

00:00:32
Speaker 3: Yes, it's all of them running around outside and Joe Burrow a squidward looking through the wind.

00:00:37
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I'm not putting Joe Burrow in that grid.

00:00:39
Speaker 2: Oh no, no, he's looking through the No.

00:00:42
Speaker 1: I know. I'm apologizing to the Bengals fans or whatever the other three at a different level.

00:00:48
Speaker 4: Sorry, And they're out there.

00:00:49
Speaker 5: And the Bills have been eliminated in the playoffs by the Chiefs in four of the last five seasons. They are seven to one against the rest of the NFL. But this on CBS with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo is a chance at revenge, which they're winning in the regular sea.

00:01:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was gonna say they always do it in the regular season.

00:01:08
Speaker 5: The Chiefs, who are so hot right now are two and a half point favorites at the Bills. The over under is fifty two and a half. Greg, we saw an offensive explosion. It was against the Carolina Panthers. How does Joe Brady's unit fair against Spags in company?

00:01:22
Speaker 1: I think it's an opportunity to expose some of the Chiefs defense that just hasn't been over the last month plus. If you had told us after like two weeks that the Bills, who were, you know, the Desert's favorite team at the beginning of this season, would be underdogs against the Chiefs team, considering how that starts like it really shows how this season has flipped. But I think the fundamentals of what we kind of know about this matchup and what's good about the Bills, which is that they are a great run blocking team that has great continuity up front and in general have been able to run the ball against the Chiefs. Certainly in the regular season they put up that thirty burger. That's not a thing, but it should be. They put up thirty points on him last year, and they keep winning the regular seats. Like, I still think you can beat the Chiefs that way, and I do think they have an advantage there. I think they're going to need to because they're not as dynamic throwing the ball as they have been in previous years.

00:02:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, and why go away from something that's working so effectively. I mean, James Cook is running like he didn't already get the contract, and it's incredible and it's so fun to watch how this offensive line can just move people. It's awesome. I think that that's where you really want. Like the Bills offense is scoring on fifty percent of their drives a little bit more, a little bit more than that. That's only a few teams that are doing that, and so I think that that and part of it's because a huge part of it is because James Cook and this offensive line, and also the willingness to actually continue to let this be your identity when other phases of your offense, especially your passing game, has been a little disjointed, some of it due to injury as well.

00:03:00
Speaker 5: In this matchup where the Bills have beaten the Chiefs in Kansas City three consecutive times, like you got to go back to twenty nineteen or for the last Chiefs win at home against Buffalo and looking at this right because I've seen I've seen Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs be more explosive this year and less explosive.

00:03:22
Speaker 4: In the run game.

00:03:23
Speaker 5: They're gonna miss Isaiah Pacheco for a large part of the season now. And so incomes Kareem Hunt, who has been able to kind of oddly enough like rest up between the twenties and then come in in the red zone and get all these scoring opportunities where in fantasy like Kareem Hunt is the back that you want, and now it gets peppered into the offense a little bit more, and I wonder what that looks like on this team that hasn't been able to run the ball against the defense, where that's where you want to get. The Bills in this situation is not have Patrick Mahomes back there throwing the ball a whole bunch of times. So it's like this mismatch of styles and circumstances that I think are favoring Buffalo enough where I'm looking at this matchup and like, yeah, I want to pick the Chiefs the red hot right now, but considering the way things are going on, I'm.

00:04:06
Speaker 1: Not sure that's the Breeze Hall team. They need a running back you can't go with Cream Hunt the rest. Yeah, I maybe they're a Remondra team. If he's somehow available, they wouldn't really make any sense.

00:04:16
Speaker 3: I agree, And you know what, and I will be the first emit. I've been really critical of the Bills defense really since the start of the season. I think I've had good reason to be at certain points. But man, am I impressed with this guy Dean Walker because not having at Oliver is obviously going to hurt them. That's a huge loss. They're getting a couple guys back, got him back last week. And Michael Hoyt he's an inside outside player. He leaned out when he was with the Rams to become more of a pass rusher, but he has the capability to lean back in and play a little of like an even technique interior alignment. And Larry Ogunjobi's when he's been good, he's been really good. But this guy, this rookie out of Kentucky, is just He's got a run stop rate of ten percent of his snaps where he's no gain or a loss, and that is among the best any defensive tackle, second highest among any defensive tackle in the NFL with at least fifty snaps per Next Gen Stats.

00:05:07
Speaker 2: He is really forming the identity in the middle of this defense and we'll to have to even do so even more with that Oliver out.

00:05:14
Speaker 1: Like, he's a great example of just just take the big, huge athletes. Yes, he's massive, he is incredible looking. And their pass rush was last week, so that's the hope. Yeah, they really haven't been ultra dynamic all season, but Rousseau showed up in that game, and Joey Bosa showed up in that game, and Epinessa showed up like it was their best pass RUSS game of the year. You're gonna need it against you know, the best quarterback in football once again, Patrick Mahomes. And we're back in a place where we were a long time ago where, Yeah, the Chiefs passing game is significantly more dynamic in multiple than the Bills. It is amazing in the NFL how identities can change so much from one season to the next. And yeah, if you're watching on YouTube, like you just see the space that I think the other receivers are going to open up for Travis Kelce, for Hollywood Brown, like the secondary guys that Rashid Rice and Xavier Worthy helped to open up. And I think Patrick Mahomes is really comfortable back there. But it's not like Jalen Moore is a downgrade at left tackle.

00:06:18
Speaker 4: You know.

00:06:18
Speaker 1: They they did have Tray Smith out last week. We'll see if he's back this week, but that that's a big injury to watch if if that continues, if he continues to be out like that, that is a place where the Bills I think can take advantage. I feel like we're like trying to build the case for the Bills because we don't actually believe it.

00:06:33
Speaker 4: What do you what do you think?

00:06:34
Speaker 5: Well, I mean Trey Trey Smith was limited in practice on Wednesday.

00:06:38
Speaker 1: Okay, that's a good sign.

00:06:40
Speaker 4: So there is that.

00:06:42
Speaker 5: I'm not necessarily making a case that the game it's it's a toss up, like at this point, these two teams have so much familiarity. But at Oliver it's especially the early part of the season was the defense. And and it didn't necessarily think because you missed, you know, the majority of the game laid against the Carolina Panthers. That was against the twenty twenty five Carolina Panthers with Andy Dalton playing.

00:07:06
Speaker 4: This is Patrick Mahomes.

00:07:07
Speaker 1: That's fair, Andy Dalton with a busted thumb as yeah, we four four fingered Andy Dalton, you should have pointed out, yeah, that that dumb is like a band name is bothering him four fingered Andy. I always look at the opposing linebackers against like a Patrick Mahomes Andy Reid team. I mean, you can do that with almost any good quarterback in today's NFL, and and right now it's it's Shack Thompson and two lane great Dorian Williams. Jack Thompson showed why he was out there last week with that play where he like, he points out this tunnel screen that the Panthers are going to do, and they literally got to pick six in part because he pointed that out. I mean, Epenesa made a great play to pull it off. But do the Chiefs put a circle on on both those guys in terms of team speed and it exposed it with players that they can flood in the middle of the field.

00:07:53
Speaker 3: I think you try to hit the perimeter against this Bills defense a lot, because then you're avoiding what actually is turned into strength right smack in the middle of that defensive line. And now let me say they still have issues shoring up against the run. But they're playing better to me, and you're avoiding a pass rush that's really come along, and you're getting short, quick passes and screens. Andy Reid has the biggest screen playbook in the entire NFL. Everybody talks about it with such reverence, all these other coaches and getting these speed players into the perimeter and into the flats, and I think that, first of all, stretches the linebackers wider than they want to be, and it asks the corners to come down and make plays. And I have not seen a ton of proof that they're capable of doing that regularly.

00:08:33
Speaker 1: I want to see, too, like the Chiefs defense in a tougher spot in terms of their secondary, because I was thinking, like, what's changed since early in the season that we think better of this Chief's defense, And a lot of it is they're getting good production from these guys you've never heard of in the secondary, which is what the Chiefs do. They signed Christian Fulton to a big contract. He hasn't played at all. I think he played like fifteen snaps and then he got hurt again. But it's Noah Williams and then their safety group you know cook Jayden Hicks has been playing pretty Welliams out there, like some people know they know now, but maybe this is a game that just they know him now makes uh gotcha? Makes Josh Allen feel alive. You know, he was coming off that MVP award and Sinners and love and marriage and it's like, can we get can I get as up as I used to be? I think Patrick mahomes different people go.

00:09:24
Speaker 2: We think Sinners was a high for Josh.

00:09:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I know it was. There was some tough lines in it, but I think he was very proud of his life partner and what she accomplished there. Yeah, and he got to go on the press tour and it was it was fun and then like, can you get us up for like a week four game against whoever? You know? No, but these are the games you live for, Patrick, They make you feel alive.

00:09:45
Speaker 4: I disagree. I think Josh Allen.

00:09:49
Speaker 1: Like I think so Heyo, Toddy's been trying hard all all along, and yet he's a thousand percent more expressive in big time games because I think he's, you know, feeling a little more and more alive. That's what he's doing it for the big time spots.

00:10:01
Speaker 5: Yes, two very good players, very good at the things that they do.

00:10:05
Speaker 1: Let's go to Monday Night football.

00:10:07
Speaker 5: The Arizona Cardinals at the Dallas Cowboys, who are favored by two and a half. The over under is fifty four and a half. The consensus greatest player in Texas high school football history returns. What does Kyler Murray do for the Arizona cards It's consensus.

00:10:25
Speaker 1: Ever ever it is.

00:10:28
Speaker 4: It's amazing. There's not a lot of people who disagree. And I won't say it's.

00:10:31
Speaker 5: Consensus for I don't know eight billion people on the planet. Somebody's forro Locker probably disagrees. What does it mean, Jordan for the Arizona Cardinals, do they want Kyler Beck?

00:10:41
Speaker 2: Well, he's limited that. Jonathan Gannon's been kind of playing.

00:10:43
Speaker 3: KOI with the with the media about like whether Kyler is going to be able to go or not, whether it'll be another Jacoby Brissett game. So he's kind of been back and forth with them all week. I'm actually, sir Patrick, you're the revenge game king, and I'm surprised you did not.

00:10:56
Speaker 1: Bring up a key, Oh, mister, revenge game.

00:10:59
Speaker 2: Jenga point anga piece.

00:11:00
Speaker 3: Revenge Game because on the Dallas Cowboys sideline now Clayton Adams, the former offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Last season when their run game was just absolutely mauling people on the reverse, now the Dallas Cowboys looked like they got a little something special cooking in the run game most of the time. A few exceptions, not opposite sideline.

00:11:22
Speaker 1: Oh, the Clayton Adams and h Yeah, the stats would tell you if you just look at the numbers inverted, like the improvement for the Cowboys and the you know, just falling through the floor.

00:11:36
Speaker 2: The four injuries even before injuries.

00:11:39
Speaker 1: Right, But the Cardinals and certainly Brian Schottenheimer would say, that's don't really matter.

00:11:47
Speaker 2: We're a football team that's three four and one.

00:11:49
Speaker 1: You can take the stats.

00:11:50
Speaker 4: On offense and shove them up yours. I concerned, I.

00:11:53
Speaker 1: Mean, is what it is.

00:11:54
Speaker 6: We want to win, you know, and people talk about, hey, MVP and this and that.

00:11:58
Speaker 1: Dak Prescott doesn't want to win MVP.

00:12:00
Speaker 4: You know, he once won a Super Bowl.

00:12:02
Speaker 1: Wait, we're beeping, we're beeping.

00:12:05
Speaker 2: Did he say a longer word than no?

00:12:07
Speaker 1: No? Because this could be a problem for Patrick's idea for a segment stats to shove up.

00:12:13
Speaker 5: Your the the rule is related to as yeah, it can't travel.

00:12:21
Speaker 1: But these are stats. They're just They're just things that are in your brain. Like that's not so. I don't think that qualified, like.

00:12:28
Speaker 5: Like Kyler Murray being forty two as a recording quarterback in high.

00:12:31
Speaker 1: School unless you were like crumpling up like the piece of paper from like the Bill James baseball appe. Yeah that if it's literally like physical, like printing out pro football reference paces, right, that would do it. I did read Kyler Murray as we I look at the bewildered looks behind the glass er head happy Kyler Murray eight and oh in Jerry World five and oh as a high school player. Got one done in college too with Oklahoma. And then there was another game where he was like a backup and ran around. I think was he on Texas Adium. He was on some random team that played there. And then as a pro so he you know, he doesn't lose here. He probably is starting.

00:13:15
Speaker 2: Spurry his former coach, Yeah, and the former coach of.

00:13:19
Speaker 1: That's right, he is expected to play. They are being COI to your point, but when the media was out there, he was taking reps with the starters primarily, which he wasn't previously, and they also have made it clear that when he is healthy, he is absolutely the starter. It's a Monday night football game, so it just the practice information isn't as complete of the people covering the team. I think fully expect him to play, and I think it could be a big you know, Trade McBride game, you know, going up against these lineback I know it could be a big anything game going against.

00:13:49
Speaker 5: Yeah, the Ibralus defense, where it turns out the Washington Commanders having their entire receiver room hurt was a big factor in the defense looking marginally better because they went they went up to Denver and the Broncos like left some points on the board, even where there was a drive where Courtland Sutton got a touchdown catch where there was offensive pass interference and then Courtland Sudden dropped a touchdown pass on the very next day, like very next play. There were point more points that they could have scored they didn't because this defense is what we thought it was two weeks ago.

00:14:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, and look they're starting you know rookies at at cornerback, who was at bridges that got like an early pick, but Donovan Azeraki actually is among the league leaders in rookie pressures over the last four or five weeks. But it's the rest of that pass rush just is not working for them, and that's good. I think Gannon also talked about wanting to play to kyler strengths, maybe in a way that they felt like they hadn't enough.

00:14:55
Speaker 3: They were getting pressed on it because Drew Petsing and Jacoby Brissette, who go way back and had known each other, played you know, with each other at the previous stops, or Jacoby had played for him at previous stops like that. There was a lot of conversation and we don't remember this as freshly because they had their bye week, but there was a ton of heat coming out of there locally at through Petsing and how much cleaner and easier everything seemed to feel with Jacoby Brissett and some of the concepts that did play to Jacoby Brissette's strengths and that they weren't seeing necessarily for Kyler. Some of that is Kyler needing to stand in the pocket a little bit more, but a lot of it was a huge conversation point. So I'm not surprised. He came out and said multiple things. A. Kyler is the starter when he's healthy, and B that they do recognize that they need to actually, you know, adjust certain things to play to kyler strengths.

00:15:47
Speaker 1: They got to get this game. I mean the Cowboys could feel the same way. At three four and one. It's a Monday night game. The Cardinals are two and five. They have the third hardest remaining schedule according to FDN, and so this is actually one of, if not like, the easiest game they have. Less they did have some good injury news before we move on. Walter Nolan, their first round pick, has been practicing. He's been activated, you know, off the pup list or the practice portion of the activation. He's not on the roster. Same thing with Garrett Williams, who's a good young cornerback. Same thing with Bjjalari, who was a good pass rusher who hasn't practiced since last August. He's gonna be probably a couple of weeks away. So they could have some players here. And I am curious like if a team could copy whatever Denver did last week. I know they don't have the horses, but in terms of mixing up their coverages and the blitzes. There are a lot of similarities between the Cardinals defense and the Cowboys. Yes, I mean in the Bronx.

00:16:41
Speaker 3: Especially if they get a little extra help in their secondary, especially if Garrett Williams I know it, you just don't know.

00:16:48
Speaker 2: It.

00:16:48
Speaker 1: Sounds like he has a chance to play.

00:16:50
Speaker 2: If he does play.

00:16:51
Speaker 3: But like the way that Denver was bracketing around the different receivers the Cardinals. Yes, absolutely, the Cardinals are able to do that and should.

00:16:59
Speaker 5: It's time for the Sunday Drive presented by Toyota. Let's go places. It is the Seattle Seahawks who are a three point favorite at the Washington Commanders. The over under is forty seven and a half. Mike Tico, Chris Collinsworth, this is Sunday Night Football, Greg. The Commanders look good with their backup quarterback earlier in the season did not work out against the Kansas City Chiefs. What happens against a well rested, very good Seattle Seahawks defense.

00:17:28
Speaker 1: It's gonna be tough, but at least it's gonna be tough apparently for Jayden Daniels. He is back at practice on Wednesday, and I think they're all cautiously positive that he is going to play this week. Unfortunately, he won't have Terry McLaurin. He has already been ruled out with a quad injury that he suffered, you know, re injuring his quad in the fourth quarter of that game, which is really I noticed.

00:17:56
Speaker 3: They're not calling it a hamstring either. They were calling it that at one point during the game, but they're not calling it that now. And I'm just if you already know you're going to sign the player and you would like to avoid recurring soft tissue injuries because that player has had a chance to actually warm his body up through the course of a scheduled exercise training camp, just do it.

00:18:19
Speaker 2: Just sign the player early.

00:18:20
Speaker 1: They've had such a frustrating season and they're going to be able to blame injuries for a lot of it. But man, they are just thin at so many different positions that I think could be exposed in this game. Whether it's their edge rush group, which is among the league worst. They're now pretty thin at the safety spot. And you think about that versus a Seahawks team that majors in explosive plays, that majors in plays down the field, and you have a commander's team that has given up among the most amount of explosive plays in the league.

00:18:50
Speaker 3: There are two things that I think really kill the commanders here. It's the Seahawks being not only fast and explosive, but big and explosive as well, because when they go into their heavy personal sets, they're also getting these explosive plays out of those types of groupings and formations with multiple tight ends who are able to do this. And also Jackson Smith and Jigbo, who's having one of the best seasons, if not the best season, of any receivers playing right now, and that bodes very, very poorly for a Commander's defense that not only is having trouble containing along the perimeter, but also containing and out almost out muscling and out because they just seem like older and slower to me, and they already came into this team rebuild for under Dan Quinn at an advanced age position for position, and you see guys even getting blocked out of plays that should not be getting blocked out of plays. I hope to see a better plan for a guy like Frankie Luvu, who is one of their more explosive players on defense right now, because when they use him as a spy against a quarterback who can move around a little bit. He is so often getting just mathematically taken out of the defense planned by the offense that he has not really been a factor. So I just I really feel like you need to have him at least covering a little bit more in the middle of the field and trying to get some pressure because they are banged up along their defensive line and they weren't getting a ton of pressure in the first place.

00:20:17
Speaker 5: I'm looking forward to seeing because Sam Donald has been playing so well and the last time you know, the national audience saw Sam was in the Game of the Century and in that in the NFC North finale against against.

00:20:31
Speaker 1: The Way I thought you meant Buck Seahawks four h five a couple of weeks ago. Oh that was pretty good.

00:20:36
Speaker 5: No, I mean, I mean everybody, I mean everybody watching on the number one show on television for the past fifteen years on Sunday Night Football, and you know it was. It was a complete meltdown from Sam in that situation. And more people will see just how well he's throwing the ball, how early in some situations and it's not like a detriment to uh to the Seattle Seahawks offensive line, which I think has played well, like in that match up against the Houston Texans if you're watching on YouTube the exact play I'm thinking of where Sam Darnald is getting hit as he throws and he's already made the decision to throw the ball to JSN. He already knows that JSN has won on the route against one of the better secondaries in the NFL. And if they can do that to the Houston Texans, where I know Marshaon Lattimore got the win, he got a chance to bullyer Hollywood Brown and got to pick against the Chiefs. But it's tough to imagine them bullying the way that the Seahawks are playing right now on offense.

00:21:28
Speaker 1: Andy Laramie Tunsel also out of practice on Wednesday, And man, it's funny. These are two second year coaches and you think about how the Commanders got out the gates. But there aren't many teams This is crazy to say with Donald. There aren't many teams that are in a better position, I think long term than the Seahawks because you think of the young players that are developing. Are the Commanders doing that if you look at their recent drafts, like not a ton and you have young guys like Byron Murphy who's developing, Elijah Royo is becoming a good player.

00:21:58
Speaker 4: And Nick Eman.

00:22:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, like in this in the secondary.

00:22:01
Speaker 2: Call the third safety. We love it, like you're.

00:22:04
Speaker 1: Gonna the biggest nickel corner.

00:22:06
Speaker 4: In this show.

00:22:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's the power slot of like that which we see from receivers.

00:22:11
Speaker 1: Like then, now you don't even know how you're gonna use him because presumably I think Devin Witherspoon will finally be back for this game, and Julian Love who hasn't been out there, and they just they have an identity, They have a system man settle minus three that might be coming up on my show H with Cynthia Oh a little later in this week, let's take a break and we're gonna wrap up the Week nine slate a little later. Yeah, those prime day games aren't like good this week.

00:22:39
Speaker 4: What do you mean?

00:22:40
Speaker 1: I just mean this early games are better. The early games are better. They would like to play.

00:22:44
Speaker 5: 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 of the NFL season. Terms of conditions apply to individual giveaways in er to win and learn more Toyota's Game Day Giveaways dot Com.

00:23:02
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.

00:23:18
Speaker 1: Every Wednesday, we take a journey here Chris Westling Podcast Studio. We start just as young, innocent people and by the end they just feel old and grizzled. We've made it to the end of the line the last couple of games. Chris Westling, by the way, would really be enjoying this Jonathan Taylor season. That's a completely random thought that just popped into my head. But he loved him some. Jonathan Taylor back in that COVID twenty twenty season.

00:23:49
Speaker 4: And a great season that he's having.

00:23:53
Speaker 1: He's not playing in one of these two games coming up by I threw you for a loop because I wanted to test to you as a host.

00:23:57
Speaker 5: I'm looking down I will fail that test every single time.

00:24:00
Speaker 2: Greg to talk about my friend Patrick, that not a good.

00:24:03
Speaker 4: Pop quiz guy. Now your friend Patrick knows not his strong suit.

00:24:07
Speaker 5: Jacksonville Jaguars had a chance to rest on the bye and maybe chance to rest here week nine as well. Three and a half point favorites against the Las Vegas Raiders. The over under is forty five and a half. Chris Myers and Mark Larre on the call. But Jordan, it's different now it's Tyler Lockett's back with Gino and coach Pete. What's it gonna mean?

00:24:28
Speaker 3: Deep side from Greg? Did you know you did that? That was very audible. Yeah, yeah, it's Uh. Well, I think we're going to see a lot from the Jaguars offense if I can just just start there, because this what I really think is we're going to see We always talk about coaches coming out of a bye We've never seen Liam Cohen come out of a bye week as a head coach and what he can do to make this passing game, especially look more cohesive. I've been really impressed with, for the most part way that they've been able to run the ball in Jacksonville all year, but this passing game has felt disjointed. Developing a like truer identity I think for Travis Hunter is big. They've talked, there's been a little conversation about that over the last couple of weeks, of maybe getting more involved on offense as well. And his target share has gone up over the last couple of games too, while his target share on or excuse me, his snapshare on defense has gone down. But also, you know, getting all of these receivers on the same page, getting a clean game from Trevor Lawrence. It's all of these things at once. Getting this offensive line playing like it started the year, as which I think they can against a pretty decimated Raiders front that only really has Max Crosby rushing the passer right now.

00:25:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm curious what the Raiders like look like on offense coming out because the last couple of games before the bye I wanted to start calling them the don't want to be here offense.

00:25:58
Speaker 2: Just like that really rings up that tongue.

00:26:01
Speaker 1: They just were the I just don't want to be here anymore. They did not look like they wanted to play professional football anymore. They weren't really trying. They won one of those two games by the way it was against the Titans and like they didn't let Gino throw the ball more than four yards, and then the next week against the Chiefs is just like the energy and the lack of ambition, Like it felt like they were aiming to be less than mediocre and they couldn't even get there. And they will have Brock Bowers back, that's obviously just huge, and they will presumably have Jacobe Myers back, who says, yes, I would like to be traded and still and maybe he will. That was what I thought that Tyler Lockett signing could be about. But that's a pretty big downgrade if that's what they do.

00:26:47
Speaker 4: I don't want to be here.

00:26:48
Speaker 5: Also, famously, the Eric Bledsoe tweet from twenty seventeen when he was just he was done in Phoenix and tweeted, I don't want to and it worked out.

00:26:58
Speaker 4: So shout out to that.

00:26:59
Speaker 5: And I don't want to mump on this game too much because we've got to, uh the two Heisman finalists from last year facing off against each other literally, because Travis plays both ways, Unlike in some matchups when we say guys are going head to head, they see each other. Travis hunder and Ashton Genty could play against each other on the same play. There's excitement there and a chance to see how they incorporate him into the offense a little bit more. Perhaps is the primary receiver in some situations here against the Raiders defense, where yeah, you can you can work.

00:27:31
Speaker 1: I believe that when I see it, because he's just been a slot only guy and they force fed him the ball in what was ultimately garbage time against the Rams.

00:27:39
Speaker 3: And you can be a primary sever out of the slot, sure, but he especially did that with Chris Godwin a couple of years.

00:27:45
Speaker 1: I'd love to see it, but he seems like he has further to go. It's the same conversation every week, like on offense than he does on defense, where like he's putting up really good reps against like Devantias. That's it is, and it is very value that he can do that because I think he's their best outside corner back.

00:28:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's the consistent problem for Travis Hunter, the wide receiver. It's not technique or reps or understanding the offense. It's Travis Huner the cornerback, is the best cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

00:28:11
Speaker 1: Well and Annett, Trevor Lawrence is throwing him the ball, and Trevor Lawrence hasn't been consistently accurate or at least comfortable in this system. So that used to be something Trevor Lawrence was really good at, was pocket presence. With all of his defenders early in his career were like, well, he avoids sack, he's good in the like that. Trevor Lawrence needs to come back, because to me, he's not good in the pocket right now. He is taking sacks. A lot of the sacks the last few weeks were on him.

00:28:33
Speaker 3: And he has the worst completion percentage in the NFL against zone coverage right now. And so this is like, you have to be better when you're a spatial manipulation offense, which is what Liam Cohen wants to be, you have to be better at throwing zone and he's just not. And so that's where I'm like, Okay, this offensive scheme, especially in the past games, it's out of the same coaching tree that we see all over the league. It is built to Floyd zoning defenses.

00:29:02
Speaker 2: And when you have a quarterback who is like statistically the.

00:29:05
Speaker 3: Worst in the NFL throwing against zone coverage right now according to next Gen stats, like that's a huge problem.

00:29:12
Speaker 1: Well, we got Pete Carroll and man heavy team without a lot of like talent here for the Raiders to hopefully solve it. Maybe they're not being heavy at no.

00:29:19
Speaker 2: There's zone. There's zone more they're eighty four percent of their snaps.

00:29:23
Speaker 5: Perhaps a team wide edict, sit down in the windows.

00:29:26
Speaker 2: We're not carrying something in the windows.

00:29:28
Speaker 5: In the windows, you get there, you look for Trevor, you don't move, and then maybe everybody will feel a little bit safer. Over the middle of the Jacksonville Jaguars, You guys ready to get to our last game?

00:29:40
Speaker 4: Let's do it?

00:29:41
Speaker 5: Sure because Tyler Shuck, he's gonna Vander of the season. Jordan Rodrigue's taking on the Los Angeles Rams, who are favored by fourteen points. They're gonna do it at so FI Stadium. Welcome to the league, rookie. Here's the Rams defensive front, the over unders forty three and a half, Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma are there.

00:30:03
Speaker 4: How do you expect this one to go?

00:30:04
Speaker 1: Uh?

00:30:04
Speaker 2: What could go wrong? Honestly?

00:30:06
Speaker 3: For Tyler Shuck against one of the most exciting young group of pass rushers and interior defensive linemen in the entire NFL, also coming off of a bye, also with their defensive coordinator scheming really well around some deficiencies that they've had on the perimeter, without Darius Williams, without a Kella Witherspoon, Well they've had Darius Wills, he's banged up without being able to play as aggressive in coverage, that pass rush is getting home. I just think they're going to be an absolute nightmare for Tyler Shuck, who has, in Greg's words, seen a lot of football.

00:30:40
Speaker 1: He hasn't seen a lot from the field though, you know what I mean, Like he's seen it from the five people. Yeah, I get it. I just mean Spencer Ratler is a much more experienced quarterback, Which is another reason to get Shuck on the field in a way, is that this guy just hasn't started a lot of games in his career despite that age, because of all the injuries that he had out his college career. I think if you're going to look at a positive and and I think he was okay when he came in last week, maybe he'll give these receivers more one on one opportunities. Rattler was playing it pretty close to the vest.

00:31:13
Speaker 6: Now.

00:31:13
Speaker 1: I don't know if they've earned it, Like Alves had a lot of drops, like they've they've lost contested catches. Juwan Johnson's had a lot of drops. But maybe a little daring, do a little throw it up to these guys, because that should be advantage on paper for the Saints in this matchup. Are the receivers versus those Rams corners should be I mean, they're much more talented. Shaheed is.

00:31:37
Speaker 4: There's been, there's there's been, just.

00:31:43
Speaker 5: A little bit those guys, I do think because I know there's there's Bill Bill's fans out.

00:31:49
Speaker 4: There who have, like Rashid Shaheed dreams.

00:31:52
Speaker 5: It seems like the pay structure uh here where like it wouldn't make a lot of sense to me for the Saints to trade the one asset that they're not spending a lot of money away.

00:32:01
Speaker 1: I keep hearing it's like that teams would rather, you know, teams would want Rashid Shaheed like the most of the Saints. I was like, yeah, yeah, of course, yeah, he's great. So with you would you would think? So this is a big game here because here's what the Rams haven't done in eight weeks into the season. They haven't beaten an NFC team. What a weird schedule. They are five and zero against the AFC. They they finish their AFC schedule. They they are the champions of the AFC South and they also beat the Ravens in that like one extra game. That's very strange. They're oh and two in the NFC. They gotta start stacking up some conference wins.

00:32:34
Speaker 3: Hu Kunakua and Rob Havenstein should both be back this week. They're limited early in the week in practice, but Seaw mcfay told reporters that they're trending in the right direction. That guy has no poker face, so I'm pretty sure he's telling the truth here that they'll be back. This is also stick with me here, a bit of a Brandon Staley revenge game.

00:32:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, but inverted.

00:32:56
Speaker 3: But inverted because Brandon Staley was the one who got the job over Chris Shula several years ago, and now Krishula is coordinating one of the best defenses in the NFL. So it's a reverse revenge game, right, No, yeah, no's he did bring mored into a head coaching position because he coordinated Sean mcvay's defense.

00:33:16
Speaker 2: I am everyone's friends.

00:33:17
Speaker 4: So we've been surviving, guys, Yeah, we have survived.

00:33:22
Speaker 1: We've been thriving now with some big names, not just surviving. We haven't had to sweat sweat went out.

00:33:27
Speaker 5: In fact, you could say I think one, two, three, four, five. These are the top five offenses in the NFL. We do not have the bills available anymore. We don't have the lines available. We don't have the Packers Chiefs or Danny Dimes in the Indianapolis Colts. So I ask you, if the coach shula revenge game against Brandon Staley, are we taking the rams to keep taking these top offenses?

00:33:50
Speaker 1: We're gonna it's gonna be yes.

00:33:52
Speaker 4: We're not gonna have a lot.

00:33:53
Speaker 5: To choose from here in a few weeks. Do we want to get risky now or later?

00:33:56
Speaker 2: I'm kind of shocked to show with me on its way to.

00:34:00
Speaker 1: Pick the I think it's easy. I was thinking of getting frisky with the Seahawks on the road, but what why why go crazy on the road, especially against Jayden Daniels when you have Tyler Chuck at home. I'm sure there'll be some Saints fans here, of course, they're familiar. I saw Tyler shuck in the preseason against the Chargers. I can't even remember it was the Chargers. Yeah, he he knows what to do. He knows where to football. You go to the locker. Yeah, well, let's go Rams. Rams is our choice. Good luck to the Rams. We're all counting on you. We've been on fire all season. We really are. I think I think we sweated out like a half with the Bills in Week four. I forget what that game was where the Titans started out a little fast in that game, and then since then it's just been like kicking our feet up and and just enjoying a big, fat, blowout fun week here in the studio. Yes, but we're not done yet. We learned a lot. We learned about the different ways you can use the word in this show. I think that one is okay, I don't remember.

00:35:13
Speaker 5: Well, yes, well in the show, and that is if the show was if there was.

00:35:19
Speaker 1: A conversion, it's definitely not in the show. That's going to be airing on the NFL channel. By the way, we never remind people, but you can check us out on the free over the air NFL channel if you have Wi Fi over the air, yeah or whatever. I guess I guess that's true, which is a you know it's on Roku or whatever. You can also check us out on YouTube. We always appreciate if you like if you subscribe, leave us a comment on Apple and Spotify. We haven't asked for that in a while. Five stars please. We will be back Thursday and we will be making picks and we will be talking Thursday night football Schuki and I will see either mhm