2025 NFL Week 11 Early Games Preview

00:00:05
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're just trying to keep our producer Eric Roberts awake during the show.

00:00:10
Speaker 2: I'm Greg Rosenthal.

00:00:11
Speaker 1: I'm here in the Chris Westling podcast studio with Jordan Rodrieg and Patrick Clayband. Here for the big Week eleven previews starting with the early games and trying to recover from the pre show shot that Eric Roberts was saying that he likes a lot of sound clips in the show just to break up the monotony of hearing the same three voices so long, so boring.

00:00:39
Speaker 3: He wants to paint a picture. Greg, okay, he wants to have a fully composed sandwich. And we all enjoy, you know, the cheese sandwich. But you can't have all cheese in the sandwich. You gotta I gotta have some veggies in there. And I appreciate Eric's, you know, contributions in that part.

00:00:54
Speaker 1: It's just it's just an opinion. But he went hard at it. He said, monotony, like the same voice over and over.

00:01:00
Speaker 2: So let's just start. Let's start with some sound.

00:01:03
Speaker 1: Let's listen to Josh Allen right off the top, because he's involved in one of the biggest games of the week, certainly the biggest game.

00:01:11
Speaker 2: Early.

00:01:11
Speaker 4: It sucks losing, you know, but knowing in the losses this year that we've you know, we've turned the ball over and that's pointing the thumb exit directly at myself and knowing that if if we take care of the football and take care of what we're supposed to, we're dang good football team.

00:01:25
Speaker 3: And yes, one of those turnovers was Josh Allen against the Miami Dolphins on a sneak that he had like twelve yards and the ball got poked out outside of interception in the red zone. But now they're back at home. They are back at home, Greg, and they are taking off Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are dogs by five and a half points though under is forty seven and a half. Iron Eagle and Justin James Watt on CBS, which is an NFL broadcast partner. Greg, I have to say that now on GDL almost every time, not the full broadcast. Why well, we we want to highlight our broadcast partnerships because it's great, because it's a part of what makes the league great. But have a chance, Greg and we all do to watch this game. How do you think that the Bills are gonna bounce back here? Or do you think they're gonna bounce ball?

00:02:11
Speaker 1: Yes, every network that plays a game, you know, puts a game on it is a partner. Yes, we're all partners.

00:02:17
Speaker 2: Now.

00:02:17
Speaker 1: I feel bad because it sounded like Eric and I had real beef, But I was just trying to drag him into the show a little bit. I know he doesn't like coming into the show, but I know he likes to hear other voices.

00:02:28
Speaker 2: That would mean we should hear your voice more often.

00:02:31
Speaker 1: Eric, If you're gonna say Josh Allen said, hey, I need to stop turning the ball over, why not hear Josh Allen say I need to stop turning the ball over?

00:02:38
Speaker 5: Well, he makes a good point.

00:02:40
Speaker 1: Not only that, but one of my biggest points for this game, before I even knew that you went the extra mile and got that sound ready, was like, Josh Allen's got to take care of the ball a little bit better. Didn't have a good week last night.

00:02:52
Speaker 5: I heard it from him though.

00:02:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I trust him more. He was impatient last week. And I think this a really interesting matchup of two quarterbacks who sometimes have similar issues. Obviously, Josh Allen's a better player, but last week especially, it seemed like there were many times in that game where they were giving him the easy stuff underneath and he didn't want to take it. And when he had that fumble and certainly the red zone interception, that was a little bit of old Josh Allen. But even earlier in the game, when they went through all those three and outs in a row, I was thinking, just just take the throw that's there instead of trying to hit the big play. It's something I think that both Allen and Baker Mayfield have always tried to like calibrate, and when they have the best calibration of aggression and taking what the defense gives you, that's when they're at their best.

00:03:45
Speaker 6: Yeah, And I think it's the job of the play caller as well at time to protect that guy from himself or to help him calibrate a little bit when he sees him veering off into certain territories. And that's what Josh Grizzard, King Grizzard and Baker Mayfield are learning and working through right now.

00:04:00
Speaker 5: Now.

00:04:00
Speaker 6: Joe Brady and Josh Allen already have tried and true answers we just need to see them, you know, run the ball, run the ball consistently with James Cook. The Bills are still leading the league in success rate when running the football right now, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while they opened the year as the best run defense in the NFL, have dipped significantly in success rate, in part because they are susceptible to the explosive plays.

00:04:25
Speaker 5: And we saw that last week especially.

00:04:27
Speaker 6: But you need to settle Josh Allen down, even though I know that sounds condescending, it's not intended that way, but he's pressing and it's very clear, so he needs some help. He needs to help have some help being calibrated.

00:04:40
Speaker 3: And I think that goes to the other very big piece of the Bills offense.

00:04:44
Speaker 7: Who's James Cook, who was pressing a little bit.

00:04:47
Speaker 3: Had punched out from behind, where like Khalil Shaki ran thirty eight routes, he got non targets.

00:04:54
Speaker 7: The average separation it's three point one yards.

00:04:55
Speaker 3: Now the separation can be a little bit proximity alertish from next in stats, and we can't necessarily always take like, hey, this guy's not getting open.

00:05:03
Speaker 7: Because Jayal and Wadall.

00:05:04
Speaker 3: Had two point three yards of separation. But it's just the way that the Bills offense looks. Sometimes it gets bogged down, which is why you had Bills fans clamoring in the preseason to maybe get some help at one. Maybe that's why Brandon Bean was actually on the phones despite what he said in the preseason, to try to get a wide receiver to get opened.

00:05:20
Speaker 6: And you're pointing the thumb at yourself, I'm Brandon Bean because.

00:05:25
Speaker 3: If Josh is gonna point thumbs or one particular thumb, then you gotta go organization wide.

00:05:32
Speaker 7: And I say it all the time.

00:05:33
Speaker 3: This organization, this group of people have so many ties to Carolina and that era of Panthers football, and it feels like the direction is similar where you have this mechanized machine of a quarterback, and other places the outcomes are.

00:05:50
Speaker 7: Not so good.

00:05:50
Speaker 1: The most regrettable Josh Allen take I had, which was there were many on the around the NFL podcast, was that he could be a poor man's Cam Newton if everything went right. But that was always the conference. The thing is, though, the defenses are telling the Bills that they agree with you because and I think the Bucks are really well equipped to do this they are loading up to just stop the run. They are copying the Patriots playbook, and they're daring these receivers to beat them. And I think that's why Josh was looking for those big plays. And I think the Buccaneers run defense was incredible last week the Patriots. I mean, except for those two plays, which is a big deal. Patriots were literally dead last and success rate last week against the Bucks.

00:06:33
Speaker 2: So I'm not.

00:06:34
Speaker 1: Worried about them overall as a team. I know they've given up a couple big plays. I think that's a certainly and they it did against the Lions as well, and those are explosive plays, so you got to be careful. But I think on a down to down basis, they're well equipped to have that strategy against this Bills team and make Keon Coleman or Josh Palmer, who should be back this.

00:06:51
Speaker 2: Week, beat you.

00:06:52
Speaker 6: My fear with the with the Bills, because I do think that that is exactly the strategy that they're going to take, is to try to get Josh to throw the ball right and then Todd Bowles, who's not really blitzing relative to a Todd Bowles season, is still blitzing at the seventh highest rate in the NFL, So he's going to bring the pressure if so. The interesting thing about what happens to Josh Allen when he's being blitzed.

00:07:11
Speaker 5: He's still very effective.

00:07:12
Speaker 6: He's got over one hundred point six passer rating against the blitz and he's throwing touchdowns. He's very clean, he's only throwing one interception against the blitz. But the completions go down. And when the completions aren't there and it's not in a rhythm, Joe Brady seems to tend to sort of deviate from the game plan, and it's sort of like, Okay, we really want to see them stay on schedule and stay on rhythm, even if maybe a couple of plays.

00:07:39
Speaker 5: Aren't there, or you're missing a couple of passes in a row.

00:07:41
Speaker 3: You get that situation where you've got a lambo in the school zone and it's like you're asking Josh.

00:07:46
Speaker 1: While he's right, I immediately went to lambeau Field, but I got there over there, I just.

00:07:52
Speaker 6: Pictured a car, you know, remember that show pit My Ride, just a replica of lambeau Field, just pulling into a parking spot.

00:08:01
Speaker 2: Does that happen at your school?

00:08:03
Speaker 3: There's no no at Ramona Elementary School, there's there're lands. Most folks are walking the kids to school. And this is a big game in terms of the conversation. Ooh, now, two quarterbacks with negative scores, both of them with losses last week. It's so trying to get a big eight points for a game against contender for Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield, man who the Bills have been solid fantasy wise against quarterbacks. Problem is Baker Mayfield gets a chance to throw the ball to a Mecca Buka where that is a clear mismatch, I think in the Bills second.

00:08:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I thought he looked great when I went to back and rewatch. That's how you know I am owning being a Patriots fan watching that in all twenty two and I thought he looked awesome last week. I mean petition to maybe take Baker out of the conversation.

00:08:46
Speaker 5: I don't know if what After the start to the season.

00:08:50
Speaker 1: The season is long. The last three weeks they are twenty seventh in EPA. I think last week was one of the worst games I've seen out a Baker. I think he was maybe their biggest issue.

00:09:01
Speaker 5: There were guys I agree because guys were open.

00:09:03
Speaker 1: Guys were open, and well, he's just in a little bit of a That's what I like about the season, by the way, like all these things that we talked about the first month or two, it's like you have such different eras of the even within a season, like a three or four week stretch like and now this Bucks team, this offense, to me, is a much different looking Bucks offense than we saw. I think buckierving and Mike Evans coming back would certainly help, but that's not happening this week.

00:09:28
Speaker 6: Yeah, Bucky Hearing is at practice, but obviously it's still could be still a ways we just don't know. And then on the Bill's side, they are still so banged up and they try they're trying to bring in reinforcements along their defensive line.

00:09:40
Speaker 5: They signed Morgan.

00:09:40
Speaker 6: Fox to the practice squad, They added receiver Michel Hardman to the practice squad, and you know, Sean McDermott was quoted by reporters they're being very excited about the addition of Mikael Hardman, which you know, I guess you could see is two sides of.

00:09:55
Speaker 5: The same coin.

00:09:56
Speaker 6: The comment also Christian Benford Terrell Bernard, Taron Johnson, Cam Lewis, Khalil Shaker, Shack Thompson, and Dorian Williams are limited to start the week. They are so so so so banged up.

00:10:09
Speaker 1: I'll take good news from that because most of those guys didn't practice and missed last week game, so that at least getting Benford and Toron Johnson and Epenesa back would be huge. This is a monster game for both these teams, especially the Bills, because the Bills could fall right out of the.

00:10:25
Speaker 5: Me into taking it as the number one pick. I see, yes, yes, you are successful.

00:10:30
Speaker 7: Greg.

00:10:31
Speaker 3: Is that and we'll see if Jordan provides the final vote, which we will have to update later to take Baker Mayfield out of the core.

00:10:39
Speaker 1: Well never, no, I mean now we're gonna have it. We're gonna have a vote next week. He might not be secure on QB Island.

00:10:46
Speaker 5: Baker needs oh for.

00:10:48
Speaker 3: Two on NFL Daily Properties for essentially for Baker Mayfield. Let's go to the Chicago Bears, who are going on the road to take on JJ McCarthy, Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones. The entire skill grew of the Minnesota Vikings that has a j initial for some reason, which is something that I noticed this past week. The Minnesota Vikings three point favorites. The over under is forty eight and a half. It's Fox to one Kevin Burkhart, Tom Brady Jordan. Do the Vikings bounce back from a frustrating loss to the Baltimore Ravens and get a win here against the surgeing Bears.

00:11:18
Speaker 6: I think they look They will look better, yes, especially against this Bears defense that has been either hit or wildly wildly miss over the course of the season, but having a gamery of eight a record eight false start penalties. And part of that is on the quarterback because he's in charge of the timing and the cadence of all of the orchestration of the play pre snap and at snap. It's an entire unit that has to get cleaned up to actually get like a clean evail on JJ McCarthy, he had a couple of really tough plays. He started the game great, had a couple of really tough decisions on his throes. I would just like to see more balance and getting this run game going. I sound like a broken record, but they have to actually be just better, more efficient, more sustainable running the ball in order to settle JJ McCarthy into this rhythm that he quite clearly needs to get into to start. I guess having nine emerge again.

00:12:10
Speaker 1: He just feels very unpredictable what you're going to get on this snap to snap.

00:12:14
Speaker 2: Basis, because there was a lot of good.

00:12:15
Speaker 1: Like you said, I think Aaron Jones has looked like a different player, a better player since he's come off the injury, so I think that's a positive.

00:12:23
Speaker 2: There is a little bit of Choc.

00:12:24
Speaker 1: Panic going on as not only the Matt Laflair panic in Green Bay, not in terms of job security, but oh just people being unhappy with Koc for maybe the first time. And I do think it's a challenge Patrick for him to like figure out, like how aggressive to be with JJ McCarthy, because you see the pass attempt totals last week, and that game was close for most of it. There was a crazy stat It's a little unfair because most of them were clear passing situations, but they had twenty third and fourth downs last week.

00:12:53
Speaker 2: They did not run the ball on one of them. I mean, it's a.

00:12:55
Speaker 5: Lot so many negative down and distances.

00:12:57
Speaker 1: Right, but they also had the highest like even in a neutral games script situation the highest pass run ratio in the entire league last week, So I mean, I think that's a fair stat to point out. And he has generally had the highest pass you know, run ratio and neutral situations like throughout his coaching tenure. It's kind of what KOC wants to do. And yeah, you got to figure out the right plays to call for for his quarter.

00:13:22
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, especially when you consider that Aaron Jones is averaging five yards to carry, Jordan Mason was averaging six point three yards per carry, and we got that play where Malacho Starks picked off JJ McCarthy an ocean of green in front of j J McCarthy and he oddly like takes a crow hop into throwing a ball to Justin Jefferson in the double coverage there where I think you'll get a chance to, you know, have this young quarterback go through the learning process, which is gonna have its ups and downs. It's a reasonable thing in a guy in what I think is fair to call his rookie season where you're going up against a Bears team now where they had five drops last week. Yeah, it was a weird game.

00:14:02
Speaker 7: Caleb. Essentially saying fine, I'll do it myself.

00:14:05
Speaker 3: In the final couple drives with those, I'll want to run down to the one and then a touchdown run to kind of finish things off. And excited to see what the Blitz pertunity is going to be like for a defense that I know, like, field goals are bad and we don't like it. Teams kick field goals, but the Vikings offense I feel like would have looked a little bit different if Baltimore wasn't consistently getting three points possessions.

00:14:28
Speaker 5: He said, we like you don't like it?

00:14:30
Speaker 2: You too?

00:14:31
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's how you said, we wasn't it.

00:14:36
Speaker 7: It's not seven.

00:14:37
Speaker 5: It was the Minnesota nice week.

00:14:38
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, it's three points. I think as good as seven.

00:14:41
Speaker 1: I think it could be a defensive more of a defensive game than you would expect. And I love when the season gives us little moments like this, because you saw the Week one and we've seen the Caleb Williams evolution, and right now he's playing with more confidence. He's has the highest mistackle for strate of any quarterback in the Leader. I think it's an interesting stat for him, like him playing the style that he played a lot in college is paying off more. And then you hear Ben Johnson this week, and it's crazy because you know, I have many ways to pick games incorrectly, and one of them is like, do the Bears really feel like a seven and three team while the Vikings are a four and sixteen?

00:15:16
Speaker 2: No, I don't.

00:15:17
Speaker 1: That doesn't seem right. So it seems like they should equal out. But the Vikings already, you know, did beat him. And I got to say that the vibes in Chicago. Sometimes you win some of these games that it didn't feel like you should win, like they have a little something extra that you can't measure in the numbers. Ben Johnson, you know, maybe spoke about something that's a little less magical this week.

00:15:40
Speaker 8: We found out a lot about ourselves over the course of the season.

00:15:42
Speaker 9: So far.

00:15:43
Speaker 8: We are We're a different team than than we were Week one, and so is Minnesota. So this will be a completely different matchup. As far as I'm concerned, I have, you know, the trust level is grown for a number of players with in our coaching staff. I think we really can hang our hat on a number of guys now at this point and feel really good about what we're gonna get on game day.

00:16:05
Speaker 2: What a swing game this is for them?

00:16:06
Speaker 1: Mm hmmm, because you can you can kind of bury the vikings behind you with a with a win here, and I think you just start taking the Bears more seriously if they go ahead and win this game, well.

00:16:19
Speaker 5: You touch on it.

00:16:20
Speaker 6: I like that the Bears are also learning how to win close games instead of watching, you know, snatching defeat from the jobs of victory like we saw and have seen for so many years from the Bears. And this team has like a little juice to it where maybe it was really finding itself. Ben Johnson's no longer really quietly internally seething at the lectern about sloppy mistakes and self inflicted errors and you're never going to have a fully clean game operationally. But little reveals of confidence, whether it's how Caleb Williams fired off that throw at the end of the game or how he moved outside of the pocket, or Darnell Wright, for example, this offensive line like really starting to come together as a unit and find itself first, gathering itself in the run game the way that it has, and Darnel Wright, who's like one handed, like preventing spin moves on Brian Burns and like doing cartwheels between plays and things like that. I mean, it's a group that's playing all together with confidence. It needs to now start to bleed into the receivers who have more weeks than not struggled with drops and being in places where they maybe shouldn't shouldn't be.

00:17:31
Speaker 1: I mean, Roman Donday's father is very confident in his in his son's ability, and I believe in Roma donsday.

00:17:38
Speaker 2: Yes, he was great last week. This is a step up in class.

00:17:41
Speaker 1: Though you were looking good on offense like against the Bengals and the and the Giants, and so it's exciting, but it is like you're seeing DeAndre Swift run through tackles on fourth and two. I do think that the problems for the Bears defense have been probably a little understated, Like Tyreek Stevenson is out for this game, probably Jaquon Brisker is probably out.

00:18:00
Speaker 2: Like they're so banged up and not great to begin with. TJ. Edwards their linebacker might be out. So show up Minnesota.

00:18:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, an opportunity to maybe not predetermined, so many throws where when it looks great and he's hitting Jalen Naylor on game winning routes, you know, running wheel routes. It looks great, but when it's justin Jefferson and there's a million people over there, got to make the decision during the play, young man.

00:18:24
Speaker 7: But he'll be fine.

00:18:25
Speaker 3: Let's go to there a quarterback who's gone through those those ups and downs and now he's on the upside. The Chargers three point favorites all the way across those sostatos of needles in Jacksonville, Florida. Forty three and a half points. Is the over underspirited? Is an Adam Archiletta on the call, Greg, you were one of those who doubted the Chargers and their capacity to beat the Steelers.

00:18:51
Speaker 7: Are you? Are you sorry?

00:18:53
Speaker 2: I am?

00:18:53
Speaker 7: And will you take them to win against the Jet?

00:18:55
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sorry in multiple ways.

00:18:58
Speaker 1: I feel sorry for doing that to the Chargers, and I'm just a sorry individual not to have faith in my boy Herbo and enjoy that win. I mean I did still enjoy it ultimately. I you know, the heart wants what it wants, and it wants the Charges to win this game too. It will be a really good test for the Jaguars. Just taking away the x's and o's of it all, Liam Cohen talked about this week that he doesn't want what happened last Sunday still one of the most amazing NFL games I believe of the decade. Davis Mills is authored two of them, by the way and the way, I mean, he's been just part of total magic. John Shipley, he does a great job covering the Jaguars on SI. He thought it was easily He thought it was the worst loss of the Lawrence era and the worst loss since he's been covering the team, which extends even further.

00:19:52
Speaker 2: Just in that spot.

00:19:53
Speaker 1: For their defense to give up those drives to Davis Mills, and the offense was certainly part of it, and and Trevor Lawrence needs to play better, but for the defense to really continue a trend, they gave up a game winning drive to Jake Browning. They gave up four straight touchdown drives the Gino Smith and the Raiders right or I think it was three in a field goal, and then you give up that fourth quarter. Their defense is facing huge problems in like, the one type of defense that you could think Herbo can succeed against is is one that doesn't have much of a pass rush, and that's what the Jaguars.

00:20:26
Speaker 6: Are right now, and I'm I'm looking at the tight end usage too, I know always, but like in this game specifically, because actually when the Raiders played the Jaguars, you could see the Raiders using almost identical pass concepts out of twelve personnel, specifically that the Rams had killed the Jaguars with, especially in the red zone, and that is something word is out. That is something they seem to be so susceptible to, and with Justin Herbert able to actually have playmakers in that phase, I know he's missing lineman all across that front, but to have these playmaks, and it almost doesn't matter to me that the Jaguars blitz at the tenth highest rate in the NFL right now, because Justin Herbert is getting pressured at a forty two percent rate despite getting the ball out and two point twenty five seconds, which is like one of the lowest among all quarterbacks in the league ever for a game, and certainly like one of the lowest all year in a game, and he's still getting the ball to these playmakers. They're getting yards after the catch plays. The Jaguars are so susceptible to these types of things in combination.

00:21:27
Speaker 1: Yeah, and they've had injuries too on the back end. I think Jordan Lewis being out really hurts them. I think Travis Hunter at cornerback being out really hurts them. And you, boy, Lad McConkie Patrick, after that quiet start to the season since Week six, fifth in receiving at Lightning, Lad.

00:21:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, these things eventually we'll kind of regress to the to the norm, not just to the meme because Lad McConkie is one one of the better sub explosive receivers in our league. And yeah, the Quentin Johnston opportunity, I think a lot came for teams planning for lab Uh and they have left QJ wide open and now you have to deal with all of them, including Rondez, Guest and Junior who is dealing with an injury. Which is a little bit of a ding to the Chargers. Where the Jags have struggled in coverage against these explosive guys, whether they be a slot guy, big slots or tight ends. But considering the offense looking clunky, trying to adjust with without BTJ, as well as Travis Hunter leaning on Parker Washington, who is a good player, but to have him out there and Jacoby Myers just adjusting.

00:22:41
Speaker 7: You kind of wonder where it comes from.

00:22:43
Speaker 1: And then like Lobby look good, Parker Washington's look good. Yeah, Travis d dns look good. Where did this running game go? I mean, it's been pretty good. Last it was good, it was it was great last week. Davis Mills was the problem. It was Yeah, So I think there is a world, there is a route, but man, they feel like a route for them to win this game. And I think that's running the ball on the Chargers. But man, the Chargers are you just don't know what to do with them.

00:23:06
Speaker 2: I saw it.

00:23:07
Speaker 5: The defense is suddenly back, right.

00:23:08
Speaker 1: I saw that in sane stat from your colleague Daniel Popper that they were literally dead last in EPA per play over a three week stretch from weeks what would have been five to seven I think, and then the last three weeks they are first.

00:23:21
Speaker 5: I mean that is a head switching job came open or something.

00:23:25
Speaker 1: Or or yeah, it's it's partly based on opponents, but it's it's more that they should be a good defense, and they seem like they're back to being a good defense. I think that trade for a Dafaiyowe really worked out well for both sides.

00:23:36
Speaker 6: Yeah, and we've noted this before on the show, but Trevor Lawrence struggles just reading zones or making decisions quickly against some of the zone looks that he sees, and this will be no different.

00:23:47
Speaker 5: In my opinion.

00:23:47
Speaker 6: Where I think that Jaguars have had a spark since the beginning of the season and continue to have a spark is on their special teams unit, not just Cam Little and the records that he's set this year and just a quality kicker, but also their return game is potentially very, very explosive. The Chargers have historically been up and down in terms of their coverage. They have the best, most consistent kicker in the league, so factoring them aside, but I do think that the Jaguars have to start understanding that they have to win in the margins because their defense is incredibly shaky and missing players, and their offense is not consistent and still lacks this identity that we've been hoping to see by now.

00:24:27
Speaker 1: Question for you guys, so the Jaguars have been a mainstay in the If the playoffs started today, graphic, will the Jaguars still hold the place in those first seven seeds after this week or for any point for the rest of the season after this week.

00:24:46
Speaker 2: Right now they are five and four. They are the seventh seed.

00:24:50
Speaker 1: Is this the last time that we see them as part of their that graphic?

00:24:56
Speaker 2: Not in the hunt, I'm saying, in the playoffs.

00:24:59
Speaker 3: I think the will get back on the graphic. This week they slide off the graphic.

00:25:03
Speaker 1: Okay, they're gonna fall off, but they'll be back. Yeah, because you're not giving up on the long term.

00:25:07
Speaker 7: The whole playoff leverage thing.

00:25:08
Speaker 3: And I'm not making some declarative statement, but the whole if the playoffs started today, they don't, right like that that be the key part of that.

00:25:17
Speaker 7: Oh yeah, it changes all the time.

00:25:19
Speaker 1: They do have a softer schedule down the stretch than some other teams. So even though if they lose this game, I feel like it's gonna feel easy to bury them.

00:25:27
Speaker 2: They're gonna hang around. I don't know if they get back in though.

00:25:29
Speaker 6: I have cursed many teams and many players this year, so I guess maybe I'll try the reverse. I think they'll miss the playoffs, So now go make the Playoffskysville.

00:25:38
Speaker 2: Okay, you are messy fun ones.

00:25:39
Speaker 1: Let's bring it back, let's take a break, and uh yes, we'll try to beat the monotony allegation when we talk Bengals steeers back on NFL Daily, channeling my inner Rodney Harrison today, If if no one's doubting you, if no one's providing you.

00:26:09
Speaker 2: Extra motivations, you just make it up a little bit.

00:26:12
Speaker 1: And that's what that one comment from Eric is doing for us. It's fueling us to try harder to be less monoch I mean sometimes I feel like back in the day, Rodney Harrison or Brady, they would just make like make things up about people doubting the Patriots.

00:26:27
Speaker 3: Yeah you need the bulletin board material. You don't actually need the bulletin board yeah, or the material you could just summon the anger from within.

00:26:34
Speaker 1: Because imagine if the Patriots had to had to do six or seven podcasts a week, Yeah, the type of internal toughness they would need to pull that off.

00:26:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you know, amid all the scandals and investigations and chicanery, imagine if they were distracted, would the Patriots have ever well won a Super Bowl.

00:26:52
Speaker 7: Let's get to this next game with some good veteran quarterback play.

00:26:57
Speaker 3: The Cincinnati Bengals taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers were favored by five and a half.

00:27:01
Speaker 7: Points after getting ran out of SO five Stadium.

00:27:04
Speaker 3: Forty nine and a half is the over under Kevin Harland and Trent Green on the call as Jordan because it's another opportunity to talk about the twenty twenty five Cincinnati Bengals defense will maybe enough to make Aaron Rodgers in this offense feel better?

00:27:19
Speaker 7: No, oh wow, wow?

00:27:22
Speaker 5: Oh feel better?

00:27:23
Speaker 9: Yes?

00:27:23
Speaker 5: Oh okay, I was so ready.

00:27:25
Speaker 1: Come on, maybe Al gold and back Taylor they got in the lab during the bye week.

00:27:30
Speaker 2: You don't have faith?

00:27:31
Speaker 5: I was like, why is Matrick so surprised?

00:27:33
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, Jordan Wilson Al Golden that I don't.

00:27:38
Speaker 6: No, I mean, yes, yes, I do think Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense feels much better, uh this week, not just because the injury status of the opponents still know Trey Hendrickson, and also the Bengals defense has been politely porous this season, and the the thing that the steel are very very good at on offense despite the fact that they're lacking in explosiveness and they've been pretty inconsistent, especially of late. The thing that they do have is they make a ton of yards after the catch.

00:28:10
Speaker 5: Plays.

00:28:11
Speaker 6: Well, what is the percentage of yards after the catch that the Cincinnati Bengals defense has allowed. Sixty two and a half percent.

00:28:18
Speaker 2: Wow.

00:28:19
Speaker 6: Wow, all yards amassed against them have come after the catch, which also happens to be the majority of yards at that the Pittsburgh Steelers.

00:28:28
Speaker 5: Offense has a massed themselves. Oh wow, circle gets the square.

00:28:31
Speaker 2: I love that for Pittsburgh.

00:28:34
Speaker 1: I love any game that's just in the thirties, and that's every Bengals game.

00:28:38
Speaker 2: Sometimes it gets in the forties.

00:28:40
Speaker 1: This feels like a bigger game now because of the Joe Burrow news that I think at this point, I think the over under is he's going to return on Thanksgiving, And yet I do wonder, like, how much better can they get on offense?

00:28:54
Speaker 2: They're literally first in the league in points, and I think he'd be aper place.

00:28:59
Speaker 1: It's still Flacko took over, So maybe it doesn't even matter if Joe Burrow is back. Of course it matters because we are going to watch the games and everything matters. But I feel like they have to win one of these next two games, and they're not easy. This is going to be the easier one for Cincinnati before Joe Burrow plays.

00:29:15
Speaker 3: Which is a hilarious proposition, But why like, at this point you would like Joe to be healthy for twenty twenty six and in terms of the long term aspirations of the Bengals, if they if they don't win this game, like I think conceivably you could just shut them down and understand Joe Burrow wants to play, but this defense is so bad it's just a waste of time.

00:29:40
Speaker 1: Maybe they came up with some answers. Don't you have faith in Zach Taylor to come up with some ANIMs during the bye week for you? I don't, But the fact that no one even thinks it's possible shows this.

00:29:50
Speaker 2: Forget Matt Laflir coaching for his job. It's Zach Taylor.

00:29:54
Speaker 6: This is not even about like I mean, it is because he's the head coach. But like you just you guys have just said it yourself. This off is playing great. Everything is find.

00:30:02
Speaker 2: He's the head coach.

00:30:03
Speaker 5: He's the head coach.

00:30:04
Speaker 2: Man, it's one hundred on him.

00:30:05
Speaker 6: Well, I'm saying in terms of in the front of answers on the offensive side. You can't really come up with much more at this point. It's it's the defense, it's Zach Taylor hiring Al Golden, it's Al Golden. And you know, just a lack of personnel as well, and injuries that have hit them at the wrong times, and a lack of identifying the right guys for the system and the wrong system and all of it.

00:30:26
Speaker 5: All of it's bad.

00:30:27
Speaker 6: So no, I don't believe if they haven't made adjustments to this point. Yeah, I don't believe one week like in the Lab, is gonna do more.

00:30:34
Speaker 1: No, I don't either, And I think this is a particularly bad matchup. This could be a moment where it all caves in on them because one of the stats have been watching. With Flacco, as great as he is, he gives up the second there's any pressure. His pressure numbers under pressure stop. I mean, you shine when the lights turn on, that's when you're the brightest. The second there's any pressure, he just gives up. On the play, it's over. I think he's second to or third worst than the league EPA for play in PFF grade all that stuff. When there's any pressure, he just throws it away, and they've played, you know, some some poor pass rushing teams.

00:31:12
Speaker 2: Now.

00:31:12
Speaker 1: I know they beat the Steelers and that's but I do think home game Steelers in general, it's a tough matchup for this offensive line for Cincinnati, and I kind of believe in the Steelers players, and I think their pass rush is playing better the last few weeks, including against the Chargers. He just got the ball out, and I think it could be a situation where Pittsburgh like wins this game convincing that it actually the offense doesn't show up for Cincinnati.

00:31:37
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:31:38
Speaker 3: The only reason to not think that is a couple of plays against the Chargers where there the pressure wasn't there. And I understand Aaron Rodgers has been trying to get rid of the ball quickly and he doesn't have eyes in the back of his head, But that throw to John hu Smith that ultimately got overturned one of the one of the worst Rogers throws I think I've ever seen where John wu is all by himself and he has to climb the ladder to get the ball, comes down, ball pops out. There was a DK touchdown that Rogers just whiffed on and you just wonder. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see like Johnny leaning back because he thought he thought he was gonna get that ball, turn around and run into the end zone and it just wasn't there. And so if the Bengals can do anything, I think, if they could be somewhat functional, it's a great idea for Joe Flacco to get rid of. We don't We've seen Jake Browning in this situation. Uh, stay healthy, stay upright, Joe. If the play is not there, dirt it, give somebody a souvenir, because this, you know, you'll be right back on the field with this Bengals defense.

00:32:33
Speaker 7: But what if what if not?

00:32:34
Speaker 3: What if Greg, You've you've called it, and Zach Taylor has said, you know what, Greg Rosenthal, stick it.

00:32:40
Speaker 7: I'm going back here.

00:32:41
Speaker 1: We're going to If he sweeps Mike Tomlin with with Joe Flacco, I mean, that's an embarrassment for the Steeler.

00:32:47
Speaker 6: Does Zach Taylor keep his job if he sweeps Mike Tomlin with Joe Flacco?

00:32:51
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna keep his job most likely regardless, even though I don't think, but yes, I think that would be a major step towards that point.

00:33:00
Speaker 6: The thing about what you mentioned about Joe Flacco versus pressure, the thing that Justin Herbert was so good about was getting the ball out quickly even when the pressure was coming right. And obviously we know that Joe Flacco will maybe not tend to do that so much. He will he more often than not throws it away or like you said, he dirts it well. When the Steelers get pressure, especially blitz pressure, they are converting it to sacks among the best in the NFL still, And they got a ton of pressure last week, and I expect them to get a ton of pressure this week, and we know that they converted to sacks. Joe Flacco knows that they converted to sacks, and I do think that that is a huge hinge point in the game.

00:33:38
Speaker 5: Is just ruffling up him just a little.

00:33:41
Speaker 1: They just feel like in every other week team it's like great great older athletes have often set no it's like some days you wake up and it's just not there for you.

00:33:48
Speaker 2: That was Aaron Rodgers last week. It was too late, just that wasn't his day.

00:33:52
Speaker 6: You can get back, hey, you can get eight wins that way. And who is so good at getting seven or eight wins.

00:33:59
Speaker 5: Yeah, sounds about right.

00:34:00
Speaker 7: Let's go to our next game.

00:34:02
Speaker 3: The Green Bay Packers are seven point favorites on the road at MetLife where the over under is forty three and a half against the Giants, and Jameis Winston will be starting, Adam Imean and Drew Brees.

00:34:14
Speaker 2: Oh yeah on the call for Fox.

00:34:18
Speaker 3: It's a great chance for us to see Jamis first, to hear Drew Brees and maybe Greg get a bounce back for this Green Bay Packers off.

00:34:24
Speaker 1: I might have to draft this game just to scout the Breeze situation. Struggled with NBC, didn't make it past one year, wanted the job back, you know, made it clear, did a little Netflix studio in this very building last year. Mark Sanchez loses his job. He's not coming back to Fox.

00:34:43
Speaker 7: He's not.

00:34:44
Speaker 2: He's not. Oh, they made that clear.

00:34:46
Speaker 1: Breeze comes in and this is his chance to start to start climbing that ladder because who knows, ge Rag might be leaving at some point to become the number one somewhere else. It's a big opportunity and it would be like a Breeze Brady rivalry at some point like there's just a lot going on.

00:35:03
Speaker 7: With this old teammate starting at quarterback Greg.

00:35:07
Speaker 2: That is very exciting.

00:35:09
Speaker 1: I will always wonder what would happen in twenty nineteen to that Saints team if Jameis Winston had just stayed healthy. He was playing so well back then, then he got hurt and it all fell apart. Let's listen to Jameis Winston, yes, back in the starting lineup against the package.

00:35:27
Speaker 9: I'm on fans and know that I'm going to do my best. You know, obviously I'm going to have fun, but I'm going to execute, have a surgical execution, and just play ball, man like. This is something I've been doing since I've been four years old, and I just get to do it in the greatest city in the world. I'm gonna be saying, what.

00:35:43
Speaker 2: My son, Who's the greatest city in the world.

00:35:47
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's a Hamilton reference.

00:35:48
Speaker 9: If y'all don't know, oh, a teen year reunion.

00:35:51
Speaker 2: I did not know.

00:35:52
Speaker 5: No, So thank you is a man of Minyon.

00:35:55
Speaker 2: Have you seen Hamilton?

00:35:56
Speaker 5: I haven't seen Hamilton.

00:35:57
Speaker 6: It's a great regret of mine that I still haven't after all that years, have not seen it.

00:36:01
Speaker 7: We watched it on Disney Plus.

00:36:03
Speaker 5: Okay, oh you can watch it on TV.

00:36:05
Speaker 7: Yeah, it was.

00:36:06
Speaker 3: It was during the pandemic where we were like, we hadn't seen this cultural phenomenon. And I do know that Jamis has five has two five touchdown games in his career, and that's three more than slave owners had singing roles in Hamilton. So that's that's what I noted from Hamilton.

00:36:23
Speaker 1: I knew with Patrick without even knowing, although you probably bagged on it at some point in front of me that you would not like Hamilton.

00:36:33
Speaker 3: I actually wrote a full on Hamilton mock up song where George Washington was singing about the human property and harvesting their teeth to use for himself.

00:36:45
Speaker 2: I I want to see that play.

00:36:49
Speaker 5: You have it with you now, a happy musical we owe people.

00:36:52
Speaker 2: I haven't.

00:36:53
Speaker 1: I haven't seen Hamilton myself, but that Majana soundtrag bangs, you know now to give it.

00:36:59
Speaker 3: Up, Totlyn, that was Dwayne Johnson's best role.

00:37:03
Speaker 1: I don't know if we should even talk about this game. I am annoyed actually that the Jameis Winston has to have such a tough matchup because you know, I'm not really a must win shock Jock radio guy, You, but the Packers really need to win this game. Yeah, Like, they just can't lose this game. The rest of their schedule is they do not have any easy games the entire rest of the season, and just the way everything's happened, they just got to go.

00:37:29
Speaker 2: They got to win this game.

00:37:30
Speaker 1: And I think their pack, the defense is is great, and I think they will win this game. It's going to be a very difficult matchup for Jamis in his first and maybe only start. We don't know how long Jackson Dart will be in the concussion protocol, but it was interesting to me they quickly announced he would not be starting this week, and Mike Kafka said the decision to start Jamis was all his.

00:37:50
Speaker 2: So they're elevating him over Russell.

00:37:52
Speaker 6: Yeah, Mike Kafka is certainly hoping for a metamorphosis hey this offense, but I don't think they get one.

00:37:58
Speaker 5: First of all.

00:37:59
Speaker 6: Second of all, Green Bay has been playing so much better on defense over the last couple of weeks, and it has spotlighted a lot of the struggles they have on offense. One of the things that has to get cleaned up is they have to stop dropping passes, Yes, Jordan Love could play a cleaner game and also there could be a little bit less like yolo shots from this scheme in general, they could have a little bit and it with Tucker Craft out, it's really hard to do this sort of on the fly. But I have a hunch that that's probably what Matt Lafleor was looking at on his tablet is can there be a little bit more layup options in combination running the and and also like some of these drops were and the receivers really talked about this and were actually open even on social media about catches they wish they would have made or should have made.

00:38:48
Speaker 5: It just everything feels so hard for this offense.

00:38:51
Speaker 6: It is a good matchup for the Packers in so many ways, but especially because we know Matt Lafleur loves running the ball sometimes maybe a little a little too much, but in this game it'll really help. It'll really help just stabilize everything. And Josh Jacobs looks great and some of the harder earned yards that he got, especially on that touchdown, yes, you could tell he is trying to, like will this offense into more functionality because everything feels so just difficult and like the atmospheric pressure feels so tight around this offense in general. Meanwhile, the defense is really forming. It's I think season long identity. I think in the first part of the year, you're learning what you are, especially with Micah Parsons added to the mix so late before the start of the season, and so are so close to the start of the season, and so I think Jeff Haffley and that group is really discovering like what they actually are and how they actually want to play.

00:39:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, they had to pitch a perfect game. Yeah, and other than making.

00:39:45
Speaker 2: A one on one tackle, it's pretty incredible.

00:39:47
Speaker 3: In an ocean of space with say Kwon Barkley and getting beat by DeVonta Smith. They almost did it, and they almost had that perfect game. But I think the glaring thing that I can't take away and I can't get out of my head was the hot mic on the field on fourth and two and Marrow Jomo saying inside zone this way, and so Jalen Carter instantly like destroys the play and the Eagles are there for the stop where it's like that's that's the call. And then you're Jordan Love and you're hearing Ojomo call out the play that you're about to run and then you run it anyway, and they.

00:40:16
Speaker 6: Always get two plays, so you got to have and they're all in that system. And I don't know specifically what Green Bay does, but in this tree of coaches, there's always an emergency third play as well, and so you have to you have to own that. And if you're male of floor, you have to be on that, and you have to be giving your quarterback options as well.

00:40:33
Speaker 5: All of these things can be true.

00:40:34
Speaker 6: You should run the ball never good when the defense knows exactly what play in which direction.

00:40:38
Speaker 1: You're right, because they've been doing that every time when they're in a hurry up situation. And yeah, that's where when we talk about like leadership out of quarterback, that's sort of it there. That's the type of leadership you want is just to be calm in that moment and make the right decision.

00:40:51
Speaker 2: And they did not.

00:40:52
Speaker 5: Also a big quarterback Island game for Jordan Love.

00:40:54
Speaker 2: Oooh wow, crazy.

00:40:56
Speaker 3: Me checked all right, I'm gonna check over. Oh yeah, no points for Jordan Love, negative eight for the prime time loss. So if he would like to be in the conversation because after week ten or in week ten. That's when things matter.

00:41:08
Speaker 1: Man Jamis Winston plus the fired coach, principal plus seven.

00:41:13
Speaker 2: It's a lot of factors together, a whole bunch of advice.

00:41:16
Speaker 7: Darius Slayton balls against Cashawn Nickson.

00:41:19
Speaker 2: He like about fourteen other players that I'm looking at with that.

00:41:22
Speaker 1: We're out of practice at Wednesday, so they are really banged up on both sides of the ball.

00:41:26
Speaker 2: The Giants right now not good rough one there.

00:41:30
Speaker 6: But you know, Hofka is famous for his surreal and anxiety field stories that explore themes of alienation, existential thread and overwhelming bureaucracy.

00:41:38
Speaker 5: So that sounds like a team that I know, the.

00:41:42
Speaker 7: Giants Kafka esque to Madrid.

00:41:45
Speaker 3: We go as we Rise, Shine and Watch the Washington Commanders taking on the Miami Dolphins on an NFL game for the first time ever in Spain. The Dolphins are favored by two and a half points because there's two of their last three games. Do you guys know where you can see the Miami Dolphins on Sunday morning?

00:42:06
Speaker 9: Oh?

00:42:06
Speaker 10: In Foul Network, Rise, Shine and Watch, presented by Okay that app It's a great opportunity that app The folks in Hawaii watching two of their all time favorites.

00:42:17
Speaker 7: Go ahead to head Kenny Albert and John and Vilma on the call. It's gonna be great.

00:42:22
Speaker 1: What time is it in Hawaii to start this game? It would be two thirty in the morning, I believe now it would be no. Four to thirty in the morning. Well, you know what I'm gonna give you. I'm gonna give you some reasons. Okay, I knew you guys would be excited. This is the finale of the International Series. It's too bad Jane Daniels and Terry McLaurin will not be playing, or Deron Payin for that matter, who's suspended. Let's ignore the commanders for a second. I have come up with six reasons. Oh to watch the Miami Dolphins and be intrigued. Number one, you're talking about all those extra tight ends, you know, all the heavy personnel. We'll grabbing a guy who's been a center or a guard his whole career, Daniel Brunskill, putting him out on the corner as an extra tight end and using heavy formations for half of their snaps last week. Number two, Juju Brentz, a second round pick, very physical, coming off the best game of his career, just shutting down Kean Coleman. But whatever, he had an incredible game last week. Juju Brent's number three. Oh, everyone's just talking about. Oh, the Dolphins defense is terrible this year. The Dolphins defense terrible. How about over the last month, twelfth in EPA per play allowed, eighth in success rate. They've been pretty good for a while now. Teams changed, the seasons, have different eras. Number four, Jordan Brooks at linebacker, legit Pro Bowl candidate. He's been great. Number five to a tongue of Vailoa. There's been ups, there's been downs. But when they're ups, that man celebrates. Oh yeah, like he enjoys it. You would not know they're having a bad season. If he hits a big pass, he's going to stunt on you. And I think the Madrid crowd will love that.

00:44:00
Speaker 2: Number. Six. What are we at?

00:44:01
Speaker 1: Jalen Waddle fourth in receiving in the NFL since Tyreek Hill got hurt. And then finally I might have said six, I got a seventh. There is a path, There is a path the Dolphins relevance. You got the Commanders this week your favorite you gotta buy undefeated during buys the Miami Dolphins. After that the Saints and then at the Jets. Now, do I trust this Dolphins team to actually get through all those games and win them all?

00:44:38
Speaker 2: I feel like two and one is probably the most likely outcome, but it's pretty doable. It's pretty realistic, doable.

00:44:47
Speaker 1: To see the Dolphins six and seven in the Hunt graphic going up against the Steelers in like the middle of December.

00:44:56
Speaker 2: They could be back.

00:44:58
Speaker 5: Yes, I agree with you.

00:44:59
Speaker 6: I think they are still alive, and I think they know that they're still alive. And I think whatever is going on in that building, whether it's the absence of some people or the addition of like fire.

00:45:10
Speaker 2: Everyone's just fired up because Chris Greer's gone.

00:45:13
Speaker 6: No, Tyreek's not there. I mean, and he wanted out before the start of the season. It's okay, But no, I don't think that Chris Greer. What's the what's the turnaround point for especially you know, I don't know that players are mourning a guy who could have cut them at any second or trade of them at any second.

00:45:32
Speaker 5: It's just not how it works. But this is this is impressive.

00:45:35
Speaker 6: Anthony Weaver, friend of the show, has helped turn this defense around. Not only schematically, but really they've uncovered some incredibly exciting players, young players and guys that just sort of fit together. And then on this offense, number eight, they actually this is keep an eye on this guy because he is limited this week in practice. But their center Aaron Brewer is the fourth rated center on the run against the excuse me, let me start that over. Their center Aaron Brewer, who was limited in practice this week, so keep an eye on that is PFF's fourth rank center in run blocking, sixth rngth ranked overall. And if you watch him, and I did go down a rabbit hole in isolating some of these run plays because they were so they especially last week, they were fun to watch. They can really move the ball behind him, and he really is I think a huge Jenga piece for that entire offensive line, that entire system, and I know they love him down there. And it's like they've got like guys in sneaky spots that really really matter that are coming together importantly for this team.

00:46:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, Bradley Chubb had eight pressures in Week ten and not to there's still reason to have hope.

00:46:51
Speaker 7: The path is there.

00:46:52
Speaker 3: But the Dolphins early season schedule is the in the Hunt graphic I think right, because Greg says it schedule.

00:47:00
Speaker 7: Explains so many things.

00:47:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, they started Colts, Patriots, Bills right then they get a win against the Jets, they lost to the Chargers, And yeah, they had the Island game well schedule wise against the Carolina Panthers. They lost that by three, and so like the season's kind of hinging right on the Panthers and Browns games that the Dolphins looked rough in. But yeah, they might be who we thought they were. It's just the order of events made it look one way, and we're talking about meetings and TPS reports.

00:47:30
Speaker 1: When yeah, well it started uglier than you would have expected, and what we thought they were was potentially like a seven to eight win team, and that is where they might end up landing. But they to your point, Aaron Burr's playing where like Patrick Paul has turned into like a franchise left tackle, like out.

00:47:48
Speaker 6: Of any I don't Jackson came back to practice this week. His windows open. I don't know how early he's going to be back with the team on the field, but they if he comes back to they have a pretty complete line and who knows.

00:47:59
Speaker 1: Dan Quinn takes over play calling. He's the new coordinator, he'll have that backwards hat on. I don't know if you can you fully count on the Dolphins as like a heavy favorite in any team. In fact that there are only two and a half point favorites, that that one is tempting. I do find it interesting as we head to a break that for the second straight season that Washington Chicago game was kind of like a moment in time with a heart breaking ending. In this case, it was Jade and Daniels fumbling the ball in the rain, at which the loser of that game goes into a free fall that no one could could possibly expect the loser of they got to keep putting Jaden versus Caleb in Week six or seven every year, and then after that happens, one of the teams will completely fall off the face of the earth.

00:48:47
Speaker 2: But they actually they'll be there.

00:48:48
Speaker 1: They're going to travel this the globe is round, and we.

00:48:52
Speaker 6: Carried out the planetary alignments during those games because that might, you know, we might have some some teach tape moving forward.

00:48:59
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to this game.

00:49:00
Speaker 1: We've heard the enthusiasm for the American football product in Madrid is next level, so I'm looking forward to the crowd and the game we will be watching early.

00:49:10
Speaker 2: Let's take one last break.

00:49:11
Speaker 1: Yes, we break up the early games, that we got two more to go before a crazy big Lake games. Sometimes I'm crafting a tweet.

00:49:29
Speaker 2: Patrick for a blue sky or whatever you want to.

00:49:33
Speaker 1: Call it, or even write writing down notes for the game, and you so successfully live inside of so many people's heads that I can hear your response that you won't like this take that I have, and it's related to the Panthers Falcons game, and that it's zeb Bryce Young's got to pick it up a little, and it's it's that I think down the stretch this season, he needs to play better than he has been playing this season or they will seek out another quarterback.

00:50:04
Speaker 2: That's my take.

00:50:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I don't like it because I okay, I think he's fun to watch, but yeah, he would need to play better.

00:50:11
Speaker 1: Okay, especially, but I thought you would think that was reactionary, maybe a little too reactionary.

00:50:15
Speaker 2: I think we've reached that point. I've reached that point.

00:50:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I think people reach that point way too early. Uh, And it was a little silly to reach that point at that point. But now we're at this point, which is not that point.

00:50:28
Speaker 6: I think part of the problem in watching last week is that it's not like he's not seeing the field. Well, it's you know, he's he's a short king, but he's seeing the field fine, right. It's not like he's doesn't have options to go to, which was a decade long Panthers problem forever.

00:50:47
Speaker 5: We mentioned it earlier on the show.

00:50:49
Speaker 6: And it's not like there's not moments to make a throw and he's seeing the throw he needs to make. The problem, especially last week, is he was not making the throws. And that's coming up a little too much in my opinion this season to feel totally comfortable with where his development is at.

00:51:08
Speaker 3: So a couple of games back, after coming back from a high ankle sprain and looking pretty good, especially late against the Green Bay Packers on the road, they go on the road again to another team that's been flagrantly inconsistent. The Atlanta Falcons are three and a half point favorites at home. The over under is forty two and a half Jordan it was thirty to nothing. Jason Bennetti and Brady Quinn on the call for Fox last time. Will it be thirty to nothing the other time. Who are both of these teams and why do they do this?

00:51:41
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:51:42
Speaker 5: I don't know.

00:51:43
Speaker 6: I started talking about my Bryce Young point before you made your great introduction.

00:51:49
Speaker 5: I thought it might help break up some of the monotony.

00:51:52
Speaker 1: I think that's good. I think we're messing with the form of the show. We can do that. Just keep people.

00:51:59
Speaker 5: No, really, I just yeah, but it's it is.

00:52:03
Speaker 6: I don't know who either of these teams are, but I do know that I like what I see out of the Falcons defense on at least two downs out of every out of every four downs like I like their blitz ideas. I love the way that jeffel Bridge uses Jesse Bates. I think this is going to be a huge Jesse Bates game because he is being used as this sort of chess piece that we know he is. Remember when Arthur Smith used to call him the terminator, using him in different blitz packages, simulated pressure, freaking out the quarterback every which way, and then roving the field in a way that can also mess up a quarterback who isn't totally looking as of last week, like he's quite sure where he's throwing the ball and isn't quite being on target with those throws. So I think this is a massive Jesse Bates is all over the field making plays game.

00:52:54
Speaker 1: And could be a big Jalen Walker game too. He's really the last four or five he's looked like a different player, and he's playing a new position essentially in the NFL. He is looking like a really good first round draft pick. I think defenses are gonna dare Bryce to beat them because Bryce's is struggling and it's it's not a good receiver group. Like Teed McMillan is a very talented, good player, sometimes he's not on the same page, and then after that it's maybe the worst group in the entire NFL. From two to six down Davie Loguet, we don't even know if he's healthy. And then on the other side, your guy, it's not your guy. I don't know why I say everyone's your guy. Michael Pennix second to last in the league among qualified quarterbacks in terms of beating man coverage EPA per play, So when teams play man against them, he's not a guy who either pulls the trigger and just gives his receivers chances or can put it on the money, and that's kind of becoming the book on how to attack this Falcons defense.

00:53:52
Speaker 2: So you had a point you made. I remember during the.

00:53:56
Speaker 1: Breaks of our shows last week, which I thought was great, I was like, oh, that should have been on the show out Like it takes a village for the Falcons to have those sort of numbers in Pennix. There was a particular play. Do you remember that play? It was them putting you on the spot. It was a dig to.

00:54:12
Speaker 3: The receiver that was drafted by the Jets forever ago that I've already forgotten his name right wrong.

00:54:20
Speaker 1: Now I'm I'm forgetting too, certainly not Darnault Mooney.

00:54:24
Speaker 2: No, but either way it.

00:54:27
Speaker 1: Sort of takes away It raises the point of like a lot is going into him struggling like this, I think in general, and what their passing game is struggling with. But he is not a guy who's like able to lift up the team.

00:54:41
Speaker 7: Yeah, it was David Sills.

00:54:44
Speaker 3: That's one of the few targets in between the hashes where he was wide open and Pennix missed him, and like they didn't go there the rest of the game, not the Sills, but that part.

00:54:54
Speaker 7: Of the field.

00:54:55
Speaker 6: Yeah, the middle part of the field which continues to come up over and over and over again.

00:54:58
Speaker 5: We talked about Michael Penn.

00:55:00
Speaker 6: Who takes difficult level throws, only it seems like and really their passing game flows through Drake London and the odd chance that they actually deploy Jean Robinson in the passing game as well, to the point where I think I saw a report out of Atlanta today that they were trying out receivers. So it's like, you know, it spells an absence of layers, It spells an absence of guys that they trust. And it also, I mean, it's a cacophony of problems here with this offense. And I think that's it starts with the quarterback obviously, but it also is it's everybody in my opinion.

00:55:35
Speaker 1: I mean, throwing the pass to Darnell Mooney. This season, he is thirteen for thirty five, which is like a below average week for show. Hey, o, Tony, you know what I mean? Like that is that should not be an NFL number.

00:55:50
Speaker 7: If Mooney catches that ball on Third Dome.

00:55:52
Speaker 2: Just try to keep our Dodgers fan Eric engaged here.

00:55:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, if Mooney catches the ball in that game against the Cold I think the conversation about both teams, Yeah, would.

00:56:03
Speaker 2: Got to win this game. I mean it's a big one for both teams.

00:56:05
Speaker 1: But you got you can't get swept by the Panthers if you're the Falcon.

00:56:08
Speaker 6: It's so crazy how I'm thinking about how much more promising a still bad overall Panthers receivers group is comp comparatively to what we know to be miss after miss after miss after miss, after lack of weapon after lack of weapon after lack of weapon. For that team, whoever scouting receivers for them, someone.

00:56:30
Speaker 5: New needs to come in there. Strong take, strong take, well, just for help.

00:56:36
Speaker 3: You know, you don't have to get rid of them, Yeah, no, you know, just bring in some folks who maybe do things differently than you do your job, which is not very good. The Houston Texans and Davis Mills perhaps on the road seven point favorites. Remember the Tennessee Titans. They took a break, that's a week.

00:56:51
Speaker 5: Off, still playing football.

00:56:53
Speaker 7: It still exists. The over under is thirty nine and a half.

00:56:56
Speaker 3: Greg Chris, Chris Myers and Mark Laira are on the call and in the Houston Texans folks don't look now they're on their way.

00:57:04
Speaker 1: Gren I still don't think enough has been made about the Mills of sons going on No that game, I don't know. There was something that just there's something about that fourth quarter that I want to believe sparks this Texans team because they've just been waiting for it. They've lost a lot of heartbreakers. They have the number one defense in the NFL. According to Dvoa, They're gonna have Davis Mills as their quarterback. It sounds like for another week, which is disappointing obviously for Texans fans and for CJ. Stroud's health because he is still experiencing concussion symptoms a week and a half after suffering the injury, so you don't know if this is going to be more weeks, but it sounds like he's not close to playing this week. But Davis Mills showed you know what the offensive coordinator is there for, and more importantly, like what Chulton Nico Collins especially is incredible in that game are there for. And I do think they have enough to work with to win a game like this now favored by a touchdown with Davis Mills as your quarterback.

00:58:09
Speaker 2: Is that's a take.

00:58:11
Speaker 5: That's a take. I mean, that's a strong take.

00:58:13
Speaker 1: That's that's looking at what the Titans have done against mediocre defenses and thinking what could they possibly do against this Texans defense?

00:58:21
Speaker 2: And I get that take.

00:58:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, Calvin Ridley perhaps in this one. And so it's like it's all in Jamiri dk not in the return game, but maybe in the receiving game as well. He and Io Man are and maybe you know, there's been a chance a buye gives them an opportunity a couple of weeks to prepare for a really good Houston Texans defense. But that's where the spark comes from. I don't necessarily know those Davis Mills. I think that was more bad Jags. D made some nice throws back even better catches on some of those nice throws.

00:58:55
Speaker 1: And there was there was an opportunity or two for the Jaguars to end the game with an interception that they didn't take advantage of.

00:59:02
Speaker 7: That.

00:59:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought you can ask for out of your backup quarterback. I think he's I truly do believe he's got quarterback.

00:59:11
Speaker 2: He's like average. You could do worse.

00:59:13
Speaker 5: Is Jake Browning finally off the list.

00:59:15
Speaker 2: I mean he's off.

00:59:17
Speaker 5: Yeah, oh wow, out of the conversation.

00:59:19
Speaker 1: I mean all we had to go off was was that magical, magical seven game.

00:59:24
Speaker 5: You'll never forget it.

00:59:25
Speaker 6: I think this is a lot of cam Ward has to throw on the run because those pass rushers are going to get after it and those dbs can cover forever. So this is a lot of tight window throws and cam Ward trying to make things happen, which will be fun to watch.

00:59:37
Speaker 5: I hope he is okay at the end of this one.

00:59:40
Speaker 6: But yeah, this is this is going to be I think just that that that will be the script for the Titans.

00:59:45
Speaker 2: And and it will be on Mike McCoy.

00:59:48
Speaker 1: They're intimate head coach and Kim Ward's going to show their work in terms of what they did coming out of the buy because it was not a cohesive offense beforehand, and they still have a lot of development and games to play here for cam wore or the rest of the season. We have some of the biggest games of the entire season coming up.

01:00:05
Speaker 2: In our late game preview.

01:00:09
Speaker 1: Depending on how you sort your power rankings, Patrick, we have the top four NFC teams facing off maybe a divisional round preview that is coming.

01:00:22
Speaker 2: Up in the late games. Previews stick with us