Good Omens, Jalen Carter and Commanders-Packers Preview

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we always kicked the ball out of the end zone. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Chris Westling podcast studio with my friend Jordan rod Reeg. It's another Tuesday together. We hope to welcome Colleen Wolf back next week.

00:00:21
Speaker 2: We'll see.

00:00:22
Speaker 1: But yes, we have omens galore to talk about, including one in Minnesota.

00:00:28
Speaker 2: It is the final day of omens season. I don't know if you know that.

00:00:32
Speaker 3: I love it.

00:00:33
Speaker 4: You've been kind of on the omens beat the entire off season, from the spring all the way into the summer. You've been tracking first plays all across the.

00:00:41
Speaker 2: Lead into first place, big tone setters.

00:00:43
Speaker 3: Symbols and signs.

00:00:45
Speaker 4: You know, you're you're kind of like tracking ruins at this point. You know, the stars, all of that. So you're, you know, you're really in it.

00:00:51
Speaker 1: Omens are are my corner of this football, you know, Cognizanti. So we're going to do some news off the top of the show, and we just got some interesting news about Jalen Carter. We're going to talk about some omens that we believe in. So basically, after week one, you know which omens good, mostly or bad that we think will have some staying power. Patrick Claybon is going to contribute something to this show that I have no idea what it is, but I think it's going to blow my mind. And we're going to preview Commanders Packers coming up. But yeah, we'll start with the news and Jalen Carter of the Eagles will be eligible to play in Week two. The NFL announced on Tuesday that he will forfeit an entire game. Check They were actually calling it a one game suspension. The press release says Jalen Carter suspended one game, but that one game was Game one, the opener, where he was actually on the field. So I feel like they're being a little fast and loose, but who am I to be pedantic with the NFL suspension rules. Essentially, they're saying spitting is a suspensionable event.

00:02:05
Speaker 4: Yes, and it is a at least a one game suspension here into the future. It sort of sets this precedent. They're saying this because he missed the.

00:02:14
Speaker 3: Entire game, you didn't play. It is a little bit of a loophole in my opinion.

00:02:18
Speaker 2: So that's the best.

00:02:19
Speaker 1: If you're gonna spit, just get your money, do it at the beginning, Because are they saying that if you spit five minutes into the game, you're kicked out of that game, but you weren't suspended for that game.

00:02:31
Speaker 2: It's a little.

00:02:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you know. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully this doesn't happen a lot in the future.

00:02:37
Speaker 2: No, they were very cool, a.

00:02:39
Speaker 3: Lot of money. That's a whole game check for Jalen Carter.

00:02:41
Speaker 1: Sometimes you don't need to be a media insider or media literate to notice that every single insider out there said this is supposed to warn people in the future how serious it is about spitting.

00:02:54
Speaker 2: And I get it.

00:02:55
Speaker 1: I like having an unofficial rule that spitting gets you suspended.

00:02:59
Speaker 4: One game noted spitting is bad. Spitting on people is bad.

00:03:04
Speaker 1: It is bad. But also it wasn't a suspension. He got kick kicked out of the game. If it was a suspension, he wouldn't have been there in the first place. So good news for the Eagles. They're heading to play the Chiefs this week. I'm looking forward to previewing that. On our show Wednesday, some other items we mentioned George Kittle who had that injury on the Monday Night show and if you're looking for all the news recaps. Nick Shook and I hit a lot of the news and on Mondays a lot of news drop. So we hit that at the end of the Monday night recap. But we didn't know that George Kittle was officially going to injured reserve, and we didn't know at all that Jake Moody is off the island.

00:03:43
Speaker 4: In fact, we were told something completely different earlier this week when Kyle Shanahan said after Sunday's game that Jake Moody would still be their kicker. And then you know, one day you're in the other day, next day you're out, and Eddie Pinero is on his way after a workout to San Francisco for a new era.

00:04:03
Speaker 1: I just think you should stop drafting kickers. It just it always, it just doesn't seem like it works. It puts so much pressure on the young men who get drafted. It's such an unpredictable position, and we've seen it time after time that really good kickers who have good careers struggle so badly with the team that drafts them. Young Wayku, who is in some trouble now. Actually the Falcons signed another kicker meanwhile, John Parker Romo to their practice squad to give young Wayku some competition. But you remember how he flamed out with the Chargers. The Patriots have had Chad Ryland, who's now good with the Cardinals, flamed out as a draftic. I think they should have kept John Parker Romo, who out kicked their rookie kicker now and missed an easy kick in Week one, But they drafted him, so they feel like they have to keep him.

00:04:53
Speaker 2: This keeps happening over and over.

00:04:54
Speaker 1: But man, Jake Moody had a rough Has it been a couple of years now with the forty nine ers?

00:04:58
Speaker 2: It has been rough?

00:04:59
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I you know what, I hate it for him just on a personal level.

00:05:02
Speaker 3: I think that it's just such a hard job.

00:05:04
Speaker 4: It's such a fickle job, and there's so much mental stuff that goes into it. And then when you're sort of dealing with the heaviness of Kyle Shanahan's expectations of you. Even though they were the ones that drafted him with that high of a pick, I think it was what a third round pick that they drafted him with. Yes, And so it's a tough job. It's made tougher when there are expectations on you. They did give him a pretty long leash here.

00:05:28
Speaker 2: They did.

00:05:28
Speaker 1: I was surprised they didn't replace some this offseason. I think there were a lot of people that watched the first game they're like, well, oh, Jake Moody's still the kicker. Poor He'll probably get another chance. As you mentioned, Eddie Panero goes to the forty nine ers. I think it was like a land grab for these kickers. And you know, we mentioned it on the show on Monday night. But four weeks is a long time to be without George Kittle, and a hamstring injury is the last thing you want to see with a thirty one year old, and so much of the offense is based around George Kittle can do. Not that the other Titans in there in the room can't do some of the things that he does. But there's definitely no receiving threat the next four games at New Orleans home for the Cardinals, home for the Jaguars, and then a big game against the Rams on Thursday night that he will miss, and so that's the earliest that you could get back.

00:06:19
Speaker 4: Juwan Jennings is also banged up after missing the entirety of training camp, So then they predicated a lot of their offense in their passing game through George Kittle, who had a healthy training camp. Christian McCaffrey popped up on the injury report late late last week, giving a lot of people a little bit of a scare, and then they.

00:06:34
Speaker 2: Gave him thirty one touchdown.

00:06:36
Speaker 4: Then yeah, and then he was fine and and so this group continues to be The passing game in general continues to be of I think a significant concern. The only healthy players. Ricky Piersoll went over one hundred this weekend.

00:06:48
Speaker 1: Your boy, and it could have been like one hundred and thirty with a touchdown if not for a great play by Rik will And to break one touchdown up. But they will count on Jake Tongjis who had a big time touchdown, big time catch, and Luke Fair actually led the team in snaps, so those are their tight ends.

00:07:04
Speaker 2: We'll preview their game.

00:07:05
Speaker 1: As I mentioned on Wednesday, not a ton of huge headlines, so I think this Tuesday show is kind of just like talk about some things that we think are fun. There were a couple other signings. By the way, Jabrill Peppers goes to the Steelers, who was a really good player for the Patriots the last couple of years, and so I think they will find a role for him. That's because their safety to Shawn Elliott is going to be out for a little bit. But I wanted to just throw some sound by you, just some things that caught our attention in the last day or so. And maybe it's not like hard news, but I found it interesting. And I'll start with Liam Cohen talking about why Brian Thomas Junior, you know, didn't have much production as a receiver. They threw seven passes to him on Sunday, it was an easy win against the Panthers, but he only had one reception. You know, there was a lot of fantasy points for Brian Thomas Junior. Listen to mister Cohen.

00:08:00
Speaker 5: We try to get him a touch on the first or second drive of the game, first play of the game, right, we don't convert it, throw him a screen low doesn't come down with it. And then the flow of the game. We missed him on a in breaker which he had a lot of room to run, missed him on a corner route where he was fairly open, and then missed you know, had the one on the out of bounds. So you're talking about that's five catches right there. That gets him into the flow of it.

00:08:28
Speaker 4: You know, his voice has changed, Oh it sounds so okay. So he's got a little bit of a Southern accent emerging there, but he's still got that Northeastern passive aggression talking about what actually happened.

00:08:42
Speaker 2: I think he's just so honest.

00:08:44
Speaker 1: He's soest and I if you've been listening all off season, we love you. But this is maybe the third time we've noted this that Liam Cohn is so honest. If he was in a different market, I think it would get treated differently. And I do wonder if it's going to catch up to him because it remind I didn't mean so much of last season where Doug Peterson was talking about how open the receivers were.

00:09:07
Speaker 2: There is a little bit of a trend here.

00:09:09
Speaker 1: Urban Meyer actually said some similar things in his brief time in Jacksonville. And you do wonder if Trevor Lawrence here's that that press conference and is like, that's.

00:09:22
Speaker 3: What I'm saying. Oh, it's a passive aggression.

00:09:24
Speaker 1: I know, but it's like I don't even think he knows he's doing it. But everyone's listening to that and being like, so you're saying that Trevor Lawrence really isn't seeing the field too well.

00:09:32
Speaker 2: Is that what you're saying.

00:09:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's the subtext here where I'm like, man, it sounds it sounds so matter of fact and straightforward and casual and you know, you know, calm, and there's some there's an edge to.

00:09:43
Speaker 3: It, though, is there?

00:09:44
Speaker 4: Though?

00:09:44
Speaker 1: Like I think he's just answering the question. Maybe you know him better than I know you do.

00:09:48
Speaker 4: That's what I'm saying, is like, I don't think he's meaning for that. You have an edge to it. It just sounds that way, Like I don't think he means it.

00:09:55
Speaker 1: I think it's a last thing that he would want, and I do think he will. Something is going to happen where he learns from it. Where he sounds like he's being too critical of his own players in a way that he doesn't. But it's it's very different, for instance, compared to Kevin o'conne, who we'll get to you later, who goes out of his way to almost artificially pump up his quarterbacks to such a degree that they believe it and they play awesome let's hear from another coach that I really loved last season out of nowhere, for some reason, Todd Bowles kind of started to have a bit in the locker room where he just goes a little crazy, and I love a good recurring bit.

00:10:32
Speaker 2: That's the hell of a job.

00:10:33
Speaker 5: Keep fighting now.

00:10:35
Speaker 6: I'm going with all the first game and I'm not usually like this, but that's.

00:10:49
Speaker 2: We got a long way to go.

00:10:51
Speaker 7: We understand that we fight like that, we'll win most of our ball games.

00:10:55
Speaker 2: Guys.

00:10:55
Speaker 8: I want to see you guys on Monday.

00:11:00
Speaker 1: That's a good uh sound clip from Todd Bowles, who was just so monotone and so almost boring all the time that him just suddenly yelping like that and the locker room is going to get.

00:11:12
Speaker 2: The guys going.

00:11:12
Speaker 4: I just love I mean, you could see in there why they love playing for him.

00:11:16
Speaker 2: I am.

00:11:16
Speaker 4: I am perennially somebody who really tries to compliment and talk up Todd Bowles because I hear how offensive coaches talk about what it feels like to go against his defense for a full game, and you see it there he's got He's got his guys behind him, and I love to have his casual. He didn't give him a day off guys on Monday.

00:11:34
Speaker 1: I know actually was like, maybe we should have cut that out because it was like this great, you know, celebratory moment, and then he's like, wait, we'll actually see you tomorrow, and everyone's like, oh, well, it is week one, But come on, Todd, you could have mentioned that another.

00:11:47
Speaker 3: Time, just a little bait and switch, you know.

00:11:50
Speaker 1: I think that wind meant a little extra to him after losing twice to the Falcons last year, and I think after rewatching that game, he felt like he stolen and it feels good to steal one. Let's now listen to the sound clip from Sunday that caused my son to do a celebration dance in my kitchen.

00:12:12
Speaker 2: The flag on the back of your helmet today, the Japanese flag.

00:12:15
Speaker 4: Was that about my great grandmother's Japanese so seawn love to her.

00:12:20
Speaker 1: So that's that's Jayden Daniels. He's officially on Team Japan. You can see it on the helmet. And if you're not aware, the NFL has allowed to you know, players with international heritage to wear the flags on their helmet. They've been doing that for a few years and I think that's really cool. They make them put the American flag above it, which yeah, to be this kind of funny that they make like they make that like literally has to go above. But then you have the Japanese flag, and yeah, my son, my son was very excited about that. I think the Japanese community out there is excited. He called Jayden Daniel Daniels family. My wife is Japanese. I think that's like a bit of a stretch. But then when I saw a picture of Jade Daniels's great grandmother who's still alive, and it's fantastic. I was like, oh, yeah, she looks great, she looks great. Yeah, she kind of she looks like their Japanese grandmother.

00:13:12
Speaker 2: So it was outstanding.

00:13:12
Speaker 3: That's so cute.

00:13:13
Speaker 4: And you know, I'm glad for Walker because he must have been in a little angst watching c. J. Stroud try to, you know, get something done in that Rams Texans game. And I know how much he loves c. J. Stroud, So this was a nice little lift for Walker. I think little picture.

00:13:27
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think if if you're thinking back to let's say the Chappelle show in the race draft, I mean, it's a pretty big win for the Asian American community to try to claim jayde and Daniels. So congratulations to everyone involved there. That was the news. We are going to take a quick break and we will be back with some omen. Like I said, it's omens season. I do believe that you can learn certain things as the season starts. And I do think that first plays in like playoff games and big games, and obviously how coaches want to construct their opening series like it all is telling and I think is the coach telling you more often with those decisions than they do behind the podium. So omens can exist, you know, throughout the course of the season. But really I'm saying omen season ends now because these are omens for the entire season. So you can go good, you can go bad, you can go anywhere you want.

00:14:43
Speaker 2: Jordan, why don't you start?

00:14:44
Speaker 3: I'm really excited about this.

00:14:46
Speaker 4: In fact, I called DIBs on it when you suggested this segment idea for me and you to do today. Armand Membu's arrival in the NFL is an omen of what the Jets can be this season and where their strengths are. First round pick right tackle lined up against TJ. Watt for most of the game on Sunday and gave TJ Watt just about all he could handle.

00:15:09
Speaker 3: Looked really, really impressive.

00:15:10
Speaker 4: Overall, he gave up one pressure on twenty six pass blocking snaps. According to next Gen Sixteen of those snaps were specifically against TJ Watt, where he only gave up again that one pressure. The Jets offensive line generally gave justin Field's good time, clean space. We're forcing the run game against a really talented Steelers front Breeze hollran for five point six yards per carry in a fifty two percent success rate. This is all about armand me. Membu's performance specifically, really was an omen for what this Jets team wants to be this year, even in the loss, and what they want to be made of.

00:15:45
Speaker 3: They want to be physical upfront.

00:15:46
Speaker 4: They want to give the quarterback time to unferl some really gorgeous throws, and they want to run through your face and they did that.

00:15:54
Speaker 1: Their young tackle duo, yeah, you know, including Olu Fashanu who's now a second year left tackle and missed a lot of last year but looked really good when he came in at the end and looked really good in this game. Is the n via the NFL right now, Like that's exactly what you want. I know it's one game, but that's enough for me to shut down TJY. That caliber to have, it's kind of like, yeah, like maybe he will have bad games this year. Maybe he won't have that many bad games because he's that talented. But to have that high of a high right off the bat and show the level of athleticism and movement and I know, you know some of the O line tape heads out there are just going crazy for some of the strength and the nastiness that he's shown against what but also the technique to be able to do that right away is like the tackle version of like what we saw of Odell Beckham in his first games. Like, once you show you can do that, that level is there to be used now for that entire rookie contract. It's amazing.

00:16:55
Speaker 4: It's incredible, and it's also I mean, it was a really good investment pick for them.

00:17:01
Speaker 3: There are other ways they could have gone.

00:17:02
Speaker 4: There are other directions they could have gone, and this is someone who, like this guy could be a franchise player for you for a decade if it keeps going well, even if it doesn't go this well as well as it did Sunday for him. Even if he dips her and has like adversity, it could still be this cornerstone player. And this exactly fits Aaron Glenn's ethos of what he wants this team to be.

00:17:25
Speaker 1: Our friend, Allie Connelly, I remember him and John Ledyard on their podcast Readoptional in the preseason after his first Presecon game saying some of the things he's doing, it just pops off in a way that like, not to compare a guy to Trent Williams, because I think their play style is different, but just that there are only so many individuals who can move like that. And if you don't think that I'm going to be tracking all of armand Membu's career. When I was publicly stumping on this podcast for the Patriots to take him at number four and forty FO free agents instead of Will Campbell, you're wrong worried about this, but I do like that the Jets offense could be so much.

00:18:06
Speaker 4: Everybody wanted, and everybody wanted them to take one of these tight ends, right, That's what everybody was sort of stumping for, and they took the tackle, and my god, can he play.

00:18:15
Speaker 1: Okay, well, let's just slide right into it. How about Tyler Warren's first drive in the NFL. So yeah, they wanted him to take Tyler Warren. It was probably a spot where they weren't going to get it wrong his very first play in the NFL. And this to me is Shane Steiken, you know, making a decision of who we want to be. The very first play that the Colts ran this year was a first down to Tyler Warren or later in that drive, they throw it on the sideline and he makes a great catch there as well, And that to me was a statement of intent by what Shane Stiken wanted to do. He reminds me of brock Bowers in the sense that look like, I know, they're completely different players and they're going to win in completely different ways. But you could see immediately that brock Bauers was a different sort of mover, and that once you saw it against NFL competition, you're like, oh, this is.

00:19:15
Speaker 2: Going to work.

00:19:15
Speaker 1: And I already we've seen enough. It's gonna work. Tyler Warren's gonna work. You could see it in the preseason, you can see it now.

00:19:20
Speaker 4: It's interesting because before the draft and talking to a couple of different evaluators and scouts and all that, it was like very clear. It's like, if you are going to draft Tyler Warren, which a lot of teams wanted to, you are then committing to designing most of your offensive game plan to go through Tyler Warren, specifically as a mismatch player. You're not going to be asking him to do some of the traditionalists more inline tight end stuff all the time. You're going to get him in space, You're going to get him the ball, and you're going to flow in funnel that passing game through this sort of unicorn type of player.

00:19:53
Speaker 3: That's what Penn State did.

00:19:54
Speaker 4: That's how he emerged in his last season there, and that is what makes made him so covetable by Shane Stikeen because Shane Steichen has really been wanting that player. He has had a lot of experience coaching and scheming for tight ends. This is exactly who he wanted. And he's also I think Shane Steikin wanted to flex a little bit. To your point on omens no pun intended. He really a flex player. Yeah, and he wanted to boo boo.

00:20:21
Speaker 2: He wanted I mean if you're gonna go root and tooton all week long trying to help you out.

00:20:25
Speaker 4: So I just think that this is like it was him. I always love I love what you said about play callers doing this. All of these guys do this. They basically tell you who they think they are with their opening scripts. And that's exactly what Shane Steiken did with Tyler Warren.

00:20:39
Speaker 1: So just to recap, literally first play from scrimmage of the season, fourteen yard pass to Tyler Warren where he makes a defender miss and goes up the silent Sailand. Second completion of the season was the third pass Tyler Warren over the middle for eight yards, then a nice throat to Michael Pittman, then a deep pass up the sideline to Tyler Warren for twenty one yards in between the cornerback and Minka Fitzpatrick who was in zone covered. So that is three of your first five attempts and six plays overall that are going to this guy, and they're all at different parts of the field. I know the opposition was forgiving I guess on Sunday, but look, Patrick picked the.

00:21:27
Speaker 2: Dolphins to win.

00:21:27
Speaker 1: I thought the Dolphins were gonna win and so I think that was a statement play calling series and game by Tyler Warren. I am so excited to see what's next, give me another OMEN.

00:21:38
Speaker 4: I'm going Los Angeles Chargers on this one. So there was a moment. It came at the very very end of the game, after a pretty strong Chargers performance against that Chiefs defense, when Justin Herbert keeps the ball, runs for the conversion and then slides down. That in itself maybe not an OMEN, but it's the little flourish and you'll see it if you're watching on YouTube.

00:22:00
Speaker 3: As soon as he slides down.

00:22:02
Speaker 4: It's the little flourish where he sort of flexes one arm and he sort of points with the other and he's got this this face. See he's sliding with a lot of flourish here with the flex.

00:22:11
Speaker 2: Oh, he held it. He held it first, and he.

00:22:14
Speaker 4: Held the pose right. This was magazine cover style posing. Now Justin Herbert, for people who don't who aren't as familiar, he is a very quiet, very like media shy, more introverted type of person. And in fact, you hear more from Jim Harbaugh about Justin Herbert when you talk about gassing up your quarterbacks to an.

00:22:35
Speaker 3: A great excessive level.

00:22:37
Speaker 4: You know, this is who you hear from most of the time talking about Justin Herbert. But I think that that in itself not only was an omen that they're going to use him more on the ground, which he did that game. He ran ran a couple times. I was at one of their training camp practices. They were installing more design runs for him. It's also he's healthy this season versus the start of last season when he's dealing with the foot injury, and they're going to him to be a weapon in that way against defenses. But also an omen of Justin Herbert maybe emerging into the spotlight a little bit more this season, maybe taking the mantle of being this more maybe public facing guy who's going to put a flourish and a little edge at the end of some of these plays versus quietly, you know, kind of going.

00:23:19
Speaker 2: That's a little more comfortable in his skin.

00:23:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, Hey, just a kid having fun out there, Justin Herbert, like you could, I think you could see it. I think there was a looseness and a confidence in the way that he played. And you can look at the rushing totals and he had thirty one yards on the game. And think, oh, that's not that crazy. That's actually one of the higher marks of his career. In a given season, he'll usually top that once or twice, but in general, the seven attempts stand out to me more. That's more again than almost any game that he's had as a pro, like one or two at most each season.

00:23:52
Speaker 2: He runs more than that.

00:23:53
Speaker 4: And it wasn't all scrambling. Some of it's designed and then also picking up a couple of crucial downs too. I mean, it was absolutely a threat, and you could tell that the Chiefs were a little bit on their back foot defending that.

00:24:03
Speaker 1: So I didn't mean to have a theme with mine, but I just went with rookies and specifically wanted to give some love to the Browns rookies against the Bengals. I know they lost that game, and it just felt like the most Brownsie thing ever. But before the season, all we said, you know, we were focusing on the quarterbacks. All we said was like, the only thing that matters is going to be the development of these rookies on this team this year. And their rookies were awesome in Week one and that's to me just such an incredible Onoman. And I'll start with Harold Fannon, who you know as a great player after the catch had to carry, played as a full back, and him and Tyler Warren actually are now the co leaders in the history of the NFL for receptions by a tight end in their first ever game, Like, no one's ever caught more than seven than Fannin and Tyler Warren and the leader of.

00:25:02
Speaker 2: That And I guess this is becoming a trend.

00:25:03
Speaker 1: Was Brock Bauers a year ago set the record And watching this game and just seeing all the different ways that they used Harold Fannin was so exciting. And then looking at the box score, Dylan Sampson I thought played much better than the box score indicated. It was really good as a receiver, didn't have much to work with as a runner, but reminded me of like a Geo Bernard, but like right off the bat, really was up for everything, looked like he belonged. And then finally Carson Schwestinger at inside linebacker. Like I know we've had a joke about Mason Graham. He just didn't really show much this game. We'll move on from. We don't know. It wasn't good, It wasn't bad, but Carson Chwessinger goes out there as a rookie linebacker and was really running things for the Browns like run and chase and looking good. And this is the guy who was a walk on at UCLA right off the bat, really good signs and that's what their quarterback sitting on the sideline.

00:25:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's interesting a lot of people, and I think because a lot of us are scratching our heads over this, but a lot of people were making the headlines about the quarterbacks that they drafted right in Dylan Gabriel and Shoot Sanders, But very very subtly, you know, Andrew Barry.

00:26:10
Speaker 3: Had a really really good draft.

00:26:12
Speaker 4: He found multiple starters at key positions that they're gonna need. And Joe Flacco spoke so glowingly of Harold fannin junior all throughout training camp to the point where, you know, reports on the ground out of there early on, we're saying, this guy is getting moved all over the formation. He's coming out of the backfield, he's in the slot, he's out wide, he's in motion like he's doing all of these different things. As a true mismatch player who not only can change the looks but also can change the gaps because if you have a player that big, aligned out wide and you send him in motion to either in the stack or on the other side of the stack, or even in the backfield, you're automatically changing every single gap for the defense to defend on the field.

00:26:53
Speaker 3: And that is insane.

00:26:54
Speaker 4: If you have Joe Flacco, who's like, oh heck yeah, you know, having some fun at his old age.

00:26:59
Speaker 1: Plus just the mental anguish and the shame of giving up that big of a day to someone wearing the number forty four.

00:27:06
Speaker 4: See he's okay, that's a fullback number. Though god I know, and I.

00:27:10
Speaker 2: Think he's wearing it for fun. I don't know.

00:27:12
Speaker 1: I actually believe I read that whatever he wanted was not available, and so he ended up with the forty four. But they use him as a wildcat, and my favorite rep for him was as a full back on the goal line blowing open a hole for their rushing touchdown. Was that Sampson, I forget who it was, but either way, like to be able to do that, but also have great feet, great vertical ability, like really pop as an athlete, like his feet moved so quickly. And then Schwestinger like PFF's not perfect, but he was their fifth highest rated linebacker in all of football. Last week he was the highest rated player on the Browns. And he is the classic like see it and just trigger so quickly, kind of like a Navarro Bowman type of player. If everything went perfectly well, man, they have a lot to be excited about. So I think that's a good omen that Actually the Browns are going to be more fun this year than people.

00:28:07
Speaker 3: And certainly more fun next year.

00:28:09
Speaker 1: That's it, right, because Andrew Berry might not be around to enjoy it.

00:28:13
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:28:13
Speaker 1: I was going to say, you had a really good draft. I was like, we got to see it on the field, but now we have.

00:28:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I couldn't remember if I said Andrew or accidentally said Adam, which is his brother who just we just had a feature.

00:28:23
Speaker 3: On in the athletics.

00:28:24
Speaker 2: So so many bears.

00:28:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, so it works for the Eagles, right, it works for the Eagles. Yeah.

00:28:29
Speaker 4: Okay, my third one, my omen here, And this might take a second because I want to get through the little pieces of this, Greg, But I know that you have witnessed over text me totally geeking out about this, and so I appreciate the space.

00:28:40
Speaker 2: Big special teams go Yeah.

00:28:43
Speaker 4: Okay, the Vikings icing Monday Nights win over the Bears on a situational mastery moment on special teams to me, is an omen for the season. First, I want to kind of narrate this clip of actually what happened. So there's two minutes and five seconds on the clock the fourth quarter, the Vikings were receiving the kickoff up three points. Cairo Santos Bears kicker kicks a returnable ball. Ty Chandler looks, the returner looks right at Kevin O'Connell on the sideline who's waving him onward.

00:29:12
Speaker 3: And I loved the call by the booth.

00:29:13
Speaker 4: They described it as a third base coach waving on the runner and I love that. So returning this kickoff taking it out of the end zone burned out a natural stoppage for the two minute warning, so the Bears then had to lose their last time out that they had instead at a minute forty seven seconds left to go after the Vikings ran a play immediately on the other side of that, so if the ball would have been kicked through the back of the end zone, and Johnson did say after the game that this is what they had hoped would happen, there would be no runoff, right, and then they would have that two minute warning as a natural timeout and extra timeout instead of having to then just burn their last one. Because obviously the Bears, who were down three points at the time, really wanted to get the ball back, and Ben Johnson estimated they would have gotten it back with about a minute left if the ball would have gone out of the back of the end zone. The other thing is they could have kicked it out of bounds if you did not if you did not think your kicker, which Bears fans were really letting me know and my mentions that they don't think Kyro Santos could kick it out of the back of the end zone from that distance, so they were saying, So you could have kicked it out of bounds at that point situationally, and all that would have happened was still no time run off. You would have incurred an a legal penalty in a five yard penalty for that, So you would have started at the you would have allowed the Vikings to start at the forty. Yes, there is no rekick in that situation, right, But Ben Johnson did not want to give up seemingly did not want to give up the five yards and instead wanted the ball to go out of the back of the end zone. Kevin O'Connell sees this thing floating through the air and it's going to be short ty Chandler stares him down as he catches it. It's just an epic moment. It's such an epic moment of situational awareness. And the reason why I have it as an omen greg is because we saw the absolute duality and range of what the JJ McCarthy experience is going to be for the Minnesota Vikings this season, where it started out got awful and then ended really really cool. Right, They're going to experience that every single game, and they're going to need every edge and every advantage that they could possibly have this year and possibly get this year, including their defense, which really showed up for them, especially in the second half because of Brian Flores and that group, and then also every tiny situational edge and advantage. And Kevin O'Connell really really preaches this internally, has extra meetings for all of these things, and that factored in in a huge way on Monday night. I thought that was one of the plays the game.

00:31:41
Speaker 1: It was great and that was a great job narrating it. And you think back to the Kirk Cousins, you know, great year with the Vikings, and then you think about last year and then this year, and I don't think it's a mistake that they have been great in these one score games and great situationally. Now I think it is fair to point out it was almost a bigger blunder by the Bears and ultimately execution and not understanding that that was not an easy thing for Cairo Santos to do. Then it even was like a great play by Minnesota because we were going back and forth and I was curious. I was like, well, if they must have told them it was obvious he had to take it out. And Kevin O'Connell did confirm that that, like, yes, the special teams coach had gone over it with everyone. Yes, to take it out at the time, But who is the returner again, ty Chandler, you know he's not their primary returner?

00:32:34
Speaker 4: His face, yeah, look at his face. He's not the primary returner.

00:32:37
Speaker 1: They have two back there, and they tried to avoid the returner who had a great night, and so they kicked it specifically trying to kick it at him and make him make a mistakes. So even though they had gone over it ahead of time, he sort of panics in the moment and isn't quite sure. And a great job by O'Connell to be like, come on out, bro.

00:32:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's what I'm saying.

00:32:53
Speaker 4: It's like, I don't want to really get on the Bears too much about losing the situational advantage.

00:32:58
Speaker 1: I do think I did kick it out of bounce Peyton Manning's calling for it, Troy Aikman's calling for if everyone's first guessing you can get on him.

00:33:05
Speaker 2: There was a huge mistake.

00:33:06
Speaker 4: Yes, it was a huge mistake, but it's almost like, Okay, you have to under you have to understand are you willing to like you have to be the coach who's willing to see five yards to make a less ultimately a less risky play. And that's a big lesson for Ben Johnson, I think in this case. But that's what I'm saying about this on the on the Viking side, it is a simple executionable thing, right, But if they don't do it right, then you're only up three points and the Bears defense is coming after you, you know, and it's I just think that this was it's the little tiny slivers of moments. Yes, that's an omen for what the Vikings will need to do to win.

00:33:39
Speaker 3: Games this year.

00:33:39
Speaker 1: It decides so many games in the and the Bears figure they just got a head coach that's gonna be better at these sort of situations. But on Night one, with one decision, he made a mistake and yeah, Peyton Manning on the Manning Cast, I didn't see this at the time because I'm prepping for our Monday night show where.

00:33:56
Speaker 2: Fielding on getting ready to go.

00:33:58
Speaker 3: Hinge text for me.

00:33:58
Speaker 1: That I missed until after, but I saw him and yeah, like he was screaming and yelling before it even happened that you have to kick it out of bounds. You have to kick it out of bounds, not even through the end zone. Just just make sure to do it. And they did not, and so lesson learned. But great job and a great moment there.

00:34:17
Speaker 4: Man.

00:34:17
Speaker 1: Kevin O'Connell just seems like he would be a fun coach to play for it, and they always have great moments in the locker room. I saw this, and I just figure, if we're talking O'Connell. Let's get his postgame locker room into the show.

00:34:28
Speaker 5: Not if this.

00:34:29
Speaker 6: Happens, this feeling that we have right now does not happen without one other guy, all right, did not go away. Any of us wanted this guy, all right. I could tell from the jump he was poised. He was poised. But this guy didn't quit me. And you always thought he would figure it out. Two pasting touchdowns and a Russian touchdown, all this.

00:34:50
Speaker 1: Stuff entered JJ o ocar losing his ever loving mind and everyone.

00:35:04
Speaker 2: Just so fired up about it.

00:35:05
Speaker 1: I like it though, because Kevin O'Connell is so long winded, and you know, game recognizes his game.

00:35:10
Speaker 2: It took him like four minutes to even get.

00:35:13
Speaker 1: To the big JJ McCarthy finish, but you could tell he was saving it all up for JJ McCarthy last. And you did see the true enjoyment of all the teammates happy for JJ, and in that.

00:35:24
Speaker 3: Moment, yeah, it was cool.

00:35:26
Speaker 4: And Kevin was like living and dying with every single play that was happening. And you could see after JJ McCarthy ran in that touchdown, Kevin O'Connell, I thought a vein in his neck week and a burst. They zoomed in on him celebrating on the sideline as if he had been the one to run in the touchdown. It's like former quarterback trying to be the guy for this young quarterback that Kevin never had. He's been open about that, and I just think, man, we ran through the range of emotions for each team throughout that game.

00:35:58
Speaker 3: That was a classic.

00:35:59
Speaker 2: In my mind, He's.

00:36:00
Speaker 1: Had so many quarterbacks, but this is the first one that's like, that's his, Yeah, that's his, it's his long term and this is there can only be like one first game, you know, And so I think you're absolutely right. It was a little extra and he's all about the quarterbacks and fixing the mistakes that he must believe that the Patriots and Jets made back in the day with him when they had total total lack of faith at him and they cut him pretty quickly after making him a third round pick behind Tom Brady and Matt Castle.

00:36:28
Speaker 2: I mean, that was a tough situation.

00:36:29
Speaker 1: Let's wrap up very quickly with one that we went and checked back in the Omen committee decided, actually, bad omens can happen all the way back in training camp. It was some sound from Mike McDaniel, that was really capped off during Week one.

00:36:48
Speaker 2: But this is this is back in training camp. Let's listen.

00:36:50
Speaker 5: Good morning, false, great morning, let's go.

00:36:58
Speaker 2: Because of another day closer to death.

00:37:03
Speaker 1: I don't know why that would make it a great morning, Mike McDaniel, being one closer to death unless you're like really into the afterlife. Maybe he's a man of faith, that's possible. But yeah, that seemed to bounce around your head when we were thinking about this week one and what could be kind of a season long death of the twenty twenty five Miami Dolphins. From a football side of it, I think it's that first drive. I think it was the fourth play of the game, or so to a tongue of Iloa throws an interception over Tyreek Hill's head and they're miscommunication. This was nothing more than just missing a pass that Tua just sailed into the waiting arms of a Colts defender and it just felt like a bad moment. I mean, it was a great interception celebration, so I enjoyed that by cam bineam, But yes, that was a silver line. It was just like, feels like this whole off season has been a bad omen for the Dolphins.

00:38:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, an omen of your in a rumaissance too that you've been talking up. But I would say that that clip has stuck in my head because I do know Mike McDaniel to be sort of a dark humor kind of guy, a sarcastic guy, a dry humor like sort of one liner guy as well. But in that one, he did not look like he was having any fun with it at all, and a little bit a little it just has stuck in my head, and I'm like, oh, interesting, oh man, but why would that be a good day?

00:38:33
Speaker 2: You know, I know it's been.

00:38:34
Speaker 4: The well, it's like a nihilistic sort of sense of humor, except it's just like ooh.

00:38:40
Speaker 3: But also, you might have a year we will.

00:38:42
Speaker 2: Be released from all this pain that I'm in now before I'm just back to like calling plays for the twenty twenty six Green Bay Packers or something.

00:38:53
Speaker 4: Someone my colleague at the athletic Ted Wind goes, wait hear me out, twenty twenty six Detroit Lions offensive coordinator might be right.

00:39:00
Speaker 1: Every everyone you know is gonna have their Dolphins jokes and to start the game that way, for Xavi and Howard to be in the mix on a lot of these plays and say he gave some help knowing their playbook the former Dolphin. It just it's what you just don't want out of week one, which is all the negativity that they've had around them the whole offseason. Within literally a fraction of place, we talked about the first drive by Tyler Warren and like a new day starting with Indianapolis, and the total opposite was happening on the other side, which is like, wait, this is like last year but totally even worse. Maybe they turn around in week two and we're wrong and that it's not a bad omen omen season is now officially over. What a ride it was, it was, it was great. I want to take a quick break. I do want to tell everyone listening. You know, you'll hear some hats. We'll pay the bills, but right on the other side of the break, you do not want to miss what Patrick claibon has cooking for us. I don't know what it is exactly, but he sent in a two minute long voice memo that I'm just ready for so that that's going to come up right after the break.

00:40:28
Speaker 8: A new NFL season means a new chance to see promos for a new run of episodic crime dramas. Do we think today's NFL Daily Crew can spot the reel among the fake? Let's give them some options. Number one Crime Line features Gerald Hickson, a sarcastic detective with a keen eye for details, navigating the organized crime scene near the Port of Seattle, Washington, all while continuing a decade's old search for a sister that went missing in his childhood. Number two ten to four features nine one one operator and beleaguered former officer Shaw Johnson, who, despite efforts to clear his own name, elects to take matters into his own hands to provide victims with their chance at his own brand of justice. Number three Sheriff Country features Mickey Fox, a straight shooting sheriff in the small rural town of Edgewater, California. She must balance the demands of law enforcement with the complexities of motherhood, community politics, and a past that won't stay buried. Number four FBI New Organs from award winner Dick Wolf and the team behind FBI and Law and Order. FBI New Organs is a high stakes drama focusing on the trainees at Quantico who are thrust into service after a sleeper cell is revealed the operating within the United States government. Those are your options. One of them is real?

00:41:50
Speaker 2: Oh, which one is it? Greg?

00:41:53
Speaker 3: Which one?

00:41:56
Speaker 1: My favorite thing about this is he wanted to just play this game off air the other day and we didn't have time, and that he got to use his great voiceover skills. This, This is amazing. It is one of my favorite parts of the new NFL season seeing what the new shows are on CBS and Fox and not quite believing them. Okay, I'm gonna do the process of elimination. You can try to assist me here however you want, or you just completely disagree. FBI new origins with the Quantico sleeper cell that had a little Claybond flair to it, and that's so I'm eliminating.

00:42:31
Speaker 3: Okay, So because of your knowledge of Patrick.

00:42:34
Speaker 1: It just it almost felt, Yeah, that one felt a little too tongue in cheek for me. So I'm going to eliminate that one. That leaves us with three, and honestly, they all work equally to me. There is something about Share of Country.

00:42:54
Speaker 3: That just hits a lot of demographics.

00:42:56
Speaker 1: Greg a female shaff balancing work, being a mom and a pass that won't stay buried. I can just I can just feel that in the pitch meeting, the nine to one to one operator going vigilantes is insane, but just insane that it might be real.

00:43:12
Speaker 3: It is just like one shots of him driving a van around everywhere.

00:43:16
Speaker 2: For some reason.

00:43:17
Speaker 1: It was the name and crime line which he decided to use, Gerald Hickson, which I didn't buy. We're gonna go Gerald Hickson, I don't think so, the detective looking for his sister, among other things.

00:43:27
Speaker 2: I am going Sheriff Country.

00:43:29
Speaker 4: As guests, So you're guessing sharriff.

00:43:31
Speaker 2: I'm going Sheriff Country.

00:43:32
Speaker 3: I'm gonna go FBI New Origins.

00:43:34
Speaker 2: Oh my, that's insane, you might do you know the answer?

00:43:38
Speaker 3: No, I don't know that.

00:43:38
Speaker 1: There's no way FBI New Origins is the answer. I don't know who is on a microphone back there. Maybe it's Quab, maybe it's Eric. Please tell us what is the answer.

00:43:49
Speaker 7: So we're gonna go with Greg's guest because Claybon sent me two separate audio files, a right answer and a wrong answer, so we'll go with We might just play both just so you can hear more.

00:43:57
Speaker 2: Patrick.

00:43:57
Speaker 7: So we'll go with Sheriff Country. Yes's answer, and here you go.

00:44:02
Speaker 8: Great job team. You're a crack team of investigators who not only pay attention to the game on the field, but the promotional materials that make football so much fun. Let's go if you see something, watch something, see you on Wednesday.

00:44:16
Speaker 7: And then, of course I mean again, just to get some more Patrick Claiborne on the show, Here's the Wrong file.

00:44:21
Speaker 8: Oh no, unfortunately that answer is incorrect. It's important to remember that despite the fast paced action of NFL football, as well as the demands of facilitating one of the top football podcasts on the planet, we still need to pay attention to the promotional materials to make football so much fun. Remember if you see something, watch something, see you on Wednesday.

00:44:45
Speaker 2: I love you, Patrick, You're a beauty.

00:44:48
Speaker 1: And I got to say, after getting just wiped out in my picks against Cynthia on this show against you Patrick on game debut, it all doesn't matter because I nailed this. I feel so good about myself after getting the Sheriff Country.

00:45:04
Speaker 2: I had no previous.

00:45:05
Speaker 4: Knowledge Sheriff Country. Like the internal struggle of what is it law? Motherhood and a pass that won't stay buried?

00:45:15
Speaker 2: You thought you thought you could get me Patrick that that makes me happier than almost anything that's happened to me today.

00:45:21
Speaker 1: So that says a lot about means. Let's talk about Thursday Night Football. What a week two? I know, Thursday Night Football game technically the first Thursday Night football game because the first game is counted as a kickoff and they let NBC do it because it's part of the television practice, you know, package, So it's not the first Thursday Night football game. And I think that's why they gave maybe the best, certainly one of the best games on the TNF schedule to Prime video. Right here, Commanders at Packers. The Packers are favored by three and a half, and we will have Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreet on the call. Man just start anywhere, but two of the most dominant teams in week one.

00:46:04
Speaker 2: I was just curious.

00:46:05
Speaker 1: I know, DVOA means absolutely almost nothing after week one, but I was like, I bet they'll be two of the hiring teams. They got to be, and they were. They were number one and number three. The Commanders were tops and the Packers were number three.

00:46:18
Speaker 2: I was surprised.

00:46:18
Speaker 1: The Commanders were so good, and then I realized, like that offense was incredibly efficient last week, and the defense did whatever they wanted.

00:46:25
Speaker 4: Well, it was incredibly efficient. They were a little loose at times. I'm really curious to see what this is going to look like against this Jeff Hafley Green Bay Packers defense that looked really, really good against the Detroit Lions to open the season this past week. Like you know, Jayde and Daniels, I have no doubt that this is just week one, getting you know, getting to the line of scrimmage, getting the you know, all the timing right, a couple of penalties, a couple overthrows especially, you know, he and Terry McLaurin are still kind of getting their feet under them as a connection, you know, after Terry missed so much a training camp. Deebo Samuel was used a lot, but this offense at times just a little bit. And yeah, Giants defense, the defensive front was was stout and all of that, but just looked a little bit just loose, and I don't expect we'll see that moving forward. I think this is when they really start to turn it on. This is when you start to see the commanders as the Commanders that we know them to be. But I am very curious to see what the strategy and what the plan is going to be for this Packers defense now featuring Micah Parsons. I don't know if you guys have heard the name recently.

00:47:27
Speaker 1: Right, I mean, it's a great test for the Commanders. But you know, watching that game back, I thought the Giants line played really well, and that just to me gives great credit to the Commanders, who ultimately, like were one of the most efficient running teams in the NFL. They had a million penalties and that's yeah.

00:47:49
Speaker 3: That's what I'm talking about. Just a little loose at times, but on.

00:47:52
Speaker 1: A per play basis, they just kept getting out of, you know, problematic situations. And Laramie Tunsel was awesome in that game. He really did a good job. Like it's the reason you sign him. Josh Connelly I thought was solid. I actually thought he competed really well, like in tough matchups like you're going against Dexter Lawrence. For the most part, they ran the ball, like how they ended up with over two hundred rushing yards, Like what more do you want there? And then for the most part, I thought Jayden Daniels was protected well, like the couple times that he got sacked, it felt like it was a little bit more of him, like being too far back in the pocket and said holding onto the ball. And he said that after the game, he said, two of the three sacks were on me and.

00:48:32
Speaker 3: Some of that it's Brian Burns.

00:48:33
Speaker 4: They were sort of in this like one on one battle at certain times during the you know, during a couple of these quarters where Brian Burns would get to him and then Jade and Daniels would flush out and then run by Brian Burns. And at one point he stared him down as he was running by him, after Brian Burns had gotten two sacks on him. And so I just think that this is like you know that was week one. It's sort of a flush out. Yes, this is when we're going to actually see the full powers of the commanders because, like I said again, Terry mcl was not super involved.

00:49:01
Speaker 3: He will be moving forward Deebo.

00:49:02
Speaker 4: The plan for Deebo, I think stays like this was a really solid, versatile, multiple plan for him. And then their run game looked great. Bill who was getting like Bill Ny the science guy. Chance you could hear over the broadcast, you know, and has like massive media scrumbs around his locker every day because the legend of Bill grows. It's a fun group. They're still doing everything that they did last year with the tight ends zach Ertz and John Baits, Zackertz being the red zone threat, John Bates being that sort of backside blocker and the run blocker that they need, you know, Greg, I actually also think though, so I thought Jordan Love played amazing. I thought he had an incredible game for the Packers against Detroit, and I am really interested to see what the Commander's defense looks like against a competent offense, because the Commander's defense looked really improved in every phase. Linebackers were already good, but in every phase upfront they looked bigger. They were stopping the run well. Giants could not move the.

00:50:01
Speaker 3: Ball at all.

00:50:02
Speaker 4: All pressure points of Russell Wilson's pocket were being affected, whether it's the interior, the exterior. They couldn't do anything. And yes, that's part of it. They were missing Andrew Thomas and it's the Giants and they just are struggling to be cohesive on offense.

00:50:16
Speaker 3: That's part of it.

00:50:17
Speaker 4: But this Commander's defense, like legitimately and truly looked like an improved group.

00:50:23
Speaker 1: I totally agree, and I think that is the bigger test, Like is the Washington defense that improved or was it just about the opposition because they just could not have had a better week one in terms of their offseason moves, which I questioned, like Javon Kinla had one of the best games I think of his entire career. Marshawn Lattimore, you know, he's going up against Malik Neighbors for a lot of that game, had a couple penalties, but he looked faster, he looked healthier.

00:50:45
Speaker 2: They've been talking about Jeremy Reeves.

00:50:47
Speaker 1: He's always been this great special teamer, now actually playing at safety. And you mentioned like the pass rush as a group I think was effective overall. But now they're going up against the Packers offensive line, which normally is great. But Zach Tom got hurt in that game. Aaron Banks, their big free agent signing, got hurt in that game when Tom was knocked out. They actually brought in Darien Canard, who they just signed or just traded for rather from Philadelphia instead of one of their young players, Anthony Belton, who got a couple snaps, but basically, you know, if you're counting on potentially two backups there for the Packers starting, that's at least on the table against this improved group. Von Miller was really the only one who was pretty quiet. But I think you made a great point that as a group, they really worked well and looked disciplined. And I think it's going to be a really big test because we just saw Dan Quinn coach up one of the most consistent defenses in the league three straight years before coaching up one of the worst defense in the league last year. So there is a lot of reason to believe that with this talent that they could be a lot better this year.

00:51:50
Speaker 4: Yeah, it looked like a part to whole defense like last year. I think where we got really excited, and I think rightfully so, is with the play of Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu. Those guys pop, and they were had to be by nature of how the defense was, but also they were all over the field and they really flashed, and Frankie Luvu was getting sent on every kind of pressure you could ever imagine and having to cover, and Bobby Wagner was getting sent on pressure and having to help stop the run because they couldn't do it up front. And so but this this looks more like like a functional, full picture of what it's supposed to look like when it's not necessarily like you have one position group that has to do everything. It's everybody has to do a piece of something. That's what this group looked way more like. And yes, again caveat week one, caveat Giants offense, but in terms of being where they needed to be, being, you know, rushing as one group, rushing as a part to hole, like I said, and playing the run as a part to hole, to me it looked really positive.

00:52:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, and obviously this will be a much bigger challenge than you mentioned. Jordan Love, and to me, we're kind of seeing the old Jordan Love in that game. And by old I mean like when you first came into the league.

00:52:57
Speaker 3: Well, on's back on quarterback Island.

00:52:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, where it's just a lot of great throws.

00:53:02
Speaker 1: That first touchdown to Tucker Craft there was such a little window there. Oh, it was such a good the bomb to Romeo Dobbs that Dobbs dropped, but it was an unreal throw that. The bomb to Jaden Reid was all fantastic, but ultimately like he didn't throw the ball that much. And he did almost gift wrap an interception on a play where he freaked out a little bit to Alex Angeloni and held onto the ball and he did literally throw a pick six which was a great play by Brian Branch and it was called back by penalty, but the penalty had nothing to do with the play. And so it's something I've tracked with him on PFF, especially like when he first came in the league, he had the highest percentage of big time throws, the highest percentage of turnover worthy plays. I thought last year he really rained both back in where we didn't see as many high highs or as many low lows. And this game was kind of back to being like gunslinger love and it'll be interesting to see that against this I think improved Commander's defense with Amos and Igbinoghany was making plays Like there's a lot of good players if you just add them up, they just didn't play well together last year.

00:54:06
Speaker 4: Yeah, Tom Brady, who could not say Igbinogany's last name. It's a tough one to save his life. But this is going to be interesting because I have to think that we see flashes of this obviously, and we certainly saw it last year too, But I think Matt Lafleur gets the tight ends a lot more involved with the linebackers in conflict, and I think you see more Matthew Gold in this game too, and some of those gadget types of things that really again stressed the second layer. The best players on the field still are those linebackers for the commanders, and so to put the guys who they're so you know, basically controlling traffic at any given point, to put them in conflict with a lot of motions, a lot of using different players out of their traditional position, putting them in sort of these hybrid roles. I think we're going to see a little bit more of that and we'll see how it goes. And on the other side, Jeff Haffley is starting to cook a little bit.

00:54:52
Speaker 1: I think, well he's got Edrian Cooper. I want you to talk about him in a second. But it's really interesting because I think people looked at that first Jayden and Daniels game and thought he was like a little off, like, you know, I missed a few throws by a little bit, and he.

00:55:06
Speaker 4: Did miss that's fair, but it's two touchdown. I'm not I'm the biggest Jade Daniels fan there is. He missed too what would have been touchdowns that he's going to hit at any other point in the season.

00:55:15
Speaker 1: Right and in one of them's Terry McLaurin, and like, he missed those throws. But I thought it was a good game from Jaden Daniels because I think you could already start to see which is crazy, the year one to two growth.

00:55:27
Speaker 2: The game just seems so slow for him.

00:55:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, our friend Ali Connelly was funny about like hunting matchups, and I really see it in the Lamar and Lamar is the right confer him ultimately in terms of like the way they're running their offense and the way the run I think sets up the rest of the running game, the way the run sets up the past. But when he is moving around, scrambling, trying to manipulate the defense to open up holes, the game is so slow for him, and he just seems so mature beyond his years that that that's really exciting. And that's the type of thing Jeff athlete can't really plan for no one can and that beats like good plans.

00:56:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, and it's gonna be really interesting because you do have obviously there's Michael Parsons, who we expect his his workload to increase a little bit. Dan Quinn says his plan would be if he were coaching Michael Parsons, to.

00:56:14
Speaker 3: Rest him, to sit him.

00:56:15
Speaker 4: So obviously a little you know, mindgate mind warfare there shooting across the across the country there. But I think that it's funny because like Jaden Daniels has no fear. I think Michael Parsons is going is a player. Obviously you circle on the defensive plan, but like he has no fear. I gotta I want people to go back and watch that play again where he racees Brian Burns around to the edge and then runs by him. He's staring him in the eyes like it was so like veteran quarterback, Like it was so I'm not afraid of you, even though you just took me down twice, Like it was such a cool play that you know, you have guys like Micah Parsons, you have Edrin Cooper, who is one of the best young players on that defense. In fact, Micah Parsons was telling the reporters in Green Bay that he drafted him in his IDP fantasy league. WHOA, yeah, my colleague Mat Schneideman captured some great sound and some great comments from Micah Parsons today because he said he edgenern Cooper scored thirty six points for him in IDP Fantasy. Because Micah Parsons like couldn't draft himself, so he's like looking for a player to draft and picks up Cooper And it's true. I mean, he's one of the bright young players on this defense. He's an outstanding player.

00:57:29
Speaker 3: You watch him.

00:57:30
Speaker 4: There's a play this last game where he sheds, he reads and sheds emotion like so perfectly to where he's helping force the play wide. They wanted to cut up field at a certain point and he helps force the entire play wide and it's all read and react and like shedding unnecessary like garbage shoot stuff that he doesn't that's trying to throw him off his timing and still making the play like it's he It's incredible. It's going to be so fun watching those two guys.

00:57:56
Speaker 2: Play together and how they help. You know, the people around on them.

00:58:00
Speaker 1: I think they can leave kway Walker in a more just like point and shoot type of role instead of asking him to do too much because Edrin Cooper is now doing more that now Lucas Fannas is finally rushing more from the interior, which which makes more sense in part because Parsons is there.

00:58:15
Speaker 2: It is all like really setting up.

00:58:16
Speaker 1: I think the matchup in the slot, if there's one guy to pick on with the Packers, it's probably their slot defender Jevon Bullard, And so that's the matchup with Deebo, who played a lot in the slot, or zach Ertz who still is getting it done. And man, Deebo's first week just made that look like Wow, as long as he stays healthy, which is a big if. The way they used him on like the deep overs and in real ways that I got to end around. I think they kind of said stop doing in Kyle, you know, with in San Francisco a little bit, they'd stopped having him be a real wide receiver and they used them both ways. I think Cliff had a couple special running plays with Daniels and Debo in the red zone that we're exciting. This is gonna be an awesome game three and a half points. You picked Thursday night or Friday night rather really well. Last week you picked the Chargers to upset the Chiefs. So who do you got this time?

00:59:06
Speaker 3: I got the Packers this time?

00:59:07
Speaker 2: I do as well.

00:59:08
Speaker 1: Although I would, you know, if I was into that sort of thing, and I can't be because I work for the NFL, I would what I call thread the needle, which is I would still take the Commander three and a half points at this point in the season where I think these are two good teams and we don't know that much about either one of them, I would just take free points, and I would take the free points, but I would take the Packers to win. Fun see you next Tuesday show. I know the trick is, though I won't see you next Tuesday, I'll see you tomorrow Wednesday, and then i'll see you Sunday.

00:59:38
Speaker 3: And yeah, you haven't gotten sick of me yet, Greg, just a little.

00:59:42
Speaker 2: Not at all.

00:59:43
Speaker 1: The show is just peaking because we have Jordan Rodrigue and her Harold fan in season. You know, good omen for this podcast. She's just dominating in a variety of roles. Just something to keep an eye on Tomorrow. We love the previous show, our favor show of the week at least for me, and we wanted to expand it really and be able to talk about every team even more. So you'll see that in your feed tomorrow in a couple shows, but you will get every single team covered, every single game and even more preview action.

01:00:16
Speaker 2: So we are really excited about that.

01:00:18
Speaker 1: And you can also check us out of course on YouTube and the NFL channel, Fast channel, free over whatever it is television.

01:00:28
Speaker 2: That's it. I need to go to sleep, No, we need to get ready for the previous show.

01:00:32
Speaker 3: Omen season is over, Open season.

01:00:34
Speaker 1: Is over, but football is back. We were I was gonna stop saying that, but you said me