Big Red Rage - A Big Road Test In Cleveland

and buy Arizona Cardinals podcasts. Visit Hacy Cardinals dot com, Slash podcasts, The Rods Rising Guard, Temperaturizing vision, flurring, rage taking over. Here's Paul kelvc. Get the popcorn ready, It's gonna be a show, and Ron will fleep. It doesn't get any better than that. Hors unleash the far Well. We already have bad news from Thursday Night Football Round. Wolfley zach Ertz scored early touchdown catch by zach Ertz, and the price just went up. You got a fantasy team, Paul, No, no, no,

there's no fantasy. I'm talking about Steve Kahn. I'm talking about Steve Kahn making a trade for zach Ertz. And you know, the price keeps going up when zach Ertz keep making he keeps making plays and getting into the end zone for the Philadelphia Eagles. Paul I did not hear that story that Steve Khin was all over zach ERT's interesting. You just speculating. Okay, there you go, Yeah, like I was doing in August when you know, I

thought maybe that might go down in August. Well, you know what, here in October there might really be a reason here on the big Red rage Paul KELVC and one birthday, boy, you stop it, please stop it. Wolf. I mean your whole Twitter feed is littered with thank you bro, happy birthdays here and there. I mean, so you know you you've made it very public Wolf with birthday. Paul, I did not do anything, and you know it. You know, look at me, look at me. How are you doing

here on your birthday? You know what? Polly, I'm doing okay right now, a little hungry as you would imagine, right. I mean, it is the dinner hour right now, and it is my birthday, and therefore we will have a birthday dinner or when I get done. And Polly, I believe there's going to be some gumbo. I believe there's going to be some jumbalaya and Polly, it's not gonna surprise you, but there's going to be some dirty rice. Once upon a time you left the az for Cleveland

and never came back. The Arizona Cardinals are going to Cleveland this weekend, and we'll talk to a guy here momentarily who's definitely put down a birthday dinner or three. Zach Allen, all two hundred eighty five pounds of him. What a game he had against those forty nine ers. Ron Wolfully, what did you learn about your Arizona Cardinals and that victory against the forty nine ers. I heard one network analis say I didn't know the Arizona Cardinals

could win ugly. Yes, you know what. That was my thought, Paul right there, the resiliency that they showed, the Arizona Cardinals won a game of toughness. For me right now, I will tell you, PAULI, this was my favorite victory over the forty nine ers. It was for a couple of reasons. Granted, I mean, I know a lot of people are going to look at the Rams and say, oh, come on, Wolf, they beat the best team in the

league at the time. The Rams were considered to be the best team in the National Football League, and they went out and thrashed them and Sofi Stadium. And for me, I will tell you right now, Yeah that was that was a great win, no doubt about it. But they played so well in all three phases, offensively, defensively, and in transition with special teams. To me against the forty nine ers, another division foe, against the forty nine ers, where you didn't play well, how do you how do

you do? Then do you go out and still find a way to win a game? The Cardinals struggled, They fought themselves in that game, and yet somehow, some way they found just enough enough to make plays and win the game. Yeah, the Niners, with a rookie quarterback making his first ever NFL start, actually had more total yards than the Arizona Cardinals. And it's not just us using that four letter word. Here's Kyler Murray after the win. You're not going to score thirty every weekend, but you know,

we got to win. You know, it was tough to watch, but it's it's, you guess, a good thing. You know, there's a lot to look forward to, a lot that we could have been better at I don't look at as a negative so much. And you know, obviously after the gaming feels like that, but when you watch it and go back and look at it, there's a lot of things to be excited about because we can be so much better. And he used the word ugly at different times in that press conference, and look, you're five

and over the first time since nineteen seventy four. There's nothing ugly about that, we get it. But but well, any hallmark of any winning team in any sport, it's different names at different times in different ways. Yeah, this was a different way to win a game. No longer can you shut down the Cardinals for examples, shut down a d hop and have no other options. We've seen that earlier. In this case, you saw a Cardinals team that struggled on offense. But guess what, the defense came

out and gave up a single touchdown. Do you realize that's the first time in over two years the San Francisco forty nine ers seven held to ten points or fewer. So for all the backup quarterbacks that Kyle Shannon and has used in all the fifth and six string running backs, he always finds a way to put a lot of points on the board. Yeah against the Cardinals. No, you're right about that, Paul, But I have to tell you right now to listen. Do you need your best players

to play their best when it matters the most? And I am sorry, I'm going to go back to the midway actually halfway through the fourth quarter where the Arizona Cardinals took over the ball and suddenly it was the Kyler Murray Deondre Hopkin show. Yep, right, PAULI I mean these guys, would you say those are big names, Paul in the National Football League winning doubt? Just throw it

up right, exactly right. They started to make plays, Paulie when it mattered the most, and suddenly back to back plays by Kyler Murray and d hop and suddenly you had a critical game winning touchdown. Cardinals get to win, but they lose their starting center Rodney Hudson. He exited that game in the second half with a rib injury and he is going to be out for this week. So those are some big shoes to fill in. Fact, here's Cliff Kingsbury talking about Max Garcia. Guess what year up? Yeah?

Really proud of Max stepping in there. I don't know if it's filesil of Phil Rodney's shoes, He's brings so much to the table. But Max, you know, last week played great, stepped in this week and really helped us win that game. There you go, Cliff Kingsbury after the game. If you go to Acy Cardinals dot com, you can read a story boy Darren Urban is really insightful and just how close Max Scarcia was to quitting the game after that torn Aco when he played for Vance Joseph

in Denver. And but he is back. And I tell you what, Wolf, based on how he filled in earlier in the season and then what I saw in the second happ against the nine Ers, He's not gonna have the acumen of a Rodney Hudson or the experience at center of a Mandess. He bring an edge, he plays with some nasty yeah, and so at least they have that up front and with the rest of the old line around him. And then Kyler Murray's you know, elusiveness. We'll see how that goes against Cleveland and what is

a very stout defensive front. Yeah, Paul, it really is. I mean, this is the strength of this football team, that being the Cleveland Browns, their defensive line. Boy, does that sound familiar? Does it? It? Based on the forty nine ers and just going through the forty nine ers game and what the forty nine ers bring to the table with that defense, in particular their defensive line, Paully, that's the strength of that team and it sets the tone for the forty nine ers as well, especially when

they have a rookie quarterback out there competing. The Cleveland Browns are exactly the same way. Oh my goodness, Polly, you look at this defense and it's very very sore. A four three scheme, just like the San Francisco forty nine ers. A lot of cover three principles, close the middle of the field, play three deep four underneath rush four. They don't think, they don't feel like they need to bring a ton of guys after you. Very much like

the San Francisco forty nine ers. Once again, and it will be no surprise to you, Paul, that Joe Woods. Joe Woods a defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, coached under Robert Sala in twenty nineteen as the dB coach and passing game coordinator. Defensive passing game coordinator for the

Cleveland Browns under Robert Sell in twenty nineteen. Do you think he picked up the phone and actually had a conversation with the forty nine Ers coaching staff on what they did defensively to Kyler Murray, say yes, Paul, because he did trust me on that and we know you'll see it till you beat it. So yeah, there's gonna

be a lot of the same principles. And look, it was a Cleveland team that led twenty seven thirteen, and then they got decimated on defense, especially their cornerback position group, go down to their fourth and fifth string corners, and they got torched by Justin Herbert and the Chargers in

that fourth quarter. As it, Chargers put up twenty six points in the fourth quarter, and the Browns ended up losing forty seven forty two, and the first team in NFL history, by the way, to lose a game when you scored forty plus you had more than five hundred total yards of offense zero turnovers. That stat is now four hundred one and one. The Browns the first team

to lose in that fashion. And we'll do yourself a favor, don't look at the injury re port for either side in this game, because you might lose your appetite for your first day dinner. No, you're right about that, Paulie. But trust me on this. The best defense for the Arizona Cardinals will be their offense. Zach Allen, speaking of defense, is next on the big red rage presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert fourth and goal on the one eleven thirty four to go on a half seven nothing Cardinals

for now, Lance and the pistol Mitchell behind him. The Lance comes under center, takes the snaff roll to the right, Lance running being chased by Chandler Jones. Lance hit at the goal line and he did not get in. Oh what a hit by Isaiah Simmons. A huge collision at the goal line. Bodies are everywhere, but the forty nine Ers aren't in the end zone. The Cardinals take over on downs. Again, sometimes you're the pinata, it's sometimes you're the stick. And I believe right now Trey Lance is

leaking candy from his shoulder. Pats. That's a great call right there on a great play, maybe the key play in that game that Cardinals win seventeen ten against the forty nine Ers, not once, not twice, five different times the Niners went for it on four down. They only made it once, and that is the first time in forty plus years in the NFL that team has generated four stops on fourth downs in one game. So when Cliff Kingsbury said after the game, I've never seen that before,

well that's why. And you heard the reaction from Passion wolf Ron Wolfiere's truly Paul Kelbc So wol if you want to play NFL football and make the big bucks, Yeah, that's why those guys get paid that big cash, because you know what, sometimes there's a big price to pay in playing the game. Yeah, that was awesome right there, Polly, especially at fourth and one right there where the rookie Tray Lance got lit up. I mean just watching Tanner Vallejo and it was really Isaiah Simmons at the bottom

of it. Tanner Vallejo was definitely right in the mix of it, right in the middle of it as well. But that collision. I could actually hear that collision up in the booth, Paul Wham. It was stunning. But Poli, I have to go back to third and one, go back to the play that was before that, that fourth and one that everyone saw Trey Lance, Isaiah Simmons here, huge collision right there. Go back to the play before that.

On third and one, the forty nine ers got into the I formation and they tried to run the sprint pass to the left of what was now listen, it was ninety nine, but they tried to run the sprint pass to the left where the full back goes out in the flat. Kyle Uscheck runs at the end man in the line of scrimmage, who was Marcus Golden, and then tries to slip by him and get the flat.

The tight end runs the corner. I'm telling you right now it was Marcus Golden who foiled the third and one because he cammered Kyle Uscheck, totally hammered him, and then suddenly he was out in the flat and that's where JJ Watt actually got the pressure on him. It was the third and one that set up the fourth and one. Paul Well, that was an unbelievable sequence for the Cardinals. D if Trey lance headn't had his Welcome

to the NFL moment yet, that was definitely it. As we say welcome to the Big Red rage to Zach Allen who joins us out and h Zach, you tell us. Where were you on that fourth down stop, Isaiah Simmons, Tanner, Valley Hill, Chandler Jones coming in there all to clean up, and deny Trey Lance at the goal line? Were actually on the field or do you have a front row seat on the white stripe? No, I was, I had a front row seat. I was we were in goal line,

U personnel and h the minute that play happened. I mean, you definitely could feel the whole energy of the game change on the sideline, on the field, and it really was a special play, Zach. That's the great thing about the game of football, isn't it. You can feel momentum and that was a huge momentum shift right there. Oh yeah,

I mean there's no question about it. I mean, that whole game it was you know, I think once it always seemed like that play kind of, you know, gave us this like, you know, belief that no matter what, you know, we're gonna we can hold our own and especially when you can do that against a division rival's uh, it's it's it's huge for just that game, but I think for the rest of the season, you know, I asked your defensive coordinator, Vanced Joseph today about the Niners

going forward on fourth down five times. He said, you know what, I wasn't really surprised. I wasn't shocked, but he was adamant that he has the advantage in those situations that, in his words, he can do more on his play sheet to stop it than opposing offenses can do to execute it and get those short yardage situations. What do you think about that? And you could tell he sort of stood up in his seat a little bit. I mean, when a team's going forward on fourth down,

you guys take that all personal, don't you. On defense? Yeah, especially from you know, a fourth and one, fourth and two, you kind of understand. And you know, also I think they were running those more kind of midfielder in the red zone area. But when you're doing a fourth and five, yeah, you definitely take that personally. And I don't care what the analytics said. You know, as a defense, you know, it's we expect to win those, and yeah, luckily we did.

Zach talked to us about how the Sea Reason is going for you personally, not talking about the team, of course, I'm talking about you personally. How's this season going? Yeah, I think, uh, you know, obviously not being injured for the preseason games it didn't help. Uh So I feel like I kind of use those first three games as kind of kind of like my preseason hum you know,

Tennessee kind of got my feet under me. And obviously it's it's you're lucky to get your feet under you when you're when you go three, you know, and it's not like, you know, you're losing games and trying to you know, scramble figure it out. Um. And then uh yeah, I think it really started to kind of click. And Jacksonville made a couple of plays but a little inconsistent,

and then I think it clicked with the rams. I mean, statistically it doesn't look so I felt from like a technique standpoint and just uh, you know, like my pass rushes I was I was definitely doing you know, good things and you know the run that was going away from me, but I felt like, you know, I was playing the blocks and know those scoop blogs are probably the hardest for a three technique. I was playing them as well as you know I ever have and as

well as you can really. But I felt like after that game, I was like, Okay, now that I got you know, I figured it out. I want to definitely, you know, work on finishing. So that was a big emphasis of mine last week, and I think it kind of obviously this pass game versus the forty nine ers, I think, you know, I approved on that, but I

still think there's a still more table. And obviously when you played with great players like J. J. Chandler, Marcus Corey, Rashard Lecky, you know it's uh, you're going to have opportunities to have one on ones and it's your job to win those. So well, you ended up with a sack,

five tackles, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit. Of course, we all remember your game against Eagles Week fifteen a year ago where you had a lemon tackles six solo, a sack, one and a half tackles for loss of QB hit the past defense, How do those two rank, I mean in your power poll of NFL performances, those have to be one two, right, Yeah? I think statistically definitely, yeah, I definitely was. You know, those are probably two of

the ones that I remember. And I think also this one, I think, you know, it's pretty special for me just because it's against a division opponent and going against a great player like Trent Williams. You know, I think that that definitely, you know, gave me some more confidence that you know, I've blogged in this league and you know, uh, knock on what I can do it for a long time. You know, you guys are number six and points allowed,

number six, giving up nineteen points a game. Talk to me a little bit about your defense and what you guys are doing well as a defense right now? What are the common denominators in these five games that you guys have played. Where are you playing well? Zach? Yeah?

I think the big thing for us defensively is you know, this is year three with under Vance and then for a lot of us, I mean obviously you know there's been you know, when you get a guy like j. J. Watt, but he's really I mean, if you look defensively besides him and hang on here, we might have lost him. Might have lost him hanging right on it bar. You

know what though, that's something we don't site enough. This is year three under vanced Joseph, and yeah, there's some there are some newcomers, but there are also some young guys who are in year two of the system. Who are definitely part of the rotation. So there's no longer a learning curve. I mean JJ Watt, who was in a very similar system with Vance Joseph in Houston, he's able to come right in. I mean he's j J

Watt for Pete's sake. But Zach, like you were saying, there's no longer that learning curve, right, I mean, guys are just fully immersed in Vj's system. Yeah, and also too, I think that we've all been around each other. There's definitely a big time accountability factor where I think guys aren't afraid to call people out for messing up or making mistakes. It's you know, we have a job to do and we're going to do it to the highest ability.

And you know, we were saying from the beginning of OTA's you know, super Bowl or buzz and I think guys genuinely believe that, especially when you looked at the guys that were in that meeting room, and it hasn't wavered. And you know, even though we are doing well and we've won all of our games, you know, I think we've done a great job of focusing on the next week.

But last year and my rookie year, it seemed like when we won games, it was like the end all be all, like, you know, like it was as if we won the super Bowl, because we weren't used to used to that position. But now there definitely is a different standard and different expectations and very it's really business like. But also, I mean, this is the most fun that

I met you. If you ask anybody on our defense that these guys have had playing playing defense, I mean it's we have a great group of guys and the camaraderies as close as it can be, so um, it really is a special thing, Zach. For me, just listening to you talk, you use the a word accountability, And I know that there are people that are listening right now and they hear they hear that word thrown around a lot. Accountability. You know, it's part of your culture,

end and accountability. Can you put into words what that really looks like and what that really means for people that are listening right now, what that accountability means, and just how important it truly is inside that locker room. Yeah, I think, Uh, you know, the way I knew that we had accountability and the way that I knew that we were going to be special? Is where at seeing by guys say they you know it was. It wasn't like I'm playing football, you know, for money or to

get these great stats. It was, you know, our defensive linement. We're playing because I want, you know, to keep offensive linement off my linebackers. If you know Jordan Hicks doesn't get touched by an offensive linement today, that's I know I did my job well and if I mess up, I expect not to just get you that by Jordan, but I want to hold you a lot like you should be. Its almost as like you know, you're ashamed

and you're disappointed in yourself. Yes, I think we do a guys definitely understand what the standard is and we want to hold it. Doesn't matter, you know, if you're a starter or not. You want to definitely, you know, just keep it going. And I think that's what's been great. You know. I think we have a lot of depths and a lot of guys who understand that, and that's why we can play so many different people and so many different paths. So it definitely is a very special group.

It's amazing. We heard it after the win in Tennessee when Christian Kirk said, yeah, we're not letting stuff slide this year. We're policing that internally in the locker room. We've heard it every single week. We just heard it from you. We heard it from DJ Humphreys two days ago when he said, you know what, this team reminds me of my rookie year twenty fifteen, the team that went to the NFC Championship where guys weren't afraid to walk up on each other and tell him, look, you're

doing this wrong. We need more out of you here. It's that ability of the locker room to take care of itself. So that is astounding to keep hearing that. There's no doubt that's definitely rippling behind the scenes stuff we don't see. What we do see, Zach, is the fact that Cleveland Browns lead the NFL on the following categories total rush yards yards per game, rushing yards per carry, rushing touchdowns, rushing first downs, and explulsive runs as well.

In fact, here's Vance Joseph on that Cleveland run game. To beat this team is to contain the run game. I think their first, you know, with one eighty five a game, their first and carries their first in attempts their first and explosive runs. They first in every run category in the league right now, and it's it's fun to watch because it's it's it's old school football. Burns the clock and officer with our offense, his goals should be to burn the clock and keep Kyler off the field.

How different is this going to be versus a Sean McVeigh and a Kyle Shanahan. This old school football that Advance calls it. Yeah, I think it's old school just in the sense that the like the personnels I think they do. They do a lot of like three tight ends on the field or two tight ends too, like two backs, um, which and then you know they're they got there's they're tight ends and their backs. There's such great athletes that you can make it look like you know,

a ten personnel or eleven personnel look. So I think that's going to definitely be a challenge. I think, Um, the run game, honestly, it all kind of it seems like a lot of the NFL run game kind of comes from the Shanahan coaching trees. So, um, it's you know, it's kind of similar to what we have seen obviously, you know, every team's got different things, but um, you know,

I think we've we've got a really good plan. I think, you know, we've had a really good week of practice and guys are definitely coming in and working hard and understanding it. And it's I'm excited to get get to work. And you know, I hope that you know, it's pouring in Cleveland. I hope it's cold. I hope you know the wind off the rivers. You know, I wanted to you know, I need a good old fashioned you know,

gritty gritty. You know, there's West Coast. You know. I love the weather, but I definitely getting spoiled because I'm wearing sweatshirts and degrees out here and I'm from Connecticut in Boston. So yeah, Zach, I sure you can handle it. You better be careful what you wish for. I mean, your blood's much thinner when and when you were at

Boston College. Now, Zach, you sure about this? Yeah, Luckily practiced at like seven thirty in the morning when it's the coldest, and so we'll be getting a little bit of work in. But I doubt it's, you know, anything like what it could be. There so many more questions for you, Zach, thank you for hanging around. We really do appreciate it right there. But Paula, I will tell you right now one of those questions is just how often Baker Mayfield is under center? And I'll tell you what.

We will get a question and answer on the sack dance as well. Okay, single game tickets are on sale now. Go to easy Cardinals dot com Slash game ticks. That's easy Cardinals dot com Slash Game t I X. I can't believe I forgot to ask J. J. Watt how a sack dance i'm me received in the d line room today. So we as Zach Allen next on the big red rage presented by Santan four in Gilbert second down in sixteen on the Arizona forty three receiver set two to the right, Sean Gun snap lands to throw

from the pocket. Now steps up, gets hit by Zack Gallen and sack at the forty six yard line. Big number ninety four has made a couple of plays here today, the loss of them on six. Well, I have no idea what kind of sack dance it was doing right there, but I really don't care. Zach Allen comes inside underneath the Glitchia get the sack sack dance? Does it have a name? Was it premeditated? Was it in the moment? How spontaneous was it? Please explain? Now, I'm a white boy,

so I gotta keep it within the frame. So for me, you know, I just try to do that. I've been doing that since BC. You know where that got a beautiful girlfriend. So I'm gonna keep on doing it all right, there you go. That was moments after the game after Zach Gallen's big game in the big win against the forty nine ers. Zach Allen is our guest wolf here on the Big Red Rage and by satan Ford and Gilbert see, Wolf is your sideline reporter. I'm a full

service guy, you wondered on the air. So we asked after the game, Zach Allen's here in person if you want to ask him about it, like, for example, how is your sack dance received in the defensive meeting rooms? Like, uh say, compared to like Dennis Gardak and a couple of a couple of sack dances he busted out last year that had us all wondering what exactly we were looking at. Yeah, I mean it's it's got mixed reactions.

I'll say it's like fifty to fifty. Like I know, like Isaiah Simmons and uh Byron Murphy they absolutely love it, so obviously you know, I got there there in my corner. But uh JJ and uh coach Bucky, they are strongly against it and they're not afraid to what that opinion. So, um, you know, it's kind of like that Will Ferrell quote. You know, it keeps the people going, it's provocative, so um you know, I think I think I'm gonna ride

with it. I don't know, we'll see what happened. I'm just more focused on getting the sacks and then uh you know, we'll see what happens in the heat of the moment. You know, Zack, maybe it's that old saint. If it's too loud, you're too old. So see the younger guys dig it. It's the older guys who don't like it. Yeah, I know. I've been reminding JJ every single day that you know, he's uh, he's closer to

forty than he is to twenty. So um yeah, I think, uh yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna stick with Murph and uh and Isaiah on that one I had. I just cracked up when you said you had to keep it in the frame. Man, I love that. Um. Listen, what why do you think think about the Cleveland Brons right now? Think about their offense. Why do you think they put Baker Mayfield under center and run down situations as much

as they do well. I think anytime you can put the quarterback under center, I mean it always there's always a level of uncertainty. I think when a quarterbacks and shotgun on the ball, you know, if they're going to run the ball, you can only really go one way. It can really only go, you know, opposite of the running back. So I think defense is now become smart and they start to play for that. I mean, there's only so much same side running out of shotgun that

you can do. But when the your quarterbacks in their center, I mean it's a lot of teams. I mean, if you look at like a tendency chart, it's pretty much fifty fifty. You know left, right, or you know wherever it's going to go. So it definitely is an effective tool. And I think that was the biggest adjustment for me and coming from college. Who's in college. Everything's from shotgun because everybody wants to either air it out or run the read option. But in the NFL, I mean, it's

a completely different run game. So I think for young d linement, it definitely takes you know, a couple of years to truly understand it compared to you know, you see, you know, skill players that kind of hit hit the ground running more often compared to you know, offensive and defensive alignement. Interesting speaking alignment, they are really banged up on their offensive line. They're likely to be missing their two starting tackles. They're starting center. JC Tredder hasn't practice all.

That's sort of the norm. He tends to play even without practicing. What does that mean for you guys if you're seeing a whole collection of backups? Yeah, I mean it really you kind of treat it the same way. Um, I mean we look more at the scheme. I mean I feel like, uh, you know, all offensive linemen in this in this league, there's a reason why you know they're they're in the NFL. They can you know, they

they can block. So for us, we're more looking at the scheme and we're going to give them the respect. I mean, obviously, if you look at the numbers. As you mentioned before, I mean, the rushing attack is very dangerous and it doesn't really matter who's there. Um, you know, we we got to respect them and we got to play very focused or else you know, they can embarrass us. So that's kind of the mindset that we're taking right now.

I know that Nick Chubb did not play practice today, and I know that Kareem Hunt did not practice today either. But I'll ask you this, what's harder to tackle Nick Chubb or a fire hydrant? Uh? You know you could. There's a good case to make for a fire hydrant

or for Nick Chubb. So you know, he uh, we were there's times when you're watching the tape and you know you're just seeing him just carry three four people and you're just you know, you're dying laugh and because it's just like, you know, that's just you know, that's just a special gift that you know he has. I mean, it's you really can't coach that. So um, there's a reason why, you know, I think people consider him a top three, top five back in the NFL, and Dream

Hunts right up there with him. So um, the fact that they have two guys of that of that caliber is is ridiculous. Um, it's definitely going to be a challenge,

but yeah, they they both are, you know, terrific backs. Well, look when this game came out, everyone circled a Buddha, you know, uh Buddha Baker was talking about with us on the schedule release show here on the Big Red Rage, right, and and there's a game within the game the two Heisman winners who used to share a quarterback room in Oklahoma, of course, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield. And uh, here was Buddha when the schedule came out earlier this offseason.

And what he had to say here on the Big Red Rage. Yeah, Baker Mayfield a guy who's definitely has showed up and showed who Baker Mayfield can be. And he's a great qbad I'm definitely excited to go against him too. I never played in Cleveland, so you know, yeah, thank goodness it's mid October. I actually played there two years ninety three, Okay, but before I was born, your brutal kist. Yeah, I'm not gonna take the blame on that wall. If our producer Jim Alma Hunter felt the

need on your birthday to bust out that cut. By the way, no foolan, just why don't you have a sumo wrestler kick me right in a cradle? But tell us about Baker and what he looks like and what you have to worry about what Baker mayfield, because he will pull it and run it if needed. Right. Yeah, he's definitely a dual threat. Um. I think you know, some people, if you watch the tape, I don't think people really give him enough to do. But he definitely

is a good athlete. Um, definitely. You know, has a very strong arm, and you know, he really kind of gets that whole offense going. You can tell that they rally behind him. You know, obviously Heisman winner. He has this just confidence and whoever plays with him, uh, you know, definitely, Uh, you know they kind of feed off of that too. I remember even just watching him in college and the NFL. I mean, he's like the you definitely want him on

your team, like he's like the perfect teammate. But like for like an opponent, like they just hate they're just like, oh, you know, because it's just the way he rallies the troops. So it's definitely gonna be difficult to play him, but uh, you know, I think you know, we're we're excited for the challenge. And yeah, I didn't even you know, put two and two together when we were playing it to two Heisman's from Oklahoma back to back years because I kept on walking into the meal room. I was looking

on the TV. I'm like, Wow, they're really talking a lot about this Cardinals Browns game. I'm like, you know what the you know on ESPN, NFL network, It's all over the place. And I was like, oh, when I think Tyler was a teas in a Baker, I was like, Okay,

now I get it. Now there's gonna be a lot of drama in the Heisman house if you've seen the commercial, right, because Kyler and Baker were rooming together because Barry Sanders wanted out of Baker's room, the whole thing, you know, and look, don't forget for real though, for real in twenty nineteen, obviously there was a matchup. Obviously Kyler beat Baker, So you gotta figures he's seething and has been looking forward to the rematch because this is what went down

after the Cardinal's victory out on the field. Go yeah, give me that one. You're gonna You're not gonna got to hand it. You're gonna have to do it. You gotta eat this one. It's all good. Braggar eyes. Bro. That was the jersey swap between its former teammates out of Midfield Wolf. That was great right there. It really was to see that. I mean, it just shows you the affection these guys have for each other. When you say that still hate you, you know, I mean, honestly,

what that is is I love you. Of course, That's what it comes down to. It's so cool. It's one of the best things about the locker room and what the locker room is all about. And Zach you know all about that. Oh yeah. I mean, I think my favorite matchups this year when I get to go against old college teammates and you know, I've already was able to play against Harold Landry, who is one of my good friends in Tennessee. And the fact that we won and won the way we did. Uh definitely, Uh, you

know I can. I'm gonna use that every time I see him. By the way, I was gonna say, Corey Peters Kentucky team is six and ozho and like the highest ranking in like a hundred years. Is he insufferable in the d line room right now? How much are

you hearing about his alma mater, Corey Peters in Kentucky. Oh, we we've been hyping up Kentucky just to get Richard Laurens angry, especially after last week, and uh yeah, it's uh, you know whenever Rochard gets angry and see it because he was talking about, oh, we're gonna go ten and three, you know, da done, and they're like, Okay, yeah, you guys might not win a game the rest of the year, and you know, for UK to embarrass them, I mean, we're we're trying to get Richard to wear that Kentucky

blue sometime this week. So it's it's going to happen, I think, so expect the picture relatively soon. But yeah, they got a tough one against Georgia this week, so I don't know how well that's gonna go, but we'll see. Yeah, Polly, never forget the law of the locker rope, Paully, the guys that you love, you just rip them every day all day. You can't rip them enough. The guys that thought that you love, the guys that you don't really

get along with, just kind of leave them alone. Paul. Yeah, by the way, J. J. Watt's been in a bad mood for like two or three weeks. And it's a good thing, this bad mood, I believe, Zach, because man, it's even unstoppable. So you know what, I'm looking forward to him keeping that up, having that edge. That's been good. The two of you are quite a tandem against the forty nine ers, and yeah, you're gonna have your hands full in Cleveland based on this top rank rushing attack.

So all the best, and Zach, we always love having you on. Thanks for the time. Yeah, of course, thank you for having me. Thank you, Zach. All the best of the dog as well. I know the dog's looking forward to when you know, you get home every evening. So there you go, and we continue with the Big

Grace presented by Santan bord In. Gilbert hurry back to throw on second and nine in trouble, moves to his left, being chased by Bosa, now throws it deep across the field near side sho falling fu by Hopkins at the tent and tackled at the nine yard line. Kyler Murray threw that ball outside the numbers on the far side to the near sideline. Five twenty to go, Cardinals lead ten to seven. Can they put them away? Can they

get a touchdown? Snap the kyler, he throws a fade left side in the end zone and in his conferd up down by de hop Dee hop hought it with Josh Norman draped all over him trying to pull the ball away. What a great church by the Andrey Hopkins broke the sickles out on the fade and stamped the pig up the air and brought it in man. At some point, when you got dudes who are just better than the other team, that's enough. Yeah, the D and D hop standing for dominant and in that case, deciding

touchdown that was the winning margin. Seventeen ten Cardinals get

to win against the forty nine ers. What Cliff Kingsbury say after the game, there's sometimes where you just throw away the playsheet and the best play is just your quarterback to your best player on offense, and that would be DeAndre Hopkins in that sequence right there, the big jump ball catch and then the back shoulder were wrestled it away from Josh Norman and six grabs eighty seven yards and he passes Larry fits Joel by the way for most receptions ever in NFL history by a player

before the age of thirty. DeAndre Hopkins. Wow, yeah, how about that. As we were talking earlier, Paul, he was a great thing to actually see those two guys, in particular, those two offensive players, Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins take this game over and just start making plays, plays that matter, plays that actually allowed them to win the game. And think about it, they took over the ball. Then after that touchdown, with four minutes and twelve seconds to play,

they ended up with two first downs. They ended the game that four minute offense. Kyler twenty two at thirty one. He leads the NFL right now in completion percentage seventy five plus. And he's just doing those little things, you know, and we've talked about it. And then this week on the Pash Pod, did you catch GM Steve Kim talking to Dave Pash about where he's seen the most growth from Kyler Murray. He's done a fantastic job, in my opinion, growing in a lot of different areas. Two things pre

snap and post snap. The things he can do with his eyes. You start to see him manipulating safeties and defenders where he can look off and locate secondary and third options, whereas before it might have been one, two and in run about that. That's from episode twelve of The Day Pash Podcast featuring the Cardinals GM Steve Kim. It's available now wherever you get your podcasts. Philis updates on The Day Pash podcast fall along on Twitter at

pash pod. Your Reaction Wolf. You know, Paula. Obviously, we've been talking about Kyler Murray in the development of Kyler Murray and how he's beating teams with his brain now, and that really is what Steve Kim is talking about.

I believe right there. But I will tell you right now, the Arizona Cardinals offense, the best defense the Cardinals might have is their offense this week in Cleveland, because Polly, I'm telling you right now, the Cleveland Browns are gonna line up number one rushing offense in terms of everything you could possibly imagine everything Bali in terms of running the football. Their number one in rushing yards per game and number one in rushing yards per play, and a

whole lot more than that. And if you put the tape on and watch him. This is the best offensive line in my opinion, they're run blocking offensive line, the best run blocking offensive line in the league. They're gonna line up and they're gonna hammer the ball. The Arizona Cardinals have really struggled at times to stop the run. Now I realize in the first game of the season against the Titans and Derrick Henry, they rose up to the challenge and shut them down. But listen, the best

thing that Cardinals can do is score points. Score points, Paully with that offense right now, get a two possession lead in the second half, and try to force the Cleveland Browns to be one dimensional where they throw the ball. With Baker Mayfield, you stick him in a three dimensional offense where you can run it, throw it, and use play action. Now, all of a sudden, they're a different offense, Paul.

So to me, if the Arizona Cardinals offense can somehow some way post some points on this very good Cleveland Browns defense man, that would go a long way to actually helping out the Arizona Cardinals defense. Defend the Browns. Yeah, because the Browns passing game, it is nothing to write home about. Obj their number one receiver Odell Beckham Junior has nine catches on nineteen targets. That chemistry just doesn't exist between the quarterback and the number one receivers. So

think about it. If you're Cleveland's offense, just flip it. What's the best thing you want to do. You want to run the ball, you want to control the clock, you want to keep Kyler Murray off the field. Yes, so you can flip that. Now, let me ask you this question when it comes to the Cardinals defense, because you're right, the Browns are number one in every single rushing category. Don't make me list them again because there's at least a half dozen of us just brutal. So

think about this, though. The Cardinals defensively twenty eighth overall in rushing yards allowed, Yes, thirty first in yards per carry allowed. Yes, Yet they're surviving on their third down fourth down percentage, which is around thirty one percent. All right, They've been stellar in those money situations. They're number three in the NFL in takeaways and force fumbles their number one. So what is this sustainable? A Cardinals defense that's the

number six scoring defense despite being lackluster against the run. Yes, Polly I do believe that it is as long as the offense continues to score points the way that it is now. I know you could go back to the forty nine Ers game and say the most recent game they played right there, the Cardinals only scored seventeen points and somehow, some way they found a way to win the game. And they did, and their defense played very

very well in critical situations. But having said that, you're not going to face a rookie quarterback every week making his first start, and that's what Trey Lance was doing. He was starting for the very first time in the National Football League, and I think the Cardinals benefited from that. Now, to me, this is a situation where Baker Mayfield in the right offense, can definitely hurt you. This is going to be a bigger challenge for them, There's no doubt

about that. But Paul, the way they run the ball, it is amazing. Rundown situations first and ten, second and one to six, they put Baker Mayfield under center the vast majority of the time he's under center, and that's because they want Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt running down own hill towards that line of scrimmage. The Cardinals box

has got to be at its best. It's very, very similar to what they saw against the Titans, and that's why I'm kind of encouraged about this, even though they're facing the best offensive line I think they've seen all year long, and the two best running backs they've seen

all year long. To me, I think it's really gonna be okay because they've already faced Derrick Henry in the Tennessee Titans, and Zaven Collins and Isaiah Simmons, with that experience, playing a lot more downhill, Paul Well, it's not nearly as complex as going against McVeigh and Shanahan. Fans Joseph talked about that today that every single call had two or three subcalls underneath it that they had to be ready to check into, and that's why Jordan Hicks got

one hundred percent of the snaps. Now, it's not nearly as complicated against this Brown's offense, although it was interesting to hear Zach Allen say that when the backs under center, it's more of a guessing game by the defensive front, where if you're trying to run the ball out a shotgun that really you only have one way to go if you're the running back that's opposite of the side you're lined up on. So that was interesting to hear

as well. No, ding ding Dinghy's right on it as well, and it's the reason why this is the area the Cardinals offense can expand the most. Kyler Murray under center. Hey a reminder. Episode four Cardinals Folk Tales entitled Drafting Jake available now on the Cardinals YouTube channel that's YouTube

dot com slash az Cardinals. It's a look at the Cardinals nineteen ninety seven drafting of the hometown Tiro local legend Jake Plumber at a su You can also download an original podcast version of the story by searching Cardinals Folk Tales wherever you get your podcasts. For Jim Mhondro and Cody Fincher's special thanks to Cardinals, d Liman, Zach Allen for Ron Wolfe on Paul KELBC. This has been the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford in Gilbert

Number one. Tyler, you've been listening to the Big Red Rage presented by Santanford in Guildall are you? Santanford State Farm talk to an agent today at eight hundred State Farm and by Arizona Cardinals podcasts. Visit acy cardinals dot com Slash podcasts. This has been an exclusive presentation of Arizona Cardinals Football Club