Welcome into Books Insider, presented by Verizon Casey Phillips. Here with senior writer and editor Scott Smith, we got another fun one to talk about. We got a whole dang streak four in a row. Are you someone that considers three is a streak?
Oh? For sure?
Okay, so two is not a streak. Three is a four for obviously, we're streaking over here with like four straight wins that have been so fun. Loved this graphic.
It's just incredible.
It's uh and for for Christmas? What else would we have wanted other than Santa?
He was shredding And I loved.
Our tweet that said enters Santa because I really enjoyed that. I mean, I'm sure all the Bucks fans must have been good this year because they asked for a win. They asked for a fun win, some good offense, some everything you got to turnover. I mean, just this decisive win is what I'm sure everyone would have said. This is what we wanted for Christmas.
You want to be peaking at this time of the year. And the Buccaneers have overcome that lull in the middle of the season, fast start six or seven losses, loll but they're peaking at the right time. I don't want to invoke Super Bowl comparisons, but kind of like the end of twenty twenty, playing their best ball at the time when the hot teams are the ones that make it in the playoffs, and the Ravens have a five game winning streak after beating San fran and stop in
their streak, and next is the Bucks. Those are the two teams the longest winning streaks in the league right now. So who knows what's going to happen or the next couple weeks and in the postseason, but you have to be happy about the Bucks appear to be peaking at the right time.
I completely agree, and particularly the offense, where we knew it was going to take a little time to grow to gel. You got the new coordinator, new QB, almost a completely new offensive line, so we knew it was going to take some time, and it seems like it's clicking just in time. And especially in terms of Baker Mayfield's performance, he just starts to look so comfortable in this offense with so many different weapons.
Yeah, and Bucks are scoring about twenty eight points a game over those four games. The one blemish, the only thing that this offense can't get accomplished is a touchdown on the first drive of the game. And we go into every game lately and they're driving, they've been gotten a lot of field goals, they're moving the ball, and then they get a lot of second drive first outs. But for some reason, we have not all year had
touched on in the first drive of the game. So that's the next thing I'm asking Santa for if there's like an auxiliary Christmas. But so I think we're looking at.
Yeah, Baker Mayfield and his passer rating has just I mean, we knew about the perfect one in Green Bay, but then he still just put up such incredible numbers.
As like last week he kind of cratered only won sixteen point seventh. How terrible. We expect so much more. But yeah, over the last five weeks, four weeks, he has the third best passer rating in the league. And we all know Matthew Stafford's been red hot and that Dolphins life offense has been great all year. But look at this upcoming game. Who's fourth on Derek Carr. Interesting, So, yeah, he's been very precise and I think you said it
and it's accurate. They the offense with Dave Canalis. They've taken some time to develop it. They've found some run plays that work that they can go to, and they've just kind of clicked here at the end. And a lot of that it has to do with the offensive line really gelling well together. But they've figured out answers, I think is the best way to put it to whatever they face, whatever defenses they face, and whatever game
situations they face. And Dave Canais has talked about that, I know, and I think you talked with him about it on a show, but about having answers to everything that they face. And you're seeing that now and Baker is it's not just how precise is passing is it's he knows what to do. I mean, he's just really running the offense so well, and he's progressing through his
reads so well and then making these accurate throws. I mean, this is what you want to see and it's really encouraging it is as the postseason potentially rides.
Yeah, and one thing he definitely knows to do is throw it to Mike Evans, particularly in the end zone. If I'm Dave Canalis, I'm just calling playing number thirteen when we get inside that red zone and near the end zone, saying more touchdowns for Mike Evans.
The first one was a nice little pivot route which it was only three yards, but I appreciate because I just feel like when you get down there two or three yards away, sometimes don't run the fade, which is a low percentage play. Run just a simple little route. This was just a little pivot route, which is just take a few steps of the end zone, cut in, and then pivot around and go the other direction. And it totally fooled the defender. He fell off right away. See
the pivot there, He was wide open. He had like three yards of separation. And on the other play, he as I think Baker said yesterday, he high pointed that pass, and Baker knows he can throw it up there. Not every receiver can make that play. High pointing a hard pass between two defenders is not an easy thing to do. But Mike. Now, we've been showing graphics about Mike all year, of course, and a lot of them had to do with him moving up in the all time touchdown catch rankings,
which he did again. He broke a tie and is all alone in twelfth now, which is just incredible, twelfth all time. But he did another thing. He got to he's ad thirteen touchdown catches, so this is the fifth year he's had twelve for more in his career, and he's only the fifth guy to ever do that at least five times. And look at the other names on the list. I don't know if you can read it at the bottom, but that asterisk means they're in the Hall of Fame mm hm.
And that's what I've noticed about every single graphic we've shown about Mike is that all the people around him in all these categories are all Hall of Famers.
The company you keep.
Yes, I completely agree with that, and I know that he wasn't the only guy making some big catches in this game. That a we talked about again, Baker being able to have chemistry with so many different people, finding so many different people and guys coming up with big catches that are not easy, not givens. And I loved this one with Paine Dermott was very reminiscent of his Colts catch as well, that he loves that right by the end zone, the same part of the field and everything.
This was a little out and up route which is a really nice, nicely designed play when when you look at and see what everybody was doing on that play, but it got him isolated on this out and up and according to next Gen Stats, that one and this one, which is basically a corner route to Chris Godwin. You know, there's had a lot of room for that ball to get in there between over the defender and before the sideline, and these two see that. There's just not a lot
of room there and they're showing halls. There's not a lot of separation, so it has to be a pretty on point pass. And I think it says thirty one point nine percent chance probability according to next Gen Stats, and this was his most improbable completion of the day. And we already watched it before and we praised Mike for it, but just putting that ball in a spot where Mike can get to it, what does it say?
They're point four percent chance that's based on similar passes over the course of many years, and what is the likelihood that will actually be complete? And so they call that his three most improbable catches of the game.
You know, we've talked a lot about this offense, but I do think that there's one part of the offense that goes a little unheralded at times, and that's Chase McLaughlin. That this guy that I feel like a he's given a lot of flexibility to the offense of knowing that they're going to be able to come away with some points where maybe in years past you didn't feel as confident about that. If you're you know, maybe it's like, oh, it's a fifty seven yard or I don't know, do we punt, do we this?
Do we go for it?
I think that Chase has added so much to this to feel confident that you can get points from a lot further out very consistently.
Well, he hit a fifty one yarder and now he's had a couple of fifty seven yarders, and to me those are still like ooh, I don't know, although he made him both, but it's at the point now where you see him lining for a fifty one yarder and kind of think, well, yeah, he's gonna make that. He's six to seven from fifty in beyond this year, which
is awesome. And then at this point now he's made twenty six of his twenty eight field goals attempts, which was the exact amount that Connor Barth made in twenty eleven to break the Buckner's all time record. So if he just continues to make them, all he's gonna have is have the record, and we should probably knock go on.
At this point, of course, I think I try not to put a lot of kicker stats up the during the season because I don't want to be a jinx, But at some point you have to talk about it because he's just been so automatic and the only two kicks that weren't good were blocked. And you know, I think I said it before, but maybe they were blocked because he kicked it too low and it wasn't gonna make it. I don't know, or maybe they just made a good play. We don't know if those two would
have gone in, but they might have. So in a way, he's been about as close to perfect as you could expect your kicker to be. And it's awesome because the Bucks decided to move on from Ryan Suckup, who gave us three great years, including a Super Bowl year where and he was perfect in the playoffs, partially because they wanted a kicker that could give you those long kicks, and he has as we said, six of seven from
fifty including four from fifty five or farther. But in addition, he's been what Ryan was, which was automatic on the ones you expect to make. So you know what a what an amazing signing that has proven to be.
Yeah, I completely agree. And then another guy that has been incredibly fun to watch. Yeah, yah Dyabi just one of my favorite stories of this whole year of a just his background and story of how he even got to the NFL. If you don't know about it, we've got a few diverr things up. I know that we had him on our Bucks Total Access show, which you can find on the Bucks YouTube and watch him talk about working at the airport and having to go to
a military college and just so many things. Also, what a great celebration.
Now was what was it?
The Oh, I'm going to get in trouble because I'm not going to say it right. It's like the power Balls, right, I don't know someone that knows Powerball z E.
I don't know anything.
I know we're exposing ourselves the whole anime community that's watching, And.
I was like, oh my gosh, that's so obvious.
But yeah, so I love that. But man, yah, yah, it's just been so cool to watch him emerge of earned so many more snaps and now I mean he's second to you know, Elijah in these tackles for a loss and he's leading in sacks and all these things for rookies across the whole league. And how cool to have he and Calijah both on this team of the two top rookies in terms of disrupting the backfield.
It's amazing. Yeah, they both have. I guess Colliga's number one with ten tackles for loss and then Yaya's second with nine, And now Yaya is tied for the rookie sack lead with I think Byron Young of the Rams, and a couple of weeks ago I would have said probably not, but you saw that Peter Schreker tweet there pumping Yaya for Defensive Rookie of the Year, And then I'm looking at and going, yeah, maybe, yeah, why not? I mean, there isn't like last year the winner was
Sauce Gardner, who was having an incredible year. I guess Brian Branch, the safety for the Lions, is doing pretty good but doesn't really have quite the same type of numbers and buzz that Sauce had last year. So there's not one guy at any position among the defensive rookies of the year that's really standing out above the crowd. So then you go, well, he's typing leaving sacks up there and TACKX for loss. And it's just been it's been a nice progression. And what's really cool about it is,
coach said. Coach Bowle said the other day is I mean, we got him in the third round. You don't normally get a good pass rusher in the third round. They really drafted him primarily because they thought he could be he could really close off the edge and be a great run defender. And he has been. They've been pleasantly surprised at his arsenal pass rush moves and how good of a pass rusher he's been. And I mean that makes it a home run of a draft pick.
Yeah, at this point, I completely agree, especially at that round where you are not used to finding elite pass rushers at that point. All right, so this Sunday kind of a big one. Anytime you play the Saints already fun you know, you got the rivalry there and.
Everything, and well, ye know, not if it's in New Orleans.
That's fair, but you know, we're home, it's not. So we're excited about it, and especially when it is for the division. I think it's just so perfect that they would be who we would be playing when we have a chance to clench it. So tell us about just sort of the situation this Sunday and what this game means and the whole NFC South Pax.
Yeah, Baker said that, He's like, it is really huge to have this opportunity to potentially clench in front of your home fans, and also against a division opponent. And let's be honest, it's the division opponent that we've been most emotional about. Yeap, maybe the last six or seven years. Probably one of these two teams is going to win the division, and so that would be seven straight years where it's either the Bucks or the Saints. What we have though, for the Bucks is a really good position
to be in. After these four straight wins, they now come into this game knowing they can clinch the division by being the Saints. No matter what else happens, you don't want to lose, but even if you do, you have a little bit of a safety net because the Bucks only have to win one of their last two games, and being in Carolina against the team that currently has two wins. They've been playing well lately, but they currently have two wins, and you just have to win one
of those games. So even if New Orleans beats us, the Buccaneers still control their own fate. They can win the division with a win in Carolina, but everybody on this team wants to do it now.
Yes, and you we'd have talked about how the Bucks have been remarkably healthy now in December compared to what teams normally are and when you had such an early bye week. The Saints may not be quite as fortunate as the Buccaneers, and we still don't know all the final injury reports for either team, but it looks like they might be missing a few pretty pretty key pieces. Well.
They've had Marshall and Landmore, who we all know him and his battle with Mike Evans every time. He's a very good cornerback. And then Michael Thomas, who's had a lot of injury issues for years now but is when healthy, is a very productive player. They've both been on injury reserve for more than four games, so they are eligible to be activated. However, they're head coach nanz Allen said this week that he doesn't see that happening, So those
two are probably not going to play. You don't wish injuries upon anybody, but that does make their lineups a little less formidable on both sides of the ball.
Yep, it's going to be interesting to see. All Right, that's going to do it for us on this edition of Bucks Insider. Thank you so much for being with us. We hope you have a safe and fun New Year's and we'll see you next week.