2019 Week 8 Preview

nail that? Ricky? You killed it? Later on YouTube if you miss it, yes, and if you on dot com if you want to watch the full thing or on dot com. So just remember I like YouTube because then you can see you can see the numbers. They keep track of it, and the comments are so funny. They're simply a much more effective platform than NFL dot Com. Thereat they'll be like Cam Newton died, Cam Newton died, and then people will be like, what are you serious?

There's like little trolls. It's so great to be clear, this is a news program. Cam Newton is doing great. Yeah, I kept practice. He's doing great. But he's certainly alive his career. Perhaps no, that's even too strong, but it is at a time of transition. Cam Newton at the crossroads, breaking news. What is the breaking? Cam Newton is alive? Don't say that This isn't a news show first and foremost, or a news show that will generate its own news. There was nothing new there at all, just fibbs and

corrected fibbs. So yes, a reminder that next week, if you want to watch us live, you could do so, or you can even do the move. Now you can't do that. See now I'm getting wrapped. It's all getting wrapped up Sunday night. You can do it Sunday night. It starts right after Sunday Night football ends, right our recap show. But I have the idea of you could stream it on YouTube, give us the numbers and then listen. But you certainly could do But you can't do that. Lie.

You better be hitting both platforms. But here's an idea, because Dan, you and I will be covering is scintillating Vikings Redskins game later this evening. Someone could listen to that and then dive right into the YouTube and audio

version of the show. Correctly. After speaking of the garage, Mark and I, after we do the Thursday Night Slammer between the Redskins and Vikings, Mark Stain in the Garage and my bosom buddy Bobby Castron, we are going to do a throwback podcast where Mark talks about the songs of his love life prior to meeting his wife and goes through each of them in exhausting detail. And I'm sure it's going to be, uh really a journey through your heart. A little nervous, so check that out. That

will be up tomorrow. Shameless pluck. All right now sounds exhausting. I can't wait. I saw a list of the songs it is. It is, what a journey it will be. It's like going back through your personal attic for a while. I'm a little concerned. I not. He likes going through the old pictures and things like, well, well, Greg, I actually existed before, so there are pictures, videos and thoughts too.

Nothing's better than Camp Jewel when Mark, When Mark has a couple of lines and the Instagram gets fired up and you start seeing about the camp from two that's my favorite. Giving you know at least six or seven people what they're asking for UM and we're gonna get to the games. All of the week eight games coming up, UM, and we're gonna talk about fourteen of them today and of course do it draft style. But one one of the note, I want to say thank you to everyone

on the subreddit. I did an A M A yesterday and got hundreds and hundreds of questions. Uh, and that that subreddit is up to over twelve thousand people now. So if you're a fan of the show and you want a place to meet and talk about the show, go to go to the Round the NFL on reddit. You did a good job with that. I I filed a question that you actually even responded to I did.

It was something about you being hot or something I could No, no, no, no, no no no. It's just like, how do you get more time with Marco and on the show, Like if you're a listener, one on one time and I highly an Alice Greeby, who does an amazing job, you know, cultivating that site. Gentlemen, all I invite you to interface with your with the fans yourselves at some point. I think three of those four of

us have done an I've done several of them. No, okay, well f me all right, No, I mean you are one of the three Greg has yet to dip into those waters. Something I would do. I read it. It's a little too do I read it? That's what I mean. I would read it. Then I'll do a tweet. You know, Ricky, I thought you were asking to like post on our own message boards. That feels like a little desperate or something. But but I like to doing an A M A. Ricky our former producer, uh La sid who you know.

I miss her every day. She's just awesome. But that's not the point. The point is she once did an A M A. The NFL subreadit, and uh you should do one too. I feel like that would be that's right up your alley. No, no way. You'd be like, why do you stink of producing? And I'd be like, no, no, you are a very small subs All right, here we go, let's get into it. It was getting her back alright doing a draft style and what West? I again? I double checked. I wanted to make sure West doesn't get

banged on the order that he gets. You know, they correct the number of picks and as I look at it, I should be second this week you are second this week, but picking first probably means last as well for some reason. No, no, no, you know that's not true. Picking first is Greg Rosenthal, um Rosie as some call you, but I never have you get it going in college. That's all people knew me as I dated a girl who thought my real name was Rosie. After two weeks, I was like, how

does she not know that's a nickname? Yeah? That's you know? Was she? She wasn't all there? She thought your name was Rosie Rosenthal. It was, it was. It was troubling, as it would be if I didn't get this game. So I'm I'm thrilled that I have the number one pick to take Brown's Patriots Tony Romo. And it's all fine because you know there's only three log And by the way, that is also the road to victory presented by the United State that it is, that's a segment.

We've added a team that needs to go on the road and win. And I don't think it's quite as taller mountain as people believe it to be, because I think the Browns have the capability to be explosive. Could they do it for the next seven or eight weeks and kind of solve their problems and be consistent that.

I have more doubts about can they have a spike game where coming off of bye week they came, they come up with some answers and give the Patriots defense some legitimate problems and keep it close and and give the Patriots offense problems too. With the defense, it's been pretty good. I think this is gonna be a great game, and I'm I'm glad I got it. Number one, Mark, where do you stand on this? Because Greg is technically a Patriots fan, but technically if you think, do you

think this is going to be there for you? And yeah, Greg and I will be appearing on the Tomahawks show after and we both must zero in on this. So it's only three like games, we decided one of us needs to get it was there's no issues here, no grudge, delo double cross initially, No, No, I'm not. I'm not going to allow that to become a narrator. But Greg and I we executed as we needed to. Now can

the Browns do that? I I appreciate your optimism, but I cannot think of one thing and I'm not trying to just take a shot at the Browns there are a team in development. I cannot think of one thing that they do on field or from a coaching perspective better than New England. Even on a short week. They just create explosive plays. And so I think the Patriots used man defense more than any team in the league.

What's the vulnerability to that? It's certainly if you can get over the top, if you can make big plays against them, You're gonna have Odell Beckham, You're gonna have you know, Nick Chubb. Sometimes in the running game, making exposive place, you're gonna have Jarvis Landry in one on one situations. I at least think they can give this defense more problems in theory than than any offensive placed. The skill players to the Browns are way superior to

that of the Jets. But one of the big problems, and one of the huge failures in the Jets embarrassment on Monday night, was they did not adjust that they didn't really have time to get into the type of downfield passing patterns because the zero blitz that is apparently revolutionary and is going to go down is like the forty six defense of this era, UH simply doesn't allow that and if they think j Land you can adjust better and get But it's not about them. It's well,

maybe they break off the routes. But I mean in terms of Ken this offensive line, Ken Baker Mayfield, a quarterback who he's not getting caught on Mike, but he's looked like he's been seeing ghosts at times this year as well. Can they handle the surge that is sure sure to come that took out the Jets and Sam Donald, to me, that's what this game is about. It is and this is by far the most talented offense the

Patriots have faced. As Greg said, they have faced some bottom barrel, some dregs, and now you've got real talent. That doesn't mean that, uh Jarvis Landry's walked back guarantee is gonna work. You know, he said we're gonna go to New England and we're gonna win. It's gonna be that simple. We're gonna win. Walked it back a little bit and said, you know, mostly it was just we're going there with the purpose of winning. That's quite As for clarifying that that's the road to victory, I mean,

why not say you're say you're gonna win. But I think the go ahead. But to me, the best chance for the Browns to win is with their defense pushing Tom Brady off his spot, making him move his feet, because as Dan has pointed out, as Marcu has pointed out, he's not moving quite as well as he did two or three years ago. Still throwing well, I think he'd great considering the situation around him. Josh Gordon was placed

that injured reserve this week. This game has a whole a lot of Brown subplots, with Jamie Cause and Jason mccordy playing extremely well. Mccordy's ranked number two by PFF and at cornerbacks, and Collins has maybe been their most valuable player. But we should mention Gordon is out for the year, and yet Ian rapports reporting he's going to be healthy in a week or two. He's probably gonna get cut off injured reserve and land on a team like the Dolphins who will claim him, and Ian hinted

he hasn't been able to keep well conditioned. That's that's kind of why not? Why what well? Because if you're a veteran and you get cut after next week, you are you're open to waivers, and it's some team with a bad record, whether it's the Falcons or the Redskins or the Jets, who knows. I mean, back back to this game. I think that you've got Cleveland as Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams at cornerback for the first time in about a thousand years. They haven't had their full

compliment in the secondary all season. They are by advanced metrics, about the seventh most UH imposing pass rush, although that's been very inconsistent. Every part of their team has been inconsistent. You can look at the personnel on offense, but I don't see a direct route for them to be any more convincing than a Jets team or a Bill's team on offense because they've been out of sync from wire

to wire. Outside of some some big plays in the Ravens win, this Browns team is about his concerning on offense in terms of not living up to their parts as you can find in the league right now. I don't like this game for the Browns at all. Well, I wouldn't like any team going against the Patriots. But can they depend they if they if they go in, if they lay an egg this to the same degree that the Jets do. That's a major disappointment. It's not

a shot at anyone else, but they better. They better show up, and good coaching staffs come off a bye week and they saw some things they gotta get O b J going their average in eight yards per target to him. It's not all Baker Mayfield. The timing has been off. O b J's had probably more passes that have hit him somewhere in the hands or that he's had a chance to make a play, and he hasn't made the play more than any ever I've seen him before in his entire career. Yet he's moving as well

as ever. He's just That's what I mean. That's like I do expect it to change at some point. But this week for you about Patriots fandom. Okay, do Patriots fan trust a team that has hit its stride so early in the season. I don't think they've hit their stride. It's the worst offense that they've had in fifteen years, So I think that's how I look at it. But it's a defense that it's historically great and can't be expected.

I don't trust it because two thousand, No, because this part of the year as a Patriots fan, you realized only has so much meaning, and they're gonna go down defensively in terms of stats because they're gonna play better teams, but they have the components that you do trust that. It's nice. This reminds me of two thousand one, two three. I mean, those teams were not great offensively either. It is great to see Belichick feeling himself as if he

hadn't accomplished enough. I feel like this season, coming off that Super Bowl with his son as one of the key figures, and like his favorite player Gerard Mayo, and his son and him are calling the defense the best defense they've had in over fifteen years. I think by the way it's it does smell of or loophole bonanza theater. You're allowed to put a guy in I R when

he's healthy. He's not healthy. He's says he's right. He was surprised to hear this, and he's going to be able to sign with the team in play as soon as well. You know, because you can shut them, you you're losing the guy into right In theory, it's it's it's more of a cost to the team because you'd be losing a healthy Josh Gordon. They weren't done with John. They worked at They worked Y I R. Because he has all the time. They just deemed him not not

important enough to keep that. People say he's like a week or two away. He has he had to bone bruises on his knee, which happened earlier in the season. They worked him out. He wanted to play. They they you know, there's some whispers his weight was up significantly. So Dan, if you are say player number forty five to fifty three on the roster and you get injured, even if it's a one week injury, you often end up on I R GO because they don't have the

roster space for you. I'm sorry. It's fishing. And that was the road to victory present. Yeah, the United States. Did we find a road there? Which don't know. I felt like it was we went right into the b I don't know who the pans are in that situation. The Browns of the Patriots, I for are a the sake of our country. Hope it's to New England. Paigel, right West, you were up with the number two pick in our draft, the number two pick, and I'm gonna workshop a couple of game titles here for you. A

fork in the road game, a sinker swim game. Both of these apply to Kyle Allen and the Panthers quarterback situation. He's starting. Cam is just about getting healthy, and you're going up against the best defensive line in football on the road in San Francisco, and I just have a feeling that Kyle Allen's gonna lose his job because the forty Niners defense is so good, so dominant, to the extent that I'm locking up the forty Niners, I have

that in mind. I thought about that. That's nice, like that lock because you need you need Kyle Allen to give you a plus performance to win this game, right, and that's asking a lot against this defense on the road. You're not just gonna be able to turn and hand at the Christian McCaffrey thirty five times. Against this defense. You're gonna have to make some plays in the passing game. And when Kyle Allen drops back over and over again, he doesn't always deal with pressure well, as we've seen

by all the fumbles. I think we saw it last year in the regular season finale. He's not the best against pressure. Now, I was thinking of locking this up too, because I'm not gonna pick against the forty Niners until they play either a great veteran quarterback or a really good offensive line. The Carolina has neither. I would say if Carolina has a weakness this year, it's been communication along that offensive line. Teams sending blitzes and and different

packages where they don't know who to pick up. And then you gotta play Nick Bosa and DeForest Bucket. There. This defensive line so good. Deford's a role player. They're only playing of twenty snaps the game because Rikar is better than him and word is lighting it up as a kind of a microwave off the bench. But Armsteads the pro bowler and defod making twenty million dollars a year. They traded all these picks wors playing snaps. I mean,

forty Niners have allowed ten points in three weeks. It's some. It's easy to forget a couple of things. Because the Panthers out of our world. A week ago. They had drives fall apart against the Bucks. Their offense was not on fire for big chunks of the game against Tampa Bay when we were there watching it live in London. But then you've got a Niners team, and I know this happened in awful elements. Jimmy g had ten yards passing against the Redskins in the first half last week.

They're not a perfect offense from the quarterback position at all. I think this that the Panthers can keep this close. But I will tell you one thing, because I like what happened last week where West and I rode arm in arm two lock victory. So I'm gonna do the same exact thing two weeks in a row. Every week. No, but I'm gonna do it two weeks because I can't see another lock I like better. Yeah, this is a

pretty safely I got the lock here. I was leaning hard one way, and now you know what, join us feeling good about this and I want to get in on the party in us, So let's lock it up a third time. This has to be This has to be a lock with the least amount of dissension and prodding. Yeah, I had. I came into the show figuring it was this one or another one, and I figured if West was taking it that I wasn't gonna bother because it's like,

what then what's at stake? Really? Well, there was another one on my list too, but that the other one feels like a gimme if the starting quarterback isn't playing. So oh, you got a little Falcons anti Falcons. I've got a little anti Matt Moore action going on. There is potential for a unique level way for us to all bond in the middle of a long season. Here, just throwing that out there. Yeah, come along for the

rock right all right? Four on the Niners. That's an erica for you in terms of having to keep track of four different nonsensical locks throughout the show. You're done. Yeah, but I was told that we're not, you know, paying that off, Greg. Can you look in the mirror on That's not true. We paid off on Yeah. And by the way, we let me say the standings here, I think for what it's worth, are might be that, you know,

they played the Steelers in Week three. If there's a route for them to win, it's that the passing game for the fort has been a little inconsistent and that this defense, especially the past defense, is capable of making other quarterbacks look bad. That that is their path, and they have a very creative running game. It's two of the the most creative running games one thing about Kyle Shanahan that I've really liked is that even even when Jimmy G's not on, he's running the ball every time.

I mean, He's just gonna keep running over and over again because he knows that complements his deep post a c L. He looks pretty darn athletic um, just so everyone knows. Through Week seven, Cessler and Roosevelt four and three, The Old Zeuser off the canvas two and five, two and a Row and West of course finally ended that historic slump one and six, and I feel like the heat checks coming on for a West or a real uh hot streak. Oh you do, thank you, I feel coming.

None of us are on fire, all right? Pick three the Old Zeuser. This one's uh, this one's a good one. I liked this one a lot because I have been all season waiting for the Philadelphia Eagles to take off, and they just haven't. They've been Frankly, I think the Browns in the a f C and the Eagles in the NFC, to me, are the two most disappointing teams in the league this year. And the Eagles are different than the Browns, and that I thought the Eagles were

a true Super Bowl contender. I thought the Browns could be a team that gets a lot better and goes to the playoffs. The Eagles, I thought could be great this year, and in fact, they've been crummy, and especially the last two weeks. The last two weeks have been

an abomination. There in the middle of a three game road trip, and the third game now takes them to Western New York to play the Bills, who we know how good they are um in their building, we know how great their defense is, so this is gonna be a really tough game for them. But the two weeks, uh, the two games going into this at Minnesota thirty a total no show. And we know Sunday night was a no show thirty seven to ten, where they could not have looked any worse. So everything seems to be going

in a certain direction. And yet there's still a part of me that thinks the Eagles can pull it together. And I want to call this um a must win game. I want to call this a what do we call it? And a dead underground game, essentially a dirt knap buried between six and seven ft under the earth. I still think it's too early to get that wrapped up there three and four right now. If they fall to three

and five, they're in trouble but not done. But they need to stop the bleeding here and here come the Bills. So I'm kind of with Greg on the Bills that I respect them, love their defense, love how they play in their building. Although their only losses at home um against the Pats, But they're the only barely the Bengals and Dolphins at home or at least trailed fourth quarters to both those teams. It feels like a long time,

but they're the only team that gave the Patriots a game. UM, So I want to see something from Josh All in this game. But I really do feel like the Eagles have a, you know, circle the wagons game against the Bills. Do they have a quarterback they want to circle the wagons around? I don't know. This reminds me of last year when that big, big article came out with all of these offensive players in the Eagles questioning the quarterback and he's coming off his worst game of the year.

Before that game, I think most people would say he's been a top five quarterback this year, and yet uh Aghilar and mac hollins have been two of the worst receivers in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus and the Game Film uh All, Sean Jeffrey and Zach Hurts are underperforming relative to last year. Neither one seems very happy.

Lane Johnson's calling people out. Jeffrey is the subject of a snitch report by a Philly reporter who said he was the source for Josina Anderson complaining about Carson Wentz Is. These veterans just don't seem to warm up to him. It's it's what's happening in Philly right now is what you see with like bad teams that are going down in a sinkhole, and I don't I'm I am also optimistic they can get it together. But here's another thing

they did the last couple of weeks. They've released a player that they started on Sunday the following Monday, two weeks in a row. That is something that like bad teams are kind of due to send Za Brown and then last week it was Orlando scandal. If you've got to start him and play him seventy snaps in the game and you're benching your second round pick from a couple of years ago, healthy, he wasn't even healthy scratch.

He was active, and you won't even let Sidney Jones off the bench because of another punitive benching and then you cut him the next day. Something's something's weird there. I don't know. Something is weird. They're trying to clean up the locker room, is what it sounds like. I'm at the point where Sean McDermott, and we've been Sean mcdermock fans ever since he visited the show and was an absolute delight when we were with him in the

owner's meetings. But I got on that, well, that was smart, but that was a wise ten minutes by hit by that head coach. I think other head coaches should similar paths. But I trust him more than Doug Peterson right now, and I trust the way the bills are run from head to toe and this though at the same time, I feel like Josh Allen, who you look at a lot of metrics, is one of the is a bottom barrel quarterback, to your point, a bottom five quarterback in

a lot of ways. I'm I'm not giving up on him on any level because there's a lot to like if he can get some of it. Kind of hemmed in, but this is a game where I think he can generate some points and from the Eagles side, and I think you mentioned it West, that is, if this was an offense that hinged entirely around the return of DeShawn Jackson, he will be back in this game. They were spicy, Well that's what I read that they that he's he's

he's heading in that direction. They were spicy when they played the Redskins in Week one in the second half when d Jacks was the deep threat for them. They have not had that with what mac hollands stepping into that role they have, They've missed that and Nelson agen vertically and that's all he wants. That's when Smiths throws down the field last week. If he has a weakness, that's it. Nelson or like all Sean Jeffrey can can

complain all he wants to whoever. He looks like a someone shotgun shotgun from the tight end position from four. To me, he's a big, gigantic, bulky receiver who gives no deep option to Wentz. What is around Wentz right now? When they were dominant and he was awesome in m v P level, they were destroying people with their ground game because they were getting up early and absolutely man

handling opponents down the stretch. They lost two straight games by seventeen or more points because the secondary is a total leaky factory. They're an absolute disaster. I preface this by saying that I think this is going to be a game and it's just more a field than anything else. But what do the Eagles do well right now? Not much? It really made me think what Mark asked the question?

They who are they? Who? As their identity? If they can't stop to run, If they can't stop the run like they didn't last week overall this year they have and they're not strong up front, like on on the offensive line, then who are they? You're right? And Deshan Jackson it doesn't look like he's expected the way he has not been at practice either day. I read that and just you know, just to put it out there. One thing they do well, Dan the quarterback of Superman

when he gets help. He just hasn't gotten enough help. Jordan Howard. There was a line and I forget which writer, maybe was Zach Berman in The Athletic, who said, you can make the case Jordan Howard is the only player on this team that's outperformed expectations. It's a bald statement. Alright, Mark, you're up. Alright, Well, so I'm not going to take one of the late games because Greg and I will be absorbed on the same contest. Me apparently responsibility free

just watching it with my eyes. But I I am plugged in on with what else I don't know. I am plugged into this little one pm East Coast ten am West Coast affair Cardinals at Saints. And there's a couple of reasons why I like this game a lot. Why there's not there's a lot of oare Christian Hackenberg comes off the board? And where would you go there? Honestly, where would you before you just throw your ridiculous arrows?

Where would you go? There's a bunch of junkism ahead, But I hope so because we're about forty What am I supposed to be excited about? Broncos cults, everyone of the has issues here. Let me sell it may be a blood Beth, but I think you have one of the offenses out of Arizona that is improving week to week. They are fun to watch. Kyler Murray is living up to the promise, and they watching them against the Giants, against another team that had no idea how to deal

with what Arizona was thrown at them. They could not stop the ground game. I think Arizona is finding a way because of the way that they separate and spread out an offense to have a dangerous run attack. You can't even call that like part of their passing attack because there's no one around half of these guys to take the ball, especially when they're catching in space. I

want to see how the Saints handle it. I think the Saints defense went into Chicago and put the Bears on such heavy blast that Chicago goes and loses this week. Their season may essentially be over because the Saints, and I mentioned this last week, Week after week they go in and whoever they deal with, they expose them and create a ton of issues for that team the next week with the media with everyone answering there that dominant

of a defense. Now the Cardinals have a little bit less at stake, but Sean First, Cliff Kings break justin. I don't think if the Cardinals went three, four and one, Arizona is going to be set on fire from like border the border. I think people are they realize the Bears fans thought the team is racing right into the Super Bowl, making that game embarrassments. So this game is more intriguing than than it looks on paper. To some I'm I'm into it. What else do I need to

do then be into it? I can see why you be into it. It's a nice litmus test game for the Cardinals who are beating up on some bad teams. But Greg greg Olsen, basically his analysis last week was this team is really hard to defend because you know what they're gonna do. You just have no idea when

they're gonna do it. With all the fakes, the pre snap motion, the jet sweeps, you just don't know what the alignment is gonna lead to once the ball is snapped and you see a lot of open spaces in the running game and even in the past Cardinals you're talking, yes, it's a test for this Pints, but I mean, let's I would calm down about it. You know, this is still a Cardinals offensive. I mean, I just know, I know,

I think it would be a fun game. I mean, we haven't mentioned that Drew Brees is likely to return. That is a huge development. It's part of my least favorite trend I've been seeing growing on Twitter, which is Twitter takes that players should stay on the bench through their bye week. This is a this is a common thing. They're like, I don't think they should push it. I mean, he should be sitting during the bye week. Like a ton of people have said that about a lot of

different injuries this week this year. It's like, you have absolutely no medical information whatsoever. What do you know that you gotta you gotta stay. Yeah, why don't you play it? And you should sit through the bike? You don't know anything about any of their medical information. Y. There's an extremely easy counter to you on the high horse right right, that if he has an injury that was enough to cost him four weeks and you're playing a bad team and you have a chance and that two more weeks

of rest. That if your voice was if the goal is to win the Super Bowl and you have an opportunity to get that extra rest, perhaps not rushed back. This guy's rushed back from all the time and reaggravate them because they came back a week too soonus that I wonder, are you supposed to just stay silent and never have any I wonder if the medical professionals with all the information considered that angle. You know, it's Drew Brees.

If he's healthy, he's playing like if you're if you were ready to do a show, you're doing the show. They consider all of that. Of course, they're not going to put him out there unless he can put like you have. Injuries are just not something. I feel like I need to have an opinion, right exactly, that's my mind. But must but you it's the It's again, it's you taking fans and treating them as if the fans isn't like has nothing to do with fans. It's media a

little too. There are two high flutant. There are certain things when it's a hamstring snagged a play room. I'm talking a little about media and people covering the league, mostly that have opinion shows and are on Twitter. That you come out with hot takes about medical stuff. That's all I mean. You shouldn't have a hot you shouldn't be like screaming that's Stephen A. Smith about it. I get that. I mean in general that on Twitter that it's crazy to play him against the car. But it's

not not a foolish. You can have a measured take on it, not withopening in the doctor's room. Yes, I think it's probably smart to have no medical takes, but your you think you're not having this is a medical take that's true. Are suggesting that your concept of medical knowledge supersedes all of ours because you're you're in the know, being chilled out mode. I don't know anything. Is my point that none of us know any It's like people operate as if there's a level beyond If the doctors say,

you're what more do you need? We who said that I don't know, we don't know anything. You're assuming because he's clear that they believes we don't know that. But he may say, because I'm Drew Brees, amn the King of f Mountain over there, that I'm playing even if I don't feel all the way back, And they'll say and it's like, oh, well, we pay you twenty three million dollars a year, so we probably want to return

on our invent investment. But maybe it's better to give it a little bit of My little thing is we're just operating at a deficit of information, which is true of alst everything that we do that extends beyond medical right, it takes like six seven years. I think of covering football to learn that you don't almost know anything about how the game works, and a lot of people I think, I think ever never even get Then I would ask you why why I'm just saying the medical Would you

offer an opinion on anything beyond medical? Why offer I'm saying anything that you're trying to measured and you try to learn. Thumbs up for Drew Brees. Let's yeah, well done. All right, Mark, it's time where it's time to snake? Ricky? Did you do your homework? Oh my god, what an angry snake. Here's stupid? All right, Mark, game number two and again, I think you'll reveal as you dig into the ladder rounds here that we're not working with a

ton of magical matchups on paper. Here. I'm going Giants Lions because I want I want one more shot at the Lions to rescue themselves out of this hole. The Giants, to me, at least, are interesting with Daniel Jones. I thought that they there's something that Daniel Jones does one or two or three things every game that make me

like him more. And whether it's doing something that Eli Manning or fill in the blank, aging stone Age pony veteran quarterback could not do, which is a scapability when it gets into troublesometimes, he'll also make He's still making killer mistakes. I thought there was a strip sack on him last week against the Cardinals and they put a ton of pressure on him that was totally inexcusable. That like another quarterback with better field vision would not allowed

that to happen to him. So the Giants are a team that the Lions better take advantage of. It sounds like will not be in this game, Greg, I'll confirmed that with you. On the medical front, I'm not sure that that's just what I'm hearing at this point, but I I am not going to I'm not gonna say it, but the Lions are banged up. No carry on Johnson. Their offense to me, is just simply not the same without him. But this is a game. You gotta take care of it, huh you to I don't know what

you're selling to anyone. I thought it was interesting that the mat Patricia did a very belichicki ish thing where he traded away Quandre Digs, which irritated the Lions locker room, including Darius Slaves. Spoke about it to no end, and that if you want, if you're gonna do BELICHICKI and things, you're gonna You know, the Patriots just went and picked up Justin Bethel. That made everyone happy because he's a

Hall of Fame special teamer. But if you're the Lions, you're cutting the other way, and you annoyed your secondary, you annoyed your defense. I wonder why the move was made. Second year in a row, they've kind of thrown up a white flag at the trade deadline Golden Tate last year, when well, this isn't away flag. They like a younger player and he was probably one of the worst starters

in the league at his position. I'm just saying from a lockman man, now you've reached your We've signed Marcus Gilchrist off the street section of the season, which never works well for any defense out there. So it is a bit of a white flag. I wonder if ma Patrician Bill Beltick share infot Like, did they call each other and talk about the Giants? You know, they Patriots just played the Giants. They're like best friends. I played the Giants. The Lions play three weeks ago, Like, does

that happen? I'm just curious about that. There's a lavish owners meeting party every year um that takes place at a luxury hotel that we are and all media are allowed to attend, and it's it's kind of, from a people watching perspective, the best, the best party of the year to be involved with, because it's the party where all the head coaches are there, all the gms, their owners milling around. And I think it was not this Tariko and friends. Tarriko is there. Everybody's there, and you'll

see people getting drunk. You'll see coaches stumbling. It's fun times, okay, and you don't share that info who you see stumbling, but you laugh about it privately. Now sometimes they've they've laughed at us. I think at times two. I'm sure they have mat Patrician Bill Belichick with their significant others, the Great Linda not Belichick. It's Linda Holiday holiday not always a holiday with Linda not Rick holiday and Matt Patricia's wife, I believe, sitting together having a drink laughing.

This is there's no bitter situation between those two men. I just wanted to talk about that a little bit. This should be Yeah, they should be a better giants offense. I mean they should. They had one against the bad defense, they had one good game with Daniel Jones, and they've had four terrible games. They're averaging twelve points a game on offense over four weeks. I think that's the I would guess that's the worst in the NFL. I didn't check it, but twelve points a game is hard to do.

Their defense and special teams are almost outscoring Daniel Jones over the last four weeks. You have Evan Ingram back, you have se Quon Barkley back. Uh, you should be able to move the ball on this line's team. It should be a good, like high scoring game. This Lions team is gonna have to win shootouts. I think they're kind of built for it. But it's tougher without Patricia. The guy has a ring as a defensive coordinator. And

of course we know Belichick's the mastermind there. But this team is thirty feet to total defense against the run, thirty against the past. Se Kuon Barkley, for what it's worth, is practicing in full this week, and he did. He looks finally did slightly aggravate the ankle we're told in in the loss of the Cardinals. But there's also a chance that this could be that great plays too. But you've been very nice west of the Lions. Well, those things are over. I mean, we have been patient with

the lines, We've been kind. But if you do not win at home against the Giant's team that's going in the wrong direction, you will be in You guys are a lot You guys are a lot more uh interested in the Lions at this point than I am. They had their a few weeks where they're interesting. They're done. They have a bad defense. They're twenty one in d v o A. You said all those other numbers were

even worse. And the guy they spent five million dollars on, Trey Flowers, has one sacking, isn't really doing much for them. I don't what what is fascinating about this defense? That may be a case for Belichick and Patricia did not talk as much as Patricia would like to about Trey Flowers, who he knew very well. But please all right. Next up is the old Zeuser. I will check back in with the Jets, who cannot play any worse than they played last week on Monday Night Football, and now they

travel to Jacksonville to face the Jacks. I think the quarterbacks are what interests me here. It's Sam Donald, who, by the way, on top of everything else in that game got his footstepped on and they had to remove his toneage, which, by the way, is another underrated you mono people like have vague teenage memories of having having Have you ever had an I've had a fingernail removed? It is not it is no fun like that isn't

personal medical from actual life. But anyway, I don't think you should play this week to the point, to the point that I kept him out of practice. I believe he returned in a limited fashion. Uh today, pretty good today there, so he'll be fine. But it's just more you know, when it rains, it pours for s darn uh. So yes, I want to see the quarterbacks in this game.

I want to see Donald back um and show some fight and show some resolve after what was really, frankly a humiliating week for him um, even if he did handle it well in the media, and I do think he'll bounce back. Although they're getting a road match up against the Jaguars who trade away Jalen Ramsey and the defense gets a lot better um against the Bengals, of course, but they played extremely well last week. I want to see more from Gardner Minshew. I want to see the game.

I want to see what everybody's excited about. I want to see what you what you love about him Mark, because watching him the last two weeks hasn't given me a lot of juice. So I think it's kind of an important game for him. With Nick Foles, I think is still a little bit ways off, but he's got to stack a couple of good performances here to justify keeping him in the lineup, and Donald needs to show

everybody that he's not the ghost guy. I think if Nick Foles had stayed healthy and played the way Gardner Minshew has played, the Jags would be very happy with that trade. I think Gardner Minshew has been good enough. He's been good enough to win, and the difference between the two is he's still developing. He can become much better. I think you have to stay with him, and you know, we got three more weeks still, even tell Fols is eligible.

I don't fault Gardner Minshew for the Jaguars, only, you know, having single digits for two and a half, he leads them down on the opening drive last year and they fumble at the goal line, and then now all of a sudden, Gardner Minshew is not a good quarterback. He has calm feet, like he's so calm in the pocket, but then he can also you know make you know, make extra time by moving around and doing those little solemns. He doesn't make mistakes. I guess that's what stands out

to me for a young quarterback. He makes really good decisions. He's averaging seven and a half yards pertempt. He has ten touchdowns and two interceptions. Well, yeah, if Donald had those numbers would be going crazy. This was the game I was gonna lock up. I feel really good that the Jaguars are just a better team than the Jets. Um. I think this is not a good Jaguars defense. It's pretty at mediocre uh and basically every metric possible. But I do think it's a tricky matchup for a team

that has offensive line and protection issues. Because Todd wash likes to get creative. This is a team that loves the blitz, loves to send a lot at you, and I think he's gonna be licking his chops. And I just seen too much bad offense from the Jets that I trust the bad offense more than I trust the one game against the Cowboys, which is really one half against the Cowboys. So I just think the Jaguars just

a little more sound throughout, and I like them. I'm with you the sense that the thing that keeps carrying over for New York is bad offensive line play. I like to match up for Jacksonville at home, and you know I would when it comes to Adam Gaze. And I know that number one, you went and you got Levan Bell, and Levian Bell has been a terrible situation as a running back with the quarterback house that've had.

So I'm not asking for big numbers, but I do question if you go back and look at Miami's running backs under Adam Gaze and the Adam Gaze experience in general, is this the coach that knows how to maximize Levan Bell. He hasn't topped seventy yards on the ground or sixty in the air all year, and and and you have a one of the leagues in theory top weapons, and you have Donald Back. You've been I think he's been in an impossible situation and he runs hard and he

makes something out of nothing. And when he had no quarterback play at all and Donald was out, um, he didn't get do much damage. But the guy plays are Jamal Adams. I went on Twitter and pointed out everybody who was lumping this guy in with Antonio Brown. And he's been nothing but a good He has nothing to do with Antonio brand. But I think, I don't think, I don't think anything, all right, But he's been an awesome teammate in New York number one, and that's not

he's been in a bat. I want to see how to use him when they have all their parts, and because it might be a gaze he lacks. You know, Bella is in one of the most talented running backs ever and you can see that, and he's running hard. I think he lacks a little bit of the explosion that he used to. I mean, you have that many runs, you have that many plays that you get to the second level, you would expect that he would have something longer than a thirteen yard run before last week. Now

I think it's coming along. He's gotten a little better each week. But I like Mark saying I want to see them use him as a receiver because He's one of the best receiving backs that I've ever seen. He has ten to the air in the last two games. I'm just saying it's for an offense, especially that is dealing with a ton of pocket pressure your quarterbacks under dress. Throw into your running back is something we're seeing every other coach in the league do, and in Gaze at

some point runs out of excuses. Have your quarterback. But I'm not arguing with I just don't just think he's not. I trust the unleash bell at this point. Prove me wrong. Um. I also want to point out Mark A. Greg on injury corner. C J. Mosley was deemed well enough to play on Monday, and on the first drive he's limping along the plane of the goal line, and now Gays announces on Thursday that they have to do a quote deep dive on what's going on with his grind. He's done.

You could, I could book it. He's gonna be on i R probably before this podcast is over, so you essentially and who knows, maybe he's back in four weeks, but the season is basically lost. And that was a centerpiece signing of the off season. Well they have it gets hurt in week one and have an easy schedule coming up. You were saying even a week ago, even if they lose the Patriot, well, but it's just it only counts once and its standings lost his count more

than that, I don't have any more faith. That was a psychologically jarring defeat, right And when you're on the other end of that as a fan, you feel that a little bit more in this week and then it erases it. But if you don't win this week, you know, bye bye. If the Jags are lasting red zone percentage, that's one thing where for a running team, you would not think they would be the worst team in the league in terms of scoring touchdowns in the red and

so that's why all their games are closed. And honestly, with Minshew, his numbers would be much different. They had four drives last week that ended in field goals where they were nine, ten, eleven. They've done that every week. Before Monday night, I would have said, this is gonna be a great game, and I feel good now. Who knows, maybe the Jets compete, but I would not be surprised if they lose thirty one three either. It's that was

bad on Monday all right West Europe. Well, I'm risking a potential uniform apocalypse in this game, but you know it is America's heartland in a grass field, I gotta go with my Titans. You know, Buccaneers and Titans. Well, I have fun. I have fun watching them. I thought Tannehill was a massive upgrade on Mariota. Even with a few negative plays. They had their highest yards per attempt of the year, their best third down percentage of the year.

They're outside receivers Corey Davis and A J. Brown both had their highest catches of the year, and they're head coach. Mike Vrabel came in Monday and could not stop talking about tight window throws as if he had never seen them before. With Marcus Mariotta under center, it was a different offense. You even had a two minute drill in there to end the first half. I mean, these are

things Titans fans just aren't used to seeing. And then Jeffrey Simmons, the first round pick, comes back and, as Greg said in the debrief, may have been the best player on the field. Albert Haynesworth was raving about him, saying, when I looked at this guy, he's worth the in didn't look like a rookie, looked like a fifth or six year Albert Haynesworth. He it's a good I mean, it's easy, I guess because the Titans thing. But that was a great comp because he seems so strong along

with the athleticism that he was overwhelming. I I texted a little with DJ about it this week because he had called Simmons a top five player in the draft, if not for the A C L surgery. And then there was also um a sexual assault when he was early uh an alleged assault early in his career. There was a woman picking on his sister and her children and he's step I'm sorry, that should be corrected. And that was back in two thousand and sixteen. But the

Combine didn't invite him because of that um. But just watching him play, he was a massive difference maker. And Tannehill was too. I mean, I think you have these receivers Corey Davis and A. J. Brown. There's a chance that you get a little more out of him if you give him a chance to make those tight catches. And who would have thought after all these years, Finally we got Mariota Winston in year five to decide it,

and the winner of that debate is Ryan Tannehill. You want Mario, we we uh, we do have a lot of evidence on Ryan Tannehill over the course of six or seven years. Yeah, I'm not getting to know that we've been sucked in by that guy before, too, right, Okay, allow me to clarify ahead. I don't think he's any kind of long term answer. He's just making the Titans more watchable and I'm enjoying it. Let's see, let's see what he does against a different defense than the charge

in a better in a better situation. Think there's a case that he's can be adult in like figure adult and we've talked about media. Yeah, goes like that, which is a little better than I think people think of him as He's fine, his his his sitting there at the Dalton scale line was the one guy we can think that maybe is doing and maybe this year too was Dalton doesn't really fit as a Dalton scale at

this point. But I cannot get out of my own mind watching the live we had an assassination on Andy Dalton by Mark Straight and into a my mind, I loved it. Well, I think I'm being extremely fair on Andy Dalton at this point. I mean, he back to back to back intercept. Why do you think you're being fair? And he's the same quarterback he's always been. The only thing that's changes this around. Hi, why are we talking

about Andy Dalton? We can get into Andy Dalton. I mean, then let's flip over to Jamis Winston, who totally sabotaged his own team a week ago and does it every other week. And Greg, you pointed out the Saints game where he have had five picks in that game where he didn't, And I wonder when the Bucks have you know, they don't have someone to throw in there like Ryan

Tannehill at this point, but the experiment is over. If there's anyone trying to tell me that you're going to travel into next season with Jamis Winston, you gotta be kidding me. Feels very unlikely. And this is the wrong team for him to face. I think, because I think the Titans what they're good at with Dan P's they're very Patriots, Like they have the veteran secondary. They can mix up and confuse bad quarterbacks, you know, into making mistakes.

That's kind of what they're best that. And then they for these games against some of the bad quarterbacks, they can look like one of the best defenses in the league, and maybe this will be that week. This wouldn't have been are as Tannehill way of an upgrade over Mariota, but they needed a Charger's apocalypse to even win at home last week. So they were coming off four out of five losses before that, so it's hard to trust.

We're also, I'm just saying that game. You know, they're a middle of the road team, so they're they're not a team that blows too many teams. That a little notes shock Barrett still sitting at nine sacks, you know, giggling with your you know, it's funny like so you're actively rooting against I'm not rooting against him at all. Again, again, if we want to actually remember how that's what you would want to want to actually remember what happened on

the show. It was not Shack Barrett specific. It was the player that jumps out but then eight sacks, Shack won't get to ten. That this is I remember this is when he had eight. There's been three games since and he has one sack in those three games. Said, he's he is like the archetype of someone that would finish with nine ever that after that early season want

him to finish with nine. You're texting us about it during the think of course if it comes one of those things where if it played out where like it would just be another example of shutting you clowns up. Yes, I would enjoy it. This guy in California rooting against it's not really a Shack Barrett thing. But if it played out that way, which I have no control over, no more than Greg does with people tweeting about medical scenarios. At this point in our society, let us roll with it.

When have any of us clowns ever? Shut up? Right? That won't be happening. One of my favorites a little personal but text change though, because Mark's tweeted a texted us about it yesterday, I believe what's for the first time it was just like shocks still second nine and the middle of the day, West said the same reaction is what are you? What is that? A questions talking about doing my homework in the middle of the day. I thought I'd remind you before I forgot to remind you.

All right, let's uh, let's move on up. Next is does this mean I have a snake. I'm ready for my first pick. At least maybe I'll use my time allotted to get that second pick. Ready that that's what you're in the NFL. Sometimes, I'm gonna take the Chargers in the Bears. A weird game, but a strangely meaning game for the Bears, certainly because I think both these teams are hoping that they've hit bottom, and uh, one of them obviously hasn't because they're gonna lose on Sunday.

And at least the Chargers, for the first time in a long time, have some good induriners. Yeah, they might have lost uh Mike Pouncey for the season. Yeah, might a last Forest Lamp for the season, his replacement which kind of slipped under the radar. But they did get Melvin Ingram back at practice this week. Sounds like kill be back. They did get Russell o'koung back. He will be starting this game at left tackle. That's a massive upgrade.

And uh, and you have Hunter Henry playing like an all pro tight end who you missed for health care look at a little a little better. And uh, I thought they did some positive things in Tennessee. And I certainly don't think they're a cake walk. Uh. I was very surprised to see the Bears open this game as huge favorites. I just do not see Mitchell Drabinsky leading a huge against any reasonable NFL team at this point. Yeah, it's it's a Bordal situation there. His mechanics are out

to sink bass Is off. His lower body and upper body are disconnected. A lot of back pedaling and throwing off his back foot at the slightest sign of pressure, like it when West because mechanics in the lab. Well, I mean this is he's just broken and their defense knew it. By the fourth quarter, they could see their effort level had fallen off. And that's what happens when you have a Bortles type of situation, broken beyond repair.

UM member former Bear center Olan Creutz, mark Um vaguely cycling backs for the memory of that were like, at least we had Creutz. Well, that's what I mean by the Bordles situation. Creutz was saying this week that you know, the quarterback obviously is the one player in the building who can lift everyone up, but he's also the one player in the building who can take everyone down with him. And that's what's like, how do we know how good Anthony Miller is as a football player? Their number two

or three wide receiver. And look, last week, this was not a Trabinsky all on him. They have fumbles by Montgomery, fumbles by Miller, Alan Robertson couldn't get get a second toe down inbounds on Trabinsky's best throw. It was a offense wide collapse last week, very really bad running game, and their defense is just not as good. So whether

it's Hicks or it's Trabinsky, it's still really good. But when you go from number one to a team that gives up big time yardage to the Raiders and today Bridgewater, you're not as good as you were. I mean, the Bears are the last team, the last offense that I would make excuses for at this point. But I'm almost at the point with the Saints defense where okay, let's

regroup and see what you do this week. But the sts, what the Saints did to the Bears, I think the Bears defense, to West's point, that locker room is fractured right now because they need to realize that, you know, they're on the field now for thirty five plus minutes a game and their gas by the end when they lost to the Raiders. That had something to do with the Bears offense just not performing too Matt nags at the point where he's got to announce in the middle

of the week that he's gonna call plays. This is about as far removed from the this season's experience the Bears fans thought they would get. And I feel bad for the fan base because they having a lot of upside moments. But you went into the year with a shaky quarterback and some shaky skill position operations here and

playing out. And I wonder if what the Saints did is just a continuation of the model of how to beat Robiski week week after week, and where his confidence will be, because you know, this is a guy that only started for one season in college. He doesn't have sixty college slash pro starts under his belt to deal with,

and he's not growing, he's regressing. We have a segment on the Power Ranking show I do with Matt money Smith called the Voice of the Chargers talks about what's wrong with the Chargers without getting fired, and Money's he's such a smart guy and he sees everything and he

was breaking down. What what made uh that last sequence of that game such a cluster f near the goal line, because not only was their Chargers failures and Anthony Lynn with brutal play calling giving the ball back to Melvin Gordon a second time after he nearly fumbled the first time. And then he does fumble. But the officials both on the floor and upstairs. Uh, and on Park Avenue or wherever they do these reviews. Uh, they missed the ten

second runoff within that sequence. They also Austin Ekeler scored a touchdown. Uh, there was not enough evidence to overturn that. And and then and that's pure Chargers and and even to Melvin Gordon, he the ball comes out of his hand on the first and gold carry, he lands on top of it. You could make the argument that should have been a touchdown. It was just such such a mess. But you wonder what happens going forward with Melvin Gordon White. I honestly have reached the point where I have just

I have pity for the guy. I feel for him because he comes to the out in the media this week and he knows not only is he not getting that big paycheck, but now he's public enemy number one amongst his fan base and fantasy owners. Arecussions, yes, there are, but it's also as a human being. When he comes out to me and says, one thing I know is I'll never miss another training camp, you sense the guy is in a place, in a tough place in his life.

He's not in shape. Obviously, he doesn't have that explosiveness near the goal line. And Anthony Lynn, who's a former running backs coach, he wants Melvin Gordon to get that game when he touched out, but he's gotta be smarter. And you just wonder what Gordon's role is going forward um at his current state. And one thing we don't know behind the scenes to add to that list is the kind of advice he's getting from the people around him.

If you're Melvin Gordon going into this season where he's probably regretting some of the missteps he took based on agents and counsel saying this is something, this is something that was important to him before he entered the league. He came into the league saying I'm going to change the way running backs get paid. And I get that you're he admitted he wouldn't do it again, but he

also affected other people's lives. He affected his teammates lives, he affected his coaches lives, he affected the owners lives by not coming in shape, by not reporting with his teammates. And now he's playing like two thousand eighteen Leonard four net even before that goal line situation. He's not explosive, he's not good, and he's cost himself money instead of earning money. It was a bad decision with a lot of repercussions, fair, and the coach bears a lot of

fault for it. We see this in baseball too. This is a big part of coaching. You bring a guy up from a rehab assignment and he's not what he once was, don't play him. It's a little loyal to a fall. They pushed a little hard and if I'm

gonna bury Jalen Ramsey. West makes a good point that if he comes back, Melvin Gordon comes back, he's got to be Melvin Gordon that they need him to be in apparently, and the worst thing for the charges because we've talked about Melvin Gordon, let us a good trade candidates. Send him to Buffalo, send him X, Y and Z. I mean, thanks to his actual play on the field.

His stock for a trade could not be lower. Right now, whatever they were gonna get is less, Greg, It's time to snake all right, Um, I'm gonna go see Hawks. Falcon's only two early games left on the board. Chance to see Russell Wilson. We don't know if Matt Ryan is gonna play in this game. He has not practiced Wednesday or Thursday. Maybe is it worth noting this or not. Matt shob moved the offense and scored a touchdown better

than Matt Ryan did. All us well, you did it, you knowed you put so much stock in garbage time. I out what an indictment? No Like Greig and I have always disagreed on the value of garbage time production, and I think it. I think it's actually worse than meaningless because it leads you to conclusions that don't mean. I don't think the match shop moving matters. I think it's hard to to separate out. It is a philosophical thing,

like what garbage time matters and what doesn't. Because almost as equally as a team going up and down the field with their backups, things happen like what happened in the Jets game where you just keep getting destroyed no matter who's on the field, so it's just hard to know which one matters. I think there'll be plenty of garbage time in this game because the Falcons defense is a garbage defense. I mean, them and the Dolphins are

by far the two worst defenses in the league. And as long as Russell Wilson is allowed to throw the ball, uh, they're going to be one of the most efficient passing attacks in the league. It's crazy that the number two passing attack in d v O A is basically Wilson and Lockett improvising and then DK Metcalf's three routes like that's that's about it, and that's good for numb or two in the lake right, and then the other side of the ball. They don't have a single player on

pace for five sacks. They miss like a Cliff Avrol or a Chris Clemens, one of those speedy guys coming off the edge. And if you can't sack a hobble Matt Ryan or a Matt Shop behind this offense offensive line with no running game, then you're just a terrible pass rushing team. Yeah, Matt Ryan, was you know that offensive line is such a liability. They got him hurt last week. I mean, that's they he was punished from wire to wire. I would like to see a Seahawks game, because, yes,

they are fun to watch. They are drama queens because they're gonna get out down early or keep it too close in some of these games, and then you know, with magic to lock it, which seems to happen every week, they'll pull up stuff out of a hat and get close at the end. How about a game like this where you're playing an offense that's just an open barn door. Get up early and actually run the Schottenheimer offense the way he'd like to, which is panneling people with the

run late versus this late nonsense. I'm not sure they're they're any better than they were a year ago. They've played seven games, they've lost convincingly twice, they've won convincingly once, and they've won four times at the buzzer. I mean that's you know, the ball bounced a little better than they were a year ago. But they're just kind of that sort of team. Well, it feels like they're passing game is better, but they're running game is much worse.

Than it was. Later got to recognize it though, when he said that when he took criticism from missing the long field goal last week, it was on fourth and three of fifty three yard or that his plan was if he didn't go for the field goal, they would have punted it. And he said, because that's who we are. We're a defense and running team. We punt it there. But you're not. Your defense is below average, your running game is below average in terms of efficiency. Your offense

is awesome. I mean you're passing the tax awesome. Lean into that your quarterback is an m VP candidate because largely the passing success. I will say that, yes, there's a lot of close games with the Seahawks is the reason why the Seahawks win a lot of close games. It's not always a coin flips because Russell Wilson as good as that as an doing it for a decade. Um. All right, let's move on, Chris Westling. Okay, with where you're coming up in the draft today, I am I'm

not okay. What's what's left to pick from it? I will take for the first time all year, the Bengals on the road against the Rams. Zach Taylor Sean McVeigh in London, back at in London Stadium. This is a normal time game. Ten am London pop like speak. We're back in the at the six thirty am. Damn oh, I'd rather have the six thirty. I can pay attention to the game. Wood good for you. Yeah, a little six wake up call. I mean I'm waking up anyway.

It's it's Sunday. It's a big football day. You gotta get up early, ready to face to face the world. He putting leave the egg yolks into the glass and just happened to wake up like it. Go ahead like Christmas morning. You got a whole day of football aheady, just like Christmas morning. You're a lucky man. Us uh. I don't know what to say about the Bengals, like you can't. I think I disagree with Mark and I

don't think you can evaluate Andy Dalton. You just can't evaluate him behind this offensive line with the worst rushing attack we've ever seen, throwing to an injured wide receiver corps in a new offense. I just we know what he is after all these years. I don't think he got worse. I think he's the same quarterback when everything else got worse. I want to look at it. I can understand the Bengals say, let's keep a G Green.

If you're Zach Taylor especially, you're coming in and you think, okay, if I can just get a J greenback, Tyler Boyd, if we get John Ross back at some point Joe Mix and Gio Bernard look at the weapons, I suddenly have I understand a coach saying that Cordie Glenn returned to practice autent tate making like three or four great catches every week. Now it's it's right. I do think you can say that it's trending towards the end of an era, though, that they will move on from him

because it doesn't seem like it's a great match. And maybe it was just the green from uh Dondy Dalton after this year, but maybe it was just like the emotion of it. But the end of that game, the booing, like the the windy, half empty stadium, like where you could actually hear, you could hear, you could hear the the individuals different you know, timbers of their voice booing into the the see it just felt so like late December and ugly and just felt like this is ending. Yeah.

My only call is for a new era, like let's try something new, because a lot of those weapons that you listed have been there for a long time, and I'm not certain Zach Taylor's the guy to take them over. I thought the Rams, you know, I know who they were playing last week. It was kind of a nice fu game for Jared Goff in the offense to say they're not perfect, but you know what, they did everything you could have asked. I thought Golf made some really nice throws. He is far from uh the dude at

this point. But after the fire that they were taking, they win and they took care of business. I don't know what you could have asked the offense to get more in Atlantic, Yeah, they got and they and they focused on what they do well, which is those three receivers. They're awesome, and they played a lot of tempo. I think it was a little bit of back to basics. You'll see that. I think I think you'll see that. And then was made to look really good by a

horrible but let's see some more Darrell Henderson. I've seen enough of Girly. I mean, he's a he's a useful role player, and he's a their starter. He's a good he's a starting running back. But he had a play where he had a canyon opened up and it was just him in the safety. I forget who was number thirty on on Maybe it's demonte Kyzy on the falcon and it was just what West said. He didn't try to make a miss. He kind of burrowed and just

went down. And when Darrell Henderson comes in, he doesn't look like he knows where he's going, but he's going there fast with a lot of power. Let's see more. I agree. I last thought in this game is people are teeing off on Jared Goff because I think he's one of those guys that people liked to tee off on.

But if your offensive line of public ads, maybe maybe maybe, But if your offensive line goes from an A to a C overnight and maybe worse, and your superstar running back goes from a super duperstar too, what did you

call him a piece a role player? There's not going to be this the idea now Jared Goff is maybe not a superstar, and maybe people are are puffing out their chest that I always that he wasn't a superstar, But I think a lot of us were under the impression that he was a good quarterback in a great system, and now that he's playing poorly, it's not necessarily because he's terrible, it's because things have changed a lot. I'm not giving up on this team at all, especially with

Jalen Ramsey. I think they can be a factor. Golf is terrible. I don't think we need to go there. But he was an m v P canndy a year ago. I'm with you, though, Dan, I think that a virtual

that guy. But from the beginning there was also if anything that nagged Goff if he was a superstar in waiting, was that it was just Sean McVeigh teen him up at the at the at the line of scrimmage play after playing making Because it's people that don't know enough about football, it's fair to wonder, like, what's his ceiling? You know, he's still only can he be a consistent

top five quarterback? I don't know if many people have on the road and win, right, is there there's some people that have believed he's had that in him throughout and five is superstar? Right? No one in this podcast has been like that. Can he be a very functional top twelve type of guy and win a lot of games. Sure, all right, let's close out the draft portion of proceedings here. Um, I kind of get bailed out here. I get a

late game. I was worried that West is going to go after his Broncos, but I guess they were so bad last time we saw him on Thursday Night Football. That West. The Colts bore me to tears. It took me six tries to finish that game. So the cults, uh, they welcome the Denver Broncos to Lucas. I'll stay an early game, though, Raiders test a late game, yes, uh, and I believe I wanted to, but then I'd have three early games. Am I Do I have this wrong?

Because I'm looking at the weekend schedule, I believe you need to be Yeah, you're looking that that appears. I think they moved the time of the game. You need Oakland, Oakland at Houston. Read the research manual. There you go. This is great podcasting. But yes, it's a ten am game. But I'm not crazy. This also has they moved the time of the game, and I'll be absorbing that. Well. If I'm getting a one pm either way, I'm moving man, I'm sorry. Mark to Oakland at Houston. Yeah, no, because

I whenever I could watch. I've said this before Deshaun Watson on a Sunday. I'm watching Deshaun Watson on a Sunday. And the Raiders they're not a great team, but if you watch even the Packers game where they ended up dropping getting a forty burger dropped on them, if they execute a little bit better in the red zone. I believe there was three trips of the red zone that

ended with no points. I'm not saying they were ever going to beat the Packers because Aaron Rodgers was simply too great in that game, but that game had a chance to be a lot more competitive. Um and maybe that's because the Raiders aren't good enough to execute, But I also think we've seen enough from them there where they had an off day in terms of the red zone. I think they could go to Houston and absolutely compete.

I did. I did think about locking up the Texans just because Houston UH is coming off that tough loss at Indy and they are another team that I think if they bring their a game and they're at home, they're pretty tough to be And I think that's the version of the Texans we see, and I think the Texans do go away with a w here. The people in the desert think this is a pretty uh nice

set up for Houston for what it's worth. So I do like the Texans in this game, but I would not discount this being another one of those close games because Houston seems to like to play those, and the Raiders aren't getting They're not getting wiped out very often the season. The Texans, that's what they've been doing. All one score games has been their recipe week after week.

I thought the Cults loss was rough and under the radar rough because of just some lost opportunities that the the in the grasp call into Shaun Watson, which that that is a the way that's called when it is, it does never feel it never feels very consistent to me. It feels subjective to subjective based on who's on the field. That ripped a touchdown away from them that should not have been, I thought. And then they got deep down into the Colt's red zone again and were forced to

kick a field goal when they should have scored. I mean, little things like that near the goal line hurt the Texans a lot last week. In another world, they win that game. I mean, they were just as talented, I thought as as the Colts were. Their secondary can't cover anyone, Jared J. J. Watts hitting the quarterback six times, and the quarterback has the best game of his life. J J.

Watts coming I mean he is. He is coming on strong, and you could hear it in his voice when he talked this week, he basically said he thought it was the best game he's played since he's come back from all those injuries going back four years, and I think it looked like it. He's been getting better each week. But the cornerbacks are are so bad that that the Texans participated in what, as I thought about it was maybe one of the most disrespectful trades in NFL history.

I mean the Raiders said, hey, Gary and Conley, we uh weird disrespect you so much. We want you to play for the team that we're playing against this week so that we can throw it all over you. We don't want to wait a week. We want to throw on Gary and Conley right now. That is uh pretty bad. I mean, people say trade in your division, how about

you trade him and play him the next week. Josh Jacobs says, you got the practice this week, and their entire offense is based on him if you read between the lines on the way Romo was announcing last week. If they don't get an early lead and lean on it, they're done as an offense. Well there him and Darren Wall are you? Jon Gruden's you know, feeling himself. He's doing an awesome job. They are eighthan efficiency on options with Trevor Davis, Keelan Dawson, renfro as their top three

receivers right now, Tyrone Williams should return. Their offensive lines incredible. It might be the very best offensive line in the league now that Gabe Jackson and Trent Brown looks like he's going to be back to their dangerous That's what I thought about locking up texting too. But I just think the Raiders play this weird old school slow style with three tight ends in a fullback. But they score and that leads to a lot of like offensive led games that are close at the end. I could see

that happening Sunday. All right, Mark, close it out the draft portion of this, All right, Well, I will take the much bally Hood Broncos at cults game that you you know that's going to go down in the in the history of our drafts, is maybe a missed opportunity for you. Did you had, you had it in your wheelhouse and you let it go. How many Stone Pony

tweets are gone? I'm not gonna be tweeting up a storm about about Joe Flacco because I think as a nation, right we came to a conclusion and you wrapped that up perfectly last Thursday night to there's no more. There's what more is there to say about some of these guys that are just lodged in these positions and you can feel the end creeping close that they you know they've given away at this point. Emmanuel Sanders, I think Courtland Sutton every week does something great for the Broncos.

Uh DeShawn Hamiltons have a bigger role there. Their offense to me is just you gotta wait till next year. There, you're stuck with this because Drew Lock is not When you have John Elway coming down saying this would be the time to throw to give us Drew Lock, he's not ready. You can tell Vic Fangio was not on the Drew Lock train in general, and so he's he probably does not want to flip away from Flacco, no matter how bad he looked. The Colts. To me, Ry

remind me of a little bit. I look at the Eagles and I say, why can't the coaching staff coach up the parts on offense to look better than they do? I look at the Cults and I feel like there's a lot of middle range dudes they're outside of, like a t Y Hilton that Frank Wright coaches up. Every week. They get open guys like Zach Pascal, you know. They To me, it's week after week. It's not stars, and they they outshine the parts on the roster, and the Cults to me, are gonna be there at the end

because of the way they're coached. Why was Jake bres Brisket not getting your pajamas moving? What's up of that? This is an extraordinarily, extraordinarily well coached team. Um Jacoby Brissette plays a very boring style of football. To me, I can't remember any of the great throws he made. None of them stand out. I think this is the product product you get when you're best player by far as a guard. It's just not that fun to watch. I I like watching them because Frank wreck in the

red zone. Frank Wreck in the red Zone is like a weekly Buddy comedy. You don't know what he's gonna come out with. He's gonna come up with something. Guys are wide open. He comes up with these crazy plays and they're one of the best red zone teams. He creates open receivers. Prissette did have a couple of nice deep outs in that last game. He's got plenty of arm and there's no question about that. But all six

of their games have been one score. So there you said you wanted to see the Seahawks win, you know, convincingly. I like if if we do think the Cults are gonna be there at the end, and I had them in the playoffs, so did you, Mark? And yet you know before the season starts. Yet I don't feel any better now than I did then, even at four and two, because that the margins so slim go beat the Broncos commit that holds that whole AFC South has that issue.

Don't they feel like the ultimate tenant six team? Yes? Yes, I feel like they're closer to five hundred to me eight ten six in the NFL is a razor than margin. Broncos defense is up to fifth in d v O A. Now they're good. They are good, and I would think the Colts were right for an upset, but no offense will find a way to blow it. I have never seen a player make as many mistakes in two months. Boy, I think, is it kill? He's the trojan horse sent

to get Alway fired. He's like the trojan Bronco. I think, I don't know. This guy makes several mistakes every single week. If our listeners are curious whether the intensity of West is um antipathy for you know, no Ah fan, you know goes down at all watching games, No, it goes up. And watching the Broncos with the West was specially. I kept thinking, this guy's can improve. He's a f Trump pick.

I'll get better. He gets worse every week. All right, let's move on to Sunday night football on this one hurts because we had the game of the year potentially set up, and perhaps it will still be a fun game because the Chiefs at home in prime time. They're not gonna roll over, but they're also not gonna have Patrick Mahomes, who was out with that knee injury that he suffered last Thursday UM against the Broncos. So it

will be Matt Moore, right, we haven't officially. The Chiefs are trying to make playing that he took some second team raps and that there's a chance. When you look at the video that they put out there, I mean he's like kind of limping around there and not. I mean we would not we would not anyway to take a leap medically, we would not keep out. I'm going off raps who says he's not playing. Yeah, I think

it's three weeks and then the by. Greg, I think it's just safe just to came out through the by. I actually think there he has one right before the bye. There you go. They might get Chris Jon back though, which is a huge uh addition, and they might get Eric Fisher, their left tackle back. This does feel like a game that the Packers should win. Uh West do you have? Is there any way to spin it where you think the Chiefs pull this out if they don't

have their m v P. No. And I don't even think they pull it out even if Mahomes plays, because they'll be so he'll be so limited against Aaron Rodgers in the zone. This version of Mahome's not healthy. I'm not like trusting the Chiefs defense has suddenly flipped a switch on because they had one great night in Denver, and right now Aaron Rodgers is an elevated sports experience to watch him play. This is This is the Aaron Rodgers that we were watching three or four years ago

when he was at the top of his game. And I'm willing to sacrifice the Cowboys any other team to keep this Packers team healthy the rest of the year. They will be my number one pick in every chance I get to for our Thursday exercises. This is the team they're gaining strength. Romo was effusive in the way he'd describe that that Rogers and La Flour are getting used to each other. They're just now hitting o scride. Aaron Jones is awesome. Once Davante Adams gets back, good

luck he's doing this. Rogers did this last week against the Raiders with a receiving corps that had a combined to leven touchdowns in their career. We are right back where we started with Aaron Rodgers in the past. You know what, But the difference is is that I am I I can get behind the whole Mike Petton experience. The team to me feels different. It is entirely than the operation from a few years ago, where you're you knew some drama was going to happen down the stretch.

I thought they did give up a couple of big pass plays against Oakland last week. Their defense is not Saints level today than any Packers in anie Packers game in four years. Darnell Savage is practicing fully this week and should should be playing. He's he's been big in their back end, but was out the last two weeks. And your boy Robert Tanyan's back. They do have a lot of good injury news. All right, let's move to Monday night football. Uh, here's a stinker. That's just a

bad game watching if you want. It's part of the NFL. You know, every NFL game is is great. By the way, it looked bad when they put the schedule together. All right, it never looked great, but now it looks even worse. You got the Dolphins nil and six traveling to Hines Field to face Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers coming off to buy Uh, looking to have a pulse in the a f C North, and um, you know, the Ravens seem right now to be the clear best

team in that division. The Browns are an enigma at this point. The Steelers, though, if they can get this win and get to three and four, at least stay on the periphery. But that's about as much as I could say about them. I'm stunned to read the optimism from the Steelers beat writers about how this team is going to finish like Ed Buchett and there's one other one. Yeah,

they were I wrote a couple a couple. They really see them as like, well, they're like a nine nine win type of nine, a ten win type of team. And I know James Conner looked better before the vibe. But they also lost Stefan to it, who, along with t J. Watt, has been their best defensive player and he's out for the season. We never really hit that one, and that is a huge loss for I thought too, it was playing as well as any defensive end in the league, and this defense was really hitting it stride.

It's a great defense, or it's a very good defense. I think the defense will still dominate this game. It's by far the best unit in this game. Even you know you got you're probably gonna have Fitzpatrick on Fitzpatrick crime in this one. T J. Watts still like that little Minca versus. Ryan didn't even think of the Minca mink.

The revenge game. Revenge game. I mean, this was the ultimate revenge for the Dolphins would although I guess they would hurt their own pick if they win, so that defeats the best revenge upon themselves because because in theory, you know, they could they could make the Steelers record worse, which helps the pick they ow't you know, they also have the Steelers pick either way. They let me try

to sell this game, U two fans. You know in August when the Hall of Fame game or preseason games on and you miss football so much that you watch it and it could not mean less in the starters play one series or two or not at all. Well, enjoy every sandwich, as once taught us, uh Martin, this is a football game that counts, and the Dolphins playing better and the Steelers are trying to stay in the playoffs. Here's one here. I know you don't want to think

that Dolphins are interesting here's the thing. Who are you talking to? You can talk to anybody that every week he tries to get us interested in the do who aren't even interested in now? And this has happened now it's been getting closer every week when they get when they're getting close to a win, it's like Twitter starts buzzing, Oh, is this the week they're really gonna get Like when they if they win a game, or when they if they get down to the last five minutes, it feels

more monumental then if the Bengals do it. Twitter has stopped picking on Kirk Cousins for twenty seconds. Isn't a cell because that's all Twitter does is talk about Kirk Cousins all game, all Sunday. I'm to be locked in from wire to wire in this. We're not gonna take my eyes off it. All right, So there you go. That is the preview of Week eight. Come back later tonight check in on your podcast download source of choice. We apologize the Matt More. You know, I didn't even

get a mention here in his triumphant return. We but we ran out of time at late in the show. He'll get it when he and Andy Reid Andy Reid exact revenge on the Packers. Me and the Sizzler will talk Redskins at Vikings tonight in the Midi Pod and then on Sunday in the Flagship Show, will go all go all over the games, go over the games that we just previewed. And one last note, someone from our team here in NFL Media, Andy ken Off, who's a tape operator and a guy behind the scenes that works

on this show and many others. Uh. He was in a motorcycle accident um recently and he suffered some serious injuries. He's gonna be okay, but he's laid up right now, and so we send our wishes best wishes uh to Andy because that sucks, and we hope that he gets well soon and gets back to work. Most importantly, back to work, Andy, Let's get you into the building. That's what we need. But uh, yeah, best wishes to Andy

and his whole family. Smart moved by Andy though, to stay on top of the league by listening to this podcast. He wants. He wants to full around the NFL experience, all right and get well soon. All right. This is Dan hands a signing off four. The Quiet Storm, The Mailman, The Old Boss Rick Holiday behind the glass, ND Bartlett, the whole team back there, Hey Christie Till sunday e