2021 Week 6 Preview

downhill at this stage. If now that I'm present and doing the job that they're you know, in theory requested me to do that, the popularity dips. I think you just stay out. I mean, that's just probably the next move. But we're gonna make a big deal out of every milestone for Sunday Show. Mark's first Sunday show back. I mean, I have been to this office previously for about twenty hours totally not even I mean more like two hours.

But it's so it's very strange to be back, but it's nice to be back in the Chris Wesley Studio, one of the best rooms in all of l A. You mentioned before that we are in Hollywood Park. It's neither Hollywood. It's definitely not a park. I don't know. There's nothing about this place that would suggest a child's well, I mean, that's not a child's area. But the branding is spot on, you know, Tinseltown baby, um Mark. I think it's something I you know, it's a little bit

of a sensitive topic. UM. So I didn't bring it up on Tuesday. This could go anywhere, so the first show back. But I think it's it's kind of hoping Greg would bring it up, but I will your prediction, your sandwich predictions about um, a coach resigning, about a cheerleader being made really involved in the story or a story is I don't want to be out of school here, but maybe a little on the nose that you were

that that correct? Is it possible that you had something to do with this, that you were in the emails somehow, that you were part of the whole controversy? Just put it out there. I am seeing that. Um, that's been thrown at me online multiple times, and in my only response would be if there's any benefit to have never been in the category of insider on any level? UM, that just I mean, I've not provided inside information over the course of a decade inside this company. Why would

I suddenly be Well, you could be deep throat. Deep throat in this case is not going public. You decided to take you know, he or she um you know contributed to this story and ultimately got you sandwiches, So you would have a motive. I mean, I think from the other, you know, the other person's angle. Why include me? There's no upside for any other person that I win sandwiches on a podcast in a distant state. I don't

know all I'm saying. It feels absurd to me that I would suddenly be seen as a man with inside information. I simply made a very correct prediction, multiple very correct predictions, and and that you did. And we will be touching on what's going on around the Raiders with their new head coach Greg Rich coming up a little bit later. We're gonna go through all the games of week six.

A little bit later tonight, we will be recapping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Philadelphia Eagles with Greg Rosenthal and mystery guests Nate Tye joining me tonight. Whoa Nate Tye? Good one Good one pencil behind the ear maybe we'll see UM and then we're gonna go through all the recaps of all the games, UM in addition to Thursday Night foot Bell on Sunday, our flagship program. But first we got a preview all of week six and we do a draft style. But before we get to that,

let's start with the prime time games. And if we start with the prime time games, and were starting with Russell Wilson, Uh, his hand all bandaged up, leading to the backup quarterback having to play in prime time in front of Al Chris in the world, that could only mean it's time for one thing and now another edition of You know sometimes Greg, I wondered, and I worried that we'd never be able to play that drop again

because Gina would never have another opportunity. But here we are, and the biggest of all spots at the age of let's say he's about thirty. I think he's right around thirty years old. Uh, he's going to Pittsburgh to play a Steelers team flawed as they are at two and three, but with a great pass rush with t J. Watt leading the way with some playmakers UM in the secondary. UM, you were concerned when We talked about Gineo in London having to start a game um and really be out

there out in front. But he did play well in relief against the Rams. How do you feel about a boy Geno Smith in this spot and his team, by the way, in the hyper competitive NFC West, desperately needing a win at two and three themselves. I mean, I don't feel great. It's a different thing to come in for two quarters and look good. And Gino did look good. I mean he was changing plays at the line of scrimmage.

Troy Aikman was getting all excited. He's the thirty one year old I I always wondered, like, would this long fascination with Gino Smith ever result in him ever getting another chance, because it felt like he was on the border line when he had a rough concussion in in the preseason of like, could this be the end of Gino Smith's career. It's one thing to do that for two drives against the Rams. It's another for four quarters.

Because the Seahawks are a bad team. I mean, that's like the whole story of this Seahawks season is Russell Wilson is basically the one thing that they have that they do well. I mean they have they have lock it in DK Metcalf on the outside, but other than that, it's one of the worst offensive lines in the league. It's a pretty bad running game statistically, it's one of the worst defenses in the league. It's been basically, through five games, one of the worst Seahawks teams. I would say,

the worst that we've seen. That's a big ask for Gino Smith to come in here again good yeah under peak Carroll and look um like a guy who can move the ball up and down the field on a Steelers defense that I still have a lot of respect for, right I think it's the Steelers defense factor. I mean there was a play, a couple of plays and against the Rams where I thought that essentially what you know, some of Geno's success was the Rams defense looking a little out of it, a little gas towards the end

of that game. But you know what he did. I thought managed the game really well. I mean, he took a lot of time at the line of scrimmage. But they talked about the fact that like his all of his nine completions basically were less than ten air yards. He took what the Rams gave him. He was one for seven on shots that were downfield, but I thought he made some plays. But Pittsburgh with a week to prepare, is gonna look at this team and say, Number one,

it's not just Gino. It's the fact that, like the Seahawks laid in that Rams game doing all they could to stop the Rams, they basically of the Rams like we're gonna run the ball. They put Darryl Henderson right up the gut of Seattle's defense. Twelve yard games. Seattle knew what was coming, couldn't stop it. I just look at the Seattle defense. It's last in the league and yardage. It's not the case with points allowed that about twenties something.

But this is so atypical of where Pete Carroll has taken this team on previous journeys. And so to your point, Greek, if you take Russell Milton Wilson out of the mix, Gino makes it a total mystery soup. And I'm not sure where this ends. Like we'll be taping the pod during the first half and then you know, peek behind the curtain we started, I you know, watched the first half as the second half, like I'm not looking for I'm missing this. This has been like a seven year

project for me, and we're missing the start of this game. Well, this isn't good. I'm gonna just people are just gonna be bombing me with like reactions, good or bad, and I won't know what's going on. And remember, we have a viewing theater here at the New Network offices, and you are welcome to sit right next to me and we could chop it up in the second half. And Mark,

I'd love for you to join us as well. Uh. Greg has been keeping his distance from me in the theater and it's been an issue, um that I've been dealing with privately, A doing like the guy thing where you don't sit next to each other in a movie. I mean, we actually went to a movie together once down in San Diego. I believe we sat next to each other. We did. We sat right next to each other. And so that Jennifer, literally no one is sitting right

next to each other. It's a big nice I think one to two chairs space then you it's fine, but you are eight chairs separated. That's pretty on the nose. Greig, maybe you could sit in between the giant space that Greg leaves between. Well maybe he was leaving a space for me like you do at a table, the manufactured bit, I don't think the Steelers. Then the Steelers finally looked something of a balance. Uh, found in something of a

balance on offense. Now they said season highs last weekend points, total yards, rushing yards against Denver, and you know, Denver's got a good defense. Uh, and especially I think the rushing yard has jumped out because they were reaging just over fifty yards a game in the first four weeks of the season. And this is you know, coming off the Naj Harris first round pick. Harris blows up greg Um, Roger Ben Roethlisberger has some success. Is this something sustainable,

especially against this defense? Yes, this week I was wondering if if their offensive line played like that moving forward, then Mark and start getting a little worried again that the Steelers are gonna do something like you were. You were on these Steelers are gonna collapse bandwagon, I mean for a month and a half profit totally, and then at one and three it was like, oh, you should have you should have stayed on it. But last week, like they pushed the Broncos around. It's not like Naj

Harris suddenly was running better. It's just they absolutely like was pushing them backwards. If they can do that even just a little bit, their offense could be fine. But it's not like Roethlisberger played any better. He made a bunch of mistakes in that game, and he just had Chase Claypool and Deante Johnson making plays for him. And if somehow you missed it, Russell Wilson underwent surgery his right middle finger and is expected to return no earlier

than week ten. So it is virtual mustlin territory for something to put a sandwich on him returning earlier than week ten. Uh No, I won't. Yeah, I just feel like it feels very like they're gonna set up a bar and then he's going to come back early, and that's okay, that's a good move in life, right, But also like, yeah, I don't want to take it away from I think he's an incredible competitor state on the

field his whole career. But someone on our network literally said, like, you know, he's like an incredible healer, he's one of the best. Yeah, that I can't there's a there's a huge mural. Well, there's murals everywhere in this new building and right outside the commissary area, there's all these like buzzwords for believing in oneself. And one of him is like determination, and it's like a picture of like Russell Wilson like clasping his hands together, like biting his lower lip.

He's like drinking that concussion juice. Juice that like, it's like that resonates with no group less than NFL media report every time. Gino, by the way, let's win this game. Maybe you don't you know, maybe you win seventeen to sixteen. Let's go see Oaks defense. Let's play some team football, and Gino Kinn at least you're called for an embarrassing loss. For the Steelers to in six faul to Gino Smith

in a bad defense would be nice. All right. That was it, and that was another edition of Veno checking on Gino Frags with incredible voice work. Let's move to Monday night football. The Buffalo Bills four and one, so they had they had a primetime game last week. Whooped up on the Chiefs at Arrowhead. That was grizzly, um if you're a Chiefs fan. And now they go to Tennessee to face the Titans. The three and two Titans, the Titans who got a big performance per usual from

Derrick Henry in their win over the Jaguars. Here's a great, great stat ron Henry. And we all know Henry is the guy that does it all for the Titans. UM, he's that important to them. He is. Without him, they are a bad team. And this step from CBS. If you remember the Thursday Night game and Graverman said, and Graver why I always had the man sitting in for grave Digger sitting in for Ricky was a little under

the weather. The Thursday Night game a couple of years back was against the Jaguars when he had two hundred touchdowns two hundred yards and four touchdowns UM. From that game, it's been forty games since and it's the most productive stretch by a running back in NFL history four thousand seven yards over that span, just ahead of Jim Brown, who's a guy who's a guest on the A t L Debate Club. That's how most people know him. Actually said that he enjoyed the interview, which I don't think

he was, you know, being phony about that. I called him. Some of his behavior when he's younger is audacious and he goes, that's a good word, young man. All right, Jim Brown, thanks for the compliment. Anyway, So Derrick Henry's there, they got him. However, Mark, you have the Buffalo Bills here, and you have a team that's hitting on all cylinders right now, and even Derrick Henry might not be able

to handle what's coming here. Well, not to mention the rest of Tennessee's rather bland nature, and you know, I think a team that just sort of in the middle of the mix. Uh Tannehill's the most sacked quarterback in the league. And Greg, you're a d v o A guy, there's the seventh worst team Tennessee in the league d v o A wise. I mean, they're just they're a bland, middle of the pack team in a rough division. And the Bills shook off their early issues on offense and

look unbeatable. I mean, they beat the Dolphins thirty five to nothing. They were utterly unstoppable against a bad chief. Stevens like recap the whole like six weeks you were gone or what. I just I'm looking back on what we're just like slump that people were, you know, fretting over for a fortnight It's like that's just early season blues. And that was one game where they out game the other team by a hundred and forty yards. It's the Steelers who I think can do that to certain teams.

We're basically talking about the last time you were here. That was the last time I was here. That's very fair. That's the last thing that I've touched, you know, as of your world. I do think the Bills, here's the thing they've ad. It's not just last year laptop right now. Not true. I worked quite hard attempting to while gone, because you can't just skip a month of these looks like the Steelers are gonna be okay. That's that is absolutely not accurate. Here's what I like about the Bills.

I think someone like Dawson Knox is coming into his own like Emmanuel Sanders was by a good front office, a really good addition. I was a team I wanted the Ravens to get him a year ago because he plugs in really well. He's been good for them. I think Leslie Fraser has been coordinator of the year. Material. It's material. Gregory Russo is all over the place. I just think it's as much the Bill's defense as the

offense in Tennessee. I don't trust them to get to use this game as anything other than a prime time embarrassment some degree. So the Super Bowl last year with the Chiefs, it was the whole thing was a blur for us personally and everything. But like that game was, it was so weird to watch the Chiefs getting beat up on. But what I saw in Sunday against the

Bills was even stranger. And this is a credit to Buffalo, where it felt like they knew everything the Chiefs were gonna do on defense, and there was nothing when Patrick Mahomes trying to get heated up to try to get back in that game, it was just wasn't there. And I think that that shows you the preparation of this team and also that they just seem they are ready to take that next step and become a true superpowers,

super Bowl level team. And I'm with you, I think this does not set up well for the Titans, who greg don't have a lot of I'm sure they'll tell you they have a lot of urgency, but they're playing in this terrible division where they're gonna win eight games and probably win the division, and they could handle a

last here. I'm not saying that's gonna lead to them not giving you a good effort in this game, but it just feels like we're these are two different teams at two different places have been the best team the league, and the Titans are far from that. They should have Julio Jones back this week. A J. Brown has been was back but hasn't really produced at all this year, which is a weird subplot of the Titans. Uh. The only thing that Titans could hope is, you know, it's

a little bit of a letdown the Bills. You know, get that big win in prime time in Kansas City. That's slaying the dragon. But the Bill should remember that game last year, don't you guys? Remember they were both undefeated Monday Night Football and the Titans destroyed. They put a forty on the Bills. They won by about thirty points in that game. So the Bills should be looking for a little revenge. And we're not even allowed to lock this one up, or else I would get on

the road. It is crazy. The Derrick henrything. I do want to point out just like how crazy he is right now. Not only only is he leading the league, in you know, yards, carries and rushing touchdowns for the third straight year, which is that's crazy. He has a hundred and forty two carries right now. The next closest player has ninety four. Yeah, I mean that's like he's also you know, he's pace for because of the seventeen games about four hundred and seventy five carries. So he

has broken every rule that there is. And there's still a part of me that's like, I don't know. They obviously can you keep doing this. Yeah, they're just like we're gonna do it, and we're gonna see if he could keep it up. But yeah, he's on pace to shatter the all time single season carry record and by the way, not for nothing, the rushing record. So, um, here's the last thing on this game from the Bill's

side of things. Since that week to since week two, he throughout the Pittsburgh game their first in points per game, first in points per game allowed, first, in point differential first, and turnover differential first, and sack difference at first and

average margin of victory. Yeah, they're the best team in football right now, and that's gonna be a lot for Tennessee to handle, all right, let's now move out of the prime time window and two hour draft and Mark, since you've been out of the office, I think you know, give you a little cookie first. Overall, pick I'm like an expansion team, so you've got to give that person a chance to build, you know, from the ground up. At this point, I mean, I'm not gonna I don't

fear that one of you would steal this. But that means you have to take the Jaguars. That does not mean that where that is that I'll be up at six thirty. Well, I'll be watching Dolphins Jags go ahead most of us. Well, Um, I am going to take Arizona Cleveland because I think it's one of the best games of the week and it's Cleveland. I think Brown is available to draft and watch the last few weeks. I gotta admit I have to say something about the Browns.

They really annoyed me last week. Um, but I don't understand how you come out of that game blaming everything on Baker Mayfield. Who look at he he he has missed throws the last two weeks. I don't think his left shoulder has been healthy in that sling people that have had that injury say that takes about three weeks to get used to, if not more. There's obviously chemistry issues with Odell Beckham that last week really costs them costs in the week before. So I'm not here to

say that Baker Mayfield has been perfect. But last week against Justin Herbert the Chargers, they were so injury raddled on defense. They were down to their fourth, fifth, sixth defensive back and those guys were getting injured in a game where they gave up forty seven points. What about the defense a few weeks before when Clowney was in there, when they had their full complement of players. So you know, they're a little healthier this week. But I don't think

it gets any easier with the Cardinals. I watched this Arizona team, and they are energy, they are confidence. They boldly passed the ball deep, and you look at what the front office has done. Adding someone like ron Deal Moore was such a perfect addition that the point where DeAndre Hopkins is sometimes not really even the center points that point of this passing attack. I don't I think this is a tough another very tough draw for Cleveland.

Who the one thing about the Browns I know that like one of the best fourth quarter offenses in terms of when they're at leading and their ground game is churning out, which has happened in multiple games. But I look at the Browns and kind of say, you aren't the Ravens. You aren't some of these other teams because you can't close link games out. They should. They could have two more wins than they do right now. You

look at them a look differently. I mean, I think the Baker thing, like whatever, he played great, and the offense played great against the Chargers, so I and like the Sling thing. You keep hearing that, like how much that bothered him. But there's also a lot of evidence at this point in his career that he's just he's streaky. Sometimes he's really good. What happened last week had nothing

to do with his arm. Here's why people get on him because when he gets the ball, not only does Kevin Stefanski run it on third and ten when you're trying to put the game away, which which kind of shows a little bit of a lack of confidence Baker, the problem is when you get the ball with a minute thirty left and you got one time out. I believe at that point, that's where the quarterback takes control.

And he ran an awful two minute drive. He made a bunch of bad decisions where he throws it two yards in the middle of the field, and that's the moment that's like the quarterback has to be the quarterback and he has to be the guy who runs it, and he didn't run it, and so that's why he gets he gets the grief, I think, and I think it makes sense. It doesn't mean he gets all the grief. He played pretty well, but that's the moment people like are wanting out of Baker. May I think that's fair.

It's fair. I think that he's treated a little differently than other quarterbacks. But but enough with Baker, because I mean, it's Kyler Murray to me, who three months ago I looked at this Cardinals team thinking that they were going to be the team that took a dirt nap in that division, even if they probably still would win seven or eight games. And you have to give Cliff Kingsbury a ton of credit for what they've done. And it's

not just him. I think vance Joseph on defense has done the kind of job that could give Cleveland problems they are, I believe one of the worst of the fifth worst run you so nervous. Well, if they're undefeated, and listen when remember when they added the favorite favorite. I don't care if Cleveland's favorite favored catching nothing. They're catching him in the right week. Him at home you don't have. You don't have Chandler Jones. You don't have

Rodney Hudson. You don't have Chandler Jones. There are two of their very best players. There's some reports about more COVID tests might be positive there. I don't know if that's coaches or what, but the availability is pretty huge because Clowney, Garrett, you know, McCann only you know, maybe you get word back it sounds like, but you don't really know if these guys are playing or not. We don't know where do you have five games into season? Mark?

What great would you give the Browns right now? What do you feel about them right now? B plus? Okay, so you feel good. I think they're a B plus team and they aren't an A team until they can beat the Chargers and knock out other teams that are growing. A nice opportunity though, just to kind of wipe the taste off and you beat the undefeated team and you get to four and two and you feel good. I just agitated in my house watching this, and also not

at work, so you think it's a vacation day. It's not. It's like that was such a that was such a and it didn't work out because they lost the game. Mark, but you had We're in London, you're not working, The Browns are playing. They're playing at a building that's like a mile away from your house. You got to be at that game. I don't have to be. You got to get in your last chance to do it. How do you expe First of all, like it just wasn't gonna happen. It was still in recovery mode of undegree.

But how would I'd explain to any of you or anyone that I work with that I'm, you know, joking around this entire building. All people do in this building is go to the games across the street. But we would not have chagrined, We would have no issue. But I know it was not on the table mentally. All right, let's move on. Who do you got in the game. I'm taking the Browns. I think they're a better team.

I mean the Cardinals are good. But if ever the Cardinals are going to lose a game, it's like on the road out of conference, they're they're missing their guys, their their offense. I had some struggles last week. Not that that's overarching concern, but I think the Browns are a better team. I picked Cleveland. I think like thirty to twenty nine, but just because, and I think kind of my My thought about the Browns is like their defense stunk get less Sunday, but that happens every once

in a while. They came turned into attract me. But we've seen their defense that it could be great. We've seen the offense can be great. Browns are gonna be okay, Yeah, the Cardinals are due for loss. I got the Browns too, all right, before Greg's up, let's take a break. All right, let's move to Greg. Oh should should have thought about this little ahead of time? And now my computer is frozen and he loses his draft spot. I raced in like the Vikings getting banged the other day. All right,

I will take Chargers at Ravens. Oh got you know? You got Vikings? No, you got Vikings, baby, I gotta take Lamar and justin wait, a second mark. You have to decide this because this never happened. But he had the clock, just like what happened to the vikings at. I know, but so I'm I'm I'm thrust back into the studio and must create alight between Greg and I. It's Lamar, it's Herbert. That doesn't mean you only appreciate these quarterbacks. No, but I've I've put in the world.

I feel like Greg is really strict about the locks. And if he's going to be that strict about that, there was no rules to this in terms of time, and I'm just we're waiting for my This computer is from two thousand and fourteen, two unfree. That's your issue. So he has he been hopscotched. So it seemed like the pick was turned into the podium before Greg got I'm sorry, I'm gonna watch it anyways, it doesn't really matter.

All right, Well that will be the thing where you're watching the all right, So I'll take the Chargers at the Ravens. Oh oh, oh, beautiful game. Beautiful game. And we have Justin Herbert, who's a man possessed and absolutely in the running right now for um M v P. Hey, but guess what Lamar Jackson. He's already been an m v P and he just put together one of the great performances that I remember on Monday Night football in terms of a just a going off and being unstoppable

for a long stretch of play. So you have to four and one teams here, um fighting it out first place, a f C West, first place, a f C North, Greg, does it? Do you take anything one for me? Now? I would have been haven't been more excited about a game all season. You'll still be able to watch it. It's just that was maybe when your draft, when the card comes in, you've gotta be ready to turn it in.

You gotta get up to that podium. I mean, Greg, if you were this excited, if it's the most excited you've been for a game, I don't know what what the pause was when you were I wasn't really thinking. I wanted to, like, look at it. Let's see what's that one and four? Anyway, So the Ravens, you know,

very easily could have lost the game against the Colts. Uh, do you take anything out of that that they kind of got lucky a little bit Monday In addition to everything else and the Chargers, meanwhile, are just a more impressive team through five weeks. So if you want to go with luck, they're both one of two of the

luckiest teams in the league. Depends if you want to how much you put into like winning games like that is skilled or luck, because the Ravens have come from way behind three different times this year, and the Chargers, I tend to think have just closed really well. I don't know if they've gotten lucky, but certainly they've hit a million fourth downs where the game would have been

totally different. They've outscored opponents fifth the nine different the profiles of the games have been, they've been a little

different than there. But they're the two best closers in the league, is what I mean, Lamar and Herbert, They've the Chargers have outscored opponents and the fourth quarters, which is just crazy to think that the Chargers are the clutch team now, like the Chargers of the clutch team making smart decisions at the end, and the Ravens are the like way more imbalanced team because they can't run

the ball. I think that's been a little under the radar that like the running game is bad, Like the Chargers have closed out multiple games, including against the Browns, being able to run the ball somewhat, whereas the Ravens can't run it. Everyone who just got on Greg Roman over and over. It's like you've only got one thing you can do. It's like they're totally different. Now it's working like, oh, you're predictable. They are anything but predictable

now they are a past heavy team. I want to see a little more Tyson Williams though, enough of this like uh, yesterday's news, Uh collection of players that they keep trotting out there. Tyson Williams at least has some juice. It's different to be the Steelers who can't run the ball, and it's Big Ben sitting back there, versus the Ravens and it's Lamar Jackson. I think any coaches like you still have to Lamar can still the ball. But he

can't even even in that game last week. I think that was a he's not running it that well on design runs right now they're not running and the fumbles and like talk about creating your own luck though, I mean, both these teams go for it on fourth down. Justin Herbert, you know, metrically is the best thrower on third and fourth down in the league right now, and it looks that way. And the Ravens they had drives of eighty seventy, seventy, seventy five and sixty eight yards down the stretch against

the Colts. That's not luck. And you know it is luck though he Lamar did lose a fumble, lost the fumble of the goal line and he came within a whisker, a cat's whisker of losing the game with another another goal line fumble. Uh so, yes, I guess there is some fortune around this team for sure, But as much as like we could get like, oh, they need to figure out their running game. They leave the entire NFL and yards per game they have four yards per game.

And then what you said about Baker and his inability to kind of zone in and take control of that game in the big spot like Herbert is on the other side of the field. Maybe that's why they won forty two because Herbert you put him in a big spot and he just is one of those guys that gets better. Uh this, this it might be could be the best quarterback matchup of the year. I can't wait. I that's why I draft. But you waited too long.

Now that's the problem. It's also got a potential offensive Rookie of the Year versus Defensive Rookie of the Year matchup where they actually are against each other in ray Sean Slater versus uh Oda f A o A, who's both of them are playing lights out? Slaters turned into maybe if you could redraft all the tackles from the last two years, people might take Slater above them all.

That's how good he's looked and o Wa has been incredible. Otherwise, I don't know, like these Neither defense is very good. The Ravens defense is below average. This year. Chargers defense just kind of gives up yards, so I would expect it to be a shooting. Later was on Myles Garrett and they kept trying to help him with chip blocks, and he said, enough with the chip block, I'll handle

it myself. And he did fine. What we talked about it down to theirs mark the Myles Garrett decorated his house for Halloween and has tombstones with quarterbacks names written all over them, and he has a Justin Herbert toot like you got I mean, first of all, maybe not you can update he didn't get a sack. He didn't get a sack. Well, maybe that's how he's monitoring whether or not the quarterback is in under six ft under the earth. I mean, the Browns lost, so you know,

all right, Greg, you are on the clock. Oh yeah, you are on the c and guess what it's snaking to you? So you're not gonna get popped by anybody behind you? All right, I'll take the the worst game possible since I'm just gonna watch Ravens. Anyways, Texans colts off the top op. Uh. That is a terrible, terrible pick. I think the Texans should be happy they get it to see Davis Mills for another week. It's like if

Tyrod Taylor was ready to come back. And some people are been conspiracy theorists being like, are they trying to tank? Because you know it's maybe he should be back and Laramie Tunsil's now out for a month with the surgery. Um, Davis Mills just played the best game any quarterbacks him on the bench, right, any rookie quarterbacks played this year. I was shocking, but he made some great throws on the move. So you want to see him for another week. And if you're the Colts. I think you still feel

like you have a chance here this season. Their offense has looked a little better each and every week. I think Carson Wentz has looked a little better each and every week. You might get t Y Hilton back at some point somewhat soon. Uh. You gotta just take care of business here. And that's why you know so many reasons why that was just a brutal loss on Monday

night for the Colts. If you find a way to win that game on Monday, then you got the Texans right after that in your building, and then your three and three, and that could put you in a first place tie after week six in your division. I mean, that is that's what we're talking about in terms of what's going on the a f C. South Um. But to that point, even with that loss, if you get this win you get and you get to two and four, you're hanging around in your division. I guess market is

a kind of a measuring stick game. I talked about it. How you know some losses are so bad it can ruin your season. Don't get beat here. Don't let Davis Mills light you up the way Davis Mills lit up the Patriots in Week five. I mean, it's a huge If there's any team on the how do you respond, Uh, you know, bus, it's the Cults, because that's the kind of thing where you could end a season for a team that's not mentally tough. I think they are. Uh. If Davis Mills does does what he did last week

or anything close, he becomes a thing. I mean, I thought he made incredible throws on fourth down late in the game. I love what the offensive coordinator did early on their first drive was an eighteen place seventy nine your touchdown drive that took ten minutes off the clock against Bill Belichick, the best showing against the Patriots defense. So also, I mean, coming off maybe the worst game of quarterback's played by Davids Mills against Buffalo the week

So let's see what he does. I mean. But if you're the Texans, Tyrod Taylor back in there, it's a lost season. Find out what you have and keep an eye on Jonathan Taylor, who's been heating up the last two weeks. Remember, by the end of last season, he was all but unstoppable, and that could be a major right. Their defense played their best three quarters of the year by far in Baltimore and their offensive line played their best game of the year, so I thought they had

some good things in that game. All right, I need a late game. Well, I needed a game that I'm not going to really watch because I'm gonna watch, but you will watch it because to be professional. Well, I will later in the week on game. But what about Sunday night? That's your don't you understand what we're doing here. We watched two games and then a third, and then we talked about it Sunday night. Right, but with the bye weeks, I'll be fine, It'll work out. No, but

you have to be able to know. Okay, park underst it would be me that needed a rules refresher. But it's you just have to have eyes on that game. And that's a rough game to have eyes on, even if your primary game, you're paying attention to his charges right as you can't not watch the game you just drafted third. Overall, it's just called Texans, Go ahead, Raiders, Broncos. I'll take late. Uh, this is a big game. Each of these teams two game losing streak, both feeling like

their season could really start going next level. Like in the hole, if they lose this game. I'm not really of the mind that the Raiders are lost because they just got rid of like some demigod who was probably not that fun to play for in the first place. For the next thirteen weeks. I just think there's been this weird idea that like, oh, the Raiders are done now because John Gruden's gone. And I think there's an equally good chance that John Gruden being out of the

buildings are positive that, you know. I think you could almost feel that with some of Mayok's uh quotes, this is a guy that wasn't a lot of fun I don't think to play for. I don't think they're gonna necessarily be better and that their flaws go away. But I certainly don't think that losing John Gruden means the team is in way worse shape. I know now because

of everything that happened. Now, John Gruden wasn't worth the damn but he was a very important person in that building, and he was the offensive coordinator essentially, and he was the guy that worked with Derek Carr, that coached him up got him to a much better place. With him just disappearing, I don't think you could say that that doesn't matter, and now you have the special it doesn't matter. But why saying I mean, I'm saying I don't think it makes them worse necessary or did we hear you're

saying like people didn't like playing for John Bruden. I don't remember hearing a lot of that before this happened. I'm just saying he has been the most important person in them being a below average franchise for four years, So getting rid of him in any other scenario, you wouldn't be like, oh, they're screwed. Now they have professional you know, people love Possaccia. You know, big time Pisaccia fan Greg Olsen's you know called play for Derek carb Heads.

Not like he hasn't been a coordinator in the league. I'm just saying it's just a big rotation, like on the fly. I guess that's kind of where I'm coming from. By the way Mike Mayock spoke with the media about everything that's gone on, here was here was this kind of over arching thoughts will start here with what's going on around the Raiders. The way I grew up, the Raiders always stood for diversity. They had the first Latino quarterback,

Tom Flores. He's also became the second Latino head coach. The first African American head coach was Art Shell. The first female CEO was Amy Trusk. Obviously, all of that was under Al Davis's watch. This week, his son Mark Davis, I think had tough time. He had a tough week, and then he was asked about, you know, with the comments that leaked, the Grooten emails and how that reflects

on a primarily black locker room. And oh, by the way, Carl Nassa, the first ever openly gay player, was also on the Raiders and who requested and received of a personal day on Wednesday away from the team. May I hit that as well. I've talked to several of the black players. Okay, I think we've reached out to a bunch of players, black and white. Everybody's got emotions and feelings.

I've talked to some of the people in my department that are black and my my my director of pro scouting, and I just said, DJ, I can't put myself in your shoes. Help me. So we've spent a pretty good amount of time trying to trying to help these guys and talk with these guys and not talk out at them, but with them. And the other thing I would say is just for Carl, let's be honest, he's a community

of one that's openly gay. Okay, Um, we do have a large community of African American players and and I'm trying to do We're trying to do everything we can for that community as well. Obviously it started there. Okay, nobody's forgetting that. We're talking and I'm trying to do to work with everyone, and we're going to continue to do that. Well. I think that shows that your focus, no matter how much you wanted to be just on

the Broncos, is in all sorts of other places. Because Greg, I kind of even hear what you're saying that maybe the Grooten experience leaving the building from a football angle from a refresher angle might for some people be up maybe mayok, like there was a power vacuum there, but the idea that so many people trusted Gruden and then you find out all this stuff like these are young people.

I think there are a lot of people affected. And also what it doesn't change though, is that the Raiders team that I've watched over the last couple of weeks cannot run the ball. They cannot stop the run. Their offensive line has been a disaster. They had eight holding penalties last week, one which took away a touchdown that turned into a field goal. That's a big problem for

Derek carr Um. I don't buy into the stuff that Derek Carr isn't tough this or that anyone playing NFL quarterback as long as he has I don't those questions, and I think a lot of players feel the same way. Don't care about that issue. But he is under duress, and he's certainly, like a lot of other quarterbacks, not the same quarterback when that's happening. And I look at teams, no matter who the coaches, when you cannot run, cannot stop to run. The offensive line has major issues with

players moving to positions they never played. You've got issues against the Broncos defense. By the way, the Broncos, how about be a little more creative on offense. Like I understand that you know you you don't have Justin Herbert at quarterback, but you go watch the way they came out last week against Pittsburgh. Zero creativity. Three drives that each went for about twenty yards total. Come on, pat

Shermer Mmm, Pat Shermer heat. I mean it is one of those situations where like everything everyone said the whole offseason ended up being right, which is the offensive line moves that they made. It's killed them. It's just killing their season. The Raiders like can't function on offense because of their offensive line. But this is a good matchup for it that Broncos have one of the worst pass rushers in the entire NFL. I think there second or thirds of last and past rush win rates basically von

Miller and then County on the secondary. Where do you stand, just to mark about his team in the Browns, where you standing on the Broncos Right now? Through five weeks, Teddy's come down to earth a little bit the defense I thought he played. Maybe it's been one of his best games last week. It's not a good situation when I think Teddy is beating any expectation that I had for him. Uh, and the team is not good, Like the strength that they were supposed to have are not strength.

Right now you have Hammler, Judy and a KOI boon him out so that you had this like six pack of guys that we're gonna be catching passes, three of them are gone. You thought the pass rush with Chub and Miller it would be good. Chubb isn't there the pass which is bad. And then the secondaries like kind of sprung some leeks too. So these strengths that I was expecting haven't really been strength. Teddy's exceeded well. I like that. I I know, I know we were not

huge fans of Teddy. He played great last week in that game against Pittsburgh, like in just in terms of offensive and he ended the game but an interception and the end zone. How I thought he played really well in that game. If you go throw to throw, I thought it was probably his best start of the year, including the first three weeks. He is number one in the league uh in e p A plus completion percentage

over expected. I don't think he's the best quarterback in the league, but it kind of shows how they've moved the ball efficiently. He hasn't made any mistakes, but you need him to just if if him being average is not enough, they're not going to be. Yeah, and you gotta win this game. You gotta find a way to

win this game. If you don't beat them, you're on a three game losing streak, and then you go to Cleveland and I guess it kind of gets back to the Teddy experience, like he's not going to take your team and lift them up when there are a lot of issues around it. He's he's a good guy when things are set up well around him. He's kind of like a Sam Donald type. Um. But yeah, we'll see

what happens with the Broncos this week. I kinda they're gonna get some kind of like that spice rack thing, the you know, pick the team that has a lot of drama rallying around chaos. All right, I'm up. I will select the final late game on the board. Cowboys at Patriots. Cowboys have been awesome, just awesome, and uh, you know, I you look at them and they just had a three, three game homestand where they just kind of went off and flex their muscles and they out

They outscored the Eagles, Panthers, and Giants to six. Um. They passed the ball well, they run the ball well. Uh, they are much better on defense, and they have something really interesting cooking here and that they have a legitimate m v peak candidate and doc they have a legitimate rookie Defensive of the Year candidate and MIKEA. Peters and they have a legitimate defensive player of the your candidate and Trayvon Digs. That's the recipe for a lot of WS.

I mean, they're a jugger not. I don't know why everyone like is clinging on so hard to their previous Cowboys opinions that there anything, but you know, the best team in the NFC are one of the best teams in the NFL. That's just that's just who they are. It's very it seems very obvious. Maybe things could change, but the offense isn't gonna change. The defense is not just like getting by They're like a top ten type

of defense right now. I was stunned that this game started as almost an even point spread before betters you know, went heavy on the Cowboys and moved it to four. How is it even possible? I know the Patriots are a legacy brand, but typically the line's smarter than that even at the start correct Well, who knows, Like, like, what's the case? Like the Vegas made so much money on almost the entire country picking the Bucks, you know as heavy favorites. A couple of weeks ago, and the

Bucks didn't cover that game. Maybe it's a little bit of a residual effect that like the Patriots at home will cook some stuff up. But I don't get it, because sure the Patriots could come up with one of their great game plans to slow it down and Mac Jones like it's possible, But these aren't the Patriots. They're negative three and turnover margin. That's like the most Unpatriots

thing possible. Jonna Smith is a disaster. And their defensive rankings, to me, are entirely a reflection of the teams they've played. I don't think they've been a particularly good defense. Yeah, they're twenties six and scoring two. And I could see the Cowboys, you know, on a weekly basis putting up thirty five, and this is kind of the Cowboys team that we did believe in a few years ago. P F has them, you know, as of yesterday, their number

one offensive line. Uh, they're dominant on the ground. Pollard it leads to league in yards per carry, and I think he has about fifties something, you know, carries compared to about eighties something for Zeke. So it's both of them. They're very effective, and I mean They've got arguably the best cast of whiteouts in the in the NFC, and it's working. I mean, it's it's basically what was happening

on offensive year ago before Dak went down. But on the flip side, Dan quick and has the defense simplified and organized, so it's a more complete team. And the Patriots in theory are built to stop the run, but they really haven't been. They haven't looked good. Lawrence Guy and Dante Hite are both have looked a lot older this year, and those are two guys that normally stopped

the run. Well. They both are coming off their best games of the season against Houston, so maybe that's a little bit to feel better about if you're a Patriots fan. But they just they just seem like they wouldn't have enough answers to slow Dallas that I know. It doesn't have a lot of juice, and I think that's why

it's been fairly muted in general. With Mac Jones, but the fact that four four out of their five games he's over completion percentage, and then you look at like you look at some of the other rookie quarterbacks and how much they're struggling. I think if you're a Pats fan, you're feeling really good about Jones. Maybe not right now.

Maybe right now it's you know, he's a guy that he makes a lot of turnover where he plays every week, and and he's not somebody that's gonna get you jump out of your seat like a Trey Lance or whatever. But I feel like he's developed thing. And I'm Patriots fans aren't more into Mac Jones because I think he's

I'm with you. I think he's played really well. Yeah, I mean and that was I know it's the Houston Texans, but you know that is the type of heady type, drive down the field stuff that first of all Bill Belichick dreams about with a smile on his face and be like first year quarterback. He I think he seems like he's ready to progress and this time next year is going to be leading this offense with confidence, and I'd be feeling good about it if I'm a Pats fan.

I just feel like it's been under the radar. Why is that. I think it's the comparison game too, because it go remember his pro day when we did our podcast that day where he did at the same time as Justin Fields and fields makes you get up out of your seat with some of the stuff he does. And Matt Jones just fits I think well into a system. And I mean his arm strength. I might have a few questions about that, but he I think he manages New England really well. But it's like you then are

watching Patrick Mahomes. The offense is bad, like he has felt like the least of their problems to me relatively, you know, a justin for having a rookie quarterback. I mean John new Smith is a disaster. You know, why do you say he's a disaster just because of his I mean lack of offensive output or is there more to it? He's block. They're all they're having him do now is block and he's not even doing that. Uh he hasn't you know, he said so many drops. He's

not making explosive plays. He just doesn't seem confident at all. Nelson Agilar, I wouldn't say as a disaster, but he's fairly close. I mean, I'd rather have Jacoby Myers or Kendrick Borne on the team the rest of the year than Nelson Aglar, who you were expecting to come in and make a big impact. The offensive line has been disappointing, and now they're really injured. They might be missing three

of their starters again this week. It's you know, it's kind of everything around Mac and I think it's it's tougher to sign like a huge free agent class when you don't know who your quarterback is. You didn't know it was going to be a rookie quarterback rounding into shape because on the flip side, like Matt Judean seems like Bill bel stream player. Judan has been great, but they spent a ton of money on their offense to make it better and it's just not working right now.

It could you know, last week there were some positive signs. Who knows, like they here's what they gotta do is win one of these games, because they have about every other week they play one of the best teams in the league. They had the Box a couple of weeks ago. They they have another couple of tough ones, Like they gotta win one of these to get in the mix. But else they're gonna keep being two and four and three and five and just be a forget about news.

I ain't gonna win this game, and I'm so certain of it. America's team, and you know what, what are we doing? Desert three and a half points? Okay, I'm running to lock this game up because what what about the Cowboys tells you they're gonna trip up on the Patriots who just are relentlessly middling at this stage. All right, we'll be right back after this. All right, here we go, We're back, Mark, you're up, baby, two in a row. Well, I've just done a greg thing. Enough, no idea what

what game to pick here? But actually, you know what I like this one o'clock vikings at Panthers offering early in the day. Two teams that interests me, especially Carolina. And i'd ask you this with the with the Panthers, are you concerned more about Sam Donald after what we saw last week where I mean he made some mistakes. You don't have Christian McAffrey. It sounds like McAffrey could be back time position didn't he didn't practice on Thursday.

So now it's starting to be like, oh, they might be I think I think sometimes it's like it just makes sense that when Christian McCaffrey exited the picture that and the competition jumped up that Donald could run into some issues. And that's exactly what's happened against Dallas in Philadelphia. UM, I think Donald is good when things are cooking and you have a nice set up around here and the

opponent is right. But I think we're seeing some of these traits, uh from his time in New York, where you can get into some bad habits sometimes and makes some mistake throws and and you've seen that last two weeks. I don't think that's going away. I think this is the Sam Donald experience. I'm curious to watch it go throughout the course of the season. But he is top five in the league in fumbles, sacks taken, and interceptions.

So normally if like a quarterback with four actually in each uh, if if a quarterback is in the top four of each of those, you would think he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. Now, he's made a lot of really good plays, even last week in that in that game, like he's made good throws and when he has to go to the second and

third read, things get wonky. But there's just way too many negative plays and that I like the Vikings and Danio Hunter and Everson Griffin to kind of get after him because that Panthers a line has gotten a little bit worse each week too. I don't know that. The thing is I like seeing Dante Jackson last week for the Panthers defense, Hassan Reddick, like they just seem to have guys that show up week after week. Um. I don't know if Shack Thompson will be back this time around,

but they didn't have him a week ago. But the Vikings, I, you know, you look at the Lions game, in the Browns game before that. Kirk Cousins is playing fine, but they have not. They have they have lost, you know, their way on offense to some degree. They still can be explosive plays. You still see Kirk Cousins making Keith throws to feeling down the stretch last week. That helped set up that win. But that was the Lions. I

banged up wanting Lions defense. So I just view the Vikings as a team that could underwhelm under Mike Zimmer week after week, or they might surprise you. The Panthers, to me, at least, are consistently coached well week after week, and I think they're daring. They went forward on fourth and one from their own thirty five two weeks ago they'll do anything it takes. I like guys like Tommy Tremble and Hubba Hubbard. This team to me is exciting.

I'm interest Hubba Hubba. I think it's Cuba Hubbard. Isn't Chubba Cuba? Cuba? Yeah? Um yeah. The Vikings, you know, you guys know, I like the Vikings, but they're killing me. They're impossible to figure out, and they're so up and down. And you know in week four they score right off the right off the bat against the Browns and then going to a shell for the last fifty five minutes of game time, lose that fourteen seven, and then it gets the lines, what's what are we doing here? How

are we not? How are we not in your building? And I know you don't have Dalvin Cook, but Madison has been a good reserve for them. How are you not running the Lions out of that building? How do you almost blow that game? It was like they had a first down with the ten point lead with like three minutes right but even before that, it was like it got into that situation. So then you almost blow the game. And then Greg Joseph, of all people, he did, Joseph like bails you out with a kick. But it's

like who who can you expect against the Panthers. I think it's a it's a good game because both these teams are a bit unpredictable at this juncture. UM. I really would like to see Christian McCaffrey back. I think it's interesting and notable when we take now that he didn't practice on Thursday. UM, I wonder if that means

we're gonna see Cuba again. Yeah, that's I. I thought this Vikings team was going to be so good running the ball after weeks two and three, and then they've been pretty inconsistent, because that's how you beat the snow Patrol. You run right through them. They're like their edge defense. You know, they got steamrolled by Dallas. Everyone gets steamrolled by Dallas, but they got steamrolled more than everyone else.

And then last week late in that game, the Eagles actually ran the ball when they wanted to on the edge to kind of put them away. So you'd like to see a little Dalvin Cook, a little Madison running through them. Mark all right, I've got a second early game. I'm gonna go rams at Giants. Uh. This Giant's team, I just I you know, some of these um I don't know who they annoyed up in the heavens where you cannot get any of their players on the field at the same time. You know, watching se Kwon Barkley

getting carded off Daniel Jones um really disturbing. Kind of drunken hobble after he was head injury? Is that how you call that headed? Well, you had the drunken hobble is perfect, and then the head injury not as good. Don't you know? Head injury works for me. I think this is a game where the injury to the head suffered a brain injury. That's another way to go with it. I hear you go ahead, can cost Stafford? I don't know.

Like Stafford makes these and he he gets in sync with the offense and they have huge, you know quarters they had like against the Seahawks last time we saw them, their third quarter they had two hundred and eleven yards for sixteen to the Seahawks. And they can do that. They were also o for five on third downs in the first half. I just they're streaky, and I feel like Stafford is a little bit streaky inside this offense. I wonder, you know what Sean McVeigh would say about

him at this point. I think he's been very good. But has he been is some some metrics will sizz suggest he's sort of just in the middle on his overall place. He's missed a lot of throws. The scheme has opened it. I don't think he's played that well. I'm kind of with you. I mean, I don't have him in the top ten because you have to evaluate the head or behind Teddy Bridgewater. He's definitely um Teddy's

in the middle. Stafford just has a pretty good degree of difficulty and so many drives and because he misses throws. But I'm not worried about it because the fact that they have these open throws that's what matters. And going against this Giants defense, which hasn't really been what we expected. You know, they lose Dalvin Tomlinson and suddenly they can't stop the run. Uh, they really don't get after the

quarterback very well. Like, there's not a lot of reason to think the Giants defense is going to slow them down for long. And on the other side, they're just like it's another week of like, who's gonna play for the Giants? Kenny Galladay probably not, se Quon Barkley probably not. Daniel Jones probably will, and that's the key one. He gives them a chance because he will have the most important play around the Giants, which is Candarius Tony. Do

you love you Tony? I mean it was it took one game to realize, like, this guy is gonna make every draft Nick who killed Gettleman for this pick and then killed him even more as he was having a bad offseason, like, oh, you guys were all so wrong because it's just like it's so obvious. And then literally the next game he goes for a eighty nine. I mean, what's that to lie? It reminds me a lot of Odo Beckham coming in after being out at the beginning of the season, just being like, oh, this guy is

going to be a star. Who Becky? He's this guy on the Browns. He's like, I think he's behind Brushard Higgins and totally yeah, what happened there? Mark? How do how do they score forty two points and he gets two catches for twenty yards? What is going on? Tony fits this? It was good to see. It feels like it happened a million years ago because we were in London on top of it, but it was gonna see

Robert Woods back in that offense. Fourteen targets, twelve catches, a hundred and fifty UM against the Seahawks, and I just think, yeah, Stafford, you again, you can look at the numbers and he has missed some throws, but they they're often so much better this year with him involved instead of golf. And when you have Cooper Cup. I know Sean Jackson has been quiet, but he's healthy, Tyler Higbee, and then you add Robert Woods to it with a running game, that's fine. Uh, the Rams are just gonna

keep winning. This is a twelve win team to me, maybe favorites or something on the road here, Darryl Henderson, I think matters for this team when he plays. I just think they're better and and Jackson like is in the perfect spot. He makes one big play a week that's like exactly what you ran out of gas against the Seahawks. But I do think it helps that Stafford gets an extra what three or four days with the finger that he messed up as well. Such a frustrating

season for Giants and their fans. By the way, you blow that Thursday night game against Washington, You somehow find a way to lose to Atlanta on Eli Day, and then you have this really emotional big win at the Superdome, and then you're fighting the Cowboys hard in the first first half and then se Kwan steps on a foot and blows up his ankle, Jones gets head injuried, and uh, you know, call the leaves the game and it's just like, oh man, we can't get it going. So it's been

a tough year, um for New York football. All right, up next the old Zuser. Alright, one more pick for me, one more for Greg and the drafts done. My pick will be this is kind of in an indictment on where they are right now. The Chiefs available late in this draft heading to Washington. Indictment of Washington too, because they were supposed to be kind of good and fun and buzzy this year. So Chiefs at Washington a pair

of two and three teams. This was the first time Sunday, Greg where I was watching, uh the Chiefs, and I'm like, I'm a little worried. I'm a little bit worried about what's going on with the Kansas City Chiefs that we know they have problems on defense and you assume a team of their pedigree, they'll get coached up and they'll make adjustments and maybe get to where they need to be about average. But the offense is the inability to

execute and the failures um and the backbreaking turnovers. You could look at it and say, you know, it's a little flukey, and they're they're happening in bunches, but the history tells us isn't something to continue. But at the same time, they're happening, and we're now deep into October and you just lost your starting running back and it just feels like against the Chiefs, right it is. I mean the part where you're saying you're you're they're hopeful

you get back to average. On defense, I think that's the thing I'm most concerned about, because I don't know if that's coming. I don't know if I see the pass rush, if I see the personnel. The turnovers were flukey, and that Bill's game, you know, the Mahomes turnovers were

totally flukey, and they did help change that game. But the game plan to stop the Chiefs is consistent, and I am a little surprised that they don't seem to have a great counter for it, and the game plan is like make them work down the field very slowly, back your safety is up, and hopefully something crazy will

happen along the way. And so it's sort of built into the game plan dan these flukey turnovers, like make them go on ten fifteen play drives and hope you get Ahold the penalty or a weird play, and it keeps working. I throughout the stat that Mahomes has fewer fifteen or twenty plus yard plays this year than Zack Wilson, Taylor Heinarchy, Mac Jones, some other Hammond egger that I kind of insulted just by putting on the way. Second, Zach Wilson's not a hamm and Egger. He's just learning

the sport, my man here. So here's the question. So, if your defense is designed to stop the Chiefs from the big play that was, logic would dictate that there should be a ton of space in the middle of the field for Patrick Mahomes to pick you apart. Is this a situation where if you can somehow uh negate Tyreek Hill, and if you can, you can't throw to

Travis Kelsey every time. Do they not have enough weapons around Patrick Mahomes, and that's why they're able to be taking advantage of in this way, I think that you could look beyond so nobody's getting open. You can look beyond Kelsey and Hill and say that even going into the year, there were questions about the depth in terms of weapons. But I am like, not watching football for years,

I'm just not gonna overworry about the at the watching football. Well, so should we panic as if we don't think so? Because a week ago and I led the charge, I was like, hey, the Chiefs man seven drive, six touchdowns, f you for even thinking that they're not gonna be okay. But then another game like that happens and it's just like this, like this aura of invincibility is starting to fade a little bit, and I'm just wonder if like

there's too much pressure on the offense. I think a lot of it is on you know us who a couple of years ago, we're thinking, well, let's just ticket like we did Aaron Rodgers coming off the two thousand and ten season, Patrick Mahomes for five or six Super Bowl trophies, which is just impossible to do that and do it alone. Necessarily, there's like one person that's done that, and the offense is not as healthy. And like look at like last year in the Super Bowl, losing your

offensive line, your tackles completely neutralized them. They have other issues to deal with. I think the bigger problem is that you're better. Teams can take advantage of their totally wanting defense. And I mean both Washington and Kansas. They're giving up the most and second most points in the league. So you think that maybe even Taylor Heineke could have a big game in this one, but um, I don't know. If I trust their offense to you, you would. And

it's it's a battle of two and three teams. And people are are down on are down on the Chiefs right now, but I'm not. Oh oh. And people might say, okay, well, Washington football team, you've had a great week being back in the news. Um uh, you're gonna play strong. It's shot. They're retiring Sean Taylor's name, they just and then jersey number. Yeah, that's overdue. That's nice and he deserves every honor. Um it it is weird that you find out four games

four days before the game. You figure that they would be inspired. But now I'm still going to take the chief to build be this terrible defense unlock that's barely under the bare. No, it's not gutsy whats I do want to say one quick thing about Washington. Sorry, I'm just honking too much. Yes, you talking about if they were the Cowboys, like people would just be killing Jack del Rio, And how embarrassing this defense is. They're the

worst coach defense in the league. Every week there are two plays where guys are yelling at each other and like, I thought you had him, you had him, and guys are just streaking wide open, Like that's coach. To your point, William Jackson, who they signed for forty million plus said after they gave up that terrible hail Hail Mary play a week ago where it like the Ritz the players were just looking like, hey, what happened here? He said,

we weren't expecting them to go hail Mary there. A regular football team will try to get a couple of yards. You didn't call it a little early, which is a play I like, I do like that, you know, call it with twenty seconds I don't know, ready for them to go over there. And another team doesn't do that, and there's Deante harris Is touchdown earlier, like the safeties, it's Landon Collins is often involved. I don't know if it's his fault, but he's often involved where it's like

we don't know who's got who. And Jack del Rio meanwhile, is just like skating through, you know, killing killing John Gruden this week, which you know he should but I don't know. Actually, just you know, lay low and work on your team because you're embarrassing your team defense this year. Here, said Ron Rivera. I'm very frustrated because we have too many good football players to not be better than what we are right now. That's true. They have been one

of the more disappointing teams in the league. Tyler Heneke or Taylor Heneck, he's the only one that's keeping them at all fun to watch. And your boy Terry McLaurin, all right, their crowd stinks too. There would be a lot of Chiefs fans there. I know, you know, every every Washington game, I know what I'm just saying, Like last week, you would have thought it was a Saints home game, which I've never seen. It's like, wow, it felt like a Saints home game in Washington. I'm sure

there are many hyper passionate Washington football team fans. Maybe it's the acoustics of the building. Maybe it's too big a building, you know, that's I think it's the biggest stadium. Uh. Your savage takedown in the entire fan base seems untoured. I don't I don't blame them. It's been a tough couple of decades. All right, here we go, Greg, close out the draft. Okay, how do we leave the all the time of the world fighting Bengals came up a gotcha for number two. I know this. It's ruined. My

whole show ruined. Sunday. I don't want to be here anymore. Do we have that? Bengals? Lions? You know, I love? This is another very lockable game. I wonder if Mark's about to do so, because, yeah, the windless Lions are only three and a half point underdogs, which is surprising considering no one on their team is healthy. You know your team has problems when you lose Quentin c Sis for the season, and I'm just like, I don't think they can recover. I'm just like, Okay, at some point,

you lost too many players. You're now like going into you know, deep deep receivers and all sorts of positions in the secondary. I want to see the Bengals just like go in and put a whooping on them like this. That would be the new Bengals team because they should. Yeah they I mean the defense has lost a number of people in Detroit. They give up ten yards per past attempt, which is the most in the league. That's great for Joe Burrow and I just this Bengals team

is so resilient. There's something that's so different about them, obviously than in previous years. And I mean, I think it's an interesting matchup. I wouldn't never lock this though, because I have no idea what's going to happen in this thing. Like both teams like games to come down to the very end. Gregg, that feels like a lock. Uh. I feel like the lines have gotten a lot of credit, and duly so for like trying at the end of the games and coming back. But when you watch all

sixty minute, they don't look like a good team. They look like they should be owing five. That's all their talent deficient team that's lost many of their best players to injury, and now there's just like I guess Jared Goff is gonna wheel them to some whims all so

far has not happened. How about how about this week for Jamaar Chase over Pine Sua Twitter, because I think we reached the point last week where it's just like, oh, yeah, the Bengals are right not I don't need if it has nothing to do with Sewell And he might have a great career too, and you can debate about low tackles versus receivers, but it's like Jamar Chase is gonna be great. He changes their entire offense. Would pay Sewell even if he's playing well, changed their offense like that?

I don't know. I think I'd rather all in fairness. In fairness, Panas Swell is the guy they see is a long term left tackle or you know, crushing right tackle, but left tackle. If he is at the skill level of I guess Jamaar Chase at that position. Yes, you can make the conversation, but but that's actually not what the draft pedigrees were. I guess to that level Jamar Chase, we had seen it in college that he was an

absolute terror that could not be covered. UM. And I think it just more than anything, UM, it just makes the case that we don't need to be doing podcasts in July, well, right, because it's all it's It was just open reaction to the fact that maybe he's not a pro receiver. He's got drops all over and we were sitting there with with Will Black and in the sky studios at the stadium and he was just like, I mean, he put it well, which when the balls in the air, Chase just like knows it's his ball.

And that's like a hard thing to measure, but I think it makes sense that he didn't test incredibly well, and you were like, uh, is this gonna translate perfectly? But there's something about him like a t o. Although he would have his drops, it's just like that ball is his, He's gonna go get the ball. I thought, well, put it really well, because yeah, he said basically some guys and there are very few of them. I think you mentioned Odell when O'Dell came out, was similar Odell Beckham.

He was a wide receiver on the Giants, was a major star. I don't know where he is now, but um, he's just better. He knows he's better than you, and it doesn't matter who's lining up against him. He's got that ball, that's his um and that's that's where this guy's at. And I think, yeah, we all kind of oh, Cincinnati and apology. We kind of Jamar Chase an apology because it was just piling on about some practice drops. And he's arguably the best wide receiver in football this season.

WHOA that means that might well put him? Who's better? Who? Who can you say is like better than Jamaar Chase Cooper to five? Is it a conversation? Now? I don't think. Oh, I don't know, man, But if you factor that he's a rookie off, do you think he's probably the rookie I guess if you want to get cute and give it to Slater Cooper, Cups would probably the Davante Adams are kind of like Davante Adams in terms of production is peerless, and Cup has been amazing for the person.

I know the numbers aren't there, but just watching Jefferson and he's in Jamaar Chases this year's version of Jefferson. But just in terms of impact, big time plays, game changing plays, no one's had as many as Chase. That's all I'm saying. Um, Alright, let's go through the rest of the games here. Let's start. We have a London game, the second London game International series at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Has it already been I don't know four days. Were

in that stadium for fourteen hours, Greg Rosenthal. They got another game. It is Dolphins at Jaguars one in four against oh and five. Tough match up here. I think the biggest subplot of this game is my quarturoy jacket that I bought uh in London. I left sitting on a chair in the Sky Sports suite and I'm just wondering if it's going to be recovered and somehow get back to me because some of them listening to this podcast, perhaps Neil, if you happen to listen, I DM Neil

Sunday night and he never replied. I mean they should fed exit to you. I'm done with you. I got what I needed television content when you came to England. I will not recover y'all jacket. Um No, but I left it on a chair. It was thirty five pounds, which is like fifty five bucks or something here, and I'd like to get more than one day usage out of it. I would love to get that jacket back I did. I kind of said, let's turn back the clock a little bit. I used to love Quartu roy

jackets in the mid nineties. Uh, forty one year old dad. I don't know what's cool and what's not cool anymore. So I just said, I said, screw it, I'm gonna wear this jacket. Felt good, felt coman you were you were on a jumbo tron with sixty people. Gotta feel good about it, jacket, I you're gonna wear in front of It's also it's a it's a bit of a power move just to wear it, to buy it for thirty pounds or whatever you said it was, where it for one day and just leaving a stadium and say,

don't care. Maybe just act like you're good. You know. Yeah, but I do need it back because I don't have that type of disposable income just to want and done jackets. That's not my thing. Anyway. If you find it, let me know, all right, next game. Anything on Dolphins Jaguars now TOA is practicing again? Sounds like play. Um, does that mean he's starting in London? He's expected to start at this point. They haven't h said anything, but that's

kind of the expectation. Yeah. I mean, is there a bigger mess of a team that had higher expectations than the Dolphins? I don't think so. We we talked about this a little bit on Sunday, I think, and it's just like where they were, the path that they were supposedly on to where they are now. It's it's a pretty shaky situation and you don't really know what to hold put your hat on right now with the Dolphins.

The Jaguars are the perfect team to get right now because obviously it's a winless team and you can kind of get yourself right and go into the bye and

then hit reset. So I think things set up well for the Dolphins here, but I don't know if a bye week is going to magically fix what ails them right there in their third year under Floris, and the first two years felt ahead of schedule, but now they feel like, you know, they're almost you know, they look like a team that was as bad as before Floras arrived.

If he can't cook up Trevor Lawrence, who seems imminently cooka ball right now in terms of confusing him and getting them late and making a couple of big time mistakes that lose in the game, then you start having to work wonder about like the vision here, they keep cycling guys in and out on defense, Like, let's get it together, Miami, let's win this game. I thought hard about locking it because I really do think they're gonna get Henry Hudson and Nat Coombs and all those UK

Dolphins fans a win. There's a lot of them out there. We saw him in the crowd on Sunday. There's a lot of UK Dolphins fans. There's a lot of UK uh Jaguars fans, a lot of Bordles jerseys out there. But the problem is, like it's like London is gonna start taking this game. This personally sending these teams if they do, if they're three and fifteen, these teams that in London this year, but this way, if they go

to Germany next year, and let's how they do. And they announced there was three finals cities and Germany gets in a mix, and then you send like chiefs Bucks there. England's gonna start a war. I mean it's gonna be Revolutionary War Part two US Great Britain and we're gonna be in a tough sitch, you know what. It might be is like they're they're almost too easy to please because it's like a super Bowl atmosphere. You've you've been there, and I felt it even more in this one. The

crowd was insanely good for a Falcons jet scheme. I mean they were so into it. They were so loud every like whoever was scoring, They're going absolutely insane uh it really and it was like Jets Falcons, let's let's give him, so we have to offer. It's like the boyfriend or girlfriend that's like two nice for their own good and they just getting they're gonna take advantage of right we're sending them. Jamal Agnew and Tavon Austin has

like legitimate parts of this Jaguars offense. And I also want apologize to Neil Reynolds, who actually did get back to me while I was sleeping that night. He said he just saw it and he's gonna ask the production manager on site and if they find it, they're gonna mail it to me. So Neil Well buried like minutes ago. I buried Neil without even looking at the Gregg. It's done that and you've made your Let's let's move on.

Last game, right, Hey guys, it's Larry. Let's once again we'll travel back across the pond where the four Dolphins take on the too Much For no other good reason but spite I'm locking up the Jaguars this week, one of these teams has to win. Why you ask, this is what happens when the other brothers don't let me lock up the Browns in a big spot Mark Happy birthday if you're feeling better. The recovery is going great, Ricky, keep up the good work. We'll see you guys. That's awesome.

These lesson brothers. They don't care about the competition. They just want to bury each other week after week. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate them for that. That this is so it's kind of it's no longer about our podcast. It's just this internal battle that we actually have a window into it. And it's just that's been going on for years. I mean, it feels very Jaguars esque if things continue to slide the way they

are there. But um, I love the in fighting. I can only imagine what it's like to be live in that house with all those brothers. I don't know, no slight to the other Wesleyan Brothers, but I want more Tim. I really like what Tim delivered here. That was Larry, wasn't it Larry? Larry? No, Larry wants the Westling Brothers to lose, to get back at them for not letting him lock up the Browns earlier this season. I mean, think about that for a second. So did he send

that like as a rogue transmission? Do they even know that that's the lot that did come? Um? The gatekeeper here is Nick Nicks, the one that sends him my way bad um? So I think they're all in on it. Larry is the youngest, you know, It's it's tough for the youngest. Got to get back at him. All right,

Here we go Packers at Bears. This one didn't get drafted. Uh, And it's because I think it's just because the Bears are I made a horrible mistake and was untiled after the whole Chargers Ravens, So you got the factors at the Bears. The Bears are three and two, And people will get crazy mad at me because I just I'm so stubborn moving him up the power rankings. But I just I feel like this is the same as the

Bears last year. Only rememberhen the Bears got hot in December and they ended up sneaking in the playoffs, But at no point did you feel like the Bears are actually not that bad. That's kind of what I feel. But then then you have to look at it from this perspective. Justin Fields is getting his feet wet, and um, it's not a high life factory right now, but it's good that he's getting the reps and he's getting opportunities in there at least have a game plan in place

that's giving him a chance. And the defense the last couple of weeks and really for most of the season, has been lifting them to victories, which is maybe not the two thousand eighteen level, but it's been better and opportunistic and that's really why they've won three or five. Yeah, I see them differently than last year's team. I know what you're saying, but I guess what's what's similar is that they handed over play calling to Bill Laser last

year and it worked. Nag takes it back because Nagy is crazy, um, and now they've handed it back to Bill Laser. And I thought, at least against the Raiders, I saw ad Bears offense that had some identity. I mean to have David Montgomery out of the lineup and still run the way they did. Um. I like that a lot. I am locking up the the Green Bay Packers because it's a very lockable game. They are on the road, but I trust them to do just enough each week. They seem a little out of sink to

me at times. But Davante Adams locked him up last week and got got a fortunate that McPherson hit hit it off that I like that I had. I generally have a tumultuous relationship with the Packers, but I am using them for my own good. Here's the standings in the lock competition through week five. Dan and Mark both riding four game winning streaks four and one, the listeners over on the subreddit, and the Westling Brothers both three and two. Greg, you've bounced back nicely after the oh

and three start. You're now two and three. Ricky somehow has a win. I don't really believe it, but she's one in three. So that's the standings where we're at all. Right, let's move on. Unless you have something on the Packers you wanted to share, Greg from your notebook. I just I think they need to get more players involved, like the lack of depth on their offense. They are not a great offense right now. Now they've played some pretty

good defenses and this is another one. But like I'm with you, Mark, I kind of expected to be a close game because remember Alan Lazard. Remember remember Marcus Valda Scantling. Isn't he show up? You know? Come off, Tonyan, Tonyan, Yeah, what happened to Bobby Tony? You know remember that the st Brown back in the day. I mean, not no one has produced in their receiving corps except for Adams who's having a great year and the running game is great. I mean, I actually think that one to punch is

right there with anyone outside of Chubb and Hunt. I would put Zeke and Pollard and then maybe maybe you go with the Packers duo right next. So they have things, but like their thirteenth and e p A right now, which is kind of an offensive efficiency. They were number one last year. They're just like they're they're struggling a little bit on offense. And this bears front. You mentioned it. They get after you. Robert Quinn. It's a year late, but he's been worth worth all the money this year.

It's um. It's not really surprising though, is it with the Packers on some level because that season last year was just so as like everything came together and they just got rolling and they just stayed rolling. But given the personnel, it doesn't surprise me that they would fade back a little bit this year. And that means other facets of the team need to be better, because I don't know if I see the Packers like turning back into last season, because that felt like a special year

for them on offense, maybe that's foreboding. I didn't agree they could get some players back, including back d r and Jenkins. It should really well. Other teams like the Cowboys are rising up to you don't just ticket them for the title game? Right this this game. If Justin Fields could ever beat the Packers in his first start, and you know it's going to be defensive lead, but to make enough plays, oh that would be like a fun little narrative street like you know, out for my law,

kind of like Greg, I hope you're right, continue. I mean I'm sick of the Packers just like kind of like skating by each week. Alright, the forty Niners, Falcon, Jets, and Saints all on buy. And I think that's it. I think we got everything, unless Graver or you've got something that I missed, But I think that's every game. I think he covered it. Good all right, good stuff again Greg tonight with Nate Tice. We like Nate Tys, good xs and ose Guy Vegas. Guy got a nice

got a substack. What's the substance? It's a collection of articles and film studies that he does that I subscribed to during my exodus. You pay for the substack? Yeah, I do. Do you to support my friend Nate Tys? Do you expense it? Or do you that will be happening at some point and see if I can slide it pie. You know, I don't even know who my boss is anymore, but I'm a subscriber to. I was going to give him the plug on tonight, but now he's now he's doubling up here. He's got a sub

what was it a substat substack? Substack? That's good. Can we get substacks? I mean I've thought about it. Required extra work, No, well to put the stuff out there that you know, NFL dot com says, I don't want you to talk about this, well, I'll talk about it on this other platform and maybe charge seventy cents for readers months like what you didn't see on the Power

Rankings show. Power Rankings Plus, I don't think that's where I would go with my sub stack is a second, there'd be other things to mind, all right, Rosenthal Entice tonight and then we're back on Sunday. And don't forget the Power Ranking excuse me. Power Rankings though, is Tuesday's NFL network at three pm Eastern, but the around the NFL broadcast. Oh boy, this thing has taken off ratings Juggernaut every Saturday. Check it out on the network, set

the dvr. Okay, good stuff, Thank you Grave Digger for filling in. Hopefully Ricky's back on Sunday. Dan had a signing off four Quiet Star the old Boss Grave. There are still Friday. He've the call s