Welcome to NFL Daily, presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, where we don't know if we did or didn't raw dog on the flight over here. I am Greg Rosenthal at the Greenwood Sports bub here in London, and yes it's a Chicago Bears bar in the middle of London. And Nate Matt asked me a question before the show. I'm here with Nat Coombs and Ollie Connolly, two of my favorite voices over in the UK, talking American football as you guys would call it.
And you asked me a question. I didn't know the answer to.
Nat.
We got to put the context of the rule dog reference within the first five seconds off the show. We're going to give that context. So as Ollie as you bought me up here, pretty stand a question, Greg, how was the flight? Did you rule dog on the flight?
I mean, I know what raw dog means, but not in the context of a flight. What does that mean?
Not having Well, I know what it means, but in the context of a flight, what not having a drink or something else to be along the way?
That's a part of it. Yeah, it's a kind of extreme in flight movies, there's no nothing, you're just staring meditate. You're without to go to the bathroom on.
I feel quite sure.
I think you're supposed to just sit in a zen like stage for as long as the flight you can't move, you on toll you can't do.
Anything, which is actually how I prepare for this show.
No, I did not row dog.
I did not have any drinks, but I did crank through a decent amount of Love is Blind season seven or whatever whatever we're on.
Yeah, like three three episodes.
Did some prep for this show because I knew I had to keep up with you guys. Nat Coombs, of course, is the announcer on Talks for Radio. He's got his own podcasts, the Nat Coombs podcast You get you gotta check it out. And Ali Connelly is getting it done on the Read Optional podcast. He's finally gotten rid of worrying about soccer and he's focused on the most important football And yeah, you're doing that podcast twice a week with John Ledyard and it is.
It is absolutely great.
If we can do one thing here, it's getting people to check out the Nacoons podcast and sign up for the Read Optional.
This plug podcast central. I want to put in context for all your American listeners. Ollie and I so Olli is one of the most prominent x's and those guys in the game. I mean, i'd say globally, but definitely the UK. He's like an MIT professor. I'm like the fourth grade high school teacher that comes into school, takes roll call and then puts on a movie for forty five minutes for the rest.
That not true, not true. But we will be cranking through all the games. And yes, Nat, you do have a way with presenting. And I met Nat and Will Gavin, who's going to be on the show on Sunday with me and Alie. I think it was about eight years ago covering a Rams Giants game back. NFL Media actually paid for me to come out and write about the game, which is hard to imagine them doing now.
And that was yeah, case keen last start as in La.
Ram and I remember asking the question the Jeff Fisher would he be benching them after the game, and he said no, and then two days later he did, and the Jared goff Era started in Los Angeles. We will get to every game. We're basically doing the same previous show that we do each and every week. We'll get to the game at Tottenham in a little bit, but we go through the games in reverse order of the
point spread, so the closest point spreads first. So we will start with one of my favorite topics these days, the New York Jets. The Buffalo bill is going to New York two and a half point underdogs. Ali, you're one of the foremost Nathaniel Hackett defenders in the media.
Explain why I'm not a defender. I would like the criticism to be accurate. I think there's a sense out then I read this everywhere, and I've seen this on TV and people I really respect saying that the Jets were in a prehistoric offense old every running Aaron Rodgers offerense from ten years ago, and it's just factually inaccurate. They have tried to do plenty of things. They've run
basically the core elements of the Matt Laflor offense. When you just go through number by number of what they're running, it is identical to what they did in the second MVP season together.
In Green Bay.
The only one that's slightly different is the motion rate. Well, if the guy hates motion, maybe you don't want to run it at such a high level. But it's a it's a normal ish level and is higher than like the commanders who are clubbing everyone over the end in the league right now. So I'm not critical of like the architecture of the offense. I think Nathaniel akintst Doon a terrible job. I think that the mechanics and the details of the offense are really poor. He's always been
a bad play caller. But the actual design of the offense is pretty standard and fine.
They run a lot of the stuff everyone else runs.
It's quite a big drawback if you're an offensive corner and you're a bad right, that's right.
So they are.
They are running a lot of the cool stuff that other people run. Before we started, I got to look at your computer and you're out there diagramming plays by yourself, like writing it all down of like that they're writing. They're doing some of the same stuff that By and
Lafleur does. It just doesn't look as good when it's maybe not sequenced as well, or if Aaron Rodgers maybe that's not the right offense for him, because when it's worked this year, and I think Aaron Rodgers has thrown the ball quite well, like when he's just sitting there and kind of ripping the ball. He's still a very talented thrower of the ball overall, Like if you add it all up, I would say he's he's still an above average starting quarterbacks certainly, And I was worried about
him coming off the Achilles in everything. It just doesn't all like work together very well. And he clearly could have defended his guy Robert Sala, who says he has a great relationship with But if you had a great relationship with him, you could have told your owner during that conversation, like how much you believe in him?
And I have to believe that did not happen.
You would think about quarterbacks and decline it always remember or remember the old Hemingway line, how did he go broke gradually then suddenly right right? That doesn't appear to be happening with Rogers. To your point, there are flashes moments, passages of a game where you think, oh, yeah, he's gonna have a season. For the ages, the Patriots game springs to mind, and I know it's the Patriots, but you think, okay, this is all rolling. He's zipping it,
he's moving, it's working. And then you see the dysfunction that we saw on Sunday, the whole salad situation. I heard you guys cover it brilliantly on your show earlier this week. My favorite part of all of that was the Woody Johnson line that he talked to Aaron Rodgers about it and salad didn't come up in conversation, Like we believe that.
I mean, but even if you do, I kind of believe it. But even that is, like Aaron Rodgers is saying on the mcav show, like people think I have a lot more power than they actually do. Like he's a smart guy, Like there's such a thing as soft power, Like he knows that not bringing up Robert Zell and not having a full throat of defense, and then in the very same interview saying like, I think our new coach jeff Aulbrick is going to bring accountability.
Yeah, you know in a way that we need in the.
Building and that we need accountability all throughout the roster.
Like that's enough.
Yeah.
I may be naive on this, but I really don't believe he had anything to do with it. I just don't think that's the way he operates. I think he's a pretty massive, aggressive guy. And it would come in drips and drabs, and him not mentioning on a phone call is why you would get to the decision like he's good with it, rather than him being the person who would walk into an office, pick up the phone himself and say, hey, it's time to move on.
But isn't isn't the you know the point Greg's making that the silence speaks volumes, and that he if Aaron Rodgers is telling what he Johnson, we need him, he's got to stay. Then Salad doesn't go, does he? No?
I think when you just run through what's wrong with them this season, the number one thing is the offensive line has been.
Terrible, right, It's been brutal.
They can't run the ball, they can't protect, they can't pick anything up in the blitzcheme. Most of that, to me falls on the general manager, Joe Douglas.
Then you've got the issues with the offense.
I'm sure he've detailed a million times between both Rodgers and Hackett and the entire staff. And then you get to the bottom rung and it's Robert Salar and his defensive and the culture and leadership of the team. At least in my opinion, well, only one of those you can really change the GM. Changing the GM midstream changes nothing for your locker room. That Rogers is not going to get bench. He's not Gonnall allow Nathaniel Ak to be fired. We've already heard that he's not going to be out.
Of the building.
So the only thing they could pull to try and change things midstream would be to let cell ago.
I mean, we've seen it with this ownership group before that you get angry and you make a change, not for change's sake, but just because I need to do something.
And unfortunately for Robert Sally, you can look at all brick and kind of think like they can still run this same defense and maybe it'll just be a little different vibes and the vibes will help, or it just looks like we're doing something when you look at this matchup though, like defensively, the Jets going up against this Bill's offense, which I also don't know exactly what to think about right now, Like, how do you think the Jets defensively match up against Josh Allen coming off of
this nine for thirty game.
Yeah, I think they match up pretty well. I think the consumer will be how well Can the Bills run the bowl? The Jets just not built in any way to try and stop the run. The Bills have played really heavy this season, bunch of heavy personnel, bunch of extra line and set, so that would be the concern.
Then can you get into favorable down and distance? The Bills of being a team that struggled to convert on third downs this year, So that's what they'd be looking at, is how well can they move the ball on early downs? Can they get easy completions on first down? Can they
move the ball that way? It's just a weird offense in the sense to those first three weeks, every single thing they did felt like it was clicking and moving and it was all very much about play design and movement and Joe Brady and Josh Allen pick in the right spots.
Now, then the next.
Two weeks, you see when it becomes a game of talent and just like let's play some matchup ball.
That's where I think from.
The preseason concerns about the receiver room of being exposed.
Yeah yeah, James Cook miss practice on Wednesday. Will see.
I mean there's a lot that as we're taping this, we'll find out more Nate Hackett might be losing play calling by the time people hear this, which would be interesting. On the other side, I think they're gonna be okay. You have a great offensive line on balance, and you have Josh Allen. I think they have a good enough coaching that they can make the rest of it work. They shouldn't miss Khalio secure as much as they did last week, but he's probably the guy that Josh Allen
trusts the most. When you look at these two teams, I mean, it's the Bills coming off of a pretty rough stretch too desperately needing to win. This is it's kind of similar to me to the Bengals Ravens matchup last week, where the future of this division is going to feel a lot differently, like based on how this game goes.
The Bengals won that game.
I mean, the Ravens won that game last week, and now they're like two games clear of the division. If the Bills win this game on the road, the Jets are in a world at two and four.
And that's the crazy thing about the timing of this decision. Right like this, you know, conceivably they go into it's not in a different alternate reality and sound is still there and they're going to win this and they're in to your point, they're in relative control, or at least they've got the you know, momentum, they've got the they are on the front foot divisionally, so the timing feels incredibly. I have a super quick question. Yes, you both thought on the Jets ground game.
Please take take feel comfortable to Jumpman and the host year. Yeah, just go for it.
Yah, yeah, yeah with the ground game, why is the Jets grand game? Sony?
How long do we have? Offensive line has been really poor? Obviously, they're trying to do an awful lot of things. You go watch the game on Sunday twenty nineteen, of their first twenty two plays are in a congested, tight formation. They're doing the things Matt Lafleur did when Rogers was really cooking. They're the wrong game was really good when Rogers was winning those MVPs. And they just can't block anyone. They are using Titans who just are not rosterable players.
Like it sounds brutal, but it's just the reality and that they're doing Mike McDaniel type wind back blocks and really cool creative things that just have no hope of working with its talent they have, and they would just at this point be better off doing the thing they're being accused of, which is, yes, go and run the
Aaron Rodgers offense. That is what they've done most of the season, which has burned their first twenty five plays, trying to run the offense that Matt Lafloor had back in Green Bay.
He doesn't look. They hit the head against the wall.
They pivot mid stream and say, like, this isn't looking. Let's go and run the stuff that irons kumple with. He picks at the line of scrimmage. They just drive down the field. That's actually way they've looked at the best, at least for me.
Yeah, I think it's just they give up so much penetration in the running game, like they the average you know, yards before contact, which you know there can be some wonkiness in the stats, but it's all backed up when you watch it.
There's no room for brees Hall to run.
I've always thought Breesall is a little bit overrated as a back because I don't know how much that he creates on his own. He's a very explosive player, but I think if you're in a situation like this where you're not gonna get the run blocking, like you're gonna have a lot of negative plays. They've been more successful when they run it with Braylen Allen because you know he'll get what's blocked and maybe a yard for it.
He'll fall forward.
He's a bigger guy, but there's no cohesion. I think that was a really great point by Ali on the running backs and the tight ends, because now when I just think in my head through the running the game, the plays that have failed, like, yeah, their offensive line has been up and down. Tyron Smith has looked older, which makes sense, like he is older, Like he just had that year last year where everyone was like, Wow, Tyron Smith is back. But it's a lot to ask
him to be so good. And on the interior, they've kind of been matchup dependent. When you play a good front, they haven't been good. And this is a good front for the most part for Buffalo. I love Buffalo in this game. By the way, a little tease maybe for my show later this week with Neil Reynolds where we picked the games against the spread. I just think it's it's a big game for them. I'm really excited to see this. My last quick thing on this and we can't go this long in each game, but this is
the most fascinating game of the week for me. Is the Josh Allen conversation from last week. Like, thinking about this game, just from a practical lens, I am concerned that Josh Allen is potentially coming off of a concussion that was not reported.
It is.
It was crazy to see him come back in that game after what you saw visually and the smelling salts, and there was also a big hit he took week before, and I just think it's okay to like have some concern here for him as a human and for how that's gonna translate to how he's playing on the field, because he was one for nine after that that massive hit.
I mean, it's what's performance pysically ever, right in his entire career of the back.
Right, but like all the incompletions that happened before that, like he was playing up and down but the football was getting to his receiver's hands for the most part, and it's crazy. I think the NFL should be taking a little more heat than yeah, he did for that entire process.
Like him and Jakwan Brisker.
I am, I just cannot understand why it has not been a way biggest storyline that it seems pretty evident and pretty obvious, not only from the fact that we see the video of the head hitting the ground, not only that we see the smelling salts and him looking confused pre smelling salts and waking up a little bit post smelling salts as you would expect.
But you mentioned the accuracy.
When he's throwing after the hit, it does look like he's trying to pick between the multiple people he's seeing down the field and hoping one of them is the correct guy. So yeah, it should be to me a way biggest storyline. It's something i'd be concerned about.
And I guess Petilldy what you know. We think about the two concussion and.
The oh his back it was his back in the oh yeah, you all you Dolphins fans are up in arms about that.
It's like, how come they're not cheating him the same as the to a thing.
It's like, you got a fair point. All right, let's go to Titans hosting the Colts this week. See this is where we can save some time. Two and a half points, uh, they're favored, they're coming off the bye week. It does look like it's gonna be Will Levis. There is no QB controversy in Tennessee. He is fully practicing, so it seems like he is gonna be back out
there again. It's this is a little bit of a mystery box, as they're not announcing that Levis is officially the starter, but they said if he's healthy, he's gonna start, and he did fully practice on Wednesday. We don't know for sure if Anthony Richardson is starting in this game or if it's Joe Flacco again. They said, if Richardson is fully healthy, he's gonna start. I tend to think it's probably gonna be Richardson. Jeffrey Simmons is probably back
for this game. Quity Pay and Kenny Moore are probably back for this game, which is crucial because last week the Colts made the Jaguars look so good on offense, and the Colts are thirty second in the league, dead last in yards per drive allowed. So Gus Bradley has this thing where it's like, yeah, we're gonna bend and won't break, and we'll keep things in front of you and I'm watching the game and they don't keep things in front of them.
And breaking simultaneously right, and.
They've had a lot of injuries up front, and they it's just like an average talent with probably a below average scheme and a lot of injuries.
And so that's that's rough.
So it could be a bit of a get right game for the Titans and their running game, and Will loves Will Levis.
Comeback starts right here. I feel that is partially responsible for Will Levis because week one of the season, we're doing our live radio show on Talk Sport and Olly Thornton, who, of course you both know Ollie Thornton, who is a long standing.
Everyone in our UK American football like society is either Ali.
Or effected me.
He's no offense to Ali Wilson though, but we had the number one Ali here.
We drafted Wilson Thornton Propo, who is yeah, long standing part of the NFL community over here. I messaged him maybe about twenty five thirty minutes into the season, this is now a legendary something that will be brought up against me for years to come. I think Will Levis is legit. Subject was the message I said, So I personally feel responsible for the decline of will Lewis on
the Colts. One of the main narratives I think in the last couple of weeks has been do they have a better chance of making the playoffs with Joe Flacco? Was supposed to Anthony Richardson. I don't think that matters, right, I mean, is there any point in squeaking into the playoffs and probably going out first round with a vet like Flacco when you got to work out if this is your quarterback of the future, your franchise. I mean, I don't know why that question is being thrown out.
Why don't even mean considered as a strategy?
Well, I think, look, everyone wants to win.
It's really high pressure. These guys got mortgages to pay, they got jobs and job lot as. They want to climb up. If you have the best chance to win with Joe Flecco. Anthony Rickson has barely played any football. He didn't play much football in high school, he barely played in college. He's had very few starts in the
NFL because of injuries. If there's a way you can kind of like use a bit of chicane or you by saying, like, hey, the injury is not totally he'll take another couple of weeks, particularly in this matchup, because the main thing for the Titans is they can stop the run really effectively. They actually don't have a really dominant as Rush Binny Stripes, even though they're really eye up and all the events metrics. Defensively, their pressure rate
is really low. It's concentrated essentially one player for the most part. Arden Key gets some, but it's mostly Howard Landry. They're cycling through seventh round picks and undrafted free agents who are doing absolutely nothing for them in the past. First, so if you're facing a team you know struggles to get off the ball and has the juice to stop the pass, why would you not put the guy who's way more methodical and can dim it down the field as opposed to bringing Rison back where I tway more
boom bust, you a more room game concentrated. It's actually much it wise would make more sense to me to just roll with Fleco anyway.
That that does make sense, And yet you just have because of the lack of starts. Richardson it said you have this is the year that you have to get him those starts. The chances of making the playoffs with Joe Flacco is in theory incrementally better. I don't know if that would actually play out, and either even then, I don't think it's especially high. If this defense doesn't get any better. Since we last tape, they announced Michael Pittman is going to miss multiple weeks. Josh Downs was
out of practice. He finished that game, so I would expect that he's playing. My fantasy pickup of Josh Downs is feeling better every week Josh Downs can play, although all those guys are probably a little happier when Flaco's back. I mean, I watched that Flacco game too, and it was very similar to last year with the Browns. Whereas you can watch the Joe Flacco game and look at the box score afterwards and be like man through two quarters, like through a big.
Chunks of Joe Flacco games.
He's making some crazy decisions and missing some throws too.
It's not like it's.
All you know with Joe Flacco, but his great throws are great, and he is he's not afraid, and he's fun to watch.
He plays not afraid is the point. It's almost the point of boredom with him. He just like gets the ball out and he looks like he's like dulls by the fact that he's completing throws.
It's just like, Okay, this is what I'm asked to do. Yeah.
Yeah, obviously with rich and you get the upside. They got to find out what they have, but they got issues up from with the offensive line. He is not a guy who's figuring out the protections and all the mechanics and that stuff. They got a Ryan Kelly injury. They got an injury right tackle. They got to figure
out if that's to go this week. I think it's difficult to drop someone in and when you rip Ryan Kelly out the lineup and they do a lot of different things in the protection, will you take him out? And you've got to have Richardson do that stuff or a backup coming and do that stuff that now you're going to consume when you're facing a team you should really be able to attack with that.
Yeah, it's it's a bit of a relevance ball here because if Titans lose at home to the Colts at a time I mean, people have probably written them off already, but that would be the time to do it.
At one in five you're you're in a very good spot.
Then again, if the Colts get to two and four, they are also in a tough spot. So a big game for these two teams at actually in the AFC South. All Right, it is time for the Sneaky Good Game of the Week, presented by DraftKings Sports book. I'm going Chargers Bronco says the sneaky Good Game of the week just because I'm these two teams. I just don't know
what to think about either of these teams. The Chargers are favored by three on the road in Denver, which is an amazing amount of disrespect from Vegas for the Broncos.
After the last couple of weeks.
This is a three and two team with a legitimately good defense who are playing a Kami Kazi like style of game. They are blitzing at a fifty four rate on first down, which is which is just wild. And they are they're creating like the the third highest pressure rate, or they're playing against the team rather who's giving up the third highest pressure rate in the in the Chargers.
Yeah, which is surprising.
You you thought their offensive line was gonna be great, and they're they're a strange team because Herbert is getting rid of the ball pretty quickly, but on the plays that he is in, it's like he's holding it on a long time and he's getting hit quite a bit. Joe all and the right at right tackle and Rossan Slater. We're back at practice for this game. They're going up against a great cornerback duo. I could put Riley Moss in a sentence with great right now, he's playing well.
At least he's playing well enough because he's supported by the pressure. How do you see it when the Chargers have the ball ali against this defense, which has been pretty fun to watch.
They've been so good.
Zach Allen has been one of the best players in the NFL, and he's still one of the underrated players. I mean, he's been dominant inside. What's so fun about watching them is how well they just play as a collective, as a unit. They all perform their roles like to an unbelievable degree. Everything is built as a as a group rather than having different you mentioned the blitz packages. It's not built in a way to feature one person or to try and tilt the protection in one way.
It's a really layered design where everyone has to be like at the absolute apex step, I was down and down out. So the fact it's humming so well when there's so many moving eastes, everyone has to perform those three and here he guys have been unbelievable.
I think it's it's gonna be a difficult one.
I just don't think that the challenges right now have enough like easy get out escape valves. So when the pressure is arriving, unless it's love McConney, who's been really really impressed, probably should have way higher production than he actually has, and we get mcconchney on must I think at some point it's going to break the internet.
I think we'll get that at some point.
Yes, Riley Moss has been breaking barriers.
I'm I'm genuinely surprised it's not a bigger story that a white cornerback is out here making like I mean, he most a guy on an interception last week that was a fantastic play. All the metrics are fantastic for him. He's certainly supported by the coverages rolled to his side.
But yeah, McConkie's playing well.
I thought their last game before the bye was certainly the game where you saw the most mcconkee from college come out, and so that's exciting to see. On the other side, bo Nicks has averaged two point two yards per attempt when under pressure this year, which is just like a wild stat Like as much as they're building him up as he's a great leader and he's a winner. The best news for him not just the defense playing great, but Javante Williams has played well the last couple of weeks.
They have gotten a pretty traditional running game going two weeks in a row, and I think that's the way you got to attack the charity.
Yeah.
I mean, we're talked about the charges banged up O line and Joel if he's back, that's a massive plus, But the Broncos alies be banged up as well, so you got to put that in context a little bit.
Bonus fascinates me because it's that draft and I'm definitely gonna get into Michael Pennocks and then later on I'm just gonna trail that right now, that draft and all that, it seems to be a really divisive pick half Roughly, while it's a reach, they're panicking, they just need someone they've got anyone other half Peyton knows what he's doing. He knows his guy, He's got his guy, so you
part of that. Now into the role that they're on, they're starting to get a bit of a mentality argument that they do the bat on the sidelines last year, which has blown out of proportion ridiculously. But what that told me was that Nick's not afraid to step up. Peyton clearly likes what he sees Nixon very safe hands. I think out of all of that class or amongst that class, preseason, pre draft Bonix trajectory, where it is now, I think he's landed.
No, I think you're you're taking the cheese here. I'm not buying it. Like these two teams in this division, like.
They're gonna be built up a little bit by their schedules all year, and like every week they're just like, oh, that's a winnable game for the Broncos.
It's partly scheduling. They're doing what they can.
He's actually been pretty effective when he chooses to run bonecks. Yeah, but I'm not gonna give him.
I'm not buying the Bonnick stuff.
I even go back, there's been some level of progression, but to me, it's mostly being them, Like ripping out core elements to their offense to let him do things that are really really basic and easy for him to do.
They still have operational issues.
They still struggle again plays out of the huddle, They still struggle with the play clock. He can't really drive anything down the field unless it's moving and creating in some way. And this happened with Sean Payton, It's happened with him before. It happens at times in New Orleans, it happened with Russell Wilson, where the offense only looks really functional when it's the two minute drill or someone's trying to like creates me out of the structure of
the offense. It just still feels baked in twenty thirteen to me. And I will give him some credit. He has over the past three weeks like thrown in new things that Nick's running college. I think he realized, like the guy was, you know, staring in the headlights in the first couple leaks and just throwing up a bunch of panic balls. But he just screams to me of a guy who unless they're running all the screens, they run like fifty to open the week last week, unless
you're really putting him in that shell. He's going to give the defense opportunities every single year.
Now I am selling bonetes at least like right now, I'm not counting out like Seohn Payton can build him up over of course the time, but he's still a rookie quarterback.
And this is a tough matchup.
You know, Denver's getting all the love on defense, but Jesse Minter and this Charters team, I'm not exactly sure what they they're doing, but it's been very sound.
It's fundamental.
They're getting my guy Kristin Fulton playing at a high level at cornerback. I think like overall, like they are number two in the league right now in DBO eight and again at that's very much.
I think about their schedule.
They've had a very beneficial schedule for opposing offense, you know, for their defense.
But I think they could lock it down.
This is this is like a ten to nine game, which sounds about right, all right.
Chargers win.
Download the Draftking Sportsbook app now and use the code daily. New customers can bet just five bucks to get two hundred dollars in bonus bets only on Draftking Sportsbook With Code Daily, the Crown is yours. Steelers favored by three going to Vegas. This is the Iron Eagle Charles Davis game, which means like there's not a lot going on on
CBS on Sunday or in the AFC in general. Since we last tape, they announced Christian Wilkins is potentially out for the season, but he's definitely on irty, definitely out for a while. He hadn't made quite the impact that I expected this year, maybe because there's been other injuries there.
On the defensive line.
Max Crosby is now in the maintenance portion of his season where he's like only playing on Sundays but not practicing throughout the course of the week. Alex high Smith is out for this game for Pittsburgh. Herbig is out for this game for Pittsburgh. Cordrell Patterson is out. They might get Jalen Warren back. I do feel like there's just so many injuries that I got to just bring that up at the beginning because that makes such an impact. I'm not sure what to think about this, like what's
left of this Steelers team. But this Vegas defense, which was supposed to kind of be their calling card, has been just you know, they went with a defensive coach, hoping there would be carry over there and it's just been and now they don't have Christian Wilkins for a while.
You're your guy from Miami, my guy.
Yeah, I got it when he left the I mean the O'Connor getting the starting job, of courses, and that whole battle I think has been has been fascinating. Petini, when you mentioned Antonio and.
You've recovered me there as a good broadcaster, I should have mentioned that we have a new starting quarterback here for the Las Vegas Raiders.
How does it really matter?
Will ask the question, I guess And when Piss got the gig as the interim gig after the injury, cigars in the locker room once McDaniel's were one of my favorite, I think moments in the history of the NFL when players are celebrating with his cigar McDaniel's is gone. That was one of his first calls was to was to make O'Connell the start, so he obviously he obviously likes likes him. It was literally mins she got the start at the start of the season. Is it going to
tangibly markedly uplift him. I think there's a lot of talk of the pick six that Mins threw and his confidence went and he's obviously such a confidence player. Again, are they looking at a younger quarterback that they think they might be able to build something around? Is that the upside here for the rest of the season for them?
Then maybe he's not even that young of a quarterback.
They are.
They are on full on locker room meltdown watch for me and I love Antonio.
I love the vibes. I think that was really fun.
The back of the last season where you've got the DeVante Adams situation. You go Phil a raider for now You're going to AOC and that is going to be a mess within three weeks.
A lot like why did we do that? The go back to the other guy?
That's guy For a second, I was like, is this like a little bit of a hey, you want to come back like when you get healthy Devonte, because he had pretty good numbers with AOC.
He has good numbers with everyone. He's Devonte Adams. He could play with me and not and he would do a pretty good job.
You've been on the corner of that.
DeVante Adams on film does not look no like he's declining much. I mean, maybe he's down a little bit from super peak, but that and and yeah, you can kind of see it in his big last game that he played.
Yeah, I would say, like five Max, and you take five tmcent away from Devantie Adams, you go from the best receiver in the league to one of the best receivers in the ship. It doesn't make that much of a difference. So yeah, I know there's a money situation. But if you are a team out the Bill's Chiefs Jets who have a looking for some kind of help, to me, it would be a no brainer. It's not
one of these stock declines. And you know, OK, for someone from two seasons ago, he's still a major difference makeup.
And Belichick is on underdog talking with Matt, Patricia and Lombardi and it's like, you can't you.
Can't give up a second.
That's two way, like two bigger prices, And that does seem to be the consensus, and I'm thinking, are what what are we talking about? First of all, he gave up a two for most anew we've seen him like once you actually get on draft day, people are thrown out two just to go up eight spots in the second round. But then you get into the season and they get so locked in and people say, well, it's the contract, it's the contract.
This year.
He's actually quite affordable.
So as long as you can fit him in, and not every team can seamlessly, but basically every team can. And it like even the teams like the Saints could figure it out by starting to renegotiate elsewhere.
He's not that expensive this year.
And I don't know what his situation in terms of wanting guaranteed money, but his next two years are exactly where you would expect them to be. They're not They're not a crazy mount so on that front, like I don't I don't get it. But Pierce actually said if he's healthy, like we expect him to play again for
the Raiders, we'll see if that happens. Just like very quickly the Alkanell versus Minshew think oh connell takes a lot of chances actually, Like they're kind of similar ish quarterbacks to me, except O'Connell he doesn't have a big arm, but I think he'll he'll maybe even go deeper down the field.
I don't know what it is.
I think you're looking for some kind of difference.
I think Antonio piss is to it that they are pretty much the same profile of play, a slightly different body type. But when you just kind of like look through the body of work and what they actually do, that that pretty much the same player. Maybe once its slightly more gambles than the other, but it's not like a MAGA difference, no.
And so I think they're gonna struggle against the Steelers defense too, which is not the same defense without this defensive line and edge rushers.
And so you've got it either right now, the thirtieth with the rights that is that can't run the bulls Dickinson.
Yeah, but like, yeah, the you could see the difference when they took her big out of the lineup on the Sunday night game that it was. It's a pretty big drop off to I think it's Isaiah lauder Milk who's like three hundred pounds and they're playing them out there as as an edge rusher, and so two banged
up teams. Let's take a quick break and we'll be back to talk about a fun game in the NFC Lions Cowboys after this, all right, we are back on NFL Daily and yes, if you happen to be in the UK or wherever sky Sports NFL is aired, or wherever this game is on, I will be on the sky Sports coverage for this next game back in the studio. Lions favored by three points heading to Dallas. This is a fun one, a rematch of one of my favorite games,
probably my favorite regular season game from last season. And it wasn't because of the weird, controversial ending, which was weird and fun and like annoying that it was controversial. It was for the other like fifty nine minutes of the game. This was an awesome game a year ago. Lions Cowboys. It feels like this is mostly the same version of the Lions team, but not the same version of the Cowboys. Obviously, no Parsons for another week, no
DeMarcus Lawrence. We've taken out marsh Neelan, who's a you know, a solid.
Edge player for them as a rookie.
That they're banged up Dallas, and they're not the same on offense either.
This time. It feels a little bit more of like a mismatch for the line.
Yeah it does on paper for sure, logic prevailing, but we've seen so many teams right now that their season compleat roller either way. There are so many teams clustered and a number of teams that people are down on, And I look at Dallas with a fair amount of upside because they're still in the mix. Look at three or four things you mentioned. Demarks Lawrence had passons out and they still win a tight game without it. The ground game at the moment is non existence. Zeke's done
thirty Carris for ninety eight yards. Dalvin Cook, that's talking about Abe reupping off.
The practice squad maybe found something last week.
I thought with the Steelers, it seemed like they went away from some of the zone stuff they were doing and just did what had worked for them better, Like their offensive line was it. It worked a little better for one week, So that gave them some hope in the right way.
They're clearly the market for a receiver. They worked out Denzil Mims this week, Dotte Pettis as well. They might be in the Yeah, that will change it, but they might. They might be in the mix for the Davonte's REEP six. My point is, with all of this, they lead the league in penalties. That should statistically correct itself they're not
in good shape. Yet they're still in contention. So the upside for Dallas is they get two or three of those things right or at least tangibly uplift in a division that is quite dysfunctional Washington not withstanding, and they could be in the mix.
I don't see it personally.
Their undefense is so bad, and I know they've slightly course corrected it slightly over the last couple of weeks when you go through some of the numbers, but it just structurally is so off, and they don't have the talent either. I think for this to sustain over the course of the season, you're facing it where they will gladly say let's run the ball eighteen of the first eighteen plays if it's cooking for us. So I think this has atendal to be a real ugly first half of Dallas.
And I still watch it.
I don't know what you think, right, but I still watched the Dallas offense and you know, they were driving the ball pretty comfortably against the Steelers, and Mike tom was saying just how well Dak Prescott played. I still watch it, and it always looks more difficult than.
It should be. For them.
Everything just feels like a beat off given some of the talent they have, how good Dak is. Dak doesn't move and create much anymore. He certainly doesn't scramble anymore. Everything just feels like they've turned on a degree of difficulty setting that is completely unnecessary and they could actually be more productive. So when you can't stop the run and it feels like hard work to generate offense, then I just don't think it's gonna write itself.
Right in this matchup where it's the best running game in the league or one of the best running games in the league. And I saw the Lions practice report and like everyone practiced, and now you just don't see that in week six. Now they're coming off of a
buy and so that's what you want. And yes they have a couple guys and I are, but for the most part, they're extremely healthy, especially on offense, and you just think they are gonna mash like this this Mike zimmer defense had he doesn't have the players to run the defense that he wants, and it seems like he's putting it on difficult mode for his players and maybe they don't understand everything. And then I hate to be too basic about it. But I totally agree on the
McArthur thing. It's one where you watch the film and it really backs up those numbers with average separation and everything with Dak Prescott throwing into tight windows, and it's very twenty eighteen twenty seventeen Packers where everyone was saying the same things. It's like they just are trying to rely on their players to win and they're not winning enough.
But the difference is.
Those Packers at least had DeVante Adams, and yes, you have CD Land here, but the depth of the players. Sure, Jalen Tolbert is now your your number two. He's coming off like a decent game.
But it's so I'm talking about upside. The downside though the sedut is brutal. I mean that he's brutal.
They look at that rong whin last week was huge.
Though to your point, if I was going to be optimistic, I never rule out teams that like have a quarterback and have a decent amount of talent, because so often teams in December just have no resemblance of what they
are in October. So is there a world where they scrape out enough wins in the meantime, I think that Steelers win was one of them where you're just hanging around five hundred and things can somehow click in a different way in December when Lawrence and Parsons and Dak you do have Dak Prescott as you think as possible, that likely, But.
The top of that permid right now this stage of the proceedings is the Chiefs, right. I mean, this is exactly what we're saying. The defense is driving the offenses on Monday night, okay, right, but for the majority of the season, Oh my god, that's still unbeating. They're not playing very well. So you think about this, it was relative upside here of talking about but there are a cluster of teams that are gonna be winning despite not
playing particularly well. But despite that, they're still in the mix.
Yeah.
But it's one of those ones where while we judging the standard bye to me, they came into the season with championship expectations. This is the year, and I'm not
saying they won't make the playoffs. I'm just saying there is nothing in what they're doing right now that will go toe to toe with a championship caliber defense, which is what they need to be they need to be offensively such a juggernal to cover up the fact that they can not stop anything on the ground defensively, and they're just so far away from it.
And I understand what you're saying.
You can usually figure things out, patch things up through the season, right I think Zimma will figure some things out. We know that mccauthy and Shotanaima. They're not changing the offense in the middle of the season. That's just not gonna happen.
I do.
I think windows are sometimes overrated, but I do think there are moments when you have a better chance to advance far in the playoffs. The Cowboys had a chance if you if you spun the dial a few different times last year and last year's NFC playoffs, I think they had a chance. I think this is not this This is not gonna be as good as last year's seems.
And I think the Lions are right in the middle of their window.
And I will be curious to see if Tyler Geyton seems to it starts in this game. He's a little banged up when he left that game. It maybe their offensive line maybe made a little sense where that was actually their best I've out there Tyler Smith at left tackle. I forget who who wasn't at left guard, but he's played at Tyler Bass who he's out there, and they actually looked quite good, I thought against Pittsburgh upfront in that game. All right, let's go to the Bengals. This
is a Sunday night football game. Three and a half point favorites at the Giants. Yes, we're saving the Tottenham game for a little bit of a meteor talk a little later in the show. So this is the Mike Tarico game. There were some rumors out there that they were trying to get out of this game a couple.
Of weeks ago because they were afraid of the Giants.
Sure, now it's just like almost they needed to be more afraid of the Bengals, although I'm sure they're fine having Joe Burrow in prime time. The Giants are frisky like they had. It is all about expectations where they just feel like an average football team, and that feels enough above expectations that it's like, okay, you don't feel
too bad about them. I heard they were blocked though, by the Washington like they wanted to take Washington, Baltimore and who CBS has that game and they blocked him and so they're stuck with this Giants, Uh Bengals game. Giants really need to Uh, they don't really need to win as much A two and three vote that Bengals
really need to win at one in four. Like, the Bengals offense has been pretty awesome though the last few weeks, Like, how do you see them looking against a relatively frisky Giants defense?
Ali, Yeah, I think the front in particular after a really disappointing couple and gopeen in weeks of the season, the three stop pastorses, I guess. Plus they've they've rolled through some guys on the interior have finally come alive.
They just ragged all the Seahawks hope from last week.
Ave On Thibodaux keve On Thibodau is alive and well, I'm hour rushing and being very.
Out this week.
Suddenly is he really week to week with it like a wrist injury that kind of came out of nowhere though, But you're right to have three players up front who are legitimate problems. Now it's two that's a good matchup against a good bengalsz Oo line.
Yeah, and and Lawrence has just been breaking games upon all on his zone, and you you get that kind of internal pressure. Borrow is a guy who and I know it's when you go back to Brady and what have you. Everyone struggled with internal pressure. Borrow particularly is susceptible. It's of internal pressure because he just doesn't like to bail. He wants to climb and move through the pressure. And so it's in his lab. Lawrence can just end this
game for everyone. I think it's I think it's gonna be I think it's gonna be really close because day Ball is such an excellent one week to week game planner facing a defensive front that is just like an absolute travesty at the moment that I think the Giants will be able to hit some deep shots and have some pop plays and I think they'll they'll hang around.
Yeah, thirty first two points allowed, and this is you know, the Luhanna rum is one of the most highly regarded coordinators in the last five years, right, And that's what's faintly tragic about this Bengals site, because they are exhilarating to watch, They're entertaining because they're racking them up, and the defense and he's managed to build it the consistently without massive names like Dallas have had. He's built this powerful day over the years, which the alchemy is not
working anymore. And you can be thinking about Borrow and everything with this situation. He's talking about contenders, the Bengals in the mix or not. And you're right. If they drop this, they're in trouble. If they win this, they got the browns necks, They're suddenly right back in. It's Joe Burrow, is either John Alway of his generation borrow. John Elway's gonna be this sensational player that rolls and rolls full short in terms of championships and then has that last to run.
I mean, I think I think he is right saying that with him as a quarterback, you're gonna have a chance to win every year. Yeah, you assume they're gonna get that Jamar Chase contract, Right, you do worry about like ownership that that like when they were in that game against the Rams, like it is tough to get back to that point where they had a lot of talent on that team. His ownership and the player acquisition gonna be as strong. I think Duke Tuban's done a
good job, but you can see what happens. Like they're one and four in a season they expected to, you know, contend that they've been pretty good, like statistically against pressure,
Daniel Jones is clearly not. But the Bengals have had no pass rush, like the worst team in the league in terms of passers, which is crazy because you have Trey Hendrickson and this Giants offensive line has helped to support my you know, most medium take that I've had forever, which is if Daniel Jones is protected, he's fine.
Like he's not gonna be a hero, but he's fine.
Like he'll be He'll be like right there at the Andy Dalton line of the Dalton scale, where he's like a league average and he's played fine the last couple of weeks. And Ali, he's firing up his team trucking defenders. I mean, he's looking for contact in the running game, which does not seem like it's a good idea, but he was pretty effective. He's getting Theo Johnson involved, his
rookie tight end. Like I could see them putting up a lot of points in this game, and like Bengals are probably marking this as a win, and it seems like.
It's a dangerous game. I think it's a close game.
I think it's gonna be a close game. I think it's gonna be an upset type situation. The Bengals defensively, it's just declined so rapidly. You mentioned, and what's with as you mentioned, like people take shots of Mike Brown. Totally understand that they don't invest a tone well, they don't invest in scouts, but they actually draft pretty well and every single season. I understand the contractual situation, but the big floor this season has been defensive line injured
and lacking talent. Linebacker's aging and not playing very well. Safety is looking pretty cooked. Von Bell in particulars like it's actually sad to watch him play.
At this point.
But they've invested so much in that defensive line. You go by cap figure, you go by draft picks, the last four is they put everything into it, and it's comfortably the worst in the league. It's not even like close where it is compared toveone else. So to put that level of resources into it and to have declined so starkly is really jarring.
Yeah, and you mentioned Dabo like he was in his bag last week, he's starting to feel confident. He has enough people around him, and this offensive line has been good good, certainly good enough, maybe even more. They can have a running game with Tyrone Tracy showed up last week. Chase Brown's look good on the other side. We got to move on, though.
Let's go to kind of a quick line of Daniel Jones, because I want to talk about one of my best makes is a Giants fan. Is this perennial nightmar he's in that Janiel Jones starts to play after a difficult patch and this is fine at the end of the road, starts to play, hence in the contract he's gone a course, starts to play well, and that it's gonna be saddle with him.
No, no, forever.
No.
I've heard that from like Giant, like Danny Haifaz said that on NFL Daily too. Is like, are we getting back into this question now? I thought we've settled that question. But what you want is to him play at a reasonable enough level this year that he can get a fine contract elsewhere next year you can be happy for him and that you can just watch more entertaining football.
Life is short.
You'd rather win these games and have some meaningful mid December games. I think they're trending that way where they're gonna like win eight games, which is it's not that exciting.
But is he the cousins of his generation?
Now? He could be the Jacoby Brissett.
I don't know, Like just Kobe's a good bounce around be in the league, like be a guy that you're fine starting Teddy Bridger. That was all that is my medium take people acting like that he's like the worst player in the league, but he needs protection. All right, let's go to Bucks. Saints very excited that Spencer Rattler is getting his first NFL start. The Bucks are favored by three and a half in this game. Look, there are in a significant portion of the Saints fan base
that are actually excited to see Spencer Rattler. That it's It's Rattler time. The agenda has been out there most years. This would be a difficult spot going up against a Todd Bowles defense. They've been they'll throw a lot at you, and the offensive line for the Saints has come back.
To earth after That's very kindly a great start.
What do you think ali of Spencer Rattler as a prospect, and do you think this Saints like offense could could do enough positive things around him that actually he'd put in a fun performance.
I think he can certainly put in a fun performance. He to me, is gonna be a red zone darling. This could be like Levis type stuff where we get these really crazy wild players, then we get the bone and a turnovers.
He was.
I fell into the camp of my mid round quarterback love was Spencer Rattler, and I watched all the games at South Carolina, and I know how bad a lot of it was. Or when you just break him down, he's got the arm talent, he's intelligent, he can move and make players with his feet.
So he just strike me.
As one of these guys who's gonna wind up having like a six seven, eight year career where he just winds up being in different spots and he can move the ball. I'm excited to watch him. In the first game you mentioned, Tom Bowles Balls has been blitzing a ton and blitzing in a way that almost no one is in the league right now. He's got his kind of own thing going on compared to the rest of the league, and most of it is to take away really short, quick outlet things. It's very we mentioned as
old school offenses. The way Balls is attacking people right now, it's going right back to what he did with Rex Ryan, and it's a very old school style of blitzing compared to when you look at the other people up there, Vans, Josip, Brian Flores. They are doing something brand new and different to what anyone.
Else is doing.
So it's concerning matchup for me because I think the line is actually not that good. They got away with it in the first couple of weeks of the season. McCoy goes down, they get injuries on the right side, and you would just say, typically to your young quarterback right if you see the heat, just get it out. We replace the blitz so we keep the game moving.
The way Balls is attacking people is built to make you hold onto the ball, and I think Spetzerratla has a chance to be a developmental guy, but him holding onto the ball in his first start makes me a little bit cloosy.
It always is on my radar, the extra rest when you're the Monday night team on a short week playing the Thursday night team on a particularly long week. It was why I was on the Giants last week against the Seahawks. I don't know, maybe that's overthinking, but that seems like a significant difference having five days extra rest, and yeah, with a rookie quarterback, they have weapons on
offense for Rattler to play with. But on the flip side, like that's the matchup where you're expecting the Saints defense to carry them, they've been okay, Like they've been fine. You've got Lattimore matching up against Mike Evans. That's that's been a matchup that's included more routes like cornerback on wide receiver than any cornerback on any wide receiver. Like statistically, it's a fact according to Next to the stats since twenty seventeen or whatever. So that's fun. But it's actually
one of those years. I think the Bucks offense matches up fine with him. The Bucks offense has been pretty good all year, Like they feel pretty comfortable. The running game certainly is had ups and downs, but getting better. But as a passing attack, I think they're getting the best out of Baker Mayfield.
Yeah on that. So two things. Firstly, just jumping back red Zone Darlings is the perfect name for a band if I'm going after this show and do that. Yeah, Liam Cohen from The McVeigh Tree, Right, And it's fascinating watching the Baker evolution. In simple terms, he's just become more controlled. Everything is a big calmer, right. And we because Baker was his straw love and the head budding
and all the all the animation as a player. This year as a quarterback, they've adapted and he's adapted them. It's really really clinic clinical at times, which is surprising. I think when you think about it, they can make May feel less led offense two point four to three seconds. That's the quickest of his career in terms of release. He's got a career low seven point two percent of throws twenty yards or more downfield. This isn't all new Baker who's working right now.
Yeah, it's been quite surprising to see Baker like he was good in that Atlanta game too. They're really getting him out of his worst instincts because one of his worst traits is he takes a ton of sacks. And that's still the case. He still takes a ton of sacks, like in terms of the amount of pressure that gets on him, but the pressure never gets there because he's throwing to his first read so often that you kind of never get to that bad baker. I do think
he's gotten away with like getting into scramble mode. It's worked at a higher rate than you've probably it's still not working all the time, but like he he has escape pressure a decent amount this year on scrambles at least, Like how have you thought that Liam Cohen experiment was gonna Because I was skeptical coming in. He felt like a little like one wrong above Alex Van Pelt of like Shanahan Tree left, Oh.
Don't tell you that has picked over.
They're like, let's take that Brands, Let's take like who's left. Oh, it's it's Cohen over there at Kentucky. But you're pudding him well ahead, Yeah, outrageously rude.
Outrageously rude.
He did really cool things at Kentucky. I think, you know, I go back and forth with you on like the use of motion, how people will just put the motion shots up and if your emotion you must be a really innovative mine. Cohen to me through the first stretch of the seasons, mean the best coach in the league, having a purpose to the motion, the way He's able to move a manipulate the defense to create voids. Is why Baker's just gunning Good and gunning White. It don't
come out so quickly. He will use formation and motion to manipulate one on one so Mike Evans, which is not an easy thing to do. I thought in the off season it was an upbrade going from Canals to Liam Cohen. I feel they got the best part of that deal of Canalo's moving gone. I think for the first few weeks the season, They've got serious issues in the run game that I just don't know how they can quite address as we head towards the middle of
the year. But to me, it's been an improvement in the pussing game in the way that he's maximized everyone, most notably Biga.
I am curious also in this game, can the Saints running game get back. I mean, normally you think of the Buccaneers as like a great run defense. They haven't been statistically this year at all. They are getting healthier, they had a lot of injuries. Colijah Cantsey I believe
is back at practice. They've been banged up, and I just feel like the Saints team is not going to work unless they can get the most out of Kamara and the most out of that zone running scheme, which like they had something special for a couple of weeks and then everyone was like, this is how we're gonna stop. It does not seem like they have a counter right now.
I like the Bucks in this game. Let's go to uh Packers and the Cardinals, And yes, it is time for the Game of the Week presented by Draft King Sportsbook. The Packers are five point favorites in this game. This is the Kevin Coogler Darryl Johnston game. I just kind of think of this Packers run game and how they're throwing so much at opposing defenses, and it's just been a great kind of backstop for any other issues that
this team has had. And I'm still waiting for a normal game out of Jordan Love, Like everything is just boom or bust, just like a little crazy out of him. They have that running game which is so creative and so explosive, and there's not a lot of reason to think the Cardinals defense is going to be able to stop.
And that's the thing they brought in Jonathan go and to uplift a d right it isn't working so far statistically in most most categories are the wrong end of proceedings there. I guess the hold against the Niners mind act is a kind of catalist galvanized a little bit. Darius Robinson that first round in training. He could be back. That will be a big lift as well. But yeah, right now, and you think about the Pakasto line is strong. I mean this one to me feels packs.
All the way.
Yeah.
I feel bad for Gannon. I mean he's been dealt at a pretty rough card. He's got the youngest defense by far in the NFL. They don't seem to have that much talent. They certilly know that much times. It's clearly the weakest group of pass rushes in the league, and he's not running anything close to what he ran in Philadelphia, which is built around a four man rotation of pass rushes. You get eight guys and you just cycle through every other down who you want in there.
That's gonna take, you know, a couple of years to develop. I do think it's they're way further along in their process than I thought they would have been. They are competitive every single week. They great upsets with a defense that is lacking a bunch of talents. So but in this game of particularly, I thought it's funny you mentioned with Jordan love.
It's not even to me boom or bus. It's like everything all the time.
It's just that's what I mean, that's sort of what I'm getting it, Like, can we get like one normal car drive?
One drive of normalacy would be nice.
It's everything.
It's reminding me of how he used to play in the preseason, which I when he wasn't the starter until you'd watch those games closely.
And it'd just be like I'd just be.
Like an explosion and it is fun, but it seems a little out of control.
Yeah, it really smacks of when he came back and he was wearing the FUV Josey like he spent the timeway just grinding through fall film was like, this is the cool way to play football. Like it definitely is, Jord and I love it, but it's not gonna help the team win games consistently. He seems like he's having the most fun. So he's good at avoiding sacks.
You mentioned this is not a good pass rush, and so that's a mismatch where he'll have time, so it should be a fun matchup. They're probably getting Christian Watson and Robio Dobbs back.
Watson was back at practice.
Dobbs is apparently over being upset that like Tucker Craft was getting featured in the game plan last week, or Dantavian Wicks was. I don't know what he was upset about, but they they calmed that down.
I mean, he might have had a point.
Wix didn't really come through in a big spot for all his fantasy owners out there. Fun game though, Like even then, like five points at this point feels like a lot to give.
Like Kyler, I think, I think kylea is gonna dice through that defense pretty effectively. They have no pastrust. They only get a pastrust when they send five.
That the best in the league.
When they send six, No one sends six very often. And Kyla's being in his back this season is goblin got precious, So I think the Kyle's got real Ton a lot.
I think he was that practice. We don't know for sure, but that would be an interesting matchup him and Marvin Harrison. He has tended to travel a little bit with better receivers. Harrison's been quite inefficient with the targets that go to him, He'll be fine though that was a crazy fine, but it just yeah, this year they're not like it's just like a lot of hope balls. They've been pretty efficient offensively when they're not throwing to him.
Yea, actually, yeah, his gravitational pull is actually being the most like valuable thing he's brought to the team essentially. And it's weird because they don't have chemistry yet within the flow.
Of the offense. You know, they're doing a lot back shoulder stiff and that is off. The timing's not great.
They beat at that best is when they just both try and figure it out on the fly. You know, remember the Rams touched down the big boot in the tunnel the sideline that was completely like a bolting what the play was supposed to be.
They just figured it out together.
So they're actually beta when he's not the primary and then if it's not there, they can go and kind of do stuff on it.
Kyler always seems to be reacting to what happened the previous week, like if he just goes bananas on the Rams, like then he just started playing freestyle like crazy the next week, and that didn't really work.
And then he didn't run it all one week and everyone's like, you should run more.
And then he ran all over the forty nine ers last week and played really well, so they're a better offense when he does run the ball. That'll be fun to watch. Let's take one more break. We'll be back to run through the rest of the big point spread games and then wrap up with our Tottenham hots for matchup Jaguars Bears, talk a little Caleb Williams. To finish out, download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now and use the code Daily.
Stomers can bet just five bucks to get two hundred dollars in bonus bets only on DraftKings Sports Book with Code Daily.
The crown is yours all.
Right back on NFL Daily. Yes, we're at the Greenwood Sports Pub.
Very cool.
We just walk in here, you see it, like right right across from the tube.
I walk.
I walked all the way here from the hotel. Actually it's like two and a half miles. But I just I'm not gonna get any exercise. That would be it.
And you know, listen to the music. That's my happy place, like see the bookshops.
I love it.
But you're you're getting close and you see like the Bears graphics and everything as you come up. Our friend Henry Hodson told me last week like the official sports pubs were literally running out of beer, like mid Friday they sold They have reservations throughout the weekend. It is sold out the whole weekend here. We have to get out of here actually not fairly soon, but we'll be good because they have reservations and it's like all booked up later.
So it's very cool to be in London and see that sort of representation.
This pub was so last week. Don't tell anybody this right, but this is the Vikings headquarters. Last week it was a three games stand in London. So the Vikings took over the pub last week everything, so they turned it around pretty quickly. It's kind of like you know Met Life, you know, from a Jets game to the Giants game within a week. But we did a great night with Chris Carter, the legend Jake Reid as well. We went to all of three Deep. Randy mostn't travel, so it
was Chris Carter and Jake Reid. What I mean, what a character Chris Carter is? What that was?
That was?
That was a lot of fun.
He is not afraid to speak his mind.
It wasn't possibly like lost him some jobs like in the league and at ESPN.
But it's fun.
It's fun to listen.
All right, Let's let's roll through these big points freakings and then we'll talk the Tottenham game Falcons minus six at Carolina kind of the Dalton bump, you know, hit a little bit of a standstill last week when when he had to play like a better defense. But now he's up against like and not so great defense.
So I got a London edge of this one, right, So this is Dalton. If you remember Dalton Cousins back in twenty seventeen, I want to say, probably one of the best games in London ever the Tide game, the Washington Cincinnati Tige game, which I did annoyingly. I wasn't at the game. I was in a studio BBC studio up north in Manchester where the BBC have bb Support, have their base with Ocum and Europe of course, uh store of both.
The host on BBC, which just kind of a big deal.
Back in the day. Yeah, and and Mike Carson, who your British listeners will know. Legend of the game over here at longtime partner in crime who dressed unusually for him, super sharp suit and glasses. And when I posted something out on social media saying we're ready to do the game, everyone thought it was Bill Gates and I played a logo that for all anyway, that was the game we did, and I think it was probably Oliad if you agree. One of the best best line of games ever is an absolute thriller.
And they're not that different, now are they? They're not that different?
No, not different.
This game to be has a chance, I think, to be the scoring game of the week. When you look at them, I know that the Ans have got the issues up for an offensive line, injuries sent to right God, but neither's Eco rushed us.
They are the two US teams in the league by pressure rate.
Whether they send pressure, whether they don't, they just don't get after anyone. So this has a chance, I think to be a real fun back and full of drive after drive after drive type game.
I liked how much like Kirk was trusting it. This was something I wrote down I wanted to ask you Ali about, like his numbers this year when he's not pressured are insanely good. When he is pressured there. They're insanely bad. Everyone was like, this isn't gonna last. You're gonna have to start having him move, do some play action. Actually, whenever they've done that, it hasn't really worked. They didn't
really do it in that Thursday night game. He's just sitting back there and having confidence his guys are gonna be where they need to be, and they've shown that. One thing they've proven is they have enough offensive depth in terms of their weapons, like Darnell Mooney is helping out, like they can get other guys involved, But can do
you think that can work long term? That that he is kind of just sitting back there as a statue and throwing the ball beautifully, very similar to Aaron Rodgers in a way that when he has time, it's like people forget he is.
A beautiful thrower of the football.
Yeah, and your look alike and my look alike.
That's why I defend him all the time at a plus plus anticipation thrower. The anticipation throwers of the day was the throw to Donald Mooney for the touchdown. I don't want to boil listeners too much. That throw never happens. It's not designed to ever up in that way. That route is a clear out route to push the coverage back and you rip it underneath, you maybe throw it as a novel law based on the coverage. He threaded it between three players to playing well. I'm not even
sure if he actually intended to throw that ball. Mooney goes up and gets it. The thing that I think is the concern is him playing that like spread out forty five drop backs a game. He's had multiple drop picks already this season. I just don't think that you can live that way with Listens. I think if he's in there, he dropped buck Range. I don't think they necessarily need all the play action stuff you mentioned, but they definitely need some kind of compem with the Room game.
We'll get more of a screen game involved to be able to do it effectively.
Yeah, they're doing all this outside zone in the running game and it's not really working with John Robinson. You hope they can kind of figure that out, because they're really not.
It's funny.
They're not accentuating him just as much or worse than Arthur Smith. It they are using Drake London in a positive way. He's playing a lot out of the slot. They're targeting a ton When he's in the slot, they are throwing.
The ball to him.
And you mentioned the Panthers offensive line. Yeah, Taylor Moton, who's their best offensive lineman, is out of this game. He had one of those crazy snap streaks going. He had missed a game for one hundred and twenty straight games. So they lost their center and Moten will be back pretty soon, it sounds like, but he's out this week and Corbett, their center, is also out for the week. So this week I think it can work for Kirk to just rip it because he's not going to face
any pressure. Long term, we'll see Washington at Baltimore. The Ravens are somehow favored by six and a half in this game. That's like a number where they're they're begging everyone to take Washington because they think, actually this will be the on some level, the numbers say it might be a little bit of a comeback to Earth game for Washington. Like Jaden Daniels just had like a normal game last week and that was fine, Like they still were outstanding, So it shows that they're more on offense.
I actually wanted to talk Ravens offense for a bit. Their offense has been a lot better than people expected, Like they were a great offense last year. Sure, they're the number one running game by EPA, by DVOA, by like orders of magnitude, but they're actually the number one passing game too by DBOA, so extremely efficient. You see the receivers like wait, like very open for Lamar Jackson. He's making good decisions. So it's a plus matchup again
against this Washington Commander's secondary. Yeah.
Absolutely. I mean the you know, the cliche book on Lamar is well, it doesn't have the arm of those top ten players, and it's not a nonsense I think, and it's been proved to be that this season. Two hundred and eleven yards a game is what they're averaging on the ground, which means they keep up this clip, they're on pace to beat their own record this season. But this is a this is a decent run dye against the Washington have They're going up again, So that
is going to be fascinating just on this game. The other thought of mine, given rehabilitation story seems to be one of the big narratives of the season, Sam Donald, I guess, being that the number one rehabilitation stories so far. I think Cliff Kingsbury has got to be a close second, right, yea, I mean Kingsbury has reinvented his reputation in this space of about six weeks.
Right, what have you thought about what they've done with their running game? These are maybe the two best running games in the league in terms of just like been cool the watch.
Yeah, and the offensive line for Washington has gone so under the radar. They've played unbelievable centers, the artists being by far Blager's best football Cosmi at right guard has been really good. They resigned before the Season's kind of on of those funky contracts, Like is he really that kind of player?
Evidently he is, Cliffs.
I mean we've been to a cliff before where you know, he kind of like throws it out early in the season, you get to week six, week seven, it comes crashing down. He kind of got all the funds without the way. What's different this year is he's just completely redefined his run game. It is almost identical to what Harball was doing with Alex Smith and Colin Kaepnick back in San Francisco. He has just clearly gone to study that stuff. A lot of the Greg Roman stuff and then just transported
it over. They move more than everyone, right, They're pulling and wrapping people all the time. It is the most diverse run game by a good amount. And this is the first real real test for that offensive line who's been so good. The Browns was a first like initial test. They handled Myles Garrett so well. This is the first time they're facing the front wear like five, six, seven positions are.
Really really, really good. So it's a big, big test.
Right, Can they go a little pass first, because that's how you attack the Ravens they're so stout up front, or do you stick with what's kind of gotten you here? Look, if the Ravens want to get in man coverage, and they're relatively high in man coverage, Jaden has just been the best scrambler in the league again, like that, like
Lamar is the best just pure runner. But if you look out like QBR like rushing value this year, Jayden Daniel is actually number one in the league because he's just killing you with like eleven yard runs on third and nine whenever they play man coverage.
Yeah, and he Actually they're doing something really interesting in the blitz game. They all crushing the blitz because they all cool leaving unblocked runners in a way that you don't ordinarily do in the NFL. You never in the NFL allow a free runner through the middle of a line of scrimmage. That's just not allowed. You take away, you allow a free run at the perimeter because the coolds back and seek and throw it behind it.
They have freed up to say, Jada can.
Beat people, and we saw against the Browns right three times that just now you don't expect him to make three people misslike that. But they have changed some of their rules in a way that defenses don't actually know now how to approach this stuff. So what Cliff Kingsbury is then obviously Daniels is being incredible.
The whole machine is just clicking.
So I mean, if you're a yeah, if you're a running game dork, this is this is the game. Like Washington they were reminding me of like they were running some like like they look like the Hogs out there last week at the way they're in their guards and stuff and just powerful. But then there's Baltimore, which on their option plays, both options are so good. And I don't just mean like obviously Lamar and Derek Henry are
both so good. I mean when you watch the playback a lot of times it feels like, actually, Lamar.
You should have kept it.
The right read was to keep it. You would have had a big run. But he's handing it off and Derek Henry's getting anyways for seven yard, so it's really cool. I we did want to mention Dean P's is in the building. You talked about reclamation projects, some nice stories. Dean P's is back. They brought him out of retirement. I've been kind of struggling defensively, and he's a consultant there with Zach Orr.
I love that because I talking at Washington. I like the rivera del Rio Tantum because it was kind of getting close to one of my dreams. As you will not. Greg talked about it on the show in the past. Is having if I ever get to become an NFLGM, he's having a coaching staff that is Satarian as a minimum seventy plus.
He's gonna be a good choice.
He probably coached Zach Orr, who is now the coordinator, back in Baltimore when dak Or was like twenty two years old. I mean, Zach Gors might be the youngest coordinator in the league.
So that's good.
A little dnpiece coming back in the league. Houston minus seven at the Patriots. I like the Patriots covering this. That's that's a lot for me, and I've been pretty down the Patriots had their safety Julius Jabrill Peppers rather put on the commissioners exempless. Yeah, after a very troubling arrest last week. Of course, it's Drake May's first game, and yeah, it's a tough matchup for his first game.
Yeah, it's not one that you would and it's really interesting when I understand the debate, and I'm sure you've spoken about whether they should starts and whether you don't, and it does feel almost like a icon of fold to lose the building decision rather than this is exactly what the plan is. And I get he gives him the best chance to win right now because he can move and he's got a stronger rom He's just a
mure talent to play the jacou Brissette. But I do think throwing him to the Wolves like this in his first game is a real real one and even if he plays well and they sneak the winner, I think it's there's gonna be some pretty brutal moments.
I've been through this argument, so I won't repeat it, but it's gonna be hard.
Playing in the NFL is hard.
This game will be harder than the next handful, which look easier on paper, but you're gonna have really hard games.
Jacoby Brissette was and played well. I'm more like the Drod Mayo.
Thing that concerned me the most this week was him saying we played well enough defensively and on special teams against the Dolphins, and that he was upset that the nudes leaked on Tuesday when he hadn't told the team yet. So it just speaks to an organization where things aren't being run that well. Like you gave up almost two hundred yards on the ground to the Dolphins.
You gave up scores.
Every single possession in the second half of that game to a Dolphins offense that had been the absolute worst in league. So I think he's should be much more disappointed with how his defense is. And yes, they've had a ton of injuries, but they've also had some easy matchups and they have not looked good in any way.
The line allowed the offensive line twenty one pressures on thirty nine pass plays against will anders Is coming to town. It is, it is negligent. That's when it has started. Drake May in this game, I think it's it's not fine, it's relative.
I would be with you.
They're like playing Leyden Robinson and who didn't play it all in training camp and they just put him out there a week one to go up against like something like, hey, just go black Quinn Williams.
It's like, no, I know, I know what happened. That is certainly what happened.
That Drake May is like the future of the organization and this guy's career job Mayo is tied to this quarter bat is different than the right guard who's a rookie's who's played a bunch of football already.
If I am concerned my argument earlier about the Joe Flacco argument, but this is this is the exception to that rule.
Don't I just want to see I just want to see him make enough plays This week probably is not going to go that well.
Who knows. Maybe the hold down the town.
The Texans put Nico Collins on injured reserves since we last did a podcast, but we didn't know he was going to be out for a little while. That's concerning their offensive line has not been playing that well.
I think c J.
Stroud has really made up for some deficiencies in terms of schematically and the running game and everything. He's just awesome and he's probably going to continue to be awesome. But I don't think they're putting him in the best position.
No, certainly no.
I mean they have so many penalties they can't even line up at this point. He's got plays this season where he's holding the back of a guard to hold the pressure off from him while someone is holding onto a owl and the undershirt coming off him, and he's still completing fifteen.
Yards throws down the field. The one thing about c J.
Stroud that marks him out from any of the young guys you have in the league is he does not take bad sacks. Even when they take sacks, they are sacks that are acceptable within like what would be like the coaching world of Okay, you take one on a third and must have it is what it is, We'll move on. He never ever takes bad sacks. If atriots don't even get after anyone they got in the worst pass.
Versus in the League.
All right, maybe maybe the seven points is I just thought it's just like Texan's coming off a couple of big wins at home. They snuck out a win against Jacksonville. They're coming just feels like a letdown game where maybe it's a young winn. Relatively say that it's just like a close, ugly game. But I'm a Drake Maye believer. All right, Eagles hosting the Browns. The Eagles are favored by nine points in the year twenty twenty four, which is crazy to me.
The Eagles have not played well.
This year overall, They're very lucky to be two and two. And what's a healthy They are healthier. They get aj Brown back, they get Lane Johnson back. They're probably getting DeVante Smith back. He is in the protocol but practicing, which is usually a good sign that you'll be cleared by the end of the week. Most importantly, they're playing the Browns. That's that's the reason. But still that that seems like a huge number for me. We haven't seen
a lot of in rhythm throws by Jalen Hurts. This is a team that I didn't know what to think about before the season. I still don't really know what to think about.
Yeah, the Syriani Cheddon hadst preseason when Jalen Hurts gave one of the most awkward answers to a reporter I think I've ever seen in answering a question about the offense, and it was quite clearly apparent they were not on the same page. So what's played out is wildly surprising when you look at that dysfunction. They couldn't even mask there, right, But this is a decent spot, I guess because not specifically for the offense, but conversely against this Brown's offense
that is so misfiring. The golden boy of coaching in the last couple of years, Vin Stemanski, is now peering on hot take coach on the hot seat, which.
Is it is crazy because he literally just signed the contract extensive.
Crazy and it's obviously nonsense to people getting carried away. But as has been well documented, this bounding deal, I mean, we're talking about whether you play with a better hand because it's going to give you a moderately better chance to win a game or put a run together, versus seeing what you know with a young rookie or sophomore quarterback. The Browns are in this crazy situation where they're completely They just got to keep on playing Watson, and I
hope he times the corner. I don't think he's ever going to get back to Texans Watson, but if he can uptick fifteen to twenty percent, if they could protect him a little bit more, if when Nick Chubb comes back, maybe with this steed, then they do become a contender. But I don't think I've any other option. People are talking about Jamis coming in, and Jamis's cameo the Saints a few years ago was tidy. Sure, but literally, what's the point of bringing him in?
Well, bringing James out and he gives him trying to win some football games.
Game, but they have side.
I think de John Watson is bad enough that it's fair to expect Jamis Winston to play better.
Yes, by a significant.
By a significant significant, especially in that offense where Stefanski has shown. Jamis's last few appearances in New orlends we're pretty rough. But Kevin Savansky has shown that he can make players look better than they have been in other spots, and so I would expect Jamis under Stefanski to be That's a good point. Yeah, just I think this is gonna be Deshn Watson's last start if it doesn't go well.
I think they're at that point.
Yeah, I think so too, But I'm surprised it hasn't happened already to the point where it feels like because they just can't get out of the contract. So it might even be a thing from on high, like we just couldn't bench this guy.
What are we gonna do?
Just have a ninety two million dollars on the sideline, you know what?
Who moderately enjoys this, So I'm sure he wants to win games? Though, is Jim Schwartz, Who's like, no one's talking about how my defense is pretty easy to run on. We're about to play the Eagles, Like, we've gone from one of the best defenses in the league to an average to below average.
Yeah, defense like that.
Defensive football, you don't have sustainability unless you have magical plays all three levels.
They don't. They have a really talented front.
They got some east in the secondary, but it's not like that overwhelmed with Alan.
And this is a really tough match.
Right last week they actually had a couple of positive play plays and series in the first half and then eventually the damn sort of broke. But this is a terrible matchup for them because this this defense is very susceptible uh to uh the run, and I think coming off this with like the Eagles, they were all Saquon Barkley having a big game. All right, we're gonna take one quick break. I'm gonna say goodbye to you Nat
right here. You are out of here. I love you, buddy, like you have been a pal to me on all these trips. Everyone check out NAT's podcast and uh, you know, it's been a pleasure.
We will do this again.
He's great to see you, man, Thank you very much for having me. I'm thoroughly enjoyed it. Always done a lot with as well. Yeah, so good to see you, bro.
Okay, and we'll be back quickly right after this break.
All right, back on NFL Daily, wrapping up our Week six preview show. It has been really fun to be here at the Greenwood Sports Pub in London, the Bears home for the week. We said goodbye to one iconic presenter in London and we're welcoming in another.
Yes, so Nat Coombs is gone.
Neil Reynolds is here for Sky Sports Neil's actually got in his contract.
Ali Connolly is still with us.
Ali probably doesn't know this, but Neil refuses to do anything on air with Nat Koombs so they can be on the same show at the same time that their rivals.
Although we used to we used to be back in the day on BBC Radio. Okay, yeah, I had that written in.
Luckily you found me sort of on the floor under the bar and drugged me out.
So I wish.
I wish you were that way, but you're too responsible for that. We're actually doing a show for your podcast and Sky Sports later in the day.
He This is how big time Neil is. Ali.
I know for a fact he is at a dinner later tonight that includes Roger Goodell, and this is like a tough invite to get.
I've looked at the invite. I'm not gonna say.
Everyone that's on here, I'm already blowing up your spot that you're there. But it's either massive like celebrities in terms of former NFL players or people that makes seven figures at the NFL.
How do I do neither of those things?
But I saw the seating chart and I was told I cannot talk about the seating chart on this podcast, so I won't.
I won't. All right, we're.
Gonna We're gonna finish off the previews show by talking to little Jags Bears. I just felt like, all right, let's let's finish off the show this way. I'm excited for this one. I chose, not that I, you know, like had the pick of the litter, but like I pushed to come to this week's game because I thought I can see Caleb Williams play football in person. That's something I've never done before and I hope to do like more than once, and so I'm really excited for that.
Just from a bird's eye view, Like looking at this game, Neil, Neil, what gets you going?
The Bears are favored by two.
So I know it's so obvious, but that's where we would start as well.
When you look at Trevor coming off his best game of the season for the Jags behind a kind of healthier offensive line using Brian Thomas and all those weapons, So you know it's most fans can go to that game on Sunday.
Are going to pay attention to the quarterbacks. We always do.
Caleb is I can see why, and it's unfair on a young rookie. I can see why.
He gets the kind of Mahomes comparisons.
Sometimes not all the time, but there's just sometimes that we will play and you're like, ah, that looks great. I saw it in training camp. I was sat with Albert brit from Sports Illustrating. We're watching Caleb make this incredible play, climbs the pocket, rolls to his right, throws as he's falling away to Roman Donze from forty yards downfield, and al but when you know what that looks like, don't you?
I said, yeah, I saw him in Kansas.
City yesterday on the day before. I mean, so there's a lot to be excited about, and it.
Starts with the quarterback.
Well, you must attacked, not to just hold off on the game for a second, you must attack. To Caleb that day too, what was he like as a person, Because Neil, whenever you go on those trips of it, you're always sending those those on Instagram, all your pictures, and you get the coach, You get the coach and the quarterback at every right place. There's no way I'm getting those guys. So that's exciting. Yeah.
I spoke to Caleb in the summer.
I spoke to Caleb.
Yesterday as well, sit down with him yesterday. I just saw Jomp there. Yeah, he's I really like him. I think he's I noticed from off the field stuff first when I met him in Chicago. Very comfortable in his own skin. He's going to be who he wants to be. He's going to show his emotions. He's going to lead the way he wants to lead, and I really respect that. I think he's learning like to be. He said he likes,
obviously everyone likes the out of structure place. He what kind of gets him up in the morning is making on time throws what he calls the kind of boring stuff, but it's what we need to see to make this offense go. He also said that after last week's game, he got home and then texted the quarterbacks coach. Was listed out the things he wanted to work on this week, and I kind of stopped him.
I was like, you threw for over three hundred yards.
You won your second game in a row, everyone's talking about great, he was, and you're sitting at home listing out what you want to work on this week.
So I'm very.
Impressed with It's interesting he said that, then what makes him excited is the on time throws, Ali, because you've put it really well on your podcast with John Ledyard. Again, everyone check out the read option. Or I thought you said it in a way that maybe the first few weeks of the season, like they threw a lot at him and maybe they paired it down and that's led to better results the last few weeks.
Yeah, And I think a lot of that is on the staff too. They were trying to do everything, imagine we'll get to the best possible play, and he was just being asked to do an awful lot.
Neil mentioned it there. He's running everything at the line of scrimmage. That was not who he was projected to be coming into the league.
He was never has to do that still for USC, That's what it is really basic at USC. Waldron's is beyond expensive compared to the rest of the league anyway, and he's going up to the line of screamage with three or four play He's.
Having to pick that apart.
I think that they certainly you can tell pad certain things down situationally, the start of drives is the most obvious one. The first two plays of every drive, there is no checking anymore. It's like, let's get this guy comfortable. If he's comfortable, and we can get the drive role. Dennis Neil mentioned, we can get more of the phone
creative plays. But the thing with Williams is always been the for as fun as the squashy stiff is, he was still unbelievable on time and in rhythm of usc he just had a bad offensive line for the most part. So I think the development is gonna be really interesting. This week is a really really fun matchup. But I couldn't be more impressed. Honestly. I think there was people have thrown that's always out the Proun way too early, given what was in those early weeks.
Yeah, but you would love to see, just as a fan, a few more of the big plays and the off, you know, structure plays, because there's almost been times the last few weeks here you can almost see him thinking like, don't leave the pocket, don't leave the pocket. And it's worked in two pretty advantageous matchups, the Rams and then the Panthers. This is similarly advantageous against the Jaguars in
the back end. I think the one chance the Jaguars have is if Trayvon Walker and josh heinz Allen have like a big time game getting pressure on him, then then they have a little bit of.
A chance that line's playing better. You look at the line the last couple of weeks.
Again, it's all relative against who they're playing against, but you know that is that's where the key matchup is. I think, you know, on that pressure if they can get to Caleb Williams. He recognizes he's a rookie as well. He talked about that yesterday. He said that he's quite hard on himself and that he feels at times he maybe needs to give himself a little bit more grace because he said, I have to remember that I am
a rookie. So to your point only about the too much on the plate all of that stuff, I think that is a real thing and it was a real thing for him.
Yeah. I think.
Look, they took the opposite of bros To what is happening in Washington with jade and Daniels.
Who mentioned Jadean Daniels before.
What is asked of Daniels is fairly simply stick for the offense has been unbelievable and it's the best way to approach winning games. Jane Daniels as an MVP candidate. It feels of Caleb Williams like they took the seventeen game six year view of let's just giving the mother load and hopefully figures out by the midpoint. This is the week, I think where we will get more of the out of structure stuff. They jagged, don't blitz, they
don't simulate pressia, they don't do anything. They play press coverage. They send full guys. It is really old fashioned Ryle Neilson defense. So he's no longer have to diagnose is that guy dropping, who's rolling?
Well, what's happening in the secondary?
If someone just flushes in his face, he can just then go and do Caleb believes this.
I hope we see that.
And yeah, the Ryan Nielsen Jaguars have been underwhelming. They've had injuries, certainly at linebacker and cornerback where they might have issues anyways, but it just hasn't gone well at all.
So that's a good matchic.
On the flip side, I do kind of think about Caleb what he said to you about the notes coming back on Sundays night and wanting to get better and better, and we don't know what's going on in the Jaguars building. But what we haven't seen on the field from Trevor Lawrence is like a progression of here's the details that he's getting better at in his career. He always has missed more through that are there. Then I liked in
terms of him getting to his ceiling. This year it's been on another level where until last week it was a lot. And he's a streaky quarterback and this is a really tough matchup for him.
So I want a close game.
I always in London and rooting for just like, let's get some points and let's have it within one score. And I'm a little worried on both ends this week.
We don't know.
It's only a two point spread here if you want to trust that he and Lawrence is coming off his best game of the year. But I think there is a way that you could see this game being like twenty six to ten or something like that.
I mean, I think Trevor now and you know, I'm a big supporter of him, and I enjoy enjoy watching his highs, but I think you get frustrated by the lows, and they are both in equal measure, and we got body of work now this is year four and he knows that he talked about that in the summer, that this is the best team they've ever had, and they all talked about finishing.
Wait, so you got Lawrence too?
Oh, I said he said about it. I didn't say he said it to me. Yeah, you know I'm hearing what I'm hearing.
I gotcha, I got it. Let's try.
I mean, he would be an intimidating guy for a you to go just interview just because well just because.
Why the hair? You know, I don't like to have.
I don't need that.
Okay, that's true. You've done You've done well, You've done well.
Oh wow, it was eight minutes.
A sorry about that.
I he justly though, like this year has been particularly disappointing.
What really frustrates me with him is at this stage, I just accept we're getting twenty five turn of a worthy Frozer season.
That's who he is.
Philip Rivers had years like that and he was able to trim from the fat as it went along. What is just odd about his game is he's very nuanced as a player. When you watch him mechanically, he does an awful off Matt Ryan type things to maneuve, rom manipulate people. So that is in there. You know that player exists, but it's as though he gets sloppy or lazy or bored mid game, and it's just we're at the stage now where you just can't have that degree
of variance week in week. You can live with a guy who makes three special throws a game and has one dude that he's going to turn over, and you just go, that's who he is, as long as it's all the open, easy ones.
And he just misses too many of the open easy ones.
So the trade off becomes, we got a guy who's not keeping those on schedule all the time. We might get two special throws, but now we're getting two really rough ones every single week.
It's just not a way to consistently win.
Yeah, not always seeing like the open receivers. And he's had some Brian Thomas Jr. Like I'm excited. I'm exciting that to watch him in person, his progression has been great. To see more hands catches, more contested catches, like he looks like a If he's not a one already, he's a future one. Tanks Big Bigsby and the running game has gotten going so there is a route to them kind of catching fire in London like they did a year ago.
Yeah, I think so. I don't think last last week was a fluke. I think they've got healthier. I think they've still got I've still got talent there, you know, and Thomas's is so exciting.
I think there's a little bit of so.
When I first watched him play, I kind of just saw saw a few plays early on in the season, I was like, he's like a he's quite it was almost like a running back after the catch. But then I watched him like, you know, he could fly. He's like a proper a proper speeds. I mean, he's got everything. And so he's definitely given them them juice. Bigsby has been a really good kind of a dish with Etn
being a bit injured and a bit banged up. Doug Peterson says that it's still Etn's job, but I think you've got to give Bigsby carries now he's earned them.
Yeah, and their their line needs to play better like that.
I think that's been an underrated issue the last couple of years. I think they were expecting Anton Harrison the right tackle the play like at another level this year that maybe hasn't happened for them. All right, that that's it. We've we've talked this game out. Uh, Olie Connelly, thank you for spending all this time. He's going to be
back on Sunday night. You're not backing out of that yet, Yeah, Sunday after midnight on Sunday, like overstaffed that game because that Uh So we're gonna be working on Sky Sports. If you gonna be in the UK, you'll be watching Neil Reynolds uh covering the pregame and then during obviously Jaguars Bears. I'll be part of that coverage as well before the game and during the game a little bit
on the sidelines, and then I'll head back. I'll be part of their their coverage and then we're gonna tape an NFL Daily actually at the Talk Sports studios at one a m.
And so Ali has Yeah, Ali is.
Gonna join me there, and Phoebe Scheckter is gonna drive with me. Uh from the Sky studio. Yes, I know, I know you won't be there at the studios. I'll ask the Rich Eisen of the UK to join me at one am.
I appreciate you need to.
Be here, and yeah, you're gonna help me make some picks on our Friday afternoon show as well. Uh so for Neil for Allie. Uh yeah, like when when we're in the Greenwood Sports Pub.
You know that football is back. See next time.