Welcome to NFL Daily or we're not waiting till November to make some big trades.
Huh.
I'm here in the Chris Westling podcast studio with my friends Colleen Wolf and Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic and uh, I'm just rolling around here. I'm losing my mind. Are you on jet lag? I'm doing great? But uh I told the NFL offices, I was like, give me, give me a shot of adrenaline coming into this show. I need the energy. So they made some big time trades happen.
Oh I did this? This was Greg? Greg. Can we just talk about like how oppress of your schedule has been over the last kind of the details?
Why you going?
We have Adams being traded, Shane, Greg, We.
Have Amari Cooper being traded functioning right now.
We have a TNF preview with Sean Payton.
But answer this, when did you when did you land? When did you get back from London?
Like five o'clock or so. I was watching the first quarter of the game on the on the way home. We did the recap show last night.
You did the recap show.
We did the recap show. You haven't listened.
It's great analysis me and Nick Schuck. Yeah, we're back with London. That's old news. That was that was what forty eight hours.
A dangerous precedent for everyone else coming back from Internet.
I no, that was not the play.
I don't care. You're not gonna like that. I say this, I'm sorry, and close your ears if you need to. But like watching you work over this last week because you're also consuming other podcasts, you're also prepping for every single daily show. I know you're He's like, he's shriveling in embarrassment right now because he hates this, But like, I am so amazed by what you just accomplished. Oh, Greg, so thank you for like making the bar so high for the rest of us that.
We can never I'm not really the world a belot.
No, But in all earnestness, Greg like, hell, yeah, dude, you're great.
I appreciate it.
And yeah, coming back this side it, if I could have scheduled the days differently, that would be.
That would be perfect hindsight. I hated the no.
No no, I loved it, but the sun the Sunday schedule, doing the game at Tottenham to the Sky studios and then doing this this show.
The NFL Daily Show, Deep into the Night.
That's one of the most fun days that that I'll ever have working getting on a motorcycle you.
Go for next time one of our picture.
One of our one of our Shadowy League figures. Actually I saw and you know, a couple of them have come to me like we wouldn't have been bold enough to get on get on that motorcycle, flying through traffic to get the sky by the kickoff.
It was fun.
It's fun.
It was fun. I love that Colleen would have Definitely.
You're like Jason Bourne out Hire.
Colleen would have jumped off a building, parachuted into we're talking.
I totally would have. I wish I could someone bring me that opportunity.
I I'm like Jason Bourne.
Yeah, if Jason Bourne was like five six and one hundred and forty pounds. Nothing will get you more conscious of your size as a small man than watching Love is Blind on your downloads on the way back from London. It's just like everyone when they're about to see them, he just says, I hope he's not small.
We got to have Love is Blind. But it's just like a bunch of.
Small guys scoring like statue esque women and see what happens. Let's go and talk about some news. Oh my god, I would kill it on Love is Blind by the way. I would like win them over. And then then they'd be like, what the hell? You know?
Who is happy with?
What was behind the door when they opened it up this morning, Jets fans like, behind that Love Is Blind door was a silhouette of Davante Adams. He arrived in New York, New Jersey Monday night, maybe before the Monday night football game even happened. And then we learned on month Tuesday rather that the Raiders are trading Deavante Adams to the Jets for a conditional third round pick in twenty twenty five. I want to let you know the conditions because it makes it pretty obvious that it's likely
to stay a third round pick. The Jets have to either make the AFC Title Game or Super Bowl, or DeVante Adams has to be a first or second team All Pro, both of which are very unlikely. The Jets making it that far would be more likely because we're in week seven here, we're entering and Devanta Adams hasn't played alf the weeks and his numbers weren't good. So
you're probably not getting the second team All Pro. That means they picked up a great receiver for the a mid third round pick, Colleen, And yet like no one seems happy about it. People say, oh, this is all the Jets doing Jets things again.
I'm like, what am I missing? I think it's good. I think it's smart.
It's great for us just from a sheer entertainment value. I mean, him going to the Jets, there's no better place he could have gone. This is amazing, going with Aaron Rodgers in New York, with that media scene and a team that's two and four.
The only thing that.
They're really winning right now is all of our attention, and it seems to happen every single Tuesday.
It's very see you next Tuesday.
Of them the name of our text chain and yeah.
It's there's winners and losers on both sides.
And I feel like Garrett Wilson is both a winner and a losing interesting in this trade because he's the most targeted man in football and this will now sort of things will ease up on him, but that will maybe allow more opportunities for him to have positive plays. But obviously he's not going to be the number one guy, and how does that chemistry work in a locker room that's filled with big personality.
He was complaining about what was going on in the offense before any of this happened. Now he's got a guy who has like a mind lock with Aaron Rodgers.
But I think it's ultimately positive.
Good point about the winners of this trade being see you next Tuesday.
You know NFL Daylight.
I didn't even think about that the Robert Salad trade was the last time that Robert salary. You're just gonna have to be on this show.
But you're You're absolutely right that we were here for that one.
And it is funny how after every crushing Jets loss, they just completely flip the narrative, like before twenty four hours or even up, so that everyone can be like, well, now it's a fresh start, we're starting all over. It's like that loss never even God.
It's like, you can get bangs, you can get a revenge body, but you're still going to be two and four.
Right, But if they lose to the Steelers this week, it's like, what more can they do? I don't think they can do many more things, but I thought it was a I think it is a smart gambit by the Jets.
What do you think I can help thinking that not only was this first of all the move that needed to happen, It's been in the works even before this
last loss. You could tell with the timeline of everything that this was something that was a priority for this team to get done, regardless of whether they were going to win or lose on Monday Night football, after especially after firing Robert Sala, like, you have to do something like this, You're basically pushing everything in on saying we are going to rebuild or not rebuild, but give the quarterback the things that he wants, the things that he needs,
DeVante Adams being a huge one of those things. I also think that it's a chips are on the table we're going to try to push. Woody Johnson is saying such things at the league meetings this week, and we'll tee up the sound in a second. But it's also this makes the job vacancy look better. It makes this job in general, job all year for next year look better.
And I do want to point out too, because well, I mean, if you can keep some of this intact, let's say you don't get as far as you want because you have had this chaos right in the middle of the season, but you believe you're now on the right track and the right structure. You're extending some timelines here. It does having weapons on this offense and promising somebody,
especially an offensive minded coach. And I love Old Rich, I think he's a great coach, but saying hey, you can come in and we already have this here for you if you can basically be amenable to work with with the quarterback, if he decides that's going to be in the equation for him too. This does make this job look a little bit better than it did three days ago, or even you know, last week when we
first got the news of the Robert solid firing. And also wanted to point out that Ian Rappaport was supporting that he that DeVante Adams and the Jets have agreed to a restructure. Even so, not only are you getting him for this amount, which is way better than probably what the Raiders would have wanted, we're kind of putting out there that they would be agreeable to.
Well, they not paying any money, so that was the part of it. I guess the Jets somewhat comfort, but.
Then the Jets get a restructure out.
Of it too, right, But the restructure is just this year, like kind of spreading in around, and he wasn't making that much money anyways. He's making seventeen million dollars this year, so they just owe that salary essentially for the rest of the season, and they shuffled it around the next two years, he is on the books for thirty five point six million dollars in each season. I've yes, he probably will want more guaranteed money coming into it, but I kind of look at that. I was like, well,
that's about right. That's about what a DeVante Adams would cost. So I think it's a good point that it's not necessarily just the rental. If Aaron Rodgers is going going to keep playing football next year, it is probably gonna be with DeVante Adams as his teammate. And I keep going back to a mid third round pick. So let's listen to the sound that you very professionally.
Teased getting better every week.
Woody Johnson at the league meetings, explaining why he did it's salvageable.
We're gonna kick you know, you're gonna have the words after that, No, we're gonna We're gonna.
Do really well.
We're gonna do well.
Salvage is at the end, but this is the beginning. You know, thinking is overrated. You have to look forward. We have to look forward to the games we're gonna play at each and every week and uh and try to win all of them. Man, that's basic stuff, right. I was saying, tell it, Tell Telladega Knights, you've heard of that from that one stage he said, you're not a thinker, You're a driver.
Right, Well, that's what you want to hear about about the person.
That love seeing and Talladega Knights. Ricky Bobby is.
Not a thinker. I love that.
I Well, I think that was prefaced by a question that said, well, the thinking is that you're gonna do this, and so he's pushing back.
He's going with instincts. He's extremely confident.
Now, that's one of the reasons why Robert Salad doesn't have a job is the expectations were so high because there's so much confidence and everyone's buying it. Rogers, well, he was in a great mood on the McAfee show and everyone's talking up Brick, Jeff Ulbrick and you almost wouldn't know that this team is two and four.
Now.
I don't think Woody Johnson is on the DVOA Future Schedule rankings like I am, but the Jets do have the easiest schedule in the entire NFL according to DVOA for the rest of the season, and they've had the sixth hardest so far. So when you do look at the schedule, especially once you get past this week at Pittsburgh, there is some reason to believe, and you saw the offense play pretty well on Monday night, that this team hurts yeat. This team has some has some winning left to.
Sure, for sure, but I mean they also need to figure out the Hassan Reddick of it all too. And I guess Drew Rosenhaus was at the game last night.
There's just so much that.
Is happening with this team, and they had the primetime game. It was a game that was super frustrating, obviously, DeVante Adams today, the mid season firing last week, and now Hassan Reddick changing agents and being given a forty eight hour window for a trade to be figured out. There's just so much happening in New York at once.
Maybe they get a deal done with Reddick soon, and Woody Johnson alluded to it in that press conference saying that this was our week to make big moves like and he essentially said more big moves are coming.
What other big moves could there be?
Oh?
Now, right, so you can maybe get you can maybe get the pickback that you sent for Devanta Adams. And let's just talk about Davanta Adams for a second, because I've seen some commentary that, well, you know, he's in the decline phase of his career. You're not going to get better trading for older players. And so I went back and I watched a lot of his targets and his snaps from this year, and DeVante Adams is excellent.
DeVante Adams is still a top ten receiver. Devanta Adams is possibly when he's on the field, still a top five receiver. So I thought this was a great move for the price that they sent, which again, you're not going to get that conditional to move it up from a third to a second. We can assume that Jets are somewhere in the middle of the third round. This is a mid third round pick for either half a season or a season, and a half of a top
ten receiver that is more than fair. You should see the third round picks that they've made in the Joe Douglas era. In the third round picks, just the average third round pick that is out there. People get so worked up about, Oh, you can't trade him for a second, you can't trade him for a third half. Those picks just don't work. And I know there's value in controlling costs and you just don't want to give it away,
But those picks are being given away willy nilly. Once you get into the draft, it's like, hey, we want to move up ten spots in the third, we'll give up a third Like that's what's happening there. And so to me, I think it makes sense for what I believe is a known commodity, which is DeVante Adams playing with Aaron Rodgers. We know Aaron Rodgers is at his
best with guys who understand how he's thinking. That's why Alan Lazard in twenty twenty four is a completely different and better player than Alan Lazard was in twenty twenty three.
James is one of the best route runners in the entire league. So this is going to make Aaron Rodgers so much happier.
The one thing I still worry about with this team is the offensive line. They make mistakes in singular spurts, like they just don't feel like they're playing together as a full unit. When they make a mistake, it is one guy compounding mistakes, or it is penalties one guy or two guys at any given time compounding errors. I did like though, Todd Downing as the play caller. He puts together a nice little pressure mitigation script to open up a couple of those series include running the ball more,
including looking more balanced. I just think that not only does DeVante Adams adding back into the mix give you more options with some of those pressure beater route concepts that they including some of those quick slants, in breakers and outbreakers they're using in the beginning of the game, but also it just spreads everyone out a little bit wider, so you're not feeling so clenched and compressed as an offense.
In general, you have some breathing room. And I think that to your point Greg earlier, it is usually generally with the mean of teams, it is not generally sound practice to over invest in veterans on the other side of a certain number of years. However, this is not a team that believes it is functioning in the mean. This is a team that quite literally gathered pieces in order to make a push. And so now if you commit to that, you can't sit in the gray area,
can't sit in the halfway zone. You know, there's a lot of chaos around the Jets right now. But one thing that I do think is the correct thing to do is to continue to push along the commitments that you've already yeah, and the ethos that you've already decided you're gonna have, not change your entire build structure just because you fired the head coach.
Right.
So, I again I saw like getting put some pushback on Twitter that this wasn't a good trade. It's like they're not gonna go anywhere, They're not gonna win. It's like, yeah, I actually agree with that. I don't think they're gonna get the second round pick because I don't think they're gonna make the conference title game. Trading for Devontae Adams does not change it enough for me. But I'm looking at this trade in a vacuum. They've already decided this
is the strategy. And after deciding this is the strategy for this year. Everyone's all in that the GM could be gone. It's an older team. You only have Rogers for this year and maybe next year.
Whatever.
It's gonna be in that vacuum. I think it makes total sense because you mentioned it like they're a receiver group. Now that with Lazard as a three and Garrett Wilson as a two, it's a fun group.
I think they have issues on their offensive line. I didn't have the big question.
That's the offensive line, and I feel like you brought that up like five minutes ago and I've been thinking about it ever since. So with this offensive line, because obviously last night with Todd Downing, they mixed it up a little bit more and ran the ball, which was something that we haven't seen this season. But the week before when they were playing the Vikings in London, Aaron
Rodgers dropped back fifty four times in that game. For the offensive line, at some point, aren't they fatigued because they're they're going backwards. It's way easier to play going forwards, like when you're run blocking. Just from that standpoint, I would think being mixing things up with the run game that might help the offensive line just a little bit because of that fatigue factor.
Yeah, you were. What they were doing was allowing pretty much any defense to stay in their A plus pass rush plan, which just means because of what you said and then a bunch of other circumstances of what that looks like structurally, you are basically facing the most arduous and extraneous amount of pressure that you possibly can because if you don't have dimension, because you're not running the ball the way that they were able to a little.
Bit lessing game of the season.
Yeah, and like and he looked and he looked more like himself than he has and certainly produced like that, But and there was more balance and again, getting some of the quick screens going, getting some of the quick slants in the passing game going widens out the defense a little bit more. You're accounting for those areas of space on the field for the defenders. And then now you're able to because you have a little bit wider space upfront, you're able to run the ball through that space,
and it's the blocking becomes easier. So it all fits together when you have just like that one extra layer, but knowing what to do with it, Colleen, which is the point you're making knowing what to do with that extra piece in order to alleviate some of the stress and like tightness that you're feeling, some of the errors, some of the completely whiffed blocks because you're not letting a team stay in their aplus pressure plan against you.
It's a ripple effect having him on the field but using him in the right way.
Playing the easiest schedule to the league. If everything is amazing, like everything looks, it looks amazing when you just suddenly start playing bad teams like the Bears are amazing now because they have four wins over like one win teams and play a bunch of bad defenses. The schedule really does explain a lot.
I mean, I'm just saying, you know what I mean. Though like it.
It helps a lot, and I think they need to make the playoffs.
We'll see if they do.
Poor Mike Williams, who was thrown under the bus a little bit by Aaron Rodgers in that postgame press conference and then also on McAfee today Wally was on McAfee or a little bit after like sometime in the same area. Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported that Mike Williams could be available in a trade, which just unfortunate.
I wonder. I know it's a different scheme, but the Chargers like just give up, like a conditional sixth for Mike.
Williams toward your h Well.
That's good.
I haven't even mentioned the segment that's coming up because we have so much news to get to.
The segment is stuff that will change.
Like we're in one mode of the season, but the whole league is going to be so different by the time we chopped get to December, and these teams that made moves today, they're so different already than they were what twenty four hours ago. I just want to before we wrap up this part of the show, the Jets part, I just want to say, the last two seasons that Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams played together, granted they were
younger men, were they were different men. They DeVante Adams average one hundred and fifty nine targets, over fourteen hundred and fifty yards and fourteen touchdowns in those two seasons, and yeah, the I think he's just going to feel so much more comfortable knowing what DeVante Adams is going to do. But then again, Davante Adams thought it was going to be great to play with Derek Carr and that didn't work.
O Rodgers is stacking friends. Sorry, yeah, you know he is.
He totally is. It's fine.
It's not even a great point, but it was just going to be them in their subprime is an improvement, that is, That is.
A good point.
And right I mentioned the third round picks that Joe Douglas has made that everyone's such an up and arms that they would dare to give away Umu Chuma Adogo who's now with the Cowboys, Ashton Davis, Jabari Zuniga, Jeremy Rucker halfway decent tight end for them, and Malachi Corley.
Those are their third round picks. And the Joe Douglas just just saying people don't need to go too crazy about that.
Let's go crazy about the other big time trade on Tuesday. Amari Cooper is a member of the Buffalo Bills. He
is going there essentially for a third round pick. The Browns, you know, those dirty dogs, they somehow got they somehow got the Bills to give them back a pick, swap a sixth or a seventh on the way in return, so like they actually are moved the Bills are moving up from the seventh to the sixth round and getting Amari Cooper here, and so I just imagine when I say those dirty dogs, I mean I can just imagine the trade was essentially done and they're like, it'll really
be done if you give us more than that, and the Browns are just like, God, I guess we really really don't want Amari Cooper on our team. I think it makes sense for both parties. Amari Cooper in a different situation than DeVante Adams because he is in a contract year. So that's an interesting element that on paper it looks like a rental, but once you have him in the building, you have more control. You could always franchise tag him next year. You certainly could resign him early.
We saw the Bills last night not really get their wide receivers involved too much, certainly on the outside, and Amari Cooper would certainly seem to help out a group that's given some concern for Bills fans.
What do you think, Connie, I mean, I just.
Love the answer from the Bills to the Jets.
Hmmm.
With first it's DeVante Adams, now it's Amari Cooper, And I just wish that I was privy to all of the behind the scenes workings, all of the phone calls that were going between the gms and the agents and the players. But in terms of this addition to Buffalo, I guess everybody doesn't have to eat now because that was their mantra. Everybody eats spreading the ball around. I mean, Kean Coleman, He's not a number one wide receiver, but
he's a great compliment to have. So this is going to add so much another layer, like Jordan was saying, to the offense in general.
But I think it was smart.
Of them because they obviously had.
A very little cap space.
This deal worked perfectly because Cleveland converted the majority of Cooper's twenty million dollar base into a signing bonus, so that was why the Bills were able to afford this. And yeah, Greg, they had to give up that third round pick, but also they still have the pick that they acquired from the Stuff on Digs trade an extra twenty twenty five second rounder, so they really do win out in this right.
And the contracts lists in a million. I love this move. This was in part because selfishly, this was going to be a part of my entrance to this oh way. Yeah, where I thought I said this could change would be the Bill's roster because I felt like they really learned and faced some hard truths about themselves over the last couple of weeks. And I think some of it was figuring out if things could work with that receiver and how they were going to deploy everybody, but then just
seeing that it just wasn't gonna work. I love when a team is honest with itself about itself and then moves to activate those changes and sort of like fix itself, you know, and the I can fix some era of the Bills. And I think that you could see this in the last couple of weeks. In these games, defenses had no fear of their receivers. They were playing man so much against these receivers. Again last excuse me Monday night, even the rotational corners on the Jets were in man
against this receiver corp over fifty percent of their coverage stafts. No, there was not a huge sample size because Josh Allen only threw the ball twenty five times, but still there was no fear about this. They weren't threatening defense. They were having difficulty layering concepts in order to spring each other open in different ways, and so I love this. This opens up so much again. It spreads the field
a little bit wider. It adds an actual threat that will dictate certain coverages towards a number one, a bona fide number one receiver. Once he gets his feet under him, he gets his rhythm. And I also love that the Bills are starting to lean more into an identity that doesn't necessarily have to depend on the passing game. They're loading up in heavier personnel sets. Ray Davis, Welcome Ray Davis to the freaking NFL. Love to have you here, man.
Like what a brilliant debut from him. I loved watching him at the Senior Bowl this past year. And they are using these north this north to south running, They're
using him in the passing game. They're using twelve thirteen, twenty two personnel, extra tight ends, even a full back, And they're leaning on this to where they can now make this their identity and still have the multiplicity to pop out in the passing game because they can now actually with Amari, they can actually rely on this once he gets his feet up right.
That switched to Joe Brady last year mid season was one of the best things that they ever did.
Absolutely, they are a run first team.
Josh Allen running the ball, I've pointed out on the show a number times, is the most effective playing football on like a statistical basis success rate, Like when he runs the football is always successful and he helps the running game. They have a great offensive ene. I think they could have won the Super Bowl before this trade. I think they have a better chance to win the Super Bowl after this trade. I don't think Amari Cooper
is a number one receiver. I don't think he's probably been the prototype of a guy who, throughout his career is in that gray area, like, yes, he's a top thirty two receiver. Is he a top ten receiver? Almost never. But he's so streaky. He kind of reminds me of the poor Man's Too in that there's always a honeymoon period.
But when you say number one receiver, yes, When I say that, I'm not saying he's going to have the entirety of the target share. I'm saying this is a coverage dictate type player.
That's what I'm saying. I don't even know if he was doing that in Cleveland this year. He's looked awful, like he's been open, but he just hasn't executed like his drop.
Well, the drops are really bad. Context there is not great.
No, it's not, but some of it when you watch I did want to go watch these two guys's targets him and Adams and the contested catches like uncatchable balls.
He's just been out of it.
And after a career year two right, So that's the.
Thing is he's had a really interesting career. He seems moody. I think now he's not like Tea.
Yes, there's some Instagram stories about when he was coming up in trade conversations. Yeah, some posts about like I'd go there whatever, that kind of thing. I think, you know, that might be what you're referring to here.
I'm referring to his entire career.
His career in Oakland, he was very moody, very streaky, very up and down.
When he was into it.
He was into it until he wasn't into it, and then he got out of it and he went to Dallas and he immediately started playing better. He immediately started being more focused. Everything was awesome. And then after a little while in Dallas a few years, he was very much not into it, and he was almost not unplayable at points in his last year in Dallas, but he was not into it, and they were sick of him, and they got rid of it. And then he gets to Cleveland and he's he's back into it. It's awesome,
it's honeymoon, it's working. And then this season it was again kind of the Amari Cooper isn't happy season.
So you would think they get.
They get the are we talking we're talking about the bills? They are they of any there? They know how to capitalize on a honeymoon period. I mean they thought they have precedent with this. I mean that's that's what I think. We're talking about this contextually of what they believe their ceiling is, and that is Super Bowl. So yeah, they're making this move and they're probably depending on the honeymoon.
Hell, they even had a nice honeymoon period with t O back in the day. Now that was really old t O.
But if I'm just connecting it, but people forget how freaking good Teo was that when he was thirty six and thirty seven in Buffalo and Cincinnati for those one years, it was like he was still sneaky kind of awesome.
I just remember how good he was on Jerry Rice Day.
Yes, yes, and like jillly Off, he was a perfect so to me, he seems like the more low key, maybe passive aggressive too Amari Cooper. But I'll say that all to the point that I think it'll work.
Yeah, it was very passive aggressive.
Yeah, I think he was just aggressive aggressive occasionally.
But yes, I love how you're existing in multiple time zones at one time as you're sitting there still connecting these dots like that's incredibly impressive.
Now, if we trust next gen stats average separation as a meaningful stat which I'm.
Not sure you not trust it.
What's happened that's that I'm not sure.
I think it really is dependent on scheme, team season. There's a lot that I think goes into it. But for what it's worth, Marik Cooper average separation this year is higher than it's been since twenty eighteen.
He's certainly separated from the Browns.
There you go.
Twenty two million dollars in dead money on the Browns books for next year for a Mari Cooper. So everyone who's saying, hey, they did a great job, they gave up a fifth for a mari Cooper, you got so much value out of him, Absolutely true. Like the the analytical way to look at this was they they did a great job with this quote unquote asset and they got a third round pick back here and that that's solid.
But they still do have Deshaun Watson and a Marii Cooper on the books next year for one hundred million dollars and I don't think either of them are going to be helping that team. So that's like, from a Brown's perspective, it did make me think, oh, where are Like they're in a They're in a weird spot right now, They're one in five? Are they going to go into full tank mode? If you were going into full tank mode?
Is that a reason to keep playing Deshaun Watson. I'm just saying, like, would you not want Jameis Winston to go in there and get wins.
I would start jams Winston And.
It's craven and it's like calculated and it's cynical, like if they would make Deshaun Watson keep playing in order to lose. But this is the team that ignored everything about Deshaun Watson to sign Deshaun Watson so I don't know. I wouldn't put anything bast to this organization.
Two more quick, very quick points I want to make on the bills too. Still, one of the biggest concerns I have with them is something that's popped up all year, And I love that they made this move, even though it quietly wasn't necessarily their biggest need, which was a getting some defensive backs back healthy. Tarron Johnson really settled in and made that huge play and Monday Night at the end of the game. But then also they allowed
fifteen non penalty plays of ten plus yards. A lot of that is struggling to tackle in the defensive backfield. A lot of that is just these holes that are happening against this Bobby Babitch Sean McDermott defense. And so but what I love on the counter, what I love about this team is that they were like, all right, well, we're just going to not play close games anymore. We're going to try to do whatever we can to lean into this identity with and be a running team with multiplicity,
but also find a player. Go go out and get a player, not necessarily one of our larger needs, but a player who we know is going to shift coverage after we've faced this difficult reality about our current receiver Gore, We're just not going to play close games anymore. Solves a lot of problems at once because they can play ball control with their run game. They also won't necessarily need to depend on their kicker as much.
They need to get a new kicker. Tyler Bass is missing kicks for a while. He's had a nice run in Buffalo, but sometimes the run is just over. It's interesting. You don't think it's one of their bigger needs.
I love it.
No, No, I do think it was one of their bigger needs. I'm just saying my greater concern watching this defense can just be overly porous at the back seven step other teams in games. I do think receive. Like I said at the very top of this, I do think facing that truth about how teams were playing their receiver, going out and giving a getting a coverage dictation guy, that was really crucial.
They are the number three offense according to d VA after six weeks, so it's not like they've been struggling offensively, but I think the hides of the first three weeks. Yeah, they bills are something that will change. They will change in Amari Cooper. Yeah, Amari Cooper is going to help them out a lot. It all makes a little more sense. Shakir and Kincaid as a two and a three, and then the other receivers now just kind of helping out his role players, Kean Coleman a little less Mac Collins.
That play by Mac Collins might have been just like the Mic Williams play was like the one you remember that played by Mike Collins where he didn't flatten out and couldn't get the touchdown. It was like, Okay, we need to bring in Amark Cooper. And it was a great response because I don't think there's any wide receivers else available. That might have been why they responded so quickly. It was like DeVante and Cooper. I went and tried to look to come up with who could be available
at wide receiver. Christian Kirk maybe huh, he's doue a lot of money. But Christian Kirk maybe Tyreek Hill in a different world where he things get wild. Yeah, he doesn't think so. He likes Miami Deontay Johnson. The band Panthers say they're not going to trade Deontay Johnson and they want to sign him long term, which makes sense to me, but he could be someone not many people available. All right, one more big item today were was the Steelers.
Now it's not official. Mike Tomlin is not saying that he's going to start Russell Wilson on Sunday against the Jets. I mean, it's almost like when people come up with conspiracies the fact that this game is the Sunday night football game, like.
NBC did it again.
You're getting Russell Wilson versus Davante Adams Steelers Jets.
That is awesome.
Let's listen to Mike Tomlin basically justifying a quarterback change, even though for now he won't announce a quarterback change. R Ian Rappaport says Russell Wilson will be getting first team reps and that the change is coming.
Let's listen to Tomlin.
Justin has been really good, and we've been really good at times, but not to be confused with great man. This is a competitive league, man. We're trying to position ourselves to be that team, and we got a player with talent we hadn't had an opportunity to play, so we're going to potentially explore those things. Sometimes it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done.
I don't like this move.
No, I think Justin Fields has played better this season than Russell Wilson has played since twenty twenty. Now you can look at Russell Wilson stats in twenty twenty one. In that six season, though, I remember that he was not playing that well despite the stats, So at the worst, it's better than he's played in a couple of years. I think he's made the surroundings look better than they really are. Justin Fields, that is, so I'm really surprised by this news.
Jordan, what do you think.
I'm surprised by it as well, because I thought that Justin Fields, even though it's not always pretty and sometimes he takes a step back and then a couple steps forward, and you know, he still to me, feels like he's able to play the style of football that Art Smith wants to play. And it was interesting. I'm looking for it right now. I'm scrolling on my laptop here. I'm looking.
There was some things that came out a couple weeks ago and even last week in the building, not just from comments that Art Smith made enthusiastic about coaching Justin Fields, but also players talking about have they liked playing with him? So there seems to be there's a subtext here that I'm not quite understanding. I'm certainly not understand why this is happening. Now, Ye're not alone.
I must be missing something not understanding. It's so curious to me.
At first, I just thought it was kind of almost like a bit that Tomlin was doing.
I did too, to be honest. I thought, there's no way he's going to make this move.
The Steelers are foreign too with fields and fields has I mean even the X factor of his legs. And I know Russell Wilson is known for that as well, but Justin Fields is different with it. And Mike Tomlin was even asked about it, uh, and he said, like, you know, if Wilson has the same capability to use his legs as Fields and Tomlin said, no, Justin's legs are the X factor and it remains to be seen
how the offense would change with Wilson. And then he said, I think that's one of the cute things about this discussion.
So I don't know, Mike Tomlin is just messing.
With all of us or what well, Plus he had that press conference after Ian had put that report out, and then he did you know, Tomlin did not say that Russell Wilson's the stuff, that they'll both, they'll look at them both, and that he could use them.
They will play both.
I think they could use a package of Justin Fields potentially in the red zone. Would not surprise me. It would kind of make sense if both quarterbacks were on board with that, and that would make this move less annoying, But it would still be annoying to me.
This is Brian Botko, who covers the team for PG Sports Now. So if the Post Gazette out there in Pittsburgh, I found the quote, so Steeleer. This is his verbatim from his post on social media. Steelers OC Arthur Smith says he's really enjoyed working with Justin Fields.
Quote.
There's no drama to him. He doesn't try to live through his avatar or create a perception. That's probably why he was so endearing to his teammates in Chicago. Extremely coachable, extremely bright. Brian Botco goes on to say Arthur Smith also praised Justin Fields when it comes to his work ethic. Same thing as a play caller. You get in this business, people start making excuses, rationalizing, put whatever they want on social media or makes sure narratives get leaked out. He's old school.
Well, so was that first one just a veiled shot? Yes, I am.
I don't know, but I'm double checking, ma sure that this account is real. I know, Brian, but like that because when I saw that, that's a good one and that was from October tenth.
Yeah, and Justin Fields is coming off what I would say is his worst game as a starter, So it's it's funny. I did see some Steelers accounts on Sunday saying I wonder if this performance might make Mike Tomlin think about it, because Mike Tomlin seems like he's had a loyalty to Russell Wilson that hasn't been earned by
playing experience with him, but more by their relationship. There's been some reporting alluding to almost that when he met with Russell Wilson, it was almost like a promise like I'm going to give you a chance to restart your career, and that they had a connection there on a personal level and almost that Tomlin, I don't know if he feels bad that just hasn't.
Worked out for Russell Wilson. I'm not saying in his career.
I mean that he got injured and he felt like he almost owed it to Russell Wilson to give him a chance. Because a lot of the Beat reporters, not the national guys, were saying all along that this was going to happen, and they've been proven right.
I don't know. I don't get it. I don't understand it.
I mean, maybe we will get the answer, yeah, and Russell Wilson will look great in this offense, and then we'll understand what Tomlin has been talking about this whole time.
But I just.
Don't know why we're doing it here now.
It is very surprising. We wrap up the news just telling you where we will all hopefully be in twenty twenty eight, which is Atlanta at the Super Bowl, Atlanta hosting Super Bowl sixty two. Now I think I can read Roman numerals sixty two. We're going back to Atlanta hopefully. Again, no one knows if we're going to be on this earth by that point of course, Like as Kyle Shanahan likes to say, or more, how I was thinking, if we're going to still have the opportunity. You can't take
these things for granted. But I hope to be there Atlanta. The first time round was fun.
I loved it.
I liked it.
The music scene is great. It was a great stadium to be in. But I mean, we don't even know if we'll be here tomorrow.
Greg, that is absolutely right, which is a reminder why we should go to break so we can make sure we get this stuff that will change.
Segment is swaffle House thang in a second, Oh Waffles, that'll be there, that never goes.
Away back on NFL daily. And in the time that we went on break, we all survived.
We're still hereted.
But unfortunately Marcus Valdez Scantley's employment with the Buffalo Bills did not survive, so that the news which would have been part of that whole Bills conversation, that we learned a free agent pickup that did.
Not work out.
Things that will change.
Yes, for the Bills.
Market still was right. The Bills roster still did change.
From you were so right, you were you were presciate. Were you annoyed actually that they stepped on you? Looking very smart because if we had done this show yesterday that the Bill's roster would change and Amari Cooper was traded the day after to the Bills.
That's a win. As a podcaster, that's a win.
I am not you, Greg, but I think you're projecting just yi.
I don't know.
I don't know what's going on with you guys.
That was the news. There a little bit of a other housekeeping. Tom Brady's officially a limited partner of the Oh good for him, we expected that.
And Richard finally a win for Tom Brady.
Tom Brady owns five percent of the team, Richard Seymour owns point five percent of the team, and then one of Brady's business partners owns another five percent, so that actually adds up to a lot ten and a half percent. That's not that's not nothing. That's not like when they gave Serena and Venus Williams like pointo one percent of the Dolphins along with Gloria Estefan.
I don't know if that is still a thing.
That if you go to the Dolphins WinSite and you looked at the owner web page, it always had a picture of Gloria Estefan.
I always thought it was as a Estefan or a.
I don't know.
I always thought it was estefan.
I mean, I'm I don't know. I'm not the person to ask about correct pronunciations. Let's talk about stuff that will change. Okay, it was in my head because we just get to this point in the season. We think we know something about the NFL, and I just look at the NFL as a seasonal sport where November is going to be totally different than October.
December is going to be totally different.
You want to be peaking at the right time, but some of the things that we believe to be true now will no longer be true as we get further into the season.
What is something that will change? Colleen Wolf, the.
Bear's hype, the Bears, y will will It's at a boil right now. It's going to come down to a simmer. The Caleb Williams hysteria that's probably never going to subside.
Because I was.
Going to make the second one. I'm not buying it, like stuff that has hypened. But I didn't want everyone to have to go negative all the time. But then you just came hard negative.
Well I just like that.
No, no, no, okay, it's not negative in I have a reason for this, because.
I say, you don't like hype them are.
No, no, because of their remaining schedule. They still have to play all of their division games. They have to play the Vikings twice, who are first in defensive DVA. They have to play the Lions twice, who are fourth in defensive DVA, the Niners who are fifth in defensive DVOA, obviously the Packers, They have the Commanders, the Seahawks, and then like the Patriots and Cardinals. But this schedule is
an absolute gauntlet the NFC North in general. It's the first division since the merger to have every team with at least four wins through Week six.
It's a killer.
So yes, I think that Caleb Williams deserves all all of the accolades and all of the love that he's getting right now because he played a great game and he threw some absolutely beautiful balls and placed them where only he could for his receivers to get them and score, especially that one to Keenan Allen the second touchdown. Maybe that was his best pass of the entire season. But the hype is going to diminish a bit because the schedule's really, really difficult.
Okay, so it's just more about the schedule.
I think that's true of this, so we can kind of combine ours, because yeah, mine was the NFC North in general being this good. And part of the reason that they have the top four teams in terms of point differential for the first time ever through six weeks is they haven't played each other at all. So that's just like a quirk in the schedule. But you're right, other than the Vikings, who have somehow gone undefeated despite playing like a brutally different.
I mean, Donald didn't really look that great.
No, No, I mean it is funny part back Island. We're gonna have to have another country, right. It is funny that they have the number one defense in all stats. They have the number one like running game in a lot of difference stats like their passing games like solid and Sam Darnold still gets all the credit.
But I can't wait until they go to the Bowl. We're like, I still am not buying the Vikings loved.
I have loved how a steady and consistent Brian Flores's defense has looked. I think that defense, unlike probably some like for example, the Bears defense, gives me a little bit of pause when you talk about being built to play when it gets way colder, when teams are running them all more when they're running heavier against you. But I think that Brian Flores and that defense has showed even though we are we talk so much about the crazy pressures and those types of things. I think that
he is malleable enough and flexible enough. And Jeff Hafley's defense is starting to look pretty good as well.
Yeah, so that was actually part of my.
Reasoning that the NFC North can't stay this good this long, is that they have seventeen turnovers this year. They forced seventeen turnovers, and that was an idea that they talked about in the offseason, So maybe you can really coach up turnovers, but that feels unsustainable. They actually have some pretty big holes, I would say in their defense. Their pass rus really hasn't worked. They're starting to play more rookies on their defense, and I think that could help
them long term. But secondary line dogger. I think they have holes on every level, but it's been covered up by just this crazy turnover rate. And so that's part of the NFC North equation. The schedule was a big part of it. Though, So the Bears have had the thirty first the second easiest scheduled league so far, and they go to the hardest schedule in the league moving forward.
That's kind of great though for k Lys to kind of ease him in because it is unfair to him. It's not like he can control all of the attention that he's getting, and he needs time to grow and develop.
No, and he's going to be the next three weeks.
They have the Commanders, which you know for an offense, is not a hard matchup, and then the Patriots and the Cardinals, so two like three of the worst defenses in the league in a row, so they could really keep getting fat and then it gets brutal. But they're not the only team where it's similar to that. The Lions have had the twentieth schedule in the league, like you know, easy, they're gonna have the second hardest moving forward. The Packers have been right in the middle of the
pack so far, the third hardest moving forward. Now part of that is just like everyone's got to play the Vikings, and the Vikings are alowede. I think the Lions can withstand and hold up. I think the Packers need to keep getting better, and they are a team that you would believe will but I do think their defense might be a little unsustainable and it's hard. How can four Can we really have four good teams in the same division? Maybe we can maybe have four teams over five hundred.
It's pretty excited.
Lions are the best team in the NFC.
And then I mean when they the Packers, as long as they have a healthy Jordan Love, they're going to be relevant. And obviously Sam Darnold and those Vikings are five and zero.
Yeah, this is such a good division. It's more. Yeah, A big part of it is just they're gonna have to start facing each other. And they lucked out in the scheduling just what divisions they had to play. We thought the AFC South is going to be improved this year and it's it's not. And so that's really helped them as an out of division schedule. What do you got next, Jordan, You give me something that'll change.
One thing that I think will change is Jerry Jones's general demeanor and vibe with a certain Dallas radio station, his regular one oh five three the Fan, So he does this regularly all throughout the season and offseason. That interview got extremely heated, and we do have the audio of that.
Your job and to let me go over all the reasons that I did something and I'm sorry that I did it. That's not your job. Well, my job is to ask one job, or I'll get another. I'll get somebody else to ask these questions.
Man, Arry Jones will fire you even if he doesn't work for the company.
Does he own the company?
Well, your partners, if you're if they're your radio partner. It's kind of like does NBC work for the NFL. Not exactly, but you know, there's it's a symbiotic relationship where they have influenced certainly on who's you know, hired and who is Yeah.
And let's not forget how open and amenable he is generally to doing any interview anything.
He loves the spotlightk Yeah.
And even at league meetings today, a couple of the national reporters who were there, we're talking about how he walked in way later than he normally does and then politely declined to speak with media because he was going to be late for the meeting, even though he's always early and he always holds court for you know, even at times multiple hours. It's it's tough. He's going through it right now. It's not just that it was the lost to the Lions that we were just talking about
on his eighty second birthday. It's not that they got blown out. It's that they lost to a team that has no issues shape shifting into a variety of different forms, who are essentially like comfortable just playing with their food at the end of the game as he sat there and watched. And it's also that the Cowboys feel like they're helmed by coaches and have structured their team who
feel like the foundation and future. That the lines are helmed by coaches who feel like the foundation and future of a franchise, while the Cowboys sort of feel like lame ducks from a bygone era and they're struggling, the best players injured. The game's iced by your quarterback. You're asking to do everything at the line of scrimmage. You're still making throw blind into the sun because you can't put a curtain over the ceilings. It is, it is.
It's a lot of things that are there's that are making.
People there the side of the stadium.
No, No, that's an option. There is one that exists that can be burts there.
Very good.
But I'm just saying there's a reason for him feeling like this right now, for bristling when people I think are fairly and rightfully questioning him for all of the either decisions they did make or the decisions they didn't make, including the lame duck situation that it feels like in so many areas of this franchise, inclusive to the coaching staff.
I would be angry too.
If my team couldn't run the ball, couldn't stop the run, I had no home field advantage, when before that was the main thing. There's no real identity. There's so many injuries.
At every week. They're always like, we just got to practice better. Our practices haven't been great, and like mccarthiel say that too, and ooh and like those are your practices, bro? There are Their offensive line, though, is the beginning of It's why I don't think they have a very like even if everything went right the rest of the year, Zimmer, I think their defense begin things that could change. Like if you told me that their defense is average or better in December, I wouldn't be shocked.
Yeah, they're missing so many.
They're missing so many people, and it's a new system, and it's a coaching stat a coach that hasn't been in the league for a minute his system. I could see that that there's a room for improvement. I think the offensive line might be cooked. Zach Martin is a is a problem for them right now. He's a future Hall of Famer coming off the worst game I think of his career. Some people are wondering if he's fully healthy.
But whatever it is, they've probably got four week spots right now on an offensive line that used to be what they were all about, and now they've got Tyler Smith. He's a really good player, and four problem areas and that's something I don't know if there's a solution.
Don't you think the optics of this though? Are what I was texting you a little bit about this over the weekend with in reference to another another coach is like in another building, It's like, don't you think the optics here? This is you lose to this team, not just that you're that you lose lose, but you lose to this team that they are doing whatever they want to do against you from a variety of different and ideas.
And then there's all these cuts to the sideline of this young, younger, energetic and galvanizing head coach who clearly has his entire team just like a good call everything or not, and then cuts to the the hot shot offensive coordinator on the side of the screen who's basically like one of my plays off this play card and try to just get a touchdown to an offensive lineman
and literally play with this food. And there's camera shots to this guy who is the future of this league on the sideline, and you're sitting there in your box looking freaking miserable, like I think the optics have to be bothering him.
What a terrible birthday.
Yeah, I agree with that that it was the most embarrassing loss you could have. I mean, I don't think it helps if we're going that far that a long time Dallas Cowboys captain is coaching the Lions. Not only that, but he was the protege of the guy that you supposedly have been pining over forever, Sean Payton, and you miss me.
Yes, there's a layers anyway, that's the reason for the town.
Okay, I love that. All right, let's go around one more time quickly. Stuff that will.
Okay, change the Bengals will rise from the dead like that. They are sub five hundred right now. But they are just too good. Joe Burrow's too good. They're eighth in offensive DVOA. I mean, the offense is tenth and scoring twelve and yards per game, and that's doing it without t Higgins for every single game.
I mean, maybe the defense, maybe this was a turning point.
I know that they were playing the Giants, but maybe this is just good for an ego boost at this point.
Even marginally better.
For the Bengals defense would be an improvement. And their schedule they have some softballs coming up. I mean, they have the Raiders, they have the Browns twice, the Titans, who are a good defense though, the Cowboys, the Eagles, which we just don't know what those.
Teams are now look like food.
It's so weird.
So you know, if the Steelers start messing around with Russell Wilson and then losing games, then the Bengals could probably chase them at the end of the season.
Love.
That makes total sense to me. The Westling brothers and I were texting over the weekend. Everyone is getting more optimistic about the Bengals already.
I think it's gonna happen.
I'm gonna find a glimmer of hope here in what Justin Herbert did over the weekend to the Broncos and say Justin Herbert is not going to be playing conservative ball for the rest of the year. That the real Justin Herbert is gonna come out. He's going to be allowed to come out from Jim Harbaugh. What a celebration in this game. Yes, he's just like a beautiful little butterfly. He's ready to come out of his cocoon.
Ooh. I like that.
He could be a candidate in a couple of weeks. So they've had him under lock and key part of it is the mindset of how they want to play offense. But I think the bigger part of it is he was just so injured that bye week was really important for him.
And I think it really showed up on film.
This last week not only that he was a different player, but that they treated him like a different player. So more dropbacks, more yards, more plays outside the pocket, more planting his feet and going down the field, more mid range throws, more deep throws.
It just looked like Justin Herbert again.
So I think people maybe attributed so much of the beginning of the year to all the Chargers are just going to play this really boring style.
That was part of it.
But I think it was just he was so banged up and now we're going to see the real Justine for him.
But I really love it for you, Greg, Yes, I didn't need much.
It's bringing you back to life after your travels. I think it's lovely.
It's re animating Greg, all right, wrap us up.
Jordan, yeah quickly.
I do think so. I don't want to undermine or under sell like how brutal this aiden Hutchinson losses. First of all, horrific to watch, hate it for that young man, for the entire team, for the organization, for his long journey ahead. But actually, after they sort of emotionally recover from this situation, I still think this defense will ultimately
keep ascending. And so the initial panic that everyone's feeling right now because of the severity of that situation, and of course you're losing the top pass rusher in the league right now, but after that subsides. I think that then you'll start to feel some hope and optimism about this defense, because every single week they're growing. I think they have the ability on the interior of their defensive line to sort of change around the identity one of
their guys. A couple of their players actually have some position flex where you could pop them out a little bit wider. And they're also getting good pressure. They are, you know, seventeen and sixteen pressures between on Uzourique and Alim McNeil and respectively, which is eleventh and fourteenth amongth interior defensive line. And you can actually manufacture a little
bit more pressure coming from that area. And as you see this secondary start to come to life, start to settle in, I think Brian Branch in an age right now that we're in that is becoming truly golden for safety play where these safeties can do everything. They are letting Brian Branch do everything, and he is showing up.
I really have faith in Aaron Glenn as a defensive coordinator, and I think he'll keep this group on track and ascending into what is gonna is about to be a very difficult backstretch for the entire NFC North.
It's a good call because he's very creative at making up for what they're missing. And yeah, I don't want to hear that they're under talented because they've poured a lot of resources, a lot of draft picks, a lot of money into that defense. Such a good job, right, and so they can scheme around it. I also think they might add someone, you know, the next couple.
Yeah, I could so well they did. They picked something fun pass Rusher, Yeah, they picked.
I think that would make a lot of sense.
No, yeah, I do think so as well. And they also picked up I'm gonna have to go back and look at it. They're they're scouring practice squads for depth for rotational outside linebackers.
So maybe like a bigger name like a Reddick, they would make sense for I did look for some potential trade cans. We might do a whole show on this later in the month, but just for now.
Just do it now, I see, Yeah, what time are we at?
I think is Jeffrey Simmons ever going to be available? Harold Landry, Jadevian Clowney, Chase Young maybe from the Saints if they bought him out. That The trick is, you got to find a team that's bottom. Now, Zadaria Smith I think would make a lot of sense from the Brown So just someone. I think the Lions will probably add someone at some point. All Right, we're gonna take one quick break and then we will wrap up talking
T NF. All Right, it's the time of the show for our T and F preview presented by Amazon Prime Video. I was so excited about Broncos Saints a few weeks ago. I'm still really excited, but in a different way. Unfortunately, it's a little ghoulish. It's it's just wondering what could happen if the Saints don't win this Gameronco's coming in after a humbling performance of their own where they were
down twenty three to nothing. They made it look a little better at the end against the Chargers, but that was a little bit of a comeback to earth game for them after a week in Denver where I was following a lot of these Broncos beat writers and they're like, here's why the Broncos are going to make the playoffs out I was thinking, oh, hold on, then again, Colleen, they could very easily be four and three after this week because they are playing a Saints team that has
injuries just everywhere, not just three offensive linemen, not just Chris o'lovey, which I mentioned on the Monday night recap show with Nick Schook. Rashid Shad is very possibly missing this game with a knee injury. So we're talking about Spencer Rattler throwing to bub Means and Cedric Wilson as his top wideouts against a great defense.
Which combination. Yeah, Spencer Ratler to Bob me Yeah, I love that.
And it kind of worked on Sunday.
Actually there was bub Means his first real action as a and it was one of those things where those two guys are throwing to each other a lot in training camp as like the third stringers, and now they're starting and Rattler overall looked good in the first Interesting, Now, this is a Broncos defense that will probably not have Patrick certain who also suffered a concussion on Sunday, so
that's unfortunate. But they're gonna throw a lot of blitzes at a bad Saints offensive line in a rookie quarterback.
That's a tough recipe for the Saints.
Yeah.
I was just looking at the fact that you have two rookie quarterbacks starting, and then two key players in concussion protocol, one on each team in Certain and Chris Alave. The Broncos offense has been tough to watch. They are really struggling, almost shut out at home. But Bonick's intercepted on his first attempt in that game just really set the tone for the rest of the day.
They nixed the play really truly.
Now they have no run game, no pop whatsoever. So it's either going to be a really good day for the Saints defen who just gave up fifty one points minus the one fumble return to the Bucks, or a really bad day for the Saints at home in a game that Sean Sean Payton Invitational.
So it's it's gonna be tough.
I don't know.
I don't know if obviously on a short week with concussion protocol, I don't think that these guys will be available for the game.
I wouldn't expect them to be.
No.
And yeah, Sean Payton, you know, and meeting New Orleans again, and he said earlier this week, you know, he's not expecting warm fuzzies, and but to be put you know, in the sense that he's expecting the Saints fan base to rise to the occasion like they so often do. And it's it's interesting because this could be a chaos game in oh. I love a game just great, sloppy but interesting ways. I mean, you're gonna see two young quarterbacks I think, really work through some stuff in real time.
Right now.
Spencer Ratler is dealing with an offensive line and particularly a center combination. They've had four different lineman play at least fifty snaps at center this season, which is the most of the NFL. In the NFL, they're rolling him out a lot where actually he's throwing the ball pretty well on these designed rollouts in order to sort of
mitigate some of the extra pressure that he's seeing. Which you know that the Broncos, even minus Pat certain locking down so much area of the field, so you are able to send all these extra players and was playing at a defensive player of the Year candidcy candidacy profile to me, even without him, I think they're going to try to get after Spencer Ratler as much as they can. On the other side, I think the Saints are going to have to try to manufacture some stuff against Bonix
as well. And the Saints defense is especially if Bonix goes on the move, they're kind of missing tackles in sketchy big spots right now.
Their linebackers were terrible. That was a humbling loss for Dennis Allen and the Saints. Yeah, he's supposed to be a defense He is a defensive coach. He's been building this up. This was the whole vision of keeping Dennis Allen, who was the coordinator under Sean Payton for such a long time. At the end of Peyton's run, the vision was, we're going to keep this side of the ball as our steadying force and we'll figure it out.
On offense, they obviously haven't.
That's why they hired Clint Kubiak this offseason to run the offense. But now you're seeing some real decay on their defense. The secondary's very talented Marshawn Latimore is having a fantastic year. Overall, the secondary hasn't been their issue, but their linebacker play to Mario Davis is one of their best players. But it's almost like it got contagious.
All their linebackers aren't making tackles. Cameron Jordan isn't as involved as he used to be in terms of playing and yeah, I mean this Bronco's The offensive line for the most part has been good this year, and if Dennis Allen gets embarrassed by like a rookie quarterback at home Sean Payton. It's an interesting organization in that I think Mickey Loomis has more power than just about any
non owner in the NFL. Now that Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick are out of the league, I think something really drastic and dramatic would have to happen for him to really get the attention of his boss ownership.
Losing to Sean Payton and I'll do it.
Yeah, losing to Sean Payton, and I don't think it would be something where it would ever be in the middle of the season. That just doesn't strike me as something the Saints would do, But it would be maybe the start of something of like, wow, this is not going well because frankly, I think they have the more talented rookie quarterback. I'm taking Spencer Radler long term over bow Nicks.
Come at me.
Are you taking the Saints this week?
I think I will. I haven't thought about that yet. I guess we should part of this well. My official picks come on on game.
Debut later in the week.
By the way, ripped off a perfect record last week while I was over in No.
Fourteen and oh, let's go, let's go.
Good job.
It was kind of a chalky week where some of a favorites rained. I'm still Cynthia still beating me, you know, overall, but good week.
I think I would take them, just because I want to root for it.
We're having the guys from the Saints Block Party podcast on live on YouTube after this game book that months ago, you know, thinking this is the game to have them. It's going to be crazy and I think it will
be fun. So it's either going to be like a funeral for the Saints team because I think they become sellers at the trade deadline if they go to two and five here, But if they win their three and four and the division's not amazing, at least you're like still in the mix and you could hope that you get some players back healthy and get better as the course of the season goes on.
I am going to pick the Broncos here. I am really looking forward to that live recap because win or lose. First of all, those guys have predicted so much of what's actually happened this season for the Saints. But also I loved when you had them on earlier because they just are so plugged into their team and they're also hilarious, and even if it's a chaos game like I'm personally hoping for, I can't wait to hear their thoughts about that and what the future of this team is looking
moving forward. But yeah, I'm going to pick the Broncos in this. I think that Sean Payton, it's like, you know, just enough juice, you know, the old cyclist, you know who's in the Tour de France or whatever, and like you got just enough juice to do the one giant mountain, you know, and then you're then you're out.
Like illegal substances that you're injecting into your body through like a complicated formula and whatnot.
Or no, that's not what you're talking about.
I don't mean that.
No, I mean you say juice and you say cycling.
That's what I think I'm taking the Saints.
Okay, oh look at that.
Yeah, that was what the face was for.
Greg.
I was not figuring out why you're making that face of me, And now I understand, got it.
Saints and Broncos on Thursday night, I'm wondering, like, what is the points in this game. The Broncos are favored by two points on the road. I thought it might be by more.
Yeah, but when you can't really throw the ball too well and.
Your defense can't get off the field, I think.
They will on Sunday, I mean on Thursday night rather they have a good defensive line. My heart is saying Saints, my head is saying Broncos. It's more important to lead with your heart, so I'll stick with them. That was this week's TNF preview, presented by Prime Video. Be sure to watch the Denver Broncos take on the New Orleans Saints this Thursday on Prime Video. Thanks for watching NFL Daily. Thank you guys to forgiving me that juice today.
Oh you're welcome.
Not cycling, not the nothing illegal about it.
We will be back on Thursday with our preview show special guests this week. Stete Weis is still over in London, so joining Patrick Clayban and I will be none other than Brian Baldinger's on the show.
That's great. That's gonna be so good.
When you're talking about a tennis Allen team collapsing, you know football was backh