Welcome to NFL Daily, where if we were a person, that person must be God. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Chris Westling podcast studio and so excited to be with two of my favorite humans, Colleen Wolf and Jordan rod Reeg. And yes, that quote will make a little more sense when we talk forty nine.
Ers in event still crazy out of contacts strong.
I like it. I like that you got your special NFL kickoff shirt with your name on the back.
I know it's so fun.
Hold on, can I make this work big Colleen energy record for you?
Sorry?
I got a Connie thing on the back. You probably can't.
I wasn't expecting a show and tell, so here it is. What an ad for you? Two show yet? Yeah? Check us out on YouTube. You can subscribe to help our numbers there. How are you? I'm excited for this show. You know, we got a little bit of news, we got our TNF preview, as we do. But I'm most excited about kind of sitting down on the couch for a therapy session to try to try to help out some people because that oh and one just it feels rough after after week one.
Yeah, you know, I'm very accustomed to being on the other side of this, you know, receiving the advice, receiving the therapy.
I endorse this for everybody.
I love it.
You better love it was your idea.
Yes, so thank you so much. I cannot wait for this. I feel like I've already been talking so many people just like into a better headspace after one week with their teams.
So this felt just like a natural place to go.
And also I have therapy right after this.
This.
This is a fell season where we're just we're morphing two tasks into one super task just to save time.
Yeah, I love that.
I could if I could have one friend that could be my therapist, I think it would be Connie. But before how do we get there? Let's do some news. Let's start with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who got a big road win in Atlanta. Nice start of the season, the only team in the AFC North that got a w after all that doom and gloom in the preseason, and Justin Fields I thought played pretty well in that game.
Mike Tomlin was asked about his quarterback situation on Tuesday, and it sounds like it's going in a certain direction.
But as I sit here today, we're preparing is if Justin is going to be our quarterback. I think that's the appropriate way to do it. Speculation is a waste of time. Russell's hurd, he's not available to us, and so, as you guys know, as a general practice, man, I focus my energy on those that are available in their readiness.
I love Mike Tomlin so much, he's the best. Speculation as a waste of time, I know, Like that all makes sense. It's like, oh, maybe he would just say that for anyone, and I don't think so. I think there's actually a shift in the tone. The reporters were trying to get him to say that Russell Wilson, if he was healthy, would he be the starter, and Mike Tomlin would not entertain that at all. I think this is Justin Fields's job as long as he keeps playing well.
You know what I do like about this, other than him just shutting down the speculation and sort of the news cycle that would surround any hedging about the Russell Wilson situation, is that Justin Field won't be in limbo like all the way up until ninety minutes before kickoff on this He'll have a full game week to prepare. You know he will be in that mode in the starter's seat basically, and it's not like you know, everyone says, oh,
he prepares if we're the starter. There is a difference in meeting structure, in how you organize your week and how you study, in everything, because you will be in that seat and you're not again doing this ninety minutes before kick.
I just love Mike Tomlin, the whole aura about him. He doesn't like hypotheticals, he doesn't like to speculate. Now normally his protocol is typically for players to be available to practice on Fridays if they're going to play on Sundays. But the more veteran you are, the less it matters that you're available on Friday. But he said, I treat everybody fair. I don't treat everyone the same. I just feel like he has these quotes all of the time. I would love to just sit down. I would love
to have a beer with Mike Tomlin. That's kind of my dream beer guest in my life.
But also I feel like if there was an NFL coach you'd be most likely to get a beer with. He's pretty close to the top of the list. I think you can make this happen. Combine week you see him, I'm there, ye.
Mean, Combine, My wheels are hilling right now, and I'm gonna have to manifest this.
I think that's very exciting to think about. But hey, justin Field's like the fact.
That he didn't have any turnovers in that game, I think was such a huge plus because with that defense that they have, if they can just have someone at the quarterback position that doesn't make mistakes or put them in a bad situation, they're kind of an interesting team now in that division.
Justin Field's played well in that game. I don't know if the matchup, you know, was just that favorable against the Falcons. We'll have to wait and find out. But I went to watch that and there was so much negativity about you know, they didn't score a touchdown. That's not ideal, and I didn't expect a great performance. And the first three plays were very justin Fields. He fumbled the snap on the first one, that was an issue in training camp. Maybe it's the center, maybe it's him.
Then a really bad pass that was open. Short passes, you know, not always his thing. But then he runs for a first down on the third play and as the game went along, like there were a lot of key runs, but there was a great thirty six yard throw that was overturned by a penalty. There was another nice bomb down the field to Pickens later in the game. There was a nice like third and long. He made a lot of winning plays. I went and like looked
at the PFF grades afterwards. He was a top ten quarterback according to them last week, Like there was more than enough. I think they were. I've been pleasantly surprised. And he's not working with a full deck of like great wide receivers, and I think Mike Tomas probably pretty excited about what's going on.
But also consider this, They're going to Denver, like they're playing the Broncos and Russell Wilson is just going to be on the bench.
Oh my gosh, why did I not think about that? That?
Yeah, in full pads.
There is a lot of like anti fields agenda on the internet. Too. That was just like he must be terrible, but no, he's fine. Like the weirdest fan in sports right now is the Steelers fan who is like diehard Russell Wilson. We got to go with Russell Wilson, Like what allegiance. Do you have to him?
You know what, I think, I'm so excited to see the little quarterback throw heat charts at the end of this next game of Broncos Steelers, because bonis one of them is going to be just everything is in the same, and then the other one is justin Fields. Art Smith is doing what justin Fields likes to do, less so of what we thought he was going to do. He's acquiescing and compromising a little bit, collaborating with the skill
set that his quarterback seems to prefer. Data tells us this over time, and it kind of looked like, I mean, he was slinging it wide a little bit.
Oh so that all the throws were to the.
Out were talking about Art Smith and how everything was going to be right in the middle of the field. But it seems like our guy Art you know, name change, facial hair change, he's going with Art.
Yeah. Well we decided, we've decided, okay.
Yeah, and look he's had more time with field ultimately through training camp and now the preseason game.
It was enough positive plays. I think you said this on on social media. Greg, there was enough positive plays to make this regardless of the Wilson of it all to make this an easier decision. Justin Field had enough positive plays in that game.
Plus he tried to return I think quickly Russell Wilson from the calf injury and maybe re injured it because he was worried about losing that starting job. Always look to the contract they only gave Russell Wilson like a million dollars. Like he's getting paid about the same amount of money as Tyler Huntley out there. Let's move on to our next story. Mike Shanahan is the father of Kyle Shanahan, uh huh. And they both like to play
games I believe with injuries and the media. And this happened with running backs, and it certainly happened in Mike's day and it happened in Kyle's day. On Monday Night football, so many fantasy football owners were upset that Christian McCaffrey was ruled in active and a little bit of a controversy after the game when Jordan Mason, who stepped in, told the media he found out, at least according to him,
that he was starting. On Friday, Kyle Shanahan was asked about a report from ESPN that said already there's a real chance McCaffrey could miss week two.
I'm saying that's amazing. That person must be God, because out he wasn't playing today, and I have no idea how he's going to feel tomorrow or the next day. I thought he was playing this whole week until today, So I don't know who knows that he's playing not playing next week.
I want to believe that he's telling the truth, but coaches just do just straight up live. So what do you think is he?
I mean, I just think it would be amazing if you had an inside track to God, as like unnamed source would be, that would be pretty.
Hauchh Schefter and Rapidport are working on it. It's been an angle that they've been like trying to make happen. But I don't know. I don't of course, there's a real chance, by the way, that Christian McCaffrey isn't playing week two. He didn't play week one, and he's been trying to recover from this injury for weeks. It's called Achilles tend the night is Kyle Shannon did speak on Tuesday and said if it was a playoff game, he would have played on Monday night. But it is not
a playoff game. These games only matter so much for the forty nine ers.
Yeah, and I mean they were so productive on the ground. Even without you have space, you have like wiggle room, You have leeway to let Christian McCaffrey rest a little bit. As everyone knows, I have a very ominous respect for Kyle Shanahan, and especially the darkness that seems to seep through his general being.
It tell me more about that.
Understand, including his knowledge of, you know, forces beyond our control, such as I don't know if anyone will be a lot, any of us will be alive on Sunday. That famous quote Ohle years ago now speaks to me.
That's like, hey, that's a person that has experienced some tragedy in his life.
Right now, he's calling out you know, he's calling out God as a source. I mean this, this guy is walking very very close to something paranormal right now.
What did he say, your ominous darkness?
That I have an ominous respect, ominous respect.
I love that.
It's the highest compliment I can pay a bit.
Let's dive into that on the couch a little bit later. It much more positive, was Matt Eberflus when talking about Caleb Williams and his debut, not that we didn't mention it on the Sunday week yet, but it was kind of a big deal that the number one overall pick didn't get to one hundred yards passing on twenty nine attempts, they did not score. I mean, that's just crazy. Matt Iberflus though, saw a lot of good out of Caleb in his first game.
Yeah, I think he would say that too, just you know, his footwork a little bit off at times, but again he threw a lot of good, good practices too. So met with him this morning and that was really about it. I thought his vision was good. Yeah, I thought he was I thought he was good. I thought he saw it well. I thought he you know, saw the coverage contours, he saw zero, you know them adjusted on the fly, you know, in terms of post snap, I thought he did a nice job.
What do you think in terms of how he like? I'm not surprised. Mattie Befos, of course, is going to support his guy one thousand percent. I also am not encouraged after hard Knock that that one on one meeting he had with Caleb Williams was that insightful.
I mean, I was kind of refreshed by his comments about I mean, he very openly and clearly we were
talking about therapy. Man set a boundary in terms of the leeway and the patients that he expects the world in the outside world, especially to have with a rookie quarterback who, yes, is one of the best prospects we've we've ever seen come into the league, but is going to have days like this where even a four man rush is kind of get getting him off his spot a little bit, struggling to connect a little bit, maybe second guessing what he's seeing. I would like to see him just kind of cut loose.
And play free.
I think that as himself and Chaine Waldron feel each other out in live action a little bit more against live defenses, not preseason regulated, looks going to start to see them understand each other and how Caleb likes to play and really accentuate that a little bit more, or at least you hope that that's what will happen with
the offensive coordinator. But yeah, I actually was really refreshed by what Mattiberflu said because he basically it wasn't a message to the media It was a message to Caleb and to the rest of the world, like we're giving this guy patience because we believe in him, and he's going to be learning in public and learning out loud for the next year. And that's what a rookie season for any quarterback is.
Yeah, and Flus also talked about that third and five, the stop route that he thought was excellent, and that the rhythm and the timing was there on some of the plays. But I don't think anyone expected Caleb to come out and just absolutely light everything on fire, Like sure, maybe you wanted something a little bit better than what we saw, but there was some good with the bad, and then it wasn't all Caleb's fault. Keenan Allen had
the huge drop on the touchdown catch. I mean there were a few other passes that could have been also considered drops potentially too.
So flus is just doing what Fluce needs to do.
Hey, that's us Fluspy and Fluse. I mean, you get a win without any offensive touchdowns that that is incredible. I think the interior offensive line is their number one concern, maybe of the entire team. They have a former Ram Coleman, Shelton at center who did not have a good day. They almost openly are talking about, I think wanting to bench a free agent pick up Nate Davis, but the guy who would replace him isn't quite healthy enough to
do so that's Ryan Bates. But everyone who said this is the best situation ever for a rookie quarterback to enter, it's like, yeah, you got you got some weapons. But now with Doonza's hurt and he's weak to week, he's almost certainly out this week, and you're getting a ton of pressure up the middle, and you're a shorter quarterback compared to most. That's that's a lot to deal with. Then again, they won't play against Jeffrey Simmons and Devandre Sweat every week who kind of dominated.
Yeah, but the interior even had issues when they sent extra They didn't need to send extra pressure all the time, but they even sent another former Los Angeles Ernest Jones on a blitz and bold Coleman Shelton backwards.
That was the clip that sort of went viral during the game.
But to your point, like the interior pressure, no, they're not going to face fronts like this every week, but you can manufacture that as well. So shoring that up is a huge concern to me. And then also again like moving his pocket, getting him sort of working in space a little bit more, but then also layering things. You did hear a couple of times and that you
heard this in Seattle all the time last year. Oh I think one of those receivers was running right in front of the other receiver and they were basically running the same route, just different lengths. And you want to make sure that if you have a quarterback who is like working on the move or out of structure, that those layers are all over the field, not just sort of stacked as if they're like nesting dolls.
So Coleman Shelton, Ernest Jones, that's x X.
I don't know where that even came from.
So I like a little nesting dolls reference in any show. Uh, but yeah, you still manace this, you know, fit in some rams talking here you kill me.
You got a bad view with That's sorry, Ernest Jones, Yes, guy, I'm sorry.
Let's talk a little bit about the dynamic kickoff. How are we feeling? I just feel like we didn't this was such a big story all off season, all pre season. Can we revisit just where we're at with the dynamic kickoff. About a third of the kicks were return which doesn't sound like a lot. Actually it's not even about a third. It was exactly a third. But last year it was twenty two percent, So that's that's up like eleven percent.
The average return went to about the twenty nine So but that doesn't include the kickoff touchdown, which so ultimately you were probably better off on average just kicking it into the end zone and starting at the thirty. Like, is it doing enough for you? I mean, it's making you feel something inside, Colleen.
The DJ Dallas dynamic touchdown is really the only thing that made me feel some thing with the new rule.
There was another long return in that game, actually, I believe by the bills yards my crazy Yes, so there was a couple. Yeah, it was a little more. It's like in the right direction. Improved field position though means more scoring. So like, even if it is all these touchbacks, the fact that the average starting field position is going up about five yards, that's kind of a win just on its own because the scoreboard will be higher. Yeah, Rien, are you.
Impressed by it?
Not yet?
Just because and I agree and the scoring increasing. That's obviously going to be a reaction to this, just by nature of moving the ball up.
But the ball is moving up.
And the line of scrimmage is moving up based on a function of the rule itself, not the average of the plays that are being made from said rule. Both these are the average starting field position for all all drives after receiving a dynamic kickoff was the receiving team's own twenty nine point four yard line.
So it's it's like, it's a that's what the rule is.
That's a function of I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the year, and Roger Goodell actually mentioned this last week in his interview before the Eagles Packers game, that they are open to changing this rule, to adjusting it. Yeah, oh yeah, talking about it in terms of moving that field position up to try to prohit, like prevent teams from just kicking the touch back.
Okay, i'd i'd be into that.
Thirty five is aggressive, but it would be inter I think it's a it's a small win so far, nothing too crazy. The thing that annoys me is the coaches like Sean McVay who were just afraid to compete. He's like, I don't want to. It's I don't want to deal with the uncertainty, and so he's kicking with a touchbuck. Hey, how about you try to just be great at everything that is now involved in your football game instead of just giving up.
I'm not going to be trapped into talking about.
Okay, a couple of small just news items we had mentioned. Derek Brown was likely out for the season. He's the great defensive tackle for the Panthers. That was confirmed as he was sent the season ending I are on Tuesday. And then Juju Brens, who is a cult starting cornerback a thin position for them, also going to injured reserve. And then finally I mentioned on Monday Night with Shook
that Deshaun Watson received another civil lawsuit. The NFL now says it's reviewing the lawsuit that accuses Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October of twenty twenty, back when he was with the Texans. Quote, and this is from the league spokesperson Brian McCarthy. We are reviewing the complaint and we will look into the matter under the Personal Conduct Policy. We are not looking at the commissioners exempless as there's been no formal charges in the league's
review has just begun. The Browns say, quote, we will respect the due process our legal system affords regarding the recently filed civil suit and follow the NFL's guidelines on this matter. So just between those two statements, it sounds like for now the Browns and the NFL aren't doing anything, but there is an investigation that the NFL will undergo. All right, let's take a quick break and we are going to be back and we're going to just talk about things we just can't get out of our mind.
We need to. I don't know, I just feel a little more comfortable with We are back on NFL daily, and we are so lucky every week to have Colleen Will with us. I mean, what a big get for the show. It was tough. It wasn't easy to get her. So I'm so busy these days. If we've got if we have like a loose plan of maybe what we're gonna do on Tuesday, and we get a text from Colleen who has an executive producer credit now as part of this show.
Oh that's great. Do I get a little bump too?
Now?
Just the credit that's how we pay you. And she come and she says, I got a new idea. We're going to flip the old idea. Let's go with the new idea. We're going to replace it. Yeah, then we're going to do it. And that I now bring.
Up disrespect to the other idea, which I think is all good.
Oh it was Greg's idea.
No, it was it was that was the only problem.
I feel like we're on the couch now. We need to work this out. But no, this is good. I think after week one there's a lot of figures in the NFL that that could use some therapy. We all love therapy. Yeah, and uh, Colleen, I want you to start. That's sort of a long winded way of getting you to start so that I can feel what this segment really is all about.
Okay, that's great.
Well, I just like to offer people emotional support. I feel like that's that's what good friends do. And you know, around these parts, especially this time of year, I find myself offering maybe a little bit more emotional support.
Than I'm that I'm used to, So might as well just keep it going.
And I'm going to send this one out to Jaguars fans, guys, you know, it's not how you start, it's how you finish, which is a shame because what a start to that game.
So well.
Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Junior both had like really bright moments.
The defense was really holding up in the first half.
The vibes they were good until things got a little uncomfortable.
But listen, I understand how quickly things can change.
I watched the Eagles start ten and one last year and finish one and five. I also watched the Jags finish one in five last year. We all got hurt. We're all trying to love again. Dravesy Tin's goal line fumble not ideal. In fact, Nightmare of Fuel being up twenty four to seven would have made things a lot more comfortable. But being a football fan, it's not about comfort. It's about pain and suffering and holding on to a glie of hope. This roster is replete with talent. Ryan
Nielsen is a really good defensive coordinator. The defense sacked to a three times, held the Dolphins under one hundred rushing yards, limited Miami to twenty points an offense that scored nearly thirty points per game last season. Just two touchdowns the entire game, So everybody get it together. It's just one game. Your season is not defined by Week one. It's your home opener this week, and you play the Browns who looked way more of a mess than you.
That should make them feel a lot better. And I think that was excellent. Browns. They're a case. I don't think we would even want to try to tackle in this.
Therapy rule number one, it can always get worse.
I love the comparison between the Eagles and the Jaguars because I think the way their seasons ended last year, their fans and those teams could have used a little counseling. I gotta say that Eagles fan that and you tell me, like that win in Week one to meet felt bigger because of the way last season ended that you want to feel like this is different. So I do kind of get why it's triggering for Jaguars fans to have
a seventeenth to three lead. It was like last season all over again in one game, and to start that way is tough.
Yeah, I mean it was so rough.
And they better win this week because they're going on the road for back to backs against the Bills on Monday Night Football and then the Texans. So if they lose to the Browns who looked the way that they did last week, and then they have to go to Buffalo and then they have to go to Houston, I hate that for that.
Okay, we're out of the office now because I feel like this is putting some uncomfortable future expectations. Let's focus on what's right in front of us.
You have to be present.
You kind of like this Jaguars team, don't you. Yeah? I do? I do.
I mean, I like the talent, I like the potential. I've said a couple times this offseason. I'd like to see with this coaching staff everyone take a step forward. Closing a game such as this would be a nice start to that. But saw some really nice things from Trevor Lawrence, some of the windows he was fitting the ball into. I do understand, though, the trauma projection element of this Colleene, I mean.
I really understand.
You know, you had some demons to get out yourself and really place onto the shoulders of Jags facts and in that way you are free.
Exactly like that's how you process it. You send it off onto someone else.
And that was a good shout to Brian Nielsen and the coordinator because for most of that game they're playing a lot of man coverage against the Dolphins. Was a little surprising. And if you take out those two big plays, which I know is a big if, but if you took out the two other plays, like, they look pretty good in that game. The running game was good. They looked like a different team to me. It was a couple of drops really hurt of me. All Right, let's
go to my counseling session. Okay, and I'm so glad that Joe Burrow is joining me here. Oh, and I'm glad he came in. Joe, I understand your concern about your one and eight record in weeks one and two in your career. That's outrageous, and it's true. The numbers aren't pretty out of forty five quarterbacks over the last few years, in those weeks one and two, you are
thirty ninth out of forty five, Joe. So I want to bring up something sensitive, but you pay me a lot of money like I'm worth it, so I'm going to give it to you straight. You looked a little afraid to play aggressive, Joe, and I think that's natural. You're coming off a risk surgery. The Pats really good defense,
show you a lot of disguised looks. I think you can learn from this because this is not the Joe we know Dunkin and Duncan throwing the ball short on third down when there's guys in single coverage on the outside. The Joe we know doesn't check down. The Joe we know was there at training camp. We saw it. There was proof we saw in the preseason that he was ripping it. It's not about your wrist, Joe. You just have to get used to it. And I have a
theory for you, Joe, It's all about Joe cool. You've been in such big games before, Super Bowl, National Championship, and sometimes it's just like tough to feel like weeks one and two this makes me it's a little dead inside of these games like really matter. And that's why I'm here to tell you, Joe, like this is the perfect week for you. You're going to Arrowhead. That is the opponent you actually want in week two, because weeks one and two do matter. You batter Joe Burrow a
six point underdog. They used to call this place Joe Burrowhead. Don't listen to uh anyone out there. Weeks one and two do matter, and I think this is the week you make all those stats go away.
He does always thrive when there's something, you know, maybe he just needs a little push. Yeah, just a little push like like you're saying, and he really but he does thrive.
He's got that, you know. The CJ. Strouds have that, the Matthew Staffords.
Have that that little that little killer mentality that is like a switch that flips on where you're very calm and cool on the outside, but and maybe icy.
You know hair ha hair reference.
But but you're you're ready to just rumble on the inside. And I think that maybe this environment, this challenge, the stakes of this and also watching his own tape from this last week, and I don't know who that man is.
Situation.
I mean, that's that's gotta be a little bit of a motivating factor. Maybe we were on chip alert m for Joe Burrow, but I mean, you gotta do some creation of it himself.
I think it really hit when you talked about Joe Burrow being used to these huge big game scenarios with all of like the pressure and all of the eyes just like uh, feeling something for a week one game, even though yes, it.
Is a big deal, but it's like, yeah, I don't know. Sometimes during the season it's like you're in Week five.
Like sometimes just in general, it's tough to feel things inside if it's not like a massive moment.
I identify with that. It's why we have to work on Colleen a lot before these Tuesdays. So she's been in such a big spot. It's like, all right, let's let's bring it, let's wake up. But what a big spot this week.
So I'm you're arrowhead in this situation. You're not Joe.
You're I'm talking to Joe, I say, with Colleen, With Colleen, you are you are the chiefs in this situation.
Now, I think I'm more the You're the biggest favorite in the league. A on a one pm game against the Patriots. That's NFL Daily, Like, we need to get Colleen to just feel a little more juicues. I am.
This is my highlight of the week, Greg, I love all my shows equally.
We got her in the headset today, Yeah that is and it looks great.
All right, Jordan, you're up.
Okay, you guys, this time of year, this falls under the category of desperately seeking self help. Okay, because this time of year many people go to therapy to approach the difficult to navigate dinner table discussions between opinionated factions.
At the holidays.
Right, this is about that time you start seeking answers and tools. So I'm here to tell you how to talk to your loved ones about Sam Donald.
Yeah, my points are three. Three, My points are okay.
First step in how to talk to your loved ones about Sam Donald. Point to the tape. Yes, this is a plug for NFL Pro because what a great website. Sam Donald opened Sunday's game by halftime thirteen for fourteen for one hundred and fifty one yards and a touchdown. He looked confident the entire game. Made a couple of iffy decisions, but for the most part, made good decisions, a couple of tight window throws, and the offense felt really cohesive.
Step two.
That he has more help in his head coach Kevin O'Connell, his receivers Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Naylor, and his run game with Aaron Jones. Jones six point seven yards per Carrie ninety four yards four point ninety four yards per rush after contact, which is the highest for a Vikings running back since Week ten and twenty twenty two. Had to by colleague Allic Lewis for digging that stat up.
But they're actually not playing cushion the quarterback as much as you would think, so less play action than I thought they would run. They're only nineteen point two percent play action used, and they've got him a shotgun like seventy percent of the time where he went thirteen for seventeen for one hundred and fifty six yards and two touchdowns. Kevin O'Connell is giving him multiple correct answers on a play. There's been one going around where it's at twenty two
yard pass to Josh Oliver the tight end. And really what's so special about the coordination of the offense and the design of the play from Kevin O'Connell is that if the Giants coverage rules on that play dictated that three players flowed toward Justin Jefferson, leaving Josh Oliver open in the seam or under less coverage than he would have been on that vertical in the seam, if one player would have peeled away from Justin Jefferson, So breaking
the tendency rules that Kevin O'Connell and Sam Donald are studying, then that's when you hit Justin Jefferson and you're able to lead him, probably for a touchdown. So even if the defense does everything right, there's an answer. If the defense does one thing quote unquote wrong, there's also an answer. So providing Sam Donald multiple answers on one play and number three. But Sam Donald has been so streaky while with the Jets and Panthers, at some point he'll be
a pumpkin again. You can admit to your loved ones that the data is clear on this, but now you can accept a compromise. It's okay for a quarterback with the high ceiling and one of the streakiest middles and floors.
We've seen from a high draft pick to.
Get that middle and floor elevated by the ecosystem around him. It's also true that he may have some tougher days. History says he will. Both can be true at the same time. The point is Minnesota is maximizing production on the high moments and limiting opportunities to make bad decisions or negative plays.
That's how you talk to your loved one.
I love that Jordan, I am Donald. Two things can be true at once. The duality of Sam Darnald is what I'm hearing.
I am. I'm a little worried that when I get deep into the tendencies of coverage rules and how three people are going to go with Justin Jefferson to my loved ones, that I'm going to lose track of it and they won't know what the hell I'm talking about.
This is how you actually get them, This is how you get them.
It's a little deep. Yeah, it's a tough one. I feel like this feels a little targeted towards me.
Maybe I'm just giving the public some advice and therapy on the self help time of this holiday public is quickly approaching.
Look that Donald Hyatt. They're going to enjoy week one.
Mm hmm.
It is a great situation. You're not going to play that.
I was so excited when I saw Sam Darnold.
I'm excited to watch this team. As much as I like, I agree with you, I think the floor is going to be higher. That he's been a disappointing player and he's got a real chance to rewrite the type of player he is where that he can be a useful NFL starter. But they're going to get over their skis, you know, the Darnald Hive.
I only the first part of your sentence.
So all right, Colleen, let's go around the room one more time.
So here we go.
This one goes out to Jets fans, Hey, Jets fans, Your old friend Colleen here to offer you a shoulder to cry on, because that's what friends are for. Tough drawl for Week one, open the season on the road, last game of the week against a team that almost won the Super Bowl, reached the NFC Championship three times in the last five years.
It was rough.
I gotta lie a team without one of their most dynamic weapons and a surprise pregame twist who used an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech to rush for one hundred and forty seven yards on your defense, a defense ran by Robert Sala and Jeff Olbrick, both former forty nine ers. But the strongest steal goes through the hottest fire. So at some point these crucibles should pay off. Aaron Rodgers, he still has a cannon of an arm. You waited an entire year for Rogers to come back.
You have to trust the patients, trust the process. And I know it's been repeated one hundred thousand times from the book of Aaron Rodgers.
Relax.
I know I always respond so well when someone else tells me so Titan things up.
You actually have.
The Titans next week, who just like you lost. Maybe give Hassan Raddick a call. And remember it's not as bad as last year's.
Week one loss.
They won Week one last year, right, But this.
Is like what the Aaron Rodgers of it all.
You would rather Robert Sala said, you would rather lose with Aaron Rodgers than win without it.
Essentially, I did like on the broadcast they had a sort of a graphic celebrating after Rogers made it past four plays.
It was like a little ticker on the that's.
Rude, that's too much. I do put myself in the shoes though, of listening in this therapy session, and I think if going through the Crucible made you stronger, the Jets fans in their organization would be the strongest in the NFL. And yet where are the results.
You know, they're still going through it, They're still building, they're still like fortifying.
I think there was something there too, with the whole Roberts a Kyle Shanahan thing. I don't know that.
I can't like he knew hominous respect.
I guess you could have said he has aminous respect if the Jets had.
Got in there and went, I could say the opposite. But he felt I felt like he really knew what to do to scramble this great Robert Salad defense, because that's the worst Jets performance since Robert Sala has been there in terms of the defense. He knew exactly how to attack that group and he used to go against Robert Sala every single day in practice.
It is a classic Kyle Shanahan against the former coach move to play a deep reserve running back or you know, former un drafted or late round pick running back and just hammer your biggest weakness on defense, which is their defensive line with especially minus Reddick, and just hammer and hammer and hammer, and like circle the group on the little whiteboard in the meetings with a green circle and then that's who you run at the entire time. That is a classic Kyle shan on a hand versus former
assistant move that front. I mean to counter a little I mean, I I think I think the Titans are also going to run the snot out of the ball at this front. So Joe douglas man take Colleen's therapeutic advice.
Get on the post on Reddick, Where are you right?
I don't know did those problems? I don't know if a sod Reddick can fix them all? But he would help, it would it would be nice. Yeah, you traded a third round pick for him. All right, I'm gonna take you to something a little different than like a therapist office. Is more of a crisis management team. Oh wow, the NFL league office. Actually the hotline. It's Roger Goodell's office. Let's start with the bad news, boss, Roger, can I
call you? Uh yeah? That was the fewest passing touchdowns since so six that's true in a week one back then. The top quarterbacks that week were Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warren, and Charlie Batch. No way fun quarterback Charlie Batch. The fewest net passing yards since two thousand in a week one, down almost thirty percent from the all time high, which was only five years ago. That was fun when we just thought we're gonna be putting up forty every week
and it's passing, passing, passing. Only two three hundred yard passers. All that's bad. You know what's good what evolution. This is a game where whatever's in eventually goes out, whatever's out goes in. You know what made people fall in love with football in the first place. It's physicality. It's the running game. It's steamrolling over defenders. When the sport exploded in the seventies and eighties, that was the sport.
And the running game is coming back. And if you look at the EPA per play, we are closer than we have been in so long to a run being as efficient as a pass on APPA if you include quarterback scrambles, they actually were in Week one, which is absolutely crazy roj. Which gets to my other point here. People love the quarterbacks running. That was the most quarterback rushing yards in a Week one ever, Like, what is more fun than a quarterback running? It's not hurting scoring.
We fix things, you know, a little bit with the field position. As long as we're scoring, like things will change. The coolest kids in the league like Mike McDaniel are putting full backs on the field and multiple tight ends like it's all an evolution, and the evolution is what makes our sport better than all the others.
It is it cycles around every five to seven years. You're seeing defensive personnel also get larger, but also more hybrid safeties who can play linebacker again like we did eight ten years ago. You're seeing multiple tight ends on the field for a lot of teams. You're seeing teams load up and play keep away, either with that heavy personnel and a great running back or a tandem of run who are splitting a carry share and using the quarterback as not just a running weapon but a battering ram.
If I'm talking about Anthony Richardson that amazing play that he made over the weekend. You're using all of this to score versus these explosive pass plays, and the league is sort of rubber banding back from where defense is.
Kind of like it. I kind of like that, like a big time passing day, like too, I had a big passing day, like feels really special. I like it because it feels different because I just at some point I just assumed it was going up forever. And I think it's cool that it's it's a little different.
Yeah, everything old is new again, and that is the case for the NFL.
I will tell you, yes, my hill, that I will die on the tiny table. Take that is a little too wild for tiny table.
Day that let's not talk about our tiny table tape. The Cowboys are gonna walking away from that tiny table.
I think that if passing stays down, scoring is scoring is up and the same, and that's good and that's what the league cares about obviously. But if passing stays down, I do think more rule changes could be on it.
Sure, Oh yeah, that was part of the subtext. We don't want to get in trouble here, but yes, we're always, you know, looking to just put our finger on the dial to help out those quarterbacks. It's fun. People like its. Let's see a little more long ball though, Like the average air yards per attempt has been like nose diving. All the passes are shorter. I don't love that.
I just want more Anthony Richards.
Yeah, that's he's kind of exactly what we want running in bombs all right. Final one, Jordan.
Well, this is more of a pep talk slash dose of reality here. Anther's fans, this is your life, and I hope it gets better. Oh Panthers fans. I truly want better for you. You deserve better than partner after partner, season after season, forecasting to you a lifetime of happiness and joy, only to leave you crying on your couch after some transgression. It's not your fault. So instead, I can't watch you get hurt anymore. So instead of opening
yourself up to once again hope and cautious optimism. And I know, I know it's tempting to listen to the hope mongering and buy back in, it's time to steel yourselves to reality. This team will be rebuilding for multiple years. The roster, inherited and in part enabled by general manager Dan Morgan is a disaster to veteran and depleted a key positions on defense.
Even Igiro Evro, who's regarded.
As a top defensive coordinator, as having a hard time scheming around some of this. If you have to claim three dbs off of waivers on August twenty.
Eighth, you are in danger.
Girl.
The offense, it's still obviously a work in progress at receiver, tight end, running back, and multiple offensive line positioned.
Rebuilding takes time. It takes patience.
Only a team with an above average to elite quarterback can sprint rebuild, and it's still not clear whether you do have a quarterback who can lead you into the next era. Getting a clean evaluation of Bryce Young is the most important task this season. When you know what you have at quarterback or don't have, you can define the rebuild window. Developing a very young, very relatively inexperienced head coach and Dave Canalis is the second most important thing.
Overhauling the talent identification process within the pro and college scouting departments, which Dan Morgan quietly started to do this summer, is third. It will take time, and I don't know who needs to hear this, somebody important, probably, But without a quarterback, this type of ecosystemic construction will take multiple years. It will take patients, It will take a non reactionary understanding of where to keep developing and where to cut ties.
Panthers fans, I want you to win. I want you to feel the rush of joy. But I can't watch you build up hope every spring and summer only to suffer after all that's happened. Perhaps there's freedom too, and simply going numb for a while.
Yeah, I think that's a good idea of this go to surrender this season, be like, be like our friend David Ely in the newsroom, and he's just he's not claiming the Panthers anymore. He's just like he'll come back someday. But I think he's disconnecting for a little while. And that's okay. When you have someone toxic, something toxic in your life, it's okay to just cut him out till they get better.
Yeah, you just gotta let a let loosen your grip on the wheel a bit and maybe just hit auto pilot for a little while.
It's a long season. I do worry that you won't get like a complete evaluation of Brycing if every game was like this. But I think the offensive line, which wasn't terrible, I didn't think of this game actually like there was a couple of busts in terms of figuring.
Out that would blitz sump into your quarterback.
As you're yeah, it wasn't great, but uh, hopefully that part of it improves. They do need a left tackle though, you know they whift on on con. I just don't think that's ever gonna happen for them. That's why you gotta go numb. All right, let's not go numb to our TNF preview that's gonna be right after the break. We'll see you back on NFL Daily. And it is time for our TNF preview, presented by Prime Video Thursday
Night Football. I'm excited. This is a great TNF game, Dolphins and Bills, and you should check out myself and Bill Barnwell of ESPN, one of the very best in the business. We're gonna go live on YouTube about fifteen minutes after the game, once we get our notes in order, and we'll do our TNF recap then. But let's talk about this game. Two teams that one in week one give us a little extra juice when it's too one
of oh teams. These two teams have obviously played a lot over the last couple years because they also had a playoff game two years ago. And it sort of slipped my mind that the Bills have won four in a row, so Sean McDermott's kind of had Mike McDaniel's number, although most of them have been close. But last year in a big spot, the Dolphins were I think we're three to oh, and the Bills went down to Miami and put a hurt on them, and then they won
the division against them in Week eighteen in Buffalo. So right now the division goes through Buffalo. What did we take, Colleen kind of out of week one that we can push forward into this match.
Okay, Well, both of these teams rallied from fourteen point deficits in the first half to win their respective games. Obviously for Buffalo. For both teams it's a short week, but for Buffalo it's a short week to prepare for a really fast team. I'm really excited to see Jordan Poyer in this game, who spent seven seasons in Buffalo.
Now he signed with Miami.
Play against Josh Allen after going against him so many years in practice, they finally get to actually have a real game matchup against each other. And Josh Allen coming off of that game where he had it was a crazy game for him, four touchdowns, he was hurtling, he was running all.
Over the place.
They were worried about his left arm for a while, but as Steve Mariucci said last night, left arm, left hand doesn't even matter. You don't even need it if you're wrong with your right one. But Josh Allen picked apart Miami secondary last year in both of those games, so I think that this is one that it's obviously going to be an awesome game. I loved watching Joe Brady run the ball in Buffalo.
He just fed James Cook. It just opened things up.
And then defensively the Bills, they're gonna need Cam Lewis again to step up because Taran Johnson they won't have him their nickel corner. He heard his forearm against the Cardinals in that first drive, and Lewis was pretty effective stopping the pass and the run in his place. And he takes a lot of pride in his versatility that he plays at that position. He can play corner, safety at nickel corner, and he can just wear a lot
of different hats in the secondary. They can rotate him around, so he's kind of their Swiss Army knife, which they're lucky to have.
Yeah, Toron Johnson was a guy I remember, the athletic Joe Basaglia does a great job with him. He had a list of like, who are the most indispensable players on their entire team. I think he had Toron Johnson number two. So it's just because he's so good and so that's something you worry about obviously going against the Dolphins, who can put Tyreek or Jalen Waddle in the slot. I think the best defense maybe against the Dolphins is
just being a loaded offense. It's you know, the reason I picked this Buffalo's team to win the Super Bowl was because of their offense. Now, the matchup was right in Week one, but they led the entire NFL by far in success. Right, they went up and down the field on the Cardinals despite falling from behind. They went for fourth down a couple times in situations where Sean McDermott I don't think would have in the past. It didn't work in the first half, it worked in the
second half. So like I love you, I love that Sean McDermott, stay aggressive. This is an offensive team now, and I just love the cohesion in the running game. It looks so good like they know when to use Josh Allen as a runner in the red zone without majoring in that, but Ray Davis has some burst as a backup, and James Cook looks awesome, and it looks like an offensive line Jordan that has been together now
for a couple of years. They just gave Spencer Brown a new contract actually this week, and I love that running game going up against this Dolphins defense, who I thought also played well in Week one.
Yeah, because the Dolphins pressure looks a little bit better so far early. Obviously, they got some guys back from injuries last season. So you're gonna if you're the Bills and Josh Allen, you are gonna want to run the
ball at this front. I think kind of ironically, they're gonna What I would do if I were them, would be to do similar to what the Cardinals initially tried to do against Josh Allen and the Bills, which is load up, run the ball, and play keep away and try to keep the ball out of a tug of Iloa's hands, out of Tyreek Hill's hands, and specifically to protect your own defense, which is super vulnerable the Bills defenses in the middle of the field, at inside linebacker
and at safety, where they've been having quite a few issues with coverage. The Cardinals were really effectively able to use misdirection to change the contact points against some of these linebackers and safeties Tailor Rap struggled in coverage, and you're also again like to y'all's point, you're you're without Taron Johnson, and the Dolphins are the misdirection pre snap motion kings right seventy nine percent of offensive plays in Week one, they're also used.
They're also running the ball.
And a lot of to a tongue of Iloa's passing is coming out of pistol to keep the misdirection in the run game forty one point and forty percent in shotguns, So they're really keeping everything open in front to try to get a lot of that pre snap movement going.
So again to your point, Greg, if the Bills can run the ball effectively, you actually can keep the ball out of to a tongue of Iloa's hands and out of that offensive offensive hand, offensive hands where the Dolphins are kind of kings at attacking the parts of the field where the Bills are the most vulnerable.
Right now, right last week, who is it? Terrell Bernard who had a tough time against the Cardinals and Dorian Williams who's stepping in for Matt Allana, he struggled. I like the agro tua. Him and McDaniel kind of talked about this idea of skipping reads that in the past, like he had the like a high low concept where the receivers open underneath and that's actually his first read.
But now he's kind of learned, like, hey that I seen what I see pre snap and knowing it's Tyreek out there, like, let's just skip past that first read. Let's get super aggressive. And they protected pretty well. I want to take back what I said on the Sunday night recap after rewatching this game a little bit. I think the offensive line actually played well. They feel good right now that they have at least three quality players.
They have the right tackle who they gave money to, toront Armstat's healthy right now, and they got center Aaron brewerback who had a nice first game, and they're going to be going up. Yeah. I think the offenses have the advantage just on both sides of the ball. Although little von Miller pop Week one, von Miller was kind of backsso I think is making the leap. But von Miller had like five pressures. He didn't play the whole game.
I think that's good. Maybe a little less is more for von Miller because.
Oh he sucked Kyler Murray like three times and he had the force fumble.
I love this uh. Two, when I look at the Bill's secondary, the matchup of Tyreek Hill and Christian Benford, who's who's kind of like a sneaky, like Pro Bowl like potential candidate. He had a really good Week one. A lot of it was against Marvin Harrison Junior. He shut them down. And then you mentioned finally the Dolphins defense. New coordinator Anthony Weaver didn't really blitz at all in Week one, which was interesting, and they got some good pressure.
Jalen Phillips is back from this achilles tear and had a really good Week one. Jalen Ramsey did not, and so that's just something to watch. Maybe it was he wasn't practicing for a while. Yeah, so maybe that was an issue. Kalis Campbell what an amazing signing. Everything he went through that was terrible last week. But kind of lost in that is like Khalaias Campbell was on the field and was one of the best players. Again, he's ageless.
He's just remarkable as a player as a human.
Oh my gosh, she's one of the best.
And like he was one of the reasons they won that game in early sack in that game. All right, let's pick it. We'll start with you, Jordan.
I'm gonna pick the Dolphins just because I do think that if you can stop the run against the.
Bill, a tall task, that's a big if.
If you could stop the run against the Bills and get the ball back into the Dolphins offense's hands, the Bills are so so vulnerable in the parts of the field that Tua and that offense likes to attack and is very successful.
At my god, this is such a tough one to call, but I think just because of the Dolphins speed on the short week, and then all of the issues that Buffalo has on their defense, like there's just too many ways that Mike McDaniel can attack them.
So it's I'm gonna go Dolphins.
Always tough for the road team and the Thursday night, yeah, second week especially, this is something where like whichever team can just rotate in players because like you're not really ready to play a full game and then you're really not ready to play another full game four days later. But I'm taking the Bills only one of these teams, says Josh Allen. That's my MVP pick, and I love I loved how he played in Week one. He had one play where he held it too long and fumbled.
But for the most part, actually I thought he's making quicker decisions. I just think he gets these two quarterbacks are so much better than they were two years ago in terms of decision making. He's making quicker decisions throwing the ball too. So just I'm taking the team that has Josh Allen and that has won four straight in this matchup. That's a big one. Like that was this week's TNF preview, presented by Prime Video. Be sure to watch the Bills take on the Miami Dolphins this Thursday
on Prime Video. All right, uh, that's it. We got our preview show on Thursday. Drop in Steve Weish in the Chris Westleyan podcast studio, and of course Patrick Clayband. So please check out the week two preview show and cannot wait.
We did some really excellent self work today. Guys.
You should be proud.
Multiple things, can't you. We are worthy of love. Maybe I don't know.
I'm not like I believe him.
If he's bad to you, don't even think twice you don't need him anymore.
Wootball's back.