The conquer. Give it to Henry. Henry is going to try to get to the goal line and dush touch out. Ticket to the ends up touchdown and there it was. The Ante Johnson finally gets into the end zone. Let us steps up, fires and it's pick up Juan Alexander Cementia.
Kwan Alexander finishes it off for the Steelers. You knew they had to win tonight twenty to sixteen the moment. I booked Dave Damashek, who helped birth this podcast by helping Dan and Mark out and putting him on the back of his podcast, the old Dave Damashek Football. I knew something magical would happen with the Steelers, that they would look like the inferior team for most of the game, and then they would have a game winning drive, because
that's what the Steelers do. They are five and three, and yes, my guest is Dave Danishek, the host of the Minus three podcast with our old friend Eddie Spaghetti. Kevin henches on there. Dave Damashek, I was glad. I didn't. I thought it'd be fun podcasting if we had an angry scheck with the loss. But I'm happy to see my friend happy.
I appreciate that you're looking well, the Boss back from your European swing. You and the fellas. Glad that went well for you. Glad even more that the Pittsburgh Steelers survived an another knuckleball game. It is remarkable, It really is. The other side of the equation is that that's what the Steelers do to everybody, no matter how good or
bad they are, every game. As you always have to just understand that what Mike Tomlin wants, whether you like it or not, even in the lead year of The Lord twenty twenty three, his goal isn't to just win, it's to win every game twelve to eleven, and that results in ugly ball on both sides of things. So listen, they survived again, so be it.
And you know what, I think they survived in a more replicable way. That should give the Steelers fans a little bit of optimism. That last interception by Kwan Alexander in their partly because Cole Holcom gets hurt. You're without Minka Fitzpatrick, so you got some holes here in the secondary.
You don't totally trust your quarterback Kenny Pickett. We'll get to all that, we'll start really talking about the Steelers, and then yes, Titans fans who do want to listen to this, we'll get to Will Levis because I think, big picture wise, Will Levis is probably the biggest story in this game. I think we've met a gentleman the last two weeks who's now going to be part of our lives, I believe, for many years to come. So
that's always interesting. But the Steelers are the team in position for the playoffs, and I would say, and I've watched every Dealers game, that this was probably their best offensive game of the season, that they had a tang in that.
I mean, it's wild.
They had a ten play drive to start the game for a touchdown. That was nice. They had three other drives ten players or more. And when they got the ball back with about nine minutes to go, I thought, the way they run offense, look, their best chance to win might be to go run an eight you know, have an eight minute drive. They can't go down the field. They don't really trust piket. Once it gets in long yardage, they seem like they're in trouble. But at least they
were running the ball. They were setting themselves up and when they needed Picket to make one big throw at the end of the game, he did it. He dropped it in the bucket to Deontay Johnson, who made a really nice catch along the sidelines that was on a third and long that was part of their ninety four yard touchdown drive to take the lead. And then they didn't let Picket throw the ball again the rest of the game essentially, and it worked. It's remarkable how this
formula seems to work for them. But I have seen since the buy Pickett playing at a reasonable level, maybe not even as good as he was as a rookie, but at a level where you have a chance to win. I wasn't seeing that the first five weeks, the five week first five weeks felt like a mirage. Now he at least looks competent enough that it's something to build off.
Well, you know old news And in fact, you are the one who sort of responded to my cynicism five six, seven years ago when it was starting to set up that you know, guy at the QB at the end of his rookie contract, you got to shell out forty then I guess it was thirty five million forty million, and I'll a shame that devil.
You can't give that the.
Matt Ryan and you pointed out, hey, you know that they are raising that cap to accommodate those quarterbacks. But there is sort of a ebb and flow to it, and it does every year three kind of catch up with teams like we can't afford this guy who ain't worth the forty or fifty million. So sorry for that setup, because that's not where the Steelers are. They're in the sweet spot year two of their rookie QB. I mean of their youngster QB. Well not that young, he's mid twenties.
But either way, you know, the oddity is, as you say, all they need theoretically, given that this is supposed to be a defense dominant team the offensive line.
That's been the big disappointment to me.
Nine games through or eight games through, I should say in nine weeks is I thought that the offensive line was going to be collectively a position of strength and it hasn't really been that. That's been I mean, all the Matt Canada stuff overstated in my opinion. And you know, I thought Kenny Pickett was going to be the steady hand, you know, take care of the ball and all that
classic game manager. But the thing that has plagued him all season long, and I'm sure you've observed it, is he misses wide open throws and nim is They're right.
I mean they are.
The throws he misses all season long are directly over the line of scrimmage about ten yards ten yards depth. It's what do you not see it? He's either late or just flat out misses it. And yet he does the most remarkable thing in sports. We always talk about clutch and whether clutch exists, and in fact, clutch is maintaining your level when it gets hottest.
Kenny Pickett does the opposite.
He's he is the bizarro Clayton Kershaw who goes high level all season and then when the playoffs start it's a diminished version of the stud pitcher. Kenny Pickott somehow actually plays better in the fourth quarter.
What gives? I have no explanation.
I guess I don't know if it's going to keep up forever. The numbers support you. They showed it. I always watch you know, this is the most football hipster thing about me, or maybe not the most you would say I was one. I love the next gen stats, Prime Vision cast. Me and the boy watch it and it's beautiful, and they sow the numbers for pick it. But the first three quarters and the fourth quarter this year,
last year, it's all actually true. He's second in the NFL in fourth quarter or overtime comebacks over the last two years too. And that that's with that's with Kirk Cousins in first place, not two guys who you think coming up big. But he does have the kN accurate part of it is that they're always trailing and I have a chance to go win a game, and they're always in one score games. But you're right, he missthrows
early in this game. There was one two pickens which killed the drive that was on a third and eight goes right over Sinim. There was one early to Deontay Johnson just sales right over there was there was a dirt ball at one point, and he even said in the postgame interview with Amazon, just yeah. He was really pissed off at himself and he said, excuse me for my language. I was like, you don't need to see excuse me for pissed off. That's that's too much.
He's taking a classy that's the way he does it. The uh yeah.
And the other one that he too was he had Connor Hayward to my earlier point, why the goal line directly in what would look to be his line of site and just doesn't even look at him.
So he's got he's got an issue.
You know.
One of my guests on this program, Jp Acosta, a young writer who was with vespidation, you know, pointed out is his spray chart tonight where he's throwing the ball, and he's like, this is a high school offense. He can't go anything over the middle and high school. It's counterintuitive, but everything's on the boundary because that's where they can see better. Uh, even though it's further to throw it.
And teams play the Steelers in a certain way. They play backed up, they play zone, and they just try to prevent the long ball and the back shoulder throws because that's what he's good at. That's like the one thing they're good at now that the Auntie Johnson is healthy, that it gives him something else they can maybe be good at. It's not it's not just that that's what George Pickens is good at, but at a certain point Kenny Pickett's gotta need to be better than just those throws.
But tonight he got it done. And the reason I say they had the best looking offense is definitely the best game running the ball all game. And you said you're disappointed with the offensive line, but they protected Picket well tonight and they ran the ball well tonight. So tonight was a nice night for their offensive line.
I completely agree with that. And it does feel like they're.
Starting to turn the corner.
Slow going as it is, I mean, as I said earlier too, I get the Canada concerns. I see the limitations and all of that. It's now crossed the line into being group think nonsense.
It's just the abject job.
It's not Matt Canada's fault that Kenny Pickett is missing wide open guys.
But what about the fact he's on the sideline tonight and then suddenly everything looks better. Matt Canada on the sideline, he's a totally different guy.
Yeah right, What what do you think that was about accountability? You think that's some old coach t thing Like Matt, You're gonna have to look them in the eyes when you when you when you, I mean I don't know what the what the notion was? I listen, I think.
Just think things aren't working, and so we're and then try something different.
Here's here's a little sunshine for you.
And you know me well enough to know that I am not I'm not optimistic about any of the teams that I root for.
And yet always picked the Steelers record. Right, what was your prediction before this season? You're always like one game or right.
I've never been more than a game off, and as you may recall, six straight years, I hit it on the nose. I went with eleven and six this year now exactly where they're gonna.
Wind up, and they might. I mean that's the thing. They've played poorly. Sorry to cut you off, they've played poorly, and they've gotten to five and three. Our friend Mark Sessler said off season they're winning twelve games, so he won up to you. I mean, at some point a team that looks bad and is four and three usually ends up starting to play better and then they'll win more games. And that's what I'm fryking well.
I mean, I think the thing that specifically with this game and all the hand ringing again on the banks of the three Rivers. I don't know if Football America is obsessing over the nitty gritty with personnel on the Pittsburgh Steelers, but you know a lot of concern about why in Broderick Jones, the first round draft pick, getting the shot over Chukes on the right side, which he did tonight on on Thursday Night Football or Dan Moore,
people are indifferent about which tackle he replaces. Just David, you go put in Broderick James. You got put him in there. Dad's a first round pick. JPJ. How come he's not playing well? You see why when you watch a game like this, you have to fuel the plane at thirty thousand feet.
You want the.
High pedigree specimens on the field, of course, But on the other hand, then they make rookie plays like JPJ made a handful of times. I also think Nuke Hopkins.
Really JPJ being Joey Porter Junior.
I'm sorry, yes, I was working short.
I even have to think about it for a second.
One of those people who just refer to band members by their first name, like they're my friends.
You see when.
Jerry was when he was jamming during space like you know, drums man.
Man Bob was, he was man.
He was grooving with like, you know, like, who are you talking about? Are these are your friends in the ground? No, no, no, I was talking about the Big Show anyway. Yes, Joey Porter Junior is coming on, but made a couple of boneheaded plays. Broderick Jones really set the Titans up in a great spot at midfield, essentially with a taking his helmet off on the.
Field, so you know, fits and starts.
As far as that goes, I will say optimistically, at this point, you would like to think Joey Porter Junior becomes a bigger factor, not less. You would like to think Broderick Jones becomes a position of strength for you
out there the rest of the way. And I really do think, and you know, we can talk about Kyle Shanahan's offense and the fungibility of receivers and otherwise, but the Steelers need to have George Pickens and Deontay Johnson on the field or they're kind of going to be a high school offense.
I mean that's just the fact. Yeah. Not, Oh, George.
Pickens is down for for Deontay Johnson's going to miss the next four games when he got hurt in Week one. I knew that the that they were going to be bunking their heads on the ceilings for the next month. When you don't have one of those two guys, they're just not at that place roster wise or even philosophically.
Or they can't take advantage keep them out there. They don't have an offense I can make up for it, even if Canada is not as bad as everyone thinks, Like,
you're absolutely right. I thought that too, because Deonty Johnson, if I had to choose just one as great as Pickens is at this point in their careers, just to help Kenny Picket along in this offense, like Deonty Johnson is probably more valuable because he's going to create more first downs ultimately, uh than Pickens, who you know cost the Steelers four points tonight on a nice throw from Pickett just by not getting.
His Yeah, that was wild. That was weird.
But did you see the Deontay Johnson I mean he didn't cross paths directly or did now Yeah, no, Antonio Brown was long gone by the time, but he gave He gave the ab special on that deep shot up the right sideline on the game winning drive, just just as the ball's about to get there. Little ghost push, little ghost push. Ref can't flag that one when you when you when you short arm the dB to.
Create just an space. I got a little Dashavey.
He's I think he's an underage. He's a great player. He had gone seven hundred and seventy one snaps without a touchdown. The Titans sort of dared the Steelers to run all night. They were pointing that out on next one stats. I tried to give them credit. Sam Schwarztein, I believe is his name, saying that they play with the lightest box in the league, like six guys in the box, and they did it the whole night. At like no point did they ever Were they ever afraid
of the Steelers running. They thought were bigger and stronger than you were going to be able to stop your lame running attack and it has been pretty lame all season. And have extra guys on the back end, but it didn't work because Naje Harris ran pretty well. It was more about the holes to me, but he still broke a few tackles. And then Jalen Warren as a dynamic player, he's one of your three best offensive players. In my mind, along with the two wide receivers. He had eighty eight
rushing yards. He had twenty five yards receiving, and he made that to in the last drive. Really happened with just like a special run. That's what that's what you need. It's what the Patriots don't have for insans. They have no special players who just make plays on their own. They were lying their coaches to do everything. On defense, he got some special players though, and Alex Heismith, I'm not gonna say he's playing better than TJ. Watt, Watts
the defensive player of the year, can it? But tonight he did. He had five quarterback hits. He had eight pressures. Next Gen stat says he's got four games with at least seven pressures. The only person in the league I believe that has that is is Miles Garrett, I think other than him, So that that's he's very consistent. He's very good. And him and Watt were bigger difference makers than any of the Titans defenders.
And it's true they was kind of upside down almost in the way that the game typically flows, which is the TJ. Watt comes on as the game goes on and wears down the U that, No, he was relative. I thought, if he's getting off like this in quarter one and this many old lineman on the Titans are going over to the sidelines, I don't know who's going to be left to try and stop one of the five best non quarterbacks in football the rest of the night. But yeah, to your point, you know, they swung help
over against TJ. Watt and they were moving them around, which I love to see that, But I mean, I do think you know, it's easy to get swept up in.
Boy, they are one ugly team.
This team has no chance and I'm not saying in twenty twenty three that they're going to compete with the superhero quarterbacks come January Chiefs or or Bengals or any of those teams. But I do think that, you know, if you're looking at the pieces the last couple of years, the Marvin Leal is not a name that most football fans are probably tracking too much, but he's he's a difference maker up front. They are starting to piece together, not guys that hold their own.
But is a good young player and a naked already a chance right, He's a concern, is picket because I mean that is that's the ceiling on them, it feels like, except for the fact that it's you know, I talk about being jammed into this uncomfortable position of optimism with these Steelers, and I'm forced to because everybody else is so cynical, from local media there and the.
Fan base doing its impression of Philadelphia Eagles fans and doing everybody and all that kind of stuff all the time. It is strange. But you know, I think Pickett is the is the guy who has a chance to as you say, it's the premise is not carry this team,
Josh Allen the Steelers to the playoffs? Can he Pickett take care of the ball, make a couple few special plays and it's crazy how few of those he seems capable of making for at least three quarters, but he does have an act of turning it on and as far as that goes, So five and three.
And where are they in the standings?
If you if you know, if you feel like this is a terrible team, an ugly game to watch, that's what they want to do, first of all, and secondly, they're in the playoff picture and the only way really in twenty twenty three, with very few exceptions, the Eagles fan is feeling good right now?
Right the Dolphins fan unless they Loday night, When are we.
Going to talk about the fact that you are exactly like Mike McDaniel. You kind of look like him on no offense to Mike McDaniel, but you're you're a slightly more attractive version of him. Maybe we've got to put you in the glasses, but you know your vibe, You've got that, You've got that subtle sense of humor and everything. I think that this is a compliment to you and the Mike McDaniel. There are no losers in this equation.
But I mean, so Dolphins fans are happy. Texans fans are probably feeling good because they feel like, well, we got our guy and we know that we're gonna be good and brighter days are ahead. And maybe now Titans fans feel that way about Levis. But after that, who's happy right now?
You know who? Chiefs fans probably not.
They know that that team hasn't played very well and and there's a lot of grumbling.
There's not a lot of enjoying the moment, and not a lot of enjoying the where you're at. It's just whatever happened last week, So the Bengals, the Bengals fans are.
Having Okay, now that's turned to courd. Yeah, I mean there just isn't as much splash. Obviously, empirically that's true, but statistically it bears out too with point totals this season and otherwise. But you know the thing about these knuckleball Steelers is that remains true that to finish the point is Okay, Mitchell, the Jags are a good team and the Steelers once again turned that thing into a
knuckleball last Sunday. And I don't know what would have happen if it would have been Picket instead of Truebisky with his magic fourth quarter powers. It was a one score game. How do we know he wouldn't have done exactly what he's done. Every other time he's been putting that spot in a close game, he tends to win it. They either get whipped once to three times a year. Lately they get annihilated by an outclassed Otherwise, every game is somewhere around thirteen to twelve.
I mean, they're five and three if they were in the NFC, like they're better than any of the seven seed candidates. It's gonna be tougher to be the seventh seed in the a f C, but they're probably the most. They're about as likely as anyone. If I had to choose one today, they would probably be my seventh team. Am I Is that right? Yeah? They would be.
Well, yeah, I'm counting.
I'm counting Dolphins and Bills, they're both in right, I'm counting who was ahead in the division right now, I'm counting Ravens and Bengals, and then i'd put the Steelers because you look, you got here's who's coming up for the Steelers. You finished with the tough three games, Bengals, the Ravens, that's gonna be tough. But before that you have Packers, Browns, Bengals. It's at at Bengals, Cardinals, Patriots, Colts.
Those are a lot of winnable games, and I think they're gonna get better the one thing they gotta do, and then we're gonna take a break quickly and then talk Titans.
Uh.
Dan was right, he said, oh it's you and check. This is going to be a honk fest. He was like putting the over under, you know, higher than way higher than our tnf ever. The last thing I'll say, though, is to get to the playoffs, or at least to even be a reasonable threat to win that first playoff game. They can't be a team that when they get the ball back with two h six to go and the other team has three timeouts just calls, you know, loses
two on their first run and calls two more runs. Anyways, they just say, like, we don't even trust our quarterback to throw the ball one time. It's just Mike Tomlin is great, but he's and he's one of the last coaches that'll ever be dragged into the twenty first century in terms of like going for it on fourth down or making aggressive decisions like that. But he was better when he had bet when a real quarterback. At some point they will have to make decisions like throw the ball and.
Not just be bad.
Let's Titans a whole other drive and a chance to go win the game, and let's not even try to play football here because we're so afraid of Kenny Pickett and they were.
I mean, I think the call there on third nine. First of all, they have thrown in that in a similar spot this year, which now they could have.
Fed on first down two because it was like you would have had the two minute one. I just I fully expected them to run the ball three times in punt there and it was like you weren't even burning all the Titans timeouts. He still would add one. So I'm just saying the.
Ball there at mid right, I agree with you. Of course at midfield, third, nine, third and ten whatever it was in that spot, there's no danger in not just throwing the ball but taking a deep shot. You know that you're sacked. You know, if you get sacked, okay, you punt it away. Just you know, take care of the ball, make sure that there's not someone about the blind side. You ate and you will be all right. And if you if you're on cork it, throw it as far as you can ken throw it as far
as you can. Fella, it gets picked at the you know at the ten, all right, it's a punt.
So he just he just wanted to get rid of the time out. And it's like that's very Mike Rabel would have done the same thing. These two teams watching them are mirror images. We're gonna take a quick break. Wait, wait, wait, I just want to say this. I say, I say you're on after the break, shot. I understand, but I want to say.
I want to say here and now, I want to chat and Hans Us, I say we go four and a half hours or shame the devil.
I'll say you let's go, Neil, Dawn, what do you think about that? All night? Me and the ball stream come true.
I mean, we'll keep talking even after we stop hitting record. We love to honk. All right, take quick break, we'll get come back. All right, we're back I for the first time this season. Actually just gotten Emica, my beautiful wife to and my daughter Ellis are both peeking out of the main house. I'm in the garage and they're They're just giving me a shush. They're like, you are screaming and yelling. You're like the whole neighborhood can hear you. But I think this is.
Just me getting Tomlin turns every game into a knuckleball damn ashek turns every conversation into a shout fest.
Welcome to it.
I mean, I I would anyways, Hans, this is right. Once spend as much time on the Titans.
But actually, when you're gonna talk about the don't you see Zach Wilson. You see he's gonna be our hero. He's gonna carry us until we get the A Rod. Don't count us out of the playoff picture yet.
Boll No, no one is. No one is Will Levis. He was the biggest story in this game to me, just because he's new and I've seen the Steelers team and I think they're building. And I thought this Titans team, I never count them out because they're the Titans and they're three and five. I don't even count them out for the seven seed either right now, because I think they have something. I watched that first game and I thought, Wow,
he did some really next level things. Not just those touchdown passes, but he was like getting to the second read and when pressure was there, he was making good decisions. He was like getting rid of the ball. He was looking like a tough guy. Okay, let's let's see it again. Now, he's got to be on a short week. He's gonna be in Pittsburgh. He didn't have two weeks to prepare
for Atlanta, and he played as well or better. And you can point out a few misthrows in the second half, and he got picked off there at the end when he's you know, trying to make it play he's got to try to go for the end zone there, and that was a nice play, like kwant Alexander, But man, he looked like a dude. He looked like a dude. That's just like I'm gonna be watching him play for the Titans most every week for the next six years,
eight years. However, whatever it turns out to be, he just looks like a dude because it doesn't seem too big for him. He's clearly talented at throwing the ball down the field and the game isn't going that fast. He's processing it all pretty quick, which I think was one of the big questions about him coming out of Kentucky.
And he's obviously athletically very talented. So I could go through like which plays I loved, like the play where he threw it across his body and Hopkins actually dropped it, which was almost like, wow, why are you trying that pass?
But it worked.
It was a Mahomesyan type pass, but also some just like regular old third and nine, like whole shots over his zone defense. He looks good and I think he.
Made I mean just so yeah, I know that the weird are angles and you know, throwing across basically two yards behind the line of scrimmage, all the way across the field from one sideline to the other, or just about.
Get your attention.
But yeah, he just made some real good strong arm throws throughout the night. And the other thing we didn't even see tonight was him taking off, which he can do. He's a big physical runner when he wants to be. You know, I've told you this before and you've poo pooed it. You've you've played skeptic to Damashek when I've claimed unironically, I'm a QB whisper. Listen, I can't be a draft guru because I can't analyze the left guard from the MAC team who might go in the fifth round.
But with QBS, no one has a better track record than Damnashk. Maybe it is good. Now, Okay, I've had my missus. I had the late Ryan Mallett, that's the one you always point to. But I said, you can find it on social media. I suspect I said three years ago, no, two and a half years ago. I said, this guy it can touch, who transferred from Penn State, Will Levis is the real deal and he's going to
be dynamite in the NFL. So I mean, I don't know that I'm right two games in, but he does look like the real deer.
Here's the question.
All I know is you remember whatever slights anyone sends your way, even for a football take, like giving you grief about Yes, the late Ryan Mallett rest in peace.
Of course, of course I do. You know, I don't care what any.
It's not that I don't care. I don't remember. My brain is is uh, it's made of cheese. I don't know. I mean I remember some of the football stuff.
But thank you for not condescending to me, because you could have put yourself in a better light by saying, like I have better things to worry about, you petulant ass.
You know that's that's how you should be.
No, I mean, I'll certainly remember some slates, but it has to be real personal. It wouldn't be a football Have I ever slighted you? No, not that I remember. You know now presents a tough exterior outside.
But.
I am He's a og tough guy, that's for sure. That's how everybody knows me.
They wait got a quarterback. They can't go back to Ryan Tannehill the rest of this season.
Is that will Money Clint Eastwood in unforgiven?
Or is that Dave damashek I can't tell the difference both rugged souls. That's that's right. I'm a tough yeah, of course. And you know it's funny because I've been saying since I don't know, February March April, what are the Titans doing holding on to Ryan Tannehill at this point? Maybe it was post draft, but either way, to me, the guy who instead of Sam Darnold Kyle Shanahan should have gotten Ryan Tannehill.
Do you imagine if you plug him in right now?
That was when I assumed that Brock Purdy wasn't possibly going to be ready to go by week one. I mean he had major arm surgery, we thought, or but still Tannehill is the solve or would have been for several teams. I don't know the state of his health right now, but if he had been one hundred percent a week ago, do you suspect he would be on
a contending team right now? Imagine him if you could have just said, if you're the Vikings, okay we don't have Kirk, come on up, Ryan Tannehill they would have been just fine in that NFC.
I think they would have had a chance to chase a playoff spot.
They would have been the team I think that would have bothered maybe a fourth round pick. And I think the Titans, if they had seen this first game from Levis and then now certainly too, would have been.
Yeah, right, do it.
The thing is and it's a reminder, man, the preseason can be a lie. I mean so often is, but it can be a lie in the in the opposite direction too, because I believe all the reporters and the way that Rabel talked and the coaches, it wasn't just that Will Levis looked awful in the preseason. His training camp was reportedly awful, like he just when he was
in the joint practice. It was actually against the Vikings, so maybe they maybe they weren't too high too high on Tannehill, maybe they saw something I don't even know that like he could barely operate what was going on.
It was just he wasn't ready for it. But you do kind of forget, well, that was eight weeks ago and training camp is only four weeks long, and he's had all that time in the building to continue to get better, and the regular season is just a totally different animal than being good in practice every day too at training camp. So who knows, Maybe he's stunk at practice the last couple of weeks too. I don't even know.
And he just knows how to play. But whatever it is, everyone said Malik Willis was out dueling him every practice, practice after practice, and in the preseason when we got to see it a little bit like, oh yeah, I mean he's totally lost. And now you know, he looks as good as any rookie over the last two years in terms of his first two seas.
Wouldn't that be the bunch?
It really is wild, the the you know, the certitude that we provide, what we gave you know. Obviously Daniel Jeremiah you remember him.
Right, Yeah, he's the guy that said Darnold was the number one player in the singing him.
You better be careful with yourself. I don't know.
I don't know who outweighs who over there at the NFL at this point.
Oh I think I know. I think it's the one on the NFL Draft.
Well, then keep on keep on flapping your gums. He'll make a call. I want the guy, I want the boss. He's out, but.
The I don't remember what we were talking oh with with Okay, yeah, that was a swinging miss from dj DA.
I do remember having that.
Kind of sash. I feel bad now, you know, I do bring you know, I do? I did. I've always been mad that I didn't ask Justin Herbert if he ever brought it up that, you know, because Jeremiah is always around the Chargers that he had Herbert like ranked twentieth behind. This would be a fun question to ask behind this guy Ross Blacklock, who I you know? It was like, I don't even know if he's in the league right now.
Here's my question for you.
Do you think now this may sound like a hot take, and perhaps that's what it stands as and the hyperbole and whatever else, can you make a case when why is that quarterback playing so well? What's going on with Jared Goff? This big resurrection from this guy? I have long said, if you know my lament, you may recall I don't remember when it was eight ten years ago, that how is it possible in a world of seven billion people, we can't find thirty two people that can halfway decently play quarterback?
In pro football.
I think it's largely been solved QB saturation injuries aside, the injuries happened, But there are thirty to thirty five guys that you could throw in there. I suspect though, they're like, how come that guy in the fourth round worked out when the first round who everybody was in on. Agree or disagree, it's not the offensive lines, not the pass catcher.
Maybe it's not even the quarterback.
The most valuable thing you can have on your team in twenty twenty three is a heady offensive coordinator. Is Ben Johnson more valuable than any any player on that Lion's roster? Maybe Kyle Shanahan. What's the voodoo he can make Brock Purty work? And people say, hey, don't kidknop
brock Purdy. You don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, I mean I can kind of take some shots at brock Purdy when every other guy who's ever played for Kyle Shanahan is good too, Right, I mean you see what I'm getting at.
Respond.
I guess I disagree because I They'll still think that eight to ten quarterbacks that maybe transcend that are more valuable. Now, No, eight to ten, three to six at tops Lamar. You know, okay, I would even you.
Know, we've already seen Lamar can't do it if he now he's Lamar Is, I mean he transcends it. I mean, how many of these coordinators make that big a difference. You might be a difference as Joe Burrow or Josh Allen.
Here's the thing, Tim Kelly is not one of those guys. Do you know who Tim Kelly is? He's the offensive coordinator in the play caller. Nobody knows who Tim Kelly is. But I can see right off the bat, Will Levis is a dude. And actually you could see Ryan Tannaan when he got to Tennessee and kind of matured in his career. He was enough of a dude that the play action scheme they ran helped him look like statistically EPA wise the top five quarterback link. No one believed that,
but he was good enough. And so that's that, to me, is still more valuable than there's only so many of these great play colors.
I don't know, I guess there are only so many of those qbs that are actual drivers who overcome mediocrity around them.
Everybody else is sold as being that.
But they're only you know three maybe you know you could boil it down to Mahomes in Burrow and Josh Allen, is you crazy?
Howie long Allen, Jalen Hurts whatever? Uh.
I'd even throw those names you just throwed, would not? You could not just plug them into any team.
No, But if they're in a good system with a good enough coach, then then they'll be Then they'll be a difference maker. I think that the Titans have a chance. I'm not putting him there either. I think another problem people do is like all the people just assume after two games, okay, like we were right about Levis and you guys are wrong about Bryce Younger this year, Like, okay, let's give it a little bit of time, but he
looks like a dude who's gonna be around. I feel pretty confident after two weeks of that, and that's great news. I'm not giving up in this Titans team. Quietly. Their offensive line has been better this year. They improve from catastrophically bad for the last two to three years. And I've been saying this this year, like if you watch the Titans game, they're actually just like okay, or maybe
even slightly below average. Or maybe average. I don't know, but it's it's huge when you go from the worst in the league to like, okay, it gives you a chance to grow. Nucas playing pretty well. I like the way Derrick Henry ran. They're like, they're a receiver short, They're a little short, they're deep. Isn't quite good enough for a defensive minded head coach, and they've put a lot of resources there, so they probably won't get it done.
But their schedule is very easy, and they're the Titans, so I think they sell that encourage and I think they might be in the mix here by the end.
I think that's true, and that has a lot to do with the mediocrity around them. I mean, you think about the AFC North and all those games still upcoming between each other. Obviously they're going to cannibalize each other, so that's going to knock them down. Who are you, I mean the Jags. You know, the Jags are the team that legitimizes the South. Potentially they may end up with a number.
Of Jags are a real team, Jackson.
I agree, I'm not knocking them.
I'm saying, but you know, the Texans are are fun, but are they definitely going to play out the rest of the season here and be a threat week in and week out.
Maybe not.
I bet there's a there's a chance for the Titans, to your point, with an easy schedule to be a factor. We thought in August, I assume you would have when you looked at the AFC. I said, more hyperbole, possibly from Dave, but I said, I don't think in the Super Bowl era there has been as loaded a conference
top to bottom. I don't mean high end teams. I mean one through sixteen that you would look at and say like, well, definitely that team, and that that you could cobble together a list of four teams that definitely weren't going to the playoffs. There were so many good teams that you thought had a chance, and now even five six weeks and you were like, that team is
not nearly as good as I thought they were. And so based on the sea of mediocrity in which all these teams have ended up swimming in, I don't you know, Steelers are fine, Browns may get in. You know, Chargers I have I have a hunch, Well, this is a big one, almost an elimination game in New York.
This weekend right between Zach.
Wilson and that.
But all right, well you better get red hot after that if you're either one of those teams when you have to play the Bills and Dolphins again, or if you're the Larder you still have the Chiefs and you know the Broncos are playing a wee bit better.
Absolutely, at the Titans have are only a negative twelve point differential in the year that Steelers are negative thirty the Titans. There's nothing better as a fan than feeling like, ooh, we might have a quarterback. I don't think the Steelers fans feel that way after too. You think that one
consolation for the Titans they lost the game. But I feel if I was a Titans fan, I would be if I was justin Graver, the old Grave Digger, I'd be very excited about the future and maybe even this season they could.
Make Grave Digger was a nice person. He's still alive, but.
Yeah, celebrating Texas Rangers winning the World Series. He's over there working at Fox and he's covering it live, sees his team win it live. It was like my first Super Bowl when I saw Randy Moss catch the game winning touchdown with just over two minutes to go to cap off the first undefeated season in NFL history for the Patriots. I want to wait, wait, let's get back to it.
Let's get back to that in one second.
The one thing I want to say to the Titans fans and any football fan if the game didn't go your way on Thursday night, or even if you're a Steelers fan and feeling frustrated, because this is the way you have to say even after a loss, like Dave Matt Cannada is nay good, dude, they got fired at Dave Tomlin. The standard ain't the standard, nay more. We don't win no playoff games, ny more, all that kind of stuff. But you know, we all just bore witness
to history. Eight v eight Kenny Pickett or number eight against Will Levis Number eight. Now, of course, not enough to replace the all time greatest eight quarterback versus eight quarterback matchup, Aikman versus Steve Young, but this is still noteworthy.
Maybe we'll look back.
On this one in decade, in a decade from now and say, you know, what's time to amend the Aikman Steve Young thing. You know, so we saw a little bit of history. But now, speaking of history, what do you think about the Patriots maybe trading Bill Belichick to who?
You haven't heard that.
That's the rumor this week is at the end of the season, they're gonna trade him to the Washington comedies.
I mean, what do you think that's where Lombardi ended his career. I hope that doesn't happen for Belichick. I remember Lombardy was mediocre and then more or less. I gotta check, I gotta check the facts. But yeah, I think he almost kind of died on the job, like he quit and like it wasn't going you know, it wasn't going well. Yeah, it's unceremonious. I wouldn't want to see that happen, but it's pain good for you.
I like you.
That's that you're a man of loyalty and honor, and you wouldn't because a lot. I'm sure you've heard Patriots fans. They're not very happy at all about what's going on. I think the big winner, do you agree with this? The big winner of the last three years and this season for sure, is Tom Brady because now it's just been laid bare. The debate that went on for at least the last fifteen years. Like who's what do you
think tom Brady or Belichick? Belichick or Tom Brady. It's pretty obvious that the guy left went to play for Bruce Arians in Florida somewhere, got drunk in his mid forties, and won the Super Bowl, while Bill Belichick's scuffles along. Funny how, I'm not saying he's a bad coach, and I certainly think that these people in New England saying, like, man, maybe it's time for the old man to move on. He gets as much rope as he wants. He delivered you all those Super Bowls.
He writes his own ticket, right, I'm with that. I agree, and I've never liked that argument. Of course, it's the player that matters more, but it's the combination, and they were a beautiful combination. And yeah, I do like Bomani Jones's take that, like he did win a Super Bowl without Tom Brady. It was Tom Brady's second year in the league, when Tom Brady was like the twenty second best quarterback in the and I was like, that's a good.
Point, nah, But then that goes back to where we started twenty or thirty minutes ago. That when your quarterback, when you find the guy and he's still on his rookie deal, now you're in the sweet spot. Do you know the boss that even in the age of Tom Brady over the last I forget what the number is. I think it's since the start of the millennium. If I counted this right. You know, I'm not a numbers guy,
but I think I counted this right. I think it's forty nine or fifty one percent of all Super Bowl starting qbs were on their rookie deals over in the last twenty three to twenty four super Bowls. I mean, that's in the age of Brady, when he was going to Super Bowls in his fifteenth year and whatever. So that's going to offset those skew those numbers in favor of the Vets anyway, and despite that half the QBS,
it's inarguable that that's where you want to be. Obviously, the trick is to actually have the guy and not try to delude yourself into thinking because you used the first round pick on.
Him, we got to make him work. At year four, we're sticking with it.
I mean, okay, there's Matthew Stafford just won the Super Bowl Patrick Mahomes just won the suit. I don't know. You can't tell me. It's a disadvantage to have like one of the best quarterbacks no matter what you're paying them. Jalen Hurts didn't win it last year, but he played well enough it. You just need a great quarterback.
Okay, I'm trying to work.
Why can't And by the way, Vince Lombardi, God rest his soul. One of the greatest ever, maybe the greatest. Oh, I have another hot tak. I haven't talked to that whole run with the Packers. He was emotionally exhausted. He sat out one year. He couldn't stay on the sideline. So he went to Washington and he went seven five.
And who knows his history, good for I'm checking it.
He went to Washington, went seven to five and two. Well, the part that I was checking on, unfortunately, was the circumstances surrounding his death. And I believe he only coached that one year and had to step down because he got cancer. And he did passed right, But.
He was that People think he just yeah, he just walked.
He walked off the field at the Orange Bowl after Super Bowl two, after vanquishing Daryl Lamonica and company and and went off into the sunset. In fact, as you point out, yes, people don't know that extra chapter of his coaching life. You know what, while we're talking about Washington, I have one more hot take.
I want to tell you real quick.
Proving hands is so right here.
I want to do. That's what I want to do.
I'm having a good time. I heard we're going till dawn.
We're settle in.
Man, we got like six eight hours to go till sun up. Now listen, dig this. Here's my big one Belichick. Who is he the best? Don Shula overrated? Our pal handsome Hank Hodgson will agree with that. The diehard Dolphins fan boy. What a wonderful I'm.
Not accepting this as a premise. He's not overrated.
Yeah he is.
Let me tell you why he Okay, he makes the paradigm shift from we're a run team, we're a run team at Zonka and Mercury Morris and Jim Kick and Bob Greasy is the most the most fraudulent, the most fraudulent Hall of Famer that exists. And when people like Eli Manning better not get into the Hall of Fame, and so on whenever people saw many names like Bob Greasey's in the Hall of Fame. He threw five passes in a playoff game and what were we talking about?
I think he threw four passes in a full playoff game once. Talk about a passenger. Anyhow, he had Marino for all those years, got the one Super Bowl with him because he blew the personnel side of it. But anyway, Bill Walsh is the real deal. And there you know, it's the best Super Bowl coach. Joe Gibbs, that's it. He's the only one who did it with non Hall of famers, and.
He did it three times.
Yeah, that's amazing, right, And then he went to a completely different sport that most of the football populist doesn't care about, but built like a dominant franchise as dominant in that entirely different sport, which to me, I'm no NASCAR expert. My son likes it, and it's like that's I think that just proves what a great coach he is. Anyone that could possibly have pulled that off and then done it in another it's like it's un isn't it crazy?
The week that Bob Knight passes away, I knew this, and I'd forgotten. Nobody was brought up in all the memorials to Bob Knight, but Bill Parcells was on Bob Knight's army basketball coaching staff. That's wild, right, But you know Bo Jackson, I mean, Joe Gibbs is Bo Jackson of coaching. To your to your point right, I mean he left the highest level of football and went over and did stock car racing and then and then took that over too.
That's amazing he did.
I mean he won a Super Bowl with Mark Rippin and with Doug Williams and with Joe thisman three times. He did that, four super bowls in what was that nine ten years?
Remarkable. He loaded it NFC.
Return, you know, to the Washington team and go to the playoffs, I believe with Mark Brunel. I don't know if anyone remembers that, but.
I do remember that. You're right.
Good for you.
I thought that you picked up on football around like two thousand two.
But good for that. Look, well, that is that's past that. I I was always a fan, but it wasn't my job. Now now we get paid to just honk and make my family yell at me for being too loud. Late.
Now your time to keep it down for the For the next seven and a half hours, we're gonna we're gonna whisper because it's nighttime now.
Dave Danisek is the host of the Minus three podcast. They've Got a fun a little like fifteen minute pregame at four pm on Fridays. What is that? You got the extra points? It's part of the extra points you got. You got a lot cooking over there. You got our old friend from NFL Media, Eddie Spaghetti with you. It's a lot of that.
He's Eddie Spaghetti is in his usual spot behind the glass, chiming in as as he's wont to do. And Kevin Hanch very funny, deeply knowledgeable sports.
Fan, big comedy writer and all that. But but.
iHeart Boston sports fans. My Patriots based opinions have been are well worn. If you listen to Minus three, I'm throwing some of those at you, But yeah, listen.
With all the responss of your opinions eventually become well worn. The good ones, the good ones, you got to reuse them. This was you know, your old friend Emma would always point that out from her favorite times of the year when you'd bring out the old.
That's right, yeah, most overused bits. I think she called it all right.
Listen, I have three or four thoughts in my head and I've I've leaned on them for the last three decades. It's it's worked out halfway decently. But yes, it occurs to me. It did occur to me over summer. I don't know who decided that pregame shows needed to be more than a half hour, and then they went to an hour, and then they went to three hours and the four hours, and now they're all about like and I.
Like the feel good story.
You know, you know me, Dave one of the great impaths of society. I like to hear people's nice stories and their journeys about like.
He may be a superstar now, but he was born without a head.
And then you know, like you hear those stories and they feel good and the nice music.
I love it.
I just don't need them right before the game. Tell me those on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Before the game, just tell me who's gonna win by how much, who's gonna have a good game.
We do it all in fifteen minutes.
Then you can get out the door and Live Your Life fifteen minutes the minus three pregame show. It's a breeze, lots of fun. It's a little bit if you're old school enough, it's a little bit like the Shame Report projecting ahead for the week over fifteen good times.
I did love the same report, and I like that idea that it's quick. We don't need all the time. I mean, I'm glad that the pregame shows are keeping a lot of our friends, and yeah, this industry happy. That's fine, but I'm with you. I need it to be sure for newer listeners of the show, and I find more and more. It's crazy, you know. Of course it happens. Listeners drop off, new listeners, come on. I've been told by many listeners, like they started listening after
Wes was on the show. Like, of course we haven't some plenty of new listeners. It's been a few years. That sort of blows my mind. But we love hearing about him and learning that you know and and stuff like that. And it's like, so people might not know, you know that the first the very first iteration was the atl Debate club Mark Sessler. Dan hansis on the back of the Dave Danischek football.
Flames because they break out the flame throwers. The flames would make the scene flame on.
You know.
So we owe a debt to Dave, but not just for that, just for his friendship and helping the whole thing go at the NFL. And now over with the Minus three podcasts, it's been it's been a pleasure. It's been a thin slice of heaven.
David, all right, I guess we can. We'll do this in parts, but we are going to be an hour.
We can just keep talking after. But this is the time to hit the music. Randy, let's go.
For d talk more. You better get in soon or else I'm gonna start going.
It's been fun. Titans, Steelers. They gave us a good game. They gave us a lot to talk about. Dan was right, We're always gonna find a lot to talk about.
Sunday seven and three and get them Brownie heap the call.
H h