And now move the sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
What's up everybody? Welcome to move the stacks, DJ, Bucky Rhett with you. As we look back at a I would say, interesting slate of week ten games. Buck, How are you doing today?
Man? Man, I'm great, I am great. Just getting back from Jacksonville. It was a fun field football festival on Sunday watching them all to the vikings. So I can't wait to comment all about it.
No, Indiana have forret today.
By the way, We're on a byeway next week, so start on a bye week. So yeah, ten and zero. Just feeling feeling good and we'll bring that. We'll bring that back ahead of Ohio State week, don't you worry.
I will say this the if we you know, the the late Windows slate needs to take a page out of the Early Windows Slate's book. I mean, because well it was kind of a snoozer there with those late afternoon games, but the early window we had five of seven games decided by one score and then six if you go back to the ot thriller in Munich, right with the Giants and Panthers and all of a sudden, Bryce Young's a winner and back to back weeks like let's go.
We've got a week here.
Boy.
By the way, great incentive for folks to stick around for the end of the show because that'll be the last game we talked about Giants Panthers. Let's start off at the first game we're gonna get into, which is Detroit Houston the Sunday Night or the Turnover Fest.
Buck.
I got a chance to the second half of this one. I was actually called me when I was driving home and we were talking about all the turnovers that were taking place in this game. I mean, I think we start there. It's a gritty, gutty win for the Lions. But just your take on all the mishaps in this one.
Yeah, Well, I'm glad that during my Misseason Awards I didn't go too hard for Jered Goff being MVP because the five interception turnover Fests just kind of crushed that. The visual the optics of seeing him turn the ball over time and time again certainly won't help him when it comes to that, but I think what it does for us is it allows us to see how good the Lions are. You talk about interceptions from your franchise quarterback. And even though one of those was a hail mary,
most teams can't overcome that. The fact that they were able to do it and really do it in resounding fashion in the second half. That only speaks about the grit and the resiliency and all the toughness that we talked about with the Lions, but their ability to bounce back, find different ways on offense to create scoring opportunities, and then their defense being able to step it, step up, and step it up. Man, this team has all the makings of being the best team in the league.
Yeah, and again, major credit to them for holding on, right, for just holding on every time felt like you know you might find something. Bang, another turnover happened, and look, two of them were tips, right, and one was a hail mary. But still seeing that number is shocking, right, It's shocking to see a quarterback that had been the most efficient quarterback in football all of a sudden start
turning it over that way. I mean, I think the last one was probably the worst one that he was trying to throw to Jamison Williams that ends up getting caught way downfield.
But the thing that I'm I'm moost.
Curious about is is where this this Texans offense has gone. Where the consistency has gone there? And I get it. They've had receivers kind of shuffling in and out of the lineup. Thought maybe Nico Collins was going to be back this week. I couldn't quite get activated with the hamstring injury. You know, Stephan Diggs now out for the year. But I think the one thing that's kind of interesting to me is just how much this Texans team needs the run game to find success this year, which wasn't
necessarily the case. I mean, like they got a good year at a Devin Singletary year ago. Man Joe Mixon was bottled up in this game. Alee McNeil was fantastic on the interior, he was in the backfield all day long, but they couldn't get Joe Mixon going, and so then it just felt like the whole thing was out of sync.
And CJ.
Straw was under pressure a bunch as he has been this season. So they got to figure some things out here on offense for the Houston Texans team.
This one's for Rhett Buck because Rhett loves it when I take lyrics of songs and adapt them to the NFL, and I'm watching watch and the cutups from that, and all I could think of was, Laremie missed and pass pro today.
Oh yeah, J yeah, I gotcha.
Oh my god, I mean, thank you, thank you. I just needed the curus left. You were in high school? Uh? What happened to Laramie Tunsel? Right? This is your team that you follow, You've got this is the family affair? What the heck happened to him? He was one of the best tackles in the NFL.
So he's definitely been nicked up this year. I don't know how bad it's been. I don't know how much of it is is a product of what we're seeing out on the field right now. But when your best guy is having struggles the way that that Tunsil is, it certainly filters through. And they made some changes along the offensive line, moved Juice Scrugs over the left guard.
And then it made a change at center there.
Too, So they've had trouble across the board, it's felt like at different times throughout this season, along the offensive line. But that is a that is a that is probably the most alarming thing, is right when a player like that is a big piece of the struggles a mirror when CJ. Stroud can't just can't you know, can't count on it, right, that's trouble.
Yeah, that's not good. But again, Gutsy went I. I was glad you guys mentioned the makeup of those interceptions as someone who I'm quite certain still holds the San Diego County record for interceptions in one ball game. Six. By the way, if you're if you're counting at home, how do you have five or six interception games? Here's
how you have them. You have them as I did, which was like an interception on a Hailmary at the end of the half, a fourth and fourth and goal interception at the end of the game, a couple tips like they start adding up when all that weird stuff starts happening. It wasn't quite as bad when I watch the golf cutups as I thought it might be, just looking at the stat line. And then he made the throws at the end of the game when they needed
so a big win for the Detroit Lions. Uh, let's stay you know, I think about Detroit in the NFC, A team that's that's not far behind them on their heels is Philly, who's playing really good ball right now against the Dallas Cowboys team that I don't know that we need to spend enough time. I think we already had a funeral for them. I don't really care to even Yeah.
Some cowboys on there, misery loves company.
It's over, So we don't need to talk much on that side of it. But I do want to talk on the on the Philly side of it, and Buck, I'll get over to you on this one. Hurts seven carries, fifty six yards, two touchdowns.
Yeah.
I just think this is like an underappreciated thing in the NFL right now. Derrick Henry is the only runner in the NFL with more touchdowns this year than Jalen Hurts. He's got ten touchdowns. He's going to put up fifteen rushing touchdowns every single year. And if we're gonna you know, you go and look at him. There's third and two scramble first down in this game. You know, I just get the push push, you get a scramble with Lane being able to clear some space for him and gets
a nice run. They run QB power in the red zone like it is a major asset to have a quarterback that you can do this with. It feels like as a high school coach and when I wanted to actually this buck they can kind of play a high school brand of football with Jalen Hurts.
They absolutely can. And I give them credit because Kellen Moore has I would say, evolved Jalen hurts game even more when you think about when he first kind of rose to prominence, it was really in the collegiate system. They're running quarterback powers and counters and those things. We're seeing less of that and more of the traditional pro style offense with a smattering of Jalen Hurst's special plays mixed in there. But this offense has so many weapons.
They have so much firepower. You think about Barkley, the two wide receivers on the outside, AJ Brown and Devonte Smith. Dallas gotta get to control of the middle offensive line.
They really can win in a variety of ways. And I know we've kind of penciled in the Detroit Lions as the class of the NFC, but as this team is trending, by season's in, we might be talking about the Philadelphia Eagles being the best team in the NFC and the team that's most likely to challenge in the Super Bowl because they have all the piece of theopozzals, particularly on offense.
This is how they did it right, This is this was their blueprint two years ago. Right, they were a grinded out, I mean, not so grinding. They could still make, you know, make their head in the pass game, but like they were definitely you know, finding production on the ground one hundred and eighty seven yards in this game.
You know, hert said fifty six of them, as you mentioned, DJ, but Saquon.
Barkley still does his part with sixty six and I just feel like that gives them so much more.
A wider pathway right to victory.
And it just feels like it with these Nick Sirianni teams when they found success early in his tenure there in Philly, they were a force to be reckoned with on the ground. Saquon Barkley has brought that back. And then Jalen Hurts with that piece. I mean, the fact that he's got ten touchdowns this year to count on, you know, sixty points from your quarterback on the ground over the course of the first ten games is a
pretty good deal right there. And obviously still a lot left to go here, So that piece of it I think is big. I think on the flip side, you know, also coming back to you on this DJ with the Cowboys, you know, Michael Parsons, you know you had the Ceedee Lambs Sunshine issue with the windows. You had Michael Parsons kind of saying, you know, I played for Zach Martin, not necessarily for Mike McCarthy. I know, we're not gonna spend a lot of time on the Cowboys.
Man.
It is like everywhere you look, there's a problem, quarterback, problem, head coach, problem, star players, you know, with comments that way.
Yeah, problem, Yeah. I don't know how you come back from that.
Well.
I was just brought back to a conversation I had just kind of milling around the team out there at training camp and talking to some folks, you know, some inside the organization and others just that are dialed in with the team out of training camp, and a theme kind of emerged because if you remember, at that time, we have no Dak Prescott deal, Ceedee Lamb's not there, and then there's the Mica contract that's kind of looming, and it came up in conversation with everyone. It was
pretty consistent they'll get Dack done. That'll happen. They're not going to let Dak leave. He'll get that done. Ceedee lamb. That's that's just a matter of time. They'll figure that out. And Micah Parsons I got a lot of that's interesting. I will see. We'll see on that one, you know.
And I was just kind of like, I mean, this is a darn good player, but I don't know, you know, it's it's it's getting to the point now where where this team is this year, they have to make the decision and and Buck, you can put a bow on this for us, and I think that we would all agree it's probably going to be it for Mike McCarthy after this year's over. That's why I don't really want to spend much time on what you know, players and Mike or wherever. Think of Mike McCarthy. I think that's over.
But what is going to be the next step for them is what's the real Cowboys? Is it the team that's that's had these twelve win seasons or did they fall off the cliff? And this is where they are in reality right now? This team, So are we going to sell off some assets and maybe try and go to the bottom to get back up to the time. Are we just are we going to be arrogant and say we're the Dallas Cowboys. We don't ever do that,
and we're just gonna pretend everything's fine. We get right back up to being a double digit winning team next year with a different coach. I mean, that's the decision they've got to make. Buck.
Yeah, the decision they have to make is not only like personnel wise, I think before you even do that, I think you got to figure out what is the culture of this team. And I know that's the buzzword that people get tired of. It is thrown out there. But honestly, Michael Parsons gave exhibit A on bad culture because some of those comments they should be internal. They should never hit our ears when you're talking about what you think about your coach, what you think about winning
for your teammates, and those things. Because what he did is he basically just smudged all the things that Mike McCarthy has accomplished throughout his career. In his time in Dallas. You talked about three twelve wins seasons DJ last year. We can go back and look, they probably overachieved to get the twelve wins and we can talk about the
debacle that was the playoffs. I don't know how good this team is, but for Micah Parsons, the big thing is when the next coach or the next whoever's in charge comes in, they gotta determine is the juice worth the squeeze. He's a phenomenal player, but he's also, in my mind, a distracted player when you think about the podcast and all the other stuff that's kind of around him.
Everybody loves the personality. Everybody can respect outspokenness, but when it comes at the expense of the team, it's problematic. The Cowboys have to decide who they are and they have to build it from inside out. When it comes to the culture, then find the players that fit that. We'll see if number eleven is a big fit. I love the production. I just don't know if it's some stuff you can build around.
Yeah, I'm gonna get to I'm gonna tease the conversation we're gonna have coming up a little bit later on, because I do. We're gonna look at one team that's got a collective pass rush, and it got me thinking, and it's an interesting conversation, talk about these elite, elite, elite guys, these elite individual players. A lot of teams in this league are winning with a collection of good and not an individual great. I want to have that conversation later, which you know, we'll kind of pick up
where we left off here. All right, let's flush this conversation. Let's get to another game here with them, since and the new coach.
I know where you're going.
I decide what we're talking about. I don't want to talk about that. I had too. Twenty to seventeen the Saints team that I had seen in person, that will look terrible. I mean, I've seen some bad teams this year in person, and I'm sure Bucky has as well. But uh man, that's that's a good win for them against the Atlanta Falcons twenty to seventeen. Derek Carr as an efficient day, plays well, they get Darren Rizzio wins, so good, good story for him, good for for that team,
that organization. After you know, kind of what's been a tumultuous a few weeks here as they've been playing some some rough ball RTT. I want to get to you on the Saints side of things. But before we do that, I'm gonna I'm gonna give you my first saucy now a right, ready, we're ready for a saucy no, yeah yeah. Atlanta Falcons, guys, what is the same conversation we have with this team every single spring we do draft shows together.
We've been doing them together for us forever. We have passh okay, okas, I'm just curious, curious and this one buck They had zero sacks in this game. Oh okay, interesting, how are you out this year? Nine? Oh, they've got nine sacks and we're in week ten of the season. Grady Jarrett Rhett is leading them with two and a half sacks. Matt Judon has one and a half. It
is amazing to me. This might be the I don't know if a team that's had a specific issue non quarterback related, that they have been unable to solve, like the Atlanta Falcons in this past rush. It is bizarre to me that they can't figure that out.
Rhet that's right. What was it two years ago?
Went and got Arnold Wakatie out of Penn State in the second round. Man, you gotta go back to Vic Beasley. You know who has a one year wonder out of Clenson as a first round pick. Was that almost ten years ago now, and it's been a problem ever since. And I mean, look, give the credit for going trying to go get met Judon and make happened. I mean, they clearly understand the problem. But there needs to be
a you know, a bigger fixed there, right. I mean I think you know, you could obviously look at this year's draft and say, yeah, sure Jared Verse would have helped, or sure Dallas Turner might have helped, or maybe lay out to a lot too, but you know, on yeah, but keep.
Moving on on that one.
But they decided to go, you know, for the future a quarterback, and certainly understand that that line.
Of thinking as well.
But for the present day Atlanta Falcons, pass rush is vital to them staying in the tournament, getting into the tournament and staying there and having a run Like it's just not gonna have it. If you can allow you know, Derek Carr to sit back there and find Mark Weisvaldez canting twice for touchdowns relatively unfettered, that that's just I don't know, I mean, you can't find it now, right, I mean we're gonna have to be talking about this again this spring.
Yeah, it's one thing that we can count on. Like the first in the fifteenth we go ahead to talk about that Falcons searching for a pass rush because this is what they're able to do, and it really doesn't matter how they try and fix it, reagency, the draft, trade, whatever it is, they haven't been able to get it done. But man, it's the most important part. When we talk about team building, we talk about quarterback, do we talk about pass rush, and you got to be able to
throw it. You got to be able to close games out. Their inability to close games out with the pass rush has kept them from achieving what many would say is like a high sealing potential. I don't know where they go because Matt Juni can do so much, but nine sacks ten games that that's not good enough to get it done. And it'll never be good enough to get it done if you can't get back again.
We You know, it's interesting too when you look at that because they also drafted Zach Harrison right out of Ohio State, who was a very highly recruited kid up at Ohio State. Never quite lived up to the billing as one of like the next edge rusher, Bucky. You talk about this a lot like sack production in college generally translates. Well, when you don't have sack production in college, you wonder does that also then translate. I mean, because I don't know that we've seen it there from that
side either. That That's just one of those things to think about when we continue to evaluate players going into the draft this year.
Yeah, I think that's I mean, death tax is in a spring talking about the Atlanta Falcons looking for a.
Draft though it makes it easy.
They're not going to take one. They're not going to take one, but put one in there and look at comments. Look at the comments in that mock draft aren't either like they're not taking it. They'll never they won't do anyways. Anyways, we're getting I just need to get the first one. The spring is the spring is a little bit off. Let's not get too carried away, all right, We've got plenty more to get to here. Let's be patient, let's pace ourselves. And that seems to be the theme for
the Kansas City Chiefs. I don't know how, I just they find a way, They find a way to make a play the other team finds a way to not make play, but it is. It's pretty remarkable the way they were able to get to the finish line in this game sixteen to fourteen, A game that almost felt like, you know, keeping an eye on it. I was at the Charger game, put an eye on that game. I felt like, gosh, it looks like the whole game was
being played on the chief side of the field. Like the Broncos were kind of dominating the game, but you got to kick to win it, and they can't protect, and the Chiefs make a play block to kick and they go on to win the football game. But Buck, I don't know. I guess the simplest way is winners win, losers lose. I mean, that's I don't know how else to describe that one.
Look at you sounded like fifty I love it. Yeah. It Ultimately, winners do find ways to win. And the Cansita Chiefs have been in voted by the fact that they've gone back to back, they've won three out of four. They know that if they play to the end, typically the other team implows and to me is very reminiscent of the pages and how the Patriots dominated for twenty years. It wasn't so much today made these exceptional plays is they were able to be consistent, and their consistent performance
eventually translates to success. Great play at the end, though, I mean when you look at this play and the way it was broken down and how they created a two on one opportunity on the end, not the wing, but to go through there. It's the execution of things that they've probably been working on since training camp, but just doing them when it mattered the most. Just great resiliency,
great belief, great confidence. And here's the crazy thing, the more that they pulled this off, the more that the rest of the team is looking over their shoulder at the end of the games waiting for them to make a play. There's something mystical and magical about what the Kansas City Chiefs are doing, and other teams only feed into it because they can't believe that this team is always right there.
Yeah, and you know, finding ways to win I think is obviously the key phrase here for the Kansas City Chiefs. I mean, they're down right, they're down fourteen to three in the second quarter, are going into the half, or rather, you know, as they come out of the second quarter there, and so like when you look at it, you look at the way in which they're finding, you know, ways
to win it. Yes, Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce seventy six touchdown ties Tony Gonzalez most all time franchise distrue, but then missed, you know, on a chance to go up by a touchdown at the end of the game, in which allowed the Broncos the opportunity to come down and kickwoo would have been a game winning field goal.
But again, like they held the Broncos scoreless.
In the second half, this team just plays complimentary football and like we talk about that a lot offense. Defense, you throw special teams in there when you're blocking kicks that way, man, especially chip shots.
Like that thirty five yarders glorified extra point.
So I just think, you know, yeah, you do understand what it takes to win football games. This team knows that better than anybody, and they keep showing up and showing you know that there are numerous ways that they can do it, and credit to them, and you know they'll keep it rolling, you know, until somebody could find a way.
But right now, man, the Chiefs team is pretty dam impressive.
Now We've made those comps with the early Patriots Super Bowl teams with this version of the Chiefs like a bunch. So you have twenty eight completions for Mahomes in this game, twenty to running backs and tight ends, twenty at the twenty eight the tight ends and running backs like it is a check down fest. It is a you know play it for you know field position, and it is bizarre how this team is doing it. I mean, I
give Andy Reid all the credit in the world. He's not chasing stats, he's chasing wins, and they're figuring out a formula to get it done. I do want to give bo Nick some love on the other side of it. Went through and watched him this morning and on the heels and we'll get to the Chicago mess in a
little bit. But you know, watching that back to back with with Caleb Williams, there's a confidence in trusting what he's seeing with Bonix, and I think he's in a good place With Sean Payton, He's attacking when he can attack. There's his feeder in the ground. He doesn't look as jittery as when I saw him in person a month ago. He's getting more confident and more comfortable, and the ball's coming out well and he's making plays, so I'd be encouraged.
I know they're five and five and disappointed they didn't get that kick to win this game, But on a big picture scale, I think you're seeing Bonnix just get better and better, which is a great sign for Denver and it's a great sign for their future. So some good news there for the Denver Broncos. Let's keep going through the AFC. If we're going to have the Chiefs is the favorite right now, I think Buffalo's right behind them. Guys. Buffalo gets a win over Indy Buckets thirty to twenty.
It's the best start to season since nineteen ninety three. Were you on that team? You weren't on that team, buck What year were you there?
It was you before he got the ninety four four.
Yes, I knew I was right around your time. I know that I was right around your time. But this is where I want to have this discussion. We can get into this game if you want to, but I thought this was a more fascinating discussion. I was going through and watching all their pressures this morning. Von Miller is doing his thing you've got Oliver on the inside. He's getting pressure. Greg Orusso is playing his butt off.
I mean, I think he's got maybe five and a half sacks or some of his pressure reel every week. He's just getting all kinds of pressure. Epanessa has been really good. Da Kwan Jones was getting some pressure inside. And that's where what I was alluding to earlier, Buck, which is, you know, I see Max Crosby's unbelievable, but their team's not very good right now. Miles Garrett is
a freak. Their team's not very good right now. But when I look at teams like Kansas City and not, Chris Jones is great, but that is a still they all kind of do their part in that front with those guys you think about here with the Buffalo Bills, all those names that I just mentioned Detroit now, especially without Aiden Hutchinson there, that's going to be a collective group effort. You can look around at a lot of
these top teams. The Philadelphia Eagles have just a bunch of different guys that can kind of win inside and outside. There's no like central focal point is what I'm getting at, And I just wonder if it's like we used to say with the offensive line, you're as strong as your weakest link. You'd rather have five goods than you know, one great, a couple of averages in a bad I think we could almost almost have that same conversation on the defensive front right now.
Yeah, So it sounds like you would rather have a bunch of b's and B pluses than one A or A plus on that front line. And what the Buffalo Bills are doing is they are wearing you down in waves. And it's funny because it's not only them you talked about some of the other teams. I think it was also probably some of the motivation for the Pittsburgh still is to go and get Preston Smith to complete a rotation that they had. I mean, and that's not like that like TJ.
Watt's unbelievable, But that's Cam Hayward, that's TJ. Watt, that's high Smith. Now you throw it like yeah, like these teams that are good have more than one guy that can do it.
Yeah, so they have more than one pitch of the thing. And so the Buffalo Bills are interesting because I think they've leaned all the way into the blue collar mentality of the city. This is a blue collar team. Sean McDermott back against the wall, people were talking about, hey, man, if they don't get this done, like, hey, how much longer on this McDermott thing. And I think they've just put the nose to the grindstone, found a way to
just outwork and wear people down. And here you are talking about the Buffalo Bills, putting them their best record since ninety three. Nobody had this on the BEINGO card that the Bills would be this good. But pass off to them, and you're right, this black Commedy situation with their pass rush has certainly helped him become one the dominant teams in the AFC.
And then just taking a quick look at what the Colts are doing.
You know, the Texans keep are keeping the teams in it right there, and the keeping the Colts in it in the AFC South. You know, the Colts are sitting there four and six, they're only two games back. But at what point are you going to look at this thing and say, Okay, you know, Joe Flacco is not giving us what we thought he was going to give us,
and how long can we stick with that? And now we're YoY going back and forth quarterbacks here and in a way in which we have a chance to be competitive and find ourselves in a playoff spot.
But we're kind of going back and forth on the quarterback.
Look there, there's team commit at least until Shane Stiken says so that Joe Flacco is going to be the quarterback. I mean, are you confident that they can get it turned around? You know, helping Michael Pittman's back out there. You know they can get some guys healthy there too. But man, you can't keep turning and over and expect to stay competitive as you go down the stretch here.
Yeah, I haven't they been swept by Houston?
And I make that up.
The Colts. Have they played them twice already or just once already? Yeah, they were, they were swept. They got swept by them. So that's a three game lead, So it's they still got a long way to a long way to guns with that. To put it to kind of put a bow though, I'll give you a little saucy nug to wrap up a buffalo INDI here we talked about earlier. The Falcons have nine sacks this season. The Bills have twelve players with at least a sack.
I mean, that's that's uh, that's pretty nuts. They are getting home with a lot of different players, so they're doing a great job as a collective pass. Rush Buck. You you mentioned there with Pittsburgh Washington, uh, talking about the Steelers things, Rhett, is there anything you would add on this game that, you know, look, the Steelers end up getting a twenty eight twenty seven win, anything else besides obviously what we're talking about.
Right, Tomlin cooking, like Tomlin cooking, I mean, like just you know, obviously the decision to put Russell Wilson in while your team was winning, you know, obviously still looms large. He's undefeated as a starting quarterback. The one thing that we talked about here on the move the sticks pod, right was you know, the moon ball from Russell to Mike Williams. And sure enough his first catches a Steelers exactly in Morner in.
A big in a big spot for Pittsburgh. I mean, take your victory lap on that one. But there it is.
Bang, you know, got that done. And then you know, like I loved his response to to all right, were you really going to go for it on fourth? And one at the end of the game. I guess we'll never know.
But I don't know.
I mean, that was you know, that was a you know, a head coach saying, hey, let's give it a shot. Man, let's just go try to draw them off sides. If it doesn't work, fine, we'll punt it away whatever. But then it does work. And Neil vegga genius and poor rookie Jerson Newton, you know, that's a tough one. That's a tough spot. He knew right away, obviously everybody did. They're all laughing the Steelers like.
We got it.
I think they might have gone for it. I don't know.
I just this Steelers team feels like, you know, they're they're almost like they're a little bit less explosive, but they're kind of like the AFC version of the Lions. You know, They've got some of that grit to it, some of that toughness. They find ways to win there and they're getting it done. So credit to Mike Tomlin.
Yeah, credit to Mike Tomlin. But let's credit him for the quarterback decision that all of us were like, man, why change it was such a good thing. Going with Justin Fields but Russell Wilson has already and I saw this like I mean, it won't be a saucy nug, but I put it out there. They're already saying that Russell Wilson has more touchdown passes than any quarterback it has been Roethlisberger retired in three games, he has more than every other quarterback that is played a position. But
the stillers is big Ben retired. That's bananas in three games that he's already done that. And when you look at the Stellers offense with him at quarterback, the deep ball has come back. I see a happier George Pickens, I see Mike Williams making dramatic catches, and it's opened up this offense in a way that it wasn't wide
open with Justin Fields. Credit to Mike Tomlin for being a coach who was not afraid to step into I would say a controversial decision, but it appears that has made his team a team that went from being a playoff contender. Maybe they're able to push and go a little deeper into postseason because they got a quarterback they can close games out in the fourth quarter.
Somebody that has that has more time can go through this whole thing. But it would be fun to compare this iteration of the Steelers to the old one, because I'm already thinking, off the top of my head, you've got big Ben, little Russ, so we can start right there. You can also that come with You've got you've got angry Harrison, happy Watt. Like there's there's a there's like a lot of guys at these same positions that might come in different shape, sizes, personalities, but they're all like
the DNA is still the same. It was what we said about was what we said about with Russ when he went to Pittsburgh, was like, yeah, this is this is when they're good. It's it's it's a defense, it's controlling the game and then when Ben needs to make two or three Ben plays, he makes those plays, but win the game. This is what's exactly what Russ is doing. It's the exact same formula for those great Steeler teams.
And I don't think anybody I mean, I know people have talked about the quarterback thing, but I just feel like we're talking about Super Bowl contenders and who are the top teams? Like I don't even think people even mention this team, and I know when I've saw him, I saw him up close in seeing them in person this year. I buck have the Jags played the Steelers this year?
Uh No, thank good? Okay.
I mean, I'm just telling you when you go out there and then you look onto the field and you see high Smith, and then you see T. J. Watt, and then you see Cam Hayward and then they've got her big like they're they're a count of bent. Was their nightmare to block man?
Like?
They are really good up front.
Yeah. I think the thing about the still is they know who they are now, and I think and knowing who they are, they understand how to play to their identity. And it's that pretty. It's not sexy, it doesn't get a lot of clicks, but it's one of the ways that they are able to consistently win. They play to their strengths and they don't worry about what it looks like on the outside.
Yeah. No, it's one hundred percent of who they are. All right, Let's let's swing back over to the NFC San Francisco Tampa Bay A good game, right was referencing all these good games earlier in that early early window here twenty three to twenty the Niners end up getting a win. Now, look, I think you can find a lot to be encouraged about both sides of this thing. But I would think we buck don't. We have to give brock Purty some love first and foremost with the way he played in this ball game.
Absolutely, you have to give him love because even though you know the return of CMC is going to be celebrated, and some other things that you talked about in the game, rock Purdy being able to kind of shake off some questionable performances of Lady to be able to play the way that he played. You talk about this guy being able to do it because everyone always thinks it's the
supporting cast. It really makes him. But I think we have to acknowledge that Brock Pardy has some special stuff that worked within this offense, and when he plays the way that he played, this team can hang with anybody. Now, they got to fix the kicking situation because they can't keep missing multiple field goals and think that they're gonna win games. We also don't wanted to keep missing so
Debo isn't throat playing long snapper. But if they can get that part together, the San Francisco forty nine and certainly our formidable foe if you have to face him in the early rounds of the playoffs.
I think that throw is my favorite that we just saw down to Christian McCaffrey on the right sideline. There was just kind of rusher in his face, a little bit off balance. That's what those are, the kind of throws that make you go with Brock Purdy like, Okay, yeah, no, this is not just you know, wind him up in this offense and let him go like he is he is autonomous or you know, he not autonomous. He's able to kind of make some of these decisions, make these throws, these big.
Time plays on his own. He got to give him credit for that.
But the kicking thing was interesting to me, right, you know, none of these kicks were gimmis or not none of them, but most of them were, you know, deeper kicks in the forties fifty missed three of them. He was two for five when they sent him back out for the game winner, which was Jake Moody's.
Sixth field goal of the day.
And right before that, it was Debo there it is gonna yelling, hey, what are we doing? Here, like let's stop missing field goals and Taper Pepper the long snappers like you get talking to us that way like we're all due, we can here, we're trying to make it and maybe inadvertently that ended up refocusing the specialist outfie.
Look at Debot take it two for one right there.
Moody kind of caught the shrapnel off Pepper Pepper's chin, but you look it ended o moregon.
I think they're no worse for the wear with it.
And as Kyle Shanahan said, we'll go back to loving each other, you know when we get when we land, and if it's not already fixed, you know, now I'll go fix it on the plane. So I think this is kind of an interesting, you know, moment of reckoning for for the forty nine ers. They get McCaffrey back, they overcome some adversity, Purdy has a really nice game, and now let's see where this thing takes them in a very wild NFC West right Buck.
I don't know if you know this, but Antoine Randall l which took a swipe at htt for him not having a perfect hold, you know, like that was that was one of the more one of more legendary plays in Indiana history before they want to this pain run right now?
No, no, no, not not quite, not your area. It was I was, I was. I was red shirting at that point.
So I was on the sideline watching Antoine Randall l juke everybody out of their socks.
H They don't put up with that stuff with the specialist man. They don't know. You guys are not that practice the whole time. I mean, it's just, you know, it drives people nuts a little bit with that stuff. All right, well, there you go. That's a big win there for Jake Moody and the forty nine ers. All right, guys, New England Chicago. Two rookie quarterbacks, two quarterbacks headed in the opposite direction. Drake May was excellent in this game.
The numbers don't blow you away. Fifteen to twenty five a buck eighty four with touchdown a pick, but really really made some big plays, showed poise, showed command. I just thought he looked like he's, you know, just continue to get better and better. Kayleb Williams sixteen for thirty a buck twenty and I want to start. Let's start on the Caleb side of things and we'll turn around
and we'll give Drake his his love. I tweeted this out and Buck, I'll get your thoughts on it, but this was my This was my tweet that I fired off after I watched this stuff this morning. Biggest issue for Caleb Williams right now. He's playing tentative, he's not cutting it loose, he's trying too hard to avoid mistakes, and he's guiding the football. It's almost like it's been beat into him. Don't screw up. This ol isn't good. But that's a bigger problem right now.
Yeah, you know, DJ, It's one of the things that I think too offense happens. We draft players and then we're trying to change them from who they are. Hyley Williams was always going to be a high risk player based on how you played at USC and the success that he's had. What you try to get him to do is to play with that same mindset, but just to make smarter decisions where you just don't make the
egregious errors. But if you try to take someone who was a gunslinger like that and make him a game manager, you take away all of the special qualities that made them the number one overall pick. Now, some people will say, man, that's what happens when you have a defensive minded head coach that is in charge of a number one overall pick. But I don't think it's that. I think it's a
conversation within the building. At some point, he has to understand where the boundaries are and you have to live through some of those mistakes to get to the other side. And for Kayleb Williams, you hope today able to do it with this regime, but it may be someone else who comes in there who teaches him how to toe the line without going to over the line and when he can risk it and when he needs a dollar back.
Because that's especially Kayleb Williams that everyone fell in love with during a predive process.
I mean, I think the you know, the way you see what you're talking about, DJ is just holding onto the football like trying to find the perfect throw right, You're trying to find just riggershot. And I was sitting next to you know, David Carr on an NFL game Day final last night. I feel like you're sitting there like itching his arm, like every time we showed the highlights, you know, just get sacked, sacked.
Nine sacks in this game. Like that's not all on the offensive line.
I get it.
The only finish with six healthy offensive lineman Tevin Jenkins, you know, unfortunately seemingly goes down in every game and they're forced to shuffle the deck and there's no continuity up there, and there's no continuity in the way that the Caleb's playing.
Like they we had that three.
Week you know spell where we all right, maybe starting to kind of figure things out here, and then all of a sudden, we've just completely gone off the rails old in the football taking sacks and then when he does get it out, I mean, like you know, one hops the one to DJ Moore out on the side. It's just it's all contributing, right, They're all factors.
DJ, Yeah, you can see it. I charted it. I mean, I thought there were three clear beats up front. So of all those sacks, they were clear. You got a personnel issue, you got beat up front, you take the sack. The others either there was a hot that was missed where they've got clearly they're sending more than you can block. You've got to get the ball to your hands. You have to have that awareness they're coming, and other ones are just him not letting it rip. You've got one
on ones. You've got to let that thing go. And then when you talk about like some of the misses he has throws in this game, you can see him. There are instances where he lets it rip and you can watch it, and they'll be quarterback coaches that you know are going to be far more advanced than me on this stuff. And I know they all put out videos and you can watch them all, and I'm sure there's a lot of value there. I can tell you
a simple thing just from scouting side of things. Fuck, his arm speed changes when you when you when you see somebody who's trying to be too fine, who doesn't want to make a mistake, they guide the ball and their arm speed slows down. He is a he's a whippy, explosive thrower. And there's there's a couple in this game where you'll see him. You'll see the ball come out and it's it's firm and it's on target. And then there's other times you see him just guide the ball.
He's just slowing it down, trying to guide the ball, and he has no earthly idea where it's going when he does that. And it's sad to see a guy who's a natural thrower be so inside his head as he is right now, because that the way he's throwing the ball is not natural. That's not how he's always throwing the football. And instead of saying, you know, because we can look at the defensive coach side of things, well, the number two overall pick is with a defensive coach,
he's doing great. The guy he played against in this game. The number three or overall picks are the defensive coach, and he's doing quite well. So you can't just say it's just a defensive coach. Now, I will see there's a difference between being a defensive coach and being a defensive dominant team, like we wouldn't think of New England right now personnel wise, and Washington is having great defenses, whereas in Chicago, I could see saying, hey, we have
this unbelievable defense. Just don't screw it up, don't turn the ball over, take sacks, drives it ins and punts and kicks are good. We'll win games. Versus you know, hey, look we got to score points to win games. We're gonna live with whatever mistakes you make, but like, hey, we're not holding people to, you know, to ten points a game, So you go out there and do it.
And I almost wish that, And I don't know this was the case, but I almost wish that if you're an eber Flus's shoes buck, if the mindset isn't hey, we got a great defense, you know what that means. Hey, if you see it rip, it takes some time. Yay, we'll turn the ball over our defense, we're gonna get a stop, we'll get off the field, we'll get you back out there. But like, we're going to live with some of that stuff because that's what makes you you.
But be aggressive, be that type of guy. And I say that as someone who I've seen in Jim Harbaugh being around the Chargers Quinton Johnston. I've seen a player whose confidence was was very low last year, and I've seen a coach just speak confidence into this kid, and I've seen him get so much better and now it's it's like a totally different football player. And so I just I don't I'm anti don't screw up coaching. And I don't know if that's the case, but that's what it looks like from the outside.
Okay, here's the case where subconsciously that message that subconstantly, that message maybe getting to Kaya Williams because you have Matt Eberflus is basically coaching for his job. If you have security, you know that you're gonna be around, you're more likely to encourage the young players to play through those mistakes. But when you are on the last year of your deal and the results are everything, it's hard to be process oriented, even though you may want to
be that for your young quarterback. And when the results matter, like they matter for Matt Eberflus because he's going to be evaluated at the end of the season, he probably is not encouraging Kayla Williams to a go let it go,
we'll get figured out or whatever. But by not doing that, he's not getting the best version of Caleb Williams because the one thing that you can't do, you can't play the game afraid to be great, and right now, Kayla Williams is afraid to be great because he doesn't want to mess it up.
I think you guys nailed it on that. I just it just doesn't feel like they are in sync. Really offense, defense, like along the coaching staff and all of that is getting to the quarterback here.
Yeah, no, it is, and I've seen it. I've just seen it with other young quarterbacks.
It's a look.
Hopefully they have time, they can get it corrected and he can play more free, play it more loose, and kind of get back to being who he was coming out, because it's a rough watch at this point in time. Speaking of rough watches, the Jets have just they've they're circling the drain man and it's been terrible. The Arizona Cardinals, on the other hand, I want to give them some flowers.
I remember the Chargers going in there and losing that game and thinking, oh gosh, they blew one against the Cardinals. All of a sudden, you look up and the Cardinals now they're playing really well and they've they've got some good wins too. When you go through and look at what they've been able to accomplish this year. Beat some good teams. They've beaten the Rams, they've beaten the Chargers, they've beaten the Niners. And Kyler is ultra ultra efficient with the
way he's playing Buck. I mean, this is this is a winning formula that they've found there. They play really hard on defense. James Connor can run it in this game. You saw he can make some plays the past game as well. McBride's a stud. They're figuring out Harrison how to use him. It's it's a team that's getting better. I think this is one of the best coach teams that I've seen this year. I think they do a great job with that staff.
Yeah, give Jonathan Gannon a lot of credit for those guys being able to figure out Drew Pelsick and those guys on the offense certainly helping Kyler Murray, I would say, be maybe the best version that we've seen of himself in this game at the position, because what you eventually want to see from your dual threat quarterback, you want to see them mature and evolve and it becomes less about their overreliance on their legs and more about selectively
using the athleticism to create big plays when those plays are there or when they're needed. Kyler Murray is doing that very efficient in the pocket as a passer, but every now and then he gets on the edges and he's able to give you things on either design runs or scrambles, and as this defense is beginning to play well, they're learning how to play complimentary football. I can't say enough good things about the Arizona car and the way
that they're getting it done. Underrated, flying under the radar, But this is a team that is going to kind of backdoor into the playoffs and potentially do some damage when they get there because the quarterback is that good and the defensive playing really well.
It's a couple of rookies, you know. Here in this game.
Obviously, Marvin Harrison comes up with the touchdown reception. He's now at six to lead all rookies after you know, it's kind of a slower start, and there have been lulls the course of these ten weeks right for Marvin Harrison, but he's becoming that player that you thought he was going to be. Don't look now, but Trey Benson is showing up right, and look, James Connor is still kind of the guy in that run game. But Trey Benson six yards of pop and has showcasing some explosiveness which
is kind of fun to want. Which now along with Kyler Murray who seems like he could take it whenever he wants it on the ground. And then just another shout out to a guy that you and I Bucky saw in Frisco, Texas at the Shrine Bowl, Rabbit taylored Emerson, the Texas tech dB comes in in a big spot and has a big time game, gets his hands on a couple of balls, and is one of their better
dvs on the day. So that I thought, you know, it's all kind of coming together really with some of these young players mixing with a nice group of vets.
Yeah, I've done a nice job there, a really nice job there. So MANI doing a good jobs GM there money awesome for it. Good dude, and who's brought in a lot of talented players. All about your game? Jaggs hung in there with the Vikings. Not a pretty game from the Vikings standpoint. What'd you see on the Jag side of things?
Well, look, I mean the jack side of thing. I think it's tough when you're a team is struggling. You got your backup quarterback in in mac Jones, and mac Jones certainly couldn't perform at the level that maybe they expected you would get when you had Trevor Lawrence in there. And I think the familiar theme remains the same. When you're dealing with the Minnesota Vikings. The relentless pressure forces
most quarterbacks and play callers to wilt. It's the barrage of overload pressures and simulated pressures and just trying to figure out all the stuff. It's not only physically taxing to take those hits, but mentally taxing to figure out
what they're doing. And because there's such an experienced crew in the back end, in particularly because you have Stefan Gilmore playing, Arison Smith playing, you have Shag Griffin jumping in and some of the sub packages, they're able to do some advanced stuff when it comes to pre snap disguises and post snap movement just to really put together defense.
And I can talk about the Jag playing hard and doing all that, but the Vikings are going to be one of those teams that's a thorn on your side, not because of their offense, but because their defenses that could.
Yeah, no, it's not a great day from Sam in company offensively, but the defense carried them on that one. The Vikings end up getting a big win. Let's get to the game. I was at Chargeargers Titans Chargers kind of did what you're supposed to do when you're playing a two win team. They just kind of handled them. They see the score there, twenty seven to seventeen. It wasn't really that close. The Titans got a garbage touchdown late in this ballgame after going right down the field
in their first drive in scoring. Then the Chargers defense just kind of stiffened up. They didn't give up anything, you know, after that great saucy nug by, the way seven straight starts, no interceptions for Justin Herbert, he's protecting
the football. I was talking to somebody about this, you know, they're talking about the offensive line with the Chargers, and I said, look, they've invested in those two offensive tackles, two first rounders, two top you know, top tier guys with Slater and then with Joe Walt playing the way he's playing. But I'm like even the interior, you know, you look at some guys. There's Zion Johnson was a high pick, but Bozman didn't cost much as a free agent. You had as you see in this tape here, Jamari
saw your filling Infra trait Pipkins at guard. I mean, it's not like this is like five all pros all the way across the line. But when you look at it, I mean the way they throw the ball like eighteen times in this game. So you throw it eighteen times, let's say, let's say six of those are off play action where you've got an extra blocker, you've got another three or four screens baked in, you move the pocket
on boots for another two or like. He's not asking these guys to sit there and hold up and pass pro for forty five fifty snaps. And that's what the Chargers offense has been since Herbert got there. So you saw it with the way he was running in this game. He's going to be fresh coming down the stretch in
the second half. And now when you find yourself in this portion of the schedule where they have coming in Cincinnati on Sunday night followed by the Ravens on a Monday night, they're gonna, you know, they're gonna have to They're gonna have to ask more of justin Herbert. But I think you know able to preserve him in games like this. They haven't been able to do that in the past. So a good win there for the Chargers, all right. Rhtt we this is a game I knew
you were super excited about. It's the last one we have here. Giants Panthers.
Your thoughts, Man, it's just a tough watch with the Giants offense, you know, and it does make me wonder, like where where did things go?
You know?
Two years ago we're talking about this Giants team making a playoff push and winning a playoff game with you know, a lot of the same faces and and some that that aren't there that are you know, like Milik Neighbors, who's you know, probably better than who was there at
the time. You know, Tyrone Tracy has fallen into a nice role here, but you know, unfortunately there's one you know, kind of turnover he's directly involved with, and the other one was just, man, you just feel for it, you know, the first play of overtime and they just cough it up. I mean, that's kind of been the story of the
Giant season. It just makes you wonder, like they have been preaching patients there in New York, especially with Daniel Jones and now Brian Dabole is saying when directly asked, we're evaluating everything and that's a hard place to be for a Giants team that was in the postseason two years ago.
Yeah, and it's also it's also buck a little bit of a you know, a warning sign for some of these some of these contracts. I was, I was at a wedding this last weekend, and so you're at a wedding, You're talking to a lot of people, and you get into a lot of stories about how you met your spouse, and you know, all this kind of stuff, and the topic came up of like, yeah, yeah, we just knew, like when we were together, we just knew this was
your person, you know. And I thought, you know, it's kind of like a quarterback, like if you have to ask yourself is he worth? Is he worth the second contract? If you have to debate that you probably shouldn't marry that person. Yeah, you probably shouldn't marry that person. And I think of, you know, that's that's one of those conversations that took place. So we'll see. I think it makes a lot of sense for them to maybe look at somebody else also because of the injury guarantee with
the contracts. So we'll see what they do when they get a chance to reevaluate. But I have yet to hear a coach say, we're going to reevaluate everything and then decide, know what actually better than we thought. We're gonna stay the course. We're gonna stay the course.
There.
Don't recall that ever happening. All right, we got through all the games boys. Nice work. This was a fun one week ten. Appreciate you guys hanging with us. We will see you next time. Right here on move the.
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