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eight hours after issuance. Se sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com, slash Basketball terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming Resources. Hi, everybody interesting Interesting Sunday. So in the first window, all the best quarterbacks won, and I do think Will Levis is going to be better than Desmond Ritter. He had four touchdowns today, but mostly the best quarterbacks won.
You know.
In the afternoon, Russell Wilson beat Mahomes. We'll get to that in a second, but it was a day in which the better quarterback, Mahomes, was sick mostly won. I thought, you know, I've said this before. It's one thing if your brother or sister was more successful than you and lives in another state across town. But if they're more successful than you and they're your neighbor and you can see the cars and the beautiful house, it stings a little.
It's one thing for brock Purty to struggle, but when he struggles at home on the same field with Joe Burrow, it's not great. And Burrow was brilliant, and Kyle Shanahan watches that and knows that, you know, he lost to Mahomes in a Super Bowl, And Kyle Shanahan knows his dad won Super Bowls with l Way, and Kyle Shanahan was a coordinator and had Matt Ryan and got beat by Tom Brady. He understands it that he's had a garoppolo or his dad had quarterbacks in his career in
Washington that weren't up to snuff. So when you have Burrow playing brilliant today and Purdy had that late fumble, wats the knock on pretty small hands, small hands, equal fumbles. He got hit from behind. He had a really bad red zone interception, the kind of interception you just can't make. You probably couldn't find one of those in John Elway's career or in Patrick mahomes career. You can't throw an interception when a guy's three feet from you. He had
another interception in the game. So now now Perdy can make throws. He threw the ball two or three times today. Tony Rommel pointed it out to George Kittle, really big time throws. So I still think Brock Purtty has talent, but he's a seventh round guy. He's smaller, doesn't have a big arm, mobile, not fast, smaller hands. And I thought when you juxtaposed him with Joe Burrow today, same field, it really looked obvious. And and by the way, I saw this all day today, Jalen Hurts with Sam Howe.
Sam How's competent, but Sam Howe on the field with Jalen Hurts. Last couple of drives for Washington, next to last drive, Sam Howe missed on one receiver. He had to go down. Much more catchable ball. If an elite quarterback through it. Then he missed another guy through to the wrong guy. And that when you get a hurtz and a howl and organizations have to make decisions, or you get a burrow and a party and organizations have to make decisions. It's really clearly the gap is massive.
I mean, we saw Kirk Cousins, you know, out or form rock party. That's one thing. You're on the road at home kind of ugly, and so you know, I there's an argument to be made, and I don't think it's crazy. You know, years ago you're like, well, you can't draft a kicker. Well, they're often the leading scorer on your team. Of course you can't. Of course you can draft a kick her. You know, you can never
take a running back in the first round. There's been a lot of great running taken in the first round, and I had been wildly productive. It's okay, you could probably make an argument, and Belichick did it about every second third year, that you should draft a quarterback every year, every year, even if you have Tom Brady was in
New England. They were still drafting a quarterback every year, every single year, almost And I mean Garoppolo got drafted in the second round, and Brady was winning super Bowls. So I just look at San Francisco and you can say, well, you know, they really missed on Trey Lance, but they hit on Brock Purty for a seventh round talent. CJ.
Beth.
That was a little bit of a miss. Garoppolo trade, that was a semi hit got to a super Bowl. It's okay draft the quarterback every year. There's an argument there will be some years you take two quarterbacks. You take one early second round, you take one late sixth round. It's the only position in football that's worth more than a point. Think how good Jamar Chase is. He's probably worth one point a game in the NFL, and he is sensational. How about that site line catch Dragon is
put today? So I just thought, when you put Purdy and Burrow on the same field in Santa Clara, is a bad look. John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan. A couple of times Purdy came back to the sidelines and you could see the facial expression of Shanahan. He wouldn't make eye contact with Purdy. When your dad was really mad, ai Ian wouldn't make eye contact. Just looked at your mom and Grimace. There's a couple of those looks. So in Cincinnati, they're a very funny team. They just can't play in
September due to various Joe Burrow injuries. But I said, about three weeks ago they were getting out played by the Rams, and one got out played by the Seahawks and one Now they're out playing people. This is a really good football team. Don't worry about Kansas City. We'll get to that in a second. Cincinnati is a really good football team. Weapons, run game, can play, a little power star quarterback, pass rush, playmakers, really good football team.
What to do with Kansas City's lost to Denver. Well, Patrick Mahomes was sick. I mean, most of us take a day off and we're sick. We don't play in the hardest sport in America. But I think what you saw today you saw two things. First of all, Denver now has a run game, and Sean Payton has decided to play younger defensive players. They move off Randy Gregory, so they're playing with a much livelier spirit defensively, right,
you let the young kids drive the car. They're having fun down They're playing a little faster than they were a month ago and they're running the football. I thought the game plan was great running the ball. They've got a couple of capable backs, and what it does it takes Mahomes out of rhythm. And Mahomes not that the needs rhythm to be successful, but any quarterback wants to get in a rhythm. So when you're sit on the bench, it's a seven play drive, it's a nine play drive.
You're sitting on the bench watching, it's cold, you're sick, you're on the road. It all adds up. But there were two plays in this game, and this is really what you worry about. The trade deadline is Tuesday, so they've already made one move at wide receiver. But there was the Rashi Rice drop in the first half, really bad drop over the middle of the field that was going to be a substantial gain. Bad drop. Then sky Moore I wrote it down here. Sky Moore had a
drop for a touchdown in the end zone. This team is not a great team. It's got a great coach, a great tight end, a great quarterback, and a great Chris Jones in the defensive front. It's not a great team because in football now, weapons matter. Cincinnati's got him Philadelphia's got him. The top teams in this league, Detroit's got him. Dallas could use one more, but Ceedee Lamb weapons matter. They don't have an elite wide receiver. I'd argue the Chiefs not only don't have a one, they
don't have a two. Rashid Rice is nice. At this point, he's a three or a four. Maybe by the end of the year he develops into a two. So they go to the Jets, they get a word receiver who knows their system. He's a three to a four. So I do think it's something I think against the Cincinnati or of Baltimore, and I think right now those teams are as good and they just have more speed on the outside. You know Odell Beckham, t Higgins, Jamar even
Nelson Aguilar for Baltimore. These are veteran players who have been around. They can make plays. So there's a lot of things that compounded. Mahomes flew today on the road. Denver's running out of rhythm, lots of drops. But I would say the margin for air for Kansas City is slimmer this year. Think about it. Name the game. They look great offensively, they haven't. They had a great first half did the Chiefs against Brandon Staley and the Chargers defense.
They had a great first half, they really haven't put together a great game like what Cincinnati did today where you really felt you were watching a super Bowl level team beginning to end. I mean, you watched Cincinnati interceptions, defensive plays, sacks, strips, Jamar Chase, Burrow, long drives, quick drives. You know when they get the interception, turn around Burrow to Jamar Chase right side end zone like quick strike, like Cincinnati today. That's a masterclass on how to beat
a really good team in the forty nine ers. Kansas City has not had one of those this year against a semi quality team, great half against the Chargers, who are a bit of an under coach mess. So I wouldn't make too much of it, but I think it's a reality of what Kansas City is. They let Tyreek Hill go agreed with it for all the picks they got, But they're really young sky Moore, Rice, they're really young
wide receiver, and those guys aren't superstars. They're developing players who potentially become really nice, complimentary two and three receivers. I don't see sky Moore as a one Rice could be a really strong two. But this is Travis Kelsey's team. You're right, go look at the targets and the catches today. This is Travis Kelsey's offense, and Mahomes and Nanny Reid. Third thing, you know, I was thinking about the Green Bay Packers, So everybody privately in that building those Jordan
love is not it and they're not winning. Pittsburgh lost today, but Pittsburgh's winning more with Kenny Pickett, and so you probably think, well, they're in a better spot. But I don't think Kenny Pickett in the AFC is going to go toe to toe with Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Mahomes, come on, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. He's not. He's just not. He was viewed as a top of the third round pick by two gms who I have great admiration for. One of them's got Super Bowls. Okay, he was a
top of the third, middle of the third pick. But the Steelers needed a quarterback and he was from Pittsburgh, so they're going to give him more years than they normally would because he's a local kid and because their defense is so good. They're winning games. Although not today. And also Matt Canada is going to take the heat
the offensive coordinator. So Pittsburgh's going to stay with Kenny Pickett a while he's not winning super Bowls, he's not getting the AFC Championships with the quarterbacks he is now facing in the AFC. Green Bay's in the weaker NFC. Jordan loves from Utah State, small contract. Nobody in that building thinks he's the guy. What's the loyalty, the loyalties to winning farv Aaron Rodgers. They knew they weren't going to hit a legend three straight times. So you can say, oh,
Green Bay is not winning Pittsburgh's Bible. But Pittsburgh to me because of Kenny Pickett's local connection and because he'll win enough games, and you can blame Matt Canada. Steeters are gonna stay with Kenny Pickett for years. And I just think he's a gutty kid. I've never been a huge fan. Greg co Sell likes him more than I do. He's fine, but there's no special They didn't have a special arm, not specially athletic, not especially big. He's a
guy who's got a little spirit to him. Well, he's a tough kid, a little swagger.
I like it.
But he's not great. But they're gonna stay with him a long time, right, Pittsburgh's done this in between Bradshaw and Big Ben. They stuck with a lot of quarterbacks longer than they should have. Green Bay is going to move off Jordan Love. They're gonna draft another quarterback. I mean, everybody in that building, they're not gonna say it. Green Bay is full of nice people. It's the Midwest. He's a good kid, he's worked hard. They don't want to bury him. I mean, two weeks ago, he plays poorly.
The coaches are after the game beside themselves. They fly back talk amongst themselves. Next day they blame themselves. Come on, he can't score on scripted plays in the first half. He's not it. Stop blame and play calling. You have the wrong quarterback. When you're blaming play calling, he's not the guy, good kid, not the guy. I mean, how many first halfs are we going to watch scripted plays with an offensive coach? They can't even move the chains pun pun pun punk punk. So the wise guys love
Green Bay this week. I'm Chad Milman trying to talk me into it. I'm like, I can't. What I'm watching is a backup, not a franchise guy. Canny Pickett, you could argue is a lower tier franchise guy. I think it's a reasonable argument. You know, somewhere between twenty and thirty two. Jordan loves to me as a backup. Nice kid moves doesn't see the field particularly well judgment and that was always the knock out of college. But green Bay is going to move off him rather quickly. They're
going to draft a counter. They drafted a quarterback last year. They're gonna draft a quarterback this year. And green Bay doesn't have a lot of needs. They've got the receivers they like, the young receivers, they have the young tight ends they like. They need to get somebody to be the next David Baktiari. They've got backs that are capable. They have an elite corner, they have good guys in the front seven. Like green Bay does not have a
lot of big needs. Probably left tackle, probably another tackle. It's a good year for tackles, by the way. You can get that in the second, third, fourth round. But you would think today Pittsburgh's in a better spot. No, green Bay's got no connection to Jordan Love. Could move off in tomorrow. They're just nice people. It's a good organization. They want to give everybody a second and a third chance.
And because they've had so much success with Farvan Rodgers through the years, Like Michael Jordan, you know, he wins titles, he leaves, he comes back, he wins titles. You had those fans tied in for another eight years, even if you were the worst team in the league. Green Bay is not losing any season tickets because they take a step back for a year or two. Not a lot to do in that town. And they've had so much success for thirty years with Farvon Rodgers. You're not gonna
You're not gonna draft three legends in a row. I think have no connection to Jordan Love. They're going to move off this pretty quick. And now for a segment called making it Look Easy, brought to you by Morgan and Morgan, America's largest injury law firm, Dak Prescott made it look easy for touchdowns three hundred and four yards. It was one of my favorite picks of the weekend. Cowboys and Monday Night Detroit at Home bounce back off that lost to the Ravens. The Cowboys are now won
nine straight at home. Dak Prescott's Oh was very good as a big home favorite, Just like Dak made it look easy. Morgan and Morgan over one hundred offices nationwide. They've claimed over fifteen billion dollars for over three hundred thousand clients. They have more than eight hundred lawyers. They make it look easy fighting for the people for over thirty five years fair compensation. They will fight at Morgan and Morgan for you. Winning in the NFL is hard.
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access to Fantasy Plus. Just go to Verizon dot com slash NFL to get NFL Plus Premium today forty percent off. That's forty percent off an annual subscription, just fifty nine ninety nine for the full season. Get it before it's gone three and out. John Middlecoff, former NFL scout, Dallas and Dak are very good as home favorites. When they're big home favorites, they play downhill. When that team gets a lead, Micah Parsons pins it back. They're a really,
really good team. They don't play well from behind. If you have an elite corner and can take C. D Lamb out of the game, Dak gets really limited and mean He and CD really play at a high level. That's a rut. It's not Burrow Jamar Chase, but it's really special. And I think Dallas is a bit of the ultimate tease. About every third week they just kick the un one out of somebody. Everybody gets all worked up. Whereas Baltimore narrowly wins all the time. What they do
to Detroit is rare. But in the in the AFC, Baltimore wins narrowly four to three. Like today, they kind of ugly it up and win, and they just sit in the woods Dallas. If you ask to average fans, they think they think Dallas is up here in Baltimore's down there. But Baltimore can win from behind with a lead. I trust Baltimore a better both sides of the ball, complete team. But Dallas does this when they get a lead. It's very Buffalo. Buffalo's built to play with the lead
they get, they play downhill. Then you don't know if they're running or throwing. Josh Allen on play action. So I don't feel differently. I think the Rams are a bit of fools. Gold and I sat on Friday on FS one. I thought this was going to be separation weekend between the Egal, you know, the pretenders and the playoff teams, and the Rams have been doing it. On coaching.
They have one really good player in their prime. I mean they need I mean they have a really good punter out of the draft, a left guard, a receiver. They have to hit about four more home runs in next year's draft. They have about seventy million I think in cap space. Rams are not an elite team.
Well, two things, Dallas's blowouts all look the same. Pick six's huge special teams plays. That game was over in the first quarter, which was kind of nice because there's a seventy five games going on this morning, Like, I don't really need to pay attention to this one. That thing was over so far as the other thing. You know, sometimes in college when Pac twelve teams in the non conference play a Midwest or an East Coast team and
it's that nine am kickoff. Well, the Dallas, how often do they play because of their brand a home game at ten am Office Coast time, So pretty big disadvantage for the Rams. Obviously, I would imagine McVeigh in and out of the office throughout the middle of the week. But big picture for the Rams, why would you not entertain trading Aaron Donald He's thirty two years old. What would Belichick? Walsh? This is an opportunity. Mcveigh's grampa was
part of that Niner team. Obviously, you know, he's one of I guess they've obviously had some great offensive players, you know, with the Kurt Warner teams, but the probably the best defensive player one of them, definitely of my lifetime. If you could get a first round obviously you get a first round pick, but a one and two twos, you need to reset the franchise. I think that hot has to be on the table. They're not going anywhere now. I mean, the Niners are in second place in that division.
Seattle's clearly pretty. I see they're gonna be a playoff team again. Why not You're not even essentially blowing it up because you still have good offensive pieces. You're just getting more draft capital so you can pivot with a guy thirty two will be thirty three's great defensive players aren't usually humming at thirty five years old.
Yeah, and he was dominant early in that game today, So I don't to me, I feel like with Aaron Donald, because of his cost and his age, you get two twos. Maybe I'm wrong, Maybe you get a first and.
I think you could get a one just because of the bidding process. You know, it's like it's like a home if you're just bidding against yourself, you can kind of low ball once multiple people come in, and he's just two elite of a player at such a premium position.
I think that it might start that way, but so many contenders would bid, like McCaffrey last year, the Rams had him for a two to three and a five, and then the ninersre like, we'll give you a two, three, a four, and a five, So it would just drive up the price. I do think you'd get a one, and maybe it would be a one and a two and a three in the fall. Who knows exactly how you structure. I do think you get a lot right
now for a team that's going nowhere. He's clearly their only asset that they could trade and still net a lot back has to be on the table. And like you said with Dallas, you're just not gonna play the Eagles like this, which is who they're gonna try to beat. You're gonna have to beat them in a real game right where you're not blocking field goals and punts and returning safety punts back for sixty yards. It's probably not
gonna look like that. Can you just play them straight up and out coach him and not get penalties, and they've struggled in that situation. So this game, like the Giants game, like some of their just blow out games, to me, don't look like the real games that they're always so disappointed after they lose.
So my take on San Francisco Cincinnati was that it's one thing if you're less successful than your brother and he lives cross town. But if he's your neighbor and you have you see the maserati in the driveway and the big house, it's kind of painful. He's your neighbor, right pretty on the same field with Burrow, You're like, oh shit, yeah, this is not good. I mean, first of all, small hands, end of the game, strip ball comes out, that's the knock. That red zone interception you've
never seen Lway throw a one of those. You've never seen mahomes, So one of those are Burrow. That's a really bad interception in the red zone. I like Brock. He can throw the ball down the field, had a couple of moves today, a couple of wiggles. I like him. He's a good athlete, good athlete, but when you put him on the field with Burrow. So Kyle's lost to Brady in a Super Bowl. His dad lost to some great quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, right, like everybody in
the Shanahan family knows, you gotta have an l way. Yeah, he's lost to Mahomes in a Super Bowl with Garoppolo and they out coached and outplayed him for three quarters. What do you do with Brock Purty? Do you do? You keep him in house? I mean, what do you do here? You know, you know when you put him on a field with Burrow, it's not the same game.
Do you know what's weird? In forty nine er Land? Up until what Saturday when he was cleared for concussion, it was looking like Sam Darnold was going to play, and I think a lot of people were just intrigued what was gonna look like? So I was right with Kyle this offense. I was, you were everyone was. I was really excited not disappointed when the guy cleared, because, like you said, he did play well up until he started turning the ball over left and right towards the
end of the game. But this team is built and this is why Kyle's been able to do it with middle of the road Jimmy Garoppolo. Purty's been better than that version of Jimmy. But win at such a high rate is because their defense dominated. And today I looked up toward the end of the game, the Bengals head close to thirty first downs. They obviously they have an elite quarterback, wide receiver Duo Higgins is healthy, mixing looked like he was in his prime today running over forty
nine ers. Their defense is not the same and they're not built. We've seen Kyle's record on these comebacks in the fourth quarter down eight or more points. That's not how they've ever won. And so when you're getting sliced and diced and they've handled better quarterbacks and just kept the game close and won those games, they can't win a game where they are getting thoroughly outplayed. On me,
missing tackles, getting run over. Burrow's gonna make plays now when he's playing like that, to me, that's like MVP level. He looked as good as he's ever looked, just in terms of physically, clearly, the calf is long gone. His rhythm and timing in that game just got better and better as the game went on. You were surprised when he missed a pass, But the forty nine ers just like last week against Kirk Cousins. If they're getting shredded on defense in the passing game and they can't get
off the field, they're just not gonna win. And right now they're in shambles.
Yeah, and I listen, it's in the early window. The best quarterback won every game. Late window. Mahomes is sick, so he loses. But you start looking at and Golf's gonna win tomorrow night. I mean, the best quarterback now once once the weather we have a big cold front hitting the Midwest and the East, our first bigie of the year going forward, best quarterbacks win games. Trevor Lawrence, Kenny Pickett. Now Kenny got hurt, but when you watch that game, it was three and out, three and out,
three and out, three and out. You can blame Matt Canada, who's not great, but one guy was making big time throws.
The Steelers are a Trevor Lawrence away from being a contender because you're watching that game, you're like, if you just flipped gave their quarterback to this team with that defense, Holy hell. And now who knows what Kenny Pikett's injury is. But regardless, like you said, the weather turns I mean you and me, it's eighty degrees out. It's not relatable on the West coast to once you get Midwest and over honestly, even Denver over right now, it's a different
level football. I remember in scouting meetings, you know, when I did the Pac twelve, I'm like, well, from a quarterback standpoint, do you want this guy in Philly? Do you want this guy in Boston? Do you want it is so cold you live there forever. People that have not spent and lived out there can relate to the consistency. It's not always raining or a blizzard. It's just cold, harder to hold the ball. The weather can turn like that.
I mean, for the most part in the West Coast, you kind of know when a rainstorm's coming or whatever. At a moment's notice, things can change, temperature can dip by twenty degrees, a rain can come. And I mean that New York game today was just a disaster too. I mean, one quarterback none of us have ever heard of against Zak Wilson, and it just it was hard
to watch. But because it is, it's what made Brady so special, right, he was so elite in the cold and half his games probably of his career in New England came in inclement weather or just you know, forty degrees in below or whatever.
Yeah, I mean, and so listen. Bad weather's bad for all quarterbacks, but elite guys can overcome it. I mean Trevor Lawrence. Today wasn't his best game ever. And I want to talk about Jacksonville and Pittsburgh because I said this in my preamble. Everybody in their room knows Jordan Love's not it in Green Bay. They're just not going to say it publicly. They're going to get out of that contract quick and draft a quarterback Kenny Picketts of Pittsburgh. Kid.
He's better than Love. He makes just enough late game throws. He's got better receivers. They're going to talk themselves into Kenny Pickett for six years and he's not going to do anything at the end of seasons. Smaller hands, doesn't have a big arm cold Weather City, but he's good enough that they'll keep him. Jordan Love is done. They're moving off him really quick. So today you ask most
fans that I like where Pittsburgh is. You can't win conference championships with Kenny Pickett in the AFC Kenny Pickett in the NFC. With that defense, maybe you got a shot. So as I'm watching Pittsburgh today again, they do so many things. Well, they're just all on defense. I think we all struggle and I don't know if it's good for the league with Jacksonville, but man, they lead the league in takeaways. They have a star quarterback, the running back,
the wide outs. Like I think Kansas City is not explosive enough a wide receiver. I think Jacksonville could very well play Baltimore or Cincinnati in the AFC Championship. I think beyond Mahomes flew today, I think Andy reading those guys know, like we don't have cap space, we're just not as explosive. I watch Jacksonville today in that crappy weather that was Pittsburgh weather, and I'm like, for them to go up and win felt so substantial to me.
Yeah, I think we know Andy and Veitch. I would imagine they'll be sniffing around the next twenty four to thirty six hours for a wide receiver and trying to do something creative to get, you know, an offensive playmaker on that team. I'm completely with you. I mean, you turn on that game it's just ugly. Even how expensive these cameras are, it's still kind of hard to see. This is I don't know. And then Jacksonville had an
early lead. You're like, these Florida teams, what's always been the knock on Miami, right, they can't win in forty degrees when it gets ugly. Jacksonville you kind of just in your mind a Florida team, and they were just the grittier, tougher team and they're good. I mean that's the other thing ETN think about that draft, you know, I think it went back to back NAUSEI Harris for ETM and in this modern day NFL spread player, you can throw them the ball in space. He's a great receiver.
I mean, ETN is a modern day NFL kind of hybrid running back. He's not as good, but that Alvin Kamara mode. We just get him out in space, let him play with speed. He had a huge touchdown to day. To me, the Steelers their margin for error. TJ. Watt has to play. He's Lawrence Taylor. Every game they need one of their dbs to get a pick. The moment picket got banged up and I kind of relood him like is that Mitch Trubisky. You know they're screwed. Yeah,
you got no chance. And listen, there's a big gap between Every backup in the league is a backup for a reason. But if your backup is just somewhat serviceable you can win a game, you have no chance when mister Bisky comes in the game. The other thing is, like you were talking about Kenny Pickett, thin about their division. You know, Joe Burrow's one of the great players of his generation. Lamar is one of the most unique star
players we've ever seen. Those guys are both what just signed three hundred and fifty million dollars worth of contracts. Where are they going? They just entered their prime and their teams are kicking ass and taking names now. The Bengals are clearly heading in the right direction, and the Ravens, I think it's fair to say, if you're placing a bet, I guess we'll see what Kansas City does over these next two days. Are they the one seed? I mean, it's that's probably where I put my money right now.
So yeah, I think Pittsburgh, you gotta be kicking yourself because you have so much talent. I mean, your defense is loaded with impact guy. Pickens is just a home run. I mean what a star wide receiver that guy is. Other impact players at skilled positions, but the quarterback play now really since big Ben, I mean that's I was watching the Saints today watching would be strong. I had him on one of the boxes and keep an eye because of Derek. They have absolutely no business to not
win that division. Their team is by far the most talented they have. You know, they're paying Derek sixty seventy million dollars. He clearly, if he is just okay, is better than the Ritterers, the Bakers, and today you saw like their impact players. But again like they pay just to get. They just need Derek to be you know, fifteen to thirteen range and they're a ten win team. And that's really the Steelers mindset for drafting Kenny Pickett
at twenty just to be a serviceable guy. And every once in a while you see it, like last week right when he made those plays against the but it was against the Rams. Now you're looking back to like how good really that was? And then you're watching them against a playoff team and you go, uugh, you weren't seeing it early before he got hurt, and now you go, this is probably the reason that you're not going to make the playoffs is because of your quarterback.
Yeah, let's call over to Philadelphia and Washington. So there was a play late in the game where Philadelphia looked like they were going to do the push push, and then they just worked the Washington staff and they came out of it. You knew it was eventually going to happen, and I thought to myself, they're so clever. Philadelphia is remarkable. Jalen Hurts is hurt. They have not played a complete game.
They've had several good halfs. They've gotten bad breaks where they've often played a team that was awful loss and I look up and I'm like, they just keep when today they played very well. They were out played for three quarters, no question. I had Washington plus seven the whole game. I'm like, oh, I got the right side. I mean that they were complete and Washington played pretty well. Sam Hel's not it. Sam Hel's okay, but.
You were a bad sam Hal pick away from covering that game. Though he do a bad.
Pick, it was like brought pretty. It's like you can make some throws. He's not it, But I watched Phililadelphia. You know him, well, AJ Brown now has really, I mean AJ's taken over the receiving corp the tight ends, Jalen, if you told me today, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Kansas City. I feel like I think we've seen the NFC. I think we see Philadelphia feels like they're not playing well and they're not only good. You notice how good
they are late in situational football. They just Miami, I think was tied seventeen seventeen Washington. They are so good playing poorly late, they just flip it. And I look at them and I'm like, John, I feel like they've really pulled away from the NFC.
Well, I think that AJ Brown has a chance to go down as one of the great NFL trades in the history of the league. You know. And I think Howie's career has been defined by aggression and making moves, and he was in position to make that trade be because he had made other trades that led them to have all these first round picks. And it really was
a double whammie. They just didn't get a star wide receiver, but they got a star wide receiver who's like best friends with their quarterback and who has elevated that guy? Because Jalen today played much better, especially from a number standpoint, pushing the ball down the field. He's so comfortable throwing it to aj. And then when you look at defensively like you just said, situationally, why they're so good is because they have such high IQ football players who are
elite players, right. I mean, look look at what Hassan Redick like right now. Oh God, the Niners just gave Nick Bosa all this money. If you just watch the two players, Reddicks a much better player right now than Nick Bosa. So their high end all pro, Pro Bowl level guys are playing to that level and come through in the biggest spots. Because Washington they're a bizarre franchise, right For over the last several years they have kind of been. They haven't sucked, and they can take down
anyone in any random week. They definitely play the Eagles really well, but they're not good enough to make playoff runs or even really make the playoffs. They never draft high enough. Yet we're always talking about maybe should they fire their coach? And then you watch a player, you God, I like a lot of these pieces, but they're actually going nowhere, and you're like, God, this is kind of
a waste of a franchise right now. And the Eagles, unlike last year, were they you know, a similar game that they lost today, It was right there, they easily could have lost. They just found a way. And it was really to me because aj Brown is on Reddick, Yeah, and those guys. That's a lot of money worth a player, And to me, this is all Howie Roseman, you look at uh in terms of just the talent on their team. They draft Jalen Carter, Well, why were they comfortable doing that?
Because they were equipped on defense with high character, impact guys, especially in that unit. Right, you can take flyers on guys in the draft at certain positions when your position group in that given team is loaded with guys where
he can't run the room. And Jalen Carter looks up to all these guys, I mean, they've gotten impact plays for him all season long, and yeah, I mean they just they're they're clearly, I mean, the Diners are falling apart, right and the Eagles feel like they've kind of got it together and obviously have a big game this week.
Yeah, I mean because Jared Goff's inability to move as a whole, There's no question. Yeah, Jalen Hurts can move, throw indoors, outdoors, home road. Hurts, I gotta tell you, first of all, in tangibles a plus plus plus plus. But I sort of like his tangibles. I kind of like him as I you know, I said that Lamar Jackson is so dynamic as a runner an electric that we just don't give him credit. From the prop pocket. He's pretty good a lot of the games. He's really special.
I think with Jalen Hurts, because he was a runner in college, Bama moved off him. First impressions matter. Like when I watch him in the pocket, I think he's really good. I think he sees the field. I think he's daring. I think his arm it's not a plus arm, but it's a good arm. I think, you know, with Dak it's the intangibles, it's not the tangibles. With Jalen Hurts, I think his tangibles are better than I give him credit for.
I was talking to a scouting director last week about Jalen. He's like, you know, when you really look at his is just scattering report of him as a player. Currently in the NFL. He's not really an a at anything. You know, he doesn't have a speed, he doesn't have a arm strength, he's you know, he doesn't have a Josh Allen's capabilities to break tackles and throw seventy yards down the field. But he's basically a B plus or
a minus and everything. And a lot of times you think about athletic quarterbacks, you know, like when Deshaun Watson was good several years ago for Houston or younger Russell Wilson, they kind of scramble to make the big play. Like the underrated part about Jalen. He's actually a very very consistent just moving the chains, like, he has no problem dumping it off to the right guy, making the right decision. He's not always looking to bomb it down the field.
He's actually a very smart player in terms of his decision making. You know, a lot of his turnovers this year, it's not really his mo to throw the ball at the other because he doesn't really take chances beside on the go route where his guys typically win, and he's more likely to just keep the drives going. It's why a lot of these games that they've been in, they've ended up pulling out this year and haven't lost because he doesn't do dramatically dumb stuff that sometimes a super
athletic playmaking quarterback can just lean into. Right and Jalen, I think this gets back to Nick Saban kind of that wiring the way to play making the right decision even if it is a dump off to a tight end or running back. And the Eagles have really good tight ends and running backs, right, So you're right. I mean, if they get going, you know, they got a new offensive coordinator talent wise, because to me, the Niners, their impact players don't look as good. They're not playing at
their level. Where you watch the Eagles, their impact guys are playing at that level. And we know how much depth they always out held. I mean they just traded for a former All Pro safety just to add to the team last week. Yeah, who's a high character team captain level guy.
Yeah. Okay, So between my preamble and this we've done NFL, I want to spend some time on college football because I saw Oregon live for the second time, and I was three rows back in Washington. I saw end zone and forty yard line here, I was three ye rows away. Really communicated verbal team Knicks landing the head coach. Michigan, to me, is the best football team I've seen. Texas is the most physically impressive team I've seen. With Georgia, I think this is the best Oregon team I've seen.
So I watched bow Nicks. First of all, Oregon had a fumble. It's the first of the year. Nix throws to the right person every single time. Now, whether that's coaching or him. Is I if you told me the four teams I would put in today, because I do think Texas will beat Oklahoma if they play again, and Oregon will beat Washington if they play again. Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Oregon feels like my four today.
Washington hasn't looked as good since that.
Oregan no mean and Oregon. Oregon is good on the perimeter, really good in the interior. Washington does not have. And you're seeing this. You can run at Washington and they don't run. They're not particularly gifted guard center guard on their own line. They have good tackles, and they're not great in their interior. Oregon could use another receiver, one of Washington's four that I like, But Washington could use about three of Oregon's defensive players in the D line.
Oregon's big, But the four teams I've seen that, I go, that's different. Michigan, Texas will beat Oklahoma again. By the way, that Kansas upset was not a huge shock or Kansas is really a dangerous team.
Now, coach is good, really good.
If you can win at Kansas, you're really good. But I watched the Oregon again, John, and they went into Utah and that thing was I mean, that first drive was just boom boom boom, touchdown. Crowd went silent. It was in Utah. You don't go into Utah much and physically push around Utah. Oregon did.
Would you say that game was over basically by the end of the first quarter. I mean, you never want to count Utah out, but it.
Was just crowd was and I was sitting among the crowd and you could people I was sitting next to. It was like whoa, Like it was kind of a reality check. They played USC, Utah came down to earth. Oregon's just really impressive.
What was part of the reason we were kind of shitting on USC last week is this quarterback's not any good and Oregon made him look like, you know, a third string pig farmer. Yeah right, I mean right, they had no chance. I'm with you. I think Washington. I watched a lot of the Washington Stanford game. They got very lucky. I mean a kid dropped a pass late. Yep, Washington does not. Obviously they threw the kitchen sink won
that game at home. I think it's fair to say from a gambling standpoint, Oregon will be favored in that significantly. To me, Michigan, I just wonder, is that how weird this thing is going to get the conversation because their team clearly if the scandal wasn't going on about this guy sending people to all these other games. I mean, every day a new story's coming out that they fed South Carolina. You know, just is anyone going to get in trouble during the season beside them getting rid of
this guy. That's not really how the NCAA works, But they're clearly the best. Hard for me to trust Texas that that would be my thing because if you just told me that Urban Meyer, Nick Saban or whoever was the coach of that roster, you might pick them to win the national championship, right, But you know, Stark just hasn't proven it. I mean, it's just so even that Oklahoma game, which Oklahoma might be a little fools goal,
they could have lost two weeks ago to UCF. Yeah, they were kind of getting worked in that game against Kansas. The other thing is to me, yeah, I mean I Oregon State lost Oregon's direction. Now to win this conference and be right there you said it. I think after the Washington game, do you trust bow Knicks? They put a stat right when that game started, And a lot of this is that COVID year, every player got an extra season. No no players ever started and played in
as many college games as bow Knicks. So we often said this forever about BYU. They always had like twenty three twenty four year olds. They do have a big advantage just in terms of the reps this kid had in the SEC, in the tough part of the conference, right in that division, and now two straight years in Oregon every game is mattered. That is a huge plus.
But as a player, if they get in a tight game, can he consistently make the throws against the Texas, against the Georgia, against the Michigan That would be my only question. Why they couldn't win the national championship, and I.
Think the answer is yes. So I've watched him play in Seattle in Utah not for a second, and either game was he rattled and he played from behind in Seattle. Decisive, accurate. He's Derek Carr, but I think a more natural thrower. It's a really easy effort for him. Now it could be coaches, but he throws to the right person every time. Oregon makes no mistakes, very few penalties, no fumbles, no interceptions. So I think Bone Knicks to me, is not a guy that is and we see this in pro football
where he's playing. He plays great with a run game and a head. When I watched him in Seattle, my takeaway is Michael Pennix is a better NFL prospect. Bonix is a really elite college quarterback with a ton of experience.
Yeah, I tend to agree. I know people were torn on him last year and a lot has to do. Do you know what's fascinating about scouting now? He is talking to these guys. You talk to the former staff at a school and usually sometimes it ends negatively. Sometimes they got fired because the guy transferred to whatever. And then he goes to a new place and then everyone
loves him. It's really hard. Now this guy doesn't have any character concerns or whatever, but just really trying to get to the bottom of a player with all this movement. I know for the scouts out there can be difficult to just truly gauge the right up on the individual because you have so many people with so many different opinions, these guys playing multiple Power five schools. You get one
negative thing, one positive thing. And he's a fascinating case study because I would say most people in the SEC got very underwhelming, not very good player, and you look back and you go, well, was kind of a disaster. Yes, Brian Harson got run out of town, so actually it might have had little to do with him. It might have been all on the program, right, So that's kind of what you have to balance because this couldn't have gone much better over these last couple of years for him.
He went from being to me, not an NFL player at all to a guy who's going to be talked about as like a top fifty prospect headed into this draft.
Yeah, I mean I think it's Caleb is still I mean, USC has got lots of problems. Caleb's going one a lot, yeah, Drake May's probably going two or three. Harrison may go too, depending on who drafts. And then I think Penix feels like the third. I saw Penix play bone Knicks. Now Penix has better receivers, but it was hard not to be impressed. Lanky, lefty, accurate, lot of physical courage, sits in the.
Post, accuracy on the deep balls, beauty.
Yeah, but I think bone Nicks then falls into a group late first round because this is also a great offensive tackle class, very good receiver class, excellent DN class, excellent corner class. So I think bon Nicks is going to be in that or of somewhere between twenty. Like I'm trying to think who had just missed the playoffs. You know, it would it would be kind of like a Minnesota would move up six spots or something to get a bow Nix. He's got a little Kirk Cousins.
Although again having watched them twice on the road, it matters. You know, at Austin everything's easy. You go to Utah and we'll Seattle.
He look good, I mean more gifted. Brock Purty right a little bit whoa way better thrower, but I'm just saying about a guy that a lot of college starts who just gonna be aero trending up obviously quarterback inflation. I know your Trojans, though you probably didn't have on your Bingo card fifty to forty nine well memorials.
You know, when I look at USC, they're not great defensively, They're not Michigan Texas. They're not a top eight defensive team. They're not this bad. You've seen this in your life. A coordinator can make Matt Ryan an MVP. A defensive co ordinator Dan Quinn changes everything like you give them the right defensive staff, they're okay. But Alex grinch is, you know, and this happens. He's just not a coord and forget head coach. He's not a coordinator, he's a
position coach who at Washington State. You know a lot of times guys can work at smaller schools because you know the athletes they work, They work well with non star athletes. Washington State guy Brady Hoke is great coaching down at a smaller school. You bring him with four and five star guys. At Michigan, they don't buy Brady Hoke. They don't buy his right. Alex Grinch with like La kids, they just don't buy him. He comes across is He's not a very he's not alpha, he's not defiant. He
looks at times on the sidelines. I mean, you'll see these moments with him. He just doesn't even look like an elite coach, like Clay Hilton with his mouth open on the sidelines. You're like, this guy is not a head coach at US. And I think with Alex Grinch, he's the classic coach who works well at a smaller school. But you put stars around him, it doesn't work. They're getting worse every weekend.
But this is one of the benefits to coaching at a place like USC. Look at Ryan Day last couple of years, defense fall off. You have an unlimited budget, Go find the guy that you want, pay him one and a half million dollars and your defense immediately improves. When you're at USC, when you're at Alabama, when you're at Ohio State, you can have the pick of the litter because of the amount of money that you can pay a coordinator. Now, this gets back to what I've
said about Lincoln Forever. The Mike Leach kind of philosophical beliefs. Is how he's wired. Does he know who to pick as a defensive coordinator, because let's face it, what was the connection to this guy? Obviously Leech had had him at Washington State and that I'm sure that was a connection where he started following this guy's career and knowing about him. So it's not you know, Satan, his pick
of the litter is NFL College, the whole umbrella. He's just going after the cream of the crop, whoever he thinks the best, and he can get what he got denied by Dubor's guy last year. But that's who he wanted, right, he just wouldn't take the job. Don't totally blame him to stay with Pennix, but that's who he went after. Is Lincoln truly going after the guy that everyone else would want, or is he going after a guy Maybe there's a
connection through this air raid. Flip knows him and that that's what gets nervous because the only way to win at the highest level. Think about some of Pete's early staffs, right, Norm Chow, Sar Klaane, some of the guys he's the defensive guy, him and Kenny Norton, could recruit and handle that, right, But his offensive staff was full of all these innovative young guys with some older guys NFL experience. That's when And obviously the talent on the field spoke for itself.
But the coaching in that meeting room in like four oh five and six was I mean, just anyone listening to go back and google some of those staffs and you look at Lincoln's you know, defensive staff, You're like, does he have the capability to find whoever his you know, equivalent of a Demico Ryan or whatever in college? I don't know. I think that's going to be the biggest question mark by far. Because Caleb leaves, Lincoln's proven he can find quarterbacks. This is the least of his worries.
Yeah, I think you make a really good point, is right now, he has been a connection coach, right and by the way, who follow him? Who didn't Some of the coaches that didn't follow him, you know, we're veteran people. That not that they didn't like him, but it tells you, you know, when you leave a place, who follows you and who doesn't. So it's just a really bad grnches over his head. It's a really bad defensive staff. Dante Williams in the secondary is a recruiter. Nobody thinks he's
a great coach. He's a great recruiter. By the way, every college staff in the country has a guy that can recruit who's not a great what you would call schematic coach. So they got some issues. I think they can solve a lot with a better DC. I don't think the d personnel's this awful, but we'll see. Okay, Chargers, Bears, it's going to be awful. Chargers, Brandon Staley should be able to win this thing. Cross our fingers on this.
John, think you think, you think, have a good week. Talk to you soon. The volume